During famine years, I had a divination slip in hand, and my whole family ate chicken, duck, fish, a

"Ye Qingqing, you..."

Fang Jincheng felt as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his face. He was so ashamed that he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

He wanted to argue, but Master Qian was right next to him, looking at him with a "how did you get to know such an idiot?" look, so he didn't dare to utter a single word.

After saying those words, Ye Qingqing ignored Fang Jincheng's face, which flushed red and then turned pale, and she also ignored the increasingly cold look in Qian Yuanwai's eyes when he looked at Fang Jincheng. She directly called Ye Dazhuang, and the two of them drove the carriage slowly back.

By the time we got back to Kaoshantun, it was already getting dark.

Ye Qingqing tucked the more than one hundred taels of silver from the vegetable vendor into her bosom. It felt heavy, and she felt incredibly at ease!

These days, if you don't have money in your hand, you don't have much leverage.

"Brother Dazhuang, you've worked hard today."

Ye Qingqing jumped out of the car, breathed on her hands to warm them, and said with a smile, "Following me every day, either up the mountain or to town, is really too tiring."

Ye Dazhuang smiled faintly, "It's alright."

What he really wanted to say was that this was fine.

As soon as the two entered the courtyard, they heard a series of loud shouts coming from inside the house.

"Oh my goodness, what are we going to do?!"

Upon hearing his sister-in-law Li Chunyan's voice, which was louder than a power drill and carried a hint of annoyance, he realized that she was very loud.

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?"

Ye Qingqing pushed open the door and went in, only to see Li Chunyan sighing and lamenting over her newly made coarse cloth jacket.

It hurts so much, like a piece of her flesh has been cut off!

The front of that originally indigo-blue garment was stained with a large patch of dark grease, and there was some leftover lard spilled on the stove.

"Sister-in-law, what's wrong?"

Ye Qingqing leaned closer and asked.

Upon seeing Ye Qingqing, Li Chunyan's eyes welled up with tears, as if she had seen a savior.

"I was holding a bowl of lard and my hand slipped, and half of the lard spilled all over my new clothes!"

"This is the new dress we got made when we went to town! I rubbed it with soapberry for ages, but it didn't work at all, and it even bled the color in!"

"It's just that the clothes got dirty. We can make new ones later."

Ye Qingqing dismissed it lightly, not taking it seriously at all.

As modern people, who doesn't have a few clothes that are dirty and don't want to wear anymore? Just buy new ones, it's not like they don't have the money.

Li Chunyan would never have such thoughts!

She endured so many hardships before finally living a good life. Being able to wear new clothes is already a blessing from her ancestors!

It felt like her heart had been ripped out when her new clothes were dirty; she said with a mixture of heartache and frustration.

"You make it sound so easy for me, but this is a brand new dress that I just had made!"

"I haven't even had a chance to get warm in my clothes, and they're already in this terrible state! It breaks my heart!"

As Ye Qingqing listened to her rambling, she looked thoughtfully at the oil stain, and suddenly her eyes lit up.

In modern times, what's so special about removing grease?

Dish soap, laundry detergent, or regular soap—any one of these will do the job.

But at the bottom of society, ordinary people basically rely on a washing mallet and soap to wash clothes. Slightly more particular families might use bath beans, but those things are incredibly ineffective at removing grease.

Especially in winter, thick clothes are impossible to clean once they get stained with oil, so you basically have to wear them as is.

My family used to be poor, and we couldn't bear to throw away the clothes we wore that were patched upon patched. It wasn't easy for us to get new clothes!

"Sister-in-law, stop crying."

Ye Qingqing smiled and patted Li Chunyan's shoulder, saying casually, "It's just oil, I can wash it off for you."

"What?!"

Li Chunyan suddenly raised her head and looked at Ye Qingqing as if she were a fool.

"Second Girl, are you running a fever? I scrubbed that soapberry until my skin bled, and it still didn't work. You think you can wash it off? Don't try to fool me!"

At this moment, Old Man Ye, Ye Dashan, also heard the voice and said,

"Sister-in-law, how could you be wrong to listen to Er Yatou?"

"Father, I know... I'm just worried about the clothes!"

Li Chunyan thought about it and agreed, but she still didn't believe Ye Qingqing could wash away the grease. "That girl said she can wash away the grease, how is that possible!"

Those clothes, I think, are ruined.

Ye Youliang puffed on his pipe without saying a word, but his eyes clearly said, "I believe you."

Although Ye Dazhuang didn't quite understand, he believed it nonetheless.

He stood behind Ye Qingqing and suddenly spoke softly.

"Qingqing said it can be washed off, so it definitely can be washed off. Sister-in-law can give it a try."

Looking at Ye Dazhuang's serious expression, Li Chunyan said, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

"Brother Dazhuang, you're too honest. You believe everything Erya says. If this grease can be washed off, I'll give you the whole pot!"

Ye Qingqing unconsciously smiled.

She knew that in this day and age, if you said you could create a magical degreasing device, no one would believe you.

"Sister-in-law, how about we make a bet?"

Ye Qingqing said with a smile, "If I can wash this dress clean for you, you can give me one tael of silver. If I can't wash it clean, I'll compensate you with a bolt of the finest Suzhou satin. How about that?"

A bolt of Suzhou silk?!

Li Chunyan's eyes widened instantly.

That's a rare find, even if you have money, it's hard to buy. With the water supply cut off, one horse would cost at least ten taels of silver!

"Second Girl, do you keep your word?"

Li Chunyan swallowed.

It wasn't that she was greedy, but she had heard that Su Duan was something worn by the ladies in the palace. If she could wear a piece of it in her lifetime, she would have lived a worthwhile life!

"You mean it, of course you mean it."

Ye Qingqing raised an eyebrow. "However, you'll have to prepare something for me."

"What is it?"

"The wood ash should be sieved finely."

"Add some lard, not too much... two ounces will be enough. Also, find a small iron pot and some lime water... preferably clear."

Ye Qingqing recited a string of names.

These things are everywhere, so they shouldn't be hard to find.

The people inside looked at each other in bewilderment.

What is all this about?

Wood ash and lard?

What can you do by putting these two things together?

Do you want some stewed meat?

"Qingqing, what do you need all this for?" Li Chunyan asked, looking completely bewildered.

"Of course, make something good."

Ye Qingqing smiled mysteriously and urged her, "Sister-in-law, hurry up, or you'll miss this opportunity."

The fate of your new dress is in your own hands.

Li Chunyan gritted her teeth, steeled her resolve, and said...

"Fine! I'll see what kind of trouble you can cause! Dali, come with me to get some wood ash!"

She rushed out and soon returned with a basket of fine wood ash and a piece of snow-white lard from the kitchen.

Ye Dali also brought half a bucket of lime water.

Ye Qingqing rolled up her sleeves and placed the small iron pot directly on the stove.

"Qingqing, are you really going to do this?" Ye Dashan finally couldn't help but speak up. "It's so late at night, don't mess around and waste things."

"Father, just you wait and see."

Ye Qingqing tossed the lard into the iron pot and slowly melted it over low heat. Once the oil was hot, she sprinkled in the wood ash little by little, stirring rapidly with chopsticks as she did so.

When wood ash comes into contact with hot oil, it sizzles, and the aroma of burnt wood ash mixed with the pungent smell of lard fills the room.