Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Thanks to the memories of his predecessor, Jiang Chun had mastered the art of slaughtering pigs, and killing a goose was a piece of cake.

After the slaughter, he boiled a pot of water to scald off the feathers and cleaned out the innards.

Then he chopped it into pieces and put it in the pot to stew.

Unfortunately, there was no cornmeal; otherwise, he could have baked some corn cakes on the side of the pot, eating them with the goose meat for a truly satisfying meal!

But it didn't matter. The original female protagonist, Zhong Wenjin, had the Pinduoduo system, which would allow her to buy corn seeds from the Pinduoduo platform after an upgrade.

Once he followed Song Shian to the Imperial City, as the eldest sister-in-law of the female protagonist, how could she possibly lack cornmeal?

Not just cornmeal, but other high-yield crops, daily necessities, and even modern items like toilet paper and sanitary pads—by maintaining a good relationship with Zhong Wenjin, he could get all these things.

The thought of becoming a first-class lady through her husband Song Shian and living a modern life in ancient times thanks to her sister-in-law Zhong Wenjin made her so happy that her cheeks almost split to her ears.

So a little hardship now wasn't much of a problem; after all, hard work comes before sweet rewards.

With this in mind, she busily stoked the fire, peeled a few green onions, washed and chopped them, then cracked two eggs into a bowl, adding salt and stirring well.

She then set up a small iron pot with two handles and used sesame oil to make scrambled eggs with green onions for Song Shian.

Strict vegetarians don't eat eggs, but since Song Shian became a disciple at a young age when he was still growing, he didn't abstain from eggs.

The sesame oil used for the scrambled eggs was made from sesame seeds grown in their own fields, ground at the county oil mill. Due to the low yield of sesame seeds, they didn't get much oil.

The previous owner only used a drop of this oil sparingly when making soup.

Jiang Chun actually used it to cook, and if the village women saw, they would probably scold her for being wasteful.

There was nothing he could do about it, though. After all, Song Shian was a vegetarian, and his sense of smell was extremely sensitive; he could tell from afar whether the dish was cooked with animal or vegetable oil.

But this would be the last time. Tomorrow, she would go to the county town to fetch the pressed soybean oil, and from then on, she could use soybean oil to cook for him.

After setting the table, Jiang Chun called Jiang He and Song Shian to come and eat.

She pushed the plate of scrambled eggs with green onions toward Song Shian and said proudly, "The soybean oil isn't ready yet, so I used sesame oil to cook this for you."

"Ouch." Jiang He sucked in a breath, but seeing his son-in-law's face, which was paler than lime on the wall, he didn't say anything.

Only after Jiang He picked up his chopsticks and took a piece of goose meat did Song Shian reach for his chopsticks and take a small piece of scrambled eggs with green onions into his mouth.

His brows involuntarily furrowed.

He glanced at Jiang Chun, who was happily gnawing on a goose claw. How much sesame oil did this guy use? The aroma of sesame oil was so strong it almost overpowered the taste of the eggs.

But times were different now, and he had no right to be picky.

After taking a bite of steamed bun, he took another mouthful of the dish.

This was the first time he had eaten a dish since coming to the Jiang family.

In the past, the old Jiang Chun used animal oil to cook, not caring whether he ate or not.

Now, he could enjoy this not-so-delicious scrambled eggs with green onions, all thanks to the current Jiang Chun.

Whether the two Jiang Chuns were the same person and what their relationship was, he still hadn't figured out.

But it didn't matter. There were still two years before the Song family's rehabilitation and his return to the Imperial City, plenty of time to investigate everything.

Neither the original owner nor the current Jiang Chun was a great cook, but the ingredients were excellent. The goose, fed on pure grain, was stewed in a wood-fired stove, and its flavor was so good that she almost swallowed her tongue.

A large pot of goose meat, Jiang He ate four-tenths of it, while six-tenths went into Jiang Chun's stomach, along with five large black flour steamed buns.

Even so, Jiang He was surprised: "Chunni, you're eating less today."

Song Shian: "..."

Less?

She could eat more in one meal than those noble ladies in the Imperial City could in three days, with leftovers.

No matter how much Jiang He doted on his daughter, he couldn't lie.

He really didn't know what to say.

*

After dinner, Jiang Chun washed the dishes and brought out a small clay pot to boil medicine for Song Shian.

As the room grew completely dark, Song Shian wanted to light a lamp to copy books and came out to ask Jiang Chun for a candle.

Jiang Chun gave him a sidelong glance. "Candle? Do you think we're a wealthy family?"

She fetched an oil lamp from the corner, lit it, and handed it to him, saying, "Here, we only have an oil lamp. You can use it for other things, but don't write."

She then looked at his long, narrow phoenix eyes and smiled mischievously. "My husband has such beautiful eyes. If they were ruined by the oil lamp, wouldn't that be a waste of beauty?"

Song Shian's emotions didn't waver because of her slightly teasing words. Instead, he repeated the phrase "waste of beauty" in his mind.

The illiterate Jiang Chun not only knew how to recite phrases from the Analects of Confucius but could also speak fluently and use idioms skillfully.

It was certainly strange.

Although he was puzzled, he didn't show it, reaching out to take the oil lamp.

The strong scent of medicine filled his nostrils. Looking at the fire, he saw a black clay pot on a simple stove made of three bricks, bubbling away with the medicine inside.

Clearly, this medicine was for him.

He lowered his eyes and murmured, "Thank you for your trouble."

Jiang Chun's face lit up with a smile: "Husband is truly considerate. With these words from my husband, I suddenly don't feel the ache in my back or the pain in my legs anymore. I could boil medicine for another hundred years for my husband!"

Boil medicine for another hundred years?

Wasn't that cursing herself to be bedridden forever?

Song Shian shot her a glare, holding the oil lamp as he turned and headed back to the west room.

Jiang Chun slapped her forehead, realizing what she had just said!

In her chagrin, she carried the boiled herbal soup into the west room, placed it on the kang table, and said with a forced smile, "Be careful, it's hot."

Song Shian didn't seem angry; he nodded in response.

Jiang Chun let out a sigh of relief, returned to the kitchen, added a large pot of water, and sat down to start the fire.

Conditions in the countryside were limited; they couldn't bathe every day like in modern times, but basic hygiene couldn't be neglected.

Every evening, she would boil a large pot of water, so Jiang He and Song Shian could soak their feet.

As for herself, besides soaking her feet, she also needed to wash her bottom.

For this, she had specially bought four wooden basins from the town's general store, one each for Jiang He and Song Shian, and the remaining two for herself.

This provoked Jiang He's anger, accusing her of being wasteful. In other families, one basin was used until it wore out, but in their family, originally both father and daughter had their own basins, and now she had bought four more.

What kind of household was this, where three people used six basins!

Jiang Chun, with her thick skin, paid no heed to the scolding, letting it go in one ear and out the other.

Since the basins were already bought, could he return them? That would be too embarrassing!

Jiang He was at a loss with her.

After boiling the water, she first mixed a basin for her father and carried it into the east room, then prepared another for Song Shian.

She placed the basin in front of the kang, noticed the empty medicine bowl on the kang table, and reached out to take it.

Just as she was about to leave, she paused.

Crying babies get the milk; she felt she hadn't "cried" enough.

So she stretched her hand behind her back, massaged her waist, and sighed, "Ever since we came back from town, I've been busy steaming buns, cooking dinner, boiling medicine, and heating water for foot baths. I haven't had a moment's rest.

Even maids in wealthy households aren't as tired as I am. After all, they have specific duties, unlike me who does everything.

And they even get monthly wages, while I not only don't get any wages, but I have to spend several taels of silver every month."

It wasn't entirely wrong.

Song Shian wasn't blind; he had seen all the work she did.

If this were in his previous life, after falling into misfortune, to receive such meticulous care from a woman, he would have been deeply moved and vowed to treat her well for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately...

In his current eyes, she did all this with a purpose, deliberately trying to please him so he would take her back to the capital.

So he didn't feel moved.

But he still had to put on an act.

At this point in time, he shouldn't harbor resentment towards her, and he shouldn't be too cold to his wife who took such good care of him.

Otherwise, she might suspect that he had been reborn.

He forced a smile, speaking softly, "My dear, you've worked hard. It's all my fault, dragging you down like this."

Under the dim light, his phoenix eyes were slightly lowered, his nose straight, his face as smooth and white as a peeled egg, and the faint smile on his lips like ripples on a spring pond.

Jiang Chun's heart skipped a beat.

Because of that smile, she cheerfully washed his medicine bowl and, when he struggled to carry the foot bath water over the threshold, rushed forward to pour it for him.

Male beauty can ruin a country! Male beauty can ruin a country!

Lying in bed at night, she resolved fiercely that she would make him pay her back in the future!

Make him wash her feet! A hundred times!

To have the Prime Minister of the Cabinet wash her feet, that must feel quite good, right?