The next morning, the still-drowsy little dumpling was pulled out of bed by Cen's mother and wrapped up like a miniature brown bear. Except for her eyes, there was no part of her body exposed.
"Where are you going, Mom?"
The little girl was still asleep and spoke in a babyish voice.
"I'll take you to see the mirage; there's lots of delicious food inside."
Huo Xiaolong nestled in Cen's mother's arms, noticing that her mother had become much stronger lately. She must weigh at least forty pounds now, and with all those clothes on, Cen's mother could easily support her little bottom with one hand.
Needless to say, Aunt Zhang is even more amazing. To this day, no one knows where Aunt Zhang's limit is. She can haul a truckload of several hundred kilograms of cabbage back to Fengyue Tower all by herself without even breaking a sweat.
The group boarded the carriage, while Ah Cai followed behind in a donkey cart.
Even when they were still some distance from the seafood market, Huo Xiaolong could feel the salty, fishy wind blowing towards them, just like the seafood market in his previous life. Rows of frozen seafood and the sounds of merchants bargaining could be heard even before they arrived.
There were lively carp on the ground, as well as frozen, solid dead fish.
Zhang's mother has her own pursuits and is not willing to do dead things, feeling that they are not novel.
Cen's mother, holding the little dumpling in her arms, watched Zhang's mother haggling with the vendor and asked...
"Is there anything you want? Mom will buy it for you."
Zhang's mother bought almost everything Huo Xiaolong wanted to eat. When the three of them walked to the innermost part, they saw a dark-skinned, thin man guarding a pile of octopuses in a corner.
The little dumpling swallowed hard. Squid! She hadn't seen any for sale since she came in; this was the only one of its kind. Remembering the squid pancakes and grilled squid from her past life, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.
Huo Xiaolong rarely cooked in his past life, usually relying on takeout for all three meals. Now, remembering the delicious food from his previous life, he's determined to learn how to cook it, whether he knows how or not. His photographic memory? That's an exaggeration! He can memorize something after hearing it once on TV. What if he can't remember it? He'll force himself to remember, and if he has a general idea, he'll try to figure it out!
"Mom, I want that one."
Cen's mother looked in the direction she was pointing.
"Why eat that stuff? It's awful, and even when it's cooked, it's still tough to chew."
"Mom~"
The little girl's "Mom" was so loud it was almost a lilt, and Cen's mother couldn't resist. She immediately decided to buy it! The child could play with it in the snow.
Hearing what the little girl behind her said, Zhang's mother led the two of them forward and asked...
How much is your octopus?
The dark-skinned, thin man's cotton-padded coat probably had almost no cotton inside; it had been shaken until it was sieve-like.
"Eight-tailed fish, three...no...two coins a pound"
This must be the cheapest thing in the market. The man was afraid they wouldn't buy it, so he lowered the price by one coin himself.
Mrs. Zhang likes honest people like this. Dealing with them is less tiring than haggling, and most of the things they bring are good quality.
"This was just caught yesterday, guaranteed fresh."
The dark-skinned, thin man was named Hu Si'er. His family was so poor that they couldn't even afford to eat. With the New Year approaching, he wanted to add some meat to his family's meal, so yesterday he shamelessly took his fishing nets and boarded a fellow villager's boat.
Yesterday the fishing was bad; we caught nothing but octopuses. Instead, the villagers blamed us for being unlucky, saying that octopuses were caught as soon as we got on the boat.
He was indeed unlucky; whenever he boarded the boat, the only catch on board that day was always octopus. He had been fishing with his father since he was a teenager, and had only been on the boat no more than ten times, always returning with a full load of octopus.
"How much do you want, Long'er?"
Actually, the total weight on the ground is less than ten kilograms. Ten kilograms isn't even enough for everyone in the building to make a meal of sesame cakes. This thing shrinks a lot when boiled in water.
"Uncle, do you have anything else besides these?" the little girl asked.
"And! There's probably half...half a donkey cart."
"Approximately how many kilograms?"
"Nearly fifty pounds"
"Then we'll take them both!"
Taking all the octopus from the man's hands probably wouldn't cost more than two coins. Cen's mother readily paid, and Zhang's mother went with him to get the goods, so that he could go with Ah Cai to deliver them to the brothel.
Two taels of silver wasn't much, but it was enough for Hu Si'er's family to have a prosperous New Year. He himself hadn't expected that the octopus could be sold, and he secretly memorized the door of the brothel.
The sun was already at noon, and Zhang's mother had finished shopping. The three of them headed home.
Looking at the pile of octopuses in the backyard, Er Ya thought to herself: She had eaten this when she was a child. Her family was so poor back then that they only had one pair of cotton pants to wear. Otherwise, her mother would not have sold her.
Fengyuelou has been doing quite well lately; surely it shouldn't have fallen to the point of having to serve octopus.
"Sister Er Ya!"
A little blind bear ran over from the front hall, calling out to her.
"What's wrong, Ya Dan'er?"
Second Sister probably will never be able to call out "Long'er" as gently and tenderly as the other women in the building.
Let's break these apart.
The octopus was frozen solid; you have to thaw it in water before you can eat it.
"So much? Dissolve it all?"
Er Ya looked at the pile of octopus, thinking that even if they thawed, she might not be able to finish them all.
"Then let's dissolve half of it first?"
"OK!"
Er Ya didn't let Xiao Tuanzi do anything. She put her on a small stool in the kitchen and had her sit by the fire at the door and watch her work. It was just a little bit of work; she could do it herself. Why did she have to make a child under four years old help her?
The octopus thawed completely after being submerged in water for an hour. Zhang's mother also went to the kitchen to see what the little girl was going to do.
"Aunt Zhang, cut the octopus into small pieces, like this!"
The little girl took her hand and pointed to her thumbnail.
"Then chop up more scallions, add some chili sauce, the kind with garlic, mix it all together like a filling, and wrap it in Aunt Wang's sesame seed cakes. It'll be incredibly delicious!"
"You little rascal, you really know how to eat!"
Zhang's mother picked up the little dumpling, kissed her, and told her to go back to take a nap. She herself still had to go to Wang's Pancake Shop.
Wang's Pancake Shop is run by an elderly couple who have no children of their own, but they are a loving and harmonious couple. In the border town, people don't place much importance on things like having no offspring; they don't know when the Xiongnu might come, so everyone cherishes the present and lives each day to the fullest.
"Sister Wang, are you busy this afternoon?"
Mrs. Zhang lifted the thick curtain and asked...
"What could possibly be wrong with me? I'm only busy for a little while every morning, what's up, girl?"
"If you're free this afternoon, could you come downstairs and make me some sesame seed cakes?"
"Sure, what's the big deal? Which young lady wants some of my sesame seed cakes? This is just adding to the charm of my sesame seed cakes, isn't it?"
"Sister, you know how to talk! No wonder your business is so good."
Aunt Wang wasn't worried about the brothel staff stealing her techniques, not to mention Zhang Mama's reputation on this street. Just imagine, a brothel serving up sesame cakes as a specialty to those important people? How shabby!
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