Chapter 13 Moving to a New House

Chapter 13 Moving to a New House

Experiences shape personality. Xie Wanniang appears cheerful and lively, but in reality, she is cautious and observant of others' expressions and moods with every step she takes.

The fact that she dared to "take an inch and a mile" in front of Jiang Yuan was entirely due to Jiang Yuan's own indulgence.

Jiang Yuan was too good to her. He didn't want anything from her, but he gave her the best he could afford.

The boy's clear and pure eyes and his never-overstepping behavior made Xie Wanniang feel completely at ease, even though she was living under the same roof as a strange boy.

The two sat in the main room until the rain stopped, and only then did Jiang Yuan get up to clear the dishes.

Since Xie Wanniang had already cheered up, Jiang Yuan didn't continue to ask her if she was happy.

On the contrary, it was Hao Yu, who was away from home, who made Jiang Yuan worry about him for some reason.

While Jiang Yuan was busy in the kitchen, Xie Wanniang took matters into her own hands and moved her belongings, along with her pillows and bedding, to the east wing room that Jiang Yuan had already cleaned in three trips.

There are three rooms in the east wing. Jiang Yuan planned to give Xie Wanniang the north room of the east wing, which is close to the main house.

He also cleaned up the south room, preparing it for guests to stay in later.

The rooms in the side rooms are slightly smaller than the main rooms, which are Hao Yu and Jiang Yuan's rooms, but the layout inside is almost identical.

The earthen kang (heated brick bed) is located by the window, taking up half of the room's area, and is covered with a clean, soft, thick straw mat.

The large wooden box, delivered at noon along with the newly made baskets and sieves, was placed on a wooden frame against the inner wall, facing the earthen bed.

On the muddy ground outside the wooden frame, there were two wooden buckets, one large and one small, which were just right for carrying water and bathing.

Next to the wooden tub, near the door, was a washbasin stand with a brand new wooden tub on it. The empty spaces on the stand were just enough for Xie Wanniang to place toiletries such as soap and towels.

There weren't many things, but they were enough to meet Xie Wanniang's needs.

Xie Wanniang placed the quilts and pillows she had brought on the kang (a heated brick bed), and then sorted her odds and ends into the wooden box.

Having her own room and receiving Jiang Yuan's assurance that she could stay there indefinitely, Xie Wanniang's restless heart finally found peace.

She ran out of the house and found Jiang Yuan in the kitchen. "Yuan, let's go to a farther place tomorrow. I want to find more valuable herbs."

Jiang Yuan was taken aback. "You're still taking your medicine."

Xie Wanniang didn't take it seriously. "Oh dear, there are only two meals left. I'm actually fully recovered; I'm just consolidating the effects now. You can ask Doctor Chen if you don't believe me."

Seeing that her expression didn't seem fake, Jiang Yuan conceded, "How about the day after tomorrow? I'll go sell the rabbits and chickens at home tomorrow. And your medicinal herbs need to be dried for another day."

This was only because Xie Wanniang told him that he could use a heated kang (a traditional heated brick bed) to dry the moisture; otherwise, he would have needed to allow at least two days for the medicinal herbs.

If we delay for just one more day, Xie Wanniang will finish all her medicine.

Xie Wanniang beamed with joy, "Then I'll stay home tomorrow and make clothes."

The new fabric Jiang Yuan bought for her was enough to make two sets of clothes with some left over. She planned to use the extra fine fabric to make menstrual belts and the extra coarse fabric to sew socks.

Thanks to the Xie family for their meticulous training over the past ten years, she has mastered many essential survival skills for women in this era.

The next morning, after breakfast, Jiang Yuan went to town to sell his game. Xie Wanniang first took out flour, added a little honey that Jiang Yuan had accidentally found the day before, and then put the dough on the warm earthen bed to speed up the fermentation. Finally, she skillfully cut and sewed the fabric, and did some simple embroidery on the collar and cuffs.

When Jiang Yuan returned home at noon, he saw two pieces of clothing that were almost finished, as well as a basin of mixed flour that had fully fermented.

While kneading the dough, Xie Wanniang gave him a heads-up, saying, "I added some buckwheat flour, so the taste and color of the steamed buns probably won't be as good as the pure white ones sold in town."

Jiang Yuan's gaze softened. "As long as it's edible."

When his adoptive mother was alive, he and his adoptive father had never cooked. After his adoptive mother passed away, his sister had no choice but to start teaching him how to cook.

Jiang Yuan learned to boil everything and steam egg custard around that time. He had never mastered the more complex cooking methods for other wheat-based foods such as cornbread, steamed buns, and pancakes, nor the cooking methods of frying, stir-frying, and deep-frying.

In the past, the various dry rations he, his adoptive father, and his cousin ate were either bought in town or made by his mother and sister.

This was the first time Jiang Yuan had participated in the making of steamed buns as an assistant.

As Xie Wanniang said, the steamed buns mixed with buckwheat flour were not milky white, but light brown, and the texture was not as chewy as the pure white steamed buns. However, because Xie Wanniang added some honey, Jiang Yuan felt that the taste was still quite good.

The two enjoyed a delicious meal of steamed buns with dipping sauce and scrambled eggs. As usual, Jiang Yuan diligently took charge of washing the pots and dishes, while Xie Wanniang went back to her room to continue her needlework.

After embroidering simple patterns on the two finished garments, and using the remaining fabric to make socks and menstrual belts, Xie Wanniang rubbed her neck and wrists before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

While she was busy doing needlework, Jiang Yuan was not idle either. In one afternoon, he not only prepared all the items the two of them needed to take into the mountains the next day, except for food and water, but also took the opportunity to catch some fish by the river.

Before Xie Wanniang arrived, Jiang Yuan often cooked fish for himself. River fish varied in size and variety, and most of them had a muddy smell, so they were far less popular with wealthy families than prey such as pheasants and rabbits.

Although Jiang Yuan himself didn't like to eat it, he thought that fish was still meat, and eating fish was better than eating coarse grain cakes and vegetable leaves every day, so he held his nose and ate it.

After Xie Wanniang moved into his house, he worried that Xie Wanniang, who was obviously a pampered girl, would not be able to eat his mixed fish soup, which could only be described as a terrible dish, so he stopped going to the river.

It was Xie Wanniang who casually asked why he hadn't gone fishing these past few days. He secretly guessed that Xie Wanniang might want to try something different, which was why she had taken the time to go to the river again.

Right now, in Jiang Yuan's kitchen, there are two wooden buckets, each filled with more than half a bucket of fish.

Xie Wanniang stepped inside and saw fish of all sizes and species swimming around in the wooden tub.

She looked delighted. "You went fishing! Can we have fish tonight?"

Seeing her radiant smile, Jiang Yuan thought to himself, "Sure enough, this girl wants to eat fish."

He nodded. "My fish doesn't taste good."

Xie Wanniang asked curiously, "How is it not tasty?"

"It has a fishy smell. Sometimes it's also bitter."

Xie Wanniang couldn't help but laugh, "Then I'll cook tonight, and you can see if there's anything wrong with your method."

She guessed that, most likely, Jiang Yuan didn't know how to remove the fishy smell and had even accidentally broken the fish's gall bladder.