Chapter 67: Bean Sprout Go, Beef, Selling Bean Sprouts...
Linda brought some bacon, a piece of cheese, and about twenty oranges for Ray and Neil.
It's been winter for a long time now, and in an era without preservation technology, it's amazing to have fresh fruit at this time of year. I really don't know where Linda got it from.
After finishing their meal and clearing the table, the snow outside began to subside. Hagrid and Linda sat for a while before deciding to leave. Lamb and Luna stayed to play.
Neil found a game of Gomoku and sat with Luna on the rug in front of the fireplace, teaching her how to play at the low table.
The new toy that required thinking successfully captured Luna's attention and finally calmed her down.
"Thank goodness! Luna can finally sit down quietly like a lady."
"Uncle, don't talk badly about me behind my back!"
With these two little rascals in the house, it's impossible for things not to be lively.
Lamb chuckled and started wandering around behind Ray.
"Brother, what are you doing? And what is this purple liquid?"
Lei is preparing a potion for Tata.
"Give the little thing some medicine; this is a magic potion."
Ray shook Tata awake, skillfully pinched his chin, and poured a spoonful of eerily colored potion down his throat.
Tata was briefly awake, smacked her lips, and drifted back to sleep.
After being forcibly fed the potion by Ray a few times, he gradually began to get used to its sticky texture and strange taste.
Knowing he couldn't escape it, he stopped struggling as hard as he had the first time he ate it.
A popular modern internet slang term perfectly describes him: "lying flat."
"Brother, what are you doing again?"
"Casting a spell."
Wow! Bro, you're amazing!
Lamb looked at the seedlings in front of him, which seemed to have not changed much, and was a little puzzled, but still expressed his amazement in a very supportive manner.
Upon closer inspection, it appears stronger and more vibrant.
Why are you following me?
Ray asked Lamb, who was following behind him.
"I'm so bored, bro. I don't know what to do, so I'll just keep following you around."
"All right."
Ray ignored Lamb and went about his own business.
Cook dog food, add water to the red rockbirds and mules, and feed them.
Judging from the weather forecast, it will continue to snow tonight, so there's no need to shovel the snow in the yard for now.
After finishing all that, Lei finally had some free time to rest.
The game of Gomoku is simple to play, and Luna learned it quickly.
From then on, the two children engaged in a back-and-forth "battle". At first, Neil was winning all the time, but later Luna mastered the technique and could win one out of five games.
Lai found two books, lay down on the recliner, and slowly flipped through them.
"I have some books here, Lamb, would you like to read them?"
"Then take one."
Lamb was the type of person who got a headache just looking at books; he hadn't opened a book since he finished his basic studies.
He chose the thinnest book and sat in the chair where Neil and Ray usually sat together when they read and rested.
The thinnest book was the one the shop owner gave me, "Vagura Talks About Race Anecdotes".
Although the book is small, it contains a relatively rich amount of information.
It uses humorous language to introduce all the intelligent races on the continent, as well as various eye-catching fake events, some real and some fabricated.
This was the first time Lamb had ever read a book so attentively; the content was very interesting, especially the section about goblins.
"Ha ha ha ha!"
Lamb laughed so hard he almost fell over.
"Shh, let's keep our voices down, Uncle Lamb is acting weird again."
"Little Luna, I can hear you."
Luna awkwardly shut her mouth.
"Brother, have you read this book?"
Lamb showed the book cover to Ray.
"I've seen it."
"So, which race do you like the most, bro?"
Lei put down the book he was holding.
"Human beings."
"Why?"
Lamb was very puzzled.
There are so many races in the world. Some can fly, some are born with the ability to use magic, and some can freely change between different forms.
Under these conditions, why did Ray still choose to be human?
"Because I am human."
"..."
This isn't a cold statement at all, really.
"Brother, what's your second favorite race?"
Lamb persisted in asking questions.
"The Undead race."
"Why?"
"Because I can't see."
"..."
When exactly did his brother learn this advanced skill—the ability to kill a conversation no matter the time, place, or how enthusiastically the people around him are talking?
What race do you like?
Ray countered with a question to Lamb.
"Of course, it's the dragons! Tall, handsome, and mighty! Their scales can withstand lava, their teeth can tear apart any prey, and their claws can easily pierce through rocks."
Ultimately, what Lamb values most about the dragons is their immense power.
Ray decided to tease him the way he teased Luna.
"But dragons run around naked all year round."
"this……"
Lamb was speechless for a moment.
"Brother, my favorite race is the beastmen."
Neil raised his hand to speak.
Why?
"Because they are fluffy."
Neil said in a low voice.
Ray realized that Neil had a bit of a fluff fetish.
"Luna loves elves the most!"
"Then why does Luna like elves the most?"
Lei asked in a cooperative manner.
"Because the elves are super, super beautiful!"
Sure enough, even little girls who have the potential to be tomboys from a young age love pretty things the most.
"Luna is also a little elf."
"What kind of spirit?"
Luna tilted her head and looked at Lei with a puzzled expression.
"It is a spirit that can bring joy to everyone."
Hehehe~
Luna smiled shyly.
The topic of race ended. Lei counted the days since his last visit to the shepherd's stall.
“Neil, how many days has it been since I bought the lard? Has it been seven days?”
Neil thought for a moment before answering.
"Today is the ninth day."
Ah, I should go to town to buy beef tomorrow.
"Are you bored lately?"
"Ray asked," Lamb nodded firmly.
"I need to catch the bus to town tomorrow, do you want to come with me?"
"Yes, yes!"
Lamb nodded his head like a chick pecking at rice.
"Then wear something warmer tomorrow and come earlier."
"good!"
Luna played Go for almost an hour, ate her fill, enjoyed the warmth of the fireplace, and kept thinking.
The little girl started to get sleepy. While playing chess with Neil, her head kept nodding, and she was almost falling asleep on the low table.
"Brother, Luna needs to take a nap, I have to carry her home. I won't be coming this afternoon, so you have to wait for me tomorrow morning!"
"good."
Ray helped Lamb carry Luna on his back. Luna's hands rested limply on Lamb's chest; she was clearly fast asleep.
"How about I find a rope and tie you two up? Otherwise, I might lose my grip and Luna might fall."
"It's alright, I've carried Luna like this before. It's not a particularly long walk home from here, so don't worry."
"Hold on tight, Luna."
Luna, still dazed, hugged her left arm tightly with her right hand, while Lamb, through the thick clothes, supported Luna's thighs with both hands.
The little girl was very stubborn and wouldn't let Lamb carry her back, so he had no choice but to carry her back like this.
"Let's go!"
"Yes. Let's hurry back before it snows."
Ray saw Lamb and Luna out of the courtyard before returning to the house.
Back inside, Rae tossed two oranges to Neil.
"These are oranges that Aunt Linda brought today. Have some."
"Thank you, brother."
"It's okay. You're the only child in the family, so of course you get all the good food."
The next day, Rye was going to town to buy things, and Neil hitched a short ride on his way to school.
They encountered two villagers on their way out, having already traveled halfway. Lai only needed three coins each and gave them to them along the way.
Upon arriving in town, Ray took Lamb to the butcher's stall first. Ray arrived at least an hour earlier than usual; he refused to believe he wouldn't be able to buy the beef today!
"Ray!"
When Mu saw Laiyi, he waved and beckoned him to come over quickly.
"There's plenty of meat; you can choose whichever spot you like."
Persistence pays off! After several trips, Lai finally managed to buy beef today!
Braised beef brisket with radish, stir-fried beef slices, pan-fried veal steaks, beef rolls...
All sorts of delicious food flashed through Lai's mind, and he couldn't resist the urge to hurry back and cook.
"Just put it in my basket."
Ray paid, and the shepherd put the meat into Lamb's basket. Twenty pounds of beef had cost him about ten silver coins; the beef was indeed extremely expensive. Ray figured he wouldn't come back to buy any more until the end of the year.
"Brother, where do we go next?"
"Don't rush, there's still something to do."
Lai rented a small space for a few copper coins, put down his basket, and began to hawk his wares.
"Selling vegetables, fresh bean sprouts, delicious, tender and inexpensive."
Lamb also put down his basket and stood behind Lai. It was Lamb's first time selling things at the market with Lai, and he found it all very novel.
Do you have any cheap vegetables here?
"Yes."
Hearing the word "vegetables," especially cheap ones, successfully attracted the attention of many people.
"What vegetables are they? Take them out and let me see."
"It's bean sprouts, you can't open it to look inside, I'll just take out a little bit."
"OK."
Lai reached into the animal hide and pulled out a small handful of mung bean sprouts.
"Is this a vegetable?"
"Yes. You can smell it if you don't believe me, or try one."
The man took two bean sprouts, put them in his mouth, chewed them, and smacked his lips a couple of times.
These bean sprouts are tender and crisp, with a lot of moisture. Although the taste is a bit strange, it definitely has a vegetable flavor.
How should we eat this?
The man then asked.
"You can choose to blanch it and mix it with water. You can also stir-fry the meat slices in oil; or stir-fry it with some vinegar and dried chili peppers. It tastes good no matter how you eat it."
How much is this?
"A large bag of ten copper coins."
Lei gestured to indicate the size of a bag.
"This bag of vegetables is enough for a family of three to have one meal."
The man hesitated for a moment, then bought two large bags and took them home. After all, it's hard to find someone selling fresh vegetables in the dead of winter, and it's even harder to find someone selling cheap vegetables.
After completing this transaction, people started flocking to buy bean sprouts after hearing and seeing the news.
Lai specially chose the largest basket and carried it full of bean sprouts, which were all sold out in less than an hour.
Lamb was astonished by the booming business.
A few days earlier, when Lai had nothing to do, he started thinking about what vegetables he could sell at the market. After thinking it over, Lai suddenly spotted a large bag of mung beans left over from selling mung bean soup in the summer.
Oh, right! Beans can not only be used to make mung bean soup, but also to sprout beans!
You don't need many ingredients, just mung beans and water. If you control the temperature and moisture properly, the mung bean sprouts can germinate almost the same day!
Although the price of mung beans doubles in winter, based on current vegetable market prices—no, even if the price is cut in half—Lai is still guaranteed to make a profit.
That very evening, Lai tried sprouting mung beans, and the next day, a classic home-style dish appeared on Lai and Neil's table—stir-fried bean sprouts with vinegar.
The crisp texture of bean sprouts, combined with the sourness of vinegar and the slight spiciness of dried chili peppers, makes it a great dish to eat with rice.
After all, it had been a while since they had seen fresh vegetables, and the two of them quickly devoured a large plate of stir-fried bean sprouts with vinegar.
This gave Lai the idea to sell bean sprouts.
Sure enough, he succeeded! No one here has yet come up with this way of eating mung beans, nor has anyone successfully grown so many bean sprouts.
"Brother, you're amazing!"
Lamb admired Ray even more.
"Brother, I've decided to follow you from now on. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west!"
Lamb began to express his determination to Rye in a solemn manner, which made Rye unable to suppress a smile.
"Alright, alright, stop fooling around in the street. Go buy whatever you want, we need to get ready to go back."
"good!"
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