Chapter 68: Preparations
"It was expected. With Second Aunt's temperament, she would only be bullied without the support of her maternal family." The maternal family was the backbone of a married woman, but few relied on it to the extent her second aunt did.
"However, Second Aunt still remembers her maternal family. She sent silver back—some was given to Third Aunt, but she also brought a portion for Old Madam."
Hua Zhi listened, thinking of her eldest aunt who always strove to be the best. Even an overlooked concubine-born daughter understood the difficulties of her maternal family—what about the one who had received endless affection? Did she plan to completely sever ties with the Hua family?
Most of the silver eventually ended up with Hua Zhi. She instructed Nian Qiu to record Third Aunt's portion separately. She didn’t care about the amount, but she valued the sentiment behind it and vowed to repay it a thousandfold in the future.
With the child arriving unexpectedly early, Hua Zhi decided to move up the date of her trip to the northern lands. The weather would only grow colder, and she had no desire to suffer more than necessary.
"Bao Xia, go find Doctor Chu for me. Ask him to prepare more medicine. I’ll collect it in ten days."
"Yes."
"Fu Dong, how are those people? Are they ready to graduate?"
"Most are capable, but a few still lack the necessary skill, in this servant’s opinion."
"Whether it’s auspicious or not, the snack street will open in eight days." Hua Zhi looked at her most introverted head maid. "Fu Dong, although the snack street is managed by Chen Liang, you must keep it in mind. From now on, anything related to food concerns you. You are the one behind the scenes in charge. Do you understand?"
Fu Dong bit her lower lip until it turned red, whispering, "This servant... this servant will do her utmost. But... but this servant is not skilled in management..."
"You don’t need to handle management or operations. Your task is to train enough apprentices and understand them well, not to be clueless about anything beyond food." Seeing Fu Dong’s teary, pitiful expression, Hua Zhi softened her tone. "I know you’d rather spend all twelve hours of the day in the kitchen. I’ll make sure you get your wish eventually, but for now, only you can manage this responsibility."
"...Yes, this servant will strive to do well."
"Bao Xia."
"Yes, Miss."
"I’ve rented a shop from my maternal grandmother on Beiyang Street. Take people to decorate it properly. The facade must be impeccable—make it as elegant as possible. If you’re unsure, consult Fourth Aunt; she excels at this. When the weather turns colder, we can start selling the canned goods from the estate."
Bao Xia knelt with a thud. "Miss, please take this servant with you."
Ying Chun also knelt. "Miss, no matter what, please take one of us. Bao Xia has the best stamina. If you take her, we’ll rest easier."
Maids inside and outside the room knelt in unison, filling the space with their prostrate forms.
Hua Zhi felt a headache coming on, unsure how to convince them that bringing them along would be a burden. No matter how robust their constitutions, they couldn’t endure long-distance horseback riding.
"Why is Bao Xia the one with the best stamina? Clearly, it’s me."
The room fell silent, as if even breathing had paused. Then, everyone turned their shining eyes toward Shaoyao, who held a plate in one hand and was popping pastries into her mouth with the other.
Hua Zhi’s heart stirred briefly, but she shook her head. "If it were a trip of a few days, you could come along. But this journey will take at least twenty days round trip. What if your master needs you and can’t find you?""That's easy," Shaoyao ran out, "I'll go ask him."
When Shaoyao found Gu Yanxi, he was sitting bored under a tree playing with leaves. Not far from him, six Hua family servants were squatting in horse stance, swaying unsteadily.
Shaoyao gave them a pitying look. Falling into the Heir's hands, how unfortunate!
"What are you here for?" He took a piece of pastry from her plate, broke off a piece and ate it slowly, as if he hadn't noticed Shaoyao's attempt to hide the plate behind her.
Realizing she was no match for the Heir and couldn't protect her pastries, Shaoyao simply picked up the last two pieces and took a bite from each before speaking with relief, "Will anything happen recently?"
"Why?"
Shaoyao confessed honestly, "Hua Hua wants to travel far, and I want to go with her."
"To the northern border? Wasn't it supposed to be in November?" After saying this, Gu Yanxi murmured to himself, "Right, the child has been born, so going earlier shouldn't be a problem."
"Yan Ge, I want to go."
"No one's stopping you."
Shaoyao jumped for joy, "Then I'll go tell Hua Hua."
"Wait."
Shaoyao looked at him warily, "You can't go back on your word."
"When are you leaving?"
"In ten days or half a month. Hua Hua said she'll get medicine in ten days... Wait, I can make medicine too! Why isn't Hua Hua asking me?" Shaoyao immediately ran off.
Gu Yanxi raised his eyebrows, once again thinking how good Hua Zhi was to Shaoyao.
Unaware that she'd been given a "good person card," Hua Zhi coaxed the unhappy Shaoyao, "Doctor Chu has some effective methods for treating frostbite. The frostbite ointment he makes works very well, and I ordered the medicine from him before I even met you!"
"But you can ask me to make it for you now."
"These medicines don't require your skills." Hua Zhi took a handkerchief and wiped the pastry crumbs from Shaoyao's hands. "If you have time, you could make me some nourishing medicine. My grandfather is getting old, and the northern border isn't a good place. I'm always worried he won't be able to endure it."
Only then did Shaoyao cheer up, happily agreeing that it was no problem.
"Ying Chun, go check what medicinal herbs we have at home. Make a list for Cao Cao and work with what we have for now. We don't have extra money to buy precious herbs at the moment."
"Yes."
Shaoyao also agreed with a smile, but thought to herself: You might not have them, but I do. I have a whole garden of medicinal herbs, and many more stored in the warehouse. If that's not enough, I can always ask the Heir - we definitely won't be short.
After confirming the departure date, Hua Zhi went to see her grandmother.
Old Madam looked at her, "Have you really decided to go personally? Are you prepared?"
"Yes."
In Old Madam's heart, her husband and son ultimately took precedence. She nodded, "That's fine. Going early means returning early, and you might even avoid the snowy weather. How many people are you planning to take?"
"Six. Also, Shaoyao will come with me. Please inform the branch families, grandmother, and have them prepare what they want to send. It can't be too much - there are only so many of us, and we can't carry too much."
"Alright, I understand."
When everyone in the Hua family learned that Hua Zhi was going to the northern border, they all sprang into action. Although they still found it hard to believe that a girl raised in the inner quarters could travel so far, the events of this period had gradually built some trust in Hua Zhi among the various branches. Even if they couldn't find their loved ones, the items would naturally be returned. But what if they actually found them?Since everyone thought this way, the prepared items far exceeded what Hua Zhi could take with her. Old Madam's instruction to take only one-tenth of them caused another round of frantic rearrangements among the families.
PS: Wrote some at the airport, some on the plane, and sneaked in some more during today's meeting—so managed to maintain two updates. Tomorrow will likely be tough; one update would be considered good enough. These two chapters contain many trivial matters, which are the most laborious to write yet least appreciated—please bear with them.
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