Chapter 36: The First Day in the New Home

"I can't guess. You are the only person I know from a prominent family in this world."

Seeing her serious expression, Jiang Li glanced at the two little ones outside watching the goose stewing in the iron pot, then said calmly, "When my clan migrated south, we encountered bandits on the way. My mother ran off with my younger brother and abandoned me. I drifted through many places before arriving here. You know everything that happened after I arrived."

"As for why I know how to do everything, that is just a stroke of good fortune; consider it the heavens taking pity on me."

"Wait forty years, and if we are still good sisters then, I will tell you the story of my fortune."

Zhao Qingzhu chuckled and looked at Jiang Li. "Forty years, is it? I'll hold you to that."

Zhao Qingzhu did not pursue the topic further. Even though Jiang Li hadn't gone into detail, the mere mention of her mother abandoning her to run away with her brother made her heart ache. Although Jiang Li was capable and formidable, she was only one year older than her. Growing up in a prominent family, she must have been a cherished young lady once; one could only imagine how heartbroken she must have been at that moment of abandonment. She blamed herself for her curiosity, having assumed Jiang Li’s talents were simply the result of her upbringing in a noble house.

"Ah-Li, why don't you acknowledge my mother as your foster mother? Let us be sisters in truth."

Zhao Qingzhu, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly spoke up. Jiang Li turned to look at her slowly. Seeing the expression on Zhao Qingzhu’s face, she realized this was born out of sympathy for her past abandonment.

Seeing Jiang Li staring at her in silence, Zhao Qingzhu thought she was unwilling. She pursed her lips, just about to say it didn't matter, when she heard Jiang Li ask, "Can you make that decision?"

Zhao Qingzhu’s face lit up instantly. "My mother likes you so much! If you could be her foster daughter, she would wake up laughing in her dreams."

Jiang Li said she was exaggerating, but Zhao Qingzhu insisted it was the truth. Jiang Li thought for a moment. She had been on her own for a long time, with no family and no friends. Over time, she had begun to fear interpersonal relationships; she disliked owing others, and she feared being owed. She knew that reciprocal relationships were the only way to last, but she had grown accustomed to solitude.

"Let's wait until I finish with these current matters," Jiang Li said.

Zhao Qingzhu nodded in satisfaction. Jiang Li had many things on her plate lately and no spare time. If her mother were to accept a foster daughter, gifts for the daughter would need to be prepared, and delicious food would need to be arranged—it would take effort.

After the rice in the steamer was poured out, the rest wouldn't fit back in, so it had to be left in the winnowing basket for the next steaming. Once the kitchen work was settled, she took out the pork liver to wash and slice. She sent Xue Man to dig wild garlic, asked A-Ning to watch the fire outside, and directed Zhao Qingzhu to help wash the greens while she sliced the liver. Zhao Qingzhu crouched beside her, and the two chatted as they worked, making quick progress.

Jiang Li finished slicing two large bowls of liver, and Zhao Qingzhu had already washed all the greens. Xue Man returned with wild vegetables, which Zhao Qingzhu took to wash. Jiang Li brought over the braised intestines, sliced them into a bowl, and poured the savory broth in as well. She then cleared the clay pot to mix the dough, preparing to fry fish balls.

Jiang Li was about to shape them by hand when Zhao Qingzhu quickly stopped her. "Wait, let me go home and get something for you. That will make the fish balls much faster."

Zhao Qingzhu went and returned quickly, bringing a mold for fish balls. By pressing it into the dough, one could extract perfectly shaped fish balls. It was truly convenient. Once the rice was steamed, the two began frying the fish balls. Jiang Li had mixed eggs into the batter and finely minced some wild garlic—so fine that there was flavor without any grit.

When the first batch was fried, Jiang Li called Xiao Man and A-Ning in to taste one each. After eating, Zhao Qingzhu stared at Jiang Li and smiled.

"Why are you smiling so creepily?"

"Ah-Li, tell me honestly, when you made those sweet potato pancakes before, did you put eggs in the dough too?"

"So you discovered my secret recipe after all."

"I was wondering why yours always tasted better even though we used the same ingredients. I’ll try it when I get home."

Jiang Li laughed, her hands never stopping, and soon all the fish balls were fried. She went out to check the goose; it was bubbling away with a mouth-watering aroma. She lifted the lid to see the broth thick and rich in color. It still needed more stewing, but since the dried bamboo shoots and beans had only been soaked for a short time, they needed to cook for a while, so she simply added them in. She added a bit of salt and covered the pot again.

As the sun began to set, the goose was cooked and the rice was ready. Zhao Qingzhu went home to arrange for tables and chairs to be brought over. Jiang Li took out the meat she had boiled the night before, sliced some for twice-cooked pork, and cut the rest into pieces, braising them in meat broth with a little salt to preserve their original flavor. She quickly stir-fried the pork liver and then braised goose blood in the goose broth. Finally, she made a soup of greens and eggs.

Eight dishes in total—besides the fish balls and the greens, the rest were meat dishes. Once the tables were set and the food served, it was dinner time. Just as Zhao Qingzhu had said, every family only sent three people. Even Zhao Jiaxiu and Xue Chengwen only brought Xue Xiaoduo.

Jiang Li had promised them a meal of thanks, not a banquet, so naturally, she accepted no gifts. Yet, every family brought something when they arrived. Some brought eggs, some grain. Grandmother Zhao Jiahe brought ten goose eggs, and Zhao Jiaxiu and Xue Chengwen had made a small three-tiered cabinet for her. When Jiang Li asked Zhao Jiaxiu about it, she simply said that the eldest and second children had already eaten, and that she had made it for them, so Jiang Li shouldn't worry. Seeing how insistent she was, Jiang Li did not push the matter.

Although there was only one child per family, with over a dozen children playing together, the courtyard became incredibly lively. The children jumped for joy at the sight of the meat on the table. The adults looked at the dishes, the rich aroma making them swallow involuntarily. These wives had heard from their husbands that Jiang Li was generous with food, and tonight they saw it for themselves. Out of the eight dishes, six were meat. Every bowl was piled high, looking quite substantial.

Grandmother Zhao was late because she was busy catching a chicken, and her son and daughter-in-law had waited for her. As soon as she arrived, everyone stood up to greet her. Grandmother Zhao had led the people who helped Jiang Li build the house. In the last half month, they had eaten more meat than they had in the past few years. Usually, they struggled, and the best meal was during the New Year. But even at New Year, a whole family would kill one chicken and stew a piece of meat. They would eat it on New Year's Eve, and there would be fights over the leftover broth on the first day of the year.

Once everyone was gathered, Jiang Li invited them to sit and eat. The children sat at a separate table, and the adults sat at the two tables pushed together. To thank them, after the meal started, Jiang Li went around serving meat to each person, offering simple words of gratitude. She wasn't very good at formal pleasantries, but after spending a few days together, everyone seemed to have gained some understanding of her.

At the children’s table, Xue Man and A-Ning were also serving them food. These children were wild while playing but sat obediently while eating. Some would even look back at the adults while eating; seeing that the adults were paying no attention to them, they would grin, reach out with their chopsticks to grab a piece of meat, and stuff it into their mouths, their eyes squinting in delight.

The pot of goose meat and dried vegetables was full, and it was refilled once, yet there was still some left. The boiled meat also had some remainder, but the braised intestines, stir-fried liver, fish balls, goose blood, and greens were all eaten clean.

It wasn't dark when they finished. Jiang Li told them to sit and chat while she cleaned up, but they were all diligent people; no one sat idle, and they all got up to help. Washing the bowls only took a little while. They sat and chatted for a bit, and as it grew dark, some prepared to leave. Jiang Li brought out the flatbreads she had made that morning, wrapped them in ginger leaves, and placed them on the table.

"In my hometown, when you come to warm my house like this, I am supposed to prepare gifts for you to take back. My resources are limited and I couldn't prepare much else, so I made some flatbreads by hand. Please take them back and have a taste."

As she spoke, she handed out the wrapped bread. Grandmother Zhao Jiahe waved her hands repeatedly. "Oh my, Mistress Jiang, how can we eat and take gifts? We already came here thick-skinned to eat tonight; it wouldn't be right to take more. No, no, we cannot."

"Grandmother, don't say that. I came here alone, a stranger in a strange land. You all helped me so much to build this house."

"Besides, this is a custom from my hometown that I must follow. If you don't take them, I will be hurt."

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Jiang Li finally succeeded in giving the bread away. Giving the gift was genuine, but she gave the bread because not everyone had brought their children. She had put plenty of meat in the bread, and made them large, so they could be taken home and sliced up, allowing each child at home to have a piece. She said it was a custom from her hometown, but no one in the village knew where her hometown was. As for her gift, it was a personal gesture and did not affect the village’s established norms.

Everyone left one by one, and Jiang Li saw them to the door. Grandmother Zhao and her family stayed until last because they had to return the tables and chairs. Jiang Li took two bowls from Grandmother Zhao’s house, filled them with goose meat, and cut a piece of the boiled meat, placing it all into a ceramic basin.

When Grandmother Zhao saw this, she trotted over and grabbed Jiang Li. "What are you doing?"

"Take some back for the children to eat."

"No, no, keep it for you, Xiao Man, and A-Ning. Child, if you keep squandering like this, how will you manage? The house is built, but the weather has been bad this year. You still need to save money for grain. Don't think that just because you have it now, you can spend it all. Living life is a long, slow process; you have to save."

"Xiao Man, A-Ning, and I have kept our share. This isn't much. Starting tomorrow, I will live frugally."

"Besides, what if it rains heavily in two or three days?"

At these words, Grandmother Zhao burst into laughter. "It’s been dry for months; you expect a heavy rain in two or three days?"

Jiang Li chuckled. "I prayed to the Heavens and the Earth today; the Kitchen God and the God of Wealth might be around. I’m just saying, what if it comes true?"

Grandmother Zhao reached out to take the bowl out of the basin, but Jiang Li smiled and said, "I understand. Grandmother, you want me to carry it to your house myself."

Grandmother Zhao, having no other choice, had to take it with her.

In the courtyard of the Xue family, Mrs. Zhou went in and out several times without seeing Zhao Jiaxiu or Xue Chengwen. They all knew Jiang Li was moving today, but they also knew Jiang Li had said there would be no banquet and no gifts, so they hadn't expected them to go to Jiang Li’s place.