The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 30 A False Alarm

Gan Minglan ignored the subtle conflict between the father and son.

As a straight woman, she has absolutely no concept of competing for favor.

They were still marveling at how they had paid ten taels of silver for such an expensive service, and how it had worked so well.

Several jailers brought two new straw mats and a kang table, a chamber pot, and other daily necessities.

They even kindly helped to spread it on the kang (a heated brick bed).

Hot water and breakfast were then delivered.

The family of three took turns washing their faces and hands.

Today's breakfast consisted of vegetable porridge, pickled vegetables, and fried dough sticks.

The two bowls were filled to the brim, and the pickled vegetables were served in small dishes.

Youmotou is a food similar to youtiao (fried dough sticks).

The balls are about the size of a child's palm and are deep-fried.

This is considered a top-tier breakfast option.

Zuo Wenkang diligently placed one on his wife's plate.

Gan Minglan was immediately overwhelmed by the oily smell of soybean oil.

"vomit"

"Wow"

Unable to control the urge to vomit, I hurriedly moved away from the kang table and ran to the toilet in the corner of the room.

It was just like last night, a turbulent storm.

She ate two handfuls of mulberries while waiting for the father and son to arrive.

Who knew it would come out so spectacularly?

Zuo Wenkang followed behind, carefully patting her back, his head covered in sweat.

She was only focused on vomiting.

No one saw Zuo Wenkang's expression change drastically after seeing her vomit.

The purplish-black mulberry is the same color it is when you eat it and when you spit it out.

The toilet delivered by the prison guards was brand new, and the wood was off-white.

The lighting in the room is alright.

That pile of dark vomit was terrifying to anyone who didn't know what was going on.

Zuo Wenkang's legs went weak from watching, and his mind went completely blank.

He stammered as he pressed on with more questions:

"Your Majesty, what did you eat last night? Does your stomach hurt? Is there anything else that's bothering you?"

Gan Minglan herself disliked the smell of vomit.

Turning back to the kang (heated brick bed), he lay down on the bundle and hummed softly.
"I didn't eat anything last night, and I threw up all night. Apart from being hungry, I don't feel any discomfort."

"Then, what are these?"

Zuo Wenkang, undeterred by the filth, carried the chamber pot to the front of the kang (a heated brick bed) and pointed to a pile of black objects inside, asking a question.

Gan Minglan glanced at the blunder she had caused and felt somewhat guilty.

His mind raced, and he casually remarked:

"Oh, this! I threw up all night last night, and this morning a jailer's wife saw that I was very hungry, so she gave me two mulberries that she had just bought."

Fatty couldn't sit still when he heard about mulberries, and he lost his appetite for breakfast.

He kept calling out, "Mother, Mother, I want to eat too, I want to eat too."

He ate it several times along the way and developed a deep love for the fruit.

Having no other choice, Gan Minglan rummaged through her bundle and secretly smuggled out a large amount of stuff from her spatial storage.

Zuo Wenkang was born in Jiangnan in his previous life, and he must have eaten countless mulberries.

I've never seen a fruit this long and this big before.

There were no memories in this body either; I thought it was a unique feature of Cheng'an Prefecture.

Fatty was used to eating them, so he grabbed one and threw it into his mouth.

Dark purple juice spilled from the corner of his mouth as he chewed. He then slurped it back up.

Seeing that the child was eating with relish, and that there weren't many fruits, Zuo Wenkang couldn't bear to eat a single one.

Thinking about what my wife had said about morning sickness, I started to worry again:

"Isn't it already three months along? Why am I still experiencing morning sickness?"

Gan Minglan was helpless:
“Several men were already living in the cell where I used to stay. They urinated anywhere in the cell. How could it smell good in this hot weather?”
My daughter is very well-behaved; she hasn't caused me any trouble in the past three months, and this is the first time she's had such a strong reaction.

Hearing her say that, Zuo Wenkang's heart was still not at ease.

Morning sickness is a common phenomenon, and it tends to be most severe in the first three months of pregnancy.

It's not uncommon for wives to rebel later in life.

After thinking for a moment, he said in a low voice:

"Your health is the most important thing right now. Since money can buy you things in this prison, my wife, just tell me what you want to eat!"

Gan Minglan said irritably, "Do you even need to tell me? This small single room costs ten taels of silver a day now."

She wanted to see how this outsider treated money.

She glanced at his face as she spoke.

But the other party didn't even raise an eyebrow, as if ten taels of silver were nothing more than ten coins, and kept praising her for handling the matter well.

"My son and I have benefited from your good fortune! Don't worry about the money, your husband will earn even more for you in the future."

Fatty also gave a vague response:
"Mom, Mom, yes, I can earn money too! I'll slaughter pigs and sell them after I turn five!"

Of all the people the child knew, his maternal grandfather was the most capable.

What was my maternal grandfather's skill? — Slaughtering pigs!

Therefore, he has already decided to abandon his studies and take up a life of martial arts (butchering)!

Gan Minglan: "Alright, alright, Mother is waiting for you and your father to contribute to the family. In the future, your father will earn copper coins by writing letters for people at the border, and when you turn five, you will learn to slaughter pigs with your mother."

Her lips curved slightly as she spoke, stroking the soft hair under the chubby boy's bowl cut.

Her upturned cat-like eyes held an indescribable tenderness in her gaze as she looked at the child.

Watching the interaction between the mother and son, Zuo Wenkang felt incredibly happy and content.

He didn't take his wife's talk about writing letters and killing pigs to earn money to the end at all.

He's very capable; he won't have to worry about supporting his wife and children.

Even if his son doesn't participate in the imperial examinations, he still needs to learn to read and write, and he will personally teach him.

Slaughtering pigs is out of the question!
Waiting anxiously for Gan Minglan to calm down and rinse her mouth with water.

Only then did he place the large bowl of vegetable porridge in front of her.

"There shouldn't be any oil in this, my wife, try it! I just had a bite of the pickled vegetables, and besides being salty, there wasn't any strange taste. This is all the conditions we have right now, it's really too much of a hardship for you, my wife!"

Gan Minglan, who hadn't had a decent meal in days since the apocalypse, didn't feel wronged at all.

This is grain!

Vegetable porridge is made with wheat flour.

It's a bit like the dumpling soup of later generations, with some chopped vegetable leaves added.

She took a bite; it was slightly salty.

I didn't feel nauseous after swallowing it.

Then, he ate the whole bowl with the pickled vegetables, bite after bite.

That was the amount of breakfast the prison guards gave to their family of three.

She only ate until she was about 70% full, and still felt a little unsatisfied.

Zuo Wenkang and Fatty were both so envious of her eating that they cried.

It's just vegetable porridge, is it really that fragrant?

Although my family wasn't wealthy in the past, we ate rice and wheat flour in rotation.

With my father-in-law, a butcher, around, we've never lacked pork.

When did my wife start to think that even a simple noodle soup was a delicacy?
Zuo Wenkang was puzzled.

His wife suffered a great injustice!
(End of this chapter)