Chapter 155 Debts Paid Off, Braised Pork

The story of Yao Xiaoyu hiring people dates back to some time ago.

Originally, Yao Xiaoyu had agreed with the original homeowner, the young lady, that the house would be handed over at the end of the year. However, plans can't keep up with changes. The young lady's first step of selling the house and running away went smoothly, but the second step of selling furniture was stuck. From the time Yao Xiaoyu paid for the house until the last two months, apart from a few small items, not a single large item has been sold.

At first, the young lady thought she was just unlucky and hadn't found anyone who needed her for so long. But when she secretly went to the pawn shop, she realized something was wrong—her family had found out and planned to keep her tied up there!

Flaws are like cockroaches; once one is discovered, countless others have already appeared in the shadows. After confirming that it was her family's doing, the young lady decisively chose to run away in advance. The house had already been sold, and the most important sum of money had arrived. Although the other items were not a small amount, losing them would only mean living a little more frugally; they were far from being unable to make ends meet.

After calming herself down, the young lady locked the small building and ran away with her people. As for the furniture, she gritted her teeth and left it intact in the small building, waiting for a lucky person to claim it. Perhaps her prayer before leaving was heard by someone who was able to hear it. The first person to find the house empty was not her "family" or some greedy people with bad intentions, but Yao Xiaoyu, whom she hoped for the most.

It wasn't exactly a coincidence, but it wasn't a certainty either—Ever since Yao Xiaoyu bought this small building, she would come over to take a look from time to time. The young lady did arrange it before she left, but this year it was late autumn, and the plants were left unattended, so it started to look rather unsightly after just a few days.

If it were simply that the people inside were too old to tend to the other plants, it would be one thing. However, there was a small clump of exquisite ice water flowers, now known as baby tears, which was the apple of the eye of the old man guarding the house. Yao Xiaoyu came to check on it for three consecutive days and, upon confirming that even this plant showed no signs of being cared for, realized that something was wrong.

She found a locksmith and entered the house, only to find a thin layer of dust inside, indicating that the owner had been gone for some time. On the table was a letter from someone who would give away the family's belongings. Yao Xiaoyu paused, then frowned as she recalled the previous owner's situation.

Yao Xiaoyu originally planned to wait and see how things went, but then she remembered that when she came to buy the house, the old woman said there was a hidden compartment on the bed. So she went upstairs and fumbled around to find it and opened it. Inside was a letter written in beautiful small regular script, which explained the cause and effect of the young lady's departure. Calculating the time, the ship was already at sea.

Once she was certain that the young lady's departure wasn't a smokescreen, Yao Xiaoyu started thinking about moving out early. To guard against those wolves who drive people far away, Yao Xiaoyu hurriedly changed the locks before slowly figuring out where to put the furniture.

The young lady was not short of money at the time, and all the furniture was exquisitely crafted. The styles would not be out of fashion even now. However, the delicate reliefs were prone to dust accumulation. She felt uncomfortable if they were not cleaned, but cleaning them would be too much work. After Yao Xiaoyu moved in, she did not plan to hire too many people. These things were not bad, but they were not suitable for her.

Yao Xiaoyu didn't plan to sell the unused furnishings. There was a windowless attic at the top of the small building, and she planned to throw all the unwanted items there later, as a way to leave the young lady with something to remember her by.

Moving into the house ahead of time might have caused some gossip, but it's not a big deal now—Yao Xiaoyu discovered the secret letter at the end of July, while Zhou Chunhua had already announced in June that she would pay off the last hundred or so silver dollars of debt by the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Moving house is no easy task these days, so how could it be done in half a month? Yao Xiaoyu believed that others didn't believe in her, but after the Mid-Autumn Festival, with no debts, no one could argue with her anymore.

Things went pretty much as Yao Xiaoyu had predicted.

Moving is a tedious affair, more complicated than anyone can imagine. Today you're thinking about furniture, tomorrow you're adding a few small items. In the Republic of China era, travel was slow, and even Yao Xiaoyu, who had no worries about finding a place to live, moved at a leisurely pace. Before she knew it, it was already August 13th, and the interior decorations of the house were still a mess. As for the people she planned to hire...

After going to the middleman several times, Yao Xiaoyu still only took a liking to a plump auntie she had chosen herself.

At this rate, the actual move might not happen until after the New Year. Yao Xiaoyu reminded herself to remember to store ice during the New Year. She wasn't sure how other people's summers were, but without air conditioning, she relied on ice to survive.

But when will she be able to buy an electric fan? It's already 2018, next year 2019, soon 2020, and in the blink of an eye 2020, it'll be 2020. Why isn't an electric fan available on the market yet? If she could have an electric fan that blows on ice in the summer, she can't even imagine how happy she would be.

As Yao Xiaoyu pondered, her attention was soon drawn to the jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe) on the roadside. The griddle the vendor used to make the jianbing was no different from the modern ones, and the stall was clean. Yao Xiaoyu used to buy a jianbing guozi to fill her stomach when she was too lazy to cook dinner, but since coming here, apart from the persimmon jianbing she had last time, she hadn't really eaten any. Now, seeing it made her a little hungry.

"Give me a pancake."

Yao Xiaoyu got out of the car and saw that the vendor had many cracks on his hands, and suddenly changed her mind.

"Do you know how to make pancakes with eggs? Without batter, just eggs."

At this time, eggs have many names, such as "chicken egg" or "chicken roe," but they all mean the same thing and everyone can understand them.

"This...I've never tried it before..."

The vendor stammered, his face flushed from the autumn wind. Just ten days ago it was unbearably hot, but recently it had suddenly turned cold, and even Yao Xiaoyu, wearing thick clothes, felt a slight chill.

I'll buy as much as the stalls sell.

Yao Xiaoyu interrupted the vendor, carefully examining the ingredients as she continued speaking. The vendor tried to speak again, but Yao Xiaoyu stopped him with a silver coin.

"Just use chicken eggs to make pancakes. I'll buy as many as you can make, even if you add eggs."

Yao Xiaoyu had wanted to try this when she saw such videos in modern times, but she hadn't found the right time. She just saw an old lady squatting in the corner selling eggs. Even if the vendor used up all the eggs he had, it wouldn't be difficult to restock.

"real?"

The vendor, seeing the silver coins in Yao Xiaoyu's hand, finally believed that the girl in front of him wasn't just teasing him.

"Um."

The silver dollars were placed in the corner of the stall, their silence speaking volumes.

Fifteen minutes later, Yao Xiaoyu ate a jianbing guozi made with thirty eggs. It was filled with both vegetables and meat, and when folded up, it was thicker than her calf. By the time she got on the rickshaw, the vendor had already gone to buy eggs from the old lady in the corner.

August 14th is an auspicious day for repaying debts.

Since the Lunar New Year, Zhou Chunhua and the others have been working like crazy, copying books, and managed to scrape together enough money to repay the loan by the end of June. However, since it wasn't a holiday, they didn't have a good excuse to visit, so it was delayed until today.

Paying off debts on the Mid-Autumn Festival, a day for family reunion, is something even a fool wouldn't do. It would be much better to do it the day before the festival. If the debts are cleared today, the whole family can be happy tomorrow, which can be considered a double blessing.

The Yao family members all had similar ideas, and on August 14th, they all got up very early. They looked at each other and chuckled. Zhou Chunhua, being more experienced, quickly assigned tasks to everyone.

"Tianrui, Xiaoyu, come with me to pay back the money."

Zhou Chunhua didn't want her granddaughter to go, but she couldn't control Yao Xiaoyu, so she decided to give up this last time.

"Wenrou, buy more meat, so we can have a good meal when we get back."

The fact that Yao's family was able to save enough money to pay off their debts in such a short time was not only due to their hard work, but also to their frugality. Originally, they could have gradually relaxed their food standards once they had enough money, but Zhou Chunhua was afraid that someone might ask for interest at the last minute, so she simply gritted her teeth and kept saving until the time came to pay off the debts. The family hadn't eaten meat for a long time.

"OK."

Wenrou is about to go out with a basket half her height on her back. Before, it hurt when she didn't walk, and it hurt even more when she did. She cried a lot and gradually became unwilling to go out. Now that her foot is better, she is gradually regaining her strength. Today, she must bring back more things!

"Ping An, keep an eye on Xiao Li."

Yao Ping'an nodded. Feeling distrusted, Yao Xiaoli huffed angrily, but everyone pretended not to hear. Zhou Chunhua, along with her grandchildren, spent most of the day visiting all the creditors and collected a thick stack of IOUs. On the way back, Zhou Chunhua's tears never stopped.

The debt is finally paid off!

Zhou Chunhua rarely invited Yao Xiaoyu to dinner, and Yao Xiaoyu did not refuse as before. The recovered IOUs, along with the previously well-preserved IOUs, were thrown into the stove fire, adding to the simmering of the braised pork cooked in wine.

Braised pork was the first major meat dish the Yao family had eaten after falling into dire straits. It was a beacon of hope for everyone at the time, and it was also perfect for the first meal after the debts were paid off. Yao Xiaoyu didn't know what others thought, but that was indeed her idea.

The dishes on the table weren't many, but the portions were enormous—a few ordinary vegetarian dishes, with obvious oil glistening on top; a large jar of plain white rice, enough for everyone in the Yao family to eat their fill and still have some left over; and braised pork placed directly in the center of a large bowl, so everyone could eat as much as they wanted.

The Yao family ate until they were stuffed, then reluctantly put down their chopsticks, patting their bulging bellies. They finally felt a real sense of having paid off their debts, and looked gently at the several large bowls on the table with a hint of regret.

"I originally wanted to buy some mutton, but I couldn't even find chicken or duck on the street."

Today, a very important person is hosting a banquet. It is said that apart from the ingredients that restaurants and eateries have ordered in advance, there is no beef or mutton left in this area, and even chickens and ducks have been caught. If she hadn't left early, she wouldn't have been able to buy pork.