On the next day, after having breakfast, Wen Shouzhen made his way to the Drunken Immortal restaurant to work.
Yesterday, manager Lee has informed him that today there is a very rich man who had reserved the entire restaurant and requested Wen Shouzhen to prepare accordingly.
Wen Ting delivered some steam buns to his 2nd uncle, and with his books in a bundle, he hurriedly made his way to school. He was looking sharp.
"They did not even eat their breakfast properly and just left in a hurry." Zhou Shi complained, and immediately turned to Wen Rou in a much nicer tone, "Rou Er, later you go shopping with me. We will pick up some clothes for you, and then purchase some rice, cooking oil and salt."
"Do we still need to buy rice, cooking oil and salt? Didn't we have Dad?" Wen Rou giggled.
Zhou Shi gently hit Wen Rou, "Don't talk nonsense! Our family is such a big family. The amount of these ingredients that your dad stole is not enough to feed all of us! Quick, finish your meal!"
"All right, mother!" Wen Rou increases the speed at which she eats.
"Eat slowly! The way you eat is unbecoming of a woman!" Zhou Shi gently pulled out a piece of broken hair from Wen Rou's ear.
"Mother, which part of me does not look like a woman?" Wen Rou immediately made a face. Struck near her mouth are several grains of rice.
"You look at yourself! See who dares to marry you in future!" Zhou Shi pulled Wen Rou in front of the mirror on the dressing table.
Husband family? Yin family?
Wen Rou bowed down, but her eyes had a flash of nastiness in them.
"Rou Er, come, let mother help you comb your hair!"
The comb had already gently slid over the silky, smooth hair of Wen Rou.
The reflection on the mirror revealed a delicate and beautiful teenage girl, with bright, large eyes and white teeth.
A white colour delicate face, small exquisite nose, lips the colour of cherries and a smile with the two eyes like the crescent moon, such as charming young lady.
In her past life, her father was promoted to an imperial chef, and the extended family moved to the capital. The entire extended family had no lack of clothes to wear or food to eat.
Even Wen Rou lived a luxury life as a lady. She had maids to wait on her, travel on a satin, superior clothes and fine food. [1].
Wen Rou could recall that in her past life, each time she accompanied her father into the royal kitchen, she would have to wear an elegant dress, walk pass the vermilion colour door, and pass a corridor with colourful ribbons floating from the top of the corridors.
And would attract the attention of the people working in the palace.
"Look, that is Wen Shouzhen's daughter, a real beauty!"
At that time, she was simple and native. Every day, she would follow her father into the imperial kitchen to cook. And to ensure that she would not make her father lose face in the presence of the other court ladies, she would wear expensive and elaborate hairpins, and decked herself in beautiful clothes.
It is her cooking skills and her looks that enable her to capture the hearts of her two suitors, who were given the title, "The Peerless talents", in the capital.
In the past life, Ren Yue was a studious man and was extremely critical. During a banquet that was gifted by the emperor, it is Wen Rou's food, combined with her pretty looks that captured this man's heart.
In the past life, Shen Yaoshan is a heroic and chivalrous man and served in the army. That time, he was the commander of a troop of soldiers, and Wen Rou was the chef in charge of preparing food for the army. From the high mountains to the seas, from the beasts that fly in the sky to wild game in the forest, her skills in cooking the various ingredients had won over this hero's heart, and captivate the troops that were serving under him.
In the army, there is a rumour. Wen family 5th sister is as pretty as a goddess and her cooking skills are extraordinary. Once you had a taste of the food she made, you could not bear to eat the ordinary food again.
Being a pretty lady, cooking beautiful food, Wen Rou was lost in these two thoughts.
Until her world suddenly collapsed and her father was thrown in jail.
The chaos as her family was executed; there was debris everywhere, along with scattered beads and broken hairpins.
And the shame of being forced to disrobe and wear prisoner clothes.
At that time, she suddenly understood that the things she used to hold dear were nothing but a fleeting cloud.
So what if she was pretty? She could not save herself or her family!
If not for the fact that she was lost in her vanity, she would have discovered the web of intrigue that had captured and enveloped her father.
The silk clothes, the satins, the jewellery and the expensive face powders; she will not need all these in her current life!
She is willing to be a woman that everyone can count on, remove the fancy clothes and jewellery that enraptured her in the past life, open her eyes to discover the truth behind the poisoning of the Emperor, and restore the good name of the Wen family.
She wanted everyone to forget her beauty, and just focus on having outstanding cooking skills. In this way, she could help her father, and allow her father to realise his dreams of being an imperial chef !
"Mother! Just anyhow comb the hair will do, after all, I am not getting married today! Let's go!" Wen Rou was quite flustered at the combing. She gently pushed her mother's hand away, and ignored the hairpin and ribbon that her mother had given her. She stood up, and just arranged her hair into a simple pigtail and immediately made her way out of the door.
"What had happened to this girl? Normally she loves to put on makeup and look pretty!" Zhou Shi shook her head in puzzlement.
— A short while later, in town —
The streets of Xianyang are as crowded and lively as ever. Zhou Shi purchased some common household products, and dragged Wen Rou towards the Water Moon Pavilion.
Water Moon Pavilion is a popular destination for women and young ladies.
The first floor of the building was well stocked with all kinds of make-up and accessories. The second floor of the building had a wide selection of cloths [2]. The 3rd floor of the building is a restricted area, that is used to serve very rich customers or government officers' wives.
Within the Water Moon Pavilion, it was busy as usual, and filled with young ladies, married women, and of course, the rich elderly housewives and poor aunties.
From this scent, you could see how much women valued their beauty, regardless of age, status or wealth.
"Rou Er, come here and see this. Try this new hairpin!"
"Yi? This box of makeup has a very pleasant scent."
"What a pretty bracelet! Rou Er, try it on and see if it looks good on you."
Zhou Shi eyes were gleaming as she shopped, and in a short span of time, she had found several products that she liked.
"Mother, I will soon accompany father to the kitchen to learn his cooking skills. I have no use for all these!" Wen Rou said.
Zhou Shi thought for a moment, and agreed with what Wen Rou had said. She put down all the items and pulled Wen Rou towards the second floor of the building.
"Welcome! Please have a look at the new fabric we have!" The salesperson in the Water Moon Pavilion was quite attentive, and immediately followed them upstairs to serve them.
Wen Rou smiled as she stood aside, as she glanced at the colourful bolts of fabric that were on display.
"Ladies, this is our latest arrival. It is specially imported from Jiangnan 'Yun Jin Kee' shop. Take a look and see if you are interested." The salesperson followed Wen Rou's gaze and discovered that she was not interested. She had noticed that this pair of mother and daughter were well dressed in expensive clothes, and only display the good looking and expensive bolts of fabric to Zhou Shi, and placed some samples of these cloths in Zhou Shi's hand.
Zhou Shi, accepted the samples and looked around. She looked as if she had found a treasure, and immediately called for her daughter, "Rou Er, come and have a look! This cloth is very nice, and has a unique floral pattern on it. When we return home, I can use it to make a dress for you!" as she said this, she wanted to hold the cloth next to Wen Rou to examine if it is suitable for Wen Rou.
"Mother, you are not intending for me to wear clothes made from this fine cloth and go to the kitchen to cook?" Wen Rou smiled as she rejected that cloth.
"You are right! When you got married, I will definitely use these fine quality cloths to make you several sets of clothes! My daughter is the prettiest, and looks good no matter what she wears!" Zhou Shi put down that roll of cloth unwillingly.
"Mother, the weather is turning chilly. Brother's clothes are a bit small for him. Why not purchase some roll of cloths, and make some clothes for him?" Wen Rou pointed towards a roll of green-grey cloth in a corner of the shop.
"This young lady had a very good taste! This type of grey-blue cloth is our best selling fabric, and is used to make cotton robes. It is practical and resistant to dirt, and the price is also affordable. Everyone who purchased a roll of cloth all said that the quality of this cloth is very good!" The salesperson noticed that Zhou Shi had put back the roll of cloth that he had recommended to her, and was a bit disappointed. But when he heard Wen Rou's comments, he picked up his ears, immediately goes into salesman mode again.
These types of grey-green colour cloth are a bit dull in colour. There are no floral markings on it, and it is not popular with ladies. It could not be sold at a high price. Today, it had finally caught the eye of someone, and it is a good chance to get rid of this roll of cloth that is hard to sell.
"Woah? How much?" Zhou Shi felt the material. It is rough and practical.
The salesperson evaluate the cloth, calculated the costs in his head and the profit he would make with this sale, and finally said, "5 copper coins per foot. If you purchase more, I can give you a discount."
"The colour of this fabric is so boring, and not nice at all!" Zhou Shi frowned, and pinched the cloth.
"Mother, this type of cloth is highly suitable for making clothes for my brother. Brother is quite white in skin colour. Wearing this type of green-grey cloth would make him appear more outstanding." Wen Rou advised.
"5 copper coins for 2 feet of this cloth?" Zhou Shi immediately tried to haggle over the price of the cloth.
"All right!" The salesperson's reply was much quicker than what Zhou Shi had anticipated.
Seeing the quick reply of the salesperson, she hesitated, and thought for a while as she tried to negotiate a better price, "I think this is still a bit expensive. If you can give me a discount, I will purchase this. If not, I will leave without buying anything."
The salesperson was unhappy, "Madam, you had offered a lower price and I agreed to your lowered price. But now you renegade on your offer."
Zhou Shi also knew that she was in the wrong, and hence made an offer, "All right, give me one copper coin worth!"
The salesman was surprised, "Madam, this amount of fabric is not even enough to cover the shoes."
"None of your business! I just buy it home to take a look." Zhou Shi retorted. "But, if you could give me a discount, I will purchase the entire bolt of fabric."
"All right, all right! You win. This is my best price! 5 copper coins for 3 feet!" The salesman seemed to bite his teeth in frustration as he said this. But deep down inside, he was dancing with glee. This bolt of frabic cost only 1 copper coin for the entire roll. It had sat in the shop for half a year.
How come this salesman agreed so readily. Is this price still expensive?
Zhou Shi was unhappy, but since she already got the discount, she could not ask for an even lower price. She just pointed at a smaller piece of cloth nearby and said, "Since I purchase so much, give me that piece of cloth."
The salesman wiped away the beads of perspiration on his head, "Madam, that is the 'Yang Yun Kee' silk scarf, and is not a piece of cloth. It is 80 copper coins for one."
Zhou Shi was embarrassed as she laughed, but she did not give up, "Then give me this pair of scissor lah, mine happened to be spoilt."
The salesman almost fainted.
Wen Rou giggled and flashed a thumbs up sign at her mother.
"Rou Er, the weather is getting colder. There should be enough cloth in this roll to make a robe for your father as well. This type of cloth is tough and dirt resistant. It is very suitable for your father who works in the kitchen!" Zhou Shi happily hugged her purchase, and looked as if she had picked up a treasure.
"Mother, today we had only purchase cooking oil, salt and rice. We had not purchased the vegetables or meat yet." Wen Rou reminded her mother.
"There is no need to purchase these. Your father will bring these back home. Today the restaurant had a rich man that had booked the entire restaurant, and your father will cheerfully set some food aside for us!" Zhou Shi replied.
Wen Rou did not know if she should laugh or cry.
Looks like the famous Chinese 5 character couplet,
不是一家人，不进一家门
If you are not the same type of people as the one you wed,
You would not marry that person in the first place
is totally true.
…………
— Night time, two days later —
Under the light of the lamps, Zhou Shi was sewing and making changes to Wen Rou's old clothes.
Wen Rou picked up the clothes, and carefully turn the light of the lamp over so that she could see the clothes.
"Rou Er, go to sleep. Tomorrow you will be going to the 'Drunken Immortal Restaurant' to learn cooking from your dad." Zhou Shi could not bear to let her daughter experience the hardship of working in a restaurant.
"Mother, I am not sleepy. I want to accompany you. These two days you have been making new clothes for father and brother, and now you are altering the clothes for me. It had been hard on you." Wen Rou tried to endure her tiredness, but could not help yawning.
"And you still said that you are not tired! Go to sleep. I will quickly finish it. Tomorrow you have to wake up early, and you need all your focus and concentration, arh!" Zhou Shi advised.
"Then….. I will turn in for the night. Mother, remember to turn in early as well!" Wen Rou yawned again, and made her way out of the room.
Notes:[1] 锦衣玉食 - translated as 'Silk clothes and Jade Food'. It means 'superior clothes and fine food.'
[2] Cloth is correct. In ancient China, they do not sell ready-made clothes like today’s world. They sell blots of fabric (cloth) and the housewives will make clothes from these cloths.