Chapter 4: It’s Really Sweet and Crunchy

Chu Chaoyun was actually hoping to find some white, plump lotus roots; even eating them raw would be more comfortable than forcing down that hard bread.

She had mentally prepared herself before coming, after all, the saying goes, “live off the mountain if you rely on the mountain, live off the water if you rely on the water.” Right now, lotus seeds and lotus roots were in season, so they were definitely being picked by others.

But she still underestimated the labor capacity of the people of Ruizhou. Even after digging three feet into the mud, she saw no sign of a lotus root.

Initially thinking it was just sharp stones pricking her hands, Chu Chaoyun scratched at the mud and suddenly a green plant shaped like a cow’s horn fell into her palm.

Feeling the outer layer, which resembled the soft shell of a chestnut, Chu Chaoyun’s eyes lit up. As she scooped it out of the water, she rubbed it a few more times, then leaned slightly to one side and held the hard object against the moonlight.

It was a water caltrop!

Chu Chaoyun was overjoyed.

Fearing this little thing might fall back into the water, she carefully tucked the first piece of food she had found today into her pocket, then checked the sturdiness of her makeshift pocket again before finally relaxing.

But after the joy, she couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Her knowledge of aquatic plants wasn’t extensive, but she knew lotus leaves and water caltrop leaves were completely different plants. So how could water caltrops grow under lotus leaves?

Could it be that a water caltrop harvesting boat had passed by and accidentally dropped them into the water?

In the daytime, Chu Chaoyun had just glanced roughly around the dock’s edge. The Rui River was so vast that she couldn’t see the end with a single glance, and the sunlight on the water was dazzling. She mistakenly thought the distant patch of green was all lotus leaves.

That night, after resting a bit and with some energy left and a strong desire for food fueled by the thirst triggered by thinking of plums, Chu Chaoyun took a deep breath and plunged back into the water, quickly swimming toward a more distant patch of green.

Without a boat, she couldn’t go too far, but this time she didn’t return disappointed.

Underneath the cluster of water caltrop leaves, although most of the fruits had been picked clean, she still managed to find some “leftovers.” She filled almost half a bag with water caltrops and, after weighing it, thought it was enough to eat. Then she quietly and inconspicuously made her way back.

To avoid water dripping onto the ship’s deck and attracting attention, Chu Chaoyun hung onto the ladder and shook off water droplets for half a moment before returning safely to the dark cabin.

Half of the boat’s storage space was their compartment, and the other half was used as a warehouse.

On the first level, a few rooms were set aside—not only the kitchen but also two rooms specially reserved for the managers as temporary resting quarters.

Most managers did not stay overnight on the Flower Boat but occasionally there were special circumstances.

The remaining rooms, as well as those on the second and third levels, were all elegant rooms reserved for hosting guests.

Chu Chaoyun moved forward bent over in the narrow corridor; almost all compartment doors on both sides were closed. After all, it was cold at night, and some experienced boatwomen would give their saved silver coins to Mrs. Diao, asking her to bring bedsheets when delivering meals. Some, like Chu Chaoyun, still slept on the bare wooden boards.

Manager Zhong tended not to meddle much with these minor affairs. As long as the workers could get by and stay relatively healthy, it made management easier for them.

Currently, Chu Chaoyun was the only newcomer working as a boatwoman.

She took out the water caltrops and scattered them on the footstool, loosened her tight clothing to stretch and smooth out the wrinkles, and then remembered to close the door.

The compartment opposite had no ventilated window; it was empty and somewhat lonely. Before closing the door, Chu Chaoyun glanced at it again, unaware of who might live there in the future.

In the water, Chu Chaoyun had focused all her energy on finding food and hadn’t felt cold.

But back on the boat, her wet body was alternately hit by the little breeze, and just before sneezing, she quickly covered her mouth.

She had no choice but to lower the small window halfway, without closing it completely so as not to block her light source.

Once her feet were almost dry, Chu Chaoyun put on her straw sandals, took off her outer pants to dry them on the side of the bed, and sat in front of the footstool under the dim light, slowly peeling and eating the water caltrops.

Cooked water caltrops are soft and more filling, but unfortunately, she dared not go to the kitchen to cook.

Still, eating them raw was crunchy and sweet!

Biting into the peeled raw water caltrops, Chu Chaoyun glanced at the hard bread left aside and suddenly grinned.

Water caltrops really were delicious!

They were so sweet!!

From now on, Chu Chaoyun decided not only to eat water caltrops, but to taste all the delicacies of Ruizhou… No, she wanted to eat all the delicacies of the entire Great Qi dynasty!!!

After a full meal, Chu Chaoyun was much more cheerful. She smiled brightly as she took the water caltrop shells and hard bread to the back of the boat, throwing the shells into the water and breaking the bread into small pieces to feed the fish.

…

The next morning, before leaving the compartment, Chu Chaoyun wrapped up her hair. Although the washroom couldn’t be used for bathing, it was possible to wash her hair.

However, the soapberry used for washing hair was hard to come by; some boatwomen would trade silver coins with Manager Zhong for it or ask Mrs. Diao to get some.

After being soaked in water for so long yesterday, even without soapberry, her hair looked especially silky once dry, which might arouse suspicion, so she had to be cautious.

Today she didn’t have to clean the elegant rooms, but someone brought her two baskets of vegetables. Although they were not allowed into the kitchen, it didn’t mean they could slack off on kitchen chores.

Cutting firewood and picking vegetables were everyday tasks.

Chu Chaoyun carried the two baskets to one side of the boat corner and worked efficiently. Occasionally, she glanced toward the distance; the patch of water caltrops had been completely harvested last night, so tonight she would have to explore a new “map.”

She glanced over the water surface absentmindedly, but no one noticed these small movements.

Too far a distance was unreachable for Chu Chaoyun, so she could only circle nearby for now.

After finishing picking the vegetables, Chu Chaoyun set down the baskets and fixed her gaze on a new area.

Why not try there tonight?

She smiled happily as she headed toward the kitchen. The woman who had brought the vegetables was standing nearby waiting. From inside the kitchen came a drifting aroma of oil and what seemed to be duck meat.

Chu Chaoyun, unused to the oily and fishy smell after many days, swallowed instinctively but dared not linger and turned back toward where she came from.

At this time, the Flower Boat had not yet started business. Mrs. Diao had some drying robes draped over her legs and was sewing patches with a needle and thread.

Passing by, Chu Chaoyun saw Mrs. Diao suddenly prick her finger. She muttered softly and sucked on her finger before squinting her eyes and continuing her sewing.

Chu Chaoyun noticed that Mrs. Diao seemed to have presbyopia, but Mrs. Diao was just slightly over forty. Could her eyesight have deteriorated so quickly?

Chu Chaoyun had just walked away but then came back, took a small stool nobody was sitting on, and sat beside Mrs. Diao with her usual sweet smile.

“Sewing clothes, Aunt Diao? The light is quite glaring today; it might be hard to thread the needle. How about I help you?”

She didn’t mention Mrs. Diao’s poor eyesight. Mrs. Diao hesitated a moment but then looked up at her.

Boatwomen most feared being called “weak” or “sick” because it would attract the managers’ attention. A sick boatman couldn’t work, and useless people were pitilessly dismissed from the boat.

Chu Chaoyun meant well, and Mrs. Diao could sense it.

Mrs. Diao didn’t refuse and handed over the needle and thread smoothly.

“Alright, if we work together, the job will be done faster, but it’ll be hard on you, Chaoyun.”

“No problem,” Chu Chaoyun replied.

She deftly threaded the needle and handed it back to Mrs. Diao, then conscientiously picked a slender needle and a spool of black thread from the sewing basket.

Most of the clothes they mended were worn laborers’ clothes, so appearance wasn’t a big concern.

Chu Chaoyun was a modern person who had rarely sewn before, but she didn’t ask Mrs. Diao to teach her directly. Instead, she watched Mrs. Diao’s movements quietly and imitated slowly.

Chu Chaoyun noticed Mrs. Diao’s sewing was quite ordinary—just enough to get by. That was perfect.

She chose a piece with a small tear to start practicing. After clumsy stitches on several pieces, her skills improved somewhat through practice.

Around noon, workers came again to deliver meals. After they finished eating, the Flower Boat would begin business.

Chu Chaoyun wasn’t clear about how many meals were customary in all dynasties; in Great Qi, they had three meals a day, although perhaps the managers added lunch because they worried the workers wouldn’t hold up physically.

Whatever the number of meals, Chu Chaoyun had completely lost her appetite for the food delivered—every meal was the exact same—the same hard bread and vegetable soup.

Chu Chaoyun took a piece of bread back to the dark cabin as usual, opened the small window, and while watching the feet walking back and forth on the deck, slowly peeled off the hard crust of the bread completely.

Suddenly a fragrant breeze blew in, and Chu Chaoyun excitedly stood up—she knew the girls had come aboard.

Pressing her ear close to the small window, Chu Chaoyun faintly heard Old Lady Li and Manager Zhong exchanging words.

“When are the newly recruited girls coming? I want to get someone to prepare the rooms.”

Manager Zhong’s voice was easy to distinguish—cool and tone-muted, with a sense of stifled routine melancholy after listening for a while.

Old Lady Li responded enthusiastically in a sharp voice, “Soon, soon, just a few more days.”

A few more days…

Chu Chaoyun slowly sat back on the bed. The soft bread she had peeled had a pit pressed into it by her finger without her noticing.

At night, when the lights around the Flower Boat went out, Chu Chaoyun took a broom upstairs to sweep. Then she lay on the wooden board to rest and recharge.

Her mind went over the locations of the new “map” again. Waiting patiently until everyone else was asleep, she descended the ladder and slipped into the water.

This time she had a clear target and saved a lot of effort.

She didn’t bother with fancy swimming strokes, just whichever was faster.

In a few moments, she reached that patch of water caltrop leaves, quickly picking a whole bag, then quietly returned to the dark cabin.

After her usual cleanup, she sat down and began peeling them.

Although she had a good harvest today, the patch also hadn’t escaped heavy picking. Chu Chaoyun guessed the water caltrops in the “new map” wouldn’t last two days.

Glancing at the water caltrops on the footstool, she planned to eat only half of them and save the rest for tomorrow night.

Thinking that nearby water caltrops would soon be gone as well, Chu Chaoyun lay back on the wooden board full and began pondering carefully what other edible things might be found in the water.