“Me?”
Yu Fuling stared at her mother in surprise, never having imagined that something as important as naming the baby would fall on her. “Let’s wait for Father to come back and name her.”
“Shuiqin already told me herself, Fuling, you name her. Mother trusts your judgment.” The more Zhang Qiaofeng looked at her eldest daughter, the more precious she found her, only three days back home, and she’d already brought so much good fortune to the family.
“Then let me think it over carefully.”
With her mother having said this much, if Yu Fuling declined again, it would make her seem inconsiderate.
Yu Fuling looked at her little niece’s plump, fair little face, her bright eyes, and suddenly the word “moon” popped into her mind. “The full moon glows bright, Mother, why don’t we name my little niece Yueying, meaning ‘moon in fullness,’ with the nickname Jiaojiao, from the phrase ‘the bright moon, clear and radiant.’ What do you think?”
“Giggle, giggle…”
Before Zhang Qiaofeng could even answer, the little niece in Yu Fuling’s arms let out a bright laugh first, as if to say she liked the name.
“That’s a lovely name, Yueying, Jiaojiao?”
The joy in Zhang Qiaofeng’s eyes was greater even than the day her eldest son got married. She came over to coo at her granddaughter. “Jiaojiao?”
“Giggle, giggle…”
Jiaojiao just kept laughing.
“Mother, Mother!”
Suddenly, Yu Heng rushed out of the room in a hurry, nearly tripping over the doorsill. “Mother, come quick.”
“What’s wrong? Is something the matter with Shuiqin?”
Seeing her eldest brother’s nervous face, Yu Fuling quickly followed her mother, carrying her little niece, to her eldest sister-in-law’s room.
“Mo—Mother-in-law, I…”
On the table sat the crucian carp soup, half-finished, but Li Shuiqin’s front was soaked, her hands raised helplessly in mid-air, looking at Zhang Qiaofeng as she came in.
“Oh my, you’re bringing in milk now.”
Zhang Qiaofeng took one look at her eldest daughter-in-law’s state and immediately placed the granddaughter into her arms, pulling the bed curtain closed at the same time. “Shuiqin, don’t be nervous, I’ll teach you how to feed her.”
Who’d have thought the crucian carp and tofu soup would work so well, one bowl, and Eldest Sister-in-law’s milk had come in.
Yu Fuling quietly stepped back, and by accident locked eyes with her eldest brother.
“I named Big Brother’s daughter, Yueying, with the nickname Jiaojiao.”
“So formal, sounds awkward.” A name with such elaborate meaning, even given all the time in the world, Yu Heng could never have come up with it himself.
“But Jiaojiao likes it. The moment I said the name, she laughed at me, if Big Brother had named her something like Cuihua or Juhua, once she grew up, she’d surely be laughed at by the other kids in the village.” Yu Fuling’s tongue was plenty sharp, and unlike their parents, she wasn’t about to indulge her eldest brother. “Of course, when you and Eldest Sister-in-law consider having another child later, with Big Brother studying his characters now, you should be ready in time by then.”
“You—!”
Her eldest brother had never once gotten the upper hand against Yu Fuling.
“Big Brother, learning to read and write will not only enrich your knowledge, it’ll let you strike back quickly the next time you’re arguing with someone, instead of just huffing and glaring at me the way you are now.” The moment Yu Fuling finished speaking, Yu Heng’s eyes were about to pop out of his head. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll go help Second Brother deal with the cucumbers and radishes.”
“What cucumbers, radishes?”
“I forgot to mention it to Big Brother, Mother’s going to teach Second Brother how to pickle vegetables in a bit. Once Second Brother’s learned it, he’ll take them to sell at the market. I think Second Brother’s quite confident about it, maybe he’ll succeed right away!” Yu Fuling was deliberately provoking her eldest brother, wanting him to understand that he’d enjoyed all the family’s resources as the eldest son up until now, but before long, that arrangement would be upended.
“He can’t even cut vegetables properly, and he wants to learn pickling and sell it at the market? Look how capable he thinks he is.”
“If Big Brother’s worried Second Brother can’t manage on his own, you could lend a hand too. I’m sure Second Brother wouldn’t mind.”
Yu Heng: “…”
Watching her eldest brother suddenly choke on his words, Yu Fuling’s eyes crinkled with a smile. “I’ll go get busy now, then.”
“Yu Fuling, you…”
“Yu Heng, come help.”
Zhang Qiaofeng had been listening the whole time, and hearing her eldest son about to chase after Yu Fuling, called out to him at once. “Your job right now is to take good care of Shuiqin and Jiaojiao. If Shuiqin’s confinement isn’t managed properly, I’ll have your father deal with you!”
“Fuling, where’s Mother?”
In the kitchen, Yu Zhuo had already wiped all the cucumbers and radishes dry.
“Eldest Sister-in-law’s milk has come in, Mother’s helping her right now. She’ll be here in a bit.” Yu Fuling looked at the cucumbers and radishes laid out on the cutting board. “I remember for pickles, you need soy sauce, chili, and various seasonings, all dark-colored, right?”
“That’s right, pickled vegetables are supposed to look like that.” Yu Zhuo wiped the sweat off his forehead. “It’s just the seasonings that differ, that’s what makes the flavor different.”
“There was once a great chef who came to the Marquis’ estate, he was especially skilled at making spicy dishes, every one of them numbing, spicy, fresh, and fragrant. I also tried the cucumbers and radishes he pickled, but they were white, he called it kimchi.”
“What’s kimchi?” Yu Zhuo scratched his head. “I’ve been to so many markets these past few days, and I’ve never seen white pickled vegetables, can that even taste good?”
“It’s edible, tangy and refreshing, and if you like spicy food, you can add a bit of chili to it. Paired with a bowl of rice porridge in the morning, it goes down really well. Oh, right, I also saw him add pickled chili peppers and young ginger, he said those could be made into kimchi too.”
“Ginger’s so spicy, and that can be made into a pickle too?” Yu Zhuo furrowed his brow, doubtful.
“Second Brother, since we’re just experimenting right now, why don’t we make both what I described and what Mother’s good at, then give them to the villagers to try? If they say both taste good, you sell both. If they say only one tastes good, you sell just that one. Either way, you’ll have expanded your range of flavors, and since no one’s tried kimchi before, maybe that’s what opens up your market?”
“Right, right, right, the friend who took me around the market told me you have to gather ideas from everywhere, you can’t just stick to one path stubbornly, and those pickled vegetable stalls aren’t the only option either.” Having already benefited from Yu Fuling’s advice before, Yu Zhuo now took her suggestions readily. “So this kimchi, how do you cut it? Do you know?”
“I remember the general process, let’s just try it, the early steps are all the same, it’s only the pickling method that’s different.”
“All right.”
By the time Zhang Qiaofeng came in, she found her second son had already cut all the cucumbers and radishes. “You two work fast. Bring a clean wooden basin, we’ll salt them down to draw out the water first.”
“Mother, there’s an appetizer I ate at the Marquis’ estate, I want to try it out with Second Brother.”
“Sure, we’re not short on cucumbers and radishes at home anyway, go ahead and make it.”
With her mother’s approval, Yu Fuling went by memory and dug out the seasonings needed to pickle kimchi. Fortunately this family liked strong flavors, so chili was the one thing they never lacked.
By the time all the work was done, it was already afternoon.
“These pickled vegetables need to sit overnight to really absorb the flavor.” Zhang Qiaofeng wiped the sweat off her forehead. “This time of day, why isn’t your father back yet?”
“Why don’t I go check at the head of the village.”
“All right, then I’ll go lie down for a bit in my room. Fuling, Lehuan, you two go rest too.”
“Mother, I want to go with Second Brother and wait for Father, it’ll help me cool off a bit too.” As Yu Fuling spoke, she looked at her sister.
Yu Lehuan understood at once. “I’ll come too!”