Reincarnation and Rebirth

"Wan'er, is that so?" Madam Chen nudged the absent-minded Su Wan'er with her elbow.

"Yes, that's it."

"and then?"

"I can handle the rest myself."

"No, Auntie has nothing to do anyway. You tell me, I'll do it."

Su Wan'er sneered, "Aunt, the next ingredient is my secret recipe, and I can't let you know about it."

Upon hearing the word "secret recipe," Chen's face revealed undisguised excitement. "Oh dear, we're all family. What secrets could family possibly have?" she exclaimed. Then, looking at Wang, who was preparing to cook, she smiled and said, "Second sister-in-law, don't you think what I said makes sense?"

Having been married into the family for so many years, Wang had never received such treatment before. She nodded happily and said, "Of course, of course, sister-in-law is right. We are all family. What secrets could there be? Wan'er, quickly teach your aunt."

Su Wan'er glanced coldly at Madam Wang, then looked away, afraid she would burst into a tirade: "Are you brainless or stupid?"

Just then, Old Mrs. Su came out from the inner room and, upon hearing what Mrs. Wang said, unusually praised Mrs. Wang for being sensible and understanding.

Seeing that her mother-in-law was praising her so much, Madam Wang became even more attentive, "Wan'er, why don't you hurry up and teach your aunt? We're all family, why make such distinctions? It'll only make us feel awkward."

"Are you sure?" Su Wan'er stared intently at Madam Wang, making Madam Wang's heart tighten. In the end, she steeled herself and said, "Go quickly."

"it is good."

After saying that, Su Wan'er turned to look at Grandma Su, "Grandma, it's best to use lard to make this balm. Last time I found tree oil on the mountain, but now that it's so cold, there probably isn't any left on the mountain."

Upon hearing that lard was to be used, the old lady jumped three feet high, "You spendthrift..."

"Mother," Su Youfu called out from the main room. Old Mrs. Su stopped herself from saying anything more, and almost gritted her teeth as she asked, "How much do you want?"

Su Wan'er smiled, "That depends on how many you make. I was originally thinking of making two pieces for Zhao'er to play with, but now that my aunt, fourth aunt and eldest cousin are helping, it wouldn't be right not to give her a piece. How about making four or five pieces? We don't need too much oil, just a small half bowl will be enough."

Hearing that only half a bowl was needed, Grandma Su's mood calmed down a little, but she was still in great pain, muttering curses as she took the key to open the cupboard.

Madam Chen stepped forward and said, “Mother, since we’ve already started, why not do a little more?”

Seeing that Old Lady Su's face was grim and she was about to start cursing, she quickly whispered, "If we have too many, we can try selling them in town. Maybe we can get a good price."

Hearing that it could be sold for money, Grandma Su finally relaxed her furrowed brows. "Yes, remember to hand over the money you get from selling it. This oil is very precious."

"I know mother."

Su Wan'er watched with no surprise as Madam Chen brought out a large bowl full of lard, feigning shock as she asked, "Aunt, why is there so much?"

"I see there are still so many flowers left, let's not waste them, let's make them all together."

"But there are only a few people in the family, so we can't use it all."

Grandma Su came out and snapped, "Why are you asking so many questions, you little brat? Just do what I tell you to do."

Su Wan'er pursed her lips and continued with the remaining steps of the process.

Although lard can replace coconut oil, the resulting balm is not translucent enough, and without beeswax, the texture becomes soft and mushy, not as good as the balm she made before. However, Su Wan'er would not tell them this.

Seeing how seriously the Chen mother and daughter were learning, Su Wan'er's lips curled into a smile.

"Is this good?"

"You brat, you're not lying to us, are you? This is different from what you showed us before."

"Aunt, cousin, don't worry, we have to wait. It will solidify when it cools down."

Since there were no small jars at home, Su Wan'er found a large wooden trough, which she would cut after demolding.

"You better not be lying to us." After working for so long, Su Qing'er was already impatient.

"No rush, it should be ready by tonight." After saying that, Su Wan'er moved the wooden trough under the eaves of her house and placed it there. "This can't be exposed to the sun, there's no sun here, so let's put it here."

The courtyard was filled with the enchanting fragrance of various flowers, attracting passersby to peek into the yard. "Aunt Su, what are you doing at your house? It smells so good."

Grandma Su's face tightened. This was the family's precious treasure, a family heirloom. How could she let outsiders see it?

"Go away, what's so interesting about that?"

The other person was just asking out of curiosity, but was immediately annoyed by Grandma Su's dismissive attitude. "Pah, it's just some flower fragrance, why hide it? Who cares?"

Just then, Wang's meal was ready. Chen and her daughter, along with Xiang, had been busy all morning, being directed around by Su Wan'er. By this time, they were starving and immediately washed their hands and went to the main room to eat.

Seeing that no one was in the courtyard, Su Wan'er went to the eaves and replaced the wooden trough with the perfume balm she had made yesterday in her space.

Lunch went very well today; no one bothered Su Wan'er and the others. If the food had been a little better, it would have been perfect.

As soon as night fell, Madam Chen and Madam Xiang couldn't wait to see the perfume they had made. Before they even got close, they could smell a refreshing fragrance that made them feel relaxed and comfortable.

"Oh, it's a success? I didn't know making perfume was so simple," Xiang said with a smile.

Chen's alarm bells rang, and she spoke harshly to Xiang, "Fourth sister-in-law, this is a family secret recipe. Don't you dare have any ulterior motives."

Madam Xiang laughed, "What are you saying, sister-in-law? What do you mean by 'having ulterior motives'?"

Old Mrs. Su had already rushed over on her bound feet. Hearing their conversation, she coldly said to Madam Xiang, "If you dare to go back to your parents' home and utter a single word, I'll see if I let Youcai divorce you."

"Mother, what are you saying? I'm a daughter-in-law of the Su family, so naturally I'm thinking of the Su family. But judging from what you and my sister-in-law are saying, could it be that this thing is very valuable?"

Grandma Su and Madam Chen looked at each other, both of them looking guilty.

Inside the main room, Old Man Su coughed, and Old Lady Su immediately understood. She called out to Su Wan'er's room, "Su Wan'er, why don't you come out and see if the perfume is ready?"

At that time, the four siblings of the Su family were sitting around on the kang (a heated brick bed) eating pastries. Under the pretext of having been to the town, Su Wan'er took out the pastries that she had secretly put into her space in the palace before, since the younger ones had never eaten them before.

"Big sister, these pastries are so pretty. Why are they different from what my aunt and the others eat? Are they especially expensive?" Su Xiang'er asked.

"It's not expensive. My sister bought it because it looks nice. She doesn't know if it tastes good."

"But eldest sister, where did you get the money?" Su Xiang'er asked doubtfully. It wasn't that she didn't trust her eldest sister, but she was worried that her eldest sister might be sacrificing herself to bring them delicious pastries.

"Uh," Su Wan'er almost forgot about that. Just then, she heard Grandma Su calling her from outside, and she quickly replied, "Coming."

Then he said to Xiang'er, "Hurry up and eat it secretly, or it will be troublesome when your parents come back. I got the money by exchanging it for a piece of perfume. Luckily, I saved one last time. Eat it quickly."

Upon hearing this, apart from Su Xiang'er who was still a little worried, the other two were quickly attracted by the pastries. The eldest sister said that they should eat quickly and not wait for their parents to come back.

Today, because Su Wan'er has been at home making perfume, the work of gathering firewood and cutting pig feed has fallen on Su Youlu and his wife. As a result, the work in the backyard has not been done yet, and the two of them are currently very busy.

Although Su Xiang'er still had some doubts, she subconsciously ate the pastry after hearing the old lady's voice.