The boys can still finish off so many dishes in one go, as there are a few more of them and they have bigger appetites.
Ye Shiqi, her elder sister, and Si Ma Roumei, three young girls, sat at one table, with their little maids standing by to serve them food onto the plates in front of them.
Ye Shiqi felt that the air in ancient July was also quite hot, with the wind blowing by the window at noon still carrying a bit of heat.
Sweating through a meal, the maids by their side fanned them diligently. When the young ladies had had their fill, the people around them either ate the leftovers or possibly had meals specially prepared for them by the cook. This was arranged by the estate’s supervisor and the waitstaff.
Having been in the Southern region for several years, Si Ma Roumei had grown accustomed to the local aversion to spicy food.
She quite enjoyed the occasional mildly spicy food prepared for her and would have chili peppers prepared separately if she wanted some heat in her meal.
Since coming to the South, her consumption of spicy foods had decreased significantly, an adaptation to the local climate and water quality.
She particularly enjoyed dining at Ye’s Mansion and the Ye family estate, relishing the experience.
Her family also bought vegetables, rice, chicken eggs, and meat from Ye Manor, and of course, duck eggs. She preferred to drink a cup of honey tea after meals and in the morning.
Her mother had been very weak, but ever since getting to know the Ye family and buying food from them, as well as receiving their honey,
she didn’t know if it was the local environment nourishing people, but her mother’s health had greatly improved, which made their entire family happy.
Si Ma Roumei was of course aware that her father’s concubines were vying for power and plotting for their sons. Her mother’s newfound strength was the greatest joy for her and her siblings.
With their mother managing the household, her brothers could study with ease, and she could attend school and play without worry.
After lunch, fruit was served, including watermelon, lychee, and longan, which they had picked themselves that morning.
The guards were fortunate to enjoy the fruits picked by the owners.
Some guards even brought fresh fruits home first since the fruits had to be eaten fresh. The young masters might stay here for a few days.
Other guests had fruit with their meals as well. That was handled by the estate’s staff who would pick fresh fruits in the morning from the estate’s orchard to bring to the kitchen here.
After the meal, the girls each returned to their rooms. The boys, unwilling to lie down in their temporary guest rooms, played chess in the rooms.
Instead of napping when Ye Shiqi returned to her room, she began self-studying from the Medical Book and the book of herbs she had acquired three years ago, taking advantage of the uninterrupted time at noon which was perfect for reading.
She had already finished that one book. Later, she had Tang Shunyan help her find some more Medical Books to learn about the cases of ancient doctors.
Ye Shiqi did not aspire to become a female doctor, but mastering an additional skill might one day be a means of making a living or even saving herself.
Since her mother had suffered a difficult childbirth due to severe bleeding at her birth, in an era when ancient medicine was underdeveloped and male doctors couldn’t treat women’s gynecological issues or examine such problems,
female doctors lacked instruments for examinations, and there were no anti-inflammatory drugs in that era, so a simple illness might cost someone their life.
A small untreated ailment could develop into a severe disease, making it even more challenging for rural families.
Ye Shiqi did not believe her "Space Water" was a cure-all, and if one day the space stopped producing water, she would become a woman useless in every respect.
It was important not to rely too much on the resources around her, but to learn genuine skills of her own.
Ye Shiqi understood that in ancient times, for a woman who didn’t occupy herself with Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting, becoming a female teacher or perhaps an accountant,
was something a woman would only do if her family was in dire straits and she had to work outside, since most jobs were done by men.
Over these years, her study of the Medical Book had yielded some results; she had learned about some medicinal herbs, could even draw them into an album, and have people dig them up from the mountains to sell.
This allowed some people living in the mountains and from impoverished families to earn some income.
The Ye family didn’t run a pharmacy, and the person who supported her was Tang Shunyan, the young master of the Tang Family, which had drugstores and Medical Halls all over the country.
Ye Shiqi had always wanted to find valuable Medicinal Seedlings to plant in her space or on the estate.
She had only found some Wild Ginseng seedlings, but not the more valuable medicinal plants. She then let go of that idea, deciding that some things can’t be forced and should develop naturally.
In the past few years, Ye Shiqi had noticed some lonely elderly individuals in the village, or those too poor to afford a doctor lying at home waiting for death.
She had covertly had food delivered to them, and the sick, having eaten the food she sent, gradually recovered.