Chaрtеr 2: Sсаlliоn Pancаkеs
The thrеe of thеm—mistrеss аnd sеrvаnts—wоuld havе nеw сlоthes madе each seаsоn. Thе оriginаl оwnеr had аt lеаst ten sets frоm insidе out, whilе Nanny Su and Rеndong hаd fewer, but still two sеts eаch. Еvеn so, the thrеe of them оnlу hаd а little ovеr tеn sеts оf clothеs in totаl.
Yet now, hаnging in the cоurtyard wеre at leаst sеvеral dоzеn piecеs, not tо mеntion that bеsides womеn’s clоthing, thеrе werе also mеn’s and eldеrlу рeople’s garments.
Xi Ning loоkеd at the evasivе еxpressiоns оf Nanny Su and the other, steadied herself against the doorframe, and stepped out.
“Speak. What’s going on?”
Rendong was not as experienced as Nanny Su. Seeing her mistress’s cold expression, she spilled everything like pouring beans from a sack.
“Miss, please don’t blame Nanny Su. We both took on this laundry work, and we only do it during our spare time. We’ve never neglected your affairs.”
How could Xi Ning blame them? Seeing their expressions and the courtyard full of clothes, she understood everything.
She helped the little maid kneeling on the ground to her feet and asked Nanny Su, “How much money do we have left at home?”
Nanny Su rubbed her hands on her clothes, looking uneasy. “Less than one string of cash.”
One string of cash was equivalent to one tael of silver. Prices in the capital were not low—food, clothing, and daily necessities all required money. Moreover, Xi Ning’s illness required medicine. This one string of cash was what Nanny Su and the other had saved through frugality and earning money by doing laundry for others. How could Xi Ning possibly blame them?
“I still have some jewelry. Nanny Su, take it to the pawnshop and sell it. Don’t do laundry work anymore.”
This era was unlike her previous life, where washing machines were commonplace. Here, only wealthy households could afford to hire people to do laundry. Their clothes were made of fine silks and satins, which had to be washed clean without damaging the fabric—requiring great care. Moreover, bending over for long periods was hard on the back.
Upon hearing Xi Ning’s words, Nanny Su was so moved that her eyes reddened.
“This old servant knows you care for us, but as servants, it is our duty to share our mistress’s burdens. Your jewelry was all bought by Third Master. If he finds out you sold it, he might blame you. Please don’t say such things again.”
“That’s right, miss. When Third Master comes, you’ll need those to dress up beautifully. Both Nanny Su and I are used to rough work. Besides, the weather is warm now, so doing laundry isn’t tiring at all.”
Rendong chimed in. She was the one in this courtyard who most looked forward to Third Master’s arrival. When he came, if the miss dressed up beautifully, she would surely capture his heart.
Xi Ning had no interest in dressing up to seduce Pei Zhao. The three of them could barely afford food—what use was keeping that jewelry?
In truth, before Pei Zhao left, he had given the original owner a thousand taels of silver. An ordinary family in the capital spent less than thirty taels a year. Even if the original owner loved buying clothes, cosmetics, and powders, she would only spend about a hundred taels annually. That money should have been enough for them for decades.
However, the original owner thought she had climbed to a higher branch and spent without restraint. Later, wanting to inquire about Pei Zhao’s whereabouts, she scattered quite a bit of silver. In the end, she didn’t even have money to hire a doctor when she fell ill.
Xi Ning rubbed her forehead. Although being reborn was fortunate, the mess she had inherited was truly distressing.
Seeing her fall silent, Nanny Su thought she had persuaded her. She then counted out several dozen copper coins from her waist pouch and handed them to Rendong.
“Since the miss can get out of bed, her health must be much better. Go to the street and buy some meat and seasonal vegetables. Let’s celebrate for the miss.”
“Yes, I’ll go right away.”Rendong grabbed the money and dashed out in a flash. Xi Ning knew she was afraid of being scolded again, and she shook her head with a smile as she watched the courtyard gate.
“That girl.”
After laughing, she turned to Nanny Su and said, “I can keep these pieces of jewelry, but you absolutely must not take on any more laundry work. I’ll figure out a way to earn money.”
“Miss…”
Nanny Su didn’t know what method Xi Ning had in mind to make money, but no respectable family would ever let their mistress do manual labor.
“Alright, it’s settled. No more discussion.”
Her face turned cold, carrying a certain presence. For a moment, Nanny Su seemed to see the shadow of the Third Master in her and instinctively fell silent.
Xi Ning was satisfied.
“What’s for lunch?”
During these past few days confined to bed, she had been eating nothing but plain porridge and simple side dishes. Nanny Su’s cooking skills were even worse than the cafeteria at her previous school—a cafeteria notorious for being so unpalatable that it deterred many prospective students each year. From this, one could imagine how much Xi Ning, a true food lover, had suffered these past days.
Now that she was finally able to get out of bed, her first priority was to head to the kitchen in search of something decent to eat.
Nanny Su, her plump face beaming with a smile, followed closely behind, both protecting her and explaining.
“This morning, I bought half a hen from Madam Xu across the street, originally planning to stew it into soup for you. Once Rendong returns, I’ll prepare two more meat dishes for you.”
Previously, while Xi Ning was ill, her diet had been quite bland. Moreover, they didn’t have much silver on hand, so the three of them—mistress and servants—had gone without meat for quite some time.
Thinking about having meat for lunch, Xi Ning swallowed her saliva. In her previous life, she had grown tired of lavish feasts, but suddenly finding herself in ancient times and enduring half a month of vegetarian fare made her feel as if her face had taken on a sickly pallor.
However, this rare opportunity for meat could not be entrusted to Nanny Su to “ruin.” She rolled up her sleeves and walked into the kitchen.
“I’ll handle lunch today.”
The young miss knows how to cook?
Nanny Su’s first reaction wasn’t to stop her but rather astonishment.
The original host had been a melancholic soul, often holed up in her room, indifferent to food. She rarely ventured out and had never set foot in the kitchen.
Xi Ning understood Nanny Su’s shock. She couldn’t imitate the original host—her lifelong passions had been research and fine food. With research no longer an option, only culinary delights remained to satisfy her.
Moreover, if she wanted to earn money, she needed to let Nanny Su and the others know about these skills.
Ignoring Nanny Su’s surprise, Xi Ning took a handful of scallions from the shelf.
It was early spring, and fresh vegetables were scarce in the market. Nanny Su got along well with Madam Xu across the street. The two of them often took on laundry work together, and over time, they had grown close. These scallions were a gift from Madam Xu.
Xi Ning cleaned and trimmed the scallions, cut them into small sections, and set them aside. She then sliced a few pieces of ginger. After pouring oil into the wok and heating it, she added the scallion sections and ginger slices, frying them until golden brown before removing and discarding them.
The aroma of scallions was overpowering, filling the entire kitchen with its fresh fragrance after frying.
The fried scallion oil was poured into a small bowl, and two spoonfuls of flour were added and stirred until smooth. A clear, thick scallion oil paste was now ready.
Once that was done, she began kneading the dough. She added half a spoonful of salt to the flour to make it more elastic. Her kneading technique was practiced and skillful, captivating Nanny Su’s attention. Who would have thought her young miss possessed such a skill?
Nanny Su didn’t suspect that her mistress had been replaced by someone else. After all, they hadn’t been with the original host for long—both she and Rendong had been bought by Pei Zhao after the original host arrived in the capital.
Moreover, the original host had been perpetually gloomy and rarely left the house. Nanny Su assumed she had learned her culinary skills back in Jiangnan.The kneaded dough was divided into evenly sized portions, rolled into thin oval sheets, then evenly spread with the cooled scallion oil paste, and sprinkled with a layer of scallion and sesame seeds.
For scallion pancakes to taste delicious, spiced salt is crucial. However, Sichuan peppercorns were still a precious spice at the time, and she and her servant couldn’t afford them. Xi Ning had seeds in her Hand Ring, but there was no reason to take them out now.
Fortunately, Xi Ning was skilled. Even without the spiced salt, the scallion pancakes she made were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. With one bite, the scallion flavor inside was so fresh it could make one’s tongue tingle.
When Rendong returned with the meat, she caught a whiff of this enticing aroma.
She quickened her pace.
“Nanny Su, what delicious thing are you making?”