Chapter 159 – The Yan Family Again
In ancient society, without greenhouses for growing vegetables, fresh produce like cabbages, radishes, and potatoes became rare and expensive during the cold winter months. Only wealthy families could afford them. Poor families, on the other hand, had to rely on dried vegetables prepared during the spring and summer seasons. During these times, vegetables like eggplants, green beans, pumpkins, winter melons, and bitter gourds were abundant. Whatever couldn’t be consumed fresh was dried by common folks to be used in the winter or made into pickled vegetables.
Ms. Zhong had made dried vegetables before. But unlike others who dried eggplants, green beans, and pumpkins, she dried wild greens, such as shepherd’s purse during spring, which grew wildly in the mountains. These dried greens were rehydrated and used for soup during winter when food was scarce.
Yan Shuqin remembered the slightly bitter taste of these wild green soups from the past. Believing Yan Xiaosi’s explanation, she said, “Soup made from wild greens isn’t that tasty. We only had it back then because we had nothing else to eat.”
Recalling the hardship of those times, both Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue showed a hint of pain on their faces.
Yan Xiaosi tried to cheer them up, “Big Sister, Second Sister, the hard times are behind us. Let’s not dwell on them. Dried wild mushrooms are different from dried wild greens. I heard from Big Brother Dazhuang that some restaurants use dried wild mushrooms to make bone broth. The mountains are full of wild mushrooms. We can pick more, dry them, and perhaps even sell them in town.”
Hearing that dried wild mushrooms could be sold for money, Yan Shuqin and her sisters exchanged glances, their eyes sparkling with hope.
Yan Shuqin excitedly confirmed, “Xiaosi, did Big Brother Dazhuang really say that?”
Yan Xiaosi waved her hand, “Big Sister, my memory is good, I won’t forget. You and Second Sister wash more wild mushrooms for mom to cook. I’ll go wash these herbs by the stream and then come back to apply them to your ankle.”
After telling Yan Shuqin, she took the herbs to the nearby stream. There, she washed the herbs in the water before placing them on a clean rock.
She then picked a smooth stone to crush the herbs into a gray, muddy paste. She added the previously fetched white powder from the portable space to the herbal paste, mixed it, and wrapped the mixture in leaves.
The white powder blended into the herbal paste, becoming indiscernible. She carried it back to the cave.
Arriving at the cave, the aroma of stir-fried wild mushrooms with pork wafted out. “It smells so good. Big Sister, Second Sister, mom’s cooking skills are getting better and better. I think she could even rival a restaurant chef.”
Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue were still cleaning mushrooms at the cave entrance. Hearing Yan Xiaosi, they nodded in agreement.
Yan Xiaosi took the herbal paste to Yan Shuqin, knelt down, and rolled up her trouser leg, only to find the swelling worse than at noon. Her entire ankle was swollen. “Big Sister, your ankle is a bit swollen. I need to give you a couple of acupuncture needles before applying the medicine. It’ll heal faster this way.”
She fetched an embroidery needle from inside the cave, heated it on a lamp wick, and then started the acupuncture treatment on Yan Shuqin.
After a few needles, the swelling and redness on Yan Shuqin’s ankle visibly reduced, and the pain was less intense.
Yan Shuqin moved her ankle and found it less painfully sharp than before. She looked at Yan Xiaosi with surprise and a hint of regret. “Xiaosi, your medical skills are truly amazing.”
It was a pity, she thought, that Xiaosi was a girl; had she been a boy, she could have opened a medical clinic and established a career.
While applying the medicine, Yan Xiaosi heard Yan Shuqin sigh softly. “Big Sister, does it hurt? I can be gentler.”
“It doesn’t hurt, Xiaosi. You can apply the medicine,” Yan Shuqin reassured her.
“Then why the sigh?” Yan Xiaosi asked.
After a moment of thought, Yan Shuqin shared her feelings, “Xiaosi, have you ever thought about opening a medical clinic?”
Yan Xiaosi nodded without hesitation, “Of course I have. With my medical skills, opening a clinic would make our family prosperous. Once we earn money, I can make all of you as beautiful as flowers.”
“Xiaosi, your big sister supports you. No matter what others think, I always support you.”
“Xiaosi, your second sister supports you too. Do whatever you want, don’t mind what others say.”
Yan Xiaosi guessed what Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue were worried about and smiled slightly, feeling warmed by her family’s support. “The rule of ‘no physical contact between men and women’ is strict, and as a woman, if I open a clinic, I will inevitably have to treat male patients. Big Sister, Second Sister, are you worried that others will gossip about my reputation and fear that I won’t be able to get married?”
Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue nodded in unison.
Yan Xiaosi laughed carelessly, “Reputation is nothing; earning money is what’s important. Once I am wealthy, I can choose any man I want. Men will probably beg to marry me. So, Big Sister, Second Sister, you don’t have to worry about me not being able to marry.”
Her bold words left Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue momentarily speechless.
After a pause, Yan Shuqin playfully tapped Xiaosi on the forehead, “Only you would say something so shameless.”
Yan Shuxue cautioned, “Xiaosi, you can’t say such indecent things to others.”
In this era of Great Chu, men who admired beautiful women and pursued them were considered romantic, but if a woman took the initiative with a handsome man, she was labeled reckless. It was such a strange logic.
Yan Xiaosi didn’t really agree with Yan Shuqin and Yan Shuxue but nodded obediently, “I know, Big Sister, Second Sister.”
She knew they would keep pestering her if she didn’t agree.
Just after applying the medicine to Yan Shuqin, Ms. Zhong called them for dinner.
Entering the cave, they saw Ms. Zhong had already laid out the meal on the stone table. There was Yan Xiaosi’s favorite stir-fried wild mushrooms with pork, two large bowls of it, and two bowls of seasonal vegetables.
Having not eaten stir-fried wild mushrooms with pork for a long time, and the pork being exceptionally delicious in ancient times without pollution, Yan Xiaosi devoured two large bowls of rice. She then licked the pork grease from the corner of her mouth and set down her bowl and chopsticks.
“Mom, Big Sister, Second Sister, I feel really full. I’m going out for a walk to digest.”
Ms. Zhong was clearing the dishes and cautioned, “Xiaosi, it’s getting dark. Don’t go too far.”
“I know, Mother.”
Just as she stepped out of the cave, she ran into Yan Bozhang and two servants of the Yan family.
Seeing Yan Bozhang, her brows immediately furrowed. The persistent annoyance of the Yan family seemed to be never-ending.
Feeling uncomfortably full, she glanced at Yan Bozhang and, pretending not to see him, continued to walk around the flat area in front of the cave to aid her digestion.
