With those two taels of silver fragments, Tang Zhuyun decided to buy some things.
In her recollection, the Tang family ate very simple food. A meal consisted of steamed corn buns and pickles, and on the rare occasions they had a scrap of meat, it went to Linlin and her.
That wouldn't do. Food was heaven to the people; what was the point of living if you couldn't eat well?
Tang Zhuyun walked up to a meat stall. Since it was almost evening, the butcher was getting ready to pack up. A few large bones with hardly any meat on them sat on the otherwise empty chopping block, and a set of pig intestines lay in a wooden basin on the ground.
"The meat's all sold out today. If you want to buy some, miss, come back tomorrow." The butcher was big and burly, but he spoke politely.
"How much for the bones and intestines?"
The butcher froze for a moment, then said, "I was planning to take those home myself... If you want them, miss, just give me a few coins!"
The bones would give soup a bit of meaty flavor, so they could sell for a dozen or so copper coins. But no one wanted the intestines, so he usually took them home to eat or gave them to his neighbors.
Tang Zhuyun was delighted to hear that. She ventured, "How about I give you twenty copper coins for all of it?"
A copper coin had about the same purchasing power as one yuan in modern times. Getting so many big bones and all those intestines for twenty yuan was a huge bargain.
The butcher readily agreed, delighted, and tied everything up with string.
Tang Zhuyun paid him and said with a smile, "If only you had some pig's blood too."
Then she could make mao xue wang when she got home. She didn't have beef tripe, but it would be close enough.
As she remembered it, chili peppers already existed here, but many people weren't used to eating them, and there was no Sichuan cuisine.
The butcher said, "Funny you should mention it, there really is a piece left. Wait here, I'll get it for you. It's on the house-come back often."
Tang Zhuyun first asked him to watch her purchases while she went next door to buy the side ingredients and seasonings she needed. Then she carried the bones and pig intestines home.
Altogether, the things weighed more than ten jin. By the time she got home, the handles had rubbed her hands red, and she was so tired she could barely catch her breath.
Tang Zhuyun couldn't help lamenting how weak this lousy body was.
In her previous life, her father had been a Muay Thai coach, so she had been handling boxing gloves since before she could walk. She had lived for over thirty years and had truly practiced Muay Thai for more than thirty of them. Even after her father died, she had never given it up.
If her mother hadn't fallen ill and died when she was in her teens, she probably would have gone professional.
That parting in life and death had dealt both father and daughter a heavy blow. Her father had fallen into depression, and she had embarked on the path of studying medicine, working harder than anyone else...
Later, her father had died unexpectedly, leaving her all alone. She had devoted herself even more to her career, only to transmigrate.
Thinking of her parents, she felt tears gather on her lashes.
"Miss, what's wrong?" Xiu'er came out to greet her and was surprised to see tears in her eyes.
"Oh! Did you buy pig intestines?" Xiu'er was even more surprised once she got a clear look at what she was carrying.
Tang Zhuyun sniffled. "Come help. We're eating something good tonight."
After putting the things down, she swore she would exercise properly and take a shopping basket whenever she went out!
"Those intestines stink so much. Who would eat them?" Xiu'er said in disgust. "Oh, I know! You bought them to feed the cats, didn't you?"
There were many stray cats around their home.
Tang Zhuyun couldn't be bothered to explain. "Come inside and help. I'm cooking tonight."
Xiu'er's mouth fell open in an O. "You... you're cooking? But, miss, you don't know how!"
"I grew up in the countryside. How could I not know how to cook? I just couldn't be bothered before."
Tang Zhuyun first went inside to put the banknotes away, then came back out to clean the pig intestines.
Watching her miss work with practiced hands, Xiu'er's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.
But when she saw her use flour for the final wash, Xiu'er couldn't help saying, "The intestines are so cheap nobody wants them, but you're washing them with something as precious as flour."
She had thought her miss had turned over a new leaf, but it seemed she was still fooling around.
Annoyed by her chatter, Tang Zhuyun simply shooed her out of the kitchen and got on with the work herself.
Xiu'er didn't stay idle either. She chopped firewood outside the kitchen door, thinking resentfully as she worked, When the eldest young master comes back and sees the miss fooling around like this, he'll pull a long face again.
He had never actually beaten or scolded her, but whenever he frowned, she got scared.
And there was the young master too. Though he was young, she really trembled whenever his deep, dark eyes fixed on her.
That evening, the three males stepped through the door almost at the same time.
Tang Mingfan: "What's that smell? Why does it smell so good?"
Tang Baixin said expressionlessly, "It's from next door."
Linlin: "I'm not craving it one bit."
"Father, big brother, Linlin, you're home." Tang Zhuyun poked her head out of the kitchen and said with a smile, "Wash your hands. It's time to eat."
The three males looked at her, each reacting differently.
Tang Mingfan: "A-Yun, you cooked?"
Tang Baixin: "Heh."
Linlin: "Hypocrite."
Tang Zhuyun: "..."
The three males washed their hands and sat silently at the table. Tang Zhuyun and Xiu'er brought out the dishes and rice.
She had made a large basin of mao xue wang, its fragrance wafting everywhere and its glistening oil making their fingers itch to dig in. The bone broth had simmered until milky white, with plump, tender marrow glistening with oil and bright green scallions scattered through it. She had also made eggs stir-fried with garlic shoots. In front of Linlin was a bowl of congee made with meat she had pulled off the large bones. She had made only this one small bowl of fragrant meat congee to make up for his not being able to eat spicy food.
Looking at the three males frozen like stone, Tang Zhuyun said nervously, "Give it a try. It actually tastes pretty good."
Tang Baixin was the first to recover. "What monstrous disaster have you caused this time?!"
Tang Zhuyun said, "Me? I didn't do anything. I just went out to buy groceries and cook a meal. I was too thoughtless before. I won't be like that anymore."
She put on an awkward air, lowered her head, and rubbed the corner of her clothes, looking pitiful.
Sure enough, Tang Mingfan said, "Baixin, don't talk about your sister like that. A prodigal's return is worth more than gold. Eat, eat!"
Tang Zhuyun secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
How pitiful were the hearts of parents everywhere. She had copied the way she used to soften her parents' hearts in her previous life, and sure enough, it worked here too.
Tang Mingfan picked up his chopsticks and lifted a piece of pig intestine. "Is... is this pig intestine?"
Tang Zhuyun said, "I washed it clean. Father, try it. Really."
To show that she really was being responsible, she picked up a piece and put it in her own mouth.
Xiu'er muttered from the side, "You used half a jin of flour to wash it. How could it not be clean?"
Tang Zhuyun said, "...Go away and eat your food!"
Tang Baixin gave a cold snort. "So she's still wasting things."
Seeing that his daughter had eaten it, Tang Mingfan closed his eyes and took a bite, though the thought still put him off.
"Father, spit it out!" Tang Baixin cried anxiously.
Tang Mingfan's expression froze. After a long moment, his eyes lit up, and he praised it. "Delicious! It's really delicious. Baixin, try it."
Tang Baixin paid it no heed and shoveled white rice into his mouth. "I'm not eating it."
Father was getting more and more over the top. His sister had been spoiled to this point and had nearly poked a hole in the sky, yet now that she'd served pig intestines, he was still indulging her.