Chapter 25: Chapter 25

When Ming Rou woke on the third day, the sky was already bright. The bed beside her had long since gone cold, and she knew she had overslept again.

Remembering her appointment with Zhong Tiantian to pick safflower on the mountain, her drowsiness instantly vanished. She scrambled out of bed and tidied herself up.

Seeing the warm porridge on the stove, Ming Rou felt deeply satisfied.

Back in the Ming Residence, with so many servants, whenever she felt like eating, food would be brought up in no time. It had always seemed so easy. Now, looking at this pot of steaming porridge, she realized how early Jiujiu must have risen.

Yesterday, Zhong Tiantian had said she still had to feed the chickens, cook the pig feed, and feed the pigs before she could come over. After drinking her porridge, Ming Rou busied herself around the house, unsure what to do. She wandered about for a while before remembering she had said she would do the laundry. Instantly eager, she found the clothes the two of them had changed out of, soaked them in the tub, and following Ye Qiuniang’s example, tossed in some soap pods as well.

After soaking them for about half a stick of incense’s worth of time, she began scrubbing. Thinking of how Jiujiu had washed her undergarments the day before, Ming Rou cleared her throat. Just as she was about to reach into the tub, she abruptly withdrew her hand. She straightened up and glanced around the perimeter before carefully fishing Jiujiu’s two small garments out of the tub.

A wave of heat secretly crept up her ears, and her whole face flushed warmly.

These were Jiujiu’s most intimate garments. At this thought, for reasons she couldn’t explain, a surge of heat rushed to her head. An indescribable, strange feeling spread unbidden in her heart.

The fabric of these small garments was relatively soft. Ming Rou gently scrubbed them with both hands, tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

But this coy mood was quickly defeated by reality.

When it came to the thicker clothes, Ming Rou’s hands grew tired after just a little scrubbing. She switched to a wooden mallet, but no matter how she tried, she couldn’t seem to get the hang of it. Her bent back soon ached, and after a short while, she was drenched in sweat. She scrubbed back and forth until the skin on her palms was nearly raw. Only then did she stop, give the clothes a few random more whacks, figure they were good enough, and stand up to draw water from the well to rinse them.

She never imagined the wooden bucket would seem to have a personal vendetta against her. Each time she tossed it down and pulled it up, it barely brought up any water. After several consecutive failed attempts, she felt utterly defeated.

Her arms and legs felt weak. She began to get angry at herself, feeling so useless. The injustice brought a sting to her nose, and she nearly burst into tears.

She wanted to fling the bucket away, but fearing how disappointed Jiujiu would be if she found out, she retrieved it again.

Just as Ming Rou, gritting her teeth, bent over to draw water from the well for the sixth time, a voice came from behind her. “That’s not the way to draw water. Let me do it.”

Turning around, she saw it was A Tao.

Already worn out from wrestling with the bucket, Ming Rou, her eyes red-rimmed, stepped aside to let him draw the water.

A Tao was undoubtedly very patient. He picked up the bucket and said to Ming Rou, “When you lower it, you have to drop it in at an angle. Once the bucket hits the bottom, it’ll flip over on its own and fill with water. Then you just pull straight up.”

Hearing this, Ming Rou finally understood the trick. A Tao went on to demonstrate three more times for her, and at last she grasped how to do it.

A Tao filled the nearby water vat to the brim before stopping. Using this water, Ming Rou finally managed to rinse the clothes clean.

Though the process hadn’t gone smoothly and she had even nearly cried at one point, seeing the clean clothes hanging on the bamboo pole, Ming Rou felt proud for the first time. At least she wouldn’t always be a burden to Jiujiu.

Just as they finished, Zhong Tiantian arrived.

“A Tao, what are you doing here?”

“I don’t have to work today. I came to hang out with Miss Ming,” A Tao said cheerfully.

“Since you’re free too, let’s go pick safflower together,” Zhong Tiantian eagerly invited.

“Do you mind if I come along?” A Tao turned to ask Ming Rou for her opinion.

Ming Rou naturally wouldn’t refuse. A strong lad like A Tao could help them carry the flower branches back.

The clothes Ming Rou had changed into today happened to be the set she had worn on the day she left the Ming Residence. The material was clearly expensive. A Tao knew Ming Rou’s background, but Zhong Tiantian did not. Seeing Ming Rou’s attire, made of fine, smooth silk, she couldn’t help but click her tongue.

“Rourou, these clothes of yours look very valuable. Are you really going up the mountain dressed like that? If they get snagged, they’ll be ruined.”

Ming Rou glanced at the coarse clothes still dripping on the bamboo pole and said nonchalantly, “Never mind, I’ll just wear these. I don’t have any other clothes anyway.”

“Wait here then. I’ll go home and get a set of mine for you. Put mine on first. If this outfit gets stained by the flower sap later, it’d be such a pity.” With that, Zhong Tiantian ran off home.

Ming Rou wanted to say it wasn’t necessary, but the girl was already gone.

Shortly after, Zhong Tiantian came running back with a set of bluish-white old clothes. Panting, she said, “These are what I usually wear. I have several sets. I’ll lend you one for now. Though they’re a bit old, please don’t mind. Change, and then we’ll set off.”

Ming Rou hadn’t expected a child from a poor family to be so generous. In her past understanding, people risked death for wealth, just as birds did for food. Her own father, Du Xian, with his shameless greed, had schemed so hard, wasn’t it all for those yellow and white metals? And in the end, he couldn’t even tolerate his own daughter.

Those bound by blood could be so cruel and distant, yet strangers met by chance could be so generous. It filled her with deep emotion.

Moved, Ming Rou thanked her and hurried inside to change.

The safflower grew a bit further into the mountains. Zhong Tiantian rarely went there alone, but the safflower was particularly plentiful in that spot. Now with A Tao accompanying them, the two girls had not a single worry. Chattering excitedly, they headed up the mountain.

The safflower was easy to find. A valley on the mountain was blanketed with such blooms.

Seeing that Ming Rou was solely interested in the red color, the three of them focused on picking safflower branches, taking only a small amount of other colored plants.

After returning, A Tao went back to the estate for some business. Ming Rou and Zhong Tiantian were left to tinker with the freshly picked flowers and begin extracting the color. Zhong Tiantian was undoubtedly very skilled at extracting pigments. But driven by interest and her natural intelligence, Ming Rou quickly grasped the method as well. The two successfully extracted the red flower sap. Once this sap dried, it would form a powder. To use it as lip rouge, they’d just need to dab a bit of water on it and apply it to the lips.

Looking at the brilliantly vivid color before her, Ming Rou’s delight was indescribable.

She shared her idea of using this flower sap to make lip rouge with Zhong Tiantian. Hearing that the dye she had stumbled upon could be used for such a purpose, Zhong Tiantian shrieked with excitement.

However, this method still had a flaw: while the color was exceptionally vivid, it lacked moisture. Once applied to the lips and it dried, it would easily flake off or spread. After sitting for a while, it would also harden into a lump, making it very difficult to store.

Ming Rou and Zhong Tiantian tried some on each other’s faces and thought the effect was fantastic. If they could solve the previously discovered flaws, this lip rouge would be the best thing to replace the current cinnabar-based lip rouges.

When the sun began to set, Zhong Tiantian’s parents also returned home. Seeing the Zhong family starting to prepare dinner, Ming Rou didn’t press further on the lip rouge issue. There would be plenty of time later to slowly tinker. So, despite their insistence she stay, she hurriedly headed back.

Walking toward home, she saw from afar smoke curling up from her rooftop, and her heart leaped with excitement. Jiujiu was back.

Having spent the whole day at Tiantian’s tinkering with these things, she hadn’t thought much about Jiujiu. A wave of guilt washed over Ming Rou, and her steps unconsciously quickened.

The moment she entered the courtyard, the aroma of food hit her, making her mouth water.

She dashed into the kitchen in three quick steps. “Jiujiu, what delicious food did you make?”

Ye Qiuniang was bent over at the stove, using a wooden spatula to spread a ladle of batter into a pancake in the pan. The fire in the stove burned quietly. On the chopping board beside her were already three or four cooked pancakes.

Hearing the crisp voice at the door, she looked up. The young girl’s bright face appeared at the entrance.

When Ye Qiuniang saw Ming Rou return, a smile gradually spread across her originally serene face. She said to Ming Rou, “Back already? Whose clothes are you wearing? Stained with so much dye, you look like a little tabby cat.”

Her words were chiding, but her voice was soft and warm, completely without intimidation.

Ming Rou, having successfully produced so many beautiful colors today, was in an excellent mood. Clutching the small box tightly, she grinned and sidled up to Ye Qiuniang. “They’re Tiantian’s clothes. Jiujiu, I made something great. I’ll show you after we’re done.”

“What good thing?” Seeing her in such a rare good mood, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t help but ask with a smile.

“I’ll tell you in a bit.” In the past, Ming Rou could never hold back; as soon as she had something good, she’d want to announce it to the world. Now she could actually keep a surprise, which surprised Ye Qiuniang somewhat.

Through the thin smoke wafting from the stove, she saw the young girl’s rosy lips and her slightly rouged cheeks. Ye Qiuniang could roughly guess what the “good thing” was. But to play along with her surprise, she immediately suppressed her curiosity and nodded. “In that case, I’ll wait and see what good thing Eldest Miss has brought back.”

Hearing Ye Qiuniang call her Eldest Miss again, Ming Rou remembered how yesterday, when she had asked Zhong Tiantian to look after her, she had called her Rou’er. At the time, it had made her so happy. Now, hearing her revert to Eldest Miss, she instantly felt unhappy. Pouting, she muttered under her breath.

“She clearly called me Rou’er yesterday, so why is she calling me Eldest Miss now…”

With the sound of frying pancakes and the crackling fire in her ears, Ye Qiuniang couldn’t quite hear Ming Rou clearly. Seeing her muttering softly to the side, she tilted her head and looked at her with a puzzled expression while flipping a pancake in the pan.

“What is Eldest Miss saying?”

Seeing she hadn’t heard, Ming Rou humphed and, in the end, didn’t press the issue of the address. She turned and sat down at the little wooden table, picking up a small pancake to nibble.

She failed to consider that the pancake had just come out of the pan and was scalding hot. As soon as it touched her lips, she yelped and nearly dropped the pancake from the burn.

Startled, Ye Qiuniang quickly stopped what she was doing and came over. Crouching down, she lifted Ming Rou’s chin with her hand and carefully examined her burned lip.

Ming Rou’s lips, usually a bit pale, were now particularly red and moist from who knows what kind of lip rouge, lending a bright, vibrant look to her little face. The faint rouge on her cheeks gave her normally somewhat childish appearance a touch of charm. Especially the lip burned by the pancake, now a bit red and swollen, looked somewhat… enticing.

Ye Qiuniang suddenly felt the hand holding Ming Rou’s chin grow hot, and she quickly let go and withdrew it.

Ming Rou noticed her movement and looked at her in confusion.

Meeting her deer-like, innocent gaze, Ye Qiuniang felt her throat inexplicably go dry.

She coughed lightly and said, “I forgot to tell you, this pancake just came out of the pan and is very hot. You have to be careful when you eat it.”

Just then, she caught a faint burning smell from the pan and quickly stood up to walk back behind the stove. Bowing her head, she continued flipping pancakes in silence.

“Hmph—” Feeling once again neglected, Ming Rou was a bit displeased. But after all, Jiujiu had worked hard all day and come back to make her pancakes; she couldn’t very well throw a big tantrum. So she just huffily picked up the pancake again.

But Ye Qiuniang’s voice rang out again, “The ones on the edge are hot. Your hands are still stained with dye. Use chopsticks to eat.”

Ming Rou pouted, stood up to get chopsticks, and returned to the table in a huff. Ye Qiuniang watched the young girl’s slender yet upright back, and her eyes dimmed slightly.

Ming Rou was still in a bit of a mood, but when she took her first bite of the pancake, her eyes instantly lit up. Her previously sulky mood vanished without a trace. She turned to Ye Qiuniang and said, “Jiujiu, what kind of pancake is this? It’s so delicious!”

Sensing her sudden shift in mood, that earlier feeling of melancholy in Ye Qiuniang also dissipated. She smiled gently. “It’s a banana pancake. Some bananas on a tree at the estate ripened today, and the manager told me to take a few home. Remembering that you’d probably like them, I drew some glutinous rice flour from the storehouse and mixed it together to make pancakes. Looks like it suits your taste.”

“Mhm, mhm, delicious.” Ming Rou nibbled at the pancake in small bites. Honestly, she was at a growing age and had been running around all day. With only two meals a day, she had been running on empty since that morning bowl of porridge.

Watching her eat with such relish, a smile crept into Ye Qiuniang’s eyes. Then she remembered how Ming Rou had been craving the Zhong family’s Chinese sausage the night before, and her heart ached again. A once pampered Eldest Miss, fallen to such a state. Yet at least things were better than she had imagined. Ming Rou was adapting relatively well to her current circumstances. Any other rich kid in her shoes would likely be crying to the heavens and blaming everyone else. But Ming Rou wasn’t like that. She was doing well, she hadn’t degenerated, and she had even made a new friend.

Last night, she had even talked about earning money together to support the family. In private, she would often take out the Ming Family’s heirloom jade pendant to look at it.

The Ming Family—she still couldn’t let it go.