Stepping out of the room, Qi Zhenzhen let out a heavy sigh. She was a little afraid, afraid that Madam Yun would show her emotions, and if that happened, she wouldn't know how to face her. So, it was better to keep her distance.
Qi Yi was diligently tending the fire in the stove, and the faint aroma of rice was already wafting from the pot.
Qi Zhenzhen lifted the pot lid and saw that the rice was almost done. She used the fire poker to push the flames from the bottom of the pot to the sides, reducing the heat. For the rice to be delicious, it relied on residual heat for焖 (mèn - to braise/simmer). Rice cooked this way had a perfect texture, was fragrant, and most importantly, the layer of scorched rice at the bottom was even more delicious.
She could scrape it off later for Qi Yi as a snack.
The rice porridge on the small stove had also started to bubble. Qi Zhenzhen ladled it out and set it aside to cool. She fished out a salted vegetable from the pickle jar under the eaves, shredded it finely, washed it in water until the saltiness was just right, then drained it and put it on a plate. Breakfast was ready.
Qi Yi was the happiest. Besides being able to eat steamed rice and fragrant, thick rice porridge, the most important thing was the crispy, fragrant scorched rice.
Their family had been eating thin gruel for nearly a year, and in such circumstances, there would naturally be no scorched rice. He had almost forgotten the taste of it. Today, his elder sister had scraped a large plate of it for him, and he was so happy he felt like crying.
After breakfast, Qi Zhenzhen warmed Madam Yun's medicine and helped her drink it before preparing to let the dough rise. She looked around, feeling a bit dejected. In her previous life, yeast was used to make dough rise, but in ancient times, old starter dough was used. From her memory, their family hadn't steamed buns in a long time, so where would they find old starter dough?
"Yi'er, elder sister is going out for a bit. You go into the room and keep mother company," Qi Zhenzhen said as she untied her apron.
Qi Yi tilted his head, "Where are you going, elder sister?"
"To find Aunt Mo to get some old starter dough," Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile. "Without old starter dough, we can't steam delicious buns."
Hearing this, Qi Yi nodded seriously and pushed Qi Zhenzhen towards the door, afraid she wouldn't get the old starter dough quickly enough.
"Elder sister, hurry and go. Leave the house to me, you can rest assured."
His grown-up demeanor made Qi Zhenzhen want to laugh.
It was already Chen Shi (辰时 - approximately 7-9 AM), and the villagers had started moving about. Along the way, Qi Zhenzhen encountered quite a few villagers.
Madam Yun's serious illness was known to everyone in the village, as was Qi Zhenzhen's venture into the mountains to dig for wild ginseng. Wild ginseng was such a rare item; how could it be dug up so easily? Therefore, everyone assumed Qi Zhenzhen had returned empty-handed. Now, her going to Physician Mo's house was likely to ask for his help.
"Zhenzhen, if you have this kind of thought, you might as well think about how to arrange your mother's funeral with some dignity. If she wasn't dignified in life, she can't at least have some dignity in death, can she?"
"Your mother is just stubborn. If she had agreed to Zhang Da Niu's marriage proposal years ago, would she have ended up in this state?"
"Don't trouble Physician Mo. No one's life is easy."
Every word sounded like it was for their family's sake, but Qi Zhenzhen heard the hidden malice.
These people, without knowing anything, were speculating that her mother was beyond saving.
They were subtly mocking her mother, suggesting that everything would have been fine if she had just married obediently.
They were guessing that Physician Mo was helping them under duress.
Qi Zhenzhen was not someone who was good at interacting with people. Her life's creed had always been to repay kindness with kindness and resentment with resentment—if you treat me well, I'll treat you even better; but if you dare to harbor ill intentions towards me, I'll beat you until you're spitting teeth.
Qi Zhenzhen spoke coldly, "My mother is doing very well, and at least she will live better than all of you in the future. As for Zhang Da Niu, if any of you have a daughter willing to marry him, no one will stop you. Also, in your eyes, is it troublesome for a sick person to see a physician?"
After speaking, she ignored the villagers' reactions and quickened her pace towards Physician Mo's house.
The original body rarely interacted with the villagers and didn't talk much. She never retorted when spoken to. Although Qi Zhenzhen's words just now were not sharp, they still shocked people. How had this girl become like a different person?
She wouldn't bother with irrelevant people. Let them think whatever they wanted.
The Mo family's gate was open, and Aunt Mo was in the courtyard drying medicinal herbs. Qi Zhenzhen called out to her from the doorway. Aunt Mo looked up at her, and only then did Qi Zhenzhen step into the courtyard.
Thinking of the wild ginseng slices, Aunt Mo's loud voice involuntarily lowered. She felt as though she had taken advantage of this girl.
"Looking for your Uncle Mo?"
"Not looking for Uncle Mo, looking for Aunt Mo." Qi Zhenzhen said with a smile, "I need to let the dough rise, and we don't have any old starter dough at home, so I've shamelessly come to find Aunt Mo."
"Oh, what's this?" Aunt Mo put down the work in her hands and went into the house to get the old starter dough for Qi Zhenzhen.
The medicinal herbs Aunt Mo was drying were sliced Huang Qi (Astragalus). After Aunt Mo went inside, Qi Zhenzhen casually turned them over to dry. Don't ask her why she understood this. In the mercenary world, it was a matter of life and death on the edge of a knife. The more skills you had and the stronger you were, the higher the success rate of the mission would be, and the longer you could live.
Aunt Mo came out with the old starter dough and handed it to Qi Zhenzhen. She turned around and saw that the Huang Qi slices were already arranged, and she asked in surprise, "Zhenzhen, did you do all this?"
Qi Zhenzhen nodded, "I've seen it in books before. I don't know if I did it correctly."
"Oh, you're literate? I didn't realize!" Aunt Mo's attitude became much warmer. "Yes, yes, you did it much better than I did."
"Then, in the future, I'll come help Aunt Mo when I have time."
Aunt Mo was very pleased and walked her to the door. "Do you have to help when you come over? Why are you so serious, child? Bring your Qi Yi over to play sometime!"
This could be considered establishing a preliminary good relationship with Aunt Mo. Qi Zhenzhen had a plan in mind. They couldn't return to the Changping Marquis's mansion, so they had to settle down in Xinghua Village for now. To settle down, they couldn't remain as estranged from the villagers as the original body and her children had been. Humans are social animals; one must integrate into the group, right?
Qi Zhenzhen walked home with the old starter dough. Before she reached the entrance, she saw a tall, sturdy man standing in the yard from afar.
She quickened her pace and ran into the yard.
The man turned around with a roguish expression. "Yo, Zhenzhen, you're back? You quickly take Qi Yi to play inside. I have something to discuss with your mother."
Qi Zhenzhen frowned. This person was Zhang Da Niu. In the original body's memory, she was supposed to avoid him because Zhang Da Niu had taken a liking to her mother and had come to their house more than once to say inappropriate things. If it weren't for Qi Yi cleverly running to the village to call for help, her mother would have definitely been bullied.
Qi Zhenzhen silently took the old starter dough into the kitchen. When she came out again, she was carrying a rolling pin as thick as an infant's arm. She bent down and patted Qi Yi's head. "Be good, Yi'er. Go into the room and keep mother company."
Qi Yi shook his head. "I want to stay with elder sister. I, I am a man, I want to protect elder sister and mother."
Zhang Da Niu chuckled. The Qi siblings were as thin as bean sprouts. Were they going to wield a rolling pin and fight him?