Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next day, A Man awoke to a bright morning.

She felt a strange sense of wonder, having slept so soundly through the night.

After dressing, she pushed open the window. The weather remained gloomy, a hazy mist obscuring the view outside. A chilly gust of wind made A Man sneeze, and she quickly closed the window.

She felt cold and hungry.

As usual, after washing up and boiling water, A Man quietly awaited the morning meal from the Marquis’ estate.

Today’s breakfast was still plain rice congee, steamed buns, and pickles. Perhaps due to her hunger, she couldn't shake the feeling that the portions were smaller than usual.

There were still five steamed buns, but they appeared noticeably smaller. The congee, which typically filled the pot, was only half full today.

Fortunately, it hadn't been fully cooked, so she added water and re-boiled it, managing to make a full pot.

Listening to the congee bubbling, A Man’s gaze drifted to the wild vegetables nearby. If circumstances allowed, wild vegetables would be a welcome addition.

Alas, Wutong Courtyard was barren; even if she wished to cook them, she lacked the means.

When serving the congee, A Man gave Fu Yunxiu a generously full bowl. For the steamed buns, she placed one and a half on his plate.

Fu Yunxiu said nothing about the one and a half buns. He finished the congee but only ate half a bun.

When Mantou emerged with the remaining half bun, he couldn't help but grumble, "Did the cook at the Marquis’ estate get lazy today? The buns weren't even properly risen before steaming."

A Man knew he was referring to their small size. She merely glanced at him, offering no reply.

The buns were indeed soft and fluffy, though undeniably smaller.

Even then, A Man didn't dwell on it. It wasn't until noon, when lunch arrived from the Marquis’ estate, that she noticed the food was visibly reduced. One dish even looked like leftovers from the previous day—a mushy, unidentifiable mess.

"Those wretched people, are they taking kickbacks again?" This had happened before. When the Marquis’ estate sent leftovers, the young master, who had recently moved in, was so incensed that he confronted them. Though he received a scolding from the young master, the action had some effect.

Since then, even if the food sent was perfunctory, it was never leftovers.

But now, it seemed to be happening again.

Even so, Mantou dared not act rashly this time. The young master had always disliked dealing with the Marquis’ estate, especially over something as trivial as food.

Mantou explained the situation to A Man, but she sensed there was more to it.

After all, the food portions had abruptly decreased the previous night. Even if someone were taking kickbacks, it wouldn't be so blatant. Besides, what kickbacks could possibly be gained from the young master's meager meals?

Regardless, they still needed to eat. Unwilling to let Fu Yunxiu consume leftovers, A Man quickly prepared a wild vegetable soup.

The wild vegetables were fresh and inherently flavorful. She simply needed a touch of pickled vegetables for saltiness.

Mantou watched, utterly captivated, as A Man conjured a soup in the blink of an eye, his admiration for her boundless.

The remaining food was insufficient for the two of them, but after tasting the dark, unappetizing dish, neither dared to touch it again.

After all, hunger was one thing, but falling ill from spoiled food was another entirely. Who knew how long that dish had been sitting around?

A Man decided to address the matter. That evening, when the Marquis’ estate delivered dinner, she specifically brought it up.

The delivery person was a young girl about A Man's age. When A Man mentioned the food was too little for them to feel full, the girl nodded earnestly, promising to report it to the kitchen.

A Man thought this might work, but the next day, the delivery person was replaced by a skinny young man.

When A Man opened the food container, she saw the portions were the same as the previous day, if not smaller.

As the man turned to leave, A Man quickly reached out and grabbed his sleeve. "Brother, could you please tell the kitchen to send a bit more food from now on? There are three of us in Wutong Courtyard now, and the young master is in poor health. He can't keep eating such bland food."

Hearing this, the man looked troubled. "The food arrangements are always decided by those above. I'm just the delivery man. Please don't make things difficult for me."

"I'm not trying to make things difficult," A Man said, reaching into her sleeve and pulling out the few coins she had to give him. "I just want you to pass a message to the kitchen staff."

"Miss, I really can't help with this. Please don't make it hard for me." The man pushed her hand back and quickly hurried away, clearly wanting to avoid further trouble.

Realizing there was nothing she could do, A Man asked about the girl who had delivered food before.

"Oh, her? She did something to upset Chef Song and got beaten. She's recovering in the woodshed now."

Hearing this, A Man immediately understood. What could she have done wrong? It was surely because she passed on A Man's message...

It was my fault she got hurt.

Feeling guilty, A Man offered the coins to the man again. "Then, could you please visit her for me and pass on a message? Thank her for delivering my message, and I'm sorry she got dragged into this because of me."

"Well..." The man hesitated but eventually took the money. "Alright, I'll make sure to pass on your message."

After the man left, A Man carried the food container inside. Turning around, she saw Mantou pushing Fu Yunxiu in his wheelchair at the main entrance. Both were staring at her intently.

Worried they might misunderstand her interaction with the delivery man, A Man hurriedly explained, "It's not what you think, I was just—"

"Mantou," Fu Yunxiu cut her off, giving her a cold glance as if uninterested in her explanation.

Mantou understood and quickly pushed him toward the outhouse.

A Man hadn't seen Fu Yunxiu all day, and now her eyes were glued to him, staring blankly.

Fu Yunxiu endured again and again, finally snapping just as Mantou was about to help him up. "How much longer are you going to stare, miss?"

His voice was cold as ice, sending a chill down A Man's spine. She finally realized he needed to relieve himself.

Instantly, A Man's face flushed with embarrassment. Clutching the food container, she dashed into the kitchen like a flash.

When Mantou came to the kitchen later, A Man's face was still flushed. Mantou glanced at the delivered breakfast and saw it was indeed much smaller.

"Did they change the delivery person today?" Mantou asked.

He and the young master had noticed that Chunyu, who usually delivered the food, had been replaced, which was why they were watching. From the man's words, Mantou could roughly piece things together.

He had heard A Man instruct Chunyu the previous day, and shortly after, Chunyu was punished for "making a mistake." If anyone said there was no foul play involved, he would never believe it.

What a coincidence.

A Man nodded, watching the congee boiling in the pot with a worried expression.

If it were just reduced portions, she and Mantou could make do with less. But the problem was, they were now being given leftovers of unknown age. The young master was already in poor health. If he couldn't even get enough to eat, how would he hold up?

"Probably the madam upset the second madam again somehow," Mantou guessed.

Since moving out of the Marquis’ estate, the young master had become practically invisible. Unless it was collateral damage, Mantou couldn't think of any reason for the second madam to cut back on Wutong Courtyard's food.

Casually punishing a servant girl—he refused to believe a mere cook had such authority.

"Why don’t we just set up our own kitchen?" A Man suggested. At least that way, they wouldn’t be at others' mercy.

"Easier said than done," Mantou sighed.

Not to mention that the Second Madam was now in charge of household expenses, meaning their spending was already subject to others' approval. Even if they did set up their own kitchen, they would need to repair the space, acquire cooking utensils, and stock up on rice, flour, oil, and salt—all of which cost money.

And right now, the entire Wutong Courtyard couldn’t scrape together even a single tael of silver (a unit of currency).

Hearing Mantou’s analysis, A Man felt somewhat disheartened. Without money, they were truly stuck at every turn.

But just letting it go didn’t sit right with her. She felt that someone as noble and dignified as the young master shouldn’t have to live such a constrained life.

After breakfast, A Man shut herself in her room to think it over. After much consideration, she still felt that setting up their own kitchen was the better option.

Though rice and flour weren’t cheap, last year’s old rice had dropped in price. As for oil and salt, one purchase would last them a long time.

As for repairing the kitchen, if bricks and tiles were too expensive, they could use thatch—as long as it kept out the wind and rain, it would suffice.

A Man carefully calculated: including various miscellaneous expenses and labor costs, three taels of silver would be more than enough.

Besides, Mantou had mentioned earlier that according to custom, the young master, as a member of the household—even though he had moved out of the Marquis' estate—should still receive a monthly allowance of ten taels.

She wouldn’t bother about past allowances; she only needed this month’s portion. That shouldn’t be too difficult.

A Man was always one to act on her thoughts. Once she had a plan, she was determined to put it into action. So when Fu Yunxiu heard A Man's proposal, he was somewhat taken aback.

If he remembered correctly, he hadn’t yet agreed to let her stay!

"Young master, I’ve calculated carefully. With all the miscellaneous expenses for firewood, rice, oil, salt, and repairs, three taels will be enough. Based on your usual allowance, it’s actually more than sufficient," A Man chattered on, her eyes shining brightly as she spoke, radiant like pearls under moonlight.

Fu Yunxiu was influenced by A Man's enthusiasm, and his mood, previously dampened by the weather, brightened considerably.

But he still remembered his original stance. After A Man finished, he added leisurely, "Miss A Man, if I recall correctly, I haven’t decided yet whether to let you stay."

But A Man turned a deaf ear, automatically ignoring his words and continuing on her own: "As for the cook, you needn’t worry. I’m quite skilled in the kitchen—we can save that expense."

Mantou watched as the two talked past each other, especially the young master, whose words seemed to vanish into thin air. He stepped in to ease the awkwardness: "Miss A Man, actually, your calculation is off."

"Huh?" A Man was cut off mid-sentence, looking confused.

"Yongzhou isn’t like your hometown. Things here aren’t cheap. All those miscellaneous expenses add up—you won’t get away with less than six or seven taels," Mantou said.

"What? Six or seven taels?" A Man was astonished. That was double what she had estimated. "It’s that expensive?"

"Yes," Mantou nodded grimly. Moreover, given the current situation at the Marquis' estate, getting the allowance might not be easy.

A Man felt a bit discouraged, but then she reconsidered: the young master’s allowance was ten taels. Even if they spent six, four would remain. Four taels would be more than enough to support the three of them. Back when she lived with her grandmother, they didn’t even use half a tael in a month.

Once she realized this, A Man instantly regained her energy. "Then there’s still four taels left, right?"

"But the problem is—"

"Mantou," Mantou was about to say that the problem was retrieving the money, but Fu Yunxiu interrupted him. Setting down the book in his hand, he looked at A Man with a hint of amusement in his usually calm eyes. "I actually think Miss A Man’s idea is quite good."

He raised an eyebrow, smiling charmingly. "In that case, I’ll trouble Miss A Man to go to the Marquis' estate and retrieve this month’s allowance."

It was rare to see the young master so amiable, and A Man was completely captivated, failing to detect the cunning hidden beneath his words.

But Mantou saw it clearly. He could tell at a glance that the young master was up to no good.

Before he could voice his objection, A Man happily agreed, "Alright, I’ll make sure to complete the task."

"That’s good," Fu Yunxiu nodded, then his tone turned icy. "But if you fail to retrieve the allowance, please leave Wutong Courtyard on your own accord."

Author's Note:

Please add to your collections~