"But did my father just die working for nothing?" Liu Cai'er covered her face, thinking that if she were in her father's shoes, she wouldn't have worked so hard.
"Time for baozi!"
Cai Lihua's voice was booming in the courtyard.
"Knock, knock." The sound of knocking on the door: "Daughter-in-law, time for baozi, try and see how mother's cooking is."
Liu Cai'er instinctively clutched the hem of her clothes. Was that her mother-in-law's voice?
"Let's go, try mother's cooking."
Ah Jiu pulled the dazed Liu Cai'er out.
Cai Lihua greeted them, holding a basket of baozi: "Looking at your face and body, I know you're tired. Come, no need to eat out here, take them inside."
Liu Cai'er was immediately stunned.
In years past, when there was no war, her mother-in-law's stove was always abandoned. In all their years of marriage, she had never tasted a grain of rice from her in-laws' home.
"Understood, Mother. I'll eat with my sister-in-law." Ah Jiu took the basket, closing the door behind them.
"If you don't have enough, come to the kitchen and get more. I steamed two pots."
Cai Lihua called out from outside.
"Okay, Mother." Ah Jiu grabbed a baozi and handed it to Liu Cai'er.
Liu Cai'er looked at the baozi in her hand, her face contorted as if she had eaten bitter herbs: "Jiu'er, your mother, she isn't mistreating you anymore? What about your father? Is he still hitting you? Tell your sister-in-law the truth."
Ah Jiu was taken aback. She had almost forgotten such things. Recalling, she shook her head and said:
"He doesn't hit me. He's quite affectionate. Sister-in-law, please eat. You haven't seen Grandma yet. She's even gotten better from her illness."
Ah Jiu chuckled.
But Liu Cai'er's face was filled with disdain: "That old woman, how much better can she get?"
She said it, but hunger gnawed at her after the hardship in the Yi Zhuang. She took a bite, and her eyes immediately lit up.
After taking several more bites, she said, "This tastes too good. Did mother really make this?"
"Of course. It took about two incense sticks to make."
Ah Jiu saw her sister-in-law's weariness vanish and her joyful eating. After finishing one, she grabbed another and stuffed it into her mouth:
"Don't laugh at your sister-in-law. When my eldest brother first sent me back, my father had already gone to the Yi Zhuang. Even if we had some savings, we couldn't hold on for a few more days. I haven't eaten such delicious meat baozi in a long time."
"If sister-in-law thinks it's good, eat more." Ah Jiu ate heartily too.
Seeing her sister-in-law had been hungry for a long time, she grabbed another one and quickly poured water into a teacup.
Liu Cai'er drank it without thinking.
Her pupils immediately contracted. Looking at the empty cup, she said, "This water is so sweet. Jiu'er, I suspect this water and the medicine are playing a key role. Where did you get this water from?"
Liu Cai'er was still unwilling to give up. The obsession that had arisen in her heart could not just be dismissed.
Ah Jiu was stunned: "I... I get water in my dreams. Sister-in-law, do you believe me?"
"Ah?" Liu Cai'er's expression was as if she had eaten poison:
"Ah Jiu, I know you care about me, but you don't have to lie to deceive me. If you can't help, just say so. I won't force you."
Ah Jiu was about to cry more than her. Don't believe her?
Let's try another way.
"Sister-in-law, honestly, this water has some herbs soaked in it, so in combination..." Ah Jiu couldn't concoct a believable explanation.
But before she finished speaking, Liu Cai'er grabbed Ah Jiu's hand:
"Soaked in what herbs? Can you tell me?"
"Soaked..." Ah Jiu scratched her head, a look of distress on her face. What should she do?
"I understand." As soon as Liu Cai'er said this,
Ah Jiu's eyes brightened as she looked at her sister-in-law. Understand?
"I know some tools of the trade cannot be revealed. There must be a unique inheritance. Sister-in-law won't ask you for this secret skill based on our relationship. Just tell me how much the water costs, and I'll buy it."
Upon hearing this, only Ah Jiu knew the myriad of emotions churning within her.