Chapter 42: Just Starve to Death (2)
Chu Lian held her bowl of rice in one hand as she ate the dishes before her. Although these few dishes couldn’t be compared to those of the modern world because of their lack of seasonings, she felt happy enough that she could eat dishes like these in the Great Wu Dynasty.
After arriving here mysteriously, this was the first meal that she had eaten so happily.
But she was already used to eating dishes like these in the past, so Chu Lian wasn’t too affected by it, even though it had been a while. After eating her usual one bowl of rice, she was already 80% full.
As Chu Lian was eating, Senior Servant Gui hesitated for a moment before eventually speaking up. “Third Young Madam, why don’t we call Third Young Master here to eat together with you?”
Chu Lian looked up in confusion with big, innocent-looking eyes, as if she didn’t understand what Senior Servant Gui was saying. Perplexed, she said, “Hasn’t he already eaten in the study? He even had two full boxes of food! There’s a limit to what a single person can eat; let’s not force him to eat more. Not to mention, it’s not good to eat too much at night.”
She spoke as if she was doing it out of consideration for He Sanlang. Chu Lian pouted and thought to herself, I don’t give a damn for your food; since you’re not letting me eat, don’t think of eating any of mine either!
She used a ladle to scoop out a small bowl of egg drop soup. After drinking all of it, Chu Lian was completely full.
There was still plenty left on the table, which worked out fairly well. She had originally thought of letting the maidservants eat, as Chu Lian could only eat so much on her own, and she had a small appetite anyway. The sweet and sour bok choy was hardly touched at all.
Chu Lian was afraid that Senior Servant Gui would feel uncomfortable eating with her around, so she retreated into her bedroom after eating.
The maidservants were much more relaxed when Chu Lian wasn’t around, as expected. They exchanged glances and giggled before they each took a bowl of rice and sat down to eat. Of course, Senior Servant Gui sat down as well.
The moment Fuyan and Jingyan took their first bite, their eyes lit up and the speed of their chopsticks increased.
Jingyan had her mouth full of food as she talked, completely lacking the dignity of a noble household’s personal maidservant. “Sister Xiyan, did you make this? It’s unbelievably fragrant and tasty! I’ve never eaten such tasty meat before!”
The corners of Xiyan’s lips curled up. “Actually, I wasn’t the one who came up with it. It was Third Young Madam who taught me how!”
Senior Servant Gui nodded. “All of you, do serve Third Young Madam to the best of your ability. Who knows if you might make her happy at some point and she’ll teach you a few secret recipes in return? You won’t have to worry about your livelihood or that of your future descendants.”
Fuyan’s eyes glimmered calculatively.
Although there was plenty for every single dish, Senior Servant Gui and the four maidservants tried to finish everything. They felt like they were about to burst.
The five of them held onto their stomachs in pain, but none of them regretted it.
Mingyan stood up and rubbed her swollen stomach in an exaggerated manner, causing Fuyan and Xiyan to smile.
“Look at you eat! Be careful of overeating!” Senior Servant Gui purposely tried to frighten Mingyan with a stern face.
However, Mingyan wasn’t fooled. “Momo, it was just too delicious! Once I started, I couldn’t stop!”
Senior Servant Gui looked at the plates on the table. There were only a few pieces of meat and some soup left. She turned to Xiyan and said, “Xiyan, bring the leftovers to the kitchen; we can have these with some rice tomorrow.”
The dishes that were made with Third Young Madam’s secret recipes were simply too delicious. Senior Servant Gui found it a waste to throw away even the tiniest scraps of the meal.
