“Should be this place, right?”
“Is Shitou’s mother home?” He Wanqing stood outside the courtyard and called in.
“I’m here. The gate isn’t closed—just come in yourself.”
“So it’s big sister!” Shitou’s mother immediately greeted her warmly.
“Big sister, sorry to trouble you.”
Shitou’s mother took her hand and led her inside. “No trouble at all, not at all. By the way, isn’t Doctor Chen coming?”
“She’s not coming. It’s just me.”
“That’s fine too. It’s more comfortable living alone anyway.”
Shitou’s mother pushed open a door. “This room is it. It’s a bit simple—I hope you don’t mind.”
The room really was plain, with nothing except a bed and a table.
But after a few days of using the sky as a blanket and the ground as a bed, He Wanqing already felt very satisfied with it.
“Big sister, this is already very good.”
Seeing she truly didn’t mind, Shitou’s mother felt relieved.
“You sit in the main room for a bit. I’ll go get the bedding.”
Following her out, He Wanqing asked, “Where is Little Shitou? Is someone with him?”
“He’s in the room. His father is watching him—he’s afraid the child might develop a fever.”
Since someone was watching him, He Wanqing didn’t go over.
After helping Shitou’s mother lay out the bedding, she made a small request.
“Big sister, can you take me to your kitchen to have a look?”
“Of course.”
At this time of day, their family would normally have already eaten, but because of their son’s situation, the food was still kept warm in the pot.
“Oh, my memory—I almost forgot. Little sister, you probably haven’t eaten either, right? Eat with us.”
“No need, big sister. I still have to go back, or my boys will go hungry. By the way, do you know who in the village has two stoves? I want to buy one pot.”
Seeing a pot in their kitchen, He Wanqing felt a bit relieved—but since they only had one, it wasn’t appropriate to ask to buy theirs.
“A pot? Let me think… seems like the village chief’s family has one. I’ll go ask for you?”
“I’ll go with you,” He Wanqing said, wanting to also ask about any extra seasonings.
After all, eating only salted food every day was really unbearable.
At the village chief’s house, Shitou’s mother immediately explained the reason for their visit.
The village chief’s wife looked a little troubled.
“Shitou’s mother, you know Ah Wei is about to get married. This was bought for his new house.”
“Big sister, how much did you pay for this pot?”
“It was specially made—good iron quality. One tael and five qian of silver.”
Without hesitation, He Wanqing said, “I’ll give you two taels of silver. Could you transfer the pot to me? You can use the money to buy another one. You know my situation—I can only buy ready-made ones.”
In this era, iron pots were not easy to buy. You had to place an order at the blacksmith’s shop and wait for it to be made. Very rarely were there ready ones.
Selling it for half a tael profit was a good deal, and the village chief’s wife immediately agreed, telling her son to carry the pot over.
“This pot hasn’t been used yet. Before using it, wipe the surface with a piece of pork skin, or food will stick when frying.”
He Wanqing quickly remembered this.
After handing over two taels of silver, she asked, “Big sister, do you have any seasonings? I’d like to buy some.”
“Yes, come with me.”
The village chief’s wife happily led her to the kitchen and opened the cupboard.
“Everything’s here. Take a look at what you need.”
The village chief’s family seemed relatively well-off—the seasonings were quite complete.
After taking a look, He Wanqing said, “Big sister, I’ll take all of it.”
“All of it?” the woman blinked in surprise.
“Yes. Traveling is already hard enough, so I don’t want to be too hard on myself when it comes to food. Of course, if your price is too high, I might not be able to afford everything.”
She deliberately acted a little poor.
Having already made half a tael profit, the village chief’s wife was satisfied.
“No, no. Since I know your situation, I’ll just add two copper coins for labor. But I need to keep two days’ worth for my own family.”
“That’s only right.”
After agreeing, they started calculating the total—but after a long while, the village chief’s wife still couldn’t figure it out.
Feeling embarrassed, she called her son.
A while later, the boy said, “Two hundred copper coins total.”
He Wanqing paid without hesitation.
“These small jars—can I take them too?”
“Of course.”
They even gave her a bamboo basket for free.
..
Back at the drying yard, carrying the iron pot, she immediately became the center of attention.
“What is Jian Shan’s mother doing now? She brought someone else’s pot over?”
“That looks like a new pot. Did she buy it from the village?”
“Tsk, I knew she still had money.”
Ignoring the gossip, she instructed her eldest son.
“Come help Mom carry things.”
The children quickly gathered around.
“Big sister, thank you. Go back and eat.”
After Shitou’s mother left, she started assigning tasks.
“Jian Shan, Jian Wu—find some stones to prop up the pot.”
“Jian Wen, wash the rice and cook it. Cook all the white rice.”
“A Ming, cut the meat. Don’t cut it too small—cut it into square pieces.”
The boys immediately got busy.
She then sorted through the seasonings.
Oil, salt, vinegar… even a jar of sauce.
There were also dried orange peel, star anise, cinnamon, dried ginger.
Ah—she forgot sugar!
Without sugar, braised pork would lose its soul!
So she quickly went back to the village chief’s house.
Seeing her return, the village chief’s wife initially thought she wanted to return something—but then relaxed after hearing her request.
“Sugar? Of course we have. Why didn’t you say earlier?”
“Give me one jin.”
“Forty-two copper coins. I bought it at forty, just adding two for labor.”
She didn’t bargain and happily paid.
When she returned, the boys had already finished everything she asked.
Very efficient!
“Jian Wen, start the fire.”
“A Ming, leave a piece of pork skin and wash the rest of the meat.”
“Jian Shan, Jian Wu—go collect more firewood.”
On the way, Jian Shan and Jian Wu met their cousin Jian An.
“Jian Shan, did Second Aunt buy an iron pot?”
“I… I don’t know. Mom didn’t say whether she bought it or borrowed it.”
Jian An was silent for a moment.
Then he said, a little speechless, “Why don’t you just ask?”
“Okay, I’ll go ask later.”
Jian An: “……”
So tiring. No wonder Second Aunt likes ordering them around—they really do listen too well.
Once the pot was hot, she began seasoning it as taught.
When pork skin touched the hot iron surface, it sizzled loudly, releasing a rich aroma.
The two boys stared wide-eyed.
“Mom, what are you doing?”
“Seasoning the pot. It prevents sticking.”
They had never heard of food sticking to a pot, so they remained confused but quiet.
As the smell of meat grew stronger, they swallowed hard.
“How long until we can eat meat?”
“Half an hour.”
“So long!”
“Don’t worry. When you eat it, you’ll feel the wait was worth it.”
Just as the pot seasoning finished, she casually tossed the remaining strip of pork skin into the fire.
Sizzle—
The aroma became even richer.
The boys looked at the fire in heartbreak.
Why did she throw it away…