Chapter 219 - Owing Them (1/2)
The thick soup stewed with small white fish, which appeared like snow-white milk, boiled in the pot and emitted a strong, refreshing scent. A couple drops of mystic-stone water was added into the thick soup and the only condiment used was salt. The fish soup was originally very fresh, so it was unnecessary to add other condiments. Before serving it, one should sprinkle some mashed coriander and two drops of sesame oil on top because the aroma could enhance one’s appetite.
Under Xiaocao and the two maidservants’ expectant gazes, Lady Fang tried a small sip of the soup. The strong aroma seemed to have aroused the ‘gluttonous bug’ in her stomach. The soup was refreshingly delicious, and the fish meat was smooth and tender. Unbeknownst to her, Lady Fang had completely finished a bowl of fish soup and half a bowl of fish meat.
Zhenzhu and Linglong held each other’s hands and had tears of excitement in their eyes. Their madam’s poor appetite recently had been quite worrisome. For each meal, she ate even less than a cat. If she forced herself to eat, it would bring about the opposite effect—she would vomit all the food that she used so much effort to eat. It had been a long time since their madam had finished an entire bowl of soup, especially one that contained meat or fish. The two loyal maidservants felt even more happy than if they had eaten the food themselves.
Lady Fang gently wiped the corners of her mouth with her handkerchief as she savored the delicacy in her mouth. Although she wanted to drink a few more mouthfuls, she restrained herself. She knew that no matter how delicious the food was, she still needed to control herself, so as to not spoil her appetite again.
Seeing Xiaocao reveal a sincere smile, Lady Fang lightly stroked her smooth and glossy hair and said in a gentle voice, “It must have been hard for you! These days, in order to let me eat some more, you have gotten thinner from the exhaustion! Moreover, your family have been busy with the construction of the house recently, so you have to go back to help your mother after cooking for me. I really don’t know how I should thank you…”
“Godmother! There’s no need to treat one family as two. You’re my godmother, who is just like my birth mother. It’s a special time right now, so who else would I take care of first? My mother has Auntie Zhou, Eldest Grandaunt, and my maternal grandmother helping her out. There’s nothing for me to do even if I went! Godmother, I’ll be mad if you continue treating me like a stranger!” Xiaoocao pretended to be angry and puffed up her cheeks like a toad!
Lady Fang smiled and said, “Alright, alright, alright! Godmother is wrong and you’re right. There’s no need to be courteous with family! You have been busy for the whole morning. Go back home to rest. I’m also tired, so I’ll take a nap in the room…”
Yu Xiaocao helped her godmother to lie on the bed, and then covered her with a thin blanket. After she saw her close her eyes, she quietly left the inner room. She said to Linglong in a low voice, “Remember to check the time. Don’t let Godmother sleep for too long, otherwise, she won’t be able to sleep at night!”
Linglong agreed and escorted her out of the room. When she returned, she saw that her madam had opened her eyes again, so she said with a smile, “Madam, you’re really someone who is blessed. Young Miss is so filial!”
With a smile on her face, Lady Fang lightly nodded and said, “The best thing that your general has done in his life is adopting Xiaocao as his daughter! This child brings happiness. Even Doctor Sun praised that her medicinal meals were beneficial to the general’s health! If it wasn’t because she didn’t mind the trouble of altering the medicinal meals daily to help nourish our health, I’m afraid that it would be difficult for me to have my own child in this lifetime!”
Linglong quickly said, “Young Miss is such a good person, and she just happened to meet you and the general. This is also your blessing ah!”
Lady Fang slowly nodded her head, put both her hands on her belly, and raised the corners of her mouth into a cordial smile, ‘Isn’t this child also blessed? He isn’t even born yet, but he already has an older sister who wholehearted cares for him.’ Perhaps, this child would be her only child in this lifetime. Thus, she was relieved that he would be accompanied by such a kind, righteous, and capable older sister like Xiaocao!
When Xiaocao reached home, she saw the uncles, who came to help, having lunch in full swing. After several days of hard work, the brick wall in the open space next to them was already taller than a person. It looked strong and dignified. In Dongshan Village, besides the village head’s family, there wasn’t another family who would be willing to build a house with bricks and tiles. The villagers had started talking about it since the first batch of black bricks that Yu Hai ordered came.
There were some people talking about how after Yu Hai separated from the main family, he started selling braised food, growing early ripening vegetables and doing business with large watermelons. It seemed like he earned quite a lot of money. Otherwise, how could he afford to spend so much money building a brick and tile house?
After lunch, Old Yu, who was going to help at the old residence, met an old man who he usually had a good relationship with. When the old man saw him smiling until he had wrinkles on his face, he raised his voice and said, “Old Yu ah, you’re going over to help your second son again? Your second son is really capable. He can hunt in the mountains, fish in the sea, farm and do business. There’s nothing that he can’t do! Old Yu, you can just wait to enjoy a comfortable and happy life in the future!”
Old Yu liked to hear these kinds of words. Second Son was building a new house, and he was also happy for his child. A black brick, tiled-roof house with five rooms, and there were also side rooms. Although the frame wasn’t set up yet, it was apparent that the house would be magnificent in the future! He didn’t live in the old residence, but when mentioning his second son, was there anyone who didn’t give him a big thumbs up? This was such an honorable thing for his Old Yu Family ah!