Tian Sisi enjoyed her stay at Yun Mansion but also felt a bit depressed. The delightful part was being able to play freely without any worries, except for avoiding touching the valuable plants in the storeroom and the back garden; she could play anywhere else.
He Xuewen would visit every day, and later he even brought along the Yang brothers. Originally, they came to play with Tian Xinhua and He Chengsi. The brothers had so much fun exploring Yun Mansion with He Chengsi that they completely forgot about home.
But no matter how much they enjoyed themselves, they would obediently ride their bikes home every day and never stayed overnight at Yun Mansion. Mr. Yun never asked them to stay either. Tian Sisi didn’t understand the subtleties of this arrangement and didn’t plan on delving into it. Politics was something she could never comprehend, even if she lived eight lives over.
Tian Xinhua had been acting strangely lately, muttering to himself and not playing with them. Every day, he would sneak into Mr. Yun’s study, and Tian Sisi didn’t know what he and the Cloud Fox - her new nickname for Mr. Yun - were scheming.
Speaking of this nickname, it was quite a tearful story behind it and also why Tian Sisi felt depressed at Yun Mansion. She felt that Mr. Yun deliberately made her stay to help with chores every day, as if she were doing hard labor.
In the back garden pond of Yun Mansion, there were many carp, and Tian Sisi, bored to death, decided to target these fish. She got He Xuewen to procure a fishing rod for her and spent half the day by the pond. She triumphantly caught two big carp and brought them to the kitchen, asking Niu Erniu to braise one and steam the other.
When it was time to eat the fish, Mr. Yun just smiled upon seeing them, praising Tian Sisi for her great skill, as he himself had never caught one. His praise made Tian Sisi feel over the moon; she almost flew up to the sky with joy. Then Mr. Yun asked which part of the fish she loved to eat the most.
Without hesitation, Tian Sisi answered, "The fish eyes." She thought Mr. Yun would feed them to her just like how Grandpa and Granny used to, and even posed in an exceedingly cute and adorable begging gesture. This gesture was a result of years of practice, guaranteed to melt anyone’s heart.
However, she overestimated her charm. Mr. Yun calmly took away four fish eyeballs and calmly ate them himself. Then he calmly remarked:
"Indeed, it tastes good. Looks like Ah Nan’s skills are commendable. Your Grandpa Yun and Grandpa Luo have never caught any themselves! From now on, Ah Nan should fish two everyday, each about a pound in size. Carp should be eaten at this size to taste the best."
Tian Sisi felt a mixture of embarrassment and indignation, though predominantly embarrassment. It was like a girl who always thought she was the crush of a handsome guy, waiting modestly for his confession, only to have him marry someone else. The bittersweet feeling could only be understood by experiencing it firsthand.
Annoyed as she was, Tian Sisi still obediently went fishing every day, two fish weighing around a pound each, strictly following Mr. Yun’s instructions. And every day, she offered up four eyeballs to Mr. Yun, who seemed to need an extra half bowl of rice at every meal because of it.
By Tian Sisi’s estimation, during her stay at Yun Mansion, the Cloud Fox must have gained at least Bajin (eight pounds). Even a double chin had appeared. Indeed, food that’s taken by force nourishes well!
Another matter was also brought upon Tian Sisi by herself. One day, after fishing, bored to the extreme, Tian saw the flourishing roses in the back garden and thought of the rose dew mentioned in "Dream of the Red Chamber." This item was an exquisite rarity, not even Jia Baoyu, the precious darling, could consume it often.
However, she had specifically searched online in her past life and couldn’t find the accurate craft. It could be said that the correct technique for making rose dew has been lost to time. What people make nowadays is mostly rose jam, which is worlds apart from rose dew.
Tian Sisi thought of concocting this rarity herself, certain it must taste wonderful. After all, she had no one to play with during this time, Daddy and Uncle Yang were off to who knows where, Brother Hua was busy with something, and He Chengsi was getting chummy with the two brothers from the Yang Family, nearly having toured all over Beijing. After hanging out with them a few times, Sisi opted out, finding it too hot, preferring the comfort of staying in Yun Mansion.
With the help of Niu Erniu, although even Er Niu didn’t know how to make rose dew, she was, after all, a professional and knew a bit more than the amateur Sisi. Besides, Er Niu had even tasted this stuff when she was younger in the Prince Mansion!
Persistence eventually pays off. Just when Tian Sisi almost completely ravaged the roses in the back garden, her rose dew was finally concocted, though Er Niu mentioned that the dew she drank in her childhood was a darker shade.
Tired of researching, Sisi followed the method from "Dream of the Red Chamber," took a teaspoonful—just about half a spoon—mixed it with cold boiled water, and gulped it down. It was sweet and fragrant, and the taste was indeed good, but it didn’t have the described feeling of "refreshing the heart and cooling the senses" from the book.
After hearing Sisi’s muttering, Er Niu pondered and then suggested storing the mixed water with the dew in a pot and cooling it in the well in the front courtyard. The taste might improve. Sisi’s eyes lit up, wouldn’t cooling it with ice be the way to get that refreshing taste?
The dew, chilled in the well for most of the day, did taste much better. Er Niu also said it had a hint of the flavor from her childhood. Sisi was thrilled, thinking herself a genius. So many people hadn’t figured it out in her previous life, but she had managed to do it this time, tsk tsk!
The self-satisfied Sisi thought it was still a good idea to make some for the master to taste, certainly with a bit of a show-off mindset. But after Mr. Yun tasted a cup of the refreshing and delicious rose dew, he issued an order to Sisi to make several more bottles, and if there were not enough roses, Luo Datou should sort it out, ensuring there was enough for his yearly consumption.
What they call shooting oneself in the foot, Sisi finally experienced. She wanted to resist, but after seeing the fiercely intimidating Luo Datou next to Cloud Fox, she obediently returned to making rose dew—of course, there was already a basket of fresh rose buds in the kitchen, God knows where Luo Datou got them from.
And so, during her time in Yun Mansion, Tian Sisi was basically drafted into service by Mr. Yun, if not fishing for his elder, then making rose dew, cooking small dishes to accompany his liquor, or sewing a few clothes.
In short, whatever half-baked skills she had were completely wrung dry by Cloud Fox, leaving nothing behind. Unknowingly, Tian Sisi started to feel a bit industrious, and if Zhu Aiqing saw her, she would definitely be greatly relieved.
Despite her annoyance, Tian Sisi did feel a sense of accomplishment. The extra eight jin (pounds) on Cloud Fox’s frame was surely her doing. Hadn’t the fearsome Luo Datou become more and more kindly and benevolent towards her?