Taking Care

The next day, after breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou told his parents and went out. Before leaving, he took two Corn Breads. His parents thought he wasn't full and didn't say anything, but there was doubt in their eyes.

Liu Yuanzhou went straight to Third Master's house. "Bringing her food from home isn't a long-term solution. My parents will suspect sooner or later. I have to think of a win-win situation." Liu Yuanzhou became worried. He didn't come up with a feasible solution until he entered Third Master's courtyard. "I'll ask Miss Qin later and see if she has any good ideas," he thought.

"Miss Qin, I'm here. Are you awake?" Liu Yuanzhou leaned on the window and called softly.

"Yes, I woke up early." Miss Qin replied from inside the kiln.

Liu Yuanzhou opened the door and walked into the kiln, saying, "I'll start the fire first." After speaking, he found firewood and started a fire in the stove, added water to the big pot, and heated the Corn Bread in the pot. There were two pots on the stove, the big pot in the back and the small pot in the front. Liu Yuanzhou also added water to the small pot for Miss Qin to wash up.

After doing all this, he lifted the curtain and walked into the inner room where Miss Qin was sleeping.

"Is the kang warmer? Did you sleep cold last night?" Liu Yuanzhou asked. There was no stove in the inner room, but there was a passage between the bottom of the kang and the stove in the outer room.

Miss Qin was already dressed neatly, curled up on the kang, and the bedding was neatly folded.

Liu Yuanzhou saw that she was wearing a light blue floral dress, her hair draped behind her head, her pretty face still pale, and the ragged cotton robe from yesterday was gone.

"Are you cold? Let me get you a piece of clothing, so you don't catch a cold again." Liu Yuanzhou said, getting on the kang and rummaging through a wooden box for an old cotton-padded jacket. "Here, put it on." He placed the cotton-padded jacket in front of Miss Qin.

Miss Qin didn't say anything, picked up the cotton-padded jacket and put it on, immediately feeling warmer. Looking at Liu Yuanzhou, she said softly, "Thank you." She thought, "This kid is quite thoughtful."

"Hehe, I was afraid you'd dislike it." Liu Yuanzhou laughed. Being alone with Miss Qin made him feel quite uncomfortable, so he went to the stove in the outer room to busy himself.

Miss Qin sat on the kang, thinking about things. Yesterday, she had sorted out the things she had found on Bage. She had pocketed the silver and buried some useless things on the spot. She had also carefully identified and tested the few small bottles she had left behind, and finally found the antidote to the poison she had been afflicted with.

"The poison I was afflicted with should be Bone-Corroding Tendon-Weakening Powder. Now that I have the antidote, I don't have to worry too much."

"The most troublesome thing is the sequelae of taking the secret medicine of the sect. I still feel empty, which shows that I have damaged the origin of my body. I don't know how long it will take to recover. Alas. I told him ten days and a half yesterday, but I'm afraid it won't be that fast."

"I wonder how Master and Junior Sister are doing now."

When Liu Yuanzhou came in with breakfast, he saw Miss Qin in a daze. "Breakfast is ready, let's eat." He said, setting up the kang table and putting the food on it.

Miss Qin moved to the table and sat down, and without being polite, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.

"Eat slowly, there's more Corn Bread and porridge in the pot. I'll get you more when you're done." Liu Yuanzhou said when he saw her eating quickly. The pretty face of the woman in front of him was pale, her long eyelashes fluttering. Because she was eating too fast, her cheeks were bulging, which was quite endearing. Liu Yuanzhou couldn't help but smile.

Miss Qin quickly finished her meal, and Liu Yuanzhou brought her hot water again, and then went to clean up the dishes.

When Liu Yuanzhou came back in after washing the dishes, he saw that Miss Qin had finished washing up, and asked, "Anything else you need?"

"Well, get me a comb, and I want to take a bath." Miss Qin said, her face slightly red. She hadn't taken a bath for nearly a month, which was unbearable for a woman who had grown up in the south. She hadn't thought about it when she was busy escaping, but now that she had settled down, she couldn't bear it any longer.

"Uh, I'll get you a comb, but how can you take a bath in the middle of winter? Wouldn't you freeze to death?" Liu Yuanzhou thought it was strange. Why take a bath in the middle of winter?

Liu Yuanzhou found a comb and handed it to Miss Qin. Miss Qin kept a straight face and didn't say a word.

"This young lady is really hard to serve. For the sake of kung fu, I'll endure it." Liu Yuanzhou silently recited the word 'endure' in his heart, but he couldn't help but have a headache when he thought about the bath.

"If you really want to wash, I'll boil a big pot of hot water for you and find you a big wooden tub. Can you just wash yourself?" After thinking for a long time, Liu Yuanzhou came up with this idea.

Miss Qin nodded, her face slightly relaxed.

Liu Yuanzhou sighed and went out to boil water. He filled the big pot with water, added firewood to the stove, and while the water was heating, he went out to find a big tub. He remembered that his Grandmother's house had a very large wooden tub, so he went straight to her house.

When Liu Yuanzhou carried the big wooden tub into Third Master's house, Miss Qin wasn't idle. She was standing in front of the stove, watching the fire and adding firewood.

"Are you healed?" Liu Yuanzhou asked her, pleasantly surprised.

"It's not that fast." Miss Qin rolled her eyes at him and added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove.

Liu Yuanzhou was disappointed. He placed the wooden basin in the corner and walked over, saying, "Then you should go inside and rest on the heated brick bed. I'll take care of these chores."

"Hehe, actually, as long as you serve me well, I can teach you the kung fu at any time," Miss Qin suddenly said with a smile.

Liu Yuanzhou was overjoyed, but on the surface, he remained calm and said indifferently, "I'm helping you not entirely for the sake of learning kung fu."

Miss Qin shrugged and went into the inner room.

Soon, the water was boiled. Liu Yuanzhou scrubbed the wooden basin clean, and only after it was spotless did he place it on the floor in the inner room. He poured the mixed hot water into the large basin, then filled half a bucket with hot water and placed it beside it. Finally, he even found a bar of soap in Third Master's box. After doing all this, Liu Yuanzhou said to Miss Qin, "Alright, you can wash up now. I'll go back first. Let me know when you're done, and I'll come to pour out the water."

Miss Qin looked at the large basin of hot water, feeling much better. She waved at Liu Yuanzhou and said, "Hurry up and leave. Come back in an hour."

Liu Yuanzhou nodded and turned to leave. It goes without saying that we can't describe in detail Miss Qin taking a bath in the cave.

Liu Yuanzhou came out of the cave, locked the door, and went home. Back home, he had nothing to do for the moment. Thinking of what Miss Qin had said about teaching him kung fu at any time if he served her well, he felt itchy and restless.

After finally enduring an hour, Liu Yuanzhou walked out the door to go to Third Master's house, only to see his elder brother, Liu Yuanbo, carrying firewood into the yard. Liu Yuanzhou stepped forward to help unload the firewood. Liu Yuanbo said, "Second Child, come with me to carry firewood later. I've gathered a big pile, and it's not worth running twice to carry it all back."

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Yuanzhou said, "Alright." He thought that it wouldn't matter if he went to Miss Qin's place a little later, but he couldn't let his elder brother do all the work at home alone.

By the time Liu Yuanzhou carried the firewood back home and rushed to Third Master's house again, it was already past noon, almost two hours since he had left in the morning.

Miss Qin had already finished her bath and was sitting on the heated brick bed, wiping her hair with a handkerchief.

A faint fragrance lingered in the air, like soap mixed with some unknown scent, which smelled very pleasant. Liu Yuanzhou took a deep sniff, but then he couldn't smell it anymore.

"Cough, cough." Miss Qin coughed loudly, "The water is too heavy, so I'll have to trouble you to pour it out." She said to Liu Yuanzhou, pretending to be calm, but in fact, she was extremely embarrassed.

Liu Yuanzhou looked at the large basin of water and felt a little troubled. He couldn't lift it either. In the end, he had no choice but to scoop the water from the basin into the bucket first and pour it out in several trips.

"Third Master, I'm sorry. I'll help you clean your bucket. Besides, the bathwater isn't very dirty. It still looks very clear," Liu Yuanzhou said silently to Third Master in his heart as he left the bucket and basin to dry in the yard outside.

"Miss Qin, I have something to discuss with you, and it's about your meals," Liu Yuanzhou said, bringing up the problem that had been bothering him earlier.

"Can you cook?" Miss Qin asked.

"Um, I can cook porridge, but I'm completely clueless about anything else," Liu Yuanzhou said, feeling a little embarrassed.

Miss Qin pondered for a moment. She could cook, but her current physical condition didn't allow it, so she could only buy food. She took out two pieces of silver from her pocket, thought about it, and put one back, handing the other to Liu Yuanzhou, "Here's about two taels of silver. Go to the market and buy some cooked food and some meat to keep here. You can just heat it up when you want to eat."

"That won't do. I can't take your money," Liu Yuanzhou quickly put the silver down.

"Then do you have a better idea?" Miss Qin asked.

Liu Yuanzhou shook his head, "Anyway, I won't take your money. Let me think of another way," Liu Yuanzhou said.

"Why are you being so indecisive for a grown man?" Miss Qin became impatient, "I'll give you two choices. One, take the money and get things done, and I'll teach you kung fu tomorrow. Two, you can go back now and come back to see me when you've thought of a solution."

Liu Yuanzhou's thoughts were exposed, and his face turned slightly red. He reached out and grabbed the silver, clutching it in his hand, and said awkwardly, "I'll go buy food now."

Liu Yuanzhou left Third Master's house with two taels of silver and went straight towards Crouching Tiger Slope. Since it wasn't market day, the shops usually closed early. "Hopefully, the butcher shop hasn't closed yet," Liu Yuanzhou thought, quickening his pace.

Miss Qin was quite annoyed at the moment. She had said without thinking that she would teach Liu Yuanzhou kung fu the next day, but she couldn't go back on her word now.

"You got lucky, kid. I was originally planning to tease you for a few more days," Miss Qin thought resentfully.

By the time Liu Yuanzhou returned to Third Master's house from Crouching Tiger Slope, the sun was almost setting.

"Miss Qin, the cooked food shops were already closed, so I bought some raw meat instead. Ten catties of beef and twenty catties of pork," Liu Yuanzhou said, panting as he placed the basket heavily on the ground. He lifted the cloth covering it, revealing the fresh, red and white meat inside.

"There's about seventy cents of broken silver left, here you go." He handed a few silver pieces to Miss Qin.

"You keep the money for now, you'll need it for buying things later," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou then put the money away.

Raw meat had to be cooked before it could be eaten. Fortunately, Miss Qin knew how to cook. Although she couldn't do it herself, she directed Liu Yuanzhou, and after about half an hour, a large pot of boiled beef in clear water was ready.

Due to the lack of seasonings, only some existing ginger, salt, and pepper were added to the meat. The taste was okay, but the meat was a bit too tough.

The two of them ate some with difficulty. Miss Qin only ate about eighty percent full, and the rest was forced down by Liu Yuanzhou.

After cleaning up the dishes, Liu Yuanzhou couldn't help but ask, "Do you really know how to cook?"

"Of course, you just have too few seasonings here. Next time you go to the market, remember to buy some of the seasonings I tell you about," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded, but he was still somewhat skeptical.