Chapter 118: Is Xiao Fu Bao Disliked? The Whole City Loves Me With Their Lives
Chapter 118: Let's Go Get Coal Balls
Qi Wangfei slowly adjusted her state of mind.
Holding onto Suisui, she gently leaned closer and whispered, “The red ones are really beautiful.”
After receiving her mother's praise, Suisui happily wrapped her arms around her neck, snuggling in closer. “Yes, they’re pretty.”
Suisui liked it.
She didn’t say more, but her feelings were clear.
Qi Wangfei understood and lightly teased her by scratching Suisui’s nose: “Mother likes them too.”
Both mother and daughter enjoyed watching the fish together all afternoon.
Initially, Qi Wangfei planned to take Suisui to the bamboo forest to dig for bamboo shoots. Although their estate’s bamboo grove wasn’t large, it was the right season, and they could find quite a few.
She remembered that they used to dig in the spring every year.
But upon thinking it through, she asked Aunt Qiu for confirmation.
Aunt Qiu smiled and said, “Our area’s temperature isn’t warm enough; the shoots only start growing in April, and we’ll have to wait until June.”
Qi Wangfei was disappointed.
So, if they couldn’t have fun at home, they’d go out instead.
The plan to dig for bamboo shoots was paused.
Not knowing where Suisui would like to go, Qi Wangfei asked, “Where do you want to play? Tell Mother, and I’ll take you.”
Suisui had some chances to play before.
After adults finished their work, her uncles would leave her alone sometimes.
However, there weren’t many things to play with in the village.
Now that her mother was asking, Suisui looked confused.
Seeing this, the system quickly reminded her.
“[Coal balls.]”
It wasn’t that the system wanted to push the child; it was just that Suisui was so focused on this that she had dreamt about it during her nap.
If they didn’t remind her now, what if she got sad later?
With the prompt, Suisui quickly hugged her mother’s leg, her voice bright and urgent: “Mother, let’s go get coal balls!”
Coal balls?
What’s that?
Qi Wangfei didn’t understand at all.
Though her family wasn’t of the highest rank, they were still of noble birth.
She had no experience with the hardships of common folk.
Moreover, the terminology had changed.
Nowadays, people referred to fuel more as “charcoal” rather than “coal.”
So when Suisui said “coal balls,” Qi Wangfei had no idea what she meant.
Seeing her mother’s confusion, Suisui got anxious and gestured, “It’s the coal ash, mixed with yellow clay and water, formed into balls. It burns really well!”
The little girl was a bit hurried, and her words came out a bit unclear.
But Qi Wangfei felt like she was starting to understand.
Burns well.
Those words were clear enough.
So it must be charcoal, right?
Qi Wangfei gently rubbed Suisui’s back and smiled, “Suisui, don’t rush. Let’s take it slow. Is it the kind of charcoal that burns?”
If they were talking about coal balls, then she understood.
The noble families in the capital really liked this kind of processed charcoal.
Especially the kind with added fragrances; Qi Wangfei particularly loved jasmine.
So during winter, the charcoal used for burning was often mixed with jasmine.
To make the wealthy feel that this charcoal was high-end, they often shaped it into various animal forms.
In short, it had to make the nobles feel their money was well spent.
Qi Wangfei was only familiar with this much, as she would occasionally ask about prices to manage expenses, ensuring she wasn’t taken advantage of.
Beyond that, she didn’t know much about coal balls.
But seeing how excited Suisui was, Qi Wangfei thought it might be interesting.
Suisui had been anxious before, worried her mother wouldn’t understand.
Now that her mother said to take it slow, Suisui relaxed her pace and tried to articulate her words more clearly: “Mother, the balls of charcoal burn really well!”
Hearing this, Qi Wangfei nodded, “Stone coal burns longer.”
Stone coal is coal, just a different name.
Right now, the extraction of stone coal wasn’t thorough.
Due to the cost of mining and government regulations, most people still used wood charcoal.
This was more accessible since it could be gathered from the mountains without the need to discover mines and transport the coal.
Wood charcoal was convenient; although it didn’t burn as long, it was abundant.
Furthermore, if trees were planted properly, they could be harvested year after year.
In the palace during winter, they mostly burned processed stone coal.
Of course, it was charcoal that had been prepared.
It produced less smoke and had a more fragrant scent.
Qi Wangfei thought Suisui was talking about stone coal.
There was a bit of a communication barrier between them.
Suisui thought her mother understood, so she happily spun around her mother.
Qi Wangfei also thought they were on the same page, excitedly lifting the little girl into her arms and playfully tossing her a little.
But she quickly realized her strength wasn’t enough.
She was afraid of dropping Suisui.
This left her feeling a bit regretful.
Should she really consider practicing her physical fitness with Teacher Shen?
After a simple rest, Feng Xuanrui and Feng Xuanbin would go to the estate for their physical training class.
Qi Wangfei decided to bring Suisui along.
Feng Xuanrui and Feng Xuanbin, feeling bold because they were younger, squeezed into the same carriage as Suisui.
Feng Xuanjie watched enviously from the side, and Feng Xuancang felt a bit left out too.
However, without his older brothers around, he was now the eldest, responsible and caring for his younger siblings.
At this moment, it didn’t feel right to compete with them for attention.
Feng Xuanbo, watching from the side, sulkily said, “Us older brothers are useless; look at silly little Seven.”
Hearing this, Feng Xuancang helplessly tapped Feng Xuanbo on the head: “Don’t stir up trouble.”
As he spoke, he shot a glance towards Feng Xuanjie.
Feng Xuanjie was already timid and didn’t dare to express his feelings.
Not being in the same carriage as his sister made him feel quite down.
When Feng Xuanbo’s comment came out, Feng Xuanjie looked as if he’d been struck by frost, feeling dejected as he returned to the carriage.
Seeing this, Feng Xuanbo shrugged, but didn’t say anything more.
Two luxurious carriages soon left the city, heading towards the estate.
Before long, the carriage from the Protectorate Marquis’s residence followed closely behind.
The coachman, noticing, reminded, “Princess, the Marquis’s carriage is behind us.”
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