“Liu Ya!” Nanny Li swung her hand out to stop Liu Ya. She told Li Shi with a smile, “Second Old Mistress Sang isn’t wrong. I’m just a servant indeed! However, I’m indebted to Young Master and Young Mistress for thinking highly of me. You are our Young Mistress’s relative, it is our responsibility to welcome you to Ning Garden1Ning GardenSang Wan & Shi Fengju's place of residence and serve you well. If you have any dissatisfaction, please wait until Young Mistress comes back before talking to her about it! Liu Ya, what are you still standing here for? Hurry and help Second Old Mistress Sang!”
“Yes, Godmother!” Liu Ya shot a glance and the other two servants went ahead as well to pull both Li Shi and Sang Yan with them. Li Shi opened her mouth and wanted to retort, but seeing Nanny Li’s stern look, the words could not escape her mouth. There was only a blank look on her face as she was pulled away.
After taking a few dozen steps, Li Shi returned to her senses. She quickly turned her head and shouted at Gu Fangzi while waving her hand, “Fangzi! Go back first. I’ll visit you when I have the time!”
Gu Fangzi and Lan Xiang giggled and nodded at her.
“That foolish countryside woman is very interesting! I didn’t expect Young Mistress to have such an interesting relative!” Lan Xiang jeered.
Gu Fangzi snorted and replied coldly, “That wretch, Sang Wan, is a wild and coarse countryside woman to begin with. A relative like her is well-suited!”
With that, they returned to Peony Park2Peony ParkGu Fangzi's place of residence unhappily. Gu Fangzi hated the fact that she had talked too much just now and missed an opportunity. If she had known Nanny Li would come, she would have pulled Li Shi away.
Nanny Li, Liu Ya, and the others were startled by Li Shi’s thundering voice. Nanny Li had been living under the influence of rules in her lifetime. As such, she hated those who do not abide by the rules the most. There were words she wanted to say but did not do so at first. But when she shot a look at Li Shi, she unconsciously frowned and could not hold herself back any longer. Her feet came to a stop and said, “Second Old Mistress Sang, if you have anything to say to Miss Gu, it is more than enough to instruct a servant to deliver your message. By shouting so loudly, firstly, she might not be able to hear from such a distance; secondly, don’t you find it terribly tiring? And lastly, it doesn’t look dignified in front of the servants! Moving on, no matter how well you get along with Miss Gu, don’t call her by her name. Our Old Mistress dotes on her very much. If our Old Mistress were to see how casual you were, she will be unhappy and will fault Young Mistress for being irreverent!”
Li Shi was greatly discontented and replied, “Even though Fangzi was the one who allowed me to call her that?”
“Even Young Mistress doesn’t address Miss Gu by her name,” Nanny Li said without hiding her displeasure.
Li Shi was embarrassed and responded with an ‘oh’ before going silent.
They entered Ning Garden, passed through the hallway and took a turn to the corridor on the left. They were greeted with many different beautiful flowers as well as the lofty and dignified house that was upright and tall. The doors were brand new and the red paint was eye-catching, and the whitewashed corridor was patterned delicately. Li Shi’s eyes were filled with admiration and she felt her eyes had not feasted enough. While in a daze, she almost knocked into a pillar.
Nanny Li led the two, mother and daughter, into the warm room where Sang Wan usually went. She invited them to sit on the soft couch and ordered the servants to draw some water for them to wash their hands and clean their faces before serving tea. Liu Ya had already instructed for two bowls of noodles to be cooked and she urged Nanny Li to take a rest. “I’ll be here! Godmother, please take a rest!”
Nanny Li was not fond of Li Shi, but since she was Sang Wan’s relative, it would be inappropriate for her to say anything. When she saw Liu Ya hurriedly chasing her away, she was aware of her intentions and said with a smile, “Serve her well until Young Mistress returns and let her handle the rest.” With that, she left.
Liu Ya let out a sigh of relief and promptly said with a smile, “Second Old Mistress, Third Missy, it’s neither early nor late now so I’ve called the kitchen to make two bowls of noodles for the both of you to enjoy. It isn’t early for you to go back as well, so I’ve requested for a few more good dishes to be served to you today.’
Li Shi was unhappy when she had heard Liu Ya had only prepared two bowls of noodles for them. However, when she seemed tactful enough not to chase them away, Li Shi said with a smile on her face, “It wasn’t easy for us to make a trip here from a far away, so I was thinking of staying here for a few days! Liu Ya, Sang Wan won’t chase us away, right?”
“Why would Young Mistress do that?” Liu Ya smiled but was grumbling about it deep down.
“Of course. Sang Wan has always been very conscientious!” Li Shi nodded her head with a beam. She gazed about the entire house in all directions and praised while clicking her tongue, “This Shi family is really rich. I’ll stay a few days and open my eyes to their wealth! Aiyo, we don’t even have such good material to make clothes, yet it’s being used as a tablecloth! Those gold, silver, and jade porcelain displays are really beautiful and dazzling to the eyes! They must cost a lot of money, right?”
Afraid that she would steal them away like Ren Zhixian, Liu Ya said with a smile, “I’m sure they aren’t cheap! What I do know is that these things are registered in the storehouse’s book and taken out using Young Mistress’s name. They will be changed every season, so when the time comes, they’ll have to be returned to the storehouse!”
Li Shi responded with a ‘Oh’ and sipped two mouthfuls of tea before staring at the flower patterns on the blue and white teacup.
After a while, a servant came in with a red tray. Liu Ya stepped forward to receive it from her before signalling for her to leave.
“Second Old Mistress, Third Missy, please come and eat!” As Liu Ya said that, she served the two bowls of noodles onto the little round table one after the other.
“We aren’t very hungry, but thank you for your hard work!” As Li Shi said insincerely and got up, she thought to herself: Who has never eaten noodles? You should have prepared some delicious food for us since we came from very far away. Don’t think you can satisfy us with just a bowl of noodles! This servant is really becoming more and more petty!
After taking a seat in front of the table and seeing all sorts of ingredients on top of the thin white noodles such as dried scallops, hams, shrimp meats, winter bamboo shoots, and so on, as well as the fragrant and rich minced meat which smelled so savory, she could not help but swallowed her saliva subconsciously before taking out the chopsticks as her mouth itched to have a taste.
These noodles were cooked with a soup stock and were mixed with eggs into the best quality white noodles. With the skills of the kitchen staff’s cooking, how would it be the same as what Li Shi would normally have? Li Shi could not be bothered about anything else and slurped a few mouthfuls of noodles. She then felt more invigorated. She held her bowl up and slurped several large mouthfuls of gravy before she wiped her mouth and turned her head to Liu Ya. She said with a smile, “It’s really delicious, but it’s not enough without chili. Bring me some chili!”
“Yes!” Liu Ya responded. She lifted up the curtain to instruct the servants. The next moment, a bowl of chili was served.
Li Shi scooped a spoonful from the bowl and mixed it into her bowl of noodles. She then had a taste before adding two more spoons of chilis, turning the soup red. She continued eating and said with satisfaction, “The chili here isn’t very good! The spiciness isn’t enough!”
Liu Ya took a look at her bowl and her scalp felt numb from seeing the redness. She replied with a smile, “The masters of the household don’t really eat spicy food. Young Master and Young Mistress usually don’t eat them as well.”
While Liu Ya spoke, Li Shi had already gobbled down the big bowl of noodles without a single drop of gravy left. At the bottom of the bowl, there were some green onions and small amounts of meat left. Li Shi used her chopsticks to pick each of them up to eat and told Liu Ya with a smile, “Do you still have more? Go and bring me another bowl!”
Even though Liu Ya was familiar with Li Shi, she had never seen this side of her before. She was stunned and forgot to answer back.
“What’s wrong? I can’t even have another bowl? The Shi family isn’t this petty, right?” Li Shi was unhappy.
“No, no. Why will they be?” Liu Ya secretly wiped her sweat. She thought to herself: Why aren’t I aware that Second Old Mistress could eat so much!
“It’ll be dinner soon. You won’t be able to eat anymore if you eat another bowl now! Why don’t I ask someone to serve two plates of snacks for Second Old Mistress to try?”
“Alright then.” Li Shi nodded her head. When she saw her daughter still eating her noodles slowly, mouth by mouth, she could not help scold, “You’re always so slow in doing things. Hurry up and eat. Their kitchen is already waiting to collect the bowls and chopsticks!”
Sang Yan had been unhappy ever since arriving at the Shi household. Although the noodles were savory, it was tasteless when it reached her mouth. After she was scolded by her mother, she no longer had the appetite and placed the chopsticks down before saying bitterly, “I… I’m done eating. I’m not eating anymore.”
“You’re not eating?” LI Shi frowned. “What a waste! Quickly eat a little more! Aren’t you hungry since you didn’t have lunch?”
“I’m already full.” Sang Yan shook her head.
“If you’re not eating, then I’ll eat them so that it doesn’t go to waste!” Li Shi then extended her hands and pulled Sang Yan’s bowl over. She lowered her head and finished it quickly with nothing left. She then sighed comfortably and told Liu Ya with a smile, “Liu Ya, hurry and bring the snacks here!”
“Mother….” Sang Yan pulled Li Shi. She felt ashamed and looked at Liu Ya in embarrassment.
“What are you doing? Liu Ya isn’t an outsider! Even if she is, so what? It’s a pity to waste such delicious white noodles. Liu Ya, am I right to say that?” Li Shi glared at her daughter disappointedly.
“Second Old Mistress is right! I’ll bring some snacks over. Please wait for me here!” Liu Ya smiled. She did not find Li Shi’s actions inappropriate since she was also from the countryside. She knew how precious food was. However, Li Shi’s attitude was never pleasant!
Liu Ya silently prayed for her Young Mistress to return quickly. She did not dare to let anyone else serve Second Old Mistress Sang as she would really make a joke out of herself.
After a while, Liu Ya served three to four plates of osmanthus cakes, water chestnut cakes, golden dates cakes, and other sweet snacks before Li Shi with a smile. She then put away the two empty bowls by the side. She would wash them herself when nobody was in the kitchen. Since the bowls were empty, Liu Ya was simply too embarrassed to bring them over as she would be laughed at behind her back. [1]
“A rich family is indeed different! Look at how delicate and good-looking these snacks are. They are so fragrant!” Li Shi pinched a piece of soft water chestnut cake and praised it.
Liu Ya was afraid that Li Shi would sweep everything into her mouth again. The snacks that she had brought over were relatively sweet and the amount was ample. As such, she said with a smile, “Second Old Mistress, please go ahead and taste a piece or two of every snack. There will be more delicious ones served tonight. I’ve already instructed the kitchen to prepare the dishes for tonight, so please leave some space in your stomach! Before you go back, I’ll prepare a few boxes of these snacks for you to take away and slowly taste them at home!”
“Hehe, that’ll be good, that’ll be good!” When Li Shi heard there were more delicious ones tonight and she could even take them away, she grew refined all of a sudden. She stopped after tasting a piece of every snack.
[1]: Traditional social etiquette to have something left in the bowl as a grateful gesture for the host and to let the host know that their hunger has been fulfilled.
