Chapter 26 Jinjiang First Release Chapter 26 Making Money During the Dragon Boat Festival...
Even after giving the gift, Fang Shu's heart was still restless, and he wished he could marry her right away. But he still had to keep the agreement, as he felt that a man's most important quality was to keep his promises.
But he really wanted to meet Yu Qinglong.
That day, Wu Sheng saw that he looked worried, so he asked him, "It's almost the Dragon Boat Festival, so you don't need to visit your mentor at his home this year?"
Fang Shu said, "I wrote a letter a few days ago. My teacher is away visiting relatives and hasn't returned yet. You don't need to go this year. You can visit him when he returns."
"Then what are you worried about?"
"Alas, it's hard to put it into words."
He finally understood what it meant to live each day like a year. He had no idea how the chicks were doing, or whether Yu Qinglong liked them or not, and there was no one to tell him. He almost wished he could injure himself again so he could go to Doctor Mo's house and see Yu Qinglong openly.
So sad!
Yu Qinglong was also worried, but his worries were completely different from Fang Shu's.
The Fang family had sent gifts to his family. Whether it was because his second brother was injured, because of the Dragon Boat Festival, or because of him, it was still a gift, and his family wanted to return the favor. But since it was the Fang family that sent the gifts, if he only made a few small wooden items for Fang Shu, his family would think it was too little. So they thought they could also make some rice dumplings and send them along.
At this moment, he thought of rice dumplings.
Located in the north, sweet rice dumplings were still the most popular choice, not meat ones. In his previous life, he was also from the north, and grew up eating sweet rice dumplings. But then, in middle school, he happened to try a meat rice dumpling made by a classmate's mother, and after just one bite, he fell in love with the fragrant, sticky flavor. From then on, his family made two kinds of rice dumplings every Dragon Boat Festival: candied date rice dumplings and meat rice dumplings.
Pork is too expensive here. It's not available in the village. You have to go to town to buy it. But he has chickens at home!
The chicken and mushroom rice dumpling was also delicious. We didn't have mushrooms here, but we did have hazel mushrooms and red pine mushrooms!
They were picked last autumn, dried, and stored away. Knowing they had some at home, Yu Qinglong suggested making some chicken soup dumplings and trying it out. If they were good, he'd also send some to the Fang and Mo families.
Since it was something he had never made before, it took him some time to convince his family to agree, and he planned to only make enough for one chicken.
So, they slaughtered a chicken, marinated the meat, soaked the mushrooms, and soaked the reed leaves and glutinous rice. Once everything was ready, they placed the deveined chicken skeleton in a pot to make broth. Then, they added the wrapped zongzi to the broth, seasoned with salt and spices, and let it cook! The house was filled with the unique aroma of chicken broth, hazel and pine mushrooms!
As the soup bubbled, Yu Qinglong served a few bowls and everyone took a couple of sips. He thought the soup was so delicious it would make him dizzy.
He asked the others at home: "How is it? Is it delicious?"
The eldest sister-in-law was the most enthusiastic. She drank a small bowl and nodded vigorously, saying, "It's delicious! It's really fragrant! And the soup is not watery at all. It's very flavorful."
Yu Qingjia also thought it was delicious and wanted to drink two more bowls: "Little brother, how did you come up with this?"
Yu Qinglong said, "I'm thinking of making jujube rice dumplings. Most likely, both Master's family and the Fang family make them. So, there's nothing new about giving them as gifts. Why not try something different?"
Zhou Jianer said, "It's really delicious."
Zhou Yuehua saw that the zongzi was almost cooked and wanted to take it out. Since she had never made this before, she asked Yu Qinglong, "Do you want to soak it in cold water before eating it?"
In the past, we always soaked the glutinous rice in cold water to make it stick together and have a better texture. I wonder if we should do the same with meat dumplings.
"Let's soak it, Dad. It's cooked anyway. We can eat it anyway and it won't be wasted." Yu Qinglong remembered that his grandmother always soaked the rice dumplings before making them for him. They were very fragrant and sticky.
"Then take it out and soak it. Then have some pot stickers and steamed buns with this chicken soup tonight?" Zhou Yuehua said, "The dough has risen, so just stick it in the pot now."
"Okay, Dad, let's do it this way." Yu Qinglong was almost drooling. How long had he not eaten meat? Almost two months! In his previous life, he would never have gone this long without eating meat!
Zhou Yuehua then gathered the buns and placed them in a circle around the pot, avoiding the soup. "Long'er, go to the backyard and pick some bok choy. Let's add them to the chicken soup."
The weather is warm now, and the vegetables are growing fast. The vegetable garden at the back is full of green, and the Chinese cabbages are ready to be eaten.
Yu Qinglong went to the vegetable garden and picked some pakchoy and dandelions. These were the ones his eldest and second brothers had transplanted shortly after he arrived, and they were growing beautifully. The dandelion leaves were particularly large this season, but they were also less bitter than in early spring. Chicken soup can be a bit heaty, so eating some dandelion dip was a great way to cool down and neutralize the heat.
He also picked some green onions and radishes.
When I returned to the house, I saw my second brother standing at the door with a crutch, swallowing his saliva: "Dad, this smells so good, when can we eat it?"
Zhou Yuehua said, "Long'er said the rice dumplings would be better tomorrow. But we can have chicken soup tonight. Dad made some pot stickers and steamed buns."
Yu Qinglong came in with a basket and said with a smile: "Second brother, you are injured and can be taken care of specially. Otherwise, I will give you one first. And my eldest sister-in-law is with her child, so she will also eat one tonight."
Zhou Jianer laughed and said, "Wouldn't that be a waste? It's better to eat it together when it's delicious."
Yu Qingye said, "Then I'll just bear with it and eat steamed buns in the evening."
Yu Qinglong picked the vegetables he had pulled, leaving some for Zhou Jian'er to wash, and then took the old leaves back to the chicken coop. The chicks were growing incredibly fast; after only four or five days, they had already grown tiny, mature wings and could fly high.
He wondered who had sent it, and shouted towards the house: Dad, I think I should try the rice dumplings tonight. If they are similar, how about we make some more tomorrow?
The Dragon Boat Festival is in three days, and it would be inappropriate to send the rice dumplings to the Fang family on the festival day.
But at this moment, he suddenly thought of a question: could he make these rice dumplings and sell them in town?
Although it's not easy to sell things during normal times, everyone is willing to spend some money during the festival. His family has bought some candy to dip into the rice dumplings, so there must be someone in town who wants to spend some money to try something new, right? I heard there's a big market before the Dragon Boat Festival!
He brought up this idea with his family.
At dinnertime, everyone gathered around to calculate the cost. One chicken and half a dou of rice could make about fifty or sixty zongzi. Since each zongzi didn't have much meat, this was possible, but they needed a large rooster, which had more meat. Since large roosters don't lay eggs, they're no more expensive than hens, and can be bought for fifty or sixty wen each. As for the hazel mushrooms, they were free to pick from the mountains, and the reed leaves were saved from the previous autumn's harvest, so they didn't cost much.
In this way, making fifty or sixty zongzi would cost about a hundred coins. But since these zongzi had meat in them and were cooked in chicken broth, selling them for three coins each should be no problem.
Many people crave meat, but a whole chicken is too expensive to buy. Pork is even more expensive and harder to find than chicken. So perhaps someone will buy these zongzi to satisfy their craving.
So there was worry.
We have the ingredients for making the rice dumplings, we have the labor, and the waterwheel is also ready, but how do we get it to the town?
They planned to make 150 zongzi. The zongzi themselves were fine; a grown man could carry them all the way to town. But for such a long journey, they would lose their flavor if kept out of cold water for too long, so carrying water with them would be difficult.
And the waterwheel, with all the stones, is quite heavy. A mile or two from the village isn't a big deal; it can be moved with a bit of effort, but the distance to town is over twenty miles. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the families with oxen in the village didn't rest; they had work to do. They'd agreed with their employers to use their oxcarts to haul things, and they'd already received the deposit.
Yu Qinglong couldn't help but think of Fang Shu's salted egg yolks.
In fact, he had already prepared the return gift for Fang Shu, but it was difficult to send it to Fang's house.
Fang Shu could leave his things with his master, and he would always be able to get them. After all, he lived close to his master and went to his master to study every day. On the other hand, if he wanted to give something to Fang Shu, it would be different. Even if he left it with his master, he would have to wait until Fang Shu or someone else from the Fang family arrived. The problem was, he didn't know when they would come.
"How about I go to the Fang family tonight?" Yu Qingjia said, "I can't be seen in the dark."
"What's going on? It's like committing a crime." Yu Dayou said, "It's not like I've done anything wrong."
"But Doctor Mo also came at night that day." Yu Qingye said with a smile, "If it doesn't work, let Big Brother go. It's my fault for setting the deadline of one month. Now I'm in a difficult position."
Yu Qingye had been in a good mood the past couple of days. Although he'd been beaten, he'd gotten his temper out, gotten his money, and could still go to the carpentry shop. He didn't have to delay his relationship with Bai Wanqiu. He felt like God was helping him, so while he was bored at home, he wasn't depressed.
Yu Qinglong suddenly said, "Father, Dad, why don't you let my eldest brother go? But not at night, but early tomorrow morning. When you go, I can also deliver the things that need to be delivered, and also be open about borrowing the ox cart."
Zhou Jianer asked, "Will this work?"
Yu Qinglong said, "Why not? It's my brother who's going, not me. They're both men, so what's wrong with just being friends? It would be best if we could borrow an oxcart, but if we can't, that's no big deal. We've already sent the return gift. At worst, we can just hold the water cart for now and sell it later. As for the rice dumplings, my brother and I can get them to town."
At most it would just take some physical effort, but how could there be easy money to be made in this place?
The family realized this was the case and quickly made time to make rice dumplings and chicken soup. They also sent Yu Qingjia to Xiaxi Village on time.
Although he had never been to Fang's house, he had been to Xiaxi Village many times. It wouldn't be difficult to find it if he just asked around after arriving.
Yu Qingjia took the rice dumplings and the small wooden piece for Fang Shu and left.
Fang Shu's hair was turning gray from waiting so long. He was just wondering if he would see Yu Qinglong washing clothes if he went to the river to pick up stones again, but he didn't expect someone to come to his house.
Early in the morning, when he got up and was about to read, someone knocked on the door.
It was his mother who went out to open the door.
Fang Wu was slightly taken aback when she saw the newcomer: "Are you... from the Yu family?"
Although they have never met each other, it is inevitable that there are some similarities between brothers.
Yu Qingjia said, "Exactly. My name is Yu Qingjia, and I'm Qinglong's eldest brother. Meet Aunt Fang."
Fang Wu saw that Yu Qing's family was carrying something that looked quite heavy, so she said, "Come in and talk."
Yu Qingjia carried zongzi into the yard. The yard was quite large, about three times the size of his house. Yet it was kept in perfect order. Fang Shu also came out. The scholar saw his excited face and blushed. He smiled and clasped his fists, saying, "My younger brother Fang Shu, courtesy name Shoucheng, is honored to meet you, big brother."
Look at how cheap you are! Fang Wu scolded her son in her heart, and said, "Son, why are you here so early in the morning? What's the matter?"
Yu Qingjia handed over the bucket and said, "Aunt, the Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon, and I came to bring you some rice dumplings. My second brother is bedridden at home, and I'm grateful for your thoughts. My father and my father, grateful for your care, said they should have come to see us themselves, but it wasn't convenient right now, so they asked me to come. I also wanted to ask if we could borrow the ox cart for a day."
Fang Wu took the barrel and motioned Fang Shu to stop standing there and look and go get something to drink. She then said, "The cows are at home. What do you want to haul?"
Yu Qingjia said, "Qinglong and my second brother made some wooden ornaments with stone bases. They're a bit heavy, and we'd like to take them to town to sell, but we don't have a car to transport them, so we came to ask you."
When Fang Shu heard it was a wooden ornament, his ears perked up: "What kind of wooden ornament is it? A waterwheel?"
Yu Qingjia laughed and said, "Yes, it's just a little bigger."
Fang Wu said, "You can use it then. But I need the ox tomorrow, so I can only borrow it today. Is that okay?"
Yu Qingjia said, "I'll use it today. Thank you, aunt."
Fang Shu then asked, "Brother, have you had breakfast? Why don't you eat here?"
He has so many questions to ask!
Fang Wu also said, "That's right, I'm making noodles, you can eat some before you leave."
Yu Qing had already eaten a pancake on the way home and was indeed in a hurry to go back, so he said, "Thank you very much for your kindness, Auntie and Brother Shoucheng. But I have to rush to the town today, so I'm afraid I have to hurry back."
When Fang Shu heard this, he quickly nudged Fang Wu and said, "Mom, are your noodles cooked? Can you please go and check on them?"
Fang Wu thought to herself, I haven’t even put it in the pot, I just rolled it out, how can I cook it?
But she understood her son's thoughts very well, so she said, "Yes, I'll go and take a look."
Fang Shu breathed a sigh of relief and asked softly, "Brother, is Long'er okay?"
On the way home, Yu Qing thought that Fang Shu might really like his younger brother, but he didn't expect him to miss him so much. He smiled and said, "Not bad. He likes the chickens you asked Uncle Fang to send him, and Mo Tiao too. I see he's kept them all. He also asked me to bring you this."
"Did he give me something?" Fang Shu was so excited that he wiped his hands on his clothes several times before he took the small wooden box handed to him by Yu Qing's family.
"Long'er asked me to tell you that his carving skills are still rusty, I hope you don't mind."
"I don't dislike it, I don't dislike it, I love it too much."
When Fang Shu opened it, he saw that it was actually five wooden bookmarks!
There are five small bookmarks, one large and four small, with the largest in the middle and two smaller ones at each end. These bookmarks are flat pieces of wood engraved with auspicious cloud patterns to hold the pages, while the ones with one end exposed outside the page are more elaborate. One of the five is a relief engraving, depicting a small zongzi the size of a longan, the folds of the reed leaves and the binding thread on the zongzi vividly portrayed.
There are also four bookmarks, each carved with a dragon boat, mugwort, a sachet, and a gourd. These are carved in intaglio, but are also very exquisite.
"Long Ge'er said you read a lot of books, so I think you can use these."
"Yes, yes, yes, thank you very much, big brother. I like it very much, I really like it very much. Big brother Lao, please thank Long Ge'er for me."
Fang Shu particularly loved the little rice dumpling bookmark. He had never seen such a clever idea before. Not even in the provincial capital had he seen anyone with a bookmark like it!
Yu Qingjia saw that he was genuinely fond of her and was happy for his brother, but he didn't have time to say much.
Just as he was about to get up and say goodbye, Fang Dingman harnessed the ox cart and parked it in the courtyard. He walked into the hall and said, "It's a good thing someone from your family has come. If I can't get some news about Brother Qinglong, this silly boy of mine will be worried sick."
Fang Shu coughed lightly: "How could that be, father?"
Fang Dingman said, "You know whether it is true or not. Sit down, my dear nephew."
On his way to the Fang family, Yu Qing had been worried that his visit was too abrupt and that the Fang family might not welcome him. Unexpectedly, the family was so polite. He thanked them and sat down again. Then Fang Dingman asked, "So, can't the proposal date be moved forward a little?"
Yu Qingjia: "..."
Fang Shu said, "Father, why are you suddenly talking about this? It hasn't been that long."
Fang Dingman said, "I only put on this disgrace because I saw you were not eating or drinking all day. If you don't want to, forget it."
"No, no, no!" Fang Shu waved his hands repeatedly. Seeing Yu Qingjia smile, he felt a little embarrassed. "I, I mean, I still have to keep my promise. It's not good to embarrass Big Brother."
"It's not difficult. I'll go back and ask my parents."
"Father, don't you have to help my mother light the fire?" Fang Shu winked at Fang Dingman, indicating that he could move away first.
"Okay, I'll go help your mother. You guys chat."
After Fang Dingman left, Fang Shu asked, "Brother, you guys are going to town with your water cart. How are you going to sell it?"
Yu Qingjia said, "Brother Long didn't mention this. But he guessed it might not be easy to sell. He might even have to take it back if it can't be sold."
Fang Shu said, "I suspect it's extremely heavy. If you trust me, I can send it to Wuyi's Blacksmith Shop in town. My family and I have been friends for three generations, and we've always had a good relationship. If we leave it there, we won't have to carry it back and forth. If we want to sell it, we can just go there. Once we get there, just mention that I said so, and they won't refuse."
Yu Qingjia hadn't expected this to happen, so he thanked Fang Shu. He was in a hurry to get his belongings back home and bring them to town, so he couldn't delay any longer. So he went to say goodbye to Fang Dingman and Fang Wushi, then left in his ox cart.
It was already bright daylight, but it was still the Yin hour. When Yu Qingjia arrived at Shangxi Village, someone saw him driving an ox cart. A villager asked, "Qingjia, did you buy a cow?"
Yu Qingjia said: "No, I borrowed it because I had something to do."
The man looked at the cow and thought it looked familiar. He then saw that Yu Qing's family was coming from the direction of Xiaxi Village and guessed, "Is it the Fang family's cow?"
Yu Qingjia agreed generously and drove the cattle back home. Everything was already prepared and only needed to be loaded onto the truck.
Yu Qinglong also put on his going-out clothes. It was a short shirt with patches on it, but it was his best clothes.
Yu Qingye was still a little worried that the thugs who beat him would cause trouble, so he leaned on his crutches and said, "Brother, please take good care of me. I am a treasure now."
While Yu Qingjia responded with "Don't worry", he thought of his younger brother who carried the stone that day without much more effort than him.
Does he really need his protection? He couldn't help but doubt it. But he still had to protect his brother!
The two brothers got on the ox cart. Zhou Jianer brought them a bamboo tube and said, "Pour some water in it. Drink it if you're thirsty on the road."
There was also a big bucket of rice dumplings and a waterwheel ornament on the car.
The waterwheel ornament looked a bit eye-catching, so they covered it with a cloth and placed it flat, so if you didn't look carefully you couldn't tell what it was.
Yu Qingjia said: "Don't worry, we will sell them out as soon as possible and come back."
Yu Qinglong had never ridden in an oxcart before, so he thought it was a bit of a novelty. After he got on, he took the whip and didn't really hit the salted egg yolk. Instead, he tapped it gently and said, "Salted egg yolk, let's go."
The salted egg yolk made a "moo" sound and walked slowly. On the way, Yu Qingjia told his brother about what happened at Fang Shu's house.
"Uncle Fang and Aunt Fang are very friendly and even invited me to eat noodles there. I just asked to borrow the ox cart, and they agreed to lend it to us without any hesitation. Uncle Fang even went to harness the cart himself. He also asked me if the date of the proposal could be moved up a little. I saw that Fang Shu was getting anxious waiting. He really is an interesting person."
"It's only a dozen days, we can still wait."
"Well, time was tight, and I didn't know if they liked the rice dumplings, and I didn't have time to ask."
"You should be able to get used to it, right?"
The people here, due to their limited environment, ate very rough food. He felt that most people would be more likely to accept something he thought was delicious.
Back at the Fang family, after Yu Qing's family left, the three of them gathered around the zongzi, each trying one. At first, they thought a meat-filled zongzi was strange. But once they put it in their mouths, it was delicious! Glutinous! Soft!
The chicken with alternating fat and lean parts is marinated with just the right amount of saltiness, combined with the unique woody aroma of mushrooms. It is soft and sticky in the mouth, and the fragrance lingers on your lips and teeth after one bite!
This is so delicious!
There is also a bowl of chicken soup, a bite of rice dumpling, and another bowl of chicken soup! It is so beautiful that even the gods would not care.
Fang Shu said, "Mom, give me two more unopened rice dumplings."
Fang Wu said, "Long'er is a child with a lot of ideas," while handing her son two unopened rice dumplings. But when she saw her son hurriedly stand up, she asked him, "Where are you going?"
Fang Shu put the rice dumplings into a bowl and said, "I'll go find Chang Jie and give him some to try."
The two families had a good relationship, so Fang Wu naturally wouldn't stop them and didn't say anything.
When the door was closed, Fang Dingman said, "Well, this kid won't be back before dark."
Fang Wu: "Why?"
Fang Dingman took a sip of his soup and said, "Is there any need to ask? He must be looking for Changjie to go to town with him. He knows Qinglong is leaving Shangxi Village, so he must seize the opportunity to meet him."
Fang Wu thought it made sense and scolded, "That stinky boy! Why do you care so much about Qinglong?"
Fang Ding spread his hands and said, "How should I know? But this rice dumpling is delicious."
Fifteen zongzi were brought in, all quite large. Fang Wu peeled one for Fang Dingman. By then, Fang Shu had already arrived at Wu Sheng's house. The two families lived not far apart anyway.
Wu Sheng: "Are you going to town?"
Fang Shu said, "Yes, are you going today? Come with me."
Wu Sheng had no plans to go to town today, so he asked, "What are you going to do?"
Fang Shu thought about it, and it was not easy to say that he wanted to go see the man he wanted to marry, so he said with a guilty conscience: "I'm out of ink, I need to go buy a pound of ink! For the sake of these two meat dumplings, please hurry up."
Wu Sheng was wheeled to where the mules were kept. His family had no cattle or horses, but they had mules. They were used to transport iron and other items like swords and guns that had been ordered by customers.
He was half-forced to harness the bike and go out with this brother who had grown up with him.
Only after he left the house did he realize what it meant to be worried.
His mule was clearly moving along just fine, but Fang Shu suddenly told him to stop. Puzzled, he asked, "Why not?"
Fang Shu glanced at the salted egg yolk walking slowly on the road ahead: "We can't surpass the salted egg yolk."
Wu Sheng: "Why?"
Fang Shu's face was uneasy, his ears were red, and he looked a little angry and embarrassed: "Ahem! In short, you can't!"
Wusheng took a look and vaguely understood what was going on. He became malicious and urged the mule to run faster with a smile.
Fang Shu was so frightened that he immediately pulled his brother and said, "Don't rush it!"
But it was too late. The two people on the oxcart in front noticed their movements. When Yu Qinglong turned around, he was clearly a little surprised!
Fang Shu suddenly wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into!
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Author's words: Fang Shu: Husband... I, I'm going to buy some ink! [Let me see]
Qinglong: I heard that you have a close friend who goes to town every two or three days.
Fang Shu: He doesn’t know what kind of ink to buy [laughing and crying]
Wu Sheng: There are only four or five kinds of ink in the shop, and I didn’t know it when you told me? [rolling eyes]
Qinglong: Please comment on [Lop-eared rabbit head]
ps: I added 800 words to the last chapter. If you haven’t seen it, you can go back and take a look. [Rainbow fart]
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