Ties of Love, Ruan Wan

Ruan Wan looked at Lou Qianyuan speechlessly. How could he not even know where his own kitchen and storage room were?

But then I thought, it would be really strange if a rich young master like him were to be in the warehouse again.

"Qiushuang, lead your husband to the warehouse."

Ruan Wan turned around and smiled at her sister-in-law and the others, saying, "Sister-in-law, please bring out the pine nuts we picked out yesterday."

Sister-in-law Li and Sister-in-law Zhuang moved the table for cutting meat out and placed it in the yard.

Sister Liu had the best control over the heat when stir-frying dried goods, so Ruan Wan asked Sister Liu to stir-fry the pine nuts.

At this moment, Lou Qianyuan also brought over half a pig. Unexpectedly, despite his thin appearance, he lifted the half pig with ease.

Sister-in-law Fang quickly went over to help, and the two of them together put the pork on the table.

Lou Qianyuan was incredibly excited just from carrying a pig. He ran over with a smile, "Wan'er, the pig's here. What's next?"

Looking at the half-eaten pork on the table, Ruan Wan asked, "Do you know how to cut pork?"

"what"

Lou Qianyuan looked at Ruan Wan with a blank expression; he really didn't know how to do this.

Sister-in-law Li stepped forward and said with a smile, "Let me do it. Using a knife might hurt someone."

Lou Qianyuan stopped trying to show off; he genuinely didn't know how.

Li's wife picked up the pig-slaughtering knife, sharpened it a few times with the whetstone, and with just these few movements, her demeanor immediately changed.

At this moment, Sister Li was exuding a murderous aura.

Sister Li lifted the pig's hind leg and removed it in a few swift movements, her movements incredibly smooth.

Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan were stunned and couldn't help but applaud.

The woman standing nearby chuckled, "Sister Li's family used to be pig butchers."

No wonder he's so skilled; this is the essence of the legendary butcher Ding's skill in dissecting an ox.

Sister Li deftly removed the entire rack of ribs, clearly separating the fat, lean meat, and pork belly.

Lou Qianyuan watched with exceptional care from the side.

When Sister-in-law Li was about to disassemble the front half of the pig, Lou Qianyuan said, "Sister-in-law, let me try."

Sister-in-law Li immediately handed over the knife in her hand. Lou Qianyuan took the knife, picked up the pig's foreleg with one hand, and looked it over.

Lou Qianyuan's knife work was swift and precise, and he successfully removed the pig's foreleg.

Lou Qianyuan smiled and looked at Sister-in-law Li, "Sister-in-law, I didn't do anything wrong with how I made the cut, did I?"

Sister-in-law Li couldn't help but exclaim, "Yes, yes, I never expected the young master to be so talented!"

Lou Qianyuan smiled smugly at Ruan Wan.

Immediately afterwards, Lou Qianyuan removed the pig's head.

Ruan Wan laughed and said, "I never expected you to have such a talent for slaughtering pigs."

"How about this, when we get old, you raise pigs and I'll slaughter them and sell them?"

"No way! I have so much land. If I ever get old and have nothing to do, I'll just go farm."

Aunt Liu came out smiling and said, "Madam, the pine nuts are roasted. What's next?"

Ruan Wan laughed and said, "Just leave it to cool down, then you can use your skills to make some New Year's goods that you're good at."

Aunt Liu rubbed her hands, looking embarrassed, and said, "Our things are really nothing compared to Madam's."

"It doesn't matter what you make, it's all about celebrating the New Year together. Besides, what my husband is making is what he's eaten since he was a child."

Lou Qianyuan immediately replied, "Yes, sister-in-law, I've missed the candied hawthorns, candied twilight sticks, and fried dough twists you made so much. I've been away for a year, and I really miss them."

Sister Liu then smiled and said, "Alright, my old sisters, it's our turn to get busy."

Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan worked together to prepare the pork on the table.

Looking at the cut-up half of the pig, Ruan Wan pondered how to use the pork.

We'll be using pork tenderloin today, pork belly for Dongpo pork, pork neck for char siu, and spare ribs for steaming later.

Lou Qianyuan asked, "What should we do next?"

Ruan Wan looked at Qiu Shuang beside her and said, "Go and get a big iron pot from the women, and also get some straw."

Lou Qianyuan knew what Ruan Wan was going to do, so he picked up a knife, walked to the bamboo grove next to him, and cut down a bamboo.

After some processing, the bamboo was made into a hook.

Seeing Lou Qianyuan poised with the bamboo hook, Ruan Wan laughed and said, "You've certainly learned to be clever."

Last year you made me carry a pig's leg with my bare hands, and I almost got burned to death.

Qiu Shuang was carrying a pot on her back, with a bundle of straw tucked under her arm. It was rather strange to see a beautiful woman doing such a thing.

Lou Qianyuan, standing to the side, also looked at Qiu Shuang with a tense expression, "Has your maid always been like this?"

Ruan Wan smiled awkwardly. Qiu Shuang was always like this, never afraid of other people's opinions.

She never used herself as a beautiful woman.

Lou Qianyuan was carrying a pig's leg, while Ruan Wan was burning straw below. The two of them coughed from the smoke.

After smoking the pig's legs and head, Sister Li came out and saw the blackened pig's legs and head, and laughed, "Madam and Young Master, how did you know how to remove the pig hair?"

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "Your young mistress is very knowledgeable. She said this method can burn off the pig hair and also remove the odor."

Sister-in-law Li, carrying a pig's leg and a pig's head, said, "I'll go wash them clean. The pine nuts are dried; Madam, please go check on them."

Looking at the large basin full of pine nuts, Ruan Wan began to worry. Peeling them all would probably require lifting her fingernails.

Lou Qianyuan laughed and said, "Let's sit down and peel them together. There's strength in numbers, and we can also chat together."

Sister-in-law Li went to wash the meat, Qiu Shuang served tea, and the rest of the people gathered together to peel pine nuts.

After spending some time together, the women realized that Lou Qianyuan genuinely wanted to have fun with them, so they all lowered their guard.

Sister Liu looked at Sister Fang and raised an eyebrow, while Sister Zhuang nudged Sister Fang with her shoulder.

Sister-in-law Fang frowned and shook her head.

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "Is there something happy that you're keeping it a secret?"

Sister Liu smiled and said, "Madam, didn't you tell us to be wary of thieves before you left yesterday?"

"What happened? Did we really get robbed?"

The housekeeper chuckled. "I slept by the kitchen last night to keep watch, but I never expected two thieves to come in the middle of the night, trying to steal our food."

Lou Qianyuan immediately stood up. "What happened? How could there be a thief in my residence? Have you reported it to the authorities?"

Ruan Wan smiled and pulled Lou Qianyuan to sit down. "Let me tell you what's going on," she said.

The housekeeper recounted vividly, "I waited until midnight, but no one came. I thought they probably weren't coming. But then, just as I was dozing off, two mountain-like figures sneaked in."

Lou Qianyuan asked with a worried expression, "Two burly men came in to steal things, how come you're still so calm, sister-in-law?"

The women were all trying not to laugh. Sister Fang continued, "The two of them touched my left side, then my right, whispering amongst themselves, and then Ah Qiao touched my face."

The housekeeper's wife mimicked Ah Qiao's voice, saying in a high-pitched voice, "Oh, what did this lady make? It's all limp and still warm."

Ruan Wan knew that A Qiao and A Rui would never utter the words "Madam".

Lou Qianyuan recognized A Qiao's name and knew that the two burly men he was referring to were Sun Shishi's maids, A Qiao and A Rui.

As she laughed, Sister Fang said, "I deliberately exhaled a breath of hot air, and Ah Qiao was so frightened that she screamed and scrambled out like a pig being slaughtered. She ran around in the dark, knocking down the fence where I kept my deer, and got covered in chicken droppings, duck droppings, and deer droppings."

Several people couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter.

Lou Qianyuan laughed awkwardly along with them. He knew that the two fat maids were greedy, but he didn't expect them to sneak food in the middle of the night.

Lou Qianyuan frowned and said, "I remember A Qiao and A Rui were very slim and pretty when they first came to the manor as children. How did they get so fat?"

Aunt Fang sighed and said, "It's pitiful. Miss Biao doesn't allow pretty maids around her. From a young age, she forced A-Qiao and A-Rui to eat more. If they didn't eat, she would beat them and wouldn't let them sleep."

Sister-in-law Li sighed, "These two girls are so fat, how will they ever get married?"

Lou Qianyuan also felt somewhat guilty, because Sun Shishi did this ultimately because of him.

After shelling the pine nuts, Ruan Wan made pork jerky from pork tenderloin. Sister-in-law Fang's eyes lit up, "This was made from ten pigs! I've never seen jerky like this before!"

Sister Li said, "If we took this to the street to sell, we could definitely make a lot of money."

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "The fried dough twists and sugar balls that my sisters-in-law made are also very delicious, they taste just like home."

Then, he used pork hock and pig's head to make meat jelly and braised pig's head, respectively. These two dishes are common in Beijing.

Lou Qianyuan had a great time that day. Back in his room, he was like a child, constantly asking Ruan Wan, "What are we going to do tomorrow?"

Although it was fun, Ruan Wan was exhausted after two days, and said, "Tomorrow I'll buy a two-meter-tall water vat."

Lou Qianyuan frowned and asked, "Are you going to raise fish?"

"You'll know what it's for once you buy it."

Ruan Wan and Lou Qianyuan were chatting happily when there was a knock at the door. Cui Mo entered, bowed, and said, "Steward Li has something to discuss and would like to invite Young Master to the front hall."

Lou Qianyuan stood up and said, "Just tell the servants in the manor to go and buy it. I'll be right back."

Ruan Wan nodded and began to plan what she would buy tomorrow.

After a while, Lou Qianyuan returned dejectedly, though he had been quite happy when he left.

Ruan Wan hurriedly asked, "What happened? You were fine when you left. What did Uncle Li say to you? Why are you so listless?"

Lou Qianyuan looked dejected and said, "Uncle Li found out that my sisters-in-law and I were preparing for the New Year today. He said that if word got out that a young master was fighting with a servant, the servants would laugh at us."

Ruan Wan laughed and said, "No servant in any household would dare to discipline their master."

Lou Qianyuan looked up at Ruan Wan.

Ruan Wan knew what he was going to say and continued, "Although Uncle Li is different from others in your heart, he is no different from Sister-in-law Fang and the others. To you, they are all servants."

Lou Qianyuan had no way to refute it.

"The emperor still wants to share joy with the people. How is it a problem for the master to be close to his servants? So, joking with servants will be ridiculed, but being disciplined by servants like a child will not be ridiculed?"

Ruan Wan's words were piercing, but Lou Qianyuan really couldn't find the words to refute Uncle Li's words.

"I know, but Uncle Li is an elder, and I have to listen to what he says."

Ruan Wan was somewhat speechless and said, "Why doesn't he dare to tell me these things? Because in terms of our relationship, we are just master and servant, there is no other relationship between us."

Lou Qianyuan was momentarily speechless.

Ruan Wan sighed and said, "Then I'll go by myself tomorrow. You can go find a friend or stay in the study."

"No way, I want to go too!"

Ruan Wan smiled and said, "That's fine, but if Uncle Li comes looking for trouble tomorrow, I'll face him. You're not allowed to hold me back."

Lou Qianyuan nodded vigorously.

Looking at him like this, Ruan Wan found it somewhat amusing; she now seemed like a bad student taking a good student out for an all-nighter.

Early in the morning of the 27th, the sisters-in-law gathered around the large, overturned water vat in the courtyard, where the servants carefully carried it in.