Chapter 32, The 32nd Inn: Fu Wang is Back

“There are so many: mulberries, apricots, peaches,” he said in one breath, then added, “Oh, right, grapes too. Some people in our village grow them.”

Yunyin looked at him curiously, "Why does your village grow so much fruit?"

Generally speaking, it's rare for farmers to grow even some common varieties of fruit, but their village is growing so many kinds of fruit.

She pressed further, "Which village are you from across the street?"

The man pointed to the other side of the river and said, "Is it from Letao Village over there? Don't you recognize me, Lady Yun?"

Yunyin looked at him, completely bewildered, and asked, "Um, should I know him?"

He patted his head and said, "Oh dear, I forgot to tell you, my name is Zheng Dong. I was the one who led the way for Brother Linzi to Letao Village."

He winked at Zhang Lin, who was cooking noodles, and said, "Right, Brother Lin? When he came to collect mushrooms, the villagers didn't believe him because he was a stranger, and they almost got into a fight. I was the one who brought him into the village."

Upon hearing Zheng Dong's words, Zhang Lin nodded to Yun Yin and said, "Yes, that's true."

"Why didn't you tell me? How did we almost get into a fight?"

Zheng Dong touched his nose sheepishly and said, "Oh dear, this is a long story."

"Why do you think our village grows so much fruit? It's because a group of merchants stopped in our village before. They were transporting fruit to the state capital and saw that our village had a good environment, so they let us grow fruit, saying that they would come and collect the fruit we planted."

"Although they provided some fruit tree seedlings, it still took us a lot of effort to get these fruit trees to survive, and it took several more years before they started bearing fruit."

Yunyin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Didn't the caravan come to collect it?"

“Yun Niangzi is a smart woman,” Zheng Dong slapped his thigh and said, “It’s a pity we didn’t understand. Even though the village head reminded us, the villagers wanted to save more money, so they didn’t listen to him. As a result, the fruit grew, but that person never came.”

"Don't you sign a contract?" she asked without looking up as she removed the stems from the plums. "I signed a contract with you for even the smallest quantity of mushrooms I bought from you."

“Signing a contract provides protection for both of us. I don’t have to worry about you not being able to deliver the goods, and you don’t have to worry about me not paying.”

Zheng Dong sighed, "Nobody understands. There are no scholars in our village. By the time the village head found out, the villagers had already planted the saplings."

"Fortunately, the saplings were free; it was just a waste of the villagers' energy."

Hearing this, diners at another table looked up and asked, "Then why doesn't your village transport its fruit to the county town to sell?"

“Fruit in the county town is very expensive; only wealthy families can afford it. It’s rare for us to even eat wild fruit.” He took a bite of a wild peach, squinted his eyes, and said, “This peach is quite delicious.”

He ate while waiting for Zheng Dong to continue.

Zheng Dong followed up, saying, "Of course we send them to the county to sell, but we can only sell peaches and apricots. Other fruits spoil too easily if we transport them by handcart."

"Why didn't you think about this when you planted it? If you had thought of it earlier, you wouldn't have wasted your time," the diner said, exasperated.

Zheng Dong: "The caravan used boats for transportation, so it wasn't bumpy. Their boat broke down, so they had no choice but to dock there, and that's when they discovered our village."

Yunyin: "Fresh fruit is difficult to transport, so it can be made into dried fruit or candied fruit and sold."

Zheng Dong: "I've also looked into it. Making candied fruit requires a lot of sugar, and there's no guarantee that it will sell. People in the village are unwilling to spend the money, so there's no other way but for us to eat it ourselves."

The diner shook his head and sighed, "If you're unwilling to do this and don't want to take any risks, how can you make money? You have to invest first to reap the rewards. Did you do any research before planting the fruit? If you can't sell it and don't want to take any risks, you'll only end up selling it even less."

"It's not as easy as you make it out to be. Not selling might prevent you from losing money, but if you continue to invest, you might lose even more."

Yunyin could understand Letao Village's concerns. After all, they hadn't paid for the fruit seedlings, but if they continued to invest in other by-products, it would definitely require a lot of money, which most villagers wouldn't dare to do.

They can't save much money in a year, and if they lose it, they might not have any money for many years. Ordinary people wouldn't dare to take the risk; only the wealthy would dare to do it, because even if they lose, it won't fundamentally damage their finances.

Ordinary families can't afford to lose money, so the rich will only get richer, while ordinary people may not even have the opportunity to choose.

Yunyin was quite interested in the fruits from their village. Fruits could be used to make many things, such as canned goods, dried fruit, desserts, and fruit tea. She could plan ahead and try making a batch once the house was built.

She has the skills and knows many people, so no matter what she does with these fruits, she won't lose money.

Yunyin said to Zheng Dong, who was still looking dejected, "When is a good time for you? Can I come and see the fruit you've grown?"

Zheng Dong's eyes lit up: "Does Madam Yun want to buy fruit from our village?"

Yunyin: "I want to take a look first. Besides, I can't buy much fruit by myself. You guys need to think of other ways. Does your village have a boat? If all else fails, try to borrow one and take the fruit to the county to sell. That should make you some money."

Zheng Dongliang's bright eyes dimmed slightly, but he perked up and said, "It would be good if you could buy some. I'm free every day. Whenever it's convenient for you, Madam Yun, you can contact me."

“Our village only has bamboo rafts, which can only be used to cross from the other side, but it is not possible for long distances. The village is too poor. Back then, everyone wanted to make money, and the fruit merchant spoke very persuasively, which convinced the villagers to plant a lot of fruit.”

He took a deep breath and said, "Forget it, I'll think of another way. I don't know if there are any boats available for rent in the county town."

“There are boats in Long’an County, but they usually go to Mianzhou. I don’t know if they would be willing to run a shorter route.” The diner who had just been exasperated was now trying to help him. He said, “I remember there are boats in Linjiang Village that usually take people from Linjiang Village and Pingjiang Village to the town. You can ask the boatman if he would be willing to take your fare.”

Yunyin nodded and said, "The boat in Linjiang Village costs three copper coins per person. I wonder how much you need for delivery. You can go and ask."

Zheng Dong said, "Thank you all. I'll go take a look tomorrow. When would you like to go see the fruit, Miss Yun? I'll come pick you up."

Yunyin thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait until you come back from Linjiang Village."

After seeing them off, Yunyin took the cleaned and stemmed green plums to a shady place to dry. She sterilized the prepared jar with alcohol, put rock sugar inside, then added the dried green plums, layering them with rock sugar and green plums, and finally poured in alcohol to seal the jar.

The plum wine needs to be soaked for a longer time than the peach blossom wine, at least 6 months before it can be drunk. The next time you can drink it will be in winter. However, the plum wine is particularly delicious, and she wants to make more. Yunyin moved the jar to her room and continued to process the other plums.

Part of it was set aside to make preserved plums, and the rest was used to make plum sauce. The finished plum sauce can be used in cooking. Cantonese dishes often come with plum sauce, and roast chicken and roast duck taste absolutely delicious with it.

Pit the green plums, rub them vigorously with salt to squeeze out the juice, then rinse them clean and steam them in a pot until cooked. The steamed green plums will have released their unique aroma, and steaming also removes the sour and astringent taste of the plums.

Put rock sugar and green plums into an earthenware pot and boil them directly without adding water. After the rock sugar melts, continue to boil over low heat, stirring constantly, until the plum sauce becomes thick.

The sweet and sour plum sauce made Yunyin really want to roast a chicken right now and eat it with the sauce. She took a spoonful and tasted it. The sweet and sour sauce whetted her appetite. She licked her lips and scooped up the sauce.

As for the slightly yellow plums that were saved earlier, they were used to make preserved plums. The method is very simple, but it requires a lot of sugar and salt. Fortunately, the resulting syrup is not wasted and can be used to make other drinks.

Yunyin continued to rub the plums with salt until they softened slightly. Then, she put the salt and plums into a jar, added cooled boiled water, sealed it, and placed it in a cool, shady place to pickle. After a month, she dried the pickled plums until they were half-dry. Then, she added layers of sugar and plums to the jar, this time pickling for two months. Finally, she took them out and dried them in the sun, and the preserved plums were ready.

Foods that have been refined over time are the most delicious, just like preserved plums and plum wine. Even friendships become more mellow and fragrant with age.

On a hot summer day, Yunyin was busy making plums. The kitchen was filled with the fragrance of green plums. Just as she was engrossed in making plums, a small surprise suddenly appeared before her eyes.

"Young Master Fu." Yunyin had just wiped away her sweat when she looked up and saw Fu Wang standing by the roadside looking in her direction. She quickly waved to him and said, "You're back."

Fu Wang tied up his horse, walked up to her, paused for a moment, and said softly, "Yes, I'm back."

"What would you like to eat? I'll make it for you now." Yunyin looked at the fish in the tank, then went to the kitchen to see what other dishes were available, saying as she searched, "You were gone for a long time this time, did the escort mission go smoothly?"

Hearing her cheerful voice, Fu Wang relaxed and shook his head, saying, "Miss Yun, don't bother. I just came to tell you that I'm leaving soon. My brothers are waiting for me up ahead."

Yunyin paused, her hand holding the vegetables still. She couldn't hide her disappointment and said, "Are you leaving so soon? Okay, business is important. We'll get together again when you're done."

She scooped a box of steamed rice cakes from the pot and handed it to him, saying, "It's perfect since you're traveling and don't have much of an appetite. These steamed rice cakes are just right, though they're not very sweet, just the natural sweetness of rice."

Looking at the soft and fluffy pastries, Fu Wang could smell their fresh and fragrant aroma. He had no appetite before, but in an instant, his appetite seemed to be greatly stimulated.

He took out a piece and took a bite. It was soft, sweet, and fragrant. Chewing it felt like biting into a cloud. It was soft, sweet, and delicious. Even though Yunyin said that this pastry wasn't very sweet, he thought it was sweeter than honey.

Fu Wang: "It's so delicious. After being away for so many days, I missed Yun Niangzi's cooking the most. Now that I can eat it again, it still tastes familiar and makes me feel warm."

"I'm glad you like it." Yunyin tilted her head at him. "It's getting late, let's set off early, or we'll miss our accommodation tonight."

Fu Wang handed her two burlap sacks: "These are gifts I brought for you. Take a look when you have time, and don't let them spoil. I'll be going now."

Yunyin only had time to say her blessing before Fu Wang rode off on his horse and disappeared from her sight in an instant. He came and went in a hurry. She looked down at the two large bags and murmured, "What are these gifts? There are two big bags. They're not all seeds, are they?"