First morning

When I blearily opened my eyes it was far past morning. At first I panicked, thinking that I had overslept and was late for work again. But then I remembered I had to rest of the week off due to grandmother's funeral. Sad but a little bit of a relief, I could calmly fall back asleep

Except there's this nagging that this is not my comfy bed or even my own room.

Shit I'm in an ancient brothel!!!!

Well that's an effective mental wake up. I'm fully conscious now.

If the magic mirror works with the time here then my phone still runs by my own local time. The clock blinks at how it's not even 8pm yet, the good news is that my battery life works in a similar fashion, no change. I don't know what the time conversion here is but it's a heck lot more than double or triple.

I'm not sure how long I slept but from what happened last night, about 4 hours fit into the span of half of one.

Ok I can work with that.

No one to worry or explain to if I'm gone for 11 freaking long days. I can go back to my regular life after this is all over. without too much of an issue. Let's look on the bright side of things.

There is already a basin of water in my cot corner so I use that to freshen up. After brushing my teeth and applying a morning skincare routine, I change into something that could be called appropriate.

Band T-shirts and ripped jeans are most likely a no go here. My clothes will be weird regardless but I might as well play it safe They can pass as foreigner's clothing but I don't want to push it. Long skirts, dresses, layerable articles would be safest. The great thing about skirts is that you can also discreetly wear sweatpants underneath them, nice and comfy.

It's cold right now anyways. I can't see but I'm sure there's still snow on the ground outside. It must still be winter here.

I don't actually want to keep being called woman in black so I chose a solid wool gray skirt and paired it with a business safe maroon sweater and a plaid scarf shawl. All thick and warm quality things. Typically I'm adverse to wearing shoes indoors, preferring just socks or house slippers, but here it's better to be ready for anything. That includes running. My winter boots from yesterday goes on.

No one here wore their hair down loose. Perhaps half up and with complicated twists and braids but not loose like we do in modern times. So when in Rome or well wherever this is, so as they do, I make a simple updo with the help of a cheap but sturdy chair clip and some bobby pins. It would also hide the fact that my hair was significantly shorter than everyone else. Even tied back It looks like Lu Shan has over double the hair length I do.

How do the women here maintain that much hair? How do the men? Is there ancient hair conditioner?

Out in the main room Lu Shan is still sleeping peacefully, the child in converted box cradle not too far away.

After confirming there was nothing abnormal with the mother or child I make to sanitize the central parts of the room while no one was around. I worked quietly but man Lu Shan is a really strong sleeper. Well I'm the same way so I can't judge. My mother and roommates cold never wake me up in the first few tries.

What should I do with the trash though? Used paper towels aren't that hard to explain but it's inconvenient. I hide them into a plastic bag to dispose with the used gloves and gowns just in case.

The pre-teen maids, with a tag along Yanyan, entered through the door carrying wooden trays and boxes.

"Auntie Lu EnLie, you're awake! We brought food for you and mama."

"Good morning Ms Doctor, did you sleep alright? You looked very tired before"

"Yes it was fine, thank you."

"We'll get more bedding for you today, I'm sorry this was all we can get at the time."

I was so tired I hardly noticed. The cot and sheets don't look impressive at all, but I've napped in worse places. The wooden and cloth pillow was pretty bad though, I just used my duffel bag instead. Before night hits I should make another trip back home, you can do that right magic mirror?

"Sister Lu Shan please wake up. The meal is here."

The meal in the food boxes were dishes of pickled veggies with a still hot grain filed congee. A small table was set up with the food. The maids bring over breakfast in bed for Lu Shan since she's essentially confined. I've seen how some traditional families say that a mother must not leave the bed for a month after childbirth.

I can understand the reasoning. While modern science says otherwise, I don't want her risking anything. It's better if she stays put at least for the rest of those 11 days. I do worry about cleanliness and bed sores though. She should still be experiencing after bleeds for a while.

Well I've instructed the maid girls to take care of that.

The food looked simple but had a good smell and was surprisingly tasty. Hey isn't this stuff all organic? The beans and grains in the congee were very filling and the pickled vegetables went well with it. I recognized most of the pickled vegetables dishes but a few others were a mystery. Was that pickled anchovies or something? Still I had no food allergy history and enjoyed it all with some weak tea.

"Did you guys already eat earlier?"

"Yes, we went down and ate in the kitchens."

The maids seemed like good simple girls. The shyer one was called Hui Liang while the bolder one was called Hui Qing. They were both bought here at the same time 3 years ago and have been serving Lu Shan directly for the last 2 years.

They were in no way sisters but it would be rude to ask for their real names, it may bring them back bad memories anyways.

They were indeed only the age of middle schoolers, not even 14 yet if I adjusted their ages right. Neither of them were extremely beautiful, at least not yet. But they had good features and could easily grow. To my eyes though they were just cute little girls, only a few years older than YanYan. I can't help but sigh at the lives they must lead, the lives that all the woman here must have had.

"Auntie EnLie could I have more of that yummy thing from before? Sister HuiQing ate it all!"

"We gave you a big piece!"

Hui Qing bristles at that as if she were an animal protective over her food. Looks like Yanyan found out after all. Ahhh girls and their sweets are dangerous.

But seriously though I understand that in modern times, especially where I live, good nutrition is more widespread. food shortages is no issue. I can't be compared to the same level but everyone here is too skinny, especially YanYan. Shouldn't a kid have more meat on her cheeks? They're not very fun to pinch.

"Don't fuss and bother your aunt so much. Ah we got something really good from the kitchen today. Look a boiled egg! Half is for sister LuShan and half for you Ms. Lu EnLie."

While I do like eggs these girls are way too excited over it. It's just one hard boiled egg not a nugget of gold. You can calm down.

But my words die on me at the sight of their thin white hands showing off the egg. While there were no lasting scars on them, these were not the soft pampered hands of a schoolgirl. They've certainly seen hard work.

Damn it.

Lu Shan is being fed the same thing as me essentially. It was the perfect nutritious breakfast for me, a young woman watching her weight. It's no where near enough for a new mom in recovery.

"It's not such a big deal, give it to Lu Shan. She must eat more good things to recover her health during this period."

"But aunt-"

"Listen to me as a doctor then, you need to eat a good mix of grains, vegetables and meats to stay healthy. You've given birth before and should know this already. You may think you can bear something now but years in the future your health could be impacted."

"Yes aunt, Lu Shan will listen to your wise words."

How is a grown woman so cute?! She's so formal but so cute! Is this what it's like having a little sister?

Everyone here needs better nutrition especially her and YanYan. The baby needs to eat too . Besides keeping clean she needs adequate nutrients.

For now though I take an empty plate from the tray and go back to my hidden bag. In my purse there are always granola bars, to which I open and break into pieces.

"They're not the confections from earlier but it's not good to eat too much of them. These are not as sweet but they're nutritious and filling. Try then with tea everyone."

YanYan was a little disappointed that it wasn't her favorite chocolate but she was still excited to have a treat. The crunchy sweet snacks were pleasantly received by everyone, even Lu Shan. Ah I had her drink hot water instead though, we need to switch to herbal tea while she's nursing.

"I've never had such a nut cake. It's like brittle but it's not."

"I'm glad you like them, I've brought quite a few strange things since I worry about not being used to the food here. Of course breakfast was delicious."

I can see the girls eyes light up at the mention of more snacks. So what if I'm buying them through treats, as long as it works. I need loyalty and safe people to trust with Lu Shan here. Who cares if they're just kids?

"To be honest I came all this way to find Lu Shan. I even made a deal with the madam in exchange for more time with her. But I've been away living abroad for so long many things leave me confused, if you could help me understands things a bit better I would be so grateful."

Sweets and a little sobbing goes together in a very good combo.

I want to go to the kitchen today and discuss some things but first I'm going to need more info. And these girls spill so easily.