Tiger Owl

Chapter 162 Lunch Ideal
Xiao Qiao pouted and sat down reluctantly. "What's wrong now? Do I have to be taught again?"

“I’m not lecturing you. We’ve been with the general for over two years now, and you know he’ll be your husband sooner or later. But you can’t just play around all day like this, endlessly. What are you good at? Knitting? No knitting. Being virtuous? No virtue. Writing? Even worse. Your handwriting is like tadpoles. All you have left is a pretty face. Don’t you think so?”

"As long as I'm good-looking, that's all that matters! Gan Lang likes my face, doesn't he?"

"you--"

Da Qiao was at her wit's end. "Don't keep thinking about that. When you have children, you'll be a good wife and mother. Your husband won't ask you to be a good wife, but how will you raise your children?"

"I've already decided, I'll have a daughter, and I'll dress her up beautifully every day, wearing the same clothes as me—"

"Ayu, can you be serious?" Da Qiao was a little unhappy.

Seeing her sister's gloomy face, Xiao Qiao quickly went over and hugged her sister's arm, shaking it, "Okay! Sister, don't be angry, I really don't like studying, I really don't!"

Da Qiao sighed and said, "If you really don't like studying, I won't force you. But you can't run around outside all the time. You can find something you like to do. You can learn from Yun Qing. She plants flowers, does fortune telling, plays the zither, and paints every day. These are all things she likes. She lives a very fulfilling life. As long as you don't run around all the time, I will help you learn anything you want."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true, would your older sister lie to you?"

Xiao Qiao thought for a moment and said, "I saw some young ladies making rouge at a rouge shop a few days ago, and I'm really interested in it. Why don't I try making rouge at home?"

Da Qiao didn't know much about Rouge, so she could only smile and say, "I'll ask my husband when he gets back."

In the evening, Gan Ning returned to his residence, and the family sat down together for dinner.

Da Qiao mentioned that Xiao Qiao wanted to get some rouge.

Gan Ning smiled and asked Xiao Qiao, "Are you thinking of opening a rouge shop?"

Xiao Qiao said somewhat shyly, "No, it's not that! I just want to learn how to make rouge, but—"

"But what?"

Xiao Qiao smiled sheepishly and said with an embarrassed look, "Actually, I've realized that I don't really like making rouge."

"Ayu!"

Da Qiao was a little unhappy. "What did you say this afternoon? You said you liked making rouge."

Xiao Qiao lowered her head and muttered softly, "Wasn't that just to comfort you? Who knew you'd take it seriously?"

Gan Ning smiled slightly and said, "Ayu, let me find you something to do!"

"what's up?"

"You'll be in charge of brewing tea for me, starting with selecting the tea cake, how to choose the tea, how to break the tea, how to grind it, what kind of water to use, and what kind of heat to use. There's a lot to learn about this. Once you learn how to brew tea, I'll be able to drink good tea in the future."

Xiao Qiao's eyes lit up. "Really? Then who should I learn from?"

“Wu San Niang, the female owner of Wencha Zhai, is a tea master. I’ll have her teach you.”

"Okay!"

Xiao Qiao clapped her hands excitedly and said, "How about we invite her over tomorrow? I can't wait! Or I can go to her place to ask for her advice!"

Xu Wei smiled to herself, and Da Qiao turned to her and asked, "What did you see?"

Xu Wei laughed and said, "What she likes to do isn't important; the key is who she does it for!"

Da Qiao suddenly realized why her sister liked sencha so much; it turned out she made it for her husband. That silly girl, she might not know anything else, but she certainly knew how to please her husband.

At night, Da Qiao nestled in her husband's arms and said, "It's already July, has my husband ever thought about taking Xiao Qiao or Yun Qing into our room?"

Gan Ning shook his head. "In my eyes, they are still children. I have no intention of taking them into my room."

"Yunqing is alright! Ayu is like a child, but Yunqing is quite sensible."

Gan Ning shook his head again, "Xu Wei's situation is rather complicated. I don't want her to have any regrets. Besides, she looks rather thin and is still developing. Let's wait another two years!"

Gan Ning couldn't get over that hurdle in his heart. The two young women looked like junior high school girls, while Da Qiao was mature both mentally and physically, so he could accept her. "Husband, I really want a child. Doctor Liu also said I can have a baby now," Da Qiao whispered, hugging her husband's neck.

Gan Ning kissed her and smiled, "Let's let nature take its course; what's meant to be will be."

"How about we let things take their course again?" Da Qiao giggled, gently twisting her body.

"You're such a slow burner, but I like that!"

Gan Ning was truly enamored with his stunningly beautiful wife, and he once again diligently engaged in sexual activity.

The next morning, as soon as Gan Ning arrived at his office, Lu Xun reported to him: "Military Advisor Lu came by once and said that Liu Biao sent someone to negotiate. The strategist said that he would meet with the other party first and then report to the general in detail."

Gan Ning nodded. "Who came from Liu Biao's side?"

"It's Pang Shanmin, Pang Junshi's cousin!"

"I see!"

Thinking of something, Gan Ning asked again, "Is there any news from your family?"

Lu Xun was silent for a moment before saying, "My family has already expelled me from the ancestral hall and forbids me from participating in ancestral worship anymore. My grandfather does not acknowledge me as his grandson."

"Is this true? Or is it a strategy of your family?" Gan Ning asked again.

Lu Xun sighed and said, "It was a strategy, something I discussed before I came, but being driven out of the ancestral hall still makes me feel bad."

Gan Ning nodded. "I understand how you feel. I believe that one day, the Lu family will invite you back in style."

"Thank you, General. I also look forward to that day coming soon."

Around noon, Ma Liang placed a food box on Gan Ning's table, saying, "These are snacks that the lady sent for the general!"

The custom in the Han Dynasty was not to eat lunch, but Gan Ning could never get used to this custom. He always had to eat something to fill his stomach at noon, otherwise he couldn't stand it. Even when he was on the march or fighting outside, he would eat a dry biscuit and drink some water at noon.

Da Qiao knew her husband's habits, so every noon she would have a female guard bring him a box of snacks. Although it was called snacks, the box contained her husband's favorite baked meat pies. Two thick, steaming hot baked meat pies, along with a cup of hot tea, would satisfy his hunger.

Gan Ning nodded, and soon a tea boy brought a pot of hot tea before leaving.

Gan Ning opened the food box, smelled the fragrant meat pie, picked up a piece and started to eat it. He had just eaten half of it when Lu Su arrived.

Lu Su was startled and quickly said, "General, please take your time eating. I'll come back later!"

"It's alright, come in!"

Gan Ning put down the cake, closed the box, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and said somewhat embarrassedly, "I was starving by noon, so I had to eat something to fill my stomach."

Lu Su also laughed and said, "Actually, I'm the same way. I also sneak a couple of snacks at noon."

"Then why don't we encourage eating lunch?" Gan Ning asked.

Lu Su sighed, “We can’t afford to eat lunch! If we have a good harvest in the future, we might gradually develop the habit of eating lunch, but it’s definitely not going to work now. People can only have two snacks at noon. We can’t let the custom of eating lunch form, otherwise it would be unfair to the common people.”

"That's true! The key issue is still a lack of food."

Gan Ning understood why the habit of eating lunch only gradually developed after the Tang and Song dynasties. The key was the large-scale development in the south, especially the introduction of high-quality rice varieties such as Champa rice, and the significant increase in grain yield per mu. The grain yield per mu in the Tang dynasty was twice that of the Han dynasty.

Gan Ning sighed and said, "One of my life's goals is to ensure that everyone can have lunch."

Lu Su nodded, "If that day ever comes, it will truly be a blessing for all living beings!"

Gan Ning waved his hand and laughed, "Let's get down to business! Is the strategist here about the negotiations in Jingzhou?"

Lu Su quickly replied, "I have spoken with Pang Shanmin. Liu Biao adopted a humble stance in this negotiation. His only request is that soldiers who wish to return home be allowed to go back, and of course, they are willing to provide compensation."

Gan Ning was naturally concerned about the ransom and quickly asked, "What about the compensation?"

"The other party is willing to compensate each person with 20 shi of grain, or with a one-time compensation of 300,000 shi of grain."

(End of this chapter)