Chapter 8: Isn’t this good enough to eat?

Knowing that these needed washing, Chu Chaoyun didn’t return the basket. She watched Mrs. Diao carefully descend the wooden ladder little by little. Judging by the appearance, there shouldn’t be any problem, so she took a wooden basin to the side to wash Chun Ye’s clothes.

After washing and hanging them on the clothesline, the workers delivering lunch happened to come by. Chu Chaoyun casually took two portions and carried them back to the dark storeroom to eat together with Mrs. Diao.

When she entered, she noticed Mrs. Diao pinching her own calf. Mrs. Diao had both legs resting on the horizontal bar of the footstool, looking somewhat weak.

Chu Chaoyun, pretending not to notice, placed the food aside, peeling the hard crust off her bun as she sat down and said, “The clothes are washed, and the dirt on them cleaned off. I heard Miss Chun Ye’s stomach isn’t feeling well again? Does Old Lady Li really not care at all?”

A chilly breeze seeped through the small window. Chu Chaoyun shivered; the wind was even colder and harsher than Old Lady Li’s face.

After asking, Chu Chaoyun sighed first, her gaze instinctively dropping to Mrs. Diao’s swollen calf.

Right before her was a real-life example — how could she still go through so much trouble worrying about Chun Ye?

After she finished speaking, the narrow cabin became silent except for the faint sound of chewing. Mrs. Diao drank her soup and planned to rest for a while. Chu Chaoyun still had work to do, so she helped clear the empty bowls and took them out.

When the girls went up to the Flower Boat, Chu Chaoyun paid special attention. The women, dressed brightly and holding round fans, their clothes making their faces look delicate, yet none of the small faces showed any joy.

It looked just like when she used to go to the graves, or rather, when she went to work.

Indeed, Chun Ye was not among the crowd. That meant her illness was quite serious.

At night, after everyone had gone to sleep, Chu Chaoyun was also very tired, but she still forced herself to go out to look for food.

Cold buns and leftover dishes had no nutrition. She had to persist in finding some food that could provide nourishment. After diving several times into the water, Chu Chaoyun was inevitably scratching her head.

She really didn’t know what else she could find to eat.

Every time this kind of worry circled her heart, Chu Chaoyun felt the urge to sneak into the kitchen growing stronger.

She tiptoed to the boat’s ladder, stretched her arms and legs to warm up a bit, then went into the water.

But luck was really not on her side tonight. She couldn’t find any lotus roots, and the water chestnuts were almost all picked clean. Just as her strength was about to run out, she very rarely found a small cluster of foxnuts.

Foxnut, also called gorgon fruit, is one of the famous “Eight Immortals of Water,” indeed a good and nutritious food, but not very filling.

Still, being able to find some food, Chu Chaoyun was excited.

She happily picked the entire small cluster, soaked and wet she returned to the boat. Tonight she didn’t even bother to dry herself, quickly hurried down the wooden ladder and walked to her cabin.

Tonight seemed overly cold, as if the weather was about to change.

Passing by the corridor, Chu Chaoyun tried to tread lightly. She thought everyone would be asleep by this time, but when she reached a cabin door, she faintly heard some soft moaning.

Hmm?

The sound seemed to be coming from Mrs. Diao’s room.

Chu Chaoyun slowly stopped and listened carefully.

Some painful, muffled groans came continuously from inside. They were suppressed, with occasional pauses, as if afraid someone nearby would hear.

Chu Chaoyun knew she shouldn’t pry into someone’s privacy, but in that split second, she thought of something. Regarding Mrs. Diao’s current pain, she felt sorry to think this way.

But Manager Zhong was sharp-eyed and very perceptive.

Mrs. Diao was someone who was very good at seizing any opportunity.

Because she had to survive.

Chu Chaoyun took a deep breath and lightly tapped the door with her fingertip as a signal. Mrs. Diao inside was indeed cautious; upon hearing the signal, the sob that was choked back instantly stopped.

“It’s me, Aunt Diao.”

Chu Chaoyun whispered, and soon the door was opened from inside.

Seeing her soaking wet figure, Mrs. Diao was confused.

Standing at the doorway was inconvenient for talking, so Chu Chaoyun went in by herself and carefully locked the door behind her.

Fearing she’d wet the bedding, Chu Chaoyun did not sit but just stood in the cramped space barely fitting one person. She placed the handful of foxnuts in her hand onto the footstool.

“You…”

Mrs. Diao was stunned, unsure what to say.

Chu Chaoyun began to gamble again.

She was a bit frustrated — so unlucky that since coming here, she seemed to always be taking chances.

She tried to relax her expression, smiling gently with her face softened by silver moonlight. “I went into the water. Always eating dry buns really can’t keep my body healthy. If I don’t think of something soon, I might not even survive until the new moon silver day…”

Mrs. Diao was surprised by her honesty. After a while, the woman opened her mouth but only asked one question: “You can swim?”

“Yes, but Manager Zhong probably doesn’t know.”

Chu Chaoyun smiled again.

Mrs. Diao nodded somewhat blankly, then said, “Then next time you go… be careful. Also, don’t let anyone see.”

Chu Chaoyun let out a breath and leaned against the partition, beginning to shell the foxnuts. Although often cooked or fried before eating, she had no cookware, so she could only chew them raw.

Chewing raw foxnuts wasn’t bad, with a subtle sweet taste.

Chu Chaoyun shelled a small handful and handed it to Mrs. Diao. She spoke frankly, “I noticed Aunt Diao hasn’t been well these days. These little things are nutritious; you should eat some too.”

With just the two of them there, Mrs. Diao reached out and took them. Her expression showed some bitterness, but she openly said, “Actually, the past years were better. Once winter came, even when cooking for the girls, I could ask Big Zhao and the others to deliver food. But this year, I can hardly even move…”

After a brief silence, Mrs. Diao laughed bitterly, “Maybe I’m old now, and this illness is getting worse.”

Chu Chaoyun bit into a foxnut and looked at her, “I’ve only been here a short time and don’t know much. May I ask, Aunt, if the boatmen or the girls get sick, how do the Managers handle it?”

Seeing her naive question, Mrs. Diao slightly shook her head, “What else can they do? When someone can’t work anymore, they’ll just discard them.”

Chu Chaoyun’s hand paused, a chill suddenly ran up her spine.

“If there’s any difficult work later, you just give it to me.”

Chu Chaoyun shelled all the remaining foxnuts and gave them to Mrs. Diao, tidied up the small mess, then returned to rest.

The next two days, Chu Chaoyun still went into the river every night to try her luck, occasionally finding some scarce food. Even if it wasn’t enough, she would share half with Mrs. Diao.

One morning, upon opening her door, Chu Chaoyun found the door of the opposite cabin closed.

Who closed it?

She clearly remembered it was open when she came back from the river last night. How come after just one night’s sleep, it was shut?

When she went out, she tried pushing the door but couldn’t open it.

Chu Chaoyun was puzzled, but her first thought was, “There must be a newcomer in the opposite room.”

That thought was confirmed when she came out of the washroom. A few boatwomen, whispering quietly before the manager arrived, gathered together.

“I saw it when I got up last night. They carried her up on a stretcher late at night. She seems to have injuries on her face.”

“You’re really brave to notice so clearly!”

Listening to their discussion, Chu Chaoyun couldn’t help but suspect. On the day they were locked in the courtyard together, there was a woman who had tried to kill herself by smashing her head against the wall, and her face was scratched.

After she was carried out, no one had seen her again.

Could it be her?

After lunch break, Chu Chaoyun and Mrs. Diao sat in a corner picking vegetables.

Manager Zhong came by on one side, glanced at Chu Chaoyun, then looked at Mrs. Diao.

“Take good care of Chun Ye these days, and that one inside, tell her to eat more and get better because she still has to work.”

After giving the instructions, Manager Zhong walked away.

Chu Chaoyun noticed Mrs. Diao pinching her leg in discomfort. Feeling that her groundwork over these days was sufficient, Chu Chaoyun tossed the wilted leaves she had pulled off into the basket and looked at Mrs. Diao: “Aunt Diao, why don’t you recommend me to help in the kitchen?”

She wanted Mrs. Diao to know that she was swimming every night for this very reason.

Mrs. Diao’s health was especially poor this year. The boat had many chores, and she had to frequently look after the girls. For an elderly and weak woman, this was a heavy burden.

If it were someone else, Mrs. Diao might not recommend them even if they were dying.

After all, if her job was taken, Mrs. Diao’s importance in Manager Zhong’s eyes would lessen. Boatswomen without strong favor would have a harder time, even if Mrs. Diao had voluntarily come on board; she understood this.

But Chu Chaoyun seemed different from others, and Mrs. Diao hesitated a bit.

Seeing the chance, Chu Chaoyun added, “Always eating raw food isn’t good for the body. If I could get into the kitchen, I could cook some cooked food for you to help you recover.”

She smiled and said, “Of course, I won’t hide the truth from you — I have selfish reasons, but I’m not afraid to admit them because I do what’s right.”

“Enough, Chaoyun, Aunt trusts you.”

Mrs. Diao patted her hand.

Hearing this, Chu Chaoyun smiled gratefully and quickly leaned close to Mrs. Diao’s ear, whispering, “Just tell Manager Zhong that I’m only helping out, and you’ll still decide what needs to be done. But no matter what, I really want to thank you!”

When Mrs. Diao went to talk to Manager Zhong, Chu Chaoyun was nervous. After all, the final decision was Manager Zhong’s, and Chu Chaoyun feared she would refuse or choose someone else.

After dinner, when Chu Chaoyun returned to her cabin, she found the door opposite left slightly ajar.

She turned and peeked inside through the gap.

The small window was lifted, and a sliver of light fell on the side-lying woman. Her exposed wrist was as thin as dry wood, and the waxy yellow face had several scratches.

Those scratches had scabs, some of the edges peeling — apparently healing.

Chu Chaoyun had a strong impression of the woman who had hit the wall. She pushed the door wider and stepped inside quietly. The woman was in a heavy sleep, giving off a strange sour smell.

Probably after hitting the wall, Big Zhao and others just left her somewhere unheard and unattended. After some days passed and they saw she hadn’t died, they finally brought her onto the boat.

Chu Chaoyun came closer and sighed softly. Though faint, her breath was still warm.

She stepped out and closed the door again.

“Chaoyun, come here.”

Someone called her from the narrow hallway. Chu Chaoyun saw Mrs. Diao standing by the door waving at her and went over.

Mrs. Diao let her inside without beating around the bush, saying directly, “What you wanted has been approved.”

“Approved?!”

Surprised and delighted, Chu Chaoyun couldn’t help raising her voice.

Mrs. Diao was happy for her and nodded emphatically.

Chu Chaoyun happily spun on the spot like a headless fly, mumbling repeatedly, “Approved?” “It really got approved!” “How was it so easy!” “Great, I can finally get into the kitchen!!”

After many harsh days, she truly could not believe her luck.

Chu Chaoyun danced around like a child, then covered her small face and giggled, thinking, “Now that I can get into the kitchen, shouldn’t I eat something good tonight? :)”