Chapter 5: Being Teased

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

This was the first time Yun Dai had ever done so much menial work, and her limbs were sore and aching. She got herself a little bowl of water to drink and sat down on a stool outside the kitchen.

Someone in the kitchen soon started to yell at her, “Hey, newbie out there! Everyone is helping out, and you’re just sitting there doing nothing? What, do you think you’re some rich man’s daughter or something? Come over here and help out.”

Yun Dai had no choice but to gulp the water down and run into the kitchen to watch the fire.

There was meat cooking in the pot.

She saw that the woman in charge of cooking the meat, Auntie Wu, had only rubbed some salt on the meat before plunging it into water to cook. Auntie Wu hadn’t added anything else at all.

How could the meat taste good like that?

Yun Dai thought about this and asked, “Auntie Wu, this meat is going to taste very bland, isn’t it?”

Auntie Wu just snorted and replied, “What do you know? I’ve cooked for this household for many years now, and I don’t want to spoil these people’s taste buds. Otherwise, how will I know what to serve them in the future?”

Someone else called to Auntie Wu to take some dishes out of the oven.

Auntie Wu responded, and at the same time warned Yun Dai with a threatening face that she was not allowed to pinch any of the food while she was gone

They were so short on help that even the women who worked in the kitchen had to double up as food servers. However, the one in charge of the kitchen refused to let Yun Dai do this job.

“You shall just watch the fire in the kitchen. You’ve only just gotten here, and you already want to show your face in front of the Master? What makes you think you’re fit to do that?” sneered the woman in charge of the kitchen.

“Tsk, tsk, do you really think I care about that?” grumbled Yun Dai to herself. She stood up and added some soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and a bunch of other condiments to the pot where the meat was boiling. Then she used chopsticks to taste one of the pieces. It wasn’t tasty enough yet, so she threw in some chilies as well.

After a few moments, Auntie Wu came rushing back, ignoring Yun Dai. She just quickly pulled the meat out of the water, put it on a serving plate, and ran out to serve it.

Yun Dai watched her quietly and thought to herself, “I’ve helped you to spoil our employers’ taste buds. No need to thank me.”

After the mad rush, the kitchen finally calmed down.

The servants settled down to eat, and, although there were plenty of different dishes, Yun Dai only got a bowl of plain rice.

But that wasn’t too bad either.

After she had arrived at this job, Yun Dai had realized that for the ordinary person on the street, being able to eat a whole bowl of plain rice for a meal was considered luxurious.

All the women were eating at a table in the front of the kitchen, while Yun Dai sat by herself on a stool, eating out of a bowl with her hands.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps entering the kitchen.

At first, she thought that one of the kitchen women had come to get something, so she ignored the sound and continued eating.

But the footsteps stopped behind her, and suddenly someone grabbed her from behind.

Yun Dai got a terrible shock as the strong stench of alcohol hit her nostrils.

She frantically flung the bowl away and shouted as she struggled to free herself, “What are you doing?”

She was both angry and flustered, so she bit down hard on the person’s hand. She bit him with all her might and wished she could bite this jerk’s finger right off.

The man felt the pain and sobered up a little. He immediately moved away from her and staggered out of the kitchen.

Yun Dai turned and only saw his back view. He was dressed in an opulent light yellow robe…

She straightened her clothes and grabbed a knife because she wanted to run after that despicable man and kill him. However, the woman in charge of the kitchen, Auntie Liu, came in at this time with another servant.

“Miss Yun, what are you doing?” Auntie Liu saw with shock that she was holding a knife with tears on her face and blood on her lips.

Yun Dai pulled herself together and quickly wiped away her tears as she said, “I accidentally cut my finger earlier when I was cutting the vegetables…”

She put her left hand behind her and scratched it hard against the stovetop.

The pain distorted her facial expression.