The Rebirth of Han Yuxi

Chapter 0559 Potatoes

After drinking a small bowl of medicine, Zaozao fell asleep. Yuxi didnʼt dare to leave her side for a moment and stayed by the bed.

Gazing at her sleeping daughter, Yuxi considered the situation. One thing was that Lan Mama hadnʼt been around when Zaozao had fallen ill this time, but the other was the severe shortage of people to take care of Zaozao. She decided she needed to select a group of reliable people to look after her daughter.

Mama Lan was extremely anxious when she heard that Zaozao had a fever. ”Iʼve only been away for a day, and she got a fever?” She wondered how the people around Zaozao cared for her and felt they hadnʼt been diligent enough.

Before Mama Qu could explain, Mama Lan urged, ”Letʼs hurry back.” She had wanted to go back the night before, but Chen Shi had pleaded with her, and she had also received instructions from Yuxi and Yun Qing. Despite her growing impatience, Mama Lan still patiently explained to Chen Shi many things she needed to be aware and careful of. Mama Lan also specifically advised Chen Shiʼs attendants on how best to care for her. Unexpectedly, her hard work only convinced Chen Shi that she was good at caring for people, so Chen Shi was reluctant to let her go.

Chen Shi strongly suspected that Zaozao wasnʼt actually sick, but she also knew that she couldnʼt stop Mama Lan in this situation, so she simply had her personal maid send Mama Lan out.

With Mama Lan back, Yuxi could finally relax and entrust Zaozao to her care. The saying that pregnant women shouldnʼt overwork was absolutely true; in just half a day, Yuxi was already exhausted.

Yun Qing returned home in the middle of the night. As he entered the house, he heard Xu Wu telling him that Zaozao had a fever. Yun Qingʼs face darkened. ”How did Zaozao get a fever?” Remembering what Yuxi had said at noon, Yun Qing felt terrible.

Xu Wu explained the whole story and concluded, ”Madam took care of Zao Zao herself and didnʼt rest until Mama Lan returned.”

Yun Qing felt a bit guilty. Originally, he wanted to apologise to Yuxi, but when he returned to the courtyard, he found she had fallen asleep.

Mama Qu said, ”General, Madam is very tired, so she retired early.” Taking care of children required a lot of energy, and while it was usually manageable, it became overwhelming when one was pregnant.

Yun Qing was a little worried and asked, ”Is there anything wrong with her?” When Mama Qu shook her head and said that Yuxi was just resting from exhaustion and there was no other problem, he felt relieved.

Mama Qu then asked, ”General, should I ask Mama Bai to make you a bowl of noodles?” Yun Qing always ate something at night. If he returned early, they would stir-fry two dishes; if he came back late, it was usually a bowl of noodles with two small side dishes.

Yun Qing ate very little in the barracks that evening and was now hungry. He could not do anything about it; it was easy to go from frugality to luxury but difficult to go from luxury to frugality. He simply couldnʼt stomach the food at the barracks anymore. Yun Qing nodded. ”Iʼll go check on Zaozao first.”

Mama Lan was currently watching over Zaozao, and since she had nothing to do, she was knitting decorative knots. Her eyesight wasnʼt as good as it used to be due to her age, so she couldnʼt do delicate work, but she could still make these knots. Shao Yao and Gancao were sleeping soundly on a nearby low couch.

Yun Qing touched Zaozaoʼs forehead and felt no unusual warmth. He asked Mama Lan, ”How is Zaozao now? Is it serious?”

Mama Lan shook her head. ”Physician Zeng came to check on her again in the evening and said it wasnʼt anything serious, but she needed to eat bland food for the next few days. General, Physician Zeng said it was fortunate that Madam discovered it early. If it had been delayed, it would have been serious.” Zaozao had only a slight fever when it was discovered; if it had been left untreated, it would have become a high fever. A childʼs fever was no laughing matter.

Yun Qing sighed. This was his fault. He had assumed that Zaozao would be fine without Mama Lan, but he hadnʼt considered that children were fragile. One moment of carelessness from their caretakers could make them sick.

Mama Qu entered quietly and said, ”General, the noodles are ready.”

That evening, Mama Bai made fried noodles with eggs, cabbage, green peppers, ham, and other ingredients. Two spoonfuls of spicy beef sauce were added before eating, which made it incredibly delicious. There were also two side dishes.

Yun Qing ate every last bit of the noodles and side dishes. After he finished, he turned to Mama Bai, who was getting ready to clear the dishes and praised her, ”Your cooking skills are getting better and better.”Mama Baiʼs excellent cooking had made him picky to the point where he couldnʼt stomach the food at the military camp anymore.

Mama Bai smiled. ”Thank you for the compliment, General.” That praise made her happier than any reward, showing that her efforts were worthwhile.

Unlike Yuxi, Yun Qing bathed in cold water even in summer, let alone winter. Yuxi had no objection to this; cold water baths in winter were considered good for health. However, only a few people dared to bathe in cold water in winter.

After his cold bath, Yun Qing returned to his room to sleep. When he entered, he found Yuxi awake. Yun Qing said apologetically, ”Did I wake you?”

Yuxi shook her head. ”No, I slept too much. Have things been sorted out at the barracks?” With so much noise outside and not being in a deep sleep, she couldnʼt help but wake up.

Yun Qing replied, ”There was a dispute over distributing military equipment and war horses. Xiang Weiguo couldnʼt solve it, so he reported it to me.” Whether it was equipment or horses, the best was always given to the cavalry first. Naturally, this caused discontent among the others.

Yuxi frowned. ”Whatʼs there to be dissatisfied with?” One must give as much as one received; this had been an unchanging truth since ancient times. The cavalry battalion had the best equipment because they were always the first to charge forward and suffered the most casualties.

Yun Qing replied, ”Iʼve already taken care of this matter; you donʼt need to worry. However, Iʼm sorry that Zaozaoʼs incident today has troubled you.”

Speaking of this, Yuxi was also filled with guilt. ”Itʼs my fault. If I hadnʼt cursed Zaozao, she wouldnʼt have caught a fever.” From now on, she would never speak carelessly again.

Yun Qing had thought that Yuxi would blame him, but unexpectedly, she blamed herself. He couldnʼt help but feel a mixture of amusement and exasperation. He said, ”Donʼt overthink it. It has nothing to do with you. Zaozao getting sick was just an accident.” It was just an unfortunate coincidence.

Yuxi shook her head. ”I wonʼt repeat such unlucky words.” One lesson was enough; she couldnʼt make the same mistake again.

Yun Qing didnʼt know how to comfort her, so he just said, ”Donʼt think about it anymore; letʼs sleep!” He was tired after a busy day.

Yuxi wasnʼt sleepy, but in order not to disturb Yun Qing, she lay back down. Even if she couldnʼt sleep, she could still close her eyes and rest.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter. At the beginning of the eighth month, Yuxi couldnʼt stand the heat any longer, so she had someone place a basin of ice in the corner of the room. This way, the room became cooler, and she no longer felt so uncomfortable. This summer was truly torturous.

Mama Qu handed the purchase list to Yuxi and said, ”Madam, this is the detailed list. Please take a look.”

Yuxi glanced at it and nodded, ”All right.” She was very confident in Mama Quʼs work.

After purchasing all the items, Mama Qu brought the drafted gift list to Yuxi for review. No matter what was done, without Yuxiʼs final approval, all the previous efforts would be in vain.

This time, Yuxi looked at it very carefully. After reading it, she said, ”Increase this yearʼs seasonal gifts for Mr Chen by thirty per cent compared to last year.” Mr Chen had become Yun Qingʼs right-hand man, handling documents and other miscellaneous matters.

Mama Qu hesitated. ”Wouldnʼt it be bad if we only increased Mr Chenʼs gifts, but not those of Guo Xun and Yu Cong?” Their relationship with Guo Xun and Yu Cong was closer than others.

Yuxi smiled. ”Itʼs fine.” Guo Xun and Mr Chen were different and couldnʼt be compared.

When Qin Zhao was the Commander-in-Chief of the Northwest, only others gave him gifts, so how could he be asked to give gifts! Yuxi, on the other hand, sent out gifts every year, not to officials, but to Yun Qingʼs subordinates. The gifts were not expensive; they were just food and daily necessities, simply to express her goodwill.

Chen Mianʼs wife, Wan Shi, received the gift from Yuxi and came to thank her the next day. As well as a gift in return, Wan Shi also brought Yuxi something new.

Wan Shi pointed to a bag of round, pale yellow objects and said, ”Madam, this was sent to my husband from our old home in Fujian.”

Yuxi found them very strange and asked, ”I have never seen these before. What are they called?” She had memorised two medical books and rarely encountered a plant she didnʼt recognise.

Wan Shi replied, ”My husband said they were called potatoes.” After a moment, she added sincerely, ”These are return gifts from my Dasao. My husband said itʼs something new and asked me to bring it to Madam to try.”

Yuxi looked at the bag of potatoes and was a little speechless. Chen Mianʼs Dasao was really stingy to send such an ordinary thing from so far away. However, Yuxi didnʼt want to dwell on such domestic matters and immediately smiled and asked, ”Have you eaten this? How does it taste?”

Wan Shi lowered her head and mumbled, ”Weʼve eaten it. We boiled it, and it tasted fine.” All she could say was that it wasnʼt bad. In fact, Wan Shi didnʼt want to give this to Yuxi, but since Chen Mian had ordered her, she couldnʼt disobey.

Yuxi laughed. ”This is something new.”

Wan Shi explained: ”They were from overseas, and now they are growing in our hometown. Itʼs not worth anything.” After eating it once, she realised it wasnʼt that good. By sending such cheap potatoes from so far away, her Dasao was as stingy as ever. Because of this, Wan Shi decided to send back only some beautiful but impractical gifts for the New Year.

When Yuxi heard that potatoes were being grown in Fujian, her eyes lit up. She asked, ”Potatoes are already being grown in Fujian? What are the conditions for growing potatoes? How many can you grow per acre?” She had never heard of potatoes before. She just thought that there must be some advantages since they were growing them in Fujian.

Wan Shi shook her head. ”I donʼt know about that.”

Yuxi didnʼt press Wan Shi any further. She knew that even if she asked Wan Shi, she couldnʼt give her a clear answer. Since she had the potatoes in front of her, even if Chen Mian and Wan Shi didnʼt know, she could send people to Fujian for more details. If this thing was easy to grow and had a high yield, she could learn the method of growing potatoes and promote it in the Northwest. Wheat yielded too little. Even with good weather and careful cultivation, an acre of land could only produce three to four hundred jin. With such a small amount of grain, how could they possibly have enough to eat?