When Zhang Xiaobao and w.a.n.g Juan used four limbs to finish crawling 40 meters on the sand floor, they were all lying there exhausted, not moving one bit. Shiliu had been standing to the side accompanying them. She had really been horrified now. What children were these? When crawling the last 2 zhang left of the way, she clearly saw how the two childrenâs short little arms and legs didnât stop trembling.
Sheâd had a similar experience so she understood well what that feeling was like. In fact, sheâd previously had only trembling in her arms but her legs had been fine. She had just started out at the manor and being unfamiliar with how to do things, she had been punished. At that time, she had been endlessly cursing in her heart yet she didnât dare not workâif she didnât, then her familyâs living would be broken off.
If someone had her rest back then, she would have been grateful to that person for a lifetime. But right now, just what were Little Mister and Little Miss Juan-Juan doing this for? Could it be just for play? Whose children would âplayâ so desperately when they were this big? If there were really people who had children play like this, then the children would already have cried looking for Mom.
As she thought of this, a bit of esteem rose from within Shiliuâs heart. She told herself that perhaps rich peopleâs children were all this formidable. As she looked at the sand all over the childrenâs bodies and those little faces and hands that were tanned completely red, Shiliu had people prepare the bathwater on the one hand while on the other, she walked near, wanting to pick up the two children.
âNo need. The two of us after resting a while can walk by ourselves. Have people make the bathwater a bit hotter. Warm the vintage wine as well. Warming a large kettle will do. Go, thereâs no need to keep minding us.â Zhang Xiaobao used all of his energy to shake his head while instructing Shiliu.
Shiliu hesitated for a bit before acting according to what Little Mister had said. She didnât leave though and stood there to the side as things had been arranged for.
âReally f.u.c.king [modern]1Â comfortable. Aiya,2Â how long has it been to be this tired? So nostalgic of the original days.â Zhang Xiaobao basked in the sun as he faced downward and stuck his head into the cove it made in the wet sand as he spoke in a m.u.f.fled voice.
âIsnât that so? Today is still of no matter but tomorrowâs practice, weâll really suffer, ~ne. In a while, just having milk, even if our bellies are stuffed to the max, weâll still be hungry at night. Xiaobao, what to eat tonight?â w.a.n.g Juan also mimicked Zhang Xiaobao in using her head to burrow into the sand.
âWho knows, ~ne? Right now, I donât want to consider this issue. Just want to lie down and sleep.â Zhang Xiaobao also vigorously stuck his small hands into the sand. It was cool there.
w.a.n.g Juan imitated his actions: âThat wonât do. You need to decide. That little bit of milk will affect our training tomorrow.â
âIf you can endure the greasiness, then letâs drink mutton soup. Have them cook the mutton till itâs mushy. Lessen the salt and other seasonings addedâwant to eat something light. Itâll be cuc.u.mber and chicken egg soup then. Only a bit of cuc.u.mber and mix the chicken eggs loosely before adding some chopped scallions. Itâs better than a hungry stomach.â Zhang Xiaobao wanted to eat something light right now.
âMutton soup, then. Iâll bear with the queasiness. After all, this stuff can quickly replenish energy. Gruel3Â is too watery and too slow to heat. Our rice here isnât that great.â w.a.n.g Juan chose the item she most didnât want to eat.
Zhang Xiaobao exerted himself before he could finally stand up. Pulling w.a.n.g Juan up, the two of them walked towards the shade together, that tottering pace causing Shiliu to the side anxiety as she watched.
After soaking in a hot water bath for less than an hour,4Â Zhang Xiaobao and w.a.n.g Juan used the warmed vintage wine to ma.s.sage each other. Whose turn it was to be ma.s.saged, they would bite down on clothing at the side and endure that feeling of aching soreness. Everyone had been driven out. The two of them didnât wish to let others see their display of discomfort.
âXiaobao, this alcohol percentage is too low. Letâs distill it a bit. The body absorption is slow; itâs all vaporized.â w.a.n.g Juan whined as she spoke.
âI donât like this stuffâit has no use. If you want to make drunken shrimp,5Â Shaoxing yellow wine6Â is the best.â
âIt can be used to disinfect when treating external injuries.â w.a.n.g Juan kept urging. She didnât know the steps for distillation but she believed Zhang Xiaobao would have no problems.
âNo, I dislike ethanol. It easily causes pus under the scabbing. When I was injured in the past, Iâd directly use yellow iodine solution.â7
âYou can get injured as well, even as such a formidable person?â w.a.n.g Juan here was just looking for a topic to talk about; she had been rubbed by Zhang Xiaobao till she had nearly cried out loud.
âHow could I not get injured? When practicing, Iâd constantly be injured. But it was okay, there was the money stolen from the officials to sustain me. Once, I jumped down from a height of 13 meters. Both of my legs were broken. Slapped down 200K at the hospital and they waited on me like I was an ancestor. When my legs were good, I continued jumping until I found that kind of feeling.â Zhang Xiaobao finished ma.s.saging w.a.n.g Juanâs last leg and directly lay leaning down.
w.a.n.g Juan gritted her teeth as she climbed back up and began giving Zhang Xiaobao a ma.s.sage: âA great beauty like me giving you a ma.s.sage, you happy? You comfortable?â
âWhat feeling? Right now, anyone that touches me, I am all one single feeling. How is yellow iodine solution produced? I tricked people in the past before without involving this stuff. If Iâd known it would be like this, Iâd have learned it. Itâs only a matter of a few sentences. Just a mention to remember and I could memorize it.â Zhang Xiaobao bared his teeth, sharply inhaling on the one hand and grunting as he spoke on the other.
âThe matter you let Erniuâs family do and thereâs also the one with Yingtao, have you decided on what to do in the end? If thereâs a leak, ~ne?â Both of w.a.n.g Juanâs hands pushed down on Zhang Xiaobaoâs back, nearly all of her body weight pressing on top.
Zhang Xiaobao had wanted to speak then but he suddenly grunted. It wasnât until w.a.n.g Juan shifted position that he exhaled as he said: âNot afraid. The ideas to make a bit of pocket change are plentiful. Wait till others have learned how to, then weâll do other things. This kind of stuff is the same as tricking peopleâflexibility and adaptability is necessary. Clinging onto one kind of thing, in this time period, maintaining confidentiality isnât easily done, ~ah.â
âFine, youâre almighty. That hot pot, ~ne? Youâre not prepared to use it to make money?â
âOnly idiots will use hot pot to sell for money. That plaything, just a glance, and others will know how. Keeping it secret isnât even possible. Once my and your family members have all eaten well, weâll publicize it in a free promotion. Let all who wish to dine this way know the method of making this hot pot. Then, weâll sell the ingredients. Actually, the most typical one is to add starchâthat way the meat doesnât toughen up so easily. I donât know how to make it so let him cook rice or wheat. The starch content in that stuff is high. At that time, weâll have another income stream.â Zhang Xiaobaoâs eyes slowly closed. This type of feeling when being ma.s.saged was really too comfortableâsoreness that was just right, aching till it was relieving.
As the two of them ma.s.saged each other inside the small room, outside, Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g was eating with great effort as well. When Shiliu arranged for people to make a thick mutton soup, Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g had people make pork elbows for her to eat at the same timeâthe type that was unsalted and taking two bites would lead to a moment of nausea. The little maid servant that specifically attended on her, Xiaoqiu,8Â looked at that basin full of oily and greasy pork elbows and without needing to eat it, just a look made her want to puke. While she watched Mistress vigorously eat over there, she urged: âMistress, this stuff really is too greasy. How about adding a bit of salt? To get it down like this wonât do, ~ah.â
âAdd what salt? Adding salt can still induce milk?9Â My son and my daughter-in-law are badly tired today. If I donât eat more, how can I feed them well? Other peopleâs children will energetically cry with just a bit. How understanding are my familyâs two children? If by chance, they get hungry, they wonât cry like other children. Theyâd just bear with it. The more theyâre like this, the more that the mother I am will feel sorry. Tonight when you sleep next door, listen carefully. If thereâs any movement, just call for me to get up for a breastfeeding.â
Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g spoke a few words before beginning to eat again. Thinking of the childrenâs sweet smiles when they fell asleep after a feeding, she felt that these pork elbows werenât that greasy after all.
âMistress, how about finding two wet-nurses?10Â You [honorific], a single person feeding two children, itâs too tiring.â Xiaoqiu advised next to her.
âDonât look. My familyâs children I can feed myself. I still have elbows here to eat, ~ne. How many people who had children and wanted to eat a bit of meat but couldnât, didnât they bear with it, too?â As Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g spoke, she scooped up a piece of fatty meat that was 1 cun11Â thick. Opening her mouth to shove it inside, her face broke out into a smile as if she had just fought a victorious battle.
When night came, it was just as Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g had thought; Zhang Xiaobao and w.a.n.g Juan woke up after sleeping for 2 hours. When muscles were recombining, the heat consumption was really great. The prepared mutton soup was all eaten by Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g while the two of them still had milk.
On the second day, when Mrs. Zhang-w.a.n.g left to do other things, Zhang Xiaobao summoned Shiliu to ask: âYesterday before dinner, what did my Mom eat?â
âIn reply to Little Mister, it was elbows.â Shiliu replied.
âThatâs fine. You may go.â
âXiaobao, elbows can induce milk but isnât the effect not that fast?â w.a.n.g Juan waited till Shiliu reached the exterior room before asking.
âThe milk we had yesterday had nothing to do with the elbows. This is a type of self-hypnotic subconscious suggestion. My Mom believed that eating elbows could induce even more milk so she concentrated on having more milk herself. The result was that she really had some milk. Itâs just like sleepwalkers that climb up high-rises. Under those types of conditions, he believed he could climb up and as long as his bodily functions could theoretically fulfill this demand, he could climb up there.â Zhang Xiaobao explained.
âOh, then we still walking in the sand today?â w.a.n.g Juan nodded to show she understood, not saying too much. They were all adults; there was no need to mention words of grat.i.tude.
âWalking in the sand is fine. You should have discovered that we actually arenât a bit uncomfortable. This is the advantage of a childâs body; the recuperation speed is extremely fast. Today, letâs walk around outside. Weâll walk separately. I want to get familiar with the affairs of the manor. You have Shiliu lead you. Iâll get Yingtao.â Zhang Xiaobao made the decision.
After finishing their milk, they were carried out by people. What Zhang Xiaobao wanted to see was what was actually being planted inside the manor and whether the yield could be increased while w.a.n.g Juan was a.s.signed with the mission of understanding the hearts and minds of the peasants as they operated separately.
Yingtao went and bought chicken eggs yesterday. Today, she didnât need to go herself and there were people who had already brought the chicken eggs over here. It was all according to her request of newly laid eggs with at least one end rounded as well as not being excessively rocked. Zhang Xiaobao was a little worried about this last bit.
As if aware of Little Misterâs concern, Yingtao directly said to Zhang Xiaobao: âRest a.s.sured, Little Mister. Not a single one of these people dare to trick us. I will mark the eggs they bring over. Whichever familyâs eggs spoil and die the most, Iâll go seek them out then.â
âThat is good. Iâm not worried. When the chicks come out, what stuff has been prepared to feed them?â Zhang Xiaobao considered it. The people here were not the same as his own time period, they were not that bad.
âFeed what? Taking them out to feed will be fine. They can find stuff to eat themselves. They can even eat grains of sand.â Yingtao replied casually.
âThat wonât do. My familyâs chicken definitely must be st.u.r.dier than other peopleâs chicken.â