The Journey Of The Peasant Mother-in-Law

After Zhulan finished inspecting, she went to a few other rooms before returning to the main room. The cook came in with the food, “Ma’am, there are six dishes in total. I don’t know if it suits my wife’s taste. If it’s not suitable, I’ll change it next time.”

Zhulan saw that there were fish, meat, and chicken, and the six dishes were all delicious in color, fragrance, and smell. She checked the room and trusted Zhao Bo. The cook must be not bad, “Okay.”

Seeing her mistress’ indifferent expression, the cook was a little apprehensive, she needed this job.

Zhulan tasted two mouthfuls of each dish. Although it was not as delicious as Li Shi’s, it was still very good. “The flavors are quite nice. Join me and have some too!”

The cook’s tone faltered a bit. “I’ll just eat the leftovers after you’re done, Tàitai.1“

Zhulan looked at the cook’s patched clothes and understood the situation. Sitting down to eat with them, the cook probably won’t be able to eat much and couldn’t take the leftovers home. Knowing that Zhulan and the children couldn’t be able to finish six dishes, there would likely be a lot left. The cook then could eat her fill after finishing her work, and also take some back home – it was common for kitchen staff to take home the leftovers. “Go back to the kitchen and boil two pots of hot water. I’ll call for you once we’re done eating here,” Zhulan said.

The cook felt delighted. Having worked in various households, she was used to both generous and stingy employers. The lady of this household didn’t seem displeased by her previous suggestion, which was a tacit approval to take some leftovers home. She responded cheerfully, “Certainly, Madam. I’ll go and boil the water right away.”

Ming Teng saw that the outsider left, and the little guy became lively, “Grandma, is this really our house? Does our family have such a big house? And grandma, just now who was that serving the dishes? Why did she call Grandma ‘tàitai’?”

Ming Teng was in a daze, why was there such a big change after coming to Pingzhou?

Zhulan looked at her grandson’s eyes full of seeking knowledge and said while giving him food with chopsticks: “Of course, this is our home. As for the aunt just now, she is the cook who was hired by Grandma to help with cooking. As for the title, Grandma is the mistress of the family, so naturally she will call me tàitai. Okay, you are too young to know these things, and you will understand the rest when you grow up, so hurry up and eat.”

Seeing that Ming Teng had stopped asking questions, Zhu Lan felt relieved. If he had been more clever, he would have kept asking why endlessly.

This time, thankfully she didn’t bring her daughter-in-law along. Otherwise, she would have been addressed as “tàitai” but as ‘lǎotàitài2‘!

Ming Teng, being young and with a hearty appetite, soon focused all his attention on the food.

Xuehan was eight years old, and this was her second time in Pingzhou. She felt that the family was becoming completely different. When her father became a xiucai, she would be a xiucai’s daughter. If her father went further, she would be the young lady from a Juren family. So now that there was a cook at home to help, she adapted very well.3

After dinner, the children were warmed up, Zhulan asked Xuehan to take out the quilt cover and take it back to the guest room, and change the quilt cover herself, as the quilt she brought home was no longer needed.

Zhulan followed the cook to the kitchen in the backyard. Today, the cooking was done in the backyard kitchen. The pot was boiling with hot water, the rice and flour containers were full, and radishes and cabbage were stored in a basket. There were many plates and bowls in the cupboard, and all sorts of kitchen utensils were neatly arranged. As she mentally calculated, she realized that these were expenses covered by Zhao Bo, and she roughly estimated the amount she would need to repay him.

Zhulan and the children had quite a bit of leftovers. They barely touched the chicken, and about half of the meat and vegetables remained. Since fish was rare during the winter, they had eaten it all. The main dish, white rice, left more than a large bowl. Zhulan decided to save the relatively untouched chicken and most of the remaining braised pork for the next day. The smaller portions of liver and sliced meat were given to the cook. She didn’t eat either but rather took a bowl to pack the food together and take it back home to eat.

The cook, Wu Li Shi4, saw that Zhu Lan was not stingy and was a kind person, so she worked even harder. After finishing the kitchen work, she even took the initiative to clear the snow from the courtyard.

Zhulan felt embarrassed, seeing that it was getting late, the front yard was still open, and there was no end to eating in a while.