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"I don't want to, I don't want to..." A delicate voice drew the attention of Qing Luan and her companions.
As they focused, they saw a little boy, around five years old, wearing a red silk jacket, crying and trying to evade a maid who was following him with a bowl in hand, coaxing him. The scene was both amusing and heart-wrenching.
"Young Master, please eat a little," the maid said with a pained expression, but her eyes remained vigilant as she kept close behind him.
"No, no! I hate it, I hate it!" The little boy protested angrily, tears streaming down his face.
"What's wrong?" Qing Luan stepped forward to block the stumbling Little One, compassionately taking out a handkerchief to wipe his tear-streaked face as she gently asked.
"I don't want to eat! I don't want to eat..." Little One didn't know who this person was but poured out all his grievances.
Upon hearing this, Qing Luan looked up at the maid's distressed face and signaled for her to hand over the bowl. The maid, quick-witted, recognized that this person had saved the young master and was valued by the master and mistress. She respectfully handed over the bowl without further fuss or words.
Taking the bowl, Qing Luan noticed the coarse and overly greasy food inside. Looking at the frail Little One in front of her, she couldn't help but smile wryly—sometimes too much indulgence could harm a child. The Lin couple had doted on their son since he was born late in their lives but had forgotten that such rough and fatty food was unsuitable for a child. In this era, fatty meat was considered precious; thus, their good intentions had inadvertently left the child hungry.
"What’s your name?" With a plan forming in her mind, she smiled and tried to get closer to him.
"Xuan'er," the child replied. He was easily soothed and smiled back at her since she wasn't forcing him to eat.
"Xuan'er, this food isn't tasty. How about I take you somewhere with delicious food?" Instead of commanding him, she asked gently, treating him like an adult.
"Delicious food?" Xuan'er tilted his head in confusion—no one had ever said such things to him before.
"Yes, it's much tastier when we make it ourselves. So, Xuan'er, would you like to give it a try?"
"Absolutely!" Xuan'er replied without hesitation, her excitement palpable.
She led the way to the kitchen, while the maid who usually took care of Xuan'er was startled by the sudden turn of events. No one dared to ask the young master to do any work, not even the master and mistress, who were reluctant to let him lift a finger, especially not for an outsider. So, she hurried off to inform her mistress.
In the kitchen.
Qing Luan approached Cook to express her intentions, assuring that Xuan'er would not be harmed before she was granted a small space to work. She then handed two vegetables to Xuan'er, saying, "You and Tide wash these vegetables together, with help from Sister Qin'er. Once they're clean, you can move on to other tasks, okay?"
"Okay!" Xuan'er replied enthusiastically.
Seeing that Xuan'er agreed, Qing Luan turned and entered the kitchen, leaving the outside matters to Qin'er.
Qin'er filled a basin with water and prepared the vegetables. After placing them in the water, she said, "You two can wash them!" Meanwhile, she thought to herself: Only the young lady could come up with such an idea.
Unaware of Qin'er's thoughts, Qing Luan busied herself inside the kitchen, enlisting the help of the chef since it was their territory. She took a few red dates, removed their insides, chopped them finely along with some millet, and placed them in a pot to simmer. Since there were only two children eating, she wasn't worried about the clay pot not cooking properly.
She grabbed a piece of pork belly, cut off a small section, and minced it until it resembled filling for dumplings. Then she placed it in a small dish. After washing her hands thoroughly, she crushed a handful of coarse salt and sprinkled fine salt over the meat, rubbing it in carefully. She then cracked two eggs right in the center of the meat and set it to steam...
Once that was done, she went to check on the two children washing vegetables. As she reached the doorway, she saw her mistress approaching quickly. After giving a slight nod in acknowledgment, she looked at Xuan'er and asked, "Are the vegetables clean?"
"Clean!" both Xuan'er and Tide answered in unison, their faces beaming with pride.
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