Pearl turned her head away angrily, too lazy to argue with him. She got out of bed and went to wash up.
For breakfast, there was multigrain porridge, meat pies, egg pancakes, purple sweet potato buns, vermicelli buns, and cabbage buns.
After breakfast, Pearl decided to go up the mountain for a walk. She called for Servant Xin to guide her, strapped a basket on her back, took her digging tools, and set out. Alaric followed along quietly.
On the way, they passed a persimmon grove. Pearl's eyes flickered slightly.
They reached the mountain and gathered some herbs. After circling the peak and descending from the other side, they picked more herbs.
On the way back, they passed a vegetable field. Seeing the lush patch of baby bok choy, Pearl suddenly craved dried bok choy stewed with bones.
She asked, "Do you ever make dried vegetables with this bok choy?"
"Dried vegetables? No," Servant Xin shook her head. She didn't even know what that was and asked curiously, "Madam, what's dried vegetables? How do you eat it?"
Pearl was already used to them not knowing. She explained, "Dried vegetables are freshly picked greens washed clean, then briefly boiled to remove bitterness, then sun-dried. They store well and can be eaten in winter when there are no fresh vegetables. The taste is also unique."
"Madam, that sounds amazing. Every winter we only have stored napa cabbage. I'm so tired of it. This would be a nice change," Servant Xin said excitedly.
"Madam, could you teach me the detailed method?"
"Alright. Listen carefully."
Pearl explained the process in detail. Servant Xin nodded seriously, saying she remembered it.
Pearl suddenly thought of something else and asked, "Do you make pickled vegetables on this estate?"
"Pickled vegetables?" Servant Xin looked confused again.
"Yes. Vegetables preserved with salt. Also great for storage and can be eaten anytime."
"Madam… are you sure pickled vegetables use salt?" Servant Xin looked at her in shock.
"Yes. The estate doesn't make it either?" Seeing her exaggerated expression, Pearl was puzzled.
"Madam, salt is so scarce. How could we use it for pickles? That would be such a waste," Servant Xin replied with disbelief.
Scarce? Pearl thought back to how salt had cost more than rice, and suddenly understood.
She smiled and said, "Oh, I was just asking."
Servant Xin smiled, "Madam wants to eat pickled vegetables? If you tell me how to make it, I'll try."
"It's a bit troublesome to make. No need for you to do it," Pearl replied calmly.
"Oh, alright then," Servant Xin looked a little disappointed.
They returned to the estate just in time for lunch. By the roadside, Servant Wang was anxiously waiting. Seeing them, he rushed up.
Smiling brightly, he said, "My Lord, Madam, you're back. Lunch is ready."
Alaric nodded calmly.
Servant Wang happily led the way.
Pearl put down the medicine basket and instructed, "Don't touch anything in this basket. I'll take care of it myself."
Servant Xin and Servant Wang quickly responded with agreement.
Satisfied, Pearl nodded and went to wash her hands.
While she was washing, Alaric took her hand and gently cleaned her slender fingers, speaking softly, "Madam, if you need herbs, why go through the trouble of picking them yourself? Just tell someone to do it."
I only feel assured when I go myself. If I asked someone else, you'd probably investigate the use of every herb I asked for.
Out loud, she said mildly, "I enjoy doing it."
"Pearl, I don't want you to work so hard," said Alaric softly.
Pearl looked straight at him. "Are you trying to take away something I enjoy?"
"No, you've misunderstood," Alaric quickly replied with a smile. "I just don't want you to tire yourself out."
After washing their hands, they sat down at the table. As usual, there were twelve dishes: braised goose, roasted rabbit, steamed bird, duck in sauce, crispy fried fish, sweet and sour pork, fried pork with vinegar sauce, osmanthus stuffed lotus root, stir-fried eggplant-potato-pepper, stir-fried gourd with shredded pork, blanched amaranth greens, and chicken mushroom soup.
Alaric was the first to pick up food and place it into Pearl's bowl. He smiled and said, "Try this, my lady."
Pearl didn't respond, just picked it up and ate. Alaric already understood her habit. He picked from every dish on the table and placed it into her bowl until Pearl finally said she was full. Only then did he stop.
After lunch, Pearl brought out paper and pen and started writing. Once she finished a sheet, Alaric picked it up to read. His expression became a little odd after he read it.
When she was done, Pearl picked up the pages and walked outside. Alaric followed her.
They found Servant Wang, who was still playing with children and smiling.
Pearl called out, "Servant Wang."
Servant Wang turned around and saw Alaric and Pearl. He quickly came over and bowed. "Greetings, My Lord, My Lady."
Pearl smiled. "No need for formalities."
She handed him the written papers. "Servant Wang, these are some recipes I wrote. You can learn to cook them in the future. I also included ways to preserve food. I was worried Servant Xin might forget, so I wrote everything down for you. Keep it well. It'll come in handy."
Servant Wang took the pages and gave them a quick look. He looked surprised. "My Lady, this is…"
Pearl quickly said, "Yesterday I saw you feeding the animal organs to ducks and geese. It seemed like a waste. I figured you didn't know how to cook them, which is why you did that. So I wrote down these recipes to prevent waste. You can follow the steps next time."
Understanding dawned on Servant Wang. "Ah, I see. Thank you, My Lady, for your guidance."
Pearl smiled. "No need to thank me."
When they returned to their room, Pearl picked up the apricots she had picked yesterday and started eating them leisurely.
Alaric sat beside her, leaned in close with a soft laugh, and said, "My lady, I'd like one too. Will you feed me one?"
Pearl shot him a look. "If you want one, take it yourself."
"No, I want you to feed me," Alaric said in a soft, teasing voice. Pearl immediately got goosebumps and rolled her eyes, refusing to look at him.
Alaric added, "If you don't feed me, I'll eat the one from your mouth."
Pearl was furious. She glared at him and saw his smug expression. She wanted to slap that annoying smile off his face.
Worried he might actually do it, she grabbed an apricot and held it to his mouth. He smiled proudly, opened his mouth, and took a bite.
Then he grinned and said, "Mmm, the fruit tastes sweeter when it's fed by you."
Pearl gritted her teeth. He looked at her again and said, "My lady…"
His eyes urged her to keep feeding him. Pearl clenched her teeth and pushed the rest of the apricot into his mouth.
Then she fed him nearly half the plate before she finally stopped. Alaric looked very pleased and said, "Thank you, my lady!"
Pearl was so annoyed that she pretended not to hear him.
Then he laughed and said, "Since you still want to eat, why don't I feed you now?"
Pearl suddenly froze. The apricot in her mouth became awkward to chew or swallow.
This ridiculous man…