Yu Zhuo took his two sisters and knocked on the doors of the few households on good terms with the family.
The result, everyone who tried it thought it tasted good.
Before long, the plate of pickled vegetables was scraped clean.
“I really didn’t expect the pickled vegetables Mother taught me to make would be so well liked.” Yu Zhuo could hardly believe success had come so suddenly, and he pinched his own cheek hard. “Ow, that hurt.”
“Second Brother, the kimchi just needs its flavor adjusted a bit more, but the pickled vegetables’ flavor matters more, especially the matsutake paste.” Yu Fuling wasn’t trying to dampen her second brother’s spirits, it was just that matsutake wasn’t as easy to come by as cucumbers or cabbage.
“You said before you took Lehuan into the forbidden grove, don’t tell me this matsutake paste…” Yu Zhuo saw his sister nod, his eyes going wide. “You two really went in there? What if you’d run into a beast, that’s no joke! What if you’d lost your lives?”
“Second Brother, don’t make it sound so terrifying, there’s no beast in the grove at all, only huge patches of plump mushrooms.” Yu Lehuan had completely fallen in love with the taste of matsutake by now. “I wish we could go pick more matsutake again, next time we’ll definitely gather more!”
“Matsutake isn’t like vegetables in a field, you can’t just plant seeds and grow it, it’s entirely a product of nature, and because of its unique flavor and medicinal value, it sells for a high price.” Yu Fuling looked at her second brother. “Second Brother, if you decide to sell pickled vegetables with matsutake in them, you’ll definitely need to price it higher than the regular kind, if you actually take it to the market, not everyone will be able to afford it.”
“Right, you’ve reminded me of something important, pickled vegetables with matsutake taste good, but the cost will go up too…” Yu Zhuo lowered his head, thinking it over for a moment, then looked up toward the direction of the forbidden grove. “Why don’t we… go in tonight?”
“The forbidden grove is gloomy even during the day, and at night you can’t see your hand in front of your face. Last time Lehuan and I ran into Liu Meimei on our way out, and after what happened yesterday, I’m starting to suspect Village Head Liu has people lying in wait at the grove’s entrance, just waiting for us to walk right into the trap.” Yu Fuling actually wanted to go in again herself, she wanted to find out whether there really were wild boars inside.
“Fuling, Lehuan, you two go home. I’ll go find one of Third Brother’s good friends, they seem to know another path that leads into the forbidden grove.” Yu Zhuo handed the plate to his two sisters. “Don’t mention this to Father and Mother for now. You two go home and wait for word from me.”
“Got it, Second Brother, be careful.”
Her second brother taking the initiative to go find another way into the grove naturally pleased Yu Fuling, and she chatted and laughed with her sister the whole way home.
“You two are back? Where’s Yu Zhuo?”
Tomorrow was Jiaojiao’s third-day bathing ceremony, and Zhang Qiaofeng was busy preparing everything for it.
“Second Brother went out for something, he’ll be back soon.” Yu Fuling washed the pickle plate and walked over to her mother, seeing her kneading dough. “Are you making some kind of pastry?”
“For the third-day ceremony, we need red eggs, but also celebratory noodles and plum blossom cakes. It’s a good thing the matsutake my daughter picked sold for such a good price, so Jiaojiao can have a proper third-day ceremony.”
With enough silver on hand, Zhang Qiaofeng didn’t have to plan every penny carefully, she’d bought everything needed for the ceremony. “I had your father go out this afternoon to buy a silver lock, he’ll be able to put it on Jiaojiao tomorrow.”
“Mother, why don’t I make the plum blossom cakes? The third-day ceremony is a big deal for the family, you shouldn’t be busy with it all alone.”
“We don’t have many relatives, we don’t need to prepare too much. You and Lehuan go rest in your rooms, or once Yu Zhuo gets back, you two can look into the pickled vegetable recipe some more, I dug out a few more jars, just enough to hold the pickles.”
Watching her mother’s smiling face, Yu Fuling hesitated, then spoke anyway. “Five days from now is the Marquis’ wife’s birthday banquet. In years past I was always the one running around busy with it, and I certainly won’t be going this year, but I was thinking, the Marquis’ household did raise me for seventeen years after all, so I’d like to make her some longevity peaches for Father to deliver, to settle all the old debts of gratitude between us. Mother, would that be all right?”
“Oh my…”
Zhang Qiaofeng immediately stopped kneading the dough, wiping her hands on her apron. “Five days should be enough time, right? Fuling, think about what you’re missing, and I’ll have your father make another trip to the market tomorrow morning. If it really comes down to it, once Yu Zhuo’s back, we can send him instead.”
“Mother, there’s no rush, I’ll go with Father tomorrow.” Yu Fuling turned her head to look at her sister, who was staring at the red eggs in the wooden basin. “Mother, I’d like to discuss something with you.”
“Go ahead, Mother’s listening.”
“I know that with our family’s current situation, we certainly can’t afford schooling or hiring a tutor. But I know how to read and write, and I can do accounts too. I’d like to buy the four treasures of the study, and some primer books, and teach Lehuan her letters. Once she’s learned enough characters, I’ll teach her how to do accounts and manage a household’s finances. Whether she ends up running her own small business someday, or marries into another family, this is an essential skill, and most importantly, knowing how to manage accounts means Lehuan won’t be looked down on.”
Yu Fuling had always been unruly, never fond of the tedious rules at the Marquis’ estate.
But reading, managing accounts, handling all the various affairs of an inner household, she’d honed all these skills through banquet after banquet of hands-on experience.
“Lehuan!”
Zhang Qiaofeng, stunned for three seconds, turned and called out to her youngest daughter loudly. “Come here right now.”
“Ah…”
Yu Lehuan hurried over, looking at her mother and sister in bewilderment. “I… I…”
“You silly girl, hurry up and thank Fuling.” Zhang Qiaofeng gave her youngest daughter a light pat on the back of her head. “When Mother wanted to learn to read and write back in the day, your grandfather simply wouldn’t allow it. Now that you have such a good opportunity, you’d better learn well from Fuling.”
“I… I can learn to read too?”
Only now did it dawn on Yu Lehuan. She pointed at herself, staring at Yu Fuling in shock. “Fou—Fourth Sister, I’m… a girl, if anyone should learn to read, shouldn’t it be Big Brother, Second Brother, or Third Brother?”
“They’re all grown already, even starting from scratch would be very hard for them now. Besides, they have strength in their bodies, as long as they’re willing to work hard, they’ll find work wherever they go. Once they’ve saved up some silver and married, they’ll just dump all the household work onto their wives, and Lehuan, you’re quite likely to become one of those wives yourself someday. And besides…”
Yu Fuling smiled and looked at her mother. “Mother says, while you’re young, you should look around carefully to find a man you truly like. Lehuan, if you know how to read, you’ll be able to choose the man you actually want.”
“What Fuling says makes sense. Lehuan, listen to your mother on this, you must learn your letters. And once Jiaojiao grows up someday, we’ll have her study and learn accounts too.” Zhang Qiaofeng was now brimming with confidence about the future, as if Lehuan had already brought a son-in-law home. “All right, I won’t talk with you two anymore, I need to hurry and get this dough rising.”
“Mother, let us help you together, it’ll go faster this way, and the pastries I make will surely make your eyes light up!”
“All right.”
Zhang Qiaofeng said this out loud, but in her heart she was cursing the Marquis and his wife, she had treasured their daughter like a precious gem, while they had used her own daughter like a servant girl.
Someday, even if it cost her her own life, she would give them a proper scolding, to avenge her daughter!