LW chapter 57

 

While Chen Qing was cooking, he set aside food for Li Tiejiang and Niu Niu. Li Tiejiang was a rough man. His cooking skills were similar to Zhou Yuan’s, but Zhou Yuan’s cooking had improved rapidly since they married.

After eating, they took the leftovers to Li’s house. That afternoon, Zhou Yuan went to Li’s house. Only Niu Niu was home. Niu Niu said that Li Tiejiang had gone to the shop, so Zhou Yuan took him to the shop.

When Li Tiejiang learned that Zhang Yin could be cured, he cried bitterly. This man of integrity and dignity cried like a child. Niu Niu cried too when he cried. In the end, the two of them hugged and cried together. Zhou Yuan could only shake his head in helplessness.

At that moment, Chen Qing saw Niu Niu joyfully eating vegetables and steamed buns. Li Tiejiang’s eyes were red, too. He pulled Chen Qing aside to tell him what had happened in Yunxi City.

“Don’t worry too much. Aunt Yin was much better by the time we left.” Chen Qing had always been a little afraid of Li Tiejiang, but seeing him cry for Aunt Yin like this, he suddenly felt that Li Tiejiang wasn’t so frightening after all.

“Alright, alright, thank you so much.” Li Tiejiang wiped his tears with his sleeve, then suddenly remembered something. He ran back into the house and brought out a pouch. “This is the money I’ve earned recently. Give it to them so they won’t have to suffer alone.”

Zhou Yuan looked at the pouch filled with small silver and copper coins, which were most likely Li Tiejiang’s recent earnings.

Zhou Yuan held out his hand. “Keep this for Niu Niu. His godmother and the others aren’t spending much money over there, and you haven’t even spent all the money you gave them.”

Li Tiejiang insisted on giving him the pouch. “I can still make money. Don’t worry. Just give it to them.”

Zhou Yuan had no choice but to take the pouch and leave with Chen Qing.

Chen Qing looked at the pouch in his hand and felt a little helpless.

“He’ll feel bad if we don’t accept it,” he said. Zhou Yuan sighed. “We’ll go back later and buy snacks for Niu Niu and things for the family.”

By the time they returned, it was dark. Zhou Yuan lit the lamp, and Chen Qing tidied the bed. After all, they had been away for nearly a month. Despite Aunt Sun’s frequent visits to clean, the house still smelled dusty.

Chen Qing lay on the bed and smoothed it down. Zhou Yuan boiled water in the kitchen. Now that they were home, it was finally time to relax. There was a large bathtub in the house that he had commissioned a carpenter to build after they got married. Now was the perfect time to use it.

The water in the tub slowly cooled. Chen Qing’s face was flushed, and his whole body was pink from the hot water. Zhou Yuan had already resigned himself to the situation, but when he saw Chen Qing like this, he couldn’t hold back.

He dried Chen Qing with a towel, laid him on the bed, roughly wiped himself, and pressed Chen Qing down onto the bed again.

Tonight was too long.

Before he fainted, Chen Qing thought Zhou Yuan had really held himself back.

Perhaps because he was back in a familiar place and had been exhausted the previous night, Chen Qing woke up late. Zhou Yuan let him sleep a little longer and then went to the county town in the afternoon. He planned to stay the night and sell their goods the next day.

After Chen Qing woke up, he kicked Zhou Yuan with his foot. Zhou Yuan grinned, showing only his white teeth, and then kissed Chen Qing’s foot.

Chen Qing rested in bed for a day, then went with Zhou Yuan to the county town in the afternoon. After they arrived, Meng Qi finally couldn’t hold back and asked Zhou Yuan, “What is this? Can it be eaten?”

Meng Qi nearly died of greed last night. He had guarded the two carts the day before and smelled the fragrance wafting from them. He was greedy all night long. He had never smelled such an aroma before. He got up several times but ultimately didn’t dare reach out and eat.

“Try one,” Z Zhou Yuan lifted the felt cloth and handed him a red red tomato.

Meng Qi swallowed his saliva and asked, “Are you really going to eat this?”

“Eat it. It’s very delicious,” Chen Qing said with a smile.

Meng Qi couldn’t hold back anymore and finished it in two or three bites. He didn’t know much and couldn’t describe the taste. It was very strange. It wasn’t sweet like fruit, nor could he treat it like a vegetable.

Chen Qing remembered what Shopkeeper Tian had told him earlier: “Should we give everyone an example first, so they know how to eat this food?”

Zhou Yuan nodded. He had thought about this yesterday, so when he went to see Blacksmith Li, he took a small stove from him. Now, he only needed to buy charcoal so he could cook on the spot while selling.

Zhou Yuan looked at Chen Qing. “I don’t know how to cook, so I’ll have to ask you for help.”

Chen Qing was stunned. He was asking him to cook in front of so many people! This—

He shook his head: “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t do it.”

“But Meng Qi and I don’t know how, so what should I do?” Zhou Yuan looked very troubled. It seemed like he wasn’t trying to train Chen Qing like before, rather, he really had no other choice.

Chen Qing looked at Zhou Yuan, then at Meng Qi, and finally at the two carts of goods they had worked so hard to bring back from Yunxi City.

“All right, I’ll go with you tomorrow.”

Zhou Yuan held his hand. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll be with you. Just say whatever comes to mind. Just treat it like cooking at home.”

Chen Qing felt he couldn’t do it, but he couldn’t just watch their money go to waste, either.

Chen Qing didn’t sleep well that night. He didn’t get up, he just kept hearing noises.

They spent the night in the small house and brought the two carts of goods to the county town market the next day. One side of the market had fixed stalls that paid rent, while the other had casual vendors who only needed to pay ten coins a day to set up a stall.

Zhou Yuan pulled the carts, which were covered with felt to hide the goods. Many of the vendors were curious because casual vendors rarely sold so much.

The county town market opened very early, and people were already coming to buy things. Seeing that it was almost time, Zhou Yuan removed the felt covering the carts. Immediately, people gathered around.

“What kind of fruit is this? Why haven’t I seen it before?”

“The fruit looks so lively with its red color, but I don’t know what it is. The fragrance is so strong.”

Someone pointed to the cucumbers on the side and asked, “What about these?”

Another person reached out and touched them, feeling the little spines on the melons. “It looks so strange. Can it be eaten?”

When everyone had gathered, Zhou Yuan began. “These are special products from Xixinfu that we brought with us. This one is called a red tomato and this one is called a cucumber.”

“Whether eaten directly, cooked, or mixed with honey, this red tomato is a rare delicacy.”

Zhou Yuan took a red tomato from the cart and cut it open with a knife he had brought. The crystal-like flesh beneath the red skin was revealed.

He divided the pieces among the people in front and those who liked them had to buy them immediately.

Zhou Yuan said, “Because we brought them back from Xixin Prefecture, the price is naturally higher. The first twenty catties are thirty coins, and the rest are thirty-five.”

Thirty-five coins per catty was expensive, considering lean meat only cost twenty coins per catty.

“I’ll buy some first. I want to try them.” The man picked some out, and Meng Qi weighed them quickly and neatly on the side.

Soon, many people came to buy them. After all, it was something new, and everyone wanted to try it.

Some who didn’t like eating them raw were waiting and watching. At that moment, Chen Qing lit a charcoal fire. The pot was heating up. Zhou Yuan moved aside so that everyone could see.

Chen Qing knew that many eyes were on him, and his face flushed. Then, Zhou Yuan said, “If you don’t like eating them raw, just add an egg and some salt.”

Everyone watched as Chen Qing scrambled eggs with the tomatos after he said this. The red tomatos gave off a fragrant aroma, and when Chen Qing took the eggs out of the pan, he had only added a little salt. They looked very good, making people hungry.

After tasting Chen Qing’s stir-fried tomatos, more people bought them. Meng Qi and Zhou Yuan were busy, so Chen Qing quietly came to help.

Many of the cucumbers and peppers they brought back also sold well. Some husbands were afraid of Zhou Yuan, so they asked Chen Qing, “How do you eat this?”

Chen Qing pinched his sleeve and said, “If you smash these cucumbers and mix them with regular seasonings, they’re tasty. If you like spicy food, you can cut up these peppers and mix them in.”

“Then I’ll buy some, too.”

After the initial rush, the number of customers gradually decreased, but the two carts had sold a lot of goods.

By noon, only half remained, and there weren’t many people left on the street.

Chen Qing grew anxious. Only half of the goods had been sold, so they would still lose money.

Zhou Yuan noticed his mood and squeezed his hand. “Don’t worry. Trust me.”

Chen Qing nodded.

The sun was too harsh, and Zhou Yuan didn’t want Chen Qing to be exposed to it. He put away their cart and prepared to head back to their lodging.

Just as they had walked a short distance, someone stopped them.

This seemed to be within Zhou Yuan’s expectations. The visitor was the manager of a restaurant in a nearby county town, whom Zhou Yuan had met before.

“Young man, are all these rare goods sold out?” The manager craned his neck to look inside, but the goods were covered tightly with a blanket, so he couldn’t see anything.

“Of course, there are still some left. May I ask who you are?” Zhou Yuan wasn’t humble nor arrogant.

“I’m the manager of Xiankelai. I heard that you have some rare goods here today, so the shopkeeper asked me to come take a look. Could you please come to the shop first?”

Zhou Yuan glanced at Chen Qing, then led them to meet the shopkeeper.

When they arrived at the back courtyard of Xiankelai, the shopkeeper was already waiting. He looked at Zhou Yuan and knew he was the decision maker.

“How much of these new goods do you still have? We’d like to buy them all.” The shopkeeper went straight to the point.

Zhou Yuan had been waiting for this chance. Last night, after Chen Qing fell asleep, Zhou Yuan and Meng Qi had sorted through the two carts again. They had set aside the damaged ones and placed the big, fine ones at the bottom.

Zhou Yuan then lifted the felt, revealing the larger ones underneath.

The shopkeeper understood right away. They sold the smaller ones at the market and kept the bigger ones waiting for him.

“This is all we have, and we won’t have more for a while. Have you decided, shopkeeper?” Zhou Yuan asked.

The shopkeeper confirmed again. “Are you sure this is the very last of it?”

“Yes. After all, Yunxi City is far away, and these aren’t ordinary goods. They spoil easily. We may only make this trip once a year.” Zhou Yuan remained calm. “Shopkeeper, don’t worry about us selling to you and then to others.”

“All right, let’s settle the account.” The shopkeeper was very satisfied. With such goods in his shop, he would never worry about not making money.

Since the shopkeeper had shown sincerity, Zhou Yuan, of course, didn’t take advantage of him. He asked Chen Qing to explain how to use peppers in cooking and how to dry them to make seasoning.

He also introduced the spices they had brought back to the shopkeeper.

“Just roast them over an open fire and sprinkle these seasonings on top, and they become a rare delicacy.”

However, they hadn’t brought much seasoning, only about ten catties.

The shopkeeper looked a little embarrassed. “That’s too few.”

Zhou Yuan smiled. “Shopkeeper, if they were always available, they wouldn’t be special, would they?”

The shopkeeper suddenly understood.

They sold all the remaining goods to Xiankelai. In the afternoon, some of them roasted meat in Xiankelai’s backyard. No matter what kind of meat it was, once it was grilled over charcoal and sprinkled with these spices, it became a rare delicacy.

When they left, Meng Qi’s head was spinning. Looking at Zhou Yuan’s tall figure, Meng Qi knew partnering with him had been the right choice.

They went home, having sold everything. Now, they finally had the chance to see how much they had earned.

The money box had always been in Zhou Yuan’s hands. Neither Chen Qing nor Meng Qi had had time to look inside it. When they returned with the empty cart, Meng Qi was already waiting, eager to see the contents.

Zhou Yuan took out the money box. After they counted it, they found that they had earned back the cost of the goods at Xiankelai. The retail sales from that morning were their pure profit!

The goods had sold for 90 taels, meaning they had made 40 taels on this trip!

 

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