Little Cooking Saint – 0157 – Peach Blossom Syrup

Chapter 157 Peach Blossom Syrup

Translated by Gumihou

Edited by Gumihou

The gifts received by Madam Shi were usually put away by the maid. The jade boxes Shiyu brought over earlier had all put away by her. The maid went to the next room to fetch the boxes.

[1] Before bringing them to her mistress, she opened one jade box and was stunned. Wordlessly, she peeked into the other two jade boxes, “… …”

“M-madam!” the maid was not some ignorant new slave. [1] After following this mistress for years, she had seen all kinds of precious medicines and herbs. Enough to develop an understanding of whether something was truly precious and valuable.

She hurried to the room all three boxes, “Madam, look!”

Madam Shi gave this usually calm maid a look before opening the jade boxes. Her eyes twitched at the sight of the rare and expensive herb. Moreover, there were three of them!

All three were at least several hundred years old. Receiving these as gifts would be too much! Her first thought was: She must return them. However, the items had been with her for over a day now, and returning them after a certain period would be too crass.

Madam Shi held the jade box and sighed, “Forget it! Just put them away for now.”

If the other party could casually gift three precious herbs like this, that meant their background was not small. Otherwise, who would casually drop three stalks of precious herbs like this?

Just what kind of person had her silly daughter brought back?

Madam Shi spent the rest of her day in a partial daze.

 

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Meanwhile, Xiao Shu had finally tracked down Shen Lingfei at the academy.

“What are you doing here? I’m in the middle of Cultivating!” Shen Lingfei said impatiently. “Your mother clearly looks down on me, so what are you here for?”

“Lingfei, are you angry?” tears pooled in Xiao Shu’s eyes. “Please don’t be angry, please?”

“Can you not cry over every stupid little thing?” Shen Lingfei scowled. “If other people see us, they’d think I’m bullying you. I’m not angry, I dare not be angry. However, your mother clearly looks down on me. Humph, I will make her regret it one day!”

He’s still young but had already reached Core Transformation Stage. The teachers at the academy had also agreed to recommend him to the Imperial College at Eastern Martial Empire. Soon, he would leave this backwater city and Cultivate in a much better environment.

As for this Shi Yuanshu. What is she? Nothing but a silly little fool.

Once he comes back from Imperial College, he looked forward to seeing that bitchy old woman kneel down and lick his foot. When the time comes, even if she sends her precious fool of a daughter to his bed, he’d just kick her out.

“You’re really still angry. Please, tell me what to do so you’re won’t be angry anymore,” Xiao Shu begged pitifully.

Shen Lingfei sneered, “Can you not act so infatuated? Do you think just because you give me a few stalks of herbs that I should treat you like a goddess? You think I can’t pay you back for those things?”

“N- no need to pay back…”

“No need to pay back, so what do you want me to do? First, you say that you’re happy to help me, then, you suddenly say that you want me to repay you. Shi Yuanshu, can you be more of a hypocrite?”

“I just want to give all the best things I have to you. I- I never thought of asking you to pay me back. If you’re really angry now, I’ll come and see you two days later.” Xiao Shu scrubbed her eyes. Since Lingfei said he did not like to see her cry, she would do her best not to shed tears.

“Heh,” Lingfei sneered again. “You say that you give me the best things? I supposed the best things in the Shi Estate are those few stalks of precious herbs? Well, let’s not talk about this anymore. Otherwise, you’ll accuse me of lusting after your family treasures. Go away, I want to Cultivate. Don’t disturb me anymore.”

With that, he turned away and left, leaving Xiao Shu squatting pitifully [2] under the eaves of a pavilion. People passing by the pavilion saw this scene and mocked her with their eyes. They did not bother to lower their voices as they spoke to their companions.

“…how cheap can a person be…”

“Isn’t it so…”

How cheap? Very cheap, ah!

Not only did you knowingly let others trample on you, but here you are still clinging to the hem of their clothes and treating him as though he’s the injured party with secret sorrows. When are you going to open your eyes and actually see who is before you, ah?

Slowly, Xiao Shu got to her feet and made her way home.

When she returned to her courtyard, she found Shiyu in the middle of making her Peach Blossom Syrup. The pink blossoms looked very pretty within the clear liquid, which gradually took on the bright pink of the blossoms.

It looked very beautiful.

Xiao Shu stopped to watch as Shiyu continued to stir the syrup slowly. Her movements very smooth and gentle in order to keep the petals intact. Suddenly, she said, “How fortunate to be these peach blossom petals.”

“You think so?”

“They bloomed so happily on the branches and were suspended in syrup when their beauty is at its peak. From now on, they will never be exposed to the sun, wind or rain for the rest of their lives. They will continue to live in sweetness every day. This is something most people could never achieve,” Xiao Shu sighed dramatically as she flopped over the stone table.

“Hah, you’d think so. But, do you know what these petals think? Perhaps a few of them did not wish to be suspended in sweetness for eternity. Perhaps they wish for the cool freedom of morning dew and to show off their best colours until it faded. Perhaps they wish to wait for their desired person to pass by and drop onto their shoulders. Maybe, they even wish they could fall to the floor to be trampled on by them?”

Xiao Shu stared at Shiyu, dumbfounded.

Shiyu said nothing else. Only shook her head and slowly pour the syrup into a crystal container. Then, she screwed the lid shut and sealed it with a bit of Spiritual power.

Through the clear crystal container, the pink syrup looked very beautiful. In the future, whenever she made snacks, she could put a bit of syrup over them. Tsk, tsk, that Qing Chen would probably [3] love this.

 

That evening, Xiao Shu went over to see Old Madam Shi and give her greetings. In the meantime, Madam Shi left her residence and was at Xiao Shu’s courtyard to see Shiyu.

“Is Miss Shiyu used to life here at this Shi Estate?” Madam Shi asked cordially.

“Very good, many thanks for Madam’s care,” Shiyu invited Madam Shi to sit down. “Madam, are you here to talk about Xiao Shu?”

Madam Shi shook her head, “It’s her own business, let her sort it out.”

“En?” Shiyu was a little surprised. “Are you not worried?”

“Worried? About what? That Xiao Shu would be hurt?” Madam Shi laughed lightly. “In life, people who did not get hurt usually led meaningless lives.”

Pain is better than regret. Pain is temporary, but regret lasts forever.

Shiyu blinked. She seemed to have received some unvoiced message from Madam Shi, “Then, you’re here for…”

“Xiao Shu mentioned that you’re injured. I came to see how you are. If you need any precious herbs or medicine, please let me know. I have some connections with a few medicinal shops. Perhaps they could locate what you need,” said Madam Shi.

Shiyu was a little surprised, but said, “Since Madam Shi mentioned it, I shall not be reserved. I have been looking for something.”

“Oh? What is it?”

“Jade Spirit Essence. Do you know of it?” said Shiyu. “If you have any news, I’d appreciate it if you let me know. I really need this item now.”

Madam Shi was a little shocked by her request but nodded.

After sitting with her daughter’s guest for a while, Madam Shi left.

As she walked back to her personal residence, her expression sank in deep thought. After a while, she sighed, “Though people knew about Spirit Jade, not many people knew about Jade Spirit Essence. Clearly, this person is not someone simple.”

 

[Gumihou: Oi, are you ignoring your daughter in favour of the guest now?]

 

Gumihou is keeping track so that you don’t have to ~

 

凝氣	Condensation Stage	Stage 1
化丹	Core Transformation	Stage 2
凝丹(46)	Core Condensation	Stage 3
化神(52)	Divine Transformation	Stage 4
成嬰	Nascent Formation	Stage 5
合體	Unification*	Stage 6
返墟	Revert Decay*	Stage 7
歸真	Original Purity*	Stage 8
成仙	Become Immortal*	Stage 9

 

 

*Changed the words to something more mysterious sounding

 

[1] USMiC: Give ‘the maid’ some extra screen time

[2] Added Details for Logistic Purpose: “Xiao Shu remained squatted there” Gumihou’s question is ‘there’ where?

[3] Adjusted Details to Prevent Weirdness: Original text ‘That Qing Chen is too blessed’ Uh, blessed, how? While it’s normal to associate types of food with people. Eg: Qing Chen loves sweet things, perhaps she even made it with Qing Chen in mind, but since he hasn’t tasted it yet, how is he ‘too blessed’?

Patched with: ‘He will love this’

 

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