Chapter 29 Chapter 29 Going Down the Mountain
It was the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. Early in the morning, Kang He got up to light a fire and cook, only to find that the house was colder than usual.
It seemed bright outside the window, especially bright.
He opened the door a crack, and the cold wind rushed into the house. The yard was covered with white snow, and the ground was covered with a layer of snow as wide as a little finger.
The wind was blowing exceptionally hard last night, so he expected it to snow. However, he didn't expect it to snow so heavily that the green mountains turned white overnight.
Kanghe took some grass and vegetable leaves and fed them to the three rabbits in the shed.
It was snowing and cold, and the three rabbits were no longer as lively as before. They huddled together to keep warm.
He was afraid that the rabbit would get frozen, so he took out two pieces of felt and wrapped them outside the shed.
Fan Jingshang walked around outside the wooden house for a while, then came back and said to Kang He, "Pack up and go down the mountain."
Kang He responded, saying that this had been agreed upon beforehand.
But it is definitely not possible to go down the mountain in one go. There are more than 100 kilograms of konjac and several hundred kilograms of roots stored in the wooden house. It is impossible to get them all down the mountain in one go with just two people.
Besides, Fan Jing also has some living creatures to hunt.
So the two of them discussed it and decided to take the live animals to the county to sell them first, then go back to the village and ask their family members to go up the mountain to help bring the mountain products back home.
This time Fan Jing saved up a lot of things.
There was a pair of stupid birds and wild ducks, a suckling pig, a musk deer, a pheasant, and two injured rabbits in addition to the three rabbits left at home.
The cage was large enough to hold a pair of civet cats and a greedy white fox.
The two men carried all the living things down the mountain, and their shoes were almost soaked as they walked through the snow.
Although the snow at the foot of the mountain was not as heavy as on the mountain, there was still a thin layer of snow. It melted quickly and was trampled, making the path extremely muddy.
When we arrived at the county town, it was already late.
However, as the year draws to a close, the city is busier than usual, and there are still quite a few people on some streets in the afternoon.
The streets were decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, and children were already playing with firecrackers in the alleys.
Kang He saw that there were still many stalls in the market that had not been closed yet. There were a lot of vegetables and fruits prepared, and it looked like they would be selling all day long.
It was not like this in the past. Farmers from the countryside would sell their vegetables and leave early before noon. This was because the market would disperse after noon and there would be fewer people buying things, so it would be difficult to sell the goods and it would be a waste of time to keep the stalls open.
It is the end of the year now, and every household has to buy New Year's goods and stock up in preparation for the New Year. Relatives and friends come to the house more frequently than usual, so it is inevitable to treat them to a meal and prepare a table full of dishes.
Kang He grabbed Fan Jing and said, "The streets are so lively. People are more willing to spend money during the New Year than on ordinary days. Let's set up a stall for a while. The retail price of live animals is higher than selling them at restaurants. If we can make a little extra, it's good. If we can't sell them, we can just send them to restaurants."
Fan Jing did set up a stall, but that was many years ago.
He was not good at hawking his wares, and he relied on people to come up and take a look at his wares out of curiosity. He was not good at talking to customers, and he could not sell anything even if the wares were dead.
He was lucky enough to run into Mr. Li who was returning home after drinking. He collected the food and asked him to deliver it directly to the restaurant.
Although the price of goods in the restaurant was much cheaper than outside, in order to save time and effort, he later delivered the goods and never set up a stall again.
Thinking that he would not go back to the mountains after selling the mountain products today, and it would not take long to return to the village, he agreed to Kanghe's suggestion.
Seeing this, Kang He quickly found a piece of open space, put down the living creatures, and went to the grocery store to rent a scale.
Things hunted in the mountains are mostly sold by the piece, but in order to make them easier to sell, people use a pole scale to weigh them, so that people feel at ease before selling them.
The stall was set up simply. Two backpacks were put down, and the rabbits, chickens, and ducks were tied up with their feet and placed on the ground so that they could not run away.
Kang He started to sell it at the top of his voice: "Sirs, husbands, ladies, husbands, come and have a look. I have hunted fresh animals in the mountains. Eat them fresh and delicious. Eating them will make you rich in the coming year~"
"You little mountain man are really interesting. How can you become rich by eating what you hunt in the mountains?"
Kang He looked at the man wearing a red scarf made of gauze and a red robe and asked with a smile.
"The creatures in the mountains run about all year round, and are not fed by humans. They have no dead flesh in their bodies, and are nourishing to the body. If you eat them, your body will be healthy and strong, and you will have no worries about pursuing education and making money."
The man held up his sleeve and laughed heartily. "That's not bad at all. What's the price of this mountain product?"
"I wonder what the gentleman is interested in. Different mountain products have different prices."
The man glanced back and forth at the mountain products and pointed at the pheasant.
Kang He exchanged a glance with Fan Jing, and Fan Jing secretly gave him a thumbs-up.
"Sir, if you want this pheasant, you can take one hundred yuan."
Kang Heduo said casually: "I'll give you another pound of good bamboo shoots from the mountains. Take them back and make soup with them."
When Fan Jing heard the price, his eyebrows twitched, thinking that he was only worth six cents.
But what surprised him was that the man did not turn around and leave after hearing the price.
"Your price is a bit high."
Kang He raised the price by forty cents based on the sixty cents offered by the Fan family, and asked for one hundred cents, which was naturally not low.
"You are a wealthy man, and you thought that the people below you would take care of the household affairs, but you didn't realize that the price of pork and mutton at the butcher shop has gone up during the New Year.
"There are people who take care of the household chores, so I won't bother you. Since you often go to restaurants, you must know how much a plate of stir-fried pheasant meat costs. That dish only takes up a few chopsticks of meat, but with that cooking method, I wonder how many dishes you can make from a single live pheasant."
Kang He said, "Sir, take this pheasant back home. Everyone in the family who keeps it will say that you are good with money and know how to buy things. No one will say that you paid too much."
The man was so delighted that Kang He was holding the bamboo shoots. He said, "You little mountain man are so good at talking. Give me another pound of bamboo shoots to take home and eat. There isn't much left after I've taken off the outer skins."
"Since you are generous and straightforward, it's easy to talk to you."
Kang He tied up the pheasants and put them into a sack he bought from a dry goods store. He also packed two pounds of winter bamboo shoots and gave them to the man.
"Sir, take care."
Fan Jing saw that Kang He had sold a pheasant worth sixty coins for a hundred coins. After the man left, he said, "You are quite good at deceiving people."
"I'm telling you the truth. The price of street bread has gone up by a dime a bowl during the New Year. Ours is a rare commodity, so a slight price increase is not unreasonable. Those who are willing to eat that piece of meat from the mountains are not poor families. They have money in their pockets, but they just want to see if it's rare enough to spend it on your place."
Kang He had seen the people in the restaurant before. They were enjoying their meal and drinks, and they gave a dime to the waiter as a tip.
These wealthy people just want to be happy and have a good time, and they are willing to spend money for these.
"The general was happy to buy the talent, and we are happy to sell it. How can this be called deceiving others?"
Fan Jing knew that what Kang He said was true. The hunters in the mountains could sell the same things at different prices, some of which could be sold at high prices.
When buying and selling things, sincerity is one thing, but you also need a good mouth to eat.
Since he was not good at running a business, he handed this stall to Kang He and went to the stall on the other side to buy a bowl of hot tea with Kang He.
At this time, another generous guest came.
A sedan with a soft top stopped in front of the stall. A silk curtain with auspicious cloud pattern was lifted from inside by a slender, white hand wearing mutton-fat jade, and a scent of wood incense wafted out.
Kang He raised his head and saw a strangely young boy's face peeking out of the sedan chair: "Can you sell the fox in your cage?"
The maidservant in the sedan chair raised the curtain higher and said, "Young man, please be slow. The thing can't get away."
"Sell, all of these are for sale."
Kang He saw that this was a truly wealthy family, so he mentioned the fox he had named and showed it to him: "We hunted it in the mountains, it's not injured, and it's in great spirits."
"The hair is quite shiny. Although it's not as good as the ones in the Rare Treasure Pavilion, it's still fresh to look at."
The rich boy in the sedan said, "My cousins will be coming home to play in a few days, so I'd like to give them this fox as a new play."
He seemed to be speaking to the maidservant in the sedan chair. Then, his eyes scanned Kang He's backpack again: "I see there are musk deer in there?"
Kang He moved the backpack a little closer: "It's a young musk deer, weighing about thirty or forty kilograms."
The young man said, "It's cold and windy, and maybe it'll snow tomorrow. I'll get this wild animal and ask Mother He in the kitchen to carve it up. Then I'll call my friends over and have a barbecue in the garden while we enjoy the snow. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
The girl smiled and said, "That's great! It would be more fun to eat in a restaurant."
Kang He heard the master and servant say this and said:
"Young Master, if you're going to host a barbecue feast, why not buy the rabbit, the wild duck, and the jay? Not all of them, but one of each. With so many varieties, wouldn't a wild game feast be more impressive? Deer meat alone is certainly fun, but it's bound to get greasy after a bit of it. Besides, there are many different tastes. Even if you don't like one thing, you can still enjoy another."
"Hiss~ That makes sense."
When the young man heard Kang He say this, he said, "Liu Lang, I remember that I don't like eating liver."
"Give me all your things. But I didn't bring two people with me, and there's no room in the sedan chair. Can you deliver the things to the seventh house in Xishui Lane?"
Hearing this, Kang He said: "It's nothing, young master, don't worry. I will take care of whatever you see here and send it to your house without changing a single bit."
The maid in the sedan took out a dime from her embroidered purse and handed it to Kang He, saying, "You mountain man, you are so good at talking that you have persuaded our young master to buy so many things."
"That's not what I would say. My dear, you have good taste. Everything you like is good."
The maid smiled and said, "This is our young master's reward for you. Once the things are delivered to the mansion, someone will settle the bill with you."
"Thank you, sister."
Kang He took the silver, which was heavy, at least more than one or two taels. He couldn't help but think that what he wished for was really coming true.
When Fan Jing came over with the bowl of tea, the sedan chair had just left.
Kang He saw Fan Jing serving him tea. He took a sip and ate most of it. After wiping his mouth, he handed the dime he had earned to Fan Jing and said, "We now have a place to go with all these things."
"Is it worth buying the sedan chair for the general?"
Kang He nodded.
Fan Jing held the silver in his hand, his brows furrowed as he said, "It's too cheap."
Kang He laughed and said, "This is the reward money. I asked them to deliver it to the house and pay us when they get there."
Fan Jing was inevitably surprised. He knew that the wealthy families in the city had the habit of rewarding others with money and gifts. Xiangxiu often received rewards when she worked for a wealthy family.
But this was the first time he had encountered such a thing.
I couldn't help but wonder how Kanghe had managed to coax the rich family into giving him a reward with his eloquence.
"Why should I say anything more? He had his own ideas about buying mountain products, so I just said a few words to him and he gave me the tip. After all, we are lucky today to have met a rich man who is generous with his money."
Kang He finished speaking and packed up his things: "Let's send it over quickly."
Fan Jing responded, and the two of them took the mountain products and went to the location the young man told them. When they arrived at the gate of the lavish mansion, Kang He saw the words "Song's House" written on the plaque.
They brought the stuff in through the side door.
The people from the wealthy family were quite polite. They invited the two of them in and even offered them tea. However, they were not as easy to negotiate as the young man when it came to the price.
The Song family kitchen has a dedicated buyer who knows the prices of all the vegetables and meat in the market like the back of his hand, and no one can argue about the prices.
One could tell he was an old hand the moment he opened his mouth: "After weighing these mountain products, they are worth three strings of cash."
Before coming here, Kang He asked Fan Jing what their things were worth. After counting them and calculating based on the market price, even without a premium, they could still be sold for three strings of coins and two hundred coins. If the price went up a bit during the New Year, it would at least be around three strings of coins and five hundred coins.
But if I take it to Mr. Li's restaurant, I can only get about two strings of cash according to the price they charge.
Their restaurant only gives one purchase price all year round. The advantage is that the price will not drop in autumn when it is easy to hunt, but the disadvantage is that the price will not increase during the winter or New Year holidays.
Many hunters are smart and know the habits of these shops, so they sell their fish to them in autumn and sell them to other shops in winter.
But Mr. Li's restaurant has a good reputation. Even in autumn, he buys the goods from old customers first, and new customers usually have to lower the price.
Fan Jing was not good at research, so he had been selling it to Mr. Li.
Kang He had an idea in his mind. After hearing the housekeeper politely offer this price, he seemed to be tempted to buy it at the purchase price.
He wasn't particularly pleased. The reward from the young master was one thing, and their attempts to lower the price were another. Who knew they could lower the price and then report it to the account holder at the same annual price they'd normally sell outside? He could make a lot of money from it.
If they were to visit each other often in the future, Kang He would be happy to do him a favor.
But the young master of the Song family wanted to eat mountain products on a whim, and it was not necessary for the mansion to buy them often. If he sent mountain products next time, people might not buy them.
Since it's a one-time deal, it's better to stick to yourself.
He laughed and said, "Mom, your price is really undercutting us. Prices are skyrocketing like bamboo shoots in spring. It's only because my young master really wants it. Otherwise, my husband and I would have to endure the cold outside for a while longer. The streets would be bustling, and things would sell better there."
"Even if there are leftovers, there are still regular customers willing to buy them."
The housekeeper glanced at Kang He and, seeing that he was a man of good conversation, she lowered the price a little: "I know it must have been hard for you to deliver it here, so I'll give you an extra two hundred yuan so that you can go home for the New Year."
After hearing the price, Kang He was willing to make some concessions. Considering the reward given by the young master, it would be a profit anyway.
If the price is too low, it won’t look good either.
"Since Mom is so straightforward and easy to talk to, I'm not one of those fussy people. I'll agree to your price and give you ten kilograms of bamboo shoots from the mountains as a gift."
The housekeeper smiled and said, "You are quite considerate, young man."
After saying that, he waved to a young man to come and weigh the silver, and then asked Kang and Fan Jing if they wanted to have some tea.
After leaving the Song family, Kang He and Fan Jing were in good mood. They went to a stall at the street corner and had a bowl of hot mutton soup to warm themselves up.
After counting the live animals sold today, I earned a little over four strings of cash.
Fan Jing handed the dime he had won to Kang He and said, "This is yours."
Seeing him divide the money with him like this, Kang He felt a little uncomfortable and said, "What's yours and mine? If you do this, just give it all to me."
After hearing what Kang He said, Fan Jing was silent and didn't say anything.
In fact, he had long wanted to give the money to Kang He for safekeeping. He felt that Kang He was not a person who would spend money recklessly, and he also had his own plans.
But he is also a very cautious person and will not hand over his wealth easily.
"I'll wait until the table is set for you."
Hearing this, Kang He's eyes, which had not been happy just now, lit up again. He leaned in close to the person and whispered, "Why, you won't feel at ease until you can eat it?"
Fan Jing didn't answer him.
What does it mean to eat something? If I was stung by a bee that day, wouldn’t that be considered eating something?
Late in the afternoon the wind picked up and it looked like it was going to rain or snow.
Kang He and Fan Jing didn't stay in the county for long. They went to the meat market and bought a piece of fat and lean pork from Sister Wu. Then they hurried back to the village together.
"Oh, my sons, you two are finally back. The mountaintops are all white, and there's snow at the foot of the mountain. I didn't see you two coming down the mountain for a long time, so I thought something had happened."
Chen Sanfang opened the gate and ushered the two into the house. "Today, I heard from Aunt Qi at the village entrance that a hunter named Ge from Hutou Township was killed by a wild boar. His family had to ask someone to carry him down the mountain. Your father and I were terrified when we heard about this. Since you guys don't come back, we'll go up and take a look tomorrow."
When Kang He heard that Ge Youquan had gone down the mountain, he didn't mention anything about the Ge family to his family. He just said, "We went down the mountain today because it snowed. Da Jing and I went to the city to sell goods first, so we came back late. Mom and Dad must be worried."
"I'm glad you're okay. Hurry up and go to the kitchen. Zhen'er is lighting the fire. She's just about to cook. It's very cold out here. Look at your faces, they're both red from the cold."
It has been a month since we last saw them. The whole family missed Fan Jing and Kang He so much. They were all very happy to see them return safely.
Kang He rubbed his hands and took out the piece of meat he had bought from his backpack, saying, "We'll cook it tonight. Da Jing got a good price for his game this time, so I spent twenty coins to buy a piece of good meat so that we can have a treat for the family."
Chen Sanfang opened the oil paper and saw that there were some fat and some thin ones. It was really good. Qiao'er hurried over to take a look.
During the twelfth lunar month, many families in the village slaughtered pigs and invited people to eat pig soup, so we had meat to eat at home a few times.
Only poor families would make a light pork soup, using the intestines, heart, lungs and blood to stew a large pot of sauerkraut. Those who could afford it would stir-fry some meat, while those who couldn't would just have some cold vegetables on the table.
People who sit at the table to eat, holding their bowls and plates, cannot just keep picking up meat to eat. They have to call out to each other and persuade others to pick up dishes.
There is not much meat that can be eaten.
How can it compare to buying a piece of good meat at home and letting the whole family enjoy a delicious meal?
"You two are so generous! Even though pork prices have gone up during the Lunar New Year, you're still willing to buy this kind of good meat for your family to eat."
Chen Sanfang smiled, pinching the meat and turning it over and over, and looked satisfied no matter how he looked at it.
Kang He took out two pieces of paper-wrapped sugar, also known as brown sugar, from his pocket.
It was about one finger long and three fingers wide, and he gave each of them a piece: "Your eldest brother will buy some meat, and my husband will buy you some candy."
The two girls were so happy. They didn't expect that they could have some candy on their own. It was the sand candy that the youngest girl liked the most. They felt that their brother-in-law was really thoughtful.
Lian thanked Kanghe and went into the house with the candy.
Chen Sanfang looked even more delighted and said, "Just spoil those two girls."
Kang He laughed and said, "After we eat this meat, the whole family will have to work hard tomorrow."
"What kind of hard labor?"
Father Fan, who had asked Chen Sanfang to help him pick two radishes from the field, heard a lot of commotion in the kitchen as soon as he entered the yard. He thought that the two children had come home, so he walked over quickly and heard Kang He's words.
Kang He called out "Dad" and said to Chen Sanfang and Fan Shoulin, "Da Jing and I have collected a lot of mountain products and stored them in the wooden house. We can't finish them all in one or two trips, so we came home and wanted the whole family to help us get them back."
"I have nothing to do these days, so let's go and have a look together."
Chen Sanfang agreed readily.
"Your mother is right."
Father Fan also agreed and asked, "What are they?"
Kang He patiently explained it to the two of them.
"It's the rice noodle roots I brought to your grandparents last time. Oh, it was such a hassle to make that rice noodle. I had nothing to do when I got home, so I just had to make it all at once."
When Chen and Fan heard that it was a way to make money, they were not afraid of the trouble and were happy to do it.
Fan Jing was warming himself by the fire under the stove. He didn't say a word as he listened to Kang He and his family talking lively. His face softened a lot under the light of the fire in the stove.
At night, the whole family had a full meal and was busy with work. They closed the door of the main room and soaked their feet in the warm water.
Chen laughed and said that there was a lot of oil in the pot today, and even the foot washing water seemed oily. It would be great if every day could be like this in the future.
Fan Jing then asked, "Have you checked the date for the banquet?"
"The head of the early childhood education department helped to look after it. Two days after you went up the mountain, your father came to the head of the department's house with a bag of tea and a cup of lamb wine. He picked two dates."
Many families have yellow books, so it is easy to help find a good day. People would take things to the headman's house. Firstly, it was to find an excuse to give something to the headman; secondly, the day chosen by the headman would be more prestigious.
"One is the 26th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the other is the 19th day of the first lunar month. Since the 26th day would be the last day, they decided to hold it in the first lunar month."
Fan Jing had no objection to this day, as he usually didn't go up the mountain during the first month of the year.
He took out a dime from his pocket, less than two taels, but definitely not less than one and a half taels: "Use this to buy something."
Chen Sanfang and Fan Shoulin were a little surprised to see that Fan Jing actually took out so much.
They originally thought that Fan Jing would pay some money and they would pay some more out of their own pockets, but they didn't expect that Fan Jing would pay all the money. Besides, they were slaughtering their own pigs, so the money was more than enough for them to use.
Chen Sanfang quickly took it and said to Fan Jing, "Your father and I have already discussed this. We estimate that the guests will be able to fill twelve tables. So we ordered eight chickens, eight ducks, and ten pond fish from the village at a good price. We will also slaughter the two hundred-pound fat pig in the pen."
"Those side dishes are easy to find. They're grown in the fields of every household in the village, so they're readily available."
"Your father has already ordered the wine from the county restaurant. It's just watery wine that costs ten cents and a dime. Your father has been carrying it home time and time again. He brought back several large jars of wine and placed them on the porch outside the inner room."
The couple stayed up all night thinking about this matter even after blowing out the oil lamp. They were not going to wait for Fan Jing to come down the mountain and get the money before doing anything.
It's too late to do it now. Not only have the prices of chickens and ducks increased, but there are many people rushing to buy them, and they are still in short supply. You may not even be able to get a seat even if you queue up.
Not only that, they even booked the cook in advance, and the person they invited was Liao the cook from their village.
Fan Jing and Kang He didn't expect that their family had already arranged the banquet so well that they didn't have to worry about anything at all.
It really saves trouble to just take the money and wait to be a groom and a new husband.
After the night talk, everyone went back to their rooms to rest.
Kang He and Fan Jingjiao called Chen Sanfang to sleep in the new house, saying that the bed had been made and it was not appropriate for the two of them to squeeze into the old house.
Fan Jing asked Kang He which room he wanted to sleep in, and Kang He asked him if he still wanted to sleep with him.
Fan Jing didn't answer him and went to the new house. Kang He hurriedly followed him.
The new house still looked the same as before, except that the big wooden bed had new curtains and a thick red wedding quilt on it.
Kang He walked over with the oil lamp and touched the bed with red sheets. It was much more comfortable than the beds in the mountains.
He patted the bed and asked Fan Jing to try it too. When he looked up, he saw that the man had taken off his outer clothes and pants.
The figure under the oil lamp was thin and upright. Kang He couldn't help but reach out to grab Fan Jing. He exerted force with his hands, causing Fan Jing to stagger. Then he pounced on him and pressed him down on the bed.
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