Chapter Seven, The Root of the Disease.

Su You blushed and said, "Ba Niang, you're teasing me again."

As the moon rises, the chopsticks are neatly arranged. Then, Ba Niang gets out of bed and comes to the table.

Su You: "Ah?"

Su You said: "That is the blood-wang formed by chicken blood. To achieve such tenderness, it relies on the perfect cooking time. It is both savory and not greasy, easy to digest and nutritious, which is very beneficial for your recovery after illness."

After finishing speaking, he continued, "But Uncle Xiaoyao, you shouldn't underestimate yourself. 'In the forest, the wind rises and the waves surge; in the sky, clouds pass and the moon sails.' The atmosphere in the next sentence is obviously much broader than the previous one. Except for the descendants of my Su family, I really don't believe that any five-year-old child from any other family can come up with it."

The illness of Ba Niang is mostly unrelated to wind and cold, but mostly caused by other factors. The subsequent events after Ba Niang's death are estimated to have a significant connection to this.

Eight Niang joked: "Oh, you seem to care about him. Most people in Meishan know the big characters 'Lian'ao Mountain' and know that there are not many who know the 'Sick Dog Fu' on the wall of Qiyun Temple on the mountain."

From Ba Niang's way of speaking, it can be seen that she is also a wise person. Su Xun once wrote in his article, "Even when young, women can be eager to learn, generous, and possess exceptional qualities. Their writing can often be admirable." This can be seen in Ba Niang as well.

Ba Niang pursed her lips and said with a smile, "Zizhan's insight in literature is indeed not bad. The 'Inscription of the Retreating Mouse' he wrote when he was young, as well as Ziyu's 'Ode to the Inkstone,' were both mounted by Duke Zhongxian and are still kept at home."

When it is time to print, the Yi Tie Fan is placed on the iron plate, and the characters are arranged into a plate. Then, the plate is heated and pressed with a flat plate, making the characters flat like a grindstone.

Eight Sister praised: "It's really good, Little Uncle. These two dishes are not something that ordinary villagers can make. I wonder where you learned them from? You weren't born with this knowledge, were you?"

Su You doesn't think there's anything special: "These things, seemingly novel, are actually not beyond imagination. Take this chicken mince for example, we know that chicken soup is very fresh, so if we refine and concentrate it, can we not obtain something extremely delicious?"

This matter is difficult to discuss with my natal family. Su Xun is definitely not aware of it, so he thinks that the Cheng family has mistreated their own daughter and embezzled her dowry, which seems reasonable.

Ba Niang slightly furrowed her brows.

After Ba Niang picked a little bit of vegetable heart, she couldn't help but be amazed: "What kind of dish is this? I thought it was plain boiled water spinach heart. This... it's so delicious, is this chicken soup? Why is there no trace of oil and yet so clear?"

After calming down, Ba Niang said, "Firstly, there is an issue with the character imprint. Compared to woodblock printing, the character imprint is prone to deformation. After the ink is applied, it absorbs water and expands, rendering it unusable."

Suyou said, "That is chicken floss made from baked chicken meat. It is exceptionally delicious and will surely whet your appetite. Why not give it a try, Ba Niang?"

Su You was comforting on the side: "Bai Niang, I heard that you were also a diligent student at home. Now that you have become the new wife of the Cheng family, you should not meddle in your husband's affairs outside. Taking good care of your in-laws is the right thing to do. I think you can start with cooking and surely win their favor. With their support, your days in the Cheng family will be better."

Bā Niáng shook her head gently and said, "Although what you said is true, how many people would actually think of this question? This is the talent of observing things. Little Uncle Yao has a remarkable spiritual nature. When he starts to learn poetry and literature in his early education, he will surely achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Suyou thought for a moment and asked cautiously, "Regarding this matter, Ba Niang, are you afraid that you did not receive support from the Cheng family?"

Su You looked at Ba Niang with a sincere expression on her small face and said, "You have just recovered from a serious illness and probably don't want to eat oily food, so I will make something light."

We are aware that salt is both salty and bitter. So, if we remove the bitter substances and only leave the salty ones, the taste will definitely be better, right? These are all common sense.

A gentleman eats without speaking and sleeps without talking. However, with two women and a child here, there are not so many concerns. They enjoyed a meal together.

Su You held a chicken leg in his hand and modestly said, "How is it possible? I dare not compare." When Zizhan was young, he received enlightenment from Liu Weizhi at the Shouchang Academy. Weizhi, his teacher, wrote a poem called "The Heron and Egret," with the line "The fisherman suddenly startles, snowflakes chase the slanting wind." Zizhan thought that there was a lack of connection between the two lines and suggested changing it to "Snowflakes fall among the reeds." His teacher highly praised his talent and said, "I am not as good as my student." This is true spiritual insight.

In ancient times, the dowry of women was mostly under the independent control of the women themselves, which was a part of the financial rights of the wife. Even in the event of divorce, this portion of property had to be taken away, serving as a guarantee of ancient women's marriage.

Suyou said, "Let's go, we'll take food to Bayiniang right now."

Eight Niang has stirred up another bustling scene of chicken blood: "What is this again?"

In Su's mind, it was clear that this was one of the Four Great Inventions, the movable type printing, and he said, "Isn't this simple? The key is to have a brilliant idea, and the technical problems are not difficult to solve."

Suyou mixed the minced chicken in one small dish and the chopped green onions in another small dish into the bicolored tofu, sat down, and picked up the bowl: "I am really hungry, so I can't be polite."

However, whether a talented woman can necessarily win the favor of her mother-in-law is also hard to say.

Carrying a small food basket, I arrived at Ba Niang's room and placed the food on the table. I said to Ba Niang, "Ba Niang, you can't keep lying in bed all day. Come and have a meal. After eating, you should go for a walk in the yard."

Eight Niang stopped her steps and paused for a moment. She turned around and looked at Su You, saying seriously, "Speaking of this, Little Uncle Xiao, you are a genius in observing things. Eight Niang really wants to discuss something with you."

Sure enough, Su You nodded slightly with difficulty when he saw Ba Niang.

After eating, Su You and Ba Niang strolled around the yard for a while.

After hesitating for a while, Ba Niang finally spoke up: "According to what I've heard, ten years ago, a man named Bi Sheng invented the movable type printing technique. The method is to first create a separate block for each character, and then arrange them on an iron plate, which is coated with a mixture of pine resin, wax, and paper ash."

Another issue is that the characters are not standardized, with variations in size and misalignment.

Correspondingly, the dowry can also help the wife consolidate her family status from the side.

Su You blushed and humbly said, "I cannot bear such a reputation. People like Sima Junshi and the Er Cheng brothers come from scholarly families, they are intelligent and wise individuals. The key is that they have been diligently studying since childhood, focusing solely on self-improvement. At the age of five, they were already studying 'The Analects', and at the age of seven, they were studying 'The Spring and Autumn Annals'. That is what makes them child prodigies."

Standing by the side, Sìyuè said, "Young sir, perhaps you were born with this knowledge. When I returned, I heard the Master Tai praising your couplets endlessly, and the refined snow salt he had extracted startled the chef uncle."

Su You was gnawing on a chicken leg, with oil all over his mouth: "This is called boiled cabbage, hey! Actually, the ingredients are far from enough, but it's just superficial. The soup is also delicious. If you like it, eat more, it won't be greasy."

In the eyes of Baniang, tears began to well up again: "At first, Baniang also thought so, but only when she started did she realize it was not that simple. I have experimented many times, but none have been successful."

Su You continued: "Of course, this is one aspect, and the other is to establish a career. When a husband socializes and studies, as a wife, one must support the household and provide the greatest support to the husband. Your mother, Seventh Sister-in-law, is the best example. Ming Yuntang only started studying diligently at the age of twenty-seven. Before and after that, Seventh Sister-in-law has always been managing the household."

Su You asked in a low voice, "Did you use a dowry?"

Eight Niang nodded and said softly, "I didn't dare mention it to A Weng and Lang Jun."

As soon as Ba Niang saw the dishes on the table, the aroma of each dish and soup wafted over, and she was moved to say, "Thank you, Little Yao Uncle, this dish looks quite appetizing to me."

Therefore, Ba Niang's attempt to initiate technological reform with her own meager dowry ended in failure, especially since she did it behind the backs of the Cheng family. This turned out to be quite unfortunate.

Su You said, "Oh? Is there really something?"

Bā niáng tasted a bite, the texture was soft and the taste was extremely delicious: "Even chicken soup doesn't have such a rich and fragrant taste. Is it the fine velvety flavor you added just now?"

The third issue is that there are too many characters, and how to quickly search for and organize them is also a problem.

In addition to the light-colored tofu and boiled cabbage, there is also a large bowl of greasy stewed fatty chicken. This is prepared by Su You for himself.

When Ba Niang mentioned Zi Zhan, Su You suddenly became interested and said with a smile, "Let's go to Qiyun Temple another day and have some fun. I heard that there is a "Essay on a Sick Dog" on the wall there. We should take a good look at it."

After finishing speaking, as if remembering something, he smiled and said, "This point is similar to my younger brother Zizhan."

Bā Niáng pursed her lips and smiled, saying, "The phoenix does not dine with ordinary chickens, but by looking at the people chosen by Little Uncle, one can tell that their aspirations are not small."

Translation:Regarding the matter of Siyue Heshedao: "That is truly a blessing, Madam has not been able to eat anything for several days."

Eight Niang said confidently and naturally, then pointed to the table and said, "There are these two dishes. Although they are just simple dishes, they also demonstrate Little Yao's insightful understanding. It's not an exaggeration to say he's a prodigy."