Chapter 11
Aunt Liu had a full meal and lingered at Zhou's house for a long time before leaving.
Mrs. Yu was embarrassed by Aunt Liu's unsightly eating habits. However, knowing her family's hardship, she didn't say anything. Ye Jia watched the woman saunter away, then turned back to the house. Mrs. Yu had already collected the dishes and washed them under the stove. She had been busy all afternoon, making over two hundred pancakes. When she looked up again, it was already dark.
Ye Jia returned to the house and brought out the half-basin of pig intestines, planning to cut some into pieces and fry them for dinner that evening. There was also the strip of pork belly from yesterday, and since the family had some money saved, Ye Jia decided to indulge in some good food.
Be a little extravagant and make braised pork!
It wasn't that Ye Jia was stingy, but he didn't share the meat during lunchtime. As the saying goes, wealth shouldn't be displayed openly. The Zhou family was notoriously poor in Wangjia Village. Orphans and widows had no one to help them, so they had to hide their wealth to live comfortably.
Ye Jia carried a piece of meat to the kitchen, and the sharp-eyed Rui Jieer followed him with her short legs and a glaring look.
The smoothest thing she said was: "Auntie, it's delicious!"
"Yes." Don't say it, people's feelings are formed by getting along with each other. Ye Jia thought Rui Jie'er was a little ugly before, but now the more she looks at her, the more beautiful she becomes. Asking her not to be in the driver's seat, Ye Jia washed the meat again and scalded the hair on the bottom of the pot before blanching it. "Just wait, I'll give you a big piece!"
The child's eyes sparkled and he grinned, "Big one!"
While Ye Jia was busy, Mrs. Yu helped Zhou Jingchen back to the house. Lying back on the bed, a stalemate settled between mother and son. After a long moment, Mrs. Yu sighed again. Excessive platitudes were pointless; her son's temperament wasn't one that could be persuaded with a few words. After a moment's thought, she swallowed her words about urging him to move to the west room. She reached out to straighten his bedding and said she was going to the kitchen to help Ye Jia light the fire.
Back in the kitchen, Ye Jia's meat was already stewing. Braised pork needs to be stewed longer to be tender. With only one stove, there's nothing else to cook besides stewing the meat. Seeing Ye Jia pick up the large pancake pot, Yu Shi gathered around curiously, "What are you doing? Making pancakes tonight?"
The shredded radish pancakes are quite delicious, and can be taken out or eaten at home. It's getting late, and I don't have time to knead the dough and make steamed buns, so frying a few pancakes for a staple food is fine. But while they can, the man lying in the east room can't. He's still taking his medicine, and he can't eat radishes until he finishes it. A 19-year-old strongman can't just eat porridge every meal; he still has to cook.
Ye Jia smiled: "No, let's eat something new today."
In a previous life, Ye Jia had been on a business trip to Northeast China and had eaten an authentic farm delicacy called 烀冰 (rice cake). It's a dish where vegetables are stewed in a pot, with a layer of flatbread placed against the edge. By the time the vegetables are tender and the flatbread is soaked in the broth, it's incredibly fragrant. Today, they were stewing braised pork at home to make 烀冰 (rice cake). One piece of meat wouldn't be enough for four people, so Ye Jia, seeing that the meat was almost tender enough to be pulled out with a chopstick, tossed in some cabbage and a cooked egg.
The pot was full, and when she opened the lid, Yu's eyes widened.
Honestly, ever since Yu was exiled to Libei Town, her only hope was for her son to make it out of Xichang alive. Life was a mess, with no hope. Ye Jia, the daughter-in-law, had a somewhat peculiar temper, but she had the knack of giving people hope. Now, like Rui Jie'er, Yu was eagerly anticipating something good to come out of the kitchen stove.
"Mom, go to the east room and see if you can help my husband over here." Ye Jiazhen wasn't cut out to take care of a sick person. Seeing Zhou Jingchen sitting on the bench for the entire afternoon, she subconsciously forgot that he had a broken leg. "This steamed bun should be eaten hot, fresh out of the pan. It won't taste good if it's served out."
Yu thought about it for a long time and didn't care. She actually went to the east room to help Zhou Jingchen.
Zhou Jingchen couldn't help but hold his forehead as he was helped out of bed. Needless to say, after so many days of porridge, he, like Mrs. Yu, began to look forward to the stove. The family sat in a circle around the frying pan in the small, cramped kitchen. Behind them was the steaming stove. It was still cold on this early February night, but the lingering steam had a strangely warm feel.
Ye Jia handed out a bowl to each of them, then used a large iron shovel to scoop meat and vegetables into each person's bowl, and then covered the meat and vegetables with a large flatbread. They sat down and started eating: "Eat, it will become hard if it gets cold."
While eating, I didn't forget to put the pig intestines into the big frying pan. The oil sizzled out and the aroma filled the air.
Zhou Jingchen held the bowl, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The Regent's etiquette was ingrained in him, and this was the first time he had eaten so casually.
Rui Jie'er threw away her chopsticks and stuffed the pancake into her mouth. However, Yu Shi took a bite of the meat and her eyes widened: "What happened to Jia Niang's hands? How can she cook meat so deliciously?"
Ye Jia laughed and changed a pair of chopsticks to flip the pig intestines in the frying pan.
The pig intestines were sizzling with oil. Ye Jia grabbed a pair of large scissors and cut them short. Then she flipped them over one by one. She made a simple dry sauce with chopped green onion, ginger, garlic, sesame, and salt. Seeing one sizzling with oil, she picked one up, dipped it in a bowl, and ate it. The others followed suit and took a real bite. It was charred and fragrant, crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, even better than stir-frying.
Zhou Jingchen was a little uncomfortable with it, but he was not a pretentious person, so he learned to eat a bite.
In the back room, no one spoke anymore; everyone's eyes were fixed on the pot, each one eating so hard they couldn't even lift their heads. Rui Jie'er was small, so she couldn't eat as smoothly as the adults. She could chew a small piece for a long time, and it was so hot that she grimaced.
Even sleep becomes sweeter when there's something to look forward to. Yu Shi doesn't toss and turn in bed anymore, because she has to get up early tomorrow to set up her stall in town.
Perhaps it was because there wasn't another food stall dominating the market. Business was booming for the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and after ten days, they'd made a profit of seven or eight taels. This was the net income after deducting costs and the cost of the family's meals. With money in her pocket, the sadness on Yu's face faded considerably. Eating well and sleeping well, she felt more and more prosperous each day, which only brought out her good looks.
In fact, a strikingly beautiful mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were seen selling pancakes in Wa City every day, and word had spread throughout the town. Someone had even given their stall the nickname, "Xishi's stall." While this nickname left Ye Jia speechless, it also brought fame to their shredded radish pancake stall. Not only did people from Wa City come to eat, but even residents of the town came to try it.
Business was getting better day by day, and with some spare money in hand, Ye Jia started thinking about buying tiles to repair the roof.
Although Libei Town doesn't get much rain, it's surprising how much it rained this year. But that doesn't mean there won't be rain in the future. A leaky roof isn't a big deal. That day, Ye Jia and Yu packed up their stall and headed to the brick kiln.
Libei Town has only one brick kiln, which makes both bricks and tiles. The entire town, and even neighboring towns, buy bricks and tiles from it.
When the two of them arrived, the brick kiln manager wasn't there. Only a few teenagers were watching at the door. Ye Jia explained his purpose, and after a long while, a middle-aged man, seemingly burly, emerged from the room. He had a goatee, puffy eyes, a large nose, and wore a felt hat. He was dressed quite respectably. Seeing that the visitors were two ragged women, he hesitated to raise his puffy eyes.
When he heard that it was just a thousand small tiles, broken tiles, he immediately lost interest in talking. But even a mosquito, no matter how small, is still meat, and a broken tile is still money. He asked for five hundred coins, and without giving me a chance to bargain, he turned and walked away.
Ye Jia was about to ask him to have someone take them to see the place, but seeing the manager's attitude, she couldn't help but frown. But then she thought, this was the only brick kiln in the area, nothing else, so she gave up. Ye Jia, with a background in engineering and having spent several years in a design institute, was very familiar with this. Making bricks and tiles wasn't difficult; she could do it, but running the kiln was a bit more complicated. It was only because not many people understood this these days that the kilns were so rampant. Slowly letting out a breath, Ye Jia followed the apprentice to the back to look at the tiles.
The two of them had arrived in a hurry, having left their stall to take a look; their home wasn't actually ready yet. Ye Jia followed the apprentice to examine the tiles, feeling them a bit; the quality was barely acceptable. He simply said he'd bring someone back in the afternoon to pick them up, and they'd pay then.
The apprentice didn't say anything, but kept glancing at Ye Jia's face.
Ye Jia's good looks were universally acknowledged. As soon as Yu Shi saw something was amiss, she pulled Ye Jia behind her to shield him. However, she and Ye Jia were not much different in stature, so she couldn't block them. The young apprentices even glanced behind her. Ye Jia didn't mind. They had been doing business in Wa City for over a month, so they were used to it.
"Mom, let's go back first." The roof needed to be repaired, and "the things on the stall need to be sent back."
They had just left the brick kiln yard when they ran into a mule cart at the entrance to the alley. The alley was narrow, only wide enough for one cart to pass straight ahead. Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law's wheelbarrow didn't take up any space, if they passed by, they would inevitably scrape against each other. They simply pulled their carts back to the brick and tile house's yard. Before the apprentice in the yard could speak, the mule cart arrived. A middle-aged man with a large belly got out.
The man patted his stomach and came down. The steward, who had been too lazy to move, came trotting out. Perhaps someone had seen the master coming and told him. As he ran, he wore an earnest smile on his face and personally stepped forward to support him. "Why is the master here?"
The man addressed as "Master" narrowed his eyes and glanced towards Ye Jia and Yu. The steward immediately changed his attitude and smiled: "Have you two taken a look? I'll have someone take you to have a look."
While the apprentice's look was innocuous, the fat, middle-aged man's was rather distasteful. Yu stood in front and said she'd seen it all and would come back this afternoon. Then, she and Ye Jia pushed their wheelbarrows and left the alley.
The lecherous gazes from the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law disappeared after they left the alley. Ye Jia now looked down at their dusty clothes and felt relieved. Libei Town was not peaceful, and being beautiful was not a good thing for a woman. Ye Jia and Yu Shi pushed the cart back home, both of them worried, probably thinking the same thing. It was a rare occasion for Ye Jia to go to the east room after dinner.
Yu took a glance and silently pulled Rui Jie'er away, who wanted to go to the east room to find her aunt.
"Husband." She spoke in a sweet and charming voice.
Although he had heard it several times before, Zhou Jingchen still felt strange when he heard Ye Jia call him husband face to face.
Ye Jia didn't notice his expression, just staring at his legs for a long time with a frown, and then a pair of hands came up to touch him. Zhou Jingchen's eyes flickered slightly, and he restrained himself from avoiding her, but his eyebrows and heartbeat became more noticeable. This man was really patient, letting Ye Jia touch and pinch his legs for a long time, his face remained as calm as a mountain. A pair of eyes examined Ye Jia with a bit of sharpness.
After a long time, Ye Jia didn't find anything and withdrew his hand in disappointment: "Husband, I'll find someone to help you. Come with me to the town to sell food tomorrow."
The man didn't cry out in pain, and Ye Jia couldn't tell the extent of his injuries. He figured he'd been so desperate that he didn't care about his appearance and brought disaster upon himself. Now that he had the money in his savings, he had more time to think about other things.
Today had reminded her that her and Yu's street trade wasn't a safe bet. Libei Town wasn't peaceful, and they were lucky to have survived all that time. But one can't rely on luck forever; there are always times when things go wrong. She and Yu had to carry a stove with them, and if they ran into a scoundrel like that, they'd probably just suffer in silence.
"Mom is old, tell her to rest more in the morning." She thought about it and said, "It's better for my husband to help with business."
Zhou Jingchen understood Ye Jia's meaning after a brief thought. Thinking of their faces when they came back this morning, he straightened his lips and nodded, "Okay."
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