Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jiang Chun reached out to pick up a large meat bun and took a big bite, instantly filling his mouth with fragrance.

The backwardness of the ancient era was one thing, but the pork was truly delicious.

After all, the pigs were raised on grains and wild vegetables, genuine free-range pigs, incomparable to those fattened on feed in modern times.

He finished off the meat bun in a few bites, then picked up his bowl and took a large sip of tofu pudding.

The tofu pudding, seasoned with brine and chopped pickled mustard root, was smooth, salty, and fragrantly delightful.

Unable to resist, he took another large sip.

Putting down his bowl and looking up, he saw Song Shian sitting there in a daze, untouched buns and tofu pudding before him.

"Husband, why aren't you eating? Aren't you hungry?"

He urged him with a word.

Thinking for a moment, Jiang Chun picked up another meat bun, extended it forward, and asked with a smile, "Or do you want to eat the meat bun?"

He had set the background for Song Shian, the handsome, strong, and tragic male supporting character, as having suffered from a serious illness in his childhood. After being taken in as a nominal disciple by Master Lichen of Cian Temple, he survived.

Since then, he could only eat vegetarian food and could not touch any meat.

The Song family, implicated by their son-in-law, King Yan, had their property confiscated, and Song Shian was sold into servitude, only to be bought back by Jiang He to become a son-in-law in name of the Jiang family.

While other villagers could only enjoy meat during festivals, the Jiang family, being butchers, never lacked for it.

In the original story, the Jiang family used lard for cooking and added meat to every dish.

This left the vegetarian Song Shian in a difficult position, forced to eat plain steamed buns or bean porridge.

The previous owner mistakenly thought he was dissatisfied with her cooking, which deepened her resentment towards him.

Song Shian had endured severe torture in prison, leaving his body weak and requiring daily medication for recovery.

With inadequate nutrition, he developed chronic health issues, falling ill at the slightest provocation, coughing incessantly, and even spitting blood when it got worse.

Truly, a handsome, strong, and tragic figure.

Song Shian reined in his thoughts, ignored Jiang Chun's extended hand, and lifted the porcelain bowl of tofu pudding to his lips, taking a light sip.

After putting down the bowl, he used his long, slender fingers to pick up a vegetarian bun from the oil paper and took a small bite.

He chewed slowly.

Jiang Chun almost stared in amazement.

He thought to himself, "No wonder, I managed to create such a beautiful person, every move is pleasing to the eye, truly a feast for the senses, just looking at him makes me feel full!"

Everyone has an appreciation for beauty, and Jiang Chun was no exception, especially since this beautiful person was a character he had created himself.

However, he wasn't love-struck.

Romance was merely a seasoning in his life, not the entirety.

If these two aspects ever conflicted, although he would be reluctant, he would still choose to divorce Song Shian.

Of course, that was a matter for later.

For now, he would treat Song Shian well, striving to improve his health so that he could repay his kindness by bringing them both to the Imperial City to enjoy a better life.

When writing the book, he had modeled the Imperial City of Dazhou after Bianliang of the Northern Song Dynasty, depicting its prosperity.

As a modern person, who wouldn't want to see the real-life version of the "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" painting?

Moreover, living in the Imperial City was clearly much more convenient than living in this desolate Daliushu Village.

Jiang Chun withdrew his hand and stuffed the meat bun directly into his mouth.

Beautiful as Song Shian was, the meat bun in his hand was more substantial.

He devoured an entire basket of large buns and drank the tofu pudding until the bowl was empty, still feeling unsatisfied.

There was no help for it; this body was naturally strong, capable of easily lifting a two-hundred-pound fat pig.

With great strength came a great appetite; he could eat seven or eight steamed buns the size of a bowl in one go and drink porridge from a porcelain basin.

Song Shian was shocked by his appetite. If not for his experience in the previous life, he might have dropped the bun in his hand.

Because Jiang Chun detested him and never ate at the same table, he had no idea about his astonishing appetite.

A grown man's palm-sized meat bun, and he had eaten eighteen in one breath, along with a large bowl of tofu pudding.

Yet, he didn't feel full at all, still looking unsatisfied.

Was he a bottomless pit?

Seeing Song Shian chewing slowly, having only taken a small bite of his second bun, Jiang Chun lost patience and got up on his own.

He casually placed his used bowl in the porcelain basin on the stove, then pointed to the basin and said, "After you finish your tofu pudding, put your bowl here, and I'll wash them later."

Without waiting for a response, he pushed open the door and went out.

He lifted the oilcloth under the porch and spread out the soybean sprouts to dry.

Daliushu Village was located in Prefecture Qi, part of the Shandong region. Before corn was introduced from America, the agricultural structure here alternated between wheat and soybeans.

The Jiang family were butchers, primarily engaged in slaughtering pigs, with only three acres of prime farmland by the river.

When Jiang Chun arrived, it was just the time for harvesting soybeans. She was immediately thrown into a day of intense farm work, almost exhausting her to death.

After the hard work of harvesting the soybeans, she had to quickly thresh them while the weather was good.

Otherwise, if the weather turned bad and it rained at this critical moment, it would be disastrous.

She spread the soybeans from the three acres of land in the courtyard and carried out the flail from the western warehouse, striking the soybean stalks one after another.

This was a labor-intensive task, and after two hours of intense work, Jiang Chun was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

She sat on the ground, wiping her sweat with her sleeve and grumbling to herself: "You wrote about farming, now you’re reaping what you sowed, thrown into a real farming life by the heavens?

Farming stories are all fantastical tales where crops flourish with minimal effort and granaries overflow with a single harvest.

In reality, just threshing beans from three acres of land has me exhausted like a dead dog. No thoughts of romance or beauty, I just want to lie down and give up."

Just as she was resting, the courtyard gate creaked open.

Jiang Chun thought it was her father, Jiang He, returning, but when she looked up, she saw her grandmother, Li Shi.

Li Shi had small eyes, just like her cousin Liu Pozi.

At that moment, her small eyes were fixed on the soybean stalks on the ground, praising them: "Oh, your soybeans are so plump and full, much better than those of your Uncle Jiang Hu."

Jiang Chun immediately became wary: "Our land is by the Western River, we paid a high price for it. If it’s not even better than Uncle Jiang Hu’s mid-grade land, who would buy prime land?"

She deliberately emphasized the words "high price."

But it was useless.

Li Shi got straight to the point: "Don’t be lazy, hurry up and finish threshing. Once done, give me two dou of soybeans, I’ll go to Li Widow’s to exchange for tofu.

Others exchange one pound of soybeans for one pound of tofu, but with your soybeans being so good, I reckon eight ounces will get me a pound."

Jiang Chun: "..."

One dou in the Great Zhou dynasty equals fifteen pounds, so two dou is thirty pounds.

This old woman was asking for thirty pounds of soybeans right off the bat, truly making a bold demand.

Jiang Chun snorted and said sarcastically: "Grandma, what are you saying? Uncle Jiang Hu planted twenty acres of soybeans.

If people don’t know better, they might think Uncle Jiang Hu is being unfilial, not even willing to exchange a piece of tofu for you."

Before Li Shi could retort, Jiang Chun changed the subject and began to complain: "It’s not that I’m unwilling to give you these two dou of soybeans, but we simply don’t have enough for ourselves.

My husband is frail, the doctor says he can’t eat meat. We need all our soybeans to press oil at the county oil mill.

Ten pounds of soybeans yield one pound of oil. Our soybeans can only produce about thirty to forty pounds of oil, which isn’t much.

I’m already worrying about where to borrow more soybeans from. Why don’t you show some affection for my husband and help us borrow a hundred or eighty pounds of soybeans from Uncle Jiang Hu to press oil?"

Li Shi, the miser, bristled: "You, Chun, not only do you not think of being filial to this old woman, but you also want to take advantage of your Uncle Jiang Hu. Your heart is truly black!"

Jiang Chun sneered: "When Grandfather left behind twenty acres of land, you gave ten acres to Uncle Jiang Hu and kept ten for yourself to support your old age, leaving my father with nothing. How is that not black-hearted?"

Li Shi showed no remorse, arguing: "Your father has no sons, the family’s assets must be left to Jiang Tong, who will carry on the family name."

This Jiang Tong refers to the son of Uncle Jiang Hu, Jiang Hu.

Jiang Chun scoffed: "Then why don’t you ask Jiang Tong, the future heir, for soybeans? I, this money-losing daughter, don’t have any soybeans for you."

Seeing that Jiang Chun wouldn’t budge, Li Shi huffed angrily: "Where’s your father? I won’t argue with you, this money-losing daughter. I’ll talk to your father."

Jiang Chun stood up, picked up the flail, and started beating the soybean stalks fiercely.

Then she turned to look at Li Shi and laughed coldly: "Now that I’ve taken in a husband, he’s the mainstay of our household. Do you think my father will listen to you, the one who made him leave with nothing, or to me, his daughter who will support him in his old age?"

Li Shi, trying to appear fierce but inwardly weak, said: "No matter what, I am his birth mother. Can he ignore his own mother? Isn’t he afraid of the villagers’ gossip?"

Jiang Chun chuckled: "Grandma, if the villagers haven’t gossiped about you, such a heartless mother, why should my father fear anything?"

As Li Shi was about to speak, the courtyard gate creaked open again.

Jiang He, carrying a shoulder bag and holding a blood-dripping sack, squeezed through the gate, careful not to dirty the entrance.

"Chun, Mr. Mao gave us twenty pounds of meat and two sets of offal. Go around the village and see who wants to buy the meat, sell it cheaply..."

Jiang He heard the sound of the flail from outside the courtyard, knowing his daughter was threshing soybeans, so he called out as soon as he entered.

Halfway through his sentence, he noticed Li Shi’s angry face.

His expression darkened.

Jiang Chun, accusing the other first, shouted: "Father, Grandma says our soybeans are better than Uncle Jiang Hu’s and wants two dou to exchange for tofu with Wang Widow."

Being father and daughter, Jiang He immediately grumbled: "Exchange tofu? I wouldn’t even exchange a piece of tofu myself. The little bit of soybeans we have isn’t enough for your husband’s oil pressing!"

Hearing both father and daughter say the same thing, Li Shi had no choice but to believe them.

She glared at the west room and cursed: "Bringing in such a good-looking but useless man who spends money every day, hoping he’ll continue the Jiang lineage is a dream. It’s better to rely on Jiang Tong."

Good-looking but useless, spending money every day. Song Shian: "..."

He may be frail, but his ears aren’t deaf.

The Jiang family father and daughter colluded to use themselves as shields to placate Old Lady Li, who took the opportunity to criticize them indirectly.

Not one of these Jiang family members is any good; they truly deserve to be eradicated without a single one left.