Transmigrating to the Qi Family - Chapter 106

The weather in July is still scorching hot. The roadside trees bake under the sun, their leaves curling as if scorched. A breeze occasionally sweeps in from the street, but it is a warm breeze, stirring up restlessness in people’s hearts.

In the afternoon, the sky suddenly changes. Dark clouds press down as if hanging over everyone’s heads. A flash of lightning streaks across the sky, immediately followed by thunder that rumbles like an explosion. After the thunder, large raindrops pour down, as though a curtain of beads has descended from the sky, enveloping everything on the ground. It becomes difficult to clearly see even a few meters away.

Jiang Miao sits under the eaves, sipping tea while watching the raindrops splash into tiny water flowers. He suddenly feels that life has been too comfortable lately.

He picks up a soft, snow-white rice cake and places it in his mouth, thinking with a hint of nostalgia: as expected, a leisurely and comfortable life is the easiest way to erode one’s fighting spirit. Ever since he handed over Jiang’s small shop to Tang Lin, it feels like he’s living the life of an old man in advance. All he does is collect money and release new products. The expansion plans for his business are halted due to a lack of materials, and now, aside from staying home and taking care of the children, he genuinely doesn’t know what else to do.

After the rain, the heat is swept away, leaving behind the fresh scent of earth in the air. Jiang Miao brings Pei Mu to the pond in the backyard and picks a lotus leaf.

Pei Mu is fascinated by the crystal-clear, pearl-like droplets on the lotus leaf. He reaches out to touch them and carefully shakes the leaf, making the water droplets roll around continuously.

“What is this?” Jiang Miao never misses an opportunity to engage him in conversation. The boy’s words are already very clear, but he still can’t speak in full sentences.

“Lotus leaf!” Pei Mu says.

“What can a lotus leaf be used for?” Jiang Miao asks another question.

Pei Mu observes the lotus leaf carefully. After thinking for a moment, he lifts it over his head and tentatively asks, “An umbrella?”

Jiang Miao chuckles and says, “That works too, but this lotus leaf isn’t meant to be used as an umbrella.”

Pei Mu looks puzzled. He takes down the lotus leaf and examines it closely but still can’t figure out what else it could be used for.

“What for?” he asks.

“To make something delicious,” Jiang Miao raises his eyebrows. “Have you ever had lotus leaf chicken?”

Pei Mu shakes his head. He has eaten boiled chicken, stewed chicken, and braised chicken, but never lotus leaf chicken.

“Well, you’re in for a treat today. I’ll make lotus leaf chicken for you, and I guarantee you’ll want more after you try it,” Jiang Miao says, having craved these lotus leaves for a long time. The lotus in their pond had been planted late, and the leaves are just now fully grown.

“Thank you… Brother Miao!” Pei Mu smiles, his eyes full of anticipation.

Jiang Miao takes the lotus leaves to the kitchen and begins preparing the chicken. The lotus leaf chicken he is making is a dish from Huaiyang cuisine. The chicken will first be fried, then boiled, and finally roasted. After these three steps, the chicken will be tender and fall off the bone, with a fresh and fragrant lotus aroma.

Once the chicken is done, Xiao Shitou returns. However, he doesn’t seem as cheerful as usual and looks somewhat downcast.

“What’s wrong today?” Jiang Miao opens the lotus leaf and places a chicken leg in each of the boys’ bowls.

Xiao Shitou sighs, “Brother, today Master Yu gave us five questions, and I couldn’t answer one of them.” Xiao Shitou has always considered himself diligent in his studies, so being stumped by a question leaves him feeling a bit discouraged.

“What’s the big deal? You answered four questions, didn’t you? That’s already quite good,” Jiang Miao says. Since this is the time to foster interest, he believes praise is more important than criticism, as too much criticism can make a child feel inferior and timid.

“But several other kids got them all right!” Xiao Shitou is still upset.

“That’s no big deal. The other kids in your class are a bit older than you. When you get older, you’ll be able to answer all of Master Yu’s questions too. Besides, if we’re going to compete, we should compete with ourselves and aim to improve a little more each time,” Jiang Miao says, gently patting his head. He knows that competitiveness isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially for students, as long as it is kept in check and doesn’t become obsessive..

Xiao Shitou thinks about it, and after coming to terms with the idea, his mood slowly begins to lift. The fragrant aroma of food, which he had previously ignored, now floods his senses. He grabs the chicken leg and can’t resist devouring it.

Sitting beside him, Pei Mu has already finished his portion and is now working his way through the rest of the lotus leaf chicken.

Jiang Miao chuckles but then notices that Jiang Yu hasn’t made a sound the entire time. When he turns to look, he sees her mechanically shoveling food into her mouth with a sweet smile on her face, clearly lost in thought.

“Sister Xiaoyu, did something good happen to you?” Jiang Miao asks, curious.

The sound of her name snaps Jiang Yu out of her daze. She blinks in confusion and shakes her head, not understanding why Jiang Miao asked. But before he can figure it out, she slips back into her thoughts, still wearing that same sweet smile on her face.

Jiang Miao finds it suspicious but can’t make sense of it. He hasn’t heard of anything happening at the shop. After staring at her for a while, unable to come up with an answer, he decides to drop the matter.

While they are enjoying a harmonious dinner, things aren’t going so well for Pei Che at the Imperial Academy.

During the heavy rain, Pei Che, along with the other students, has been in the martial arts field for their class. The downpour comes so suddenly that there is no place to take cover, so they all run back to their dorms through the rain. Once they return, they realize they are soaked from head to toe, not a single dry spot on their bodies.

When taking a bath, the logistics staff at the Imperial College are responsible for boiling the water. With just a word, they will bring a bathtub and hot water to serve you. However, this service is only available to students from wealthy families and requires an additional fee. The free option is the large public bathhouse, where students from poorer families can go to wash.

The sudden downpour causes a chorus of voices calling for hot water. Even though the staff anticipate the rain and start heating water early, it still isn’t enough to meet the demand. Pei Che doesn’t want to wait and rush the staff, so he makes his request and returns to his room to read while he waits.

He ends up waiting for a quarter of an hour.

When Pei Che finally stands up from the bath, he feels a slight discomfort but doesn’t think much of it. It is summer, after all, and wearing wet clothes for a while doesn’t seem like a big issue to him.

At this time, the Academy’s main kitchen has prepared ginger soup and instructed people to deliver it to the students. Staring at the odd-smelling ginger soup, Pei Che frowns and ultimately refuses to drink it.

By evening, Pei Che begins to feel more and more lightheaded. The words on the book in front of him appear blurry and doubled. He shakes his head and tries to keep reading, but he finds it increasingly hard to focus. After reading a few words, his mind drifts off.

When Han Qin and the others come to ask him to dinner, they see his condition and notice the full bowl of ginger soup still sitting on his desk. It is clear to them that Pei Che has caught a cold and is now sick.

Hearing their comments, Pei Che belatedly realizes that he is indeed ill.

Han Qin calls for someone to fetch Dr. Yang, who is stationed at the Imperial Academy. The elderly doctor takes Pei Che’s pulse and says a lot, but the gist of it is that he has caught a chill and is running a slight fever. The doctor prescribes a few doses of medicine and advises him to rest well before taking his leave.

“Ah Che, how about I speak to the dean and let him know you should go home to recover?” Han Qin suggests, seeing Pei Che looking so unwell. He, along with He Chen and Su Jin, are not the nurturing types. The Imperial Academy is full of rough, clumsy people, nowhere near as attentive as family would be in caring for him.

Pei Che, with his hazy mind, thinks that staying at the Imperial Academy means no one to take care of him, which equates to a desolate and cold situation. Going home means being cared for, which is warm and comforting. Since he can’t focus on his studies while ill anyway, he might as well go home.

“Cough, cough. Ah Qin, please, cough, have them send me to Jiang’s residence,” Pei Che says while coughing.

By the time Pei Che arrives at the Jiang residence in a carriage, Jiang Miao is already asleep. He only learns from Steward Wu’s urgent knocking and shouting that Pei Che has been sent back due to illness.

Jiang Miao’s heart skips a beat. Without time to light the lamps, he jumps out of bed and rushes outside. Thinking about ancient medical practices and modern emergencies, Jiang Miao is so nervous that his palms are sweating. Within a short time, he has mentally sent Pei Che to the emergency room for surgery several times in his mind.

“You’re saying he just caught a cold?” Jiang Miao asks incredulously.

Pei Che, hearing this, coughs violently, making his presence known.

Steward Wu looks at Pei Che with concern and says disapprovingly, “Young Master Jiang, a chill can be either serious or mild. How can you say it’s just a chill? Our heir is usually attended by a dozen people when he’s sick, but this time he came down the mountain alone. It’s truly distressing.”

“Alright,” Jiang Miao says, both amused and exasperated. He moves to support Pei Che. “You go and prepare the medicine. I’ll get him settled inside.”

“Cough, cough… Thank you, Ah Miao…” Pei Che leans against Jiang Miao, his hot breath brushing against Jiang Miao’s neck when he speaks.

Jiang Miao sighs, “You shouldn’t talk so much when you’re this sick. And you should have sent someone to let us know you were coming. You shouldn’t have come all this way while ill…”

Although Jiang Miao’s words carry a hint of reproach, Pei Che can sense the concern behind them, which warms his heart. Even his heavy body feels a bit lighter.