Chapter 212

Zhou's elder sister-in-law smiled, glanced at Gu Xixi, and said, "As the Village Chief said, I've just picked up a treasure."

"But please, Village Chief, let me keep it a secret for now; if it works out, tomorrow I'll have Old Zhou send it to your home for you and Madame Qian."

Lao Qian glanced at the basket Zhou's elder sister-in-law was carrying; although he was really curious what it was, since the young daughter-in-law and the young lady had private matters to discuss, he didn't feel comfortable brazenly keep asking.

So he laughed and said, "Then I'll leave first; you two talk."

A few clouds on the horizon had already turned leaden black, and Gu Xixi and Zhou's elder sister-in-law quickened their steps.

The two had just stepped through the courtyard gate when big raindrops began to pour down.

Gu Xixi shouted, "Run fast!" and sprinted to the eaves; looking back, she saw the ground was already completely wet.

The rain poured down like a bucket being tipped, dense and urgent, a white mist filling the view; locals call this kind of rain "white rain," which only appears in summer.

Zhou's elder sister-in-law checked the basket in her hand, breathed a sigh of relief, and said, "Good thing we ran fast; otherwise this basket would have been soaked through in an instant—how would we eat the pickles then?"

Gu Xixi withdrew her gaze from the downpour and said, "Pickles?"

Judging by the time, the Zhou family's pickles should be ready by now.

A corner of the main room's door curtain was lifted, revealing Qinger's cute little face.

"Aunt Xixi, it's hot and stuffy in this downpour; why didn't you invite the guest inside to talk?"

Gu Xixi chuckled, "You little imp, was it He Jinglan who put you up to saying that?"

"I think she's sharp-eared; hearing there were pickles to eat, she got anxious that I wouldn't bring her along."

Qinger widened her eyes in surprise and exclaimed, "How did Aunt Xixi know!"

From inside the house came He Jinglan's laughter, "I just knew this girl would turn around and sell me out."

Gu Xixi lifted the curtain, inviting Zhou's elder sister-in-law to enter first, then followed her inside, saying, "This isn't Qinger's fault; those lines you taught her don't sound like something she'd say."

Besides Lao Langzhong and An Qinghe, everyone else was present.

Zhou's elder sister-in-law was still entering Gu Xixi's home for the first time; she didn't know Meng Dangni zi, nor had she ever spoken with He Jinglan, and her whole bearing showed she was ill at ease.

Zhang Shen warmly pulled her to sit on the kang, glanced opposite, and introduced, "This is Meng Dangni zi, and this is her daughter, Qinger. Usually when Xixi goes to the county town on errands, she receives a lot of care from Meng Dangni zi."

Meng Dangni zi smiled and greeted Zhou's elder sister-in-law, saying, "You're being too polite, aunt; it's Xixi who has been taking good care of us mother and daughter."

Zhou's elder sister-in-law looked at the adorable little girl and finally found something to say.

"What a pretty little girl; just looking at her makes one happy."

Qinger curiously sized up Zhou's elder sister-in-law, but kept glancing from the corner of her eye at the basket in her arms.

Zhou's elder sister-in-law relaxed considerably, smiling and asked, "Grandma, you've made several kinds of pickles; could you help me taste them?"

Qinger turned her head to look at Shitou.

Shitou encouraged her, "Here you can eat whatever you want; no need to look at others."

Only then did Qinger nod to Zhou's elder sister-in-law, saying, "Thank you, Grandma."

The little girl was well-behaved, her voice soft and tender; Zhou's elder sister-in-law's heart melted, and she said, "Don't mention it."

"You're helping Grandma taste the pickles; Grandma should be the one thanking you."

The basket held four small jars, all made of coarse pottery, palm-sized, normally used for holding oil, salt, and such.

Zhou's elder sister-in-law placed the jars one by one on the table and said, "This is my first time making them; I hope everyone will help me taste them to see if anything's off."

Zhang Shen wondered, "Making pickles at this time of year?"

Zhou's elder sister-in-law glanced at Gu Xixi with a smile and nodded. "Yes."

Locals usually make pickles around the start of winter, using napa cabbage, or the snow-in-red that has grown old by the end of autumn.

Stored in the large vat in the courtyard, as one of the winter provisions, it can be eaten until late spring of the following year.

Nobody had ever heard of making pickles in midsummer, and Zhang Shen was hearing about it for the first time.

"That surely won't keep; aren't you afraid it'll go bad if you can't finish it?"

Taking the opportunity, Gu Xixi quietly asked He Jinglan, "And what about An Qinghe?"

The whole family had agreed recently not to leave the village.

Lao Langzhong either goes to villagers' homes to see patients during the day or tinkers with his own medicines in the Houyuan; it's normal for him not to be here.

But where could An Qinghe go now?

He Jinglan teased, "How come you ask about him first as soon as you're back? They say a good woman fears clinging to her husband—could it be that…"

"Go!" Gu Xixi gave He Jinglan a twist from behind, saying, "I think you're just idle."

He Jinglan then turned serious, "He was grabbed by Lao Langzhong and taken to the Houyuan to help prepare medicinal ingredients."

"Don't worry, I've had someone keep a close watch on him; I won't let him go out and run around on his own."

Everyone in the Xi Bei region knows that the Hu people who come here are doing business, and Hu merchants are wealthy.

At a glance, An Qinghe's appearance marks him as a foreigner.

He is alone here, definitely a prime target for bandits to eye as a fat sheep.

Now the route to Yunling County is temporarily closed; since An Qinghe is stranded here for the time being, Gu Xixi must ensure his safety.

As soon as the pickle jars were set on the table, their aroma drifted into everyone's noses.

Sour, garlicky, and spicy notes mingled with the vegetables' own fresh fragrance, making people involuntarily swallow saliva.

Zhou's elder sister-in-law introduced them one by one, "This jar holds freshly pickled string beans, raw."

"However, Xixi wrote that they taste better when stir-fried."

"I tried making two versions: this one with Sichuan peppercorns and minced garlic, that one with ginger paste and salted water to cook the tender beans."

"This jar contains pickled cilantro, which can be eaten straight away."

Shitou had already brought out the chopsticks, and everyone gathered around the kang table to sample them one by one.

"Mmm!" Zhang Shen kept nodding, "Delicious! I never knew string beans and cilantro could be pickled."

Meng Dangni zi savored it seriously for a moment, then praised, "The pickled string beans themselves are sour, fragrant, and crisp; after stir-frying they gain extra layers and oily aroma, making them an excellent side dish that goes well with rice or porridge."

He Jinglan had already taken several bites with her chopsticks, and gave Zhou's elder sister-in-law a thumbs up.

Everyone's praise poured in; Zhou's elder sister-in-law was very happy, yet she lacked confidence, fearing that everyone's praise was just polite talk.

She simply stared at Qinger, Shitou, and Gu Xixi, waiting for their reaction.

Qinger had tried them all, her little mouth went 'mumble mumble', she lifted her head and said, "Grandma, it's delicious!"

Zhou's elder sister-in-law asked nervously, "Which one is delicious?"

Qinger replied without hesitation, "They're all delicious."

Shitou held up his chopsticks and said, "Except for cilantro, I think they're all delicious."

Gu Xixi added, "It's not that the sister-in-law's cooking is bad; this child just can't eat cilantro."

"Exactly." Shitou nodded, grinning.

Gu Xixi, receiving Zhou's elder sister-in-law's expectant gaze, continued, "I actually like cilantro the most—cilantro itself is crisp and refreshing, mixed with garlicky spiciness, the acidity just right; eaten cold like this, it's quite appetizing and cooling."

"Of course, the pickled string beans are good too—what you made tastes even better than I expected."

Zhou's elder sister-in-law, receiving Gu Xixi's affirmation, finally felt the heavy stone in her heart drop.

While she was picking the pickles at home, she of course tasted them first; although she found them unexpectedly delicious, she didn't dare believe they could be sold on the market before receiving Gu Xixi's personal approval.

Upon hearing that Zhou's elder sister-in-law was going to sell pickles, Meng Dangni zi also became interested.