Caretaking

The next day, after breakfast, Liu Yuanzhou told his parents and headed out. Before leaving, he took two corn breads. His parents only thought he had not eaten enough and said nothing, though their eyes held a trace of doubt.

Liu Yuanzhou left home and walked straight toward Third Master's house. Bringing her food from home isn't a long-term solution. Mom and Dad will get suspicious sooner or later. I need to think of a way that kills two birds with one stone. Liu Yuanzhou grew troubled. Even after entering Third Master's courtyard, he had not thought of a workable solution. I'll ask Miss Qin later and see whether she has any good ideas.

"Miss Qin, I'm here. Are you up yet?" Liu Yuanzhou called softly, leaning against the window.

"Mhm, I've been up for a while," Miss Qin answered from the cave dwelling.

Liu Yuanzhou opened the door and entered the cave dwelling. "I'll get the fire going first." After saying that, he found some firewood and lit the stove. He added water to the large pot and placed the corn breads inside to warm them. There were two pots on the stove: a large one in back and a small one in front. Liu Yuanzhou also added water to the small pot for Miss Qin to wash up with.

After finishing all that, he lifted the curtain and entered the inner room where Miss Qin slept.

"Is the kang any warmer? You weren't cold last night, were you?" Liu Yuanzhou asked. There was no stove in the inner room; a passage connected the bottom of the kang to the stove in the outer room.

Miss Qin was already fully dressed, curled up on the kang. Her bedding had also been folded neatly.

Liu Yuanzhou saw that she wore a pale blue floral padded dress, her hair hanging behind her back. Her pretty face was still pale, but yesterday's tattered cotton robe was nowhere to be seen.

"Are you cold? I'll get you another garment. Don't catch cold again." As he spoke, Liu Yuanzhou climbed onto the kang and rummaged through the wooden chest until he found an old padded jacket. "Here, put this over your shoulders." He placed the jacket before Miss Qin.

Miss Qin said nothing. She picked up the padded jacket and draped it over herself, immediately feeling warmer. Looking at Liu Yuanzhou, she said softly, "Thank you." This boy is quite considerate after all.

"Hehe, I was afraid you might dislike it," Liu Yuanzhou said with a smile. Being alone with Miss Qin still made him rather uncomfortable, so he went to busy himself at the stove in the outer room.

Miss Qin sat on the kang, lost in thought. Yesterday, she had sorted through the things she had searched from Bage's body. She had pocketed the silver, buried the useless items right where she stood, and carefully identified and tested the few small bottles she had kept. In the end, she had found the antidote to the poison in her system.

The poison in me should be Bone-Corroding Tendon-Weakening Powder. Now that I have the antidote, there's no need to worry too much.

The most troublesome thing is the aftereffects of taking the sect's secret medicine. I still feel hollow and weak, which clearly means I've injured my body's foundation. Who knows how long it will take to recover? Sigh. I told him ten days to half a month yesterday, but I'm afraid it won't be that fast.

I wonder how Master and Junior Sister are doing now.

When Liu Yuanzhou carried breakfast in, he found Miss Qin staring blankly into space. "Breakfast is ready. Time to eat." He set up the small kang table and placed the food on it.

Miss Qin moved over and sat before the table. Without standing on ceremony, she picked up her bowl and chopsticks and began eating.

"Eat slowly. There are more corn breads and porridge in the pot. I'll get you more when you finish," Liu Yuanzhou said when he saw how quickly she was eating. The young woman before him had a pale, pretty face, long lashes fluttering with every movement. Because she ate too fast, her cheeks puffed out, making her look especially pitiful and endearing. Liu Yuanzhou's lips unconsciously curved upward.

Miss Qin soon finished eating. Liu Yuanzhou brought her more hot water, then went out to wash the bowls and chopsticks.

After washing them, Liu Yuanzhou came back in and saw that Miss Qin had finished washing up. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Mhm, bring me a comb. Also, I want to take a bath," Miss Qin said, her face reddening slightly. She had not bathed in nearly a month. For a woman who had grown up in the south, it was simply unbearable. Before, she had been too busy fleeing for her life to think about such things, but now that she had settled down, she could no longer endure it.

"Uh, I can go get you a comb, but a bath? How can you bathe in the dead of winter? Won't you freeze to death?" Liu Yuanzhou found it strange. Why would anyone bathe in the middle of winter?

Liu Yuanzhou found a comb and handed it to Miss Qin. Miss Qin kept a straight face and did not say a word.

This young madam is really hard to serve. For martial arts, I'll endure it. Liu Yuanzhou silently repeated the word endure to himself, but the thought of bathing still gave him a headache.

"If you really want to wash, I can heat a whole large pot of water and find you a big wooden basin. Could you make do with wiping yourself down?" After pondering for a long time, Liu Yuanzhou came up with this solution.

Miss Qin nodded, and her expression eased slightly.

Liu Yuanzhou let out a mournful sigh and went out to heat water. He filled the large pot, added firewood to the stove, and while waiting for the water to heat, went out to look for a large basin. He remembered that his grandaunt's house had a very large wooden basin, so he headed straight there.

When Liu Yuanzhou carried the large wooden basin into Third Master's house, Miss Qin had not been idle either. She stood before the stove, watching the fire and adding wood.

"Are your injuries healed?" Liu Yuanzhou asked happily.

"How could they heal that fast?" Miss Qin shot him a glare and stuffed several more pieces of firewood into the stove.

Liu Yuanzhou was disappointed. He set the wooden basin in the corner and walked over. "Then hurry back inside and rest on the kang. I'll do all this work."

"Hehe, actually, as long as you serve me well and keep me happy, I can teach you martial arts whenever you want," Miss Qin suddenly said with a smile.

Liu Yuanzhou was overjoyed inside, but outwardly he remained calm. Instead, he said blandly, "I'm not helping you entirely just to learn martial arts."

Miss Qin shrugged and went into the inner room.

Before long, the water was ready. Liu Yuanzhou scrubbed the wooden basin clean, then placed it on the floor of the inner room. He poured the mixed hot water into the basin, filled half a bucket with hot water and set it beside it, and finally found a bar of soap in Third Master's chest. Once everything was done, Liu Yuanzhou said to Miss Qin, "All right, you can wash now. I'll head back first. About when will you be done? I'll come empty the water."

Miss Qin looked at the large basin of hot water and felt delighted. She waved at Liu Yuanzhou. "Hurry up and leave. Come back in an hour."

Liu Yuanzhou nodded, turned, and left. As for Miss Qin bathing in the cave dwelling, there was naturally no need to go into detail.

Liu Yuanzhou came out of the cave dwelling, locked the door, and went home. Once home, he had nothing to do for the moment. Thinking of Miss Qin's words that she could teach him martial arts anytime as long as he served her well, his heart itched terribly. He could neither sit nor stand at ease.

After barely enduring an hour, Liu Yuanzhou stepped outside, ready to head for Third Master's house, when he saw his elder brother Liu Yuanbo entering the yard with firewood on his back. Liu Yuanzhou went up to help unload it. Liu Yuanbo said, "Second Child, come carry firewood with me later. I've gathered a huge pile. I can't bring it all back in one trip, but making two trips isn't worth it."

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Yuanzhou said, "All right." He figured being a little late to Miss Qin's place would not matter, but he could not leave all the household work for his elder brother to do alone.

By the time Liu Yuanzhou returned home with the firewood and hurried to Third Master's house again, it was already past noon. Nearly two hours had passed since he left that morning.

Miss Qin had long since finished bathing and was sitting at the edge of the kang, drying her hair with a cloth.

A faint fragrance lingered around his nose, seeming to be the scent of soap mixed with some unknown aroma. It smelled wonderful. Liu Yuanzhou sniffed hard, but could no longer catch it.

"Ahem, ahem." Miss Qin coughed loudly. "The water is too heavy, so I'll trouble you to pour it out." She spoke to Liu Yuanzhou with feigned calm, though inwardly she was both embarrassed and annoyed.

Liu Yuanzhou scratched his head as he looked at the huge basin of water. He could not lift it either. In the end, with no other choice, he ladled the water into a bucket first and poured it out in several trips.

Third Master, forgive me. I'll wash your bucket clean for you. Besides, the bathwater isn't that dirty. It still looks quite clear. Liu Yuanzhou left the bucket and basin outside in the yard to air out, silently apologizing to Third Master.

"Miss Qin, there's something I want to discuss with you. It's about your meals." Liu Yuanzhou brought up the problem that had been troubling him earlier.

"Do you know how to cook?" Miss Qin asked.

"Uh, I can make porridge, but beyond that, I don't know the first thing," Liu Yuanzhou said somewhat sheepishly.

Miss Qin pondered for a long while. She could cook, but her current physical condition would not allow it, so they could only buy food. She took out two pieces of broken silver from her clothes, then thought for a moment and put one back. Handing the other to Liu Yuanzhou, she said, "There are nearly two taels of broken silver here. Go to the market and buy some cooked food, then buy some meat and the like to keep here. We can just heat it up when it's time to eat."

"That won't do. I can't take your money." Liu Yuanzhou hurriedly set the broken silver down.

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

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

"You're a grown man, so why are you so fussy and indecisive?" Miss Qin grew impatient. "I'll give you two choices. First, take the money and handle this, and tomorrow I'll teach you martial arts. Second, go home right now and come see me once you've thought of a solution."

His thoughts exposed, Liu Yuanzhou's face reddened slightly. He reached out, took the silver, and clenched it in his hand. "I'll go buy food right away," he said awkwardly.

With the two taels of broken silver tucked against his chest, Liu Yuanzhou left Third Master's house and headed straight for Crouching Tiger Slope. Since it was not market day, the shops generally closed early. I hope the butcher shop hasn't closed yet. Liu Yuanzhou quickened his pace.

Miss Qin was rather annoyed at the moment. She had blurted out that she would teach Liu Yuanzhou martial arts the next day without thinking, and now it would be difficult to take it back.

Lucky brat. I had planned to give you a few more days of grace, Miss Qin thought bitterly.

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

"Miss Qin, the cooked-food shops were already closed, so I only bought raw meat. Ten jin of beef and twenty jin of pork." Liu Yuanzhou panted as he heavily set the basket on the floor, lifted the cloth covering it, and revealed the fresh red-and-white meat inside.

"There are still nearly seven mace of broken silver left. Here." He handed several little pieces of silver to Miss Qin.

"Keep the money for now. You'll need it to buy things later," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou put the money away.

Raw meat had to be cooked before it could be eaten. Fortunately, Miss Qin knew her way around a kitchen. Though she could not do it herself, she directed Liu Yuanzhou, and after about half an hour, they had made a large pot of beef boiled in clear water.

Because they lacked seasonings, they only added the ginger, salt, and pepper they already had. It tasted all right, though the meat was somewhat tough.

The two of them reluctantly ate some. Miss Qin ate until she was only eighty percent full, while Liu Yuanzhou forced himself to finish all the rest.

After cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks, Liu Yuanzhou could not help asking, "Do you really know how to cook?"

"Of course. You have too few seasonings here. Next time there's a market, remember to buy the seasonings I tell you about," Miss Qin said.

Liu Yuanzhou nodded, though inwardly he was only half convinced.