Ding Lan instructed Ding Qiao to go out into the yard and pick some green onions, while she cut the chives into sections and set them aside. Once Ding Qiao brought the onions back, she washed and cut them into pieces as well.
After all the ingredients were prepared, Ding Lan officially began cooking.
First, she washed the wok thoroughly. Once all the water inside had evaporated, Ding Lan generously added a large spoonful of lard.
There was no such thing as vegetable oil in this era. People used lard rendered from fatty pork instead. And because fatty meat was more expensive than lean meat, lard was considered quite precious.
Most ordinary households only used a tiny spoon to scoop out a little bit of oil when cooking. The original Ding family had not even had any before. The small jar they had now was something Ding Lan had bought during her last trip to the grain shop.
Once the oil was hot, she added the chopped green onions and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then she poured in the golden-yellow beaten eggs. The wok immediately filled with an irresistible aroma, and Ding Qiao, who was tending the fire, couldn’t help wrinkling her nose and taking several deep sniffs.
After stir-frying the eggs a few times, Ding Lan broke them into small pieces. She scooped out the still-tender eggs and set them aside, then used the oil left in the wok to stir-fry the chives.
Ding Lan instructed Ding Qiao, “Now turn up the heat!”
Ding Qiao quickly added some dry branches that would burn easily, and the flames immediately grew stronger.
Ding Lan was very satisfied with the high heat. The key to making stir-fried chives with eggs was using a strong flame. After quickly tossing the chives a few times, she returned the eggs to the wok and stir-fried everything together. She added a little salt and seasoning, and this simple homemade dish was officially finished.
Ding Lan transferred the dish to a plate. It looked pretty good and smelled absolutely delicious. The only question was whether it tasted as good as it smelled.
She picked up a little with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth. Ding Qiao stretched her neck expectantly, watching her closely.
The eggs were incredibly tender. With every bite, they had a fresh, delicate texture, while the distinctive fragrance of the chives filled her mouth. Perhaps because the environment here had not yet been polluted, the ingredients actually tasted even better than those she had cooked in modern times.
Ding Lan nodded in satisfaction.
Ding Qiao was practically drooling. She looked up at Ding Lan and said, “Big Sister, let me have a taste too!”
Ding Lan teased her with a smile. “Take the bowl back to Auntie Liu’s house first, then you can eat.”
She transferred some of the stir-fried chives and eggs into Auntie Liu’s bowl. Then she glanced at Ding Qiao, who was staring at the dish with eager eyes, and couldn’t help laughing.
“Forget it. I’ll let you have a bite first.”
She picked up a piece of egg with her chopsticks and held it out to Ding Qiao. Ding Qiao immediately opened her mouth and bit down on it, looking utterly delighted.
Ding Lan couldn’t help sighing. Children really were easy to satisfy.
She handed Ding Qiao a bowl containing a little less than half a bowl of chives and eggs. “Be careful when you take it over. Don’t drop it.”
“Okay!” Ding Qiao answered before eagerly carrying the bowl away.
Ding Lan brought the dish inside and placed it on the square table. She also brought over the rice she had served earlier. Just as she finished setting out the bowls and chopsticks, Ding Qiao returned.
At last, the two sisters could sit down and enjoy a proper lunch.
The rice here was still somewhat different from modern rice. Its texture was noticeably rougher. Ding Lan could only comfort herself by thinking that eating coarse grains was healthier.
Ding Qiao ate three large bowls of rice in a row, eating until her mouth was shiny with grease.
Whenever Ding Lan watched Ding Qiao eat, she couldn’t help looking at her stomach.
How could such a tiny belly possibly hold so much food?
After the meal, Ding Qiao happily washed the dishes, while Ding Lan planned to fill the nearly empty water jar in the courtyard.
According to her memories, there was a small river on the outskirts of Ding Family Village. The original owner used to go to the river every morning to fetch water. There was actually a well in the village too, but it was quite far from the Ding family’s house. Unless the river froze over in winter, the original owner always got their water from the river.
Fortunately, the river was not very far from the house.
Ding Lan carried two wooden buckets down to the river to fetch water.
Several women were washing clothes by the river. They chatted animatedly as they worked, but the moment they saw Ding Lan approaching, they all fell silent.
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow.
Judging by their reaction, they had probably been talking about her.
A woman with dull, weathered skin took the initiative to speak.
“Ding Lan, I heard your younger brother still hasn’t paid his tuition. Are you really not going to help him anymore?”
Ding Lan looked at the woman.
Wasn’t this her aunt?
Ever since Ding Lan’s father had died, this uncle and aunt had never offered the widowed mother and her children even the slightest bit of help.
Ding Lan’s expression remained calm as she replied, “Even if I wanted to help, I can’t. We’ve already sold all the farmland in the family. The only land we have left is a few vegetable plots on the back mountain, but nobody wants to buy those.”
She paused, then suddenly turned the conversation toward the woman.
“Auntie, why don’t you buy them? You could help your own nephew get an education at the same time.”
The vegetable plots on the back mountain were extremely far from the village. Wild animals from the forest often came out at night and damaged the crops, so no one was willing to buy such remote, poor-quality land.
Her aunt thought sarcastically that only an idiot would buy such land, but she didn’t show it on her face. Instead, she tactfully refused.
“How could my family afford that? Your cousin Zhiwen is about to get married.”
Ding Lan smiled brightly and tried to persuade her.
“Brother Zhiwen can get married a little later. Once our Xiao Jing becomes the top scholar in the future, he’ll definitely never forget the help you’ve given him, Auntie!”
No one in the village believed that Ding Jing could really become the top scholar. They all thought Ding Lan’s father must have been out of his mind to believe such a thing.
Her aunt secretly sneered.
As if I believe a word of that.
Out loud, she said irritably, “I don’t even think he’ll necessarily pass the examination to become a scholar!”
Ding Lan wasn’t angry at all. Instead, she shamelessly continued, “As his aunt, please help your own nephew! If my parents know about this from the underworld, they’ll surely bless you!”
The moment she heard that, the aunt only wanted to get away from Ding Lan.
She hurriedly wrung out the clothes in her basin a few times, gathered her things, and quickly slipped away.
Ding Lan continued looking at her retreating figure and called after her, “Auntie, once Ding Jing passes the examinations and becomes successful, he’ll definitely repay you!”
Her aunt fled with the wooden basin in her arms as though escaping from a disaster.
Ding Lan sneered inwardly.
People like this always love giving advice about other people’s lives. What business is it of yours? Worrying about things that don’t concern you!
The other women also hurriedly packed up and left, afraid that Ding Lan might latch onto them next and try to persuade them to buy those plots on the back mountain.
Once everyone had gone, Ding Lan was actually relieved. She slowly carried the water home.
Bucket after bucket, she gradually filled the water jar.
By the time she finished, Ding Lan was thoroughly exhausted. She touched her dry, tangled hair and really wanted to grab a pair of scissors and cut all of it off.
Of course, that was only something she thought about.
Still, she really needed to take better care of her hair.
She went into the kitchen and started heating water, planning to give herself a thorough cleaning that afternoon.
Then she glanced into the room at Ding Qiao, whose hair was just as messy.
She needs a good wash too!
Following her memories, Ding Lan found some dried soapberries that had been placed on the windowsill to dry.
This was the first time Ding Lan had ever used soapberries to wash her hair, and she was actually quite curious about them.
She first crushed the dried soapberries, then carefully wrapped them in a piece of gauze. She put the bundle into a pot and boiled it.
Once the water came to a boil, she would simply scoop the liquid into a bucket.
That would serve as their natural shampoo.
Ding Lan placed the boiled water in the courtyard to cool, then added more water to the pot and continued boiling another batch.
Today, she was determined to give herself and Ding Qiao a thorough cleaning from head to toe.
Once the water had cooled to a comfortable temperature, Ding Lan stood in the courtyard and used a ladle to pour the water over her head.
Her hair was dry and coarse, and it took quite some time before she finally managed to wash it clean.
She dried it with a cloth, then simply let it hang loose as she called to Ding Qiao, who was sewing clothes inside the room.
“Little Sister, come out and wash your hair.”
Ding Qiao dragged her feet outside and complained sweetly, “Big Sister, I washed my hair not that long ago.”
Ding Lan gave her an annoyed look.
“Your hair already smells. If you don’t wash it, you’ll have bugs living in it eventually.”
Ding Qiao looked frightened.
“Really? Then I’ll wash it.”
Ding Lan took the half-bucket of water she had left earlier and went to the kitchen to mix it with some freshly boiled water. She reached in and tested it with her hand.
The temperature was just right.
She carried the bucket into the small courtyard and nodded toward Ding Qiao.
“Come here.”
Ding Qiao hesitantly stood in front of her.
Ding Lan didn’t bother being gentle. She immediately untied the hemp cloth ribbon holding Ding Qiao’s hair together.
Good heavens!
If Ding Lan’s hair had merely been tangled before, Ding Qiao’s hair was practically matted into solid clumps.
Ding Lan stared at it with a helpless expression and ordered, “Bend your head down!”
Ding Qiao quickly bent over.
Ding Lan scooped up a ladleful of water and poured it over her hair. Once all of it was thoroughly soaked, Ding Lan reluctantly reached out and began rubbing her hair.
She really had to work through it strand by strand.
Trying to remain patient, Ding Lan asked, “Little Sister, when was the last time you washed your hair?”
Ding Qiao answered in confusion, “I forgot…”
Ding Lan felt both heartbroken and amused.
She sighed and resigned herself to the task, continuing to scrub Ding Qiao’s hair.
She had to go back to the kitchen twice to add more hot water before she finally managed to get all that tangled hair clean.
By the end, washing their hair had exhausted both of them.
Ding Lan’s fingers were wrinkled from soaking in the water for so long.
She couldn’t help reminding her little sister, “Little Sister, you need to keep yourself clean from now on!”
Ding Qiao looked up at her with her hair hanging loose and smiled innocently.
“Big Sister, my head feels so light!”
Of course it did.
The first time Ding Lan had washed it, almost everything that came off had been strange, clumped-up substances.
Ding Lan deeply suspected that no one had ever washed Ding Qiao’s hair for her since she was little.
Since they had already washed her hair, Ding Lan decided to go all the way and give Ding Qiao a bath too.
She instructed Ding Qiao to find her clothes while the water in the kitchen continued heating over the fire.
Today was definitely going to be a major undertaking!
Ding Qiao found her clothes inside the room and then went to the old earthen room they had once lived in.
It had now become their bathroom.
After scrubbing Ding Qiao clean with the soapberry water, Ding Lan herself was already sweating from the heat.
Once her bath was over, Ding Qiao was extremely happy. She even sniffed herself, delighted by the clean, pleasant fragrance lingering on her skin.
Ding Lan took a deep breath as she looked at the freshly cleaned Ding Qiao.
She felt quite accomplished herself.
Now, only she hadn’t taken a bath yet.
Ding Lan carried the soapberry water into the bathroom. The scent of the soapberries was surprisingly pleasant—light and fresh, with the natural clean fragrance of plants.
After washing, she felt as though her entire body had been renewed.
When she came back out, Ding Qiao’s hair had already dried.
She was sitting on a stool, sewing clothes.
Ding Lan raised an eyebrow.
She hadn’t expected this little girl to be so patient. In fact, she seemed to have more patience than Ding Lan herself.
Ding Lan picked up a comb and helped her tie her hair into two little braids.
She looked incredibly cute.
How could she possibly resemble the little beggar Ding Lan had seen when she first arrived?
Feeling secretly pleased with herself, Ding Lan thought,
Looks like I’m actually pretty good at raising children!