Ordinary observers in fast time travel

Chapter 1256 What a huge favor!

"That's right. A woman, with two half-grown children and a newborn baby, escaped unscathed from the north to our Jingzhou Prefecture. She built a house and bought land, and before spring even arrived, she was chosen by a prominent family to be their cook..."

"Sigh, hearing you say that, the Li family is indeed very lucky!"

"Speaking of which, Lady Li's husband must have been dead for quite a while, right?"

"I don't know if he's dead or not, but I heard he was conscripted into the military."

……

Li Niangzi Shi Jia, who was blessed with good fortune, was somewhat speechless as she listened to the fading voice. Just as she was sighing, she caught a glimpse of Wang Tieshan across from her, who was filled with resentment and worry, and paused for a moment.

"Tieshan, what are you thinking about?"

"Sister-in-law, don't listen to them, brother will definitely be alright," Wang Tieshan said through gritted teeth, his face flushed.

Shi Jia patted him on the shoulder, "On the battlefield, swords and spears are ruthless, and we've long lost touch with your elder brother. Although it's heartbreaking, you should prepare for the worst."

Shi Jia had absolutely no feelings for Li Yunniang's husband, Wang Tieniu. Whether he lived or died was irrelevant; as long as it didn't interfere with her mission, that was all that mattered.

Upon hearing this, Wang Tieshan burst into tears. "Sister-in-law, are you going to remarry?"

"Huh?" Shi Jia rubbed his ears, wondering if he had misheard.

"Sister-in-law, don't abandon us!" Wang Tiehua, who was standing nearby, immediately became anxious upon hearing this. She hugged the little one and snuggled close to Shi Jia, making the little one's face turn red.

Shi Jia braced himself against Wang Tiehua's shoulder, took the little guy from her arms, and patted him back to calm him down.

"Ouch!" The little guy pointed at Wang Tiehua with a tearful expression, as if accusing her of her behavior.

"Yes, I'm sorry!" Wang Tiehua quickly apologized to the little guy and coaxed him for a long time before he calmed down.

Shi Jia simply smiled as she watched their interaction. Once the atmosphere in the car had calmed down again, she said, "Don't overthink it. I only have one thought: to raise the little one and help you both grow up."

"The others are not within my consideration."

Wang Tieshan relaxed immediately upon hearing this, but then became worried again, "Sister-in-law, what will you do if you have no one to rely on in the future?"

Shi Jia chuckled. This kid was just worried about her getting married, and now he's worried that she won't be able to get married and will have no one to rely on.

"Of course you are. From now on, you, Tiehua, and the little guy will all be my support." Shi Jia patted his shoulder. "Alright, don't think too much."

This boy is twelve years old now, and will be thirteen after the New Year. It's time for him to start school. After the New Year, we'll send him to an academy. If he doesn't have a talent for studying, then he can learn some martial arts or a trade.

Upon hearing Shi Jia's words, Wang Tieshan felt overwhelmed by a surge of responsibility. He solemnly said to Shi Jia, "Sister-in-law, don't worry, I will take care of you for the rest of my life and see you off in your old age."

Shi Jia was taken aback, glared at him, and said, "What are you thinking? I have a son, it's not your place to take care of me in my old age."

Wang Tieshan remained silent, but the determination in his eyes spoke volumes.

The carriage returned to the main road, its speed picking up quickly. It soon arrived at the prefectural city, passed through the city gate, and continued deeper into the inner city, arriving at a small courtyard. Just as Wan Anlu had described, the courtyard was quite spacious. Inside the gate was a row of buildings facing the street, including a carriage room, stables, and several storage rooms.

Passing through the hanging flower gate, you enter the main courtyard, which is a large courtyard in sight. At this time, there are a few ancient trees and sparse flowers and plants in the courtyard.

Upon seeing these flowers and plants, Shi Jia decided to uproot them in the spring and plant vegetables instead.

There are east and west wing rooms on both sides of the courtyard. Facing the courtyard is the main house, which has three rooms and a side room. Passing through the archway next to the side room leads to the backyard, which has a small courtyard with a row of houses and a well.

After looking around the house, Shi Jia was very satisfied, but she was also surprised by Wan Anlu's generosity. She thought it was just a large, dilapidated courtyard, but she didn't expect the house to be so nice.

Shi Jia had a bit of a headache; this favor seemed a little too much.

Fortunately, someone soon urged her to repay the favor.

“Madam Li, the Second Young Mistress has been hungry all day. Would you please come back to the manor with me to cook her a meal? Don’t worry, I’ll have a maid come and tidy up the courtyard for you later, how about that?” a nanny asked Shi Jia with a smile.

Shi Jia nodded, "Okay, I'll tell my family and then I'll go."

"That's good." The old woman breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, she didn't quite understand why the old woman, Lu, had told her to be so polite; she was just a cook.

But she soon realized that their second young mistress could only eat the food prepared by this cook. Watching the young mistress, who had been vomiting uncontrollably just moments before, now devouring rice like a starving ghost.

She couldn't help but rub her eyes. "This? The young mistress's morning sickness is gone?"

Granny Lu glanced at her, her gaze carrying a clear warning. The old woman immediately dared not speak, but her mind raced with unspoken thoughts: Could it be that the cook, Li, had cast a spell on the young mistress?
Otherwise, why should we only be able to eat the food she cooks?
The old woman cautiously observed everyone in the hall. Seeing that they were all looking at the young mistress with joy, she couldn't help but swallow hard, and the words "curse" almost slipped out of her mouth!

After lunch, Granny Lu called Shi Jia over and said, "Madam Li, you did a great job. However, since the young mistress is pregnant, the meals should be prepared more carefully in the future."

Shi Jia nodded, "Yes, lunch was indeed rushed. Tonight I'll make a fish soup for the young mistress and stew some meat."

Granny Lu nodded in satisfaction, "The doctor prescribed medicinal cuisine for the young mistress a few days ago, and Madam Li also prepared some for her."

Shi Jia wanted to say that medicine is three parts poison, but the other party said to prepare it according to the situation, so he didn't say anything more.

"In addition, Madam Li is also responsible for the meals of the old lady and the master. The old lady can't eat too much oily food, while the master is used to spicy food, but he has been busy with official duties lately and has been a bit stressed. So recently, the meals should be lighter." Granny Lu explained the precautions for the employers to Shi Jia in great detail.

Upon hearing this, Shi Jia sighed, realizing that this silver wasn't so easy to obtain.

In addition to being responsible for the daily meals of several employers, she was also in charge of cooking all kinds of banquets at the Wan family mansion.

After saying goodbye to Granny Lu, Shi Jia abandoned her original plan to go home and visit her family. Instead, she decided to ask the head chef about the dishes that her employers often ate.

He Chuan was the head chef of the Wan family's kitchen. Before Shi Jia arrived, he was in charge of the meals for Prefect Wan, Madam Wang, and several young ladies and gentlemen.

But this morning, he was suddenly informed that he would no longer be responsible for the master and mistress's meals for the next year. This terrified him, as he thought he had done something wrong without knowing the situation. He hurriedly spent half a month's salary to beg the steward to plead for them.

To everyone's surprise, a cook who appeared out of nowhere "temporarily" took her place.

Of course, he ignored the word "temporarily." In his view, a job as the head chef of the Wan family's kitchen was so desirable that it was practically impossible to find one even with a lantern; how could someone only take it for a year?