In years past, she’d always been the one worrying over every big and small matter, she wondered who would be handling all of it this year.
“Mother’s birthday?”
Xie Leyi, having spent a whole day writing characters and learning the household rules, hadn’t even lain down yet when Nanny Zhen pressed something into her hand.
She opened it and could barely make out a few of the characters. “This… this is a guest register?”
“The register lists all the close friends and relatives who keep up ties with the Changxing Marquis’ household. Five days from now is Madam’s birthday banquet, and the Marquis will announce your return publicly. Memorize every name on this list, so you don’t make a fool of yourself when the time comes.”
“There are only names on this list, not a single portrait…” The register felt heavy in Xie Leyi’s hands. She flipped through a few more pages, page after page of long lists of names. Even given another half month, she’d never manage to memorize it all. “If I only remember the names and still can’t recognize the faces, what use is that?”
“The Changxing Marquis’ household is nothing like the humble farming family Fourth Miss was staying in. On the day you marry in the future, distant relatives and close neighbors alike will all come, and that’s when you’ll really find yourself unable to remember names or recognize faces. Fortunately, this time Madam’s birthday is a family banquet, not too many people, Fourth Miss only needs to remember the names, not recite them by heart, the Marquis will introduce you when the time comes.”
“But…”
“Fourth Miss, you are the true, legitimate daughter of the Changxing Marquis’ household. A young lady of a noble and powerful family is different from a farm girl. Once you marry, you’ll need to manage your husband’s entire inner household. Madam understands your health is weak and you’ve only just returned to the estate, so it’s fine if you take things slowly for now, but you must never think only of eating, drinking, and enjoying yourself.”
Nanny Zhen’s tone carried not a trace of harshness, even a hint of gentleness, but hearing it left Xie Leyi shivering nonstop.
Thinking of the days ahead after returning to the Marquis’ estate, aside from being able to sleep in for the first two days, after that, she’d have to start her busy day from the crack of dawn, only able to rest deep into the night.
“Nanny Zhen…”
“This old servant remembers, on your second day back, you swore to me with utter conviction that you would surely succeed. You wouldn’t want to disappoint the Marquis and Madam, would you?”
The word “disappoint” was like a shackle, forcing the words rising in Xie Leyi’s throat back down again.
She gripped the register tightly and nodded gently. “I’ll do my best to memorize it. If there’s anything I do wrong, please guide me, Nanny Zhen.”
Only then did Nanny Zhen smile, satisfied. “Fourth Miss, don’t worry, if a mistake really does happen, this old servant will still be here.”
Xie Leyi said nothing in reply, staring at the register, a sudden pressure welling up in her chest, choking and unsettling.
“Fuling, Fuling!”
Early in the morning, Yu Fuling was woken by her second brother’s excited calling. She’d thought about certain things at the Marquis’ estate the night before and hadn’t fallen asleep until the third watch of the night.
“Fuling, Fuling.”
“Coming.”
Hearing her second brother calling even louder than before, Yu Fuling quickly threw on her clothes, guessing it must be that the pickled vegetables made last night were ready.
“Second Brother, are the pickles ready to eat?”
Yu Fuling ran into the kitchen, and everyone was there except her eldest brother. “Father, Mother, Lehuan!”
“Fuling, that kimchi you told Yu Zhuo about yesterday looked like plain, watery stuff, but who’d have thought it would taste so tangy, spicy, and refreshing, even better than meat.” Zhang Qiaofeng switched to a clean pair of chopsticks, picked up a bit of kimchi, and brought it to her daughter’s mouth. “Here, open up and try some, daughter.”
Yu Fuling didn’t want to feel awkward again like when she’d first come home, so she opened her mouth and ate the kimchi, chewing slowly, tasting it carefully. “The flavor’s already quite close. The kimchi I had before was more sour, though of course some people prefer it sweeter, or spicier, so getting it to a flavor most people will accept does take some doing.”
“We don’t have many seasonings at home, once I go to the market tomorrow, I’ll buy some back.”
“Buying things costs money, Yu Zhuo, do you have any silver on you?” As Zhang Qiaofeng spoke, she took out a few dozen coins from her waist. “This much should be enough to buy seasonings, right?”
“Uh…”
Yu Zhuo had the half piece of loose silver Yu Fuling had given him, so he hadn’t planned on asking his parents for money, but he didn’t expect his mother to offer it herself. “No need, seasonings aren’t worth much, I can trade some kimchi with the shopkeeper for it…”
“That won’t do!” Zhang Qiaofeng pressed the coins into her second son’s hands. “If you needed several taels of silver all at once, your father and I truly couldn’t manage that, but a few copper coins, we can manage. Since you’ve decided to do this, do it properly, steadily, just don’t give up halfway.”
The few dozen coins in his hand suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. Yu Zhuo opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.
“Second Brother, just take it.”
Yu Fuling, quick with her hands, grabbed the coins and stuffed them into her second brother’s arms. “Lehuan and I are counting on you to buy us new skirts. Last night I even dreamed about new skirts.”
“I… I understand, I’ll definitely do this properly.”
Yu Zhuo knew Yu Fuling was helping smooth things over for him. His eyes grew hot, and he forced the feeling back down. “Fuling, try the pickled vegetables again.”
“All right.”
The flavor of the pickled vegetables was perfectly ordinary, nothing special about it.
“Mother, what about the matsutake paste you made before? Is it ready to eat now?”
Yu Fuling suddenly thought that matsutake wasn’t just good eaten on its own, what if adding it to the pickled vegetables gave them a different kind of flavor entirely?
“Should be ready, let me get it.”
Yu Fuling scooped out a bit of matsutake paste with a clean spoon and put it into the pickle jar.
“Fuling, what are you doing? The matsutake flavor is so strong, how can you put it into the pickled vegetables?” Yu Zhuo tried to stop her, but it was already too late, Yu Fuling had already stirred it in vigorously several times.
“We can finish this small amount of pickles ourselves.”
Feeling the two hadn’t mixed thoroughly enough, Yu Fuling picked up the jar and gave it a good shake several times before using her chopsticks to pull out a slice of radish, carefully placing it in her mouth.
The salty, savory flavor of the pickled vegetables mixed with a hint of matsutake fragrance unfolded in Yu Fuling’s mouth, and her eyes lit up at once. “Father, Mother, Second Brother, Lehuan, you should all try it too.”
“Mm… this… is this still pickled vegetables?”
Zhang Qiaofeng trusted her daughter unconditionally in everything she did, so she was the first to try it. “How is this flavor even better than meat?”
“No way…”
Seeing his mother make such an exclamation, Yu Zhuo tried it too, and then his eyes went wide. “Is this still the pickled vegetables Mother taught me to make?”
“I’d chopped up the matsutake and other mushrooms into a paste before, added a bit of salt and chili, originally meaning to seal it up, but worried it would spoil in the hot weather, I steeled myself and fried it thoroughly in lard before sealing it for storage. I never expected that adding just that little bit to the pickled vegetables would completely change the flavor, and it doesn’t clash with the other flavors either.”
“Matsutake is fragrant even eaten raw, grilled it’s even more fragrant, and stir-fried it’s even better.” Yu Fuling saw there was still some pickled vegetables left in the jar. “Second Brother, since there’s still some left anyway, let’s take it to the villagers to try, and hear what everyone thinks. If they say it’s delicious, maybe it could even land your first sale.”
“All right, I’ll get ready.”
Yu Zhuo was brimming with confidence now, itching to set up his stall the very next day.