Chapter 63: Dandelion Tea

Chapter 63: Dandelion Tea

"Father."

Gu Chaoning knew that in the past few days, besides tending to his illness, the family had also been busy with Gu Wen's bookcase.

When Gu Chaoning found Gu Wen in the backyard, he was lying flat on the ground, his head buried under the bottom of the bookcase.

"Father, why didn't you go to the carpenter's shop today?"

Hearing Gu Chaoning's voice suddenly, Gu Wen crawled out from under the cabinet, looking embarrassed.

He hesitated for a moment, scratched his head, and finally spoke: "Your master said I was in the way, so he told me to come back and work on it myself."

It turned out that their bug-proof, damp-proof bookcase was almost finished, and they could start selling it tomorrow.

But Gu Wen was worried that sales might be slow, and he kept messing up, so Carpenter Wang sent him home for the day and told him to return to the shop tomorrow.

Gu Wen leaned back, resting his hands on the first bookcase he'd ever made.

This one was meant to go straight into Gu Chaoning's room, but after working with Carpenter Wang and seeing his more refined pieces, Gu Wen wasn't happy with his first attempt. He wanted to fix it up before moving it into Gu Chaoning's room.

Gu Chaoning nodded, deep in thought.

Since his dad was feeling anxious, why not give him something else to keep busy?

"Father, since you have nothing to do, I've actually got something to ask you," Gu Wen looked at Gu Chaoning inquiringly. "Dad's birthday is coming up, and I was thinking we could make a birthday gift for Dad together."

Gu Wen hadn't forgotten.

Remembering how he'd borrowed money from Carpenter Wang early on to order a silver bracelet from Gold and Stone Studio, Gu Wen felt pretty proud of himself.

He agreed to Gu Chaoning's idea without hesitation.

Gu Chaoning ignored his dad's smug look and continued: "I once heard that the young masters and ladies in the capital all carry around a small wooden box."

"The box is small and slim, but it splits open from the middle—one side has a mirror set in it, and the other has a small wooden comb, so they can freshen up anytime."

Gu Chaoning smiled, watching his dad rub his chin, and added: "I was thinking, why don't we make this little mirror case as a birthday gift for Dad?"

Gu Chaoning stood there, expecting Gu Wen to agree right away, but instead saw Gu Wen rubbing his chin, hesitating: "How do you know about the young masters and ladies in the capital?"

Well, he'd seen it in his past life in the capital.

But that wasn't the point, was it!?

Gu Chaoning gave his dad a slightly exasperated look, but still made up an excuse: "I just overheard it by chance on this trip to the county town."

Gu Wen coughed lightly, feeling a bit silly himself. He pushed aside his curiosity and said: "Alright, I'll work on it with you when I get the chance."

But then something else occurred to him.

If the little mirror case was all the rage in the capital but nobody here had heard of it, didn't that mean...

Gu Wen's eyes lit up more and more.

Didn't that mean if he made one, he could get a head start and sell these little mirror cases in Ferry Town!?

After all, if it was popular in the capital, there was no reason it wouldn't catch on here.

The more Gu Wen thought about it, the more excited he got. He quickly pulled Gu Chaoning over to ask what the little mirror case looked like.

Gu Chaoning visibly paused.

Gu Wen also realized—since the kid had only heard about it by chance, how could he have seen the real thing?

It was also because Chaoning had a carpenter for a dad that he was more tuned into these things; anyone else would've just taken it as a fun story.

Gu Wen was about to find a way to smooth things over when he heard Gu Chaoning say: "I know a little about it."

He seemed lost in thought.

"The little mirror case is only palm-sized, but less than a third of a palm thick—very light and compact. To open it, you gently press the latch in the middle, and only then does it open."

"Once opened, one side has a thin mirror, and the other has an equally thin wooden comb. Depending on who's using it, the wood and the patterns on the outside differ."

The first little mirror case Gu Chaoning ever saw was made of rosewood, with a comb made of gold and jade.

Gu Wen nodded as he listened, a rough sketch already forming in his mind.

He couldn't wait to sketch it out and try, so he urged Gu Chaoning to go study first.

Gu Chaoning realized he'd said a bit too much, so he didn't stick around and quickly left.

As he walked, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He remembered who that strange yamen runner was!

After the Tongsheng examination, the messenger had arrived especially late. Many yamen runners had appeared in town and had even come to Little River Village. Among them, one runner had an extraordinary bearing and wore Jiangnan floating cloud brocade.

Wasn't that the White Guard who had served by Yin Hongxue's side in his previous life—someone who was seen only by reputation, never in person!?

Gu Chaoning's expression changed, and he thought back to what the White Guard had said.

So this White Guard was also reborn?

Otherwise, how could his attitude back then be explained? He clearly seemed to recognize Yin Hongxue!

Yin Hongxue was the young master of the Marquis's household in his previous life, so that guard should also be from the Marquis's faction.

If this guard knew Yin Hongxue but didn't take him away, it meant the Marquis's household was still in chaos and not yet suitable to retrieve Yin Hongxue?

And the guard's final words meant that they should treat this not-yet-returned Marquis's Young Master well, and the Marquis's household would surely reward them in the future.

Gu Chaoning felt he had figured it out.

At the same time, he felt relieved and grateful that he hadn't recklessly sought out the Marquis's forces in town to try to send Yin Hongxue back.

That would have been hard to explain, and more importantly, it might have harmed Yin Hongxue.

Having worked through this, Gu Chaoning felt light all over, his thoughts clear and unblocked.

With such a good state of mind, it was time to study!

The day passed quickly amidst the sea of books and the scent of ink. Apart from going out for lunch, he hadn't left the room at all.

It wasn't until he heard Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan's voices in the courtyard that Gu Chaoning looked up and realized a whole day had already passed.

Dinner had already been prepared.

Chen Youyan knew the worries in Gu Wen's heart, so today he made a point of steaming buns, and since Hao Youfu left late, he even gave him two to take along.

As soon as Yin Hongxue and Gu Muan entered the courtyard, they could already smell the unmistakable scent of steamed buns—that mix of steam and flour—in the air.

Both of them were delighted, especially Gu Muan, who held his stomach with one hand and pulled Yin Hongxue along with the other, skipping happily toward the kitchen.

"Dad! Grandma! Tonight's dinner is buns!"

"Yes, Dad and Grandma went out of their way to make wild vegetable and pork, and wild vegetable and cured meat ones," Chen Youyan pulled one out, split it open, and handed a piece to each of the two boys, then added to Yin Hongxue, "Tomorrow bring some buns to give to Painter Cen and Madam Feng. It's nothing special, just something for your master and mistress to try."

After all, buns made with fresh wild vegetables and cured meat that had been hanging for a year—Chen Youyan figured they tasted pretty darn good.

Yin Hongxue carried an oil-paper bundle in his hand, set it on the table first, then took the bun and bit into it.

He hummed in agreement, then explained, "Mistress made some dried tea and said to give it to Dad."

Chen Youyan happily grabbed the oil-paper bundle: "Then we'll brew a pot tonight and see what this dried tea's like."

After Gu Chaoning got sick and went to the clinic, and Painter Cen had run around helping out, the Gu and Cen families had actually grown closer because of it.

Chen Youyan and Feng Qiuling just clicked personality-wise, and after this period of interaction, they'd already become good friends who were always thinking of each other.

So that night, there was an extra pot of tea on the table, with a flavor they weren't used to.

Gu Chaoning eyed the green tea, hesitated, then asked, "What kind of tea is this? The taste is quite good."

Chen Youyan beamed, as if he'd been the one praised: "It's dried dandelion tea your Aunt Feng made."

Chen Youyan had been surprised when he first saw it too—who knew the dandelions all over the fields could be made into tea?

He had no idea how Feng Qiuling did it, but it wasn't bitter at all—it was actually really good.

Seeing Gu Chaoning liked it, Chen Youyan hesitated—he didn't want to give away the tea Feng Qiuling had given him—so he just promised, "Since you like it, Dad'll find some time to learn a thing or two from Madam Feng."

That little exchange got everyone curious about the tea, and they each poured themselves a cup, some sipping, some gulping.

The rest of them thought it was pretty good too, but Gu Muan smacked his lips, looking a little unsure.

Seeing this, Yin Hongxue quietly asked, "What's wrong?"

Gu Muan cupped his hand next to Yin Hongxue's ear and whispered, "It's so bitter~"

"..." Yin Hongxue couldn't help but laugh.

Seeing Yin Hongxue still drinking, Gu Muan took another cautious sip, then said hesitantly, "Brother Xue, do you actually like this stuff?"

"Dandelion's good for the stomach and clears heat, but it's too cold-natured—kids shouldn't have too much."

"Oh, our little An Ge'er knows so much!"

The table wasn't that big, so everyone heard the two boys talking.

Hearing him finish, Wang Xiuxiu was so pleased she couldn't help but praise him out loud.

Gu Muan got shy but happy, and the little guy kept chattering: "I can make this tea too!"

The others played along, asking, "An Ge'er can make it? That's impressive—how do you do it?"

Gu Muan took another sip, smacked his lips, and said, "When Dad opened the tea to brew it, I saw what the leaves looked like, so Aunt Feng must've stir-fried the dandelions. I can taste ginger in it, so she must've added ginger slices when she stir-fried them!"

He couldn't say more than that—he'd never actually seen how the tea was made.

Everyone was surprised to hear him say he tasted ginger in the tea. Chen Youyan tasted it again but still couldn't pick it out.

Even though he couldn't taste it, nobody doubted it—Gu Muan had the sharpest tongue in the family.

After dinner, Chen Youyan set aside eight buns ahead of time—four fresh pork and four cured pork—wrapped them in oil paper, and hung them outside to keep cool.

Today the carpentry shop was putting cabinets on sale, so the whole Gu family got up early to get ready.

Gu Daniu had to head to work, and Wang Xiuxiu stayed home to feed the chickens and ducks.

So it was Gu Wen and Chen Youyan, plus the two boys who went to town every day anyway, and Gu Chaoning, who still had two days before school started again, decided to tag along too.

The five of them piled into the mule cart, cheerful and bumping along, heading off to town.