Farmhouse Green Plum

Chapter 164 Daily Life in Shen Mansion

However, Yuan Qing had mentioned this problem when practicing with clear water, and Song Ying paid special attention to the size of the water stain strokes.

After a brief period of adjustment, she quickly got the hang of it, and her handwriting gradually became the same as the one she had practiced on the slate.

The first few words on the paper were not good, so Song Ying simply used it as a draft for practice and filled the entire paper. Then he picked up a new piece of paper and began to record the recipe of the ginger and tangerine drink, and also wrote down the ingredients of the ginseng stewed black-bone chicken mentioned by Doctor Lin.

After finishing writing, Song Ying felt a great sense of accomplishment as he looked at the neatly arranged words on the snow-white paper.

When writing on the slate with clean water, the words would dry up very quickly. When it was hot, the previous word would be gone before I finished writing the next one. I had no time to appreciate my own words, nor could I see myself write a complete sentence.

After appreciating it for a while, she carefully observed her own handwriting. The stroke of the word "ju" should be a little further out, and the stroke of the word "ji" should be a little shorter...

After observing the whole article, she felt that she should buy a copybook of calligraphy. She had previously practiced calligraphy according to Yuan Qing's copybook, which was the Taige style. The characters were black, dense, square and tight. Although they were square and smooth, they seemed a bit rigid and stereotyped.

Yuan Qing chose this for the purpose of future imperial examinations. She wanted to look at other calligraphy works, perhaps there would be one she liked better.

Seeing that it was not yet time for dinner, Song Ying carefully read the process of making the ginger and tangerine drink again, then picked up a pen and began to copy the "Three Character Classic" on paper.

A copy of the Three Character Classic only had 1,145 characters, but Song Ying recited half of it in one breath. Seeing that it was already noon, he put away the dried papers, and used an inkstone or other items to press down the edges of the ink that had not yet dried.

After doing all this, she went next door to find Doctor Lin to get the food box and carried it to the big kitchen.

"Miss Song is here. Your meal is ready." Mother Fang was still as enthusiastic as ever. As she spoke, she took Song Ying's food box and handed it to the other maids.

She pulled Song Ying to sit aside and asked curiously, "Where are you from, girl? You are so beautiful, but your family is willing to let you work as a laborer. It must be very hard for you."

Song Ying thought, how could this be called hard work? She spent the whole morning making a ginger and orange drink, and the rest of the time was spent doing her own things.

If they were in the village, they would still be working hard in the mountains under the scorching sun.

Moreover, according to Doctor Lin, she only needs to prepare the medicinal meal in the afternoon, and there is not much work to do otherwise. She has plenty of free time, and the salary is only one hundred dollars. It's simply a heavenly life!

She kept muttering in her heart, but she simply replied: "I came here on my own initiative. I like to cook medicinal food."

"No wonder Doctor Dolin chose you. You don't know how many people are eyeing this position. Back in Kyoto, before Miss Qing left, Mrs. Zhang, who worked as a needleworker, wanted her granddaughter to replace Miss Qing.

There is also Xu the accountant in the front yard, who also wanted to get his niece in, but Doctor Lin didn't want anyone else, and finally chose you."

As she had just arrived, Song Ying didn't want to reveal too much. Besides, she didn't know much about the Shen Mansion, so it was better to say less.

So, she pursed her lips and smiled shyly: "Is that so."

And then there was no further news, which made Fang's mother very disappointed.

Soon, the maid brought out a food box. Song Ying took the food box, said goodbye to everyone, and returned to the courtyard where he lived.

"Doctor Lin, the food is back." Song Ying shouted, carried the food box to the table in the main room and put it down. When he opened the food box, Song Ying was shocked again.

What caught her eye was a dish of fried pork with cucumber, which she had only seen others eat in restaurants. There were thin slices of lean meat and diamond-shaped cucumbers, and each slice was covered in grease.

There is meat to eat!

She swallowed and took out the rest of the food one by one, one meat and one vegetable, two dishes and one soup.

This is too rich. In the past, when her family occasionally bought meat, they only cooked it or made soup. This is her first time to eat stir-fried dishes. I heard that you need an iron pan to stir-fry.

She suppressed her joy and waited until Dr. Lin came over to start eating before she took a slice of cucumber.

Different from the freshness of raw cucumbers, cucumbers covered with fat are particularly delicious. When you take a bite, the cucumber juice and fat burst in your mouth, leaving a lingering fragrance in your mouth.

Song Ying chewed carefully, feeling the deliciousness of every bite, and curved her eyes happily. It was so delicious!

After eating one slice, she glanced across the plate and subconsciously picked up another slice of cucumber.

After she ate several slices, Dr. Lin, who was sitting opposite her, suddenly put a piece of meat into her bowl with his chopsticks and said, "Don't just eat what you like. Children need to eat more meat so they can grow."

Song Ying was stunned. She had been told since she was a child that her family was poor and the meat should be saved for her second uncle who worked hard, her elderly grandmother and her young cousin.

Although it was not said explicitly, the implication was very clear, asking her to eat less meat.

When visiting someone's home, the etiquette we are taught is that girls should be reserved and not just put the meat into their mouths as soon as they see it. They should leave it for others.

So, even if the family cooked meat every time, she would only take one or two bites with her chopsticks.

This was the first time anyone asked her to eat more meat.

Song Ying felt her nose a little sour. She nodded and hummed hoarsely.

At this moment, the tension I had felt when facing Dr. Lin dissipated a lot.

She felt that Doctor Lin was just aloof and quiet, and seemed difficult to get along with, but in fact, like Lin Wenxuan, he was a very nice person.

Next, Song Ying picked up piece of meat after piece and ate it, and finally half of the plate of meat went into her mouth.

She was a little embarrassed, but Dr. Lin didn't say anything. He just asked her to wash the dishes and bring them to the kitchen in the afternoon.

In the following days, Song Ying learned several more medicinal dishes from Doctor Lin and lived a more relaxed and fulfilling life than ever before.

Every day, she only needs to prepare one medicinal meal at noon and in the afternoon, and there is nothing else to do. Even the ingredients for the medicinal meals are prepared by the people in the kitchen, and she only needs to take them and use them.

After teaching her once, the next time Dr. Lin made the medicinal food, she let Song Ying do it herself while she watched.

Song Ying cherishes this job very much, so before making medicinal food every time, he would take out his notes and review them in his own room.

So far, she has not made any mistakes. Seeing this, when Dr. Lin makes the same medicinal food next time, he lets her do it without any worries while he decocts the medicine at the side.

In his spare time, Song Ying would recite the three hundred thousand pieces he had learned in his room.

In addition to making medicinal food, Song Ying would also chat with girls of the same age in the big kitchen. From them, Song Ying learned that not all odd jobs in the Shen Mansion were easy.

The maids and old women in the kitchen are very busy. They have to prepare three meals a day for dozens of people in the Shen Mansion from dawn to midnight.

Sometimes when the master was in a good mood, I would have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to cook for them.

In addition, their accommodation and monthly wages were much better than Song Ying's. Song Ying's treatment was comparable to that of a second-class maid in the mansion, with the exception of her accommodation.

The second-class maids were divided into two rooms. Because Doctor Lin had her own courtyard and she didn't like people to serve her closely, she only had Song Ying as a temporary worker, so Song Ying had her own room.