Chapter 33, The 33rd Inn: Fu Wang's Gift
Yunyin opened one of the burlap sacks, and one by one, the juicy red lychees rolled out. The bright red lychees were hidden among the green leaves. A drop of dew fell from a leaf and landed on the back of her hand, startling her awake.
"My goodness, so many lychees!" Yunyin exclaimed incredulously, looking at the huge bag of lychees. "I really don't know how Fu Wang got so many."
It's not easy for people in Dazhao to eat lychees. Even if lychees can be grown in Yunyin, it's not something an ordinary family can do.
Lychees are still a luxury fruit, enjoyed only by the powerful and wealthy. While lychees can be bought in lychee-growing regions, their price is still beyond the reach of ordinary people. Having been in Da Zhao for so long, what Yunyin misses most about modern times is the abundance of fruits available year-round.
Previously, fruits that could be eaten freely, such as lychees and cherries, were mostly tributes, exclusively for the royal family and the powerful. If she wanted to eat them, she could only look for wild fruits in the mountains. The fruits she could grow herself were all common varieties, and even then, she still had to go to the county town to buy them. This is why she values the fruits in Zhengdong Village so much.
She's so close, just across the river and a short walk away. If the fruit in their village is really as good as he says, she won't lack fruit to eat in the future.
Yunyin took a basket, carefully took out the lychees and packed them in. The ones with branches and leaves could be kept for a day or two, while the others that were scattered should be eaten as soon as possible.
She peeled open a lychee that looked like a ruby; the tender, glistening flesh seemed to shimmer with light. As she tore open the thin membrane, juice dripped out instantly, releasing a delicate fragrance.
Yunyin immediately ate the mouthwatering lychee. The juice burst in her mouth, and the lychee flesh was firm and soft. This small fruit contained great power, and the sweet juice went down her throat and into her heart.
After eating one, she wanted more. Yunyin ate several more before finally stopping. You see, in the past, she would buy tons of lychees in the summer, eating them until she was sick of them, and worrying about getting a sore throat from eating too many. Unlike now, she didn't have to worry about getting a sore throat at all; she couldn't even eat them. She had given up hope of eating lychees, but Fu Wang had given her such a big surprise.
After packing all the lychees, Yunyin's eyes were filled with starlight. She said to Zhang Lin, "Come and try this rare treat."
Zhang Lin walked over, took the lychee, and asked in surprise, "Wife, what is this?"
"Lychee." Yunyin taught him how to eat it and introduced it to him, "This is a fruit from the Lingnan region. It tastes sweet and refreshing. Try it."
Zhang Lin imitated Yunyin's manner, put the lychee in his mouth, and after taking a bite, his eyes widened instantly: "What kind of lychee is this? It's so delicious!"
Yunyin smiled and said, "Otherwise, this fruit could have become a tribute."
Zhang Lin exclaimed in shock, "My God, I've actually eaten the fruit that the emperor eats!" He spat out the lychee seeds, then picked up another one. "I want to taste it again; I didn't really eat it properly before."
This time, he ate it carefully, closed his eyes and savored the taste, occasionally smiling and occasionally exclaiming in amazement, as if he had eaten a magic elixir.
Yunyin couldn't bear to look at him, so she slapped him to wake him up and said, "Alright, there's a big bag of this, enough for you to eat. Besides, you can't eat too much of this stuff, or it will make you feel hot."
Zhang Lin snapped out of his reverie and looked at the two lychee seeds in his hand, saying, "Miss Yun, you said these lychees are so precious, can we grow them ourselves?"
Of course, seeds can be grown, but propagation from seeds takes time; it may take ten years for a tree to grow.
Yunyin thought for a moment and said, "I'll keep the seeds for now and take a look later."
Long'an County is a bit far north, and the lychee trees might freeze in winter. If she wanted to grow lychees, she would have to solve the problem of the cold winter. It's not something she can do just because she wants to. But she still kept the seeds. If they can really grow, then she won't lack lychees to eat.
After packing the lychees into this bag, she went to look at the contents of another bag, which was much smaller than the previous one. She guessed it might contain seeds.
She guessed correctly; they were indeed seeds. Fu Wang had carefully written the names inside, so she could immediately tell what kind of seeds they were. One small bag contained watermelon seeds, and the other large bag contained many cotton seeds.
Watermelon and cotton! Yunyin's eyes lit up, her joy overflowing. There was even cotton! She didn't know how to thank Fu Wang.
She wasn't too surprised by the watermelon, since there were also melons and other types of melons here. But seeing the cotton seeds made her very happy.
She had heard that winters were cold in Long'an County, and she wondered how she would get through the winter. Vegetables could be dried and stored, but the temperature was something she couldn't change. She even considered building a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove), but she had only heard of it and never seen one, let alone knew how to build one.
She didn't see anyone building a heated kang (traditional brick bed) in Long'an County. In winter, they burn charcoal for warmth. Ordinary families can't afford charcoal, so they can only wear more clothes to keep warm. Burning firewood for warmth can also easily lead to poisoning and death.
Zhang Lin mentioned that someone in their village had frozen to death, which is why Yunyin wanted to finish building the house before winter. If all else failed, she would consider finding someone to build a heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove).
Fu Wang brought her cotton seeds, and since it's not too late to plant cotton in May, she should get started quickly.
Yunyin packed the lychees into portions and called Zhang Lin over, saying, "Could you deliver these lychees to Luo Man for me?"
As for Song Shi and Song Xuan, she will make the trip herself and deliver some to Zhou Chang. She doesn't know if Fu Wang has stopped in the county town. It takes about an incense stick's time to get to the county town by official road. If he doesn't want to waste time, he might not have entered the town.
After packing up the lychees, Yunyin closed the food stall and planned to take a shortcut to the county town, which would only take half an hour. However, the road was too narrow for a horse-drawn carriage; otherwise, it would only take an incense stick's time to get there.
If they hurry, they can still get back to run the dinner business. Once the restaurant is built, she can hire people to help, and she and Zhang Lin won't have to be like they are now, with the restaurant forced to close down without them.
Yunyin left two baskets of lychees and selected the slightly better ones for Luoman and the others.
At this time, Song Shi was studying at the county school and was not at home, but it was the same to find Song Xuan. She took the door sticker and entered the registrar's residence. Song Xuan was talking to the steward's wife. When she saw her come in, she waved the steward's wife away and stepped forward, saying, "Since the Dragon Boat Festival, Lady Yun has not come to the county town for a long time. I haven't seen you for a long time."
Yunyin put down her basket: "I just saw your brother these past two days, why didn't you go out with him?"
Song Xuan gestured for her to sit down. "Oh, my mother won't let me go out freely. She says I need to use this time to learn how to manage the household and take care of my dowry. I really don't have time to go out and play."
"Thinking about having to study for another two years, I really don't want to get married."
Seeing how pitiful she was, Yunyin handed her a lychee and said, "Eating something sweet will make you feel better."
Song Xuan exclaimed in surprise, "Lychees? That's far too precious!"
Seeing her so surprised, Yunyin was a little puzzled. Could it be that even the registrar's family couldn't afford lychees? How did Fu Wang manage to buy so many lychees?
Song Xuan ate a lychee and exclaimed, "No wonder so many people praise it; it is indeed extremely delicious."
"Where did Lady Yun buy her lychees? I wonder if they were expensive."
Yunyin: "My friend came back from out of town and gave it to me. I don't know if it was expensive or not."
Song Xuan: "No wonder, it turns out it was brought back from elsewhere. It's definitely easier to buy there, unlike in Long'an County where it's hard to find. Mianzhou, on the other hand, has a lot of lychees. I even ate some when I was a child."
I learned from Song Xuan that, at this time, in addition to Lingnan, Jiaozhou also cultivated lychees, but most of them had to be given as tribute, and not many remained in the hands of the common people.
Thinking that Fu Wang had come all the way from Chang'an and was still able to buy lychees from the south, she was a little worried. She wondered what price he had paid to get them, and she didn't want Fu Wang to expend too much energy by bringing these things for her.
After leaving the registrar's house, Yunyin went to Zhou Chang's house. At that time, Zhou Chang was still working in the county government office. His wife received him. Yunyin only sat for a short while, delivered the things, and then left.
When he got home, Zhang Lin was already there. He said, "Wife, Madam Luo said that Craftsman Qian has some free time recently, and she wants you to go to town tomorrow if you have time."
Yunyin nodded. She would make another trip to town tomorrow. She would finally be able to build a house. She didn't know if she had enough money saved up, but she could ask first. She might not have enough money to build three houses, but it would be enough to build one.
After finishing making dinner and closing the food stall, I fed the leftover food to Black Bean. Seeing it eating happily, I patted its head and said, "Eat slowly, no rush."
Since they got Black Bean, they don't have to worry about leaving for a while. It can guard the house, and they don't have to worry about anyone stealing the cow. Zhang Lin can also get a good night's sleep.
Although it cost some money, it's a good dog, and it's very affectionate towards Yunyin, probably because its owner trained it. Thinking back to the day she took the dog away and saw it looking at its owner with tears in its eyes, she whispered, "Black Bean, from now on you will be my family."
When Black Bean heard its name, it looked up at the human squatting in front of it. Seeing that she was alright, it continued to eat. The food was so delicious that it had never tasted anything like it before. The happiest moment of the day was when this human fed it.
After feeding the dog and walking it, Yunyin went home, sat on the bed, took out her money and counted it again. While eating lychees, she scribbled on a piece of paper, planning how to build a house.
The next day, Zhang Lin was still in charge of selling noodles and looking after the house. She took a boat to town. At this time, Luo Man's restaurant was also busy, and sheep were being slaughtered in the shop early in the morning.
When Luo Man saw Yun Yin coming over, she called out to her, "Come and have a bowl of mutton soup."
A steaming bowl of milky white broth was served, a layer of mist spreading before her eyes. The broth was brimming with lamb offal, sprinkled with bright green scallions and cilantro, making the broth appear even whiter.
"Girl, you eat coriander, right? If not, there's one with scallions on it."
Yunyin smelled the unique aroma of cilantro and replied, "I'll eat cilantro, Sister Aman, you sit down and eat too."
One sip of mutton soup, and the broth is rich and flavorful, with an extremely delicious taste. There is no gamey smell at all, only the freshness of the soup.
Yunyin: "Sister Aman, where did you buy this sheep? It doesn't have any gamey smell at all."
Luo Man sat down next to her, took a sip, and smiled, "We raised them ourselves."
"We bought the lambs from the Western Regions and raised them ourselves in the mountains. The lambs we raised tasted excellent, and the people in the county really liked our lambs."
Yunyin thought of Timur and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Could it be that you bought it from Timur?"
"How did you know, sister?" Luo Man asked, as if she had just remembered something. "Did you buy that pregnant cow from him?"
Yunyin nodded: "Yes, I happened to run into him. I took a liking to that cow, so I bought it."
Luo Man: "He's a nice guy, and the cattle and sheep he sells are of very good quality. I bought sheep from him once before, and the breed was even better than the ones we bought before. I'll buy sheep from him again next time."
After dinner, Luo Man took Yunyin to Qian Si's house, where Qian Si was already waiting.
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