Volume 2, Chapter 1: Dad (2/2)

And so, Maomao will be working again in that noble place. She felt a little awkward over the fact that she was going to live-in and work again while leaving her dad, but then she saw the contract – the rules have become considerably lenient compared to before. Well, since she won’t be missing with no one having any idea where she was like before, her dad smiled gently and said, “Do as you want.” But, what was that brief frown and look he gave Maomao when he looked at the contract supposed to mean? ; Well, it might be because she was going to work in a place her dad, the former eunuch, had not very good memories of. She decided not to think too deeply on that. As it is common in the world for it to be eventually meaningless even if she thought deeply, just thinking was pointless.

“You received quite a bit.” Her dad, who spoke in a calm tone, said as he boiled medicinal herbs in the cauldron.

The dilapidated house with the draught coming in was still cold even with the kitchen range lit. Maomao and her dad wore many layers of clothes. She saw that her dad kept rubbing his knee and wondered if the place where he undertook physical punishment a long time ago was hurting.

“I can’t take that many things.”

Maomao looked at the baggage she already prepared. Grinder(すり鉢 “suribachi” is something like the mortar and pestle.)and mortar(薬研 “yagen” is the one with the back-and-forth crushing wheel.), a notebook that recorded the types of medicinal herbs, and the barest minimum of clothes and underwear she needed.

(I’ll absolutely need the grinder and mortar. The notebook is also a need. But decreasing the amount of underwear anymore is…)

Maomao groaned, wrinkling her brows.

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Her dad set the pot down onto the range and approached Maomao.

“Maomao ah, you probably shouldn’t bring this.”

Maomao, who had her compounding tools taken out from the wrapping cloth, looked at her dad dubiously.

“If you bring this sort of thing even though you’re not a medical official, it is possible that people will even suspect you of poisoning. ; …Come on, don’t make such a face. You decided this. It’s no good to call it off at this point.”

“You’re joking….” Maomao slumped down onto the dirt floor.

It seemed that her dad can recognise what she wanted to say at a glance from her expression.

“Okay alright, hasten your preparations and go to sleep. If you get a little permission you can bring more things with you. It’s impolite to be absent-minded on your first day of work.”

“…I get it.”

Maomao reluctantly placed the compounding tools into the creaky shelf and put in several things she could use from the gifts she got into the wrapping cloth. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the shell with rouge inside and the face powder, but for now, she only put the compact rouge into the cloth bag.She also put in the high-class padded garment that was among the things she received. Was she given a guest’s lost item? Its design wasn’t something a courtesan would wear.

Maomao looked at her dad who had put away the pot and was adding firewood into the range. After her dad was done with adding firewood, with a walk that was painful to look at, he went to lie down on the futon, which was a straw mat with only a thin cloth. Draped on top as a cover was yet another straw mat and piles of clothes that he wasn’t wearing.

“Come on, I’ll put out the lights when you’re done.” Her dad said, holding on the lantern that smelt of fish oil.

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After Maomao was done with bundling her wrapping cloth, she was going to settle into the bed that was on the opposite side of the room. But suddenly she had a thought, and she was then trailing the straw mat over.

“What is this? It’s been a surprisingly long time since you did this. I thought you weren’t a child anymore?”

“Well, it’s cold.” Maomao’s glance shifted slightly, awkward.

She dragged the futon she brought along next to her dad’s bed. If she remembered correctly, she slept alone when she passed ten years old. Just how many years ago has it been?

Maomao draped the high-class garment she received between her dad’s and her own futon, and slowly closed her eyes. She laid down, curling her back like an embryo.

“You’ll be alone again.”

At her dad, who said it in his calm tone,

“Not really. This time I can come back any time I want.” Maomao coldly replied.

But, her back touching her dad’s arms was slightly warm.

“That’s true. Come back any time.”

He stroked Maomao’s head with his wrinkled hand. Though she called him “dad, dad”, his appearance was closer to an old woman. Thus, if you say it around his character, he’s like a mother.

Maomao didn’t have a mother. But instead, she had a gentle dad, an annoying hag, for what she is, and lots of lively older sisters.

(I can come back whenever I want.)

Even if she thought about it that way, it really was lonely. As Maomao felt the warmth of the hand that was like a withered tree branch continue to stroke her hair, she fell asleep.