Chapter 27: The Fortunate Wife

Shao Diandian bought some fermented black beans and fennel at the market. She had originally wanted to buy some chili sauce as well, but after thinking it over, decided she could make some herself at home.

As she passed the old woman’s stall, the woman called out with a dark expression, “You’re not buying preserved mustard greens today either?”

Shao Diandian spread her hands. “I bought a whole basketful last time. It’ll last us ages.”

The old woman ground her teeth, regretting for the thousandth time that she had sold them so cheaply.

But apart from Shao Diandian, no one else was buying them.

The old woman gritted her teeth. “I’ll sell them to you cheap!”

Once again, Shao Diandian spent only fifty copper coins and bought a large basket of preserved mustard greens.

By the time she got home, lunchtime had long since passed. The three little ones were howling with hunger. Old Shao had cooked, but the food was truly awful.

The three little ones buried their heads in the rice jar rather than eat the culinary disaster Old Shao had made.

Old Shao himself could not swallow it either.

Shao Diandian went into the kitchen to cook, while Shao Erdan helped her.

When she came out, she saw Old Shao in the rear courtyard, fussing over a piece of wood.

Shao Diandian walked over and looked at his hands. “Your hand is injured. Didn’t I tell you not to use your right hand anymore?”

Old Shao smiled. “It’s not strenuous. I know my limits. I’m taking it easy!”

“What are you making?” Shao Diandian asked.

Old Shao sighed. “I’ve been busy with things outside these past two days and neglected the household. You’ve had a hard time. Your uncle and aunt coming here was something your husband also told me about. I’m sorry you had to suffer through that. I’m making a walking stick for my son-in-law. It’ll make things more convenient for him later.”

Wait a moment.

The first part made sense, but how had the conversation suddenly gone from her suffering to making Wei Ting a walking stick?

Was his train of thought always this erratic?

“Dad! Sis! The food’s ready! Come eat!”

Shao Erdan called out.

“Come on, let’s eat.” Old Shao set aside the half-finished walking stick and led his round-faced daughter, whose face was as dark as thunder, into the main room.

Wei Ting had already been helped out by Shao Erdan and was seated at the table.

Shao Diandian was inwardly opposed to the way a certain someone could lie there doing nothing and still benefit from her efforts.

But remembering how she had smothered him unconscious that morning, she silently let it go.

She cast an unobtrusive glance at Wei Ting across the table. He calmly picked up his bowl and chopsticks, his expression utterly unchanged.

As though nothing embarrassing had happened at all.

Very well. They would all pretend to have selective amnesia.

“Oh? Daughter, what dish is this?” Old Shao asked, eyeing the unfamiliar dish on the table. It looked like pork belly, but the preparation was different from what they usually ate.

“Braised pork with preserved mustard greens,” Shao Diandian said. “It’s made with streaky pork.”

She had originally planned to make it the day before, but Old Shao had not returned, so she had postponed it until today.

As luck would have it, she had bought fermented black beans that day.

“Is it spicy?” Old Shao asked.

“No,” Shao Diandian replied.

Hearing that it was not spicy, Old Shao first placed a slice in each of the three little ones’ bowls.

The three of them prodded the meat with their chopsticks. When that proved too awkward, they simply reached for it with their little hands. Wei Ting frowned at the sight.

Old Shao said to his son-in-law, “That’s how children learn to eat. You have to let them do it themselves.”

Wei Ting remembered that before coming to the Shao household, the three little brats had always been fed by others. After arriving here, although they ate messily, they did everything themselves.

And their appetites had grown considerably.

The braised pork was tender and delicate, rich without being greasy, melting at the slightest touch. The flavor of the preserved mustard greens had thoroughly seeped into the meat, while the greens, soaked in pork juices and fermented black beans, possessed a luscious flavor all their own.

The three little ones ate until their mouths were slick with grease.

Wei Ting had never liked overly oily food, yet even he could not help eating several pieces.

The whole family ate until they were completely full.

Shao Erdan sprawled in a chair with the three little ones, letting them bask in the sun and warm their bellies.

Old Shao sighed with emotion. “Daughter, have you noticed that ever since your husband came to our home, our lives have improved so much? We used to go half a month without seeing a scrap of meat. Lately, we’ve been eating meat at every meal.”

Was that Wei Ting’s contribution?

It was hers! She was the one who had crossed into this world!

Shao Diandian puffed up like a chubby little pufferfish and shot the man in question a cold look.

…One night wasn’t enough. She needed at least two nights to make it worthwhile!

Wei Ting glanced at the furious Shao Diandian, curled his lips into a smile, and said to Shao Kang, “Dad is right. I bring my wife good fortune.”

Shao Diandian tore through a bamboo leaf with a sharp snap!

Three nights!

—

That afternoon, Shao Kang continued making a walking stick for Wei Ting, while Shao Erdan looked after the children.

Shao Diandian, meanwhile, went to take a look at the family’s fields.

What she had said in front of Old Shao about having Wei Ting farm once he recovered had merely been casual talk.

Once Wei Ting recovered, he would leave.

It was now the twelfth lunar month. After being here for so long, she had more or less figured out the local climate.

Apricot Blossom Town lay in the central part of the Great Zhou Dynasty, slightly toward the north. It had four distinct seasons, and snow fell in winter. The winters were not as bitterly cold as those in the north, and people did not have heated brick beds.

“Hmm. It’s somewhat like the climate in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River in my previous life. What kinds of crops grow well in this sort of climate?”

There was a saying that people learned different things at different times, and that every profession had its own expertise. In her previous life, she had been forced to become independent at an early age and had acquired excellent cooking skills. But when it came to farming, she was completely clueless.

“Wait. Forget whether I know how to farm. I seem to have forgotten where our own fields are.”

Shao Diandian stood blankly before the field ridge, questioning her life choices. She looked exactly like a chubby little penguin that had lost its way.

“B-Big Girl?”

A hesitant, astonished voice came from behind her.

Shao Diandian turned around and saw Old Li and his wife, Madam Qian.

One of them carried a hoe, while the other held a basket. They had presumably come to work in the fields.

“Uncle Li, Auntie Qian,” Shao Diandian greeted them.

Old Li asked, “What are you doing here?”

Shao Diandian scratched her head. “I wanted to take a look at our family’s fields, but I forgot where they were.”

Old Li was amused by her foolish expression. “I’ll take you there.”

Madam Qian seemed to want to stop him, but Old Li had already led Shao Diandian forward. She could only resign herself to following them.

“This is your family’s field.”

Old Li pointed toward a plot overgrown with weeds.

The Shao family’s two mu of land had lain荒 for years and was in terrible condition. Ordinarily, a field ruined to this extent should have been reclaimed by the village.

But who would dare take land belonging to the Shao family’s three tyrants?

“Big Girl, are you planning to farm?” Old Li asked.

Shao Diandian nodded. “I want to grow some vegetables, so we won’t have to buy them in town anymore.”

Old Li said, “Whatever vegetables you want to eat, just come pick them from our fields.”

Madam Qian glared at her husband.

With that plump Shao girl’s appetite, if she let her pick vegetables, she would strip every leaf from the fields!

“The land still needs to be cultivated,” Shao Diandian said.

Old Li replied, “The fields are in such poor shape that they’ll need to be worked over before anything can be planted. Besides, even if you sowed the seeds now, it would take several months before you could harvest anything.”

Shao Diandian paused. “Then I’ll pick vegetables from your fields for now, and take the opportunity to see which ones I might be able to grow myself.”

Old Li said, “Whatever you want to plant, I’ll give you the seeds and seedlings. If you don’t know how to grow them, let my wife teach you.”

Madam Qian turned her face away. There was no way she was going to teach that plump Shao girl how to farm!