Chapter 6: Family

Banxia cooked a pot of noodles, and the three of them sat at the table to eat.

The Feng family had always treated Aunt Wang and Banxia like family.

Aunt Wang called Midwife Feng "Big Sister," and Banxia, following the lead of Feng Chuchen and her younger brother, called Midwife Feng "Big Aunt."

Although they were servants, they only did housework and looked after Feng Buji; otherwise, they went out to earn money by delivering babies. Midwife Feng and the original owner took care of themselves.

A portion of the money Aunt Wang earned was turned over to the household, and she kept the rest for herself.

The two of them were not slaves bought by the Feng family from a slave trader.

Seventeen years ago, Aunt Wang was cast aside by her husband’s family after giving birth to two stillborn babies in a row, and her own family would not take her in either.

With nowhere to go and on the verge of jumping into the river, she was saved by Midwife Feng.

Midwife Feng brought her home, taught her how to deliver babies, and later, she became Midwife Feng’s assistant.

Because Aunt Wang often followed Midwife Feng through the streets and alleys, her reputation gradually grew. Some expectant mothers who were not experiencing difficult labors, but were too poor to afford the more expensive Midwife Feng, would hire her alone to deliver their babies.

Her skills were good, and a few years later, she was even registered by the Imperial Hospital, becoming an official midwife.

Her former husband’s family heard about this and came knocking. The woman her ex-husband had remarried had died of illness, leaving behind a son, and that family wanted to marry her back. She could take care of the child and also earn money delivering babies.

Her own family was unwilling. They had always wanted to take her back, claiming that if she had no husband’s family, her money belonged to her maiden family, and her nephews would provide for her in her old age.

The two families even fought over her.

Aunt Wang knew what her former husband’s family was like, and she knew what her own family was like. They only saw money in their eyes; they didn't care about her at all.

She had no desire to remarry, either.

It was better to be a servant for the Feng family, where they could look out for one another.

She could tell that the Feng family were all good people.

So, she sold herself into servitude to the Feng family.

Banxia was a nursing infant that Midwife Feng had gone to great lengths to deliver. Because that family already had two children and felt this infant wouldn't survive, they had picked up a basin of water, intending to drown her.

Midwife Feng couldn't bear it, so she brought the child home to raise, where she could also be a companion to Feng Chuchen.

By the time she was four, the little girl was likable and clever, and that family regretted their decision. They wanted to take the child back home, thinking they could sell her for a good price once she was grown.

Midwife Feng knew what they were planning, so she took out four taels of silver and gave it to the family, effectively buying the child.

Fearing that the family would come back to cause trouble, she went straight to the yamen to draw up a slave contract.

Banxia was one year younger than the original owner, and the two grew up together.

The household of women and children had lived in harmony ever since...

After eating, Feng Chuchen took her younger brother by the hand to walk around the courtyard and aid digestion.

The evening glow filled the sky, and the twilight poured down like water, casting a warm hue over everything in the world.

Since coming here, Feng Chuchen had particularly enjoyed watching the sky. The brilliant glow of dawn and dusk, the clean and clear sky during the day, and the bright moon and star-filled nights were sights she had rarely seen in her previous life.

It was just that the courtyard was bare, planted with only a single holly tree, and there wasn't even a potted flower.

The backyard was a vegetable patch and a chicken coop, with seven or eight chickens inside.

That figure appeared in Feng Chuchen’s mind again.

Not tall, with a straight waist, her clothes were always blue or cyan, and her dresses were never embroidered. She only ever wore a wooden hairpin in her hair and never wore makeup. Her thin lips were pressed tightly together, and her nasolabial folds were very deep. Even when she smiled, the warmth never reached her eyes...

This was completely different from the image of other midwives.

Right, there was another member of the family: a large dog named Datou.

This was the third dog Big Aunt had raised. They didn't just guard the house; if Big Aunt went to bury a stillborn baby or deliver a baby in a remote area, they would accompany her.

The name was chosen by Feng Buji because Datou’s head was truly large.

If it was a rainy day, Feng Buji would tease Datou, "Big head, big head, no worries about the rain. Others have umbrellas, I have a big head."

Ever since Big Aunt passed away, Datou had been listless and barely ate. After Big Aunt was buried, Datou would run to the grave every day, lying there for the whole day and only returning home when it was dark.

Just as she was thinking about this, the courtyard gate rattled.

Banxia ran to open it. "It must be Datou coming back."

Opening the door, Datou walked in, looking dejected.

It wasn't the common native dog of the Great Yan Dynasty; it was huge and round, black, long-haired, with a head and mouth much larger than a native dog, and it was particularly fierce.

The villagers said it was born of a foreign dog and a native dog, while others said it was born of some wild animal and a native dog.

Big Aunt had found it in the mountains two years ago. It was just a small puppy then, and Big Aunt had kept it by her side ever since; it was most attached to her.

If Datou had followed them home that day, Feng Qi wouldn't have dared to harm them.

What made Feng Chuchen feel guilty was that Datou seemed to see that she was different. Last time, when she was injured and carried home, Datou had barked at her incessantly, though fortunately, it hadn't rushed over to bite her.

However, it had kept its distance from her ever since.

Banxia went into the kitchen, brought out a large bowl, and placed it on the ground. She said softly, "I saved this for you, eat."

Datou didn't eat; instead, it lay under the eaves of the inverted house, its eyes full of sorrow.

It was depressed.

In this era, there was no such term as "depression," but it had been very common in her previous life—not only did people get it, but animals did too.

Feng Chuchen didn't dare to get close, watching it gently from a distance of three steps.

Datou had goodwill toward everyone in this house. Once it saw her goodwill toward it and the family, it would accept her.

Feng Buji walked over and stroked its fur, saying, "You still have me and Sister. We will always be good to you, just like Big Aunt was. You’ve gotten so thin, Sister and I are very sad..."

After much coaxing, Datou finally lowered its head and ate what was in the bowl. After finishing, it lay back on the ground, half-asleep.

The last glimmer of light faded from the horizon, and Feng Buji let out a big yawn.

Not letting Banxia serve him, Feng Chuchen personally gave Feng Buji the small spoonful of lingzhi powder he had to take every day, helped him wash up, and led him to the north room of the east wing to rest.

This house had three main rooms, three rooms in each of the east and west wings, and three inverted rooms.

Midwife Feng lived in the east room of the main house, and Feng Chuchen lived in the west room. Feng Buji lived in the north room of the east wing, and Banxia temporarily lived in the hall of the east wing to look after Feng Buji. Aunt Wang lived in the north room of the west wing, and Datou lived in the woodshed of the inverted house.

Feng Chuchen returned to the main house, lit an oil lamp, and went to the east room where Big Aunt had lived.

The large kang in the room took up half the space. The bedding and pillows on the kang had been burned, leaving it bare except for a kang table and a set of kang cabinets. On the floor were a square table and two large trunks, and against the wall, a high table held Big Aunt’s memorial tablet.

In the corner were the wooden basin used for deliveries, scissors, herbal medicines to induce labor, and other items. There was another set of these in Aunt Wang’s room.

There were also a few simple tools for making medicine, such as a small scale, a mortar and pestle, and a medicine grinder.

The two doors of the kang cabinet and one of the trunks were locked.

Feng Chuchen first opened the kang cabinet. Inside were some medical books, brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones, a box of silver needles, a box of "This Life Incense," and a small bronze incense burner the size of a fist.

The small bronze incense burner was used for lighting the "This Life Incense."

The incense sticks were three inches long, yellow, with a one-inch bamboo skewer at the bottom. There were twenty-two sticks in total, kept in a bronze box.

Big Aunt had taught the original owner how to make "This Life Incense," but the original owner had never made it on her own. The incense included two precious, rare ingredients, as well as two of the most worthless materials.

The most worthless materials were the mud and stream water from the Green Reed Marsh.