Chapter 4: Quite Considerate

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Jiang Yuan explained, "The east wing room has been empty for nearly half a year."
It was covered in dust and hadn’t been heated with a kang stove for a long time. Given Xie Wanniang’s health, there was no way she could wait for him to tidy it up at the last minute.
Wang Xiaozhi blinked and lowered her voice to ask Jiang Yuan, "You really don’t have any other intentions toward that young lady?"
She was the biological daughter of Jiang Yuan’s foster parents. Although she had known since childhood that Jiang Yuan was not her real brother, she had always loved and cared for him as if he were her own sibling, just like their parents did.
Because of this, after their parents passed away, Wang Xiaozhi had taken it upon herself to arrange a marriage for her foster brother.
Although every attempt she made ended in failure, it never dampened her resolve; she only became more determined.
Jiang Yuan knew Wang Xiaozhi far better than she knew him. Seeing the expression on her face, he immediately looked back at her with a serious gaze. "Sis, taking advantage of someone in a vulnerable state isn’t right."
Caught in his earnest and stubborn stare, Wang Xiaozhi could only raise her hands in surrender with a helpless expression. "Alright, alright, I get it. Can’t I just keep quiet then?"
Jiang Yuan nodded in satisfaction. Wang Xiaozhi put down her basket and tiptoed into the room to take a look at the deeply sleeping Xie Wanniang.
"She really is a lady from a good family," Wang Xiaozhi whispered as she came back out and stood beside Jiang Yuan. "Her skin is so fair, her hair jet black, and her features so handsome... oh, just looking at her makes you want to protect her."
Jiang Yuan said nothing in response.
Wang Xiaozhi felt a bit discouraged. She pointed to the basket she had brought. "I couldn’t get anything better on short notice, so I only brought a basket of eggs. Don’t be stingy about eating them."
It wasn’t that her husband’s family was so poor that this was all she could offer; rather, as one of the daughters-in-law, she felt it improper to take too many household goods to support her natal family.
She would rather spend her own money to buy extra things than risk causing discontent among her sisters-in-law over these minor matters.
Jiang Yuan understood her situation well. He took out a piece of broken silver coin. "Help me buy a chicken and some polished rice. Also, tonight..."
Wang Xiaozhi raised her hand to take it. "Then I’ll come by again tonight."
They didn’t haggle over whether or not to accept the money because if she refused it, her stubborn little brother would reject her help altogether.
Wang Xiaozhi didn’t want to lose even the chance to run errands for him, so she always followed Jiang Yuan’s habit—offering her labor but not money.

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After pocketing the silver, Wang Xiaozhi hurried away as swiftly as when she arrived.
In the afternoon, she still had to go pull grass and would only be able to inquire in the evening about who was willing to sell polished rice and chicken.
Not long after Wang Xiaozhi left, Dr. Chen’s eldest grandson delivered the prescribed medicine to Jiang Yuan’s home.
Jiang Yuan thanked him, paid the consultation and medicine fees, then obediently followed Dr. Chen’s instructions to prepare the herbal decoction for Xie Wanniang.
After washing the herbs clean and putting them into the earthenware pot, he added water and slowly simmered it over a low flame. While the water hadn’t yet boiled, he dashed to the vegetable garden to quickly pick some fresh greens.
By the time Xie Wanniang awoke from her deep sleep, the medicine was ready, along with the porridge and steamed egg custard Jiang Yuan had prepared. Hearing movement inside the room, Jiang Yuan swiftly came to her door. "Has the young lady awakened?"
Xie Wanniang responded softly. Though awake, she felt weak and dizzy. When Jiang Yuan approached, she was struggling to put on her shoes, planning to get out of bed to relieve herself.
"Thank you, benefactor, for saving me," she said, opening the door and bowing with folded knees. "My surname is Xie, given name Wanniang. May I ask your name, benefactor?"
"Jiang Yuan," he replied tersely as usual. "The medicine is ready. I’ve prepared porridge and egg custard for dinner. Do you want to eat now?"
Xie Wanniang shook her head. "I want to go to the restroom first."
She said it frankly, but Jiang Yuan’s handsome face flushed deeply from his cheeks down to the base of his neck at her sudden, straightforward remark.
"I-it’s... in the northeast corner of the backyard." Jiang Yuan stammered briefly, then quickly pointed in the direction and hurried away without looking back.
Xie Wanniang inwardly chided herself. In the sixteen years she had been in this world, this was the first time she had been so "improper" in social interaction.
But what else could she do? The Jiang family that had taken her in simply lacked any female relatives who could help her express such a need with decorum.
While silently repeating to herself, "As long as I’m not embarrassed, the one who is embarrassed is someone else," she took slow steps to tend to her personal matter.
When she returned from the surprisingly clean privy, Jiang Yuan had already prepared a cloth towel, soapberry, and a basin of clean water for her.
It was... quite considerate.
Washing her hands leisurely, Xie Wanniang didn’t wait for Jiang Yuan to remind her again and quietly went over to the dining table to eat and take her medicine.

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On the dining table sat a large bowl of porridge, a large bowl of steamed egg custard, and a large bowl of dark, bitter-looking medicinal soup. Xie Wanniang first took a spoonful of porridge, then another spoonful of egg custard.
The porridge was made from white rice, thick and soft with a natural sweet aroma. The egg custard was steamed a bit too firm and seasoned somewhat salty, yet Xie Wanniang liked it very much.
The familiar slightly salty taste and the long-missed fine air bubbles perfectly replicated the homemade egg custard she’d enjoyed before her transmigration.
Even after sixteen years of eating the Jiang family cook’s steamed eggs, as smooth and tender as tofu pudding, Xie Wanniang stubbornly believed the best egg custard must have fine, dense bubbles and a faint hint of saltiness.
The meal pleased her palate, and in such a good mood, she found the bitter medicine surprisingly less repulsive.
She bravely swallowed the bitter brew and, just as she was about to carry the bowls and spoon back to the kitchen, Jiang Yuan appeared from the kitchen ahead of her.
He quickly cleared the dishes and, seeing that she had a good appetite, asked with concern, "Do you want anything else to eat?"
Xie Wanniang shook her head. "No, thank you."
Jiang Yuan nodded slightly and returned to the kitchen with the dishes.
He was so quick that Xie Wanniang had no time to respond and could only slowly move back to the room where she was staying temporarily.
Fine—once she was well, she’d repay this kindness twofold. For now, she wouldn’t bother to show her gratitude and diligence through trivial matters.
Lying back down on the warm earthen kang, Xie Wanniang soon fell asleep again, unaware even when Wang Xiaozhi came by to deliver something to Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan, surprised that she had fallen asleep so quickly, patiently waited until she had to get up to relieve herself because she drank too much liquid. Seizing the moment, he told her she might have a fever during the night. "…My sister will stay to look after you."
Xie Wanniang turned to meet Wang Xiaozhi’s curious, sparkling eyes and quickly returned a weak but sincere, friendly, obedient, adorable, and utterly innocent smile. "Then I’ll trouble you, sister."