70: Chapter 71 Brown Sugar Ginger_1 70: Chapter 71 Brown Sugar Ginger_1 The next day, Qiao Duo’er got up a bit late.
Her stomach still hurt, but it was much better than yesterday.
When she got up, Sun Erhu had already cooked a pot of white rice porridge and exchanged a bowl of it for a plate of pickles from Hu’s Clan.
Because his taste had been spoiled by Qiao Duo’er, he couldn’t stomach anything he fried himself, and even thought the pickles made by Hu’s Clan were distasteful.
Sun Erhu silently decided that his only requirement for a future wife would be that she must be good at cooking.
After all…
one can’t bring one’s wife over to someone else’s house for meals after getting married, can they?
Duo’er ate half a bowl of plain porridge listlessly before putting down her chopsticks.
After breakfast, she got to work right away.
She minced some ginger, mixed it with brown sugar, and put it in a pot to steam over water.
With the fire on low, she quickly went back home to sew another cloth pouch, this time adding a strip of cloth to secure it.
Otherwise, she worried that the thing might fall out if she took a few steps, which would be rather embarrassing.
Duo’er quickly sewed another one, and the ginger and brown sugar mixture was ready in the pot.
She then boiled a pot of hot water, scooped a spoonful of ginger and brown sugar into it, and dissolved it with boiling water—a great remedy for driving out the cold.
She remembered from a palace drama she watched, where the ladies would drink this for health.
Um…
it had to work.
After drinking a bowl, her stomach felt warm, and the pain seemed to lessen a bit.
Whenever she felt uncomfortable, Duo’er would quickly change the pouch.
She also took the chance when her stomach hurt less to wash her soiled clothes with warm water.
Since it was her first time dealing with her period in such a primitive way, Duo’er ended up changing her clothes three times that day.
Although cotton was quite absorbent, it was easy to leak through, and sitting for too long would stain the trousers with blood.
This left Qiao Duo feeling helpless.
The only solution was to make several more cloth pouches and change them frequently.
That day, Duo’er obediently stayed at home, sewing cloth pouches and mending clothes and making ginger tea whenever her stomach hurt.
The ginger tea was effective, but her constitution tended to be cold, so even in the summer, drinking ginger tea could provide relief for only half an hour.
This body was a mess; she had no idea how the original owner had managed.
By evening, lying in bed, the pain from her period had finally passed, and Qiao Duo let out a long sigh of relief.
This feeling…
was like the General winning a battle.
The feeling of no more stomach pain was truly blissful!
Seeing that Qiao Duo’s complexion had improved greatly, Tan Zhenghong’s mood also lifted.
Otherwise, seeing Qiao Duo’s pained expression had been heart-wrenching for him.
By the third day, Qiao Duo was back to full health.
After breakfast, she picked up her tools, ready to head to the mountains.
Tan Zhenghong said sternly, “You’ve just started feeling better today, stay at home and rest well.”
Qiao Duo shook her head, and Tan Zhenghong continued, “If you go to the mountain today, I’ll come looking for you up there.”
Qiao Duo pouted.
She hadn’t realized that he could be so domineering.
And seeing his expression, he was serious, which meant she could only stay home for another day.
Since there wasn’t much else to do, Qiao Duo had a sudden inspiration to make some flatbread to eat.
She hadn’t had an appetite the day before, but now that she felt better, she was hungry.
Making flatbread was simple.
First, you knead the dough, add some starter, and then knead until smooth, just like making steamed buns.
In the meantime, you can prepare the shortening.
Once the stove is lit, keep the heat low.
When the pan is hot, add some oil and then scatter in the flour, stirring constantly.
When it smells fragrant, the shortening is ready.