Chapter Twenty-One: Heart Fluttering

The cold braised pork offal stall at the west entrance of Anping Town has now made a name for itself.

Zhang Dashan set up his stall alone today, bringing a full earthenware jar of braised food, which was sold out before noon.

Those repeat customers, and even new customers who came because of his reputation, gathered around the stall as if they knew the way well. One person ordered half a pound of pig heart, another ordered eight ounces of pig intestines. Zhang Dashan was so busy that his feet barely touched the ground. He was collecting money until his hands were sore, but his face was beaming with joy.

This booming business is a good thing, but it also brings a problem.

I noticed that someone was making braised dishes at home, and the demand was so high that she couldn't keep up with the demand. Just dealing with the pig offal kept her busy for most of the day.

"Dad, you'll have to work hard today, I have to go up the mountain."

Zhang Liuli looked at the few spices and firewood left and said to Zhang Dashan, who was about to leave.

"Going up the mountain? What for? Be careful."

Zhang Dashan tidied up the wheelbarrow while giving instructions.

“The weather is getting warmer, so it’s easier to cut hardwood from the mountain. I want to bring back more so that Brother Liu can make a few bigger wooden barrels, which will be more convenient for storing brine in the future.”

Zhang explained, then paused and added.

"By the way... make something else, like some chili sauce for Dad, you love that, don't you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dashan's eyes lit up immediately, and he chuckled.

"Oh! My daughter is so thoughtful, that's wonderful!"

"That dogwood sauce isn't very satisfying, it's not spicy enough. Make more, Dad's waiting for your good sauce to go with his rice!"

He pushed his cart, humming a little tune, and walked briskly towards the town.

After seeing his father off, Zhang Yili slung his basket over his shoulder, took a machete and a small saw, and headed toward the familiar mountains and forests behind the village.

The warm spring sun shone down on me, dispelling the chill of the morning.

After a winter of hibernation, the trees on the mountain have become more flexible, making them easier to cut.

She specifically chose trees with straight grain and hard wood, painstakingly felling and sawing them, then splitting them into appropriately sized blocks, preparing to dry them to make wooden barrels.

Sweat quickly soaked her temples. She straightened up, wiped the sweat, and was about to put the chopped timber into her basket when she heard a rustling sound not far away.

Looking in the direction of the sound, I saw Song Ru from the same village carrying a small basket, standing on tiptoe to reach the drooping branches of the pine tree.

"Sister Ru? You've come up the mountain too?" Zhang Liuyi called out.

Song Ru turned around at the sound and saw Zhang Yixin. A smile appeared on her round little face.

"Sister Xiaoli, it's you! I've come to get some pine branches to fumigate the house. Spring is coming soon, and the house is damp and smells musty. Fumigating it will help."

As she spoke, she laboriously broke off a few tender green pine branches that were covered in a strong pine scent and carefully placed them into the basket.

Song Ru was a distant niece of Aunt Song in the village. She had just turned 18 and was three or four years younger than Zhang Liuyi. She was at the age of innocence and carefree joy.

The two weren't particularly close, but since they lived in the same village, they could chat for a bit when they met.

Zhang Yili helped Song Ru break off some pine branches, and the two walked down the mountain together.

Looking at the heavy blocks of wood in Zhang Xiaoli's basket, Song Ru asked curiously, "Xiaoli, what are you doing cutting so much wood?"

"Make a few buckets, for storing things at home," Zhang Yili replied casually.

"Oh..." Song Ru nodded and skipped ahead.

Suddenly remembering something, she turned around, her big eyes blinking as she looked at Zhang Xiaoli with a mixture of curiosity and shyness.

"Hey, I heard...you're engaged?"

Zhang Xiaoyi paused, her face slightly flushed, and softly hummed in agreement.

Song Ru leaned closer and lowered her voice: "Sister Xiaozhi, once you're married... does that mean you can't go up the mountain whenever you want, or go wherever you want? Does that mean you have to spend all your time around the stove and with the children, listening to your mother-in-law and watching your husband's expression?"

Zhang listened intently to Song Ru's worried question and sighed inwardly.

She stopped and looked at the young girl in front of her who hadn't fully grown up yet. After thinking carefully for a moment, she said, "Sister Ru, it's not all like that. How a married life goes depends mainly on who you marry and what kind of family you enter."

"If your husband is reasonable and knows how to cherish you, and your in-laws are also understanding, then life won't be too different from now. You can still do your work, visit others as usual, and have someone to rely on and something to look forward to. But if... if you marry the wrong person, then it will naturally be difficult."

As she spoke, Xiong Zixiang's composed face involuntarily appeared in her mind, and she felt inexplicably at ease.

Song Ru tilted her head, listening attentively, her brows slightly furrowed, as if trying to process Zhang Yi's words.

After a while, her eyes suddenly lit up with a hint of longing: "Then...then when I get married, I have to marry someone who listens to me in everything! He has to be able to spoil me, and if I want to go up the mountain, he'll go with me; if I want to go to town, he'll take me! He also has to be strong and able to help me with heavy work! Hmm...it would be best...it would be best if he could also buy me snacks, like candied hawthorns, sesame candy, and things like that..."

She counted on her fingers, listing her ideal husbands one by one, speaking with great relish.

Zhang Liuyi couldn't help but smile as she listened to Song Ru's childlike words.

This girl still hasn't figured it out.

Just as she was about to speak, she saw Song Ru suddenly stop talking, staring intently at her face with her big eyes, and then revealing a mischievous smile.

"Sister Xiaoxiao, you're blushing! Is...is this how Chief Constable Xiong is?"

Zhang Yi felt a sudden "boom" and her cheeks instantly became burning hot.

The words Song Ru had just spoken now corresponded perfectly with the image of Xiong Zixiang in her mind.

"I...I didn't!"

Zhang Liuyi hurriedly denied it, her voice filled with embarrassment and panic, her eyes darting away, not daring to look at Song Ru's mischievous gaze.

"You little brat, talking nonsense! I...I have to go now! The timber is heavy, I need to get back quickly!"

She practically fled, carrying a heavy basket on her back, but her steps were much faster than when she came.

Back in his own courtyard, Zhang Yi's face was still flushed.

She put down the wood, took a few deep breaths, and tried to calm the inexplicable tremor in her heart.

To distract herself, she decided to make hot sauce right away.

She first lit a small fire pit outside the kitchen and placed an iron pot on it.

Then, he rummaged through the house and found all sorts of spices he had prepared: lemongrass, cardamom, cloves, licorice, cinnamon, gardenia... as well as a large bag of dried red chili pepper pieces and a small bag of dogwood fruit.

Then they brought out half a basin of pre-soaked peanuts and soybeans.

The fire in the hearth gradually grew stronger.

Zhang Liuyi poured some lard into the pot, and after the oil was hot, he poured all the spices in at once.

Instantly, the pot sizzled, and the aroma of spices with a hint of sweetness filled the air.

She sprinkled in a large handful of Sichuan peppercorn powder, adding an extra layer of spicy and numbing aroma. She held the spatula and kept stirring to prevent the spices from burning.

Next, she poured the drained peanuts and soybeans into the pot, coating each bean evenly with the glossy spiced oil.

Zhang Liuyi took a deep breath, picked up the bowl of bright red dried chili peppers and dogwood fruits, and poured them all into the pot.

An extremely stimulating spicy aroma suddenly exploded out!

"Cough cough cough! Cough cough!" Zhang Yili was the first to be hit, and was choked by the sudden and strong spicy smell, coughing violently. Tears welled up instantly, blurring his vision.

Despite coughing, she forced herself to continue stirring the mixture in the pot with a spatula to prevent the chili peppers and beans from burning at the bottom.

Just as she was choked by the spiciness and her eyes were filled with tears, the courtyard gate creaked open.

Xiong Zixiang's tall figure appeared at the door, seemingly carrying something in his hand.

He had just stepped into the courtyard when, "Cough cough!" Xiong Zixiang was also choked and coughed. His handsome eyebrows instantly furrowed into knots. This smell... was too strong! He looked up and saw that the kitchen door was filled with a pungent odor, and Zhang Yili's violent coughing reached his ears.

Xiong Zixiang didn't care about anything else, and didn't bother with any formalities or avoiding suspicion. He strode straight toward her.

Without saying a word, he stepped forward and reached out to take the spatula from Zhang Xiaoxin's hand: "This is too pungent! Let me do it!"

"No...cough cough...no!"

Zhang Liuxin was so choked by the spiciness that she could barely speak, but she still clung tightly to the spatula.

"It's almost burnt...you have to...you have to turn it over...cough cough cough!" She was worried that Xiong Zixiang was not familiar with the heat and would burn this pot of hard work.

Seeing her stubborn yet disheveled appearance, Xiong Zixiang felt both heartache and helplessness.

He glanced around and saw that the fire in the stove was still burning. So he imitated Zhang Yi, covering his mouth and nose with his other sleeve and muttering, "Then you go watch the fire! I'll flip the pot!"

Zhang Xiaoyi then released the spatula, staggered back to the small stool by the stove, coughed while covering his mouth and nose, and used fire tongs to poke at the firewood in the stove to extinguish the flames, leaving only some charcoal embers to keep warm.

Xiong Zixiang then took over the important task of stir-frying.

He was strong and had a steady hand. The spatula flew in his hands, and the chili peppers, beans and spices in the pot were stirred evenly. Although he was also choked by the spiciness and his brows were furrowed, he endured it and his movements were not chaotic at all.

While watching the fire, Zhang Liuyi couldn't help but glance up at Xiong Zixiang.

His tall figure appeared somewhat hazy in the rising steam, yet he seemed exceptionally reliable.

He stared intently at the sauce in the pot, his profile sharply defined by the firelight.

Sweat trickled down his strong jawline, but he was completely unaware of it.

As she watched, Zhang Xiaoyi's heart began to race uncontrollably again.

She suddenly remembered Song Ru's words, and then she remembered that he had seen her disheveled appearance just now, and the heat that had just subsided on her face quietly crept back up.

She quickly lowered her head, pretending to be focused on the fire, but her heart was pounding like a rabbit's.

Xiong Zixiang stir-fried for a while, and when he felt that the moisture in the pot had evaporated enough, he stopped and turned to ask Zhang Yi.

Turning his head, his gaze fell directly on Zhang Xiaoli, who was sitting at the stove.

She lowered her head slightly, the firelight flickering and reflecting on her face.

Those eyes, reddened by the spiciness, were still misty with a layer of lingering moisture, glistening as if they were holding a pool of clear spring water.

The tear stains and blush on her cheeks only added to her captivating beauty.

Xiong Zixiang's heart skipped a beat, as if he had been gently bumped by something.

The words he was about to say got stuck in his throat, and he felt that the spiciness didn't seem so pungent anymore.

He subconsciously looked away, staring at the bright red chili sauce in the pot, but a faint blush crept onto his ears.

He cleared his throat, his voice low and deep: "Hmm... is it about time? Shake it a little longer?"

Zhang Yi didn't notice Xiong Zixiang's momentary lapse in concentration. Upon hearing this, he quickly looked up at the pot.

"Yes, that's about right. You can turn off the fire now. Let it simmer for a while to let the flavors meld." As she spoke, she quickly used the fire tongs to pull out the last embers from the stove and extinguish them.