The warmth on Qiao Suiman’s face lingered for a long time, and Lu Dongqing also took a while to calm down from his overwhelming joy. Memories of Qiao Suiman suddenly giving him the cold shoulder not long ago resurfaced, and now he finally understood. Leaning close to Qiao Suiman’s ear, he asked, “Did you learn this from the picture book? Is that why you ignored me that day and decided to give me this gift?”
Qiao Suiman remained silent. He has no idea what possessed him to actually do such a thing. He couldn’t possibly admit it, so he could only remain silent and cover it up.
Getting no response, Lu Dongqing didn’t press further. He held the person and chatted casually, his words alternating between joy and excitement. He repeated the same few sentences over and over, successfully lulling Qiao Suiman to sleep.
He thought that today would be a tough battle, but he never expected him to be satisfied with this. Qiao Suiman smiled faintly and slowly fell asleep, unaware of how long Lu Dongqing continued to talk to himself.
The next day, Lu Dongqing stuck to Qiao Suiman like glue. Aside from delivering drinks to town, even when weaving lanterns, he insisted on sitting right beside him. Finally, Qiao Suiman couldn’t take it anymore. “Act normal!”
After being scolded, Lu Dongqing finally calmed down a bit. Qiao Suiman simply ignored him and helped Miao Lianhua hang the stuffed sausages under the eaves to dry. Over the past few days, she bought twenty jin of meat in batches, which she had finally finished stuffing a few days ago. They also prepared plenty of cured meat and fish, which were neatly arranged on wooden racks. It was a pleasure to look at. With so much food, the neighbors who passed by couldn’t help but feel envious.
Most of the other families in the western part of the village were also refugees, usually consisting of just one or two people. Those living alone often found jobs in town with food and lodging included. There was also a family of two brothers who went to work as long-term workers for the wealthy He family in Hexi Village and only came back recently.
Qiao Suiman had hardly seen any of these neighbors, which was why the villagers felt that the Lu family was truly extraordinary. They built a new house, married off their son, and their business was doing so well that they suddenly became the topic of conversation among the villagers during the New Year.
Qiao Suiman paid no mind to the gossip. Today, they would finally receive their wages from the wine house!
On the twentieth day of the twelfth month, the streets were brimming with New Year’s atmosphere. Every household was busy cleaning and preparing supplies. After delivering the drinks today, Qiao Suiman and Lu Dongqing also had to buy some New Year’s goods to take home.
Steward Fang mentioned that the restaurant wouldn’t close for the New Year, as profits during this time could multiply several times over. Qiao Suiman took the opportunity to bring up the matter of selling the recipe.
“Are you really willing to sell me the recipe?” Steward Fang asked in surprise. He also considered the idea before, but the contract was already signed, and he couldn’t go back on his word. Moreover, he had seen how diligent Qiao Suiman was, never taking extra ingredients and even helping him save costs later on. The man was truly reliable.
Qiao Suiman nodded. “I’m giving you those earlier drinks as a thank you for bringing us such a large business. I’ve also come up with two new drinks. You can try them first, and if you’re satisfied, you can buy them. Even if you don’t, I’ll still properly teach the cooks how to make the original ones.”
Steward Fang was very pleased. “Alright, make them first, and I’ll give them a try. Some customers have been asking when we’ll have new flavors.”
“Alright.” Qiao Suiman smiled in agreement.
He was already quite skilled. He asked Steward Fang for cardamom, tea leaves, and sugarcane.
The sugarcane was placed on a steaming rack and lightly roasted over a low fire, with tea leaves laid on top. Lu Dongqing boiled water nearby, and by the time the roasting was done, the water was ready.
The sugarcane’s surface carried a faint caramelized aroma, coated with a layer of sugar crystals. When brewed with tea leaves, you don’t even need to add sugar. It has both the sweetness and the richness of tea.
Qiao Suiman dried the cardamom the same way, quickly tossing it into the boiling water. After steeping for a while to release its flavor and letting it sit, it became a cardamom-infused drink. The method was the same as for the perilla drink, and even simpler.
Neither of these drinks were particularly complicated. Cardamom-infused drinks were already common in many teashops, so Qiao Suiman didn’t plan to sell that recipe. The main focus was the sweet sugarcane tea, which could fetch at least two taels of silver.
Qiao Suiman has very precise control over the heat. Any more would be too much, and any less would not achieve the desired flavor.
After tasting both drinks, Steward Fang promptly wrote up a contract to purchase them, paying Qiao Suiman a total of fifteen taels and four mace, which covers both the wages for this period and the cost of the recipes.
Qiao Suiman was overjoyed with the dozen or so taels of silver. He gave them all to Lu Dongqing to keep and went to teach the cooks.
They worked until the end of the si shi[mfn]巳时 : 9-11 AM[/mfn], only quickly eating a steamed bun in between, before all the cooks finally mastered the recipes. The drinks they made tasted no different from Qiao Suiman’s, so he left with peace of mind.
When Qiao Suiman was teaching the cooks, Lu Dongqing felt it was inconvenient for him to stay inside, so he waited outside. When he finally saw someone come out, he immediately went up to them and asked, “Going to the East Market?”
“Yes!”
With their work for the year finally done, they just had to wait for the New Year now. Both of them were in high spirits as they wandered through the East Market for a long time. They bought three packs of pastries, two packs of crispy candy, and even some firecrackers, couplets, and fireworks.
This year has been full of happy events. They got married, secured a shop, and earned a considerable amount of money. Spending a little extra to celebrate was no issue at all.
His elder brother and Qin Yu-ge had already bought their New Year supplies early. When Qiao Suiman returned home in the morning, he saw plenty of fireworks and firecrackers.
In previous years, he only played with fireworks given to him by Chen Xuesheng. This was the first time he was buying and setting them off himself. He was jumping up and down with excitement, wanting to buy this and that. But when he heard the prices, he couldn’t bring himself to spend that much. In the end, he only bought the ones that were reasonably priced. Still, it was already a wonderful experience.
Lu Dongqing kept smiling as he followed him around. They left the cart outside the market and paid five wen to have someone watch it. He kept the silver close to his body as he and Qiao Suiman walked around for a long time before finally heading home, still feeling like they could have stayed longer.
With all the New Year’s goods ready, the next important thing was cleaning the house. Qiao Suiman and Miao Lianhua had already done that before. Now, aside from taking care of the chickens and ducks, and Lu Dongqing making lanterns, there wasn’t much else to do.
While the house no longer needed work, there was a man in the bedroom who had been starving for nearly a month. Even if Qiao Suiman had relieved his cravings several times in between, when the day finally came for indulgence, he was still tormented late into the night.
Qiao Suiman sobbed uncontrollably, feeling as if his soul was about to leave his body. No matter how much he hit or scolded, the man on top of him refused to stop. After changing positions several times, he was too exhausted to stay awake. In a daze, he muttered, “Bastard… the ointment in the wooden box… put some there…”
The last thought before Qiao Suiman succumbed to sleep was that tomorrow, he would finally know the answer to Chen Xuesheng’s question.
The answer was actually quite useful, Qiao Suiman thought to himself.
Though his waist ached and his legs were sore, there wasn’t much discomfort there, despite how fiery it felt last night.
Lu Dongqing stood by the bed like a guilty dog, not daring to speak. He carefully brought a bowl of porridge and took a wooden table used for the bed and placed it on top.
“I told my mother that you caught a cold and needed to rest in the room for a while.” Lu Dongqing said it after holding it in for a long time.
“Hmph.”
Qiao Suiman wasn’t truly angry. He agreed beforehand that once they have time, he would let Lu Dongqing have his way. But seeing Lu Dongqing like this, he still felt a little happy inside. After all, this man laughed at him yesterday for not having enough stamina!
Time passed slowly, and before they knew it, it was the twenty-ninth day of the month. Early in the morning, Qiao Suiman boiled rice paste and instructed Lu Dongqing to put up the couplets. He and Miao Lianhua watched from behind, and sometimes they felt it was too left and sometimes too right. It took a lot of effort to finally paste them up.
The meat was fried in advance, so it only needed to be fried again on New Year’s Eve before it was ready to eat. All the other dishes were also prepared. This year, Da-ge and Qin Yu-ge would also be joining them for the New Year’s Eve meal. Otherwise, with just the two of them, it would feel as dull as any other day, lacking any festive atmosphere.
The main hall and the storeroom were filled with lanterns, some in the shape of carp and some in ordinary styles. The palace lanterns covered with sheepskin parchment paper were placed on wooden cabinets inside the rooms to prevent them from being accidentally knocked over and broken. There was even a full basket of auspicious tassels woven by Qiao Suiman.
Lu Dongqing picked two ordinary ones to hang by the door. At night, lighting a small piece of candle made them bright and eye-catching. He also sent two each to the Qiao family and the village chief’s family.
Early on New Year’s Eve, the sound of firecrackers went off throughout the village. Lu Dongqing and Lu Xuesong each lit a row, and Qiao Suiman eagerly took the sparkler from Lu Dongqing’s hand. The moment he lit the fuse, he turned and dashed back into the yard, laughing heartily.
After setting off firecrackers to scare away the Nian beast[mfn]年兽 nián shòu – It is a mythological creature from Chinese folklore that terrorizes villages on the last day of the lunar year. The traditions of firecrackers, red lanterns, and red robes found in many lion dance portrayals originate from the villagers’ practice of hitting drums, plates, and empty bowls, wearing red robes, and throwing firecrackers, causing loud banging sounds to intimidate the nian. (Wikipedia)[/mfn], Qiao Ruifeng and Qin Yu soon arrived in the western part of the village. Qiao Suiman, Qin Yu, and Miao Lianhua busied themselves preparing lunch. The kitchen was too crowded, so they simply used stones to build a temporary stove in the courtyard, which was also capable of lighting a fire and cooking meals.
Qiao Ruifeng Lu Xuesong, and Lu Dongqing went to the backyard. The chickens and ducks from both families were bought together and raised with care. They were all healthy and chirped all the time, making people love them very much.
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