Chapter 010: The chance is here
Xia Yue Chu is preparing to cook in the side room, today, Madam Sheng has brought Xue Qin to a wedding dinner in the village. The remaining people in the family settles their own meals by themselves.
She just peeled two potatoes when she sees the portiere moving lightly, from the spot that is around half an adult's height, two little heads pop in.
"Big Ni Er, Second Ni Er, why have you come over?" Xia Yue Chu sees that it's the kids and calls to them, "Quick, come in, its cold outside, don't freeze yourselves."
Big Ni Er leads her younger sister in and tugs the portiere to cover the door well. Coming before Xia Yue Chu, she dutifully greets her. "Big Madam, I help you."
Second Ni Er follows in her speech. "Big Madam I help you!"
"Just how big are you two, what can you do?" Xia Yue Chu stretches her hand to stroke them on their nose bridges. "Go inside and find Qin Uncle to play."
"I can help Big Madam with the fire." Although Big Ni Er is only five, she is already a child who notices the chores, seeing that Xia Yue Chu is going to cook, she squats in front of the fire stove to help her start the fire.
Second Ni Er with her experience younger, she does not know what she should do after looking around, dropping her head down and sees the potato Xia Yue Chu is soaking in the basin, she squats down and puts her hands into the cold water.
"I help Big Madam wash vegetables!"
"Aiyo, my dear, the water is cold!" Xia Yue Chu jumps in a shock, she carries Second Ni Er up in a rush and pulls a cloth the wipe her hands.
"Put your hands into the blankets quickly and get warmed." She carries her directly into the room and puts her down on the brick bed. "Have you eaten?"
When Second Ni Er hears the topic of food, she swallows in reaction.
"Behave and wait on the brick bed, I'll make something delicious for you." Xia Yue Chu goes out and chases Big Ni Er into the room as well.
She goes to the underground cellar again to take a few more potatoes. After peeling and cutting them into chucks, she puts them on a steamer until they are soft and cooked through. Takes them out and breaks them up with the back of a spoon, ladles a few spoons of chicken soup and stirs well.
The chicken soup is made by Madam Wu that day, the chicken meat has been long gone, leaving a pot of soup stock that is saved up by Xia Yue Chu. She sieves outs the dregs and stores it up in a jar container, whenever she cooks, she will add in a spoonful for seasoning, it will elevate the dishes up with flavours. And right now, the soup stock is suitable to make mashed potatoes.
Xia Yue Chu grabs a few spoons and serves the mashes potato into the room. "Food will take a while longer, have some of this first."
The four of them in the room have never seen any food looking like this, they just watch curiously.
Qin Zheng ask in interest. "Sister-in-law, what is this you made? It smells strangely nice."
"Mashed potato!" Xia Yue Chu hands the spoon to each of them, ladles a spoonful and feed it into the mouth of Second Ni Er, querying playfully. "Is it good?"
Second Ni Er's little mouth smacks as she eats it, nodding her head furiously, exclaiming unclearly. "Delicious!"
Qin Zheng and Big Ni Er hears that and cannot help themselves, stuffing their mouths with a spoonful each.
Mmm! Qin Zheng has yet to take out the spoon in his mouth and already his brows shots up in surprise. "Its really delicious! Big Brother, you try it too!"
Big Ni Er is so considerate that it breaks the hearts of the onlookers. She scopes up a spoon and is savouring it slowly, consistently monitoring the mood of Xia Yue Chu and Xue Zhuang, at last, she tastes only a little bit and feeds the remaining bigger portion on that same spoon into her younger's sister's mouth.
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Xue Zhuang thinks that this mushy stuff is all for the sake of humouring little kids to eat, but as he raises his head and notices that Xia Yue Chu is looking at him expectantly, compelling him to shovel a little mouthful.
The mashed potato is silky and smooth, and it melts in the mouth immediately. It carries a hint of deep delicious fragrance from the chicken soup, at the same time keeping the special texture and flavour of the potato, the two combining into a delicacy which he has never had before.
"Hm, its quite good!" Xue Zhuang takes just one bite and pushes the bowl before the two kids. "The meal is starting soon, don't eat too much."
Xia Yue Chu sees the rare sight of him being embarrassed, deliberately teases him. "Let the two of them have it today, if you like it, I'll make it for you separately next time."
"That is absurd, this is little kid's food, I like for what!"
There is a suspicious blush upon Xue Zhuang's face which he quickly suppresses down.
Now that Xia Yue Chu's fear has been nulled, she can finally treat Xue Zhuang with ease and finds that this person is actually quite interesting.
After past noon, it is so sunny that the accumulated snow in the yard melts. It is a wet mess everywhere and not a clean spot can be found to walk on.
Madam Sheng and Xue Qin come back and stop in their tracks as they see the muddy state of the yard.
The both of them have attended a wedding luncheon, wearing their best clothes and shoes, even as they are eating, they have been cautious and careful, afraid to catch any oily stain that is difficult to wash. Now that they are home, they cannot put up with the mud under their feet.
Standing beyond the gates of the front yard, Madam Sheng shouts in a loud voice. "Is every single one of you dead at home, its all melted into a mud pit and nobody knows to put out a few boards, if not for me to remember every single little things in this family, you all probably will be passing your days so senselessly!"
Xia Yue Chu is in the house plucking on the corns on the cob and pretending that she did not hear the loud noise outside.
But Madam Sun runs out quickly, dragging a few boards and laying them between the front gate to the door of the main room.
Madam Sheng cannot help herself but grumble as she steps on the wooden board. "You remember these things in the future, once or twice I'll tell you, but five time or six times how can you still not remember!"
"Mother, I will remember." Madam Sun follows behind Madam Sheng submissively into the house, helps her to take her outer coat, hangs it up neatly, and then waits upon her to change into her cotton shoes.
"Your father is not back yet?" Madam Sheng has had a few cups of wine over lunch, around this time she starts feeling tipsy, getting onto the brick bed and toppling over, grumbling. "Told him early to go the wedding today then go get the doctor tomorrow, too stubborn to listen, must go today, we can't save a single copper on the wedding gift, in the end I can only bring little Qin there. People at the reception still ask me where did old man Xue go?"
"Father went to fetch Doctor Tang for Big Brother early morning, and sends him back again, he is getting the medicine from town on the way back." Madam Sun replies.
"He isn't crippled just today, what's the difference with getting the doctor early one day or late one day." Madam Sheng is still grumbling unhappily.
Xue Qin changes her clothes and comes out, her expression full of excitement, explaining to Madam Sun. "Second-sister-in-law, you did not see it today, the old Cui family's preparation is grand, heard that for this wedding banquet, they deliberately hired a master chef from the city, the dishes look so pretty, I couldn't bear to move my chopsticks."
"Isn't that so, the Cui family has been thriving since their ancestry, what's rare is that after passing down so many generations, they do not have any prodigal son, instead they are getting even better. If the Cui family that son successfully passes the imperial provincial exam, that will be truly flawless."
"If I can have half of their set up when I'm getting married, I will be fully contented."
Xue Qin has followed in drinking a few cups of wine today, her face is flushed red. Seeing that there are no outsiders, she is saying the things that she will definitely not say in her usual days.
"Half?" Madam Sheng snorts. "Even selling your father and mother, you won't have enough to arrange half of that!"
"Can't say for sure, what if our family gets rich!" Xue Qin continue to insist on her wedding dreams. "Besides, I am only thinking about it!"
Madam Sheng's heart is disturbed when she hears that, she has been strong headed and competitive since young, but the mundane life after so many years has long grinded her strive for competitiveness into pieces.
Upon hearing what her daughter has said now, it is as if she is blaming her for not being a capable mother, she cannot even organise her daughter's wedding well.
"It is pretty grand today, but it is uncertain how it will go for the later!" Madam Sheng says with mockery, gleefully and sadistically. "Spends so much effort to invite that master chef, only just finished cooking and he broke his right arm, probably he won't be able to touch the wok spatula over the next few months!"
"Aiyo, then what about the newlywed's returning banquet?" Madam Sun listens with worries for the Cui family. "Looking for someone suitable now must be very hard!"
"Other family's problem, what are you worrying for!" Madam Sheng flips her eyes. "If you have the idle energy to care, why don't you think about how to get your belly bump, that is more important!"
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Translator Notes:
The Xue Family House Blueprint
The Xue Family living area is split into four sections.
Firstly, the front yard where they would host a crowd of guest during special occasions.
Secondly, the back yard where there is a plot of vegetable garden. The chicken pen, the pig pen and an ox pen should be here as well. Further back, there is a detached toilet. This is for practical reasons, to keep all the smells together and away from the living quarters. And they would use the animals' feces, and possibly the human's too, as organic fertilizer.
Next, the east wing which should be the better wing of the house. Better for two main reasons. Number one, it is bigger and has more rooms. Xue Liang Ping and Madam Sheng live in the main room. The second son Xue Li and his family, Madam Sun, and their two daughters live in a room with inner and outer partition. The third son Xue Yong and his wife, Madam Zhou who is pregnant live in another room. And one more room, that is attached to the main room, for Xue Qin, the youngest daughter of the Xue family. So there are at least five rooms here used as living quarters. Not yet counting the kitchens, annex, storage and the others. Number two, the east side is where the sun rises from. So it is extremely important for farmers like Xue Liang Ping whose livelihood depends on the sun and rain to see the beginning of the day. Not just for practical reasons, it is also in the direction with an auspicious meaning, being the first, the new, and the beginnings.
Lastly, the west wing. Immediately, going in through the door, it is the side room which is also used as the kitchen. Against the wall that is separating this side room and inside rooms there is at least two fire stoves. There are also cabinets for storing food, a working table for chopping board and knife, and possibly a water vessel to keep the water they use daily. There should be two more doors to this side room. One leading to the side annex, since they have to boil hot water manually for bathing, it doesn't make sense to carry hot boiling water too far away, it should be directly beside kitchen. The other door, which should be in the parallel position to the main door, leads to the room with the brick bed where Xue Zhuang and Qin Zheng sleeps. This brick bed is an old technology that they use as a heating system. The fire stoves on the other side of the wall are designed to channel the smoke and hot air through beneath the brick bed, practically heating it up especially during the freezing winter and cold nights. The room with the brick bed is the outer room and there is another partition and door that leads to a smaller room where Xia Yue Chua sleeps, the inner room.
There is also an underground cellar near the west wing, where it is naturally cold and acts like a refrigerator. Perfect for storing vegetables and keeping them away from the sun, if not root vegetables, like potatoes for example, might start sprouting and cannot be kept for long.
This is revealed according from the story so far.
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Translated by Yellow. Aug 2022.