Chapter 44 Chapter 44 Two Times of Self-Love
Kang He carried the rice bowl and followed him into the house.
Fan Jing was sitting at the small table beside the bed, twisting hemp rope, as if nothing had happened.
"What's wrong? You're eating so little?"
Kang He went over and asked him.
Fan Jing replied, "I'm full."
Kang He snorted, didn’t he know how much he should eat in one meal?
Putting down his bowl and chopsticks, Kang He touched Fan Jing's stomach and said, "Let me see how full you are."
When Fan Jing touched him, he pulled back and said, "It's deflated. How can it be full?"
Fan Jing glanced at him.
Kang He came closer and said, "You don't want to eat or drink tea, are you pregnant?"
He was just joking, but considering they got married at the end of the month, it was already April. Kanghe couldn't even remember how many times they had done that, and they hadn't tried to avoid pregnancy either.
They are both young and in good health, so maybe it is true.
The more he thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. Kang He even began to get excited, and the joy of becoming a father for the first time gradually came over him.
Seeing the man's grin widening, Fan Jing frowned, fearing he might figure out what the child was going to say. He interrupted him and said, "That's not true."
Seeing Fan Jing being stubborn, Kang He frowned in disapproval: "How do you know it's not true?"
Fan Jing said, "I know."
"You've never been pregnant before, so how can you know?"
Kang He pulled Fan Jing's arm and said, "Teach me how to do it!"
When he was a child, he had felt slippery pulses several times when he followed a local doctor. This kind of pulse is as round as a pearl and has an even rhythm.
Fan Jing let him make a fuss and let him pinch his arm.
Kang He felt around for a while, then raised his head and looked at Fan Jing, their eyes meeting: "My medical skills are not specialized, so I can't really feel it out."
Fan Jing pulled his hand back: "Have you said anything?"
"How come you are so clear about this?"
Fan Jing said, "I saw it when mother was pregnant with Zhen'er."
Kang He suddenly realized that there was a big age difference between Fan Jing and Zhen'er. When his mother was pregnant with Zhen'er, Fan Jing must have been six years old, which was old enough to remember things.
But he still had some hope: "Is the young man the same as the girl?"
"It's slightly different, but Mother said it, and I remember it."
Fan Jing said lightly.
Kang He fell silent.
Fan Jing hadn't expected him to think about her pregnancy. Seeing that he didn't say anything, he was afraid that he was disappointed, so he said, "There will always be a chance in the future."
Kang He knew Fan Jing was overthinking it when he heard this, and laughed, "Of course I know. We still have a lot of time to live. We got married at the end of the month, so there's no need to rush."
He held Fan Jing's hand: "I'm just worried that you'll miss your mother."
During the Qingming Festival a while ago, Fan Jing bought incense, candles, and paper money, and also took him to visit his mother.
Fan Jing shook his head. He was not the kind of person who would be easily sentimental when seeing something, and he would not allow himself to be so, so he seldom thought about it.
"If you don't have any, then eat more. You've been tired all day and you won't eat much at lunch."
Kang He picked up the bowl and tried to coax Fan Jing to eat some more.
Fan Jing turned his head away and said uncomfortably, "My tooth hurts."
Kang He was stunned: "Toothache? You have a toothache because you don't eat?!"
He had been so self-indulgent twice, but seeing that he was in so much pain that he couldn't even eat, I became anxious again: "Where does it hurt? Let me see."
Seeing this, Fan Jing pointed to the area below the corner of his mouth.
Kang He asked him to open his mouth, took a candle and took a closer look, only to see that there was a red and swollen area on his gums.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
Kang He held Fan Jing's chin with his palm, frowning: "When did it start to hurt?"
"Not long."
Fan Jing was not used to this. He did not think toothache was a big deal and thought it would pass over after enduring it.
Kang He felt somewhat helpless with this man, as he knew his usual temper and that he would not easily complain about his illness or cry out in pain.
If I had told him earlier, I would have brought him medicine from the city when I came back in the afternoon. Why did his gums become red and swollen from the pain?
Even if I had said that I wanted to go outside to dig some herbs in the afternoon, I could have stopped him first, but he just kept silent, which made me unable to eat and I felt unhappy.
Kang He let go of his hand and said unhappily, "There's no medicine for toothache at home, so just let it hurt."
Fan Jing seemed to be angry after hearing Kang He's words. He remained silent, looking away, not looking into his eyes.
Seeing this, Kang He became even angrier and said, "Then I'm going to eat. You can handle it anyway."
Seeing this, Fan Jing suddenly grabbed Kang He's clothes again. He looked up at him and said, "Who told you to always feed me cakes and candied fruits?"
"You're blaming me."
Fan Jing said, "I won't eat anymore."
Kang He listened to him and sat back down. "That preserved winter melon is so sweet it irritates your teeth. How can your teeth handle eating half a pack a day?"
"You're already grown up, but you're still as unrestrained as a child. Eat less each time next time."
After that, he leaned forward and kissed the area under the corner of Fan Jing's mouth where his tooth ached: "I'll rinse your mouth with warm salt water and apply a cold towel.
Come with me to the city tomorrow and pick up some medicine from the pharmacy. Then the pain will go away."
Fan Jing lowered his eyes and hummed, but did not loosen Kanghe's clothes.
Only after Kang He kissed her a few more times did he go out to get the salt water.
No one allowed Kang He to tell his family that he had a toothache.
At night, Fan Jing rinsed his mouth with warm salt water, and Kang He applied a handkerchief to his mouth, and the pain was no longer so severe.
Kang He told him about Xu Yang sending him and Chen into the city during the day: "I think he really wants to run for the position of village chief."
The Xu family was a wealthy and powerful family in the village, and Xu Yang was the only son. He had been educated and had made his way outside. Apart from being a little young, he had no reason to be dissatisfied with being the village head.
Kang He said, "I think he's trying to win over our family."
Fan Jing looked at Kang He and said, "Why would he bring us here? Fan Xin is studying in their private school first. We have some connections and maybe he can see some future for us. What else can we teach him now?"
"Maybe he's attracted to me."
Kang He and Fan Jing said with a smile.
Fan Jing knew that Kang He was joking, but he felt that it was indeed the case.
He knew what Kang He wanted to ask him: "Xu Yang is not a bad person. How bad can he be if he can get along with big brother?"
This is because Yan Fanxin is stupid.
Kang He nodded: "I don't have any intention of worshipping the mountain. I just want to live a simple life at home and not fight for those things."
"But Chen Yushun is always against our family. As long as he's in that position, he'll have many ways to make things difficult for us. We have to get rid of him so that our family can have some peace."
Kang He thought about it carefully. He felt that this was an opportunity for Xu Yang. He might not be able to succeed, but if he went to Xu Yang's mountain, Chen Yushun would be wary of him because of the Xu family's position in the village.
Anyway, it is impossible for them to get along with Chen Yushun, so they can only use these methods.
Fan Jing nodded. He understood a little about this matter, but he would not think about these complicated things.
People living in the mountains have less interactions with others, their minds are always simpler, and they don't want things to be complicated.
If they were good at strategizing, the family would not be so ignored in the village, and no one would take them seriously.
Fan Jing felt that he could now completely rely on Kang He in these matters: "Just do whatever you want. I'll listen to you at home."
The next day, Kang He packed up the eight pounds of honey that Zou Fulang wanted, and took the remaining forty salted ducks at home, preparing to take them to the city to sell.
Yesterday, the konjac tofu was not selling well, and the salted duck was not selling well either. Chen was a little depressed, and she did not make new konjac tofu since she came back yesterday.
After giving away the food and eating it myself, there were still about ten pounds left, so I didn't dare make new ones.
The weather in April was not extremely hot, so I put the leftover konjac tofu in a familiar family's well and refrigerated it to prevent it from losing its flavor.
Kang He took the remaining ten pounds of konjac tofu to the city to sell.
Chen Sanfang didn't say anything today. It rained last night, and she wanted to plant the eggplant vines while the soil absorbed the water.
Father Fan has a lot of work to do and is worried that he won't be able to handle it.
Chen Sanfang also wanted to go, but it was best to plant the melon vines in the morning, and if he wanted to go to the city to buy and sell, he had to go early in the morning. After the market was over in the afternoon, there would be even fewer people buying.
Seeing this, Kang He assigned her a new task.
"Mom is free at noon. Making konjac tofu requires a few more steps and requires more attention. Before the konjac tofu cools down, it can be made into konjac vermicelli."
Chen Sanfang was puzzled, as she had seen Kang He making fern powder and kudzu powder before.
The two maids, along with her, and everyone in the room helped out for two or three days. She still remembered the tedious process clearly in her mind.
"Why do you do this?"
"It's getting hot, so people still eat some casual dishes. People like to stew konjac and tofu. Let's change it up and make vermicelli with the konjac, so people can eat it like tofu. Who knows, no one will buy some."
Kang He said, "Let's try again. If it still doesn't work, that's fine. We'll just stop bothering and sell tofu cubes. If there are some results, we'll make money."
Chen Sanfang thought what he said made sense. After all, he had finished his work in the fields in the morning and there was nothing important to do. He did this work to make money, so wasn't it better than doing nothing?
"Okay, mother will do as you say. Call Shengzhen'er and Qiao'er to help me. We won't make too much, just a little to try first. It won't be too much effort."
Kang He responded, gave some instructions, and went up to the city with Fan Jing.
When they arrived at the county town, they first went to Mr. Zou's shop, presented him with eight pounds of honey, and received two strings of cash, four hundred coins in return.
Including the 1,500 coins earned yesterday, all the hard work was worth it, as I earned 3,900 coins.
When they didn't want to pay, Zou Fulang generously added a hundred yuan to make it even with them: "Next time you have good honey, send it to me first."
Zou Fulang saw that the honey was really good, and when he heard that Kanghe had beehives in the mountains, he thought about the future business.
Kang He was naturally happy to visit frequently and said, "We should be able to harvest honey before winter. When it's ready, I'll show it to my husband to see if it's good or not. Whether he likes it or not, I'll let him see it first."
There were so many people, Kang He gave five pairs of salted ducks and two cubes of konjac tofu to Zou Fulang.
He saw yesterday that this was a very particular person and might not look down on their rustic products.
But whether people look up to it is one thing, and whether they do it or not is another.
"Take these ten salt ducks to the back stove, cook them, and share them with the waiters to have some fun."
Sure enough, as soon as Kang He and Fan Jing left, Zou Fulang disposed of these local products.
"Add konjac and tofu to today's meal."
The waiter was delighted by the boss' generosity and happily agreed.
"This young man is quite thoughtful and knows how to handle things based on friendship."
"Since my husband has taken care of their business so efficiently, they should show some respect to him."
The waiter said that and followed the boss's instructions to cook the salt duck on the stove and share it with the people in the store as a snack.
Unexpectedly, when the salted duck was peeled and the skin was pierced, golden oil flowed out. The waiter hurriedly took a bite and found it to be unexpectedly salty and fragrant.
The guys in the store all thought it was delicious and even asked where I bought it.
The waiter who received the boss's order took the remaining two salted ducks and sent them to Mr. Zou upstairs, saying that they tasted good and letting the boss have a taste.
Mr. Zou, who was counting on an abacus, responded and told him to just leave it there.
He was busy and looked at the salted duck on the plate. He felt a little hungry, so he took one to fill his stomach.
They also eat salted duck at home. This food is enjoyed by everyone, regardless of their social status. However, he prefers the salted duck sold in the shop in Shuixiangzi.
He was particular about eating. He would first break the shell of the salt duck to make a small hole, and then use a small silver spoon to scoop out the food.
Moreover, he didn't like the outer layer of protein, but only liked the salty and yellow taste. He just put some into his mouth and it tasted like a myriad of flavors.
He ate up the two salted ducks, including the egg whites, in one breath.
He thought about asking the waiter if he had eaten all the honey in the kitchen, but he didn't dare to ask, so he asked someone to find the couple selling honey and ask them to buy twenty more honey.
Since no one had left their address, the guy had to look for them along the street.
He also wanted to buy some to take home and let his family try it. When the weather gets hot, people eat salted duck more often.
Kang He and Fan Jing set up their stall at the same place as yesterday. Not long after, someone came up with questions.
"Is it selling salted duck?"
Kang He took out the salted duck and said, "For sale. We came here once yesterday."
"Oh, I just pretended you weren't here today. I tried your salted duck yesterday and it was delicious. When I turned around and said I wanted to buy some, it was already sold out."
"Pick up three pairs with me."
"I want two pairs too!"
Kang He noticed that many people came to buy salted ducks, so it seemed that the ten salted ducks he had cut yesterday were not sold in vain.
I didn't expect so many people to come here. I guess they spread the word and wanted to come here because they all heard about the delicious food here.
However, they only had thirty coins, and they had no trouble selling the thirty coins they had, but he wanted to sell them to more people so that more people could taste them.
He shouted, "This salted duck is pickled just right now. If it's gone, take it home and eat it as soon as possible. Don't keep it for too long. It will become salty over time and won't taste as good as it does now!"
"You're quite honest in your business dealings, young man. I want to exchange three pairs for two pairs, is that okay?"
"Why not? Just finish your meal and come back next time to take care of our business."
Kang He was busy shouting, and Fan Jing was also busy helping to collect money and pick up ducks for people.
In less than half an hour, all thirty ducks were sold out, and the people who left behind still hadn't gotten any.
"Oh, little brother, I finally found you! I searched two streets and didn't expect you to be here on this bridge."
Kang He was about to pack up and take Fan Jing to the clinic. There were so many people buying salted duck that the konjac and tofu were almost sold out.
There were only two pieces left, and they were just about to send them to Madam Liang's family to eat when they saw a man panting for breath coming towards them.
Kang He recognized that this man was a clerk in Zou Fulang's shop. He saw that the man was running with sweat on his forehead, as if he had something urgent to do.
He thought to himself that there must be something wrong with the honey. He had already paid for it and received the goods, so he would not refund the money.
"What's the matter? What instructions does Mr. Zou have?"
"My boss Lang said your salted duck tastes great, and he wants to buy twenty more from you two."
Seeing that the two men's place was not frequented by many people, the waiter said, "Give us a good price, and I will tell the waiters in our shop about the quality of your salted duck."
Kang He smiled, picked up the basket and shook it upside down. "Thank you from the bottom of my heart, brother. I wanted to give you a good price. It's just unfortunate that you came a step too late. I have already sold all the salted duck."
The guy exclaimed, "Not even one?"
"Why should we keep one? If there is one left, we will give it to Big Brother."
"Then if you have any more at home, and it's still as good as honey, please send it to our shop."
The clerk had no choice but to take a step back and said, "Thirty or forty coins will be fine. If you give more, it won't be a wasted trip for you."
Kang He said, "Mr. Zou is a generous man. Even if he wants two, I can make a special trip with him. I'm just afraid he can't wait. The freshly made salted duck at home has been sold out in the past two days. If there is more, it will take twenty days."
After hearing this, the guy secretly thought that he was really a step too late.
Who would have thought that business could be so good? But the salted duck tasted really good. They were used to it, and other people could also taste it.
Kang He and his colleague said, "I haven't set up a stall here yet. My mother comes here sometimes. If you're willing to wait, I'll send it to you in twenty days. There's no need to rush to reply today. You can come over and tell me when you have time later."
The waiter sighed and said that he had no time to order the salt duck for the 20th or later, and had to go back and ask his boss what he thought.
After the people left, Kang He smiled and said to Fan Jing, "It seems that our five pairs of salted ducks were not given away in vain. Look, people came to buy more immediately. It's a pity that mother didn't come today. If she saw it, she would be very happy."
"Yesterday I cut up ten pieces of salted duck and showed them to people on the street. It made her so sad."
Fan Jing thought that this guy's mind was like a beehive. Fortunately, he had so many ideas, otherwise this small business would not have been possible.
"I'll go back and teach her to pickle all the salted ducks we have at home. She'll be just as happy."
Kang He responded with a smile. He thought so too. He would have to trouble Mr. Shen again.
The two of them went to the clinic to get medicine. Kanghe went to the Zhuping Pharmacy in Qingfang, which was the shop where Kanghe got medicine the first time he came from the mountains.
He knew a little about medicine and could identify medicines. After comparing prices at three different pharmacies, he found that the medicines in this pharmacy were among the cheapest in the city.
"Is Doctor Zhu not here today?"
Kang He saw that the person prescribing medicine today was a young man, and he didn't see the older doctor from before in the shop, so he asked about it.
"Master asked the wealthy man from the east end of the city to take her away in a sedan chair. His daughter has been in poor health and has seen many doctors but to no avail. Only my master can cure her. Every ten days or half a month, the Tian family will send a sedan chair to take her away."
Perhaps wanting to boast about Doctor Zhu's excellent medical skills, the young man said a few more words to Kang He.
Kang He also followed up with some praise.
At this moment, an old lady came up, also looking for Doctor Zhu. She came to thank him and brought a basket of eggs.
A little later, an old widower came to pay back his debt.
Seeing that the young man was very busy, Kang He stopped talking. Turning around, he saw Fan Jing, who had been sitting and waiting at one end, had come up behind him without him noticing.
He coughed dryly and said, "I just wanted to ask if your toothache is serious."
Fan Jing ignored him.
Kang Helian walked over, led him to one side and applied external ointment on him.
When he got home, Kang He calculated that he had earned eighty-five cents today, excluding the honey.
Salted duck cost two coins each, and thirty of them could be sold for sixty coins. The rest was earned from selling konjac and tofu.
Kang He gave the money to Chen, because she was the one who made the salted duck and konjac tofu.
Chen was a little skeptical: "Is it really that easy to sell?"
"If you don't believe me, ask Dajing. He's watching."
Kang He said, "That man, Zou, who was buying honey, was a little late and didn't get any of our salted duck. He left looking very dejected. I told him to come to our stall anytime if he wanted to make an order."
Chen was delighted. "The taste yesterday wasn't free, it was your idea. We've saved up dozens of ducks lately, and we've salted them all. We eat salted duck even more often in the summer."
"I agree. But it's not good to do it once it's ripe. You have to rush to sell it, and when it's sold out there's no more supply. It's intermittent, and it's hard to maintain a stable business."
Kang He said to Chen: "Mother, make it in batches. It will be easier to sell it when it's ready."
"Hey, hey!"
Chen promised repeatedly that she would not accept Kang He's money: "You two went to sell it, and you can keep it yourself."
Kang He insisted, "The reason why our salted duck sells well is not entirely due to our eloquence, but also because Mr. Shen's salted duck is well made. Otherwise, even if we talk about it in a fancy way, few people would buy it."
"We need to pickle more duck here, and we'll need Mr. Shen's help. Although we gave him gifts before, they're not as useful as copper coins. If we invite Mr. Shen back, we'll pay him for his work, and then no one will have anything to complain about. What do you think, mother?"
Chen Sanfang thought about it and felt that it was true. Mr. Shen's family was not rich, so anything else would not be as good as money. It would not be a good idea to trouble others often just to see if they had a good relationship with him. Silver was more practical.
"Okay, Mom, when you call him next time, tell him clearly that we're paying him to do this for us."
Kang He nodded: "Since we have to pay the labor, the salted duck has a cost. If mother doesn't take the money, she will have to pay for the salted duck out of her own pocket. Besides, the bamboo shoots are also collected by mother. "
When Chen Sanfang heard him say this, he no longer refused.
She was so excited that she wanted to call Mr. Shen and told him to come back and pickle the duck for her someday. She even stopped working on making the vermicelli.
Kang He let her go and first boiled the medicine with Fan Jing, and then took over the rest of the work.
He made some vermicelli with bamboo shoots and chopped some green onions as a side dish, and mixed a big bowl of it at home to try in the evening.
But when Chen left, it was already dark and no one came back.
Father Fan thought the noodles on the table were delicious and wanted to eat them with wine. However, Chen didn't come back for a long time, so he stood outside the yard with his hands behind his back and looked out for several times.
The two maids Zhen'er and Qiao'er also felt hungry.
"Where is your mother going? She keeps talking and chatting and won't come home. Is she going to stay in someone else's house for a midnight snack?"
Fan Shoulin couldn't wait for anyone, and he was worried, so he said, "I'll go take a look."
As he was speaking, Chen came back from outside.
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