ADUAAOR, IJWTF Chapter 135: Being Fed

TOC

Seeing Su Yujin’s solemn expression, Ai Cao hurriedly said, “Second Master ate a few steamed buns for dinner, only one and a half baskets. He specifically instructed that they be made small, just one bite each.”

“Second Master didn’t ask for any extra food this afternoon, only some water. He also wanted thin porridge for dinner, not thick, and it had to be cooked to the consistency of rice paste…”

Su Yujin’s expression relaxed, and she raised her eyebrows.

It seemed Second Master knew her little scheme from lunchtime and was even intentionally controlling his diet according to her wishes.

“By the way, when Second Master ate and took his medicine, the maids weren’t around to serve him…”

Ai Cao continued, “Now that you’re awake, Miss, would you like to go see Second Master?”

She remembered that Miss had said Second Master’s wrist was dislocated and he couldn’t use his hands, not even to hold a bowl.

But since he didn’t allow them to serve him, she guessed he had done it himself.

Ai Cao couldn’t help but worry.

Su Yujin’s expression turned serious again. “I’ll go take a look.”

He Yanxiu disliked women, probably because he didn’t like maids serving him. Now, in the backyard of the Hedong Prefecture government office, he likely didn’t want servants close enough to tarnish his reputation.

At this moment, the only one he could allow close was her, his shield.

Su Yujin dressed neatly, took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, and quickly left the room, heading towards He Yanxiu.

“Miss,” Qingkui curtsied.

“Is Second Master asleep?”

“He hasn’t called me in to serve him, so I’ve been waiting at the door. But just now I heard him drinking water, so he probably hasn’t slept.”

Still using his wrist? Was he really not going to let it heal?

Su Yujin felt a surge of anxiety and, without even knocking, pushed the door open and went straight in.

Seeing Su Yujin, He Yanxiu was speechless.

Seeing He Yanxiu, Su Yujin was speechless again. The two stared at each other for a long time. After a moment of silence, Su Yujin finally broke the deathly silence, “Where did Second Master find the straw?”

“I ordered the servant to find it. It’s wheat harvest time now, so these things are readily available,” He Yanxiu replied. “I mainly thought it was convenient to use before, so I took it to use.”

No wonder he could drink water and medicine by himself without being served by others.

It seemed that Second Master knew what was important and knew how to take care of his body.

Su Yujin breathed a sigh of relief.

But this sigh of relief was only half-hearted.

Wait, whether it was porridge, medicine, or water, they were all liquids. The Second Master could drink them with a straw, but what about the steamed bun?

Su Yujin stared at He Yanxiu suspiciously for a while and finally found a little bit of oil on He Yanxiu’s cheek.

The oil droplets were probably from the steaming of the xiaolongbao (soup dumplings), seeping out from the opening of the dumpling skin.

However, such oil droplets generally wouldn’t get on one’s cheek, no matter how much one rubbed, unless…

Su Yujin’s mind immediately conjured up the image of Second Master transforming into an eating excavator.

Uh…

Second Master, you’re supposed to be a young master from a noble family, an official of the court; this kind of eating wasn’t proper.

But all things considered, the reason Second Master ate the dumplings like this, besides his own situation, was also because he didn’t want to disturb her and wanted her to rest a little longer.

In short, Second Master was a considerate Second Master towards his servants; he shouldn’t be ridiculed, but rather appreciated!

Seeing Su Yujin staring at him with changing expressions, He Yanxiu’s expression also became somewhat unnatural. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

Su Yujin snapped out of her daze, removed the straw that the Second Master was currently holding, which resembled two little “Doraemon” fists, and picked up a cup to feed He Yanxiu some water.

“Second Master can’t eat too much at each meal, but he can eat small meals more frequently. We’ve added a little something for a late-night snack. What would you like to eat right now, Second Master? I’ll make it.”

The Second Master was considerate of his servants, so she, as a servant, should reciprocate.

A late-night snack!

He Yanxiu jolted, almost sitting up in bed. Fortunately, the pain throughout his body reminded him that he was still a patient and needed to rest.

“Well…”

He Yanxiu thought for a moment, “Wontons, I guess.”

For a late-night snack, wontons with a little broth, some thick, some thin, would be perfect.

Besides, Su Yujin’s wonton-making skills were excellent. Before, because of his impaired sense of taste, although he could taste some flavor, he felt it lacked the original deliciousness, which was really unsatisfying.

Now that his sense of taste had almost recovered, he absolutely had to have a bowl.

“Please wait a moment, Second Master, I’ll make them right away.” After Su Yujin finished speaking, she helped He Yanxiu lie down and then called Ai Cao and Qing Kui from the doorway to help.

Qing Kui chopped the filling, Ai Cao rolled out the wonton wrappers, and Su Yujin prepared the side dishes and seasonings. The three of them worked together, and in no time at all, a bowl of delicate, small, steaming hot wontons, one bite at a time, was served to He Yanxiu.

The pork filling was mixed with chopped green onions, ginger, shrimp paste, eggs, and various seasonings, making it fragrant and delicious. The wonton wrappers were rolled as thin as cicada wings, making them smooth and delicious. The wonton soup was made with chicken bones and pork bones from the small kitchen, which added to the rich and fragrant flavor…

He Yanxiu finished the whole bowl of wontons in one go.

After finishing, he still felt it wasn’t enough, but he knew he really couldn’t eat more, so he just licked his lips to express his lingering satisfaction.

Su Yujin pretended not to see anything, lest she be tempted to feed him too much, and simply had Qingkui and Aicao clear the bowl away.

She then stayed with He Yanxiu for a while, talking to him until she estimated he had digested his food, before leaving.

For the next few days, Su Yujin meticulously cared for He Yanxiu.

She fed him medicine, applied ointments, changed dressings, and checked his pulse to observe his recovery.

His meals had been varied: zhiduo rou lan de luroufan that was tender and juicy, xiang rou bao that was delicious and full of flavor, light and refreshing yun tun mian, richly flavored and diverse sha gou fan, and jiang xiang bing that he never got tired of eating. ….

After each meal, He Yanxiu would eagerly anticipate being fed again.

Xing’an was also being fed, but by Shuixing. Xing’an’s injuries weren’t as severe as He Yanxiu’s; his bones weren’t broken, but due to numerous superficial wounds, he was also bedridden.

Shuixing felt very sorry for him and personally brought him food and medicine three times a day.

All the meals had been personally prepared by Shuixing. Today, she had made tangcu jixiongrou, roumo tudou, and qingchao sijidou. To make it easier to feed him, Shuixing had poured all three dishes into the rice, mixed them evenly, then scooped up a spoonful and brought it to Xing’an’s lips.