After finishing the dough ball soup, Ji Ge’s condition visibly improved.
He even took the old loofah sponge from Shen Miao’s hands, insisting on washing the dishes himself.
Shen Miao couldn’t help but touch his forehead—his fever had actually gone down!
For a moment, she didn’t know whether to praise Physician Zhao’s foot plasters for working like a miracle or to be horrified that her brother had been starved so badly by their uncle’s family.
But a fever breaking was always good news.
Since Ji Ge insisted on washing the dishes, she didn’t argue.
In the Song Dynasty, dishwashing soap mainly consisted of rice water, plant ash, tea seed powder, or soapberry—the last two being luxuries for wealthier families.
With the fire leaving behind so much ash, Ji Ge simply grabbed a handful from the burnt remains of the wall, then squatted down and started scrubbing the bowls with practiced ease.
Since there wasn’t much grease, the dishes rinsed clean almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Shen Miao led Xiang Jie, her little shadow who refused to let go of her hand, to pour the remaining soup into a clay pot and deliver it to the Gu family.
The Gu family’s back door was open, and when Shen Miao peeked inside, the courtyard was silent.
She called twice for Aunt Gu, but no one answered.
With no other choice, she simply left the soup on the table and headed home.
After returning, she put Ji Ge’s medicine on the stove to simmer, then went to inspect the front shop space.
Back when the Shen family rented it out, the tenant had also run a food business, so the layout still had five or six tables, chairs, and a counter—though it was now a complete mess.
Fortunately, the damage was not as severe as the back courtyard.
Shen Miao ran her hand along the smoke-blackened walls—beneath the soot, they were still solid.
Most of the furniture was destroyed, so she rolled up her sleeves and dragged the broken wood out piece by piece to the back courtyard.
Xiang Jie eagerly helped carry wood, following her every move.
Once Ji Ge finished washing dishes, he joined in the cleanup, refusing to be left out.
Since she couldn’t convince him to rest, she assigned him lighter tasks, like sprinkling water to keep the dust down and sweeping the floor.
She also repeatedly reminded him to take it slow and rest often.
After over half an hour, they had finally cleared most of the debris.
Sweating from exertion, Shen Miao stood in the now-empty shop, fanning herself with her hand while taking a short break.
But her mind remained restless—before the back courtyard could be repaired, she could set up temporary bedding here.
If she could buy a table and chairs, she, Ji Ge, and Xiang Jie could sleep in the front shop, rather than stay in the leaky kitchen.
Housing in Bianjing was expensive, much like modern-day Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou.
Renting even a single room in an outer-city tenement managed by a lodging house would cost nearly half a string of cash per month—far too much to afford.
Right now, she had barely twenty strings of coins left—renting was out of the question.
And she definitely didn’t want to go back to Uncle Shen’s house.
Not only would they likely refuse to take them in, but even if they did, it would mean enduring constant humiliation.
Better to make do in their own home than live under someone else’s thumb.
As Ji Ge swept the last pile of ash into a dustpan, he carried it to the back courtyard in tiny, careful trips, like an ant moving its nest.
When he returned, he noticed A-Jie’s eyes were gleaming—like a mountain tiger surveying its newfound territory.
Though comparing her to a tiger seemed unfair, given her delicate, graceful features.
But deep inside, Shen Miao had already made up her mind—
She would earn money to rebuild their home.
One day, she would reopen the Shen family soup cake shop.
Just then, Gu Tusu walked in, carrying an enormous bundle of firewood—almost taller than himself—without even breaking a sweat.
In his other hand, he held a large winter melon.
His booming voice filled the room:
“Da-jie, I brought some firewood! This should last you half a month. Oh, and by the way—was that vegetable soup from you?
It was amazing! My mother had three bowls before she finally stopped!”
Then, noticing the three of them still hard at work, he grinned.
“I’ll put these down and help you.”
Shen Miao stared, wide-eyed.
“That much? I can’t let you go to such trouble!”
She instinctively reached for her coin pouch, intending to pay for the wood.
But Gu Tusu had already snatched the broom from Ji Ge’s hands, completely unfazed.
“I chopped it myself outside the city,” he said casually, patting his chest with pride.
“Only cost me two bowls of tea and some muscle—didn’t spend a single coin. Every time I go chopping, I’ll bring some for you too.”
Deeply grateful, Shen Miao immediately promised,
“Er-ge, you’ve helped me so much. Once I’ve settled things, I’ll invite you and Aunt Gu over for a proper meal—I insist!”
“We’re neighbors and childhood friends—don’t be so formal,” Gu Tusu grinned, not pressing the issue further.
Instead, he went back outside, grabbed his wooden cart, and started hauling out the burnt bricks and debris from the courtyard.
Shen Miao followed behind to help push the cart.
By the time they returned, Ji Ge and Xiang Jie had already picked up the remaining bits of rubble, pulled weeds, and swept the entire courtyard clean.
The four of them worked until sunset.
Just as Gu Tusu finished splitting the firewood, he overheard Shen Miao mentioning she needed to buy furniture from Tao’s Carpentry Shop.
He immediately spoke up, his face darkening.
“You’ve been away from Bianjing for a while, so you don’t know—Tao’s Carpentry Shop got into trouble recently. Turns out they’ve been selling rotten wood! Their tables and chairs fall apart after just a few days.
Ever since Old Master Tao passed away, his son has been drinking himself senseless—his hands shake from the alcohol, and his craftsmanship gets worse by the day. Don’t waste your money there.”
Alarmed, Shen Miao quickly asked for recommendations.
She didn’t hide her situation—she needed something cheap but sturdy, since she had three mouths to feed and couldn’t afford to spend recklessly.
For a moment, Gu Tusu’s hand tightened around the axe handle.
Then, as if casually, he asked, “Da-jie… are you not going back to Jinling?”
Word had already spread through the entire neighborhood.
That very afternoon, Aunt Gu had barely finished lunch before being dragged away by the other women, all asking:
“Is Shen Da-jie taking her siblings back to Jinling?”
“Did something happen with the Rong family?”
Gu Tusu wasn’t one to gossip.
But deep inside, he couldn’t help feeling restless—not because he wanted to pry, but because…
He wanted to know how long A-Miao would stay in Bianjing.
Because if Rong Dalang hadn’t interfered,
Gu Tusu had always believed it would have been him marrying Shen Da-jie.
Though he was still chopping firewood, he nervously pricked up his ears, and soon heard Shen Miao’s soft “Mm.”
She said, “I’m not going back. From now on, it will just be the three of us relying on each other.”
Upon hearing the phrase “relying on each other,” Ji Ge, who was bent over sweeping the floor with his back to Shen Miao, perked up his ears.
He didn’t turn around, but he swept the floor with even more vigor.
“Big sister, you…” Gu Tusu was first startled, then a hint of unseasonable joy appeared, and he quickly realized, feeling more flustered as though he were digging into someone else’s wounds,
“I… I shouldn’t have asked! Is… is your husband… dead?”
Shen Miao paused for a moment, then couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“He might as well be dead! Haha, just kidding, but actually, I’ve severed ties with his family.
That old woman from the Rong family didn’t like that I’m a chicken that doesn’t lay eggs, and I didn’t like that Rong Dalang, at over twenty, still sleeps in the same room as his mother. So, we just parted ways!”
Gu Tusu’s eyes widened, and every sentence she said felt like thunder, making him unsure where to start in his shock.
“Big sister is divorced? Big sister can’t have children? What? Big sister’s scholar husband, over twenty, still sleeps with his mother? Where did big sister sleep? In the middle?”
No, how could big sister say such things so boldly?
“Th-th-this…” Gu Tusu finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, “The Rong family is really too much!”
Shen Miao didn’t feel any emotion toward the Rong family, shrugging it off.
“Enough of these meaningless words. It’s getting dark. You’ve been a great help today. Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean up myself later, and I’ll go out for a walk in the night market.”
Indeed, he had spent the whole day at Shen’s house, and she didn’t want anyone to gossip about her.
Gu Tusu tied his axe to his waist and stacked the chopped wood in the sheltered corridor.
He then continued, “On the left bank of Jinliang Bridge, there’s an old man who looks shabby. He sells stools and clothes poles every day, but he’s actually an old carpenter.His house is near Jinliang Bridge, where he has many wooden items for sale, and he also makes doors, windows, and repairs beams.
He uses solid wood and charges fairly. If you don’t need intricate carvings, you can find him for your purchases.”
After sending him off, Shen Miao stood at the back door, which was now just a frame, and looked out at Shen’s yard.
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.