Chapter 39: Lamb Noodle Soup
On the sixteenth of the twelfth lunar month.
Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen woke up early and set off for the county seat with Old Madam Jiang.
They had to take the old woman’s pulse today, so they didn’t have breakfast. The three of them planned to have lamb noodles after entering the city.
Although Old Madam Jiang could get out of bed now, her body was still very weak. Jiang Huaizhen didn’t let her walk and, as before, carried her to the main road, where they hailed an ox-cart.
Although they were the first to enter the city, by the time they reached the Everlasting Peace Apothecary, there were already about a dozen people in line.
After waiting for half an hour, it was finally their turn. The three of them entered the consultation room together.
Seeing them arrive, Doctor Xue smiled. “I was just thinking it was about time for you to come. Have you finished the medicine?”
“There’s still one dose left,” Jiang Huaizhen replied, helping the old woman sit down at the desk.
“The old lady looks much better than before,” Doctor Xue said, taking her pulse carefully. He asked about her diet and sleep during this period. Learning that her appetite had increased, he stroked his beard and said, “If she continues like this, she’ll be fully recovered soon.”
Old Madam Jiang had just received a large sum of money the night before and was in high spirits these few days. Her sharp eyebrows had softened, and she looked kind and benevolent. She no longer spoke of death.
After writing the prescription, Doctor Xue said, “It’s all thanks to the heated kang you built. My old mother used to have trouble sleeping at this time of year and would need several hot water bottles. Now that she’s on the kang, she’s comfortable everywhere.”
“By the way, a few of my old acquaintances came to my house to play. When they saw the heated kang, they asked me if they could also ask you to come and help build one.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “It’s actually a simple handicraft. If you find a mason to take a look, they’ll know how to do it.”
Doctor Xue shook his head. “That’s what I said at first. They actually spent two hundred copper coins to hire a mason to come and tinker with it. Guess what? The kang later cracked, and the smoke came out from the surface. It collapsed after just two days of use. You haven’t been here these few days, so I haven’t had a chance to tell you.”
Seeing that he was sincere, Lin Shuang turned to ask for Jiang Huaizhen’s opinion.
There was still a little over half a month until the new year. Two hundred copper coins for a kang was not impossible. But since she had learned the day before yesterday that Jiang Huaizhen had gone out to wash clothes for others, she was reluctant to let her go out and do this kind of work.
She was a little conflicted, just like those old men who were the heads of their households and were unwilling to let their wives go out and show their faces.
“…Then do they know about my situation?” Jiang Huaizhen asked. She was an executioner, and some families might not be willing to let someone with blood on their hands into their homes to work.
It seemed that she was quite willing to take on this job.
Doctor Xue replied, “I told them. They don’t mind. They are all my relatives and friends, not those pedantic people.”
Old Madam Jiang, who was next to her, was slightly relieved to see that not everyone outside disliked her granddaughter. If it were in the past, she would not have refused. But these few days, the weather was freezing, and the two children had just returned from their stall. Yesterday, they had cleaned the house all day. She couldn’t bear to let them go out and suffer.
But she couldn’t make the decision on this matter.
Seeing that Jiang Huaizhen wanted to take the job, Lin Shuang asked, “How many families are there in total?”
“Three. They all want to be able to sleep on a heated kang before the new year.”
Lin Shuang calculated the time and felt that it was feasible. “We’ll go back and make the kang boards today. The weather is dry now, but it will still take three or four days. We’ll go over in four days.”
Doctor Xue said that he would have someone inform these families later.
After the matter was settled and the illness was treated, Doctor Xue happily saw them out of the consultation room.
While waiting for the medicine, Old Madam Jiang asked how much it cost. Learning that ten days’ worth was eighty copper coins, she tremblingly took out a small string of copper coins from her robes. “We agreed that I would pay for the medical expenses. It has to come from me.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “It’s the same if I pay first. We can just settle it when we get back. It will save you the trouble of carrying money around.”
The old woman insisted, “One thing is one thing. I don’t care how you calculate it on your side, but I still have to do it this way.”
Lin Shuang was at a loss for words and took the money.
After the apprentice had gotten the medicine, they went to the market together.
The last few times they had come, Old Madam Jiang had not been able to get a good look at the city. Now that she could walk and was not in a hurry, she refused to let Jiang Huaizhen carry her. So the three of them slowly walked along the street.
Although the weather was cold, with the new year approaching, many families had already started to buy new year’s goods, and the flow of people was visibly increasing.
Old Madam Jiang was clearly infected by the atmosphere. She pointed and chattered, the corners of her mouth never once falling.
It wasn’t until they saw a lamb noodle shop with good business in front that Jiang Huaizhen turned and asked, “Should we eat here?”
Lin Shuang looked at the flow of customers inside. It was quite lively, so she thought the taste should not be bad. So she nodded. “Let’s eat here.”
The three of them entered the noodle shop. The waiter had just finished taking the order from the next table and ran over to greet them with a smile. “What would you three like to eat?”
“What kind of noodles do you have?” Lin Shuang asked.
“We have lamb noodles, lamb offal noodles, lamb soup with plain noodles, and also lamb, lamb bones, lamb brain with vegetables—” the waiter rattled off a series of dishes in one breath. “A bowl of lamb noodles is eleven copper coins. The others are about the same.”
Old Madam Jiang was taken aback. The price was too expensive. A catty of pork could feed the three of them, but now one person had to spend eleven copper coins.
But it had been decades since she had left the valley, and now that she was in someone else’s territory, her confidence was halved. So she said nothing and let the two girls decide.
Lin Shuang said, “Then let’s have a bowl of lamb noodles for each of us. The old lady’s bowl should be cooked a little softer.”
With that, she added, “And a portion of lamb’s blood for each of us.”
Seeing that they hadn’t ordered plain noodles and had even added a dish, the waiter’s two corners of his mouth instantly curled up. He shouted to the back kitchen, “Three bowls of lamb noodles with lamb’s blood, one bowl cooked softer—”
A reply soon came from inside.
“Please wait a moment, honored guests. When the noodles are ready, I’ll bring them to you.”
Seeing that the waiter had left, Old Madam Jiang said softly, “Why did you add lamb’s blood? One portion of lamb’s blood is three copper coins. Three portions are nine copper coins.”
Lin Shuang smiled. “I was just thinking of adding lamb offal. One portion of lamb offal is eight copper coins. I couldn’t bear to.”
Old Madam Jiang immediately shut up, afraid that if she said another word, this little girl would rebel and add the lamb offal.
Lin Shuang said, “Grandma, think about it. We are also business people. If everyone is reluctant to spend money, who would be willing to buy our sauce flatbreads? We can still eat something good occasionally and treat ourselves.”
That was true. Old Madam Jiang immediately understood and no longer felt bad about spending the money.
Before long, three bowls of steaming hot lamb noodles were brought over. The waiter specifically pointed to one of the bowls and said, “This bowl is cooked softer. The other two are a little more chewy.”
Jiang Huaizhen brought that bowl of noodles to Old Madam Jiang, then got chopsticks for her and Lin Shuang, wiped them with a handkerchief, and handed them to them. Only then did she start to eat.
Old Madam Jiang lowered her voice. “This is a big bowl. They’re quite generous with the noodles. But I can’t finish it. You can take half.”
Lin Shuang said, “Let Sister Jiang eat it. I’ll save some room to see if there are any snacks later.”
Jiang Huaizhen knew that she was afraid she wouldn’t be full, so she didn’t refuse and took a small half bowl of noodles from the old woman’s bowl into her own.
“I have to say, this lamb soup is really fresh,” the old woman said, taking a sip of the soup before eating the noodles.
Lin Shuang nodded. “Did you see that pot, Grandma? A large pot of bones and meat are soaked in it and simmered for half a night. All the good things from the meat and bones have melted into the soup. How can it not be fresh?”
As she spoke, she also took a sip of the soup and praised it endlessly.
It was mainly the soup that was good, and the noodles were also delicious.
Unlike the two of them, who were eating and discussing, Jiang Huaizhen sat at the end of the long bench with her eyes lowered, eating her noodles quietly.
Today, she was wearing a blue and white long dress. The indigo cotton cross-collared jacket was lined with layers of dark-patterned cotton. The worn-out cuffs were turned inward, revealing the moon-white sleeves of her undergarment.
The old clothes, on her, gave off a noble feeling.
Although she had a cold face, her appearance was superior, and she attracted many envious glances.
But she paid no attention to the gazes of the people around her and just ate slowly with her head down.
It wasn’t until Lin Shuang stepped on her foot that she looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Grandma thinks the lamb is delicious. Let’s buy some later. I’ll make you a braised lamb when we get back. It’s very good with rice, okay?”
What was wrong with that?
Although lamb was expensive, it was rare for her grandmother to say that something was delicious. Why should she be stingy in this area?
She nodded. “Buy it.”
After they finished their noodles, the three of them went to the market.
In the end, they bought two sets of bedding and a new set of clothes for each of them. Jiang Huaizhen’s old jacket was too short, and Lin Shuang was wearing it now, so she got her two long jackets.
Lin Shuang also bought two bolts of cloth, one blue and one yellow, planning to sew some clothes and shoes at home when she had time.
In total, these items cost nearly five hundred copper coins, which came directly from the living expenses.
If it were in the past, Lin Shuang wouldn’t have even dared to think about it. But now, the living expenses had accumulated to five taels of silver. What should be spent should be spent.
“There’s still a little over half a month until the new year. Should we come back in a few days to get the new year’s goods?” Jiang Huaizhen asked.
The two baskets she was carrying were already full. The clothes and bedding were light but took up space. On top of that, they were also with the old woman.
Lin Shuang said, “Alright. We’ll be happy for a long time with what we bought today. When we come back to buy new year’s goods, we can be happy all over again.”
New year’s goods were nothing more than things to eat and use during the new year. The clothes and cloth they had bought now could also be considered part of it.
But she had just said at the lamb noodle shop that the old woman wanted to eat lamb, so Lin Shuang had the two of them wait while she went to the lamb stall to buy two catties of lamb and lamb bones.
Lamb was much more expensive than pork. If the old woman had gone with her, she would have definitely nagged for a while, and she would definitely not have bought it next time.
They really couldn’t carry any more, so they hailed an ox-cart and headed for Whitewater Village.
The small path they usually took was a mountain road that bypassed the village and was extremely rugged. For the ox-cart to go directly to their door, it had to pass through Whitewater Village and then enter the West Mountain Valley from the hollow.
The ox-cart had no cover, so they were just sitting on it. When the three of them entered the village, the clothes and cloth they had bought on the cart naturally fell into the eyes of the villagers.
Jiang Huaizhen and Lin Shuang had recently become the talk of the village. Wherever they went, they would inevitably attract a lot of attention. On top of that, the old woman had not been out of the valley for many years, and the people outside had almost forgotten what she looked like. They had heard that she had been so sick a few days ago that she was about to die, which made them even more curious. Seeing the ox-cart pass by, they couldn’t help but poke their heads out to look.
Seeing the cart full of things, and the thick bedding, they were extremely envious and whispered, “No wonder she became an executioner. One head for one tael of silver. Eight people, and the money is in hand in one go. So easy.”
Someone else said, “To spend this money, your hands have to be stained with blood. The money of someone who has no descendants, which family can afford to spend it?”
“Didn’t they say that Jiang Gui also had no descendants? But he could pick one up. He picked up a little girl to raise, and he had an heir, didn’t he?”
“She’s not his own. What’s the use? And she’s a girl.”
“So what if she’s a girl? Look at Old Madam Jiang, she was so sick she was about to die, but she was still busy, carrying her to the doctor in the middle of the night. In my opinion, she’s much better than that Zhang Laizi from the east of the village. He’s lazy and good-for-nothing. His old mother is over seventy and still has to go out and beg to support him.”
“Sigh, you’re so envious. Why don’t you go?”
“I’m a woman. It’s hard for me to even kill a chicken. You’re strong. Why don’t you go?”
“She’s also a woman. How can she do it?”
Some also boldly shouted at the ox-cart, “Old sister-in-law, I haven’t seen you out of the valley for over ten years. I heard you were sick before. Are you better now?”
Old Madam Jiang looked in the direction of the voice but didn’t recognize who was speaking.
Lin Shuang reminded her in a low voice, “It’s the old mother of Zhang Erqiang from the village entrance.”
Old Madam Jiang seemed to recognize the person and smiled. “I did go to the gates of hell a while back. It’s a good thing my Zhen’er carried me to the doctor in the middle of the night. After taking the medicine, I’m much better now.”
“This child is really filial,” the person said with a grin.
Old Madam Jiang said, “She’s a filial child. Otherwise, which girl would be willing to do such an unlucky job?”
Her face was full of pride, and she had completely forgotten how she had resented her honest and simple granddaughter at home.
Hearing this, the people who had just been gossiping all looked embarrassed. They disliked Jiang Huaizhen’s identity, but for a filial daughter to do such a job that harmed her spiritual merit to save her grandmother, the dirtier and more unlucky the job, the more filial she seemed.
So someone turned to Lin Shuang and said, “Then she’s quite good. She even knows to buy a little maid to serve you.”
Old Madam Jiang said, “That was also out of necessity. If we hadn’t bought her, this little girl would have been sold to a brothel. Her aunt and uncle are not human, but my Zhen’er is soft-hearted. How could she watch a girl from a good family jump into a pit of fire? She had to borrow money to redeem her.”
“Where does your family need to borrow money? You earn two taels of silver a day selling flatbreads. In three or four days, you’ll have the money back, won’t you?” someone said sourly.
Old Madam Jiang sneered. “This good business, after less than three days, was ruined by some black-hearted person. They were just envious that others were earning money. They deserve to not earn money for several lifetimes.”
“But for someone who can even sell their brother-in-law’s daughter, what good can you expect them to do? In my opinion, if you do something so outrageous and earn unconscionable money, you will eventually suffer retribution.”
She was a sharp-tongued person, but she had had no one to argue with in the valley for these years. She had been sick a while back, and now that her body was a little better, her mouth had been itching. Seeing someone come to her door to be scolded, how could she let go of such a good opportunity? She seized it and gave them a good scolding.
By the time they reached the valley, she had been scolding all the way. When she got off the cart, she felt much better. She didn’t need anyone to help her and hobbled home with her cane.
