Chapter 40: Grandma Cooks
The next day, Lin Shuang and Jiang Huaizhen had prepared the adobe bricks they would need.
Four days later, the bricks were dry. They woke up early and hailed an ox-cart to transport them to the city.
They planned to build all three heated kangs today. Any later, and they wouldn’t be able to use them before the new year.
It was very cold, and the sky was gray, as if the air itself had frozen into ice shards. The howling north wind made people instinctively shrink their necks.
All three families lived in the city. Two of them lived close to each other, while the other was a little further away.
They decided to build for the two families who lived close to each other first.
This was not the first time they had done this kind of work. Jiang Huaizhen was already completely proficient, and the two of them worked together in perfect harmony, getting it done quickly. Mixing the mud, laying the bricks, setting up the flue—it took about an hour to build one heated kang.
The two of them had eaten before they came and had told the homeowners in advance that they didn’t need to provide meals.
By the time the second kang was finished, it was past noon.
Lin Shuang was starving. She pulled Jiang Huaizhen to wash their hands, and the two of them sat in the corridor of the courtyard, eating the flatbreads they had made in the morning with the hot water the homeowner had given them, filling their stomachs with a bite of flatbread and a sip of water.
Today was the twentieth of the twelfth lunar month. The closer it got to the new year, the colder it got.
The wind was howling. There was a large hole in the wall of the corridor, and the wind blowing from that spot was particularly biting, like a knife cutting their faces.
Lin Shuang felt that her fingertips and toes were ice-cold.
It wasn’t until she was halfway through her flatbread that she suddenly realized that the biting wind behind her seemed to have stopped. She turned her head and saw that Jiang Huaizhen had appeared behind her at some point, leaning there seemingly casually, but her body was blocking the gap perfectly.
She was a little stunned.
But her eyes quickly reddened.
How could Jiang Huaizhen be so foolish? How could she be so good?
They were both girls. What had she done to deserve to be treated like this by her, not to mention that she had saved her in her past life?
A jumble of unknown emotions surged in Lin Shuang’s chest. She quickly reached out and pulled her over. “Silly, don’t stand there. We can just move to another spot to eat.”
Jiang Huaizhen was unconcerned. “It’s alright. I’m wearing thick clothes. The wind can’t get in.”
Jiang Huaizhen’s status made her try to avoid troubling others as much as possible. As long as she could make do, she would not ask for better conditions. Although these few families had said that they did not mind that she was an executioner, from their words, there was still some taboo. This was also the reason why she was unwilling to let them be responsible for her meals or to eat in their houses.
And wherever she was, Lin Shuang would naturally be there.
Now, in her second life, she was still being taken care of by the other. Lin Shuang could not describe the feeling in her heart.
At this moment, she suddenly wanted to hug this woman.
But in the end, she only quickened the pace of her swallowing, finished the rest of the flatbread, and quickly patted the crumbs off her clothes. “Let’s go. Let’s finish up quickly and go home.”
Jiang Huaizhen hummed in agreement, and the two of them walked back into the house, one after the other.
By the time they had finished with the third family, they had just managed to leave the city with the last group of people before the gates were locked.
The two of them were covered in mud and didn’t squeeze onto an ox-cart with others, but walked back to Whitewater Village.
By the time they got home, it was already completely dark.
In the cold wind, the distant barking of dogs from outside the valley could be heard. Old Madam Jiang, her body stooped, was waiting at the door with an oil lamp. “You’re finally back.”
She had boiled a large pot of water early on. Seeing the two of them enter, dirty, her heart ached. She urged them to go and wash up quickly, then turned to make dinner.
Her health was gradually improving now. She could get out of bed and could also cook. Although her cooking was not as good as Lin Shuang’s, it was still a home-cooked meal that went well with rice, with enough oil and salt, and it was hot.
The two young girls took turns taking a bath and changed into clean clothes, feeling much refreshed.
Jiang Huaizhen was the main force in building the kang. Lin Shuang felt sorry for her for working all day and urged her to go and rest on the kang. She herself went to the kitchen to help the old woman make dinner.
A large pot of rice was cooked. It seemed the old woman was afraid they would be starving. She had also made a chicken soup and a dish of stir-fried pork belly with vegetable stems and a vegetable dish, which were so fragrant that Lin Shuang’s stomach was rumbling.
“Bring it to the kang. We’ll eat on the kang,” Old Madam Jiang, who was usually the most principled, made an exception.
Lin Shuang beamed and helped to bring the dishes into the room one by one.
Seeing her bring the dishes in, Jiang Huaizhen quickly set up the table on the kang, then took the dishes and arranged them.
After the old woman had finished cleaning up, she also came into the room. Seeing that the two of them hadn’t started eating yet, she said with a scolding tone, “If you’re hungry, eat. What are you waiting for me for?”
“It’s more fragrant to eat together,” Lin Shuang said, sitting next to Jiang Huaizhen. The warmth from under the kang board seeped through her cotton pants, and it was very comfortable.
Seeing the old woman urge them, the two of them finally started to eat.
This was the first time Lin Shuang had not had to cook since she had come to this family. She usually did the cooking. Now, eating a dish she had not made herself, she felt a little novel and also warm in her heart.
The old woman’s skills were not bad either. The hot chicken soup rolled down her throat, and all the cold and fatigue from the day were swept away. She praised it endlessly, “Grandma’s skills are really good. I love it.”
Old Madam Jiang put down her soup bowl and said warily, “Don’t think that if you say that, I’ll cook in the future. I only did it today because I saw you were coming back so late.”
Lin Shuang hummed in agreement. “It’s alright, it’s alright. I’ll cook from now on. Grandma can cook whenever she wants.”
Only then did a satisfied expression appear on Old Madam Jiang’s face.
After dinner, the three of them cleared the table and lay down on the kang, feeling lazy.
Lin Shuang took out the six hundred copper coins she had received during the day and, as before, divided them into three parts. She pushed half of it to Old Madam Jiang. “As we agreed, this part is for emergencies and medical expenses in the future.”
The old woman thought for a moment and said, “I still have twelve taels. My medicine expenses are not much now. Why don’t we save it up and buy a cow or a horse or something? It will be convenient for you to go in and out in the future, and we can also use it to plow the fields when we’re free.”
When they had first started selling flatbreads on the official road, Lin Shuang had already had the idea of buying a horse like Lu Qing’s. But at that time, her pockets were empty, so she had suppressed the thought.
But she didn’t expect the old woman to bring it up first.
She turned to look at Jiang Huaizhen and asked, “Sister Jiang, Grandma said we should buy a cow.”
Jiang Huaizhen was leaning against the wall and replied, “Then let’s buy one.”
Today, she was rarely sitting so upright. Her hair was down, and her expression was a little lazy, with a hint of charm in her coldness, a look that Lin Shuang had never seen before.
Lin Shuang thought of how she had stood behind her this morning to block the wind, and her heart couldn’t help but tremble slightly. She forced herself to look away and stared at the silver in her hand. “Then should we buy a cow or a horse? If we buy a cow, we can only pull things, and it’s not convenient to ride in and out. But if we buy a horse, it’s not good for plowing.”
Jiang Huaizhen replied, “Grandma said to buy a cow, so let’s buy a cow.”
But Lin Shuang was a little reluctant. Jiang Huaizhen was still working as an executioner, and she had to rely on her own two feet to go in and out, and she was also carrying a twenty or thirty-catty great saber. Now, she wanted to prioritize her in everything.
She was biased toward Jiang Huaizhen.
Old Madam Jiang, who was next to her, was very shrewd and saw Lin Shuang’s hesitation. She said grumpily, “What do you mean, I said to buy a cow, so we have to buy a cow? If you want to ride a horse, then buy a horse. It’s not me who’s going to be plowing the fields. We only have two mu of land, one of which is a paddy field. We’d only use a cow for a few days, and we’d have to take care of it all year round.”
Hearing her say this, Lin Shuang’s face lit up with a smile. “Isn’t there still me in the fields? I can be half a cow.”
Hearing her say this, Old Madam Jiang got up and went to get her money jar. She poured out the money inside, counted it, and took out two taels to hand to her.
“You don’t have much on your side, and you have to make ends meet. You also have to save a portion for next year’s business. I’ll give you some first. When you earn more in the future, you can pay me back.”
Lin Shuang hadn’t expected that the money that had entered the old woman’s pocket could actually be taken out again. She was extremely happy and linked her arm. “Grandma, you’re the best grandma in the world.”
The old woman shook off her hand in disgust. “So cheesy. Get away, get away. You know where my money is hidden. Don’t touch it in the future.”
“Don’t worry. We have our own money. We won’t touch yours.”
Jiang Huaizhen looked at the two of them pretending to fight, her eyes lowered slightly.
In all her memories, there had never been a day like this, where she felt so rich in her heart and her face was filled with laughter. In her memory, her childhood was filled with arguments and the final bloody scene. And in her youth, it was the old woman’s endless nagging and her adoptive father’s drunkenness, and the confusion about the future.
It had never been like this.
Of course, she hoped that such days would last forever.
After Lin Shuang and the old woman had finished their squabble, she took out her account book and looked at the numbers. “We have four taels and four hundred copper coins left for living expenses, and two taels for business. This horse, we’ll use it for daily use, but mainly for pulling goods for business. I think we can take three taels from the living expenses and one tael from the business, plus the six hundred copper coins we earned today, and the two taels Grandma just gave us, for a total of six taels and six hundred.”
“That day, Guiying said that Head Constable Lu’s horse cost six taels, so this should be about right.”
Thinking that the family was about to have a horse-drawn carriage, Lin Shuang couldn’t help but get excited.
This money was all earned by her and Huaizhen, one flatbread at a time.
The only pity was that these few days were the busiest time on the street. If they had continued to sell flatbreads in the city, they would have probably earned enough to buy a good horse long ago.
“When are we going to buy the horse?” she looked at Jiang Huaizhen and asked.
But Jiang Huaizhen shook her head. “No hurry. We don’t have any particular need for a horse before the new year. If we buy it back, we’ll have to prepare fodder for the winter, and it’s not easy to take care of it in the cold weather. After the new year, I’ll build a stable in the back. We can buy it then when the weather is a little warmer.”
Seeing how thoughtful she was, Lin Shuang smiled. “I’ll listen to you.”
After discussing the matter of buying a horse, they chatted for a while longer. Seeing that it was getting late, the two of them got off the kang and went back to the east room.
Going from a warm room to a cold quilt was quite a shock.
As soon as she got into bed, Lin Shuang couldn’t wait to press against Jiang Huaizhen.
Fortunately, this woman’s body was still warm. After lying there for a little while, the quilt gradually warmed up.
Lin Shuang hugged her arm, her mind replaying the events of the day. Her heart was full of softness. She moved her face closer and pressed it against the other’s shoulder, calling out softly, “Jiang Huaizhen…”
Jiang Huaizhen hummed in response.
At this moment, Lin Shuang suddenly felt that she was already like a person kept by Jiang Huaizhen outside. They clearly had a hot kang in the old woman’s room, but they didn’t sleep there. Instead, they insisted on squeezing into a cold quilt in another room.
She knew she was hallucinating, but once the thought had taken root, it could not be stopped.
She squeezed closer to Jiang Huaizhen, hoping that Jiang Huaizhen would reach out and hug her.
But Jiang Huaizhen didn’t. She just pulled the quilt over to her side and asked, “Is it very cold? Why don’t you go and sleep on the kang in the west room with Grandma?”
Lin Shuang was a little disappointed.
She shook her head. “No, I want to sleep here with you.”
“Alright, let’s sleep,” Jiang Huaizhen said softly.
Huaizhen colder than winter itself lol