Chapter 54

Chapter 54

The benefits of having two earth stoves at home became evident. Jiang Chun prepared dinner while braising meat.

After it was done, she didn’t take it out, letting the braised meat soak in the broth overnight to fully absorb the flavors. The next day, after slaughtering the pig, she finally took it out to bring along.

These braised meats were clearly not sold to ordinary townsfolk. Not that she was unwilling to sell, but they simply couldn’t afford it.

The price of meat, depending on its fattiness or leanness, ranged from eighteen to twenty wen per jin. Recently, with the rising grain prices, meat prices also increased, reaching between thirty-eight to forty wen per jin.

However, her braised meat was sold at a hefty eighty wen per jin, double the price of raw meat.

Moreover, customers couldn’t just buy pig head meat; they had to purchase a combination including pig offal like heart, liver, and lungs, with offal making up about thirty percent of the weight.

Such an exorbitant price meant that even in times of famine, when townsfolk spent most of their money on grain, few could afford it during peaceful times.

Only a few wealthy families in town could afford it, making them Jiang Chun’s real customer base.

This wasn’t Jiang Chun overcharging. The braised meat sold at the town’s restaurants was priced the same.

Although she sold at the same price, she handled everything from slaughtering to braising the pigs herself, without middlemen like Zheng Yi, clearly earning more than the restaurants.

She wasn’t worried about selling out. The spices rewarded by her check-in system were top-notch. Even though she only used a small portion, with the rest bought from the town market, the flavor was certainly better than that of the Hongye Restaurant.

There were only two butchers in Hongye Town. The Zheng family didn’t sell to individual customers, only supplying meat to town restaurants, county restaurants, and wealthy families in the county.

These so-called wealthy families in town couldn’t compare to those in the county. Each family couldn’t consume the amount of meat from a whole pig daily. Zheng Yi couldn’t be bothered with their business.

Thus, their servants came to Jiang Chun’s meat stall daily.

Recently, due to difficulties in acquiring pigs, Jiang Chun’s stall only opened every three days, causing some complaints as they couldn’t get fresh meat daily and had to buy more to store at home.

Even Uncle Zhang, the steward of the Qiu family, was no exception. “Miss Jiang, please ask your husband to find ways to get more pigs. It’s better to open the stall daily like before. The young master in our house dislikes the taste of frozen meat and refuses to eat it, which has caused great worry to our old mistress, affecting her sleep.”

Jiang Chun clicked her tongue inwardly.

Meat does develop a strange taste if frozen for too long, but her stall opened every three days. The Qiu family’s frozen meat would only be three days old at most; how much taste could it have?

After all, the young master was from a wealthy family and had never experienced hardship. Eating frozen meat was probably considered suffering for him.

Jiang Chun lifted the lid of the wooden basin containing the braised meat and gestured towards it with her chin, smiling. “If the frozen meat has a bad taste, Uncle Zhang can buy some of our newly made braised meat for the young master to try. I guarantee he’ll love it.”

As soon as the lid was opened, the rich aroma of braised meat wafted out, and Uncle Zhang took a deep breath, couldn’t help but praise, “It smells wonderful!”

The steward of the Jiang family, who owned the only money exchange shop in town, was leading a servant boy towards the meat stall. Catching the scent, he quickened his pace.

Shouting, “What smells so good?”

Uncle Zhang was still hesitating about buying the braised pig head meat. After all, the Hongye Restaurant sold braised pig head meat, which the master of his house loved and often sent people to buy. However, the young master found the taste strange and spat it out after one bite.

But then he thought, even if the young master didn’t eat it, the master would, and buying it without asking wouldn’t get him scolded by the old mistress.

Especially since Jiang Youfu, who often competed with him for the best meat, was here. He couldn’t let him snatch the good pig head meat.

Without even asking the price, he immediately said to Jiang Chun, “Miss Jiang, cut two jin of pig head meat for me.”

Jiang Chun didn’t rush to cut it. She sliced off a small piece of pig head meat, placed it on the blade, and handed it to him, smiling. “Uncle Zhang, try the taste of our braised meat first, and then I’ll tell you the price and how it’s sold.”

Uncle Zhang took the piece of braised meat, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite. After chewing a few times, his eyes lit up.

He quickly stuffed the remaining half into his mouth, chewing with a look of enjoyment on his face.

Jiang Chun smiled and said, “Our braised meat is priced the same as the restaurants, eighty wen, but you can’t just buy pig head meat. You have to purchase it together with heart, liver, and lungs, with offal making up at least thirty percent.”

After pondering for a moment, Uncle Zhang swallowed the meat in his mouth and clicked his tongue. “Miss Jiang, you’re truly a shrewd businesswoman. By this calculation, your pig head meat is effectively thirty percent more expensive than the restaurants’, even though the price appears the same.”

Jiang Chun grinned. “Uncle Zhang, don’t worry. It’s all braised in the same pot. Our heart, liver, and lungs are delicious too. You won’t regret buying them.”

Jiang Youfu, who had been listening in, seeing Uncle Zhang taking too long, squeezed in and shouted, “Miss Jiang, cut me a piece of pig head meat to try. If it’s delicious, I’ll buy five jin, including the offal.”

Jiang Chun smiled and cut him a piece.

Uncle Zhang, feeling embarrassed after being ridiculed by Jiang Youfu, shot him a glare and then turned back to Jiang Chun with a smile. “Miss Jiang, cut three jin for me, following the combination with the offal.”

Saying that, he reached into the money bag at his waist, pulled out three strings of coins, and without handing them to Jiang Chun, placed two strings into the nearby cash box. He then untied the remaining string, counted out forty wen, and put them in as well.

After finishing, he smugly glanced at Jiang Youfu, showing off his close relationship with Jiang Chun.

Jiang Youfu, after finishing the piece of meat, waved his hand generously. “With such delicious braised meat, buying just two or three jin would be too stingy. Miss Jiang, cut me five jin!”

With a look of contempt, Zhang Fang was given a disdainful glance.

Jiang Chun curled her lip.

These two really have nothing better to do. Every time they show up at the meat stall at almost the same time, and then it's either you provoking me or me giving you a contemptuous look, all in good fun.

In just a short while, eight pounds of braised meat were sold, bringing in 640 wen, which made Jiang Chun quite happy.

The remaining two pounds were soon bought by a servant from another prominent Ji family.

The size of ancient domestic pigs can't compare to those raised in modern farms. Including the pig head and internal organs, we only managed to braise ten pounds of meat.

That was from a relatively large pig we slaughtered yesterday. Other pigs would yield at most eight or nine pounds.

Raw pig head and internal organs don't sell well and are much cheaper than meat. Once braised, the price increases severalfold.

Today, those ten pounds of braised meat brought a gross income of 800 wen, with a net profit of at least 500 wen.

Although spices are expensive, they can be reused for the next batch, along with the braising liquid. Averaging the cost over two batches significantly reduces the expenses.

Moreover, the spices obtained from the check-in rewards don't require any spending.

It seems that the braised meat business can continue.

And she continued doing so until the twenty-second of La Yue (the twelfth lunar month).

Although there was still some time before the New Year, there was a local tradition of slaughtering New Year pigs. Due to this year's famine, most farmers had sold their pigs in advance, but the pigs raised by wealthy families were still available.

After the twentieth of La Yue, Jiang He was frequently invited to slaughter New Year pigs and couldn't find time to buy more pigs.

After Jiang Chun finished slaughtering the few pigs in the back pen, Jiang's meat stall had to close early.

Of course, Jiang Chun could have gone to buy pigs herself, but she was also busy.

People in ancient times valued the New Year, and there were numerous tasks to be done before it, including but not limited to cleaning the entire house, washing quilts and winter clothes, making new clothes, steaming buns and dumplings, offering sacrifices to ancestors, purchasing necessary items and food for the New Year, giving New Year gifts, and posting couplets and door money.

Jiang He was so busy that he was rarely home, and Song Shian not falling ill at this critical time was already a help to Jiang Chun; she couldn't rely on him for more.

Jiang Chun was busy inside and out, wishing she could split herself into eight to manage everything. When she was truly overwhelmed, she even had to steam buns by oil lamp at night.

Fearing she was too tired, Song Shian, concerned, said, "My outer garment is only half a year old and still looks new. There's no need to make me a new set of clothes."

Jiang Chun gave him a disdainful look and teased him, "New clothes? My dear husband, what good fortune are you dreaming of? With this famine, we still owe Village Head Zou ten taels of silver. How can we afford new clothes?"

This year, no one in the family would have new clothes. She had just found time to wash their winter clothes. Song Shian's winter clothes were new and didn't need this effort.

Of course, with the money from pawning the jade bracelet and selling pigs and braised meat, she still had about ten taels of silver.

But borrowing money from Village Head Zou was meant to appear poor, so they couldn't repay it so soon; at least not until the famine was over.

While they couldn't lose face, this was Song Shian's first New Year in Jiang's family since he "married" in, so they had to make it decent.

So, she not only steamed a pot of sesame cakes with a filling of bean oil, flour, scallions, and salt for him but also bought two slabs of tofu from Widow Li, sliced them, salted the slices, dried them into tofu strips, and braised a pot of fragrant dried tofu for him.

As for her and her father, since Jiang He helped others slaughter pigs and brought back a set of pig offal every day, Jiang Chun would gather them and braise everything every three days.

Thus, they began to enjoy a happy life with braised meat at every meal.

However, with such a large quantity, it was just her and her father eating meat, and even with every meal including meat, they couldn't finish it.

So, she set aside a portion and, along with other New Year gifts, sent it to Zheng Yi's family.

On the twenty-eighth of La Yue, the weather suddenly warmed, and the sun was shining brightly, giving a sense of spring. She said to Song Shian, "Why don't you come with me to Uncle's house to deliver the New Year gifts and have lunch there?"

Zheng Yi would definitely invite her to lunch. Since no one was cooking at home, Song Shian would have to make do with something simple.

Standing in the kitchen, Song Shian looked up at the sun.

After taking the medicine prescribed by Doctor Cao for nearly four months, his health had improved significantly compared to before. With today's warm weather, taking a mule carriage to town shouldn't risk catching a cold.

But he said lightly, "I can go, but you need to bring some bean oil. Otherwise, if I go to Uncle's house, I'll have to eat steamed buns plain. I don't mind, but it might be awkward for Uncle and Aunt."

Jiang Chun gave him a sideways glance and, while searching for something to hold the bean oil, teased him, "When you first came to our house, you could eat plain steamed black buns without changing your expression. Now, for just one meal, you want me to bring my own bean oil.

Tell me, aren't you being spoiled by favoritism?"

Song Shian pursed his lips.

Thinking, whose fault is that? Isn't it because you spoiled me?

He was being pampered with good food and drink every day, and as the saying goes, it's easy to get used to luxury but hard to return to frugality. Suddenly being back to a situation where he could only dry-nibble on steamed buns, he would definitely find it hard to accept for the time being.

He stubbornly defended himself, "Uncle cares about his reputation. This person ran errands for me a few times, and I can't let him lose face."

The painting he owed Lu Zhengheng was completed earlier in the month and sent to the county via Zheng Yi.

Lu Zhengheng was overjoyed upon receiving it and asked Zheng Yi to deliver a set of the Four Treasures of the Study and some newly published books from the imperial court.

As for the other painting that Song Shian had intended to sell at a high price to Lu Zhengheng, it was already completed at the beginning of the month. However, with Lu Zhengheng currently overwhelmed with the refugee crisis, running around trying to gather food supplies from wealthy families in the county and reporting to the imperial court for disaster relief, as well as writing letters to relatives serving as officials in the Imperial City requesting aid, he was too busy to deal with such matters.

At this critical juncture, if Song Shian were to bring up the "mundane matter" of selling the painting, it would be quite inappropriate. So, the matter was temporarily set aside.

They would revisit it after the famine passed. Besides, his health hadn't fully recovered yet, and he couldn't travel to Shaoxing Prefecture, so there was no immediate need for cash.

Jiang Chun glanced at him with a smile but didn't expose him. After all, who would want to dry-nibble on steamed buns when they could enjoy good food?

Certainly not her, a self-proclaimed foodie.

Jiang Chun found an unused coarse pottery jar with a lid, took it outside to wash off the dust, dried it with a cloth, and filled it with bean oil to bring along.

Then, using a mule cart, she headed towards the town, pulling Song Shian and the New Year gifts covered with wheat straw.

In this world, the status of a maternal uncle is high, and with Zheng Yi being particularly caring towards Jiang Chun's family, she didn't hold back on the New Year gifts.

There were two bolts of fine cotton fabric, in peach red and sapphire blue, both rewards from previous check-ins at the cloth shop.

Two jars of fine wine bought from a tavern.

Two bags of confections.

Twenty sesame cakes filled with lard, flour, scallions, and salt, all steamed by her.

For Aunt Jiang and Peng's wife, Mrs. Qian, she prepared two folded gauze flowers, and for her little nephew, Dou Ge'er, a silver necklace, all rewards from previous check-ins.

Of course, there was also a batch of her delicious braised offal.

Such generous New Year gifts would be impressive even in the entire Hongye Town, let alone in Hongye County.

As soon as she arrived at the Zheng household, Zheng Yi scolded her, "Chunniang, why did you buy so many things? Your uncle doesn't need these. It's a waste of money."

Jiang Chun quickly unloaded the gifts and said, "How can buying things for my uncle be considered a waste? I only regret that in these troubled times, I dare not spend freely, afraid of attracting unwanted attention. Otherwise, I would have bought more to show my filial piety."

Aunt Qiu eagerly took the gifts from Jiang Chun and said with a smile, "More filial piety? If you were any more filial, you'd bankrupt your uncle."

Zheng Yi kept the transactions between Song Shian and County Magistrate Lu a tight secret, not even telling his wife, so Aunt Qiu was unaware that the Jiang family had come into a fortune.

Seeing such generous New Year gifts from her niece, she was delighted and felt that her husband's care for her hadn't been in vain.

Upon learning that her son-in-law was vegetarian, Jiang Chun brought her own bean oil, which Aunt Qiu didn't find offensive. She quickly instructed her eldest daughter-in-law, Mrs. Qian, to prepare several vegetarian dishes for him.

During the meal, Zheng Yi brought up the situation in the county and said happily, "Our county magistrate is truly capable. Many officials requested disaster relief from the imperial court, but to no avail. His request was noticed, and just before the New Year, an imperial envoy was sent to Hongye County for disaster relief."

Jiang Chun exclaimed in surprise, "An imperial envoy was sent for disaster relief?"

However, the disaster affected Yanzhou Prefecture. If the imperial court were to provide disaster relief, they should send someone to Yanzhou Prefecture. Why come to Qizhou Prefecture's Hongye County?

It seems that Lu Zhengheng from the Fan Yang Lu clan used external forces to bring the disaster situation to the emperor's attention. The old emperor ordered disaster relief, and the officials below, concerned only with appearances, came to Hongye County to help Lu Zhengheng.

As for Yanzhou Prefecture, without connections, who would care about them?

Even if asked, they could justify it by saying the refugees had fled to nearby Qizhou and Tai'an Prefectures, so it was more effective to provide disaster relief in Qizhou Prefecture.

As for why not in the prefecture city but in Hongye County?

Don't ask. It's because the most refugees have gathered in Hongye County, so naturally, they had to go where the refugees were.

The logic is flawless.

No wonder Song Shian looks down on the old emperor and takes every opportunity to criticize him. The governance is indeed not transparent.

At this moment, Song Shian snorted coldly, "The censor from the Office of Inspectorate is a faction of Consort Liu. Relying on her favor, the censor and his subordinates are all incompetent.

It's no surprise that the censor responsible for disaster relief came to Hongye County instead of Yanzhou Prefecture, a disaster area. That's exactly the kind of thing they would do."

Zheng Yi frowned.

Judging by his son-in-law's tone, he seemed quite knowledgeable about the factions among court officials and was acquainted with Lu Zhengheng from a prestigious family. He was clearly not just the son of a merchant family, as his brother-in-law had assumed.

Most likely, he had a notable background.

He was so curious that it was maddening. He wanted to get to the bottom of things but didn’t have the courage. If he asked about something he shouldn’t, and found out something he shouldn’t know, it could cause trouble.

Although Zheng Yi was considered someone important in Hongye County, he was still inexperienced compared to an old fox in the officialdom like Song Shian.

Song Shian had already noticed Zheng Yi’s thoughts but pretended he hadn’t.

In any case, in another year and a half, everything would be settled. It wouldn’t be too late to reveal his identity to his uncle then.

However, after the meal, while the women and his two cousins were helping to clear the tables and only he and Zheng Yi were left in the room, he decided to drop a hint.

“Uncle, if you only want your two sons to follow you around in Hongye County, that’s fine. But if you want them to go further and achieve greater success, you should have them properly learn to read, do accounts, and manage shops.”

He was definitely taking Jiang Chun and her father to the capital. In that rich and prosperous place, Jiang He would be a father-in-law and couldn’t be running to the inner quarters of the Song family where women gathered all the time. Without any help, Jiang Chun would be constrained in everything she did.

But if there was a capable cousin who could handle things and run errands for her, it would be much more convenient for her to get things done.

A seventh-rank official at the prime minister’s door wasn’t beneath helping the future wife of the future Prime Minister. It wouldn’t be a waste of their talents.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Yi couldn’t help but suck in a cold breath.

Was it possible that this nephew-in-law would rise again in the future?

Could it be that he had heard some rumors and was deliberately giving me a heads-up?

Imitating Jiang Chun’s usual manner, Song Shian extended his slender white index finger, pressed it against his lips, and softly shushed, whispering, “Chunniang is impatient and can’t keep things to herself. Uncle, just listen to this and don’t tell her, or she might get herself into trouble.”

Even if Jiang Chun did find out, he could just say he heard rumors of the Song family’s potential rehabilitation from Lu Zhengheng, which should be enough to get by.

But better to avoid unnecessary trouble. It would be simpler if Zheng Yi just kept his mouth shut.

As an uncle, Zheng Yi knew his niece’s temperament well and immediately nodded vigorously, “Nephew-in-law, don’t worry. I won’t mention a single word to Chunniang.”

Happily rubbing his hands together, Zheng Yi was already planning which scholar to hire to teach his sons to read and manage shops, and which large household in the county to send them to for training.

Jiang Chun, having helped her aunt put away the plates and bowls and washed her hands, walked into the main room to find Song Shian quietly holding a teacup, drinking plain water, while her uncle Zheng Yi sat blankly, his eyes darting around as if scheming something.

Amused, she teased, “Uncle, what good thing are you scheming? Your eyes are spinning faster than a windmill on a windy day.”

Zheng Yi gave her a sideways glance and chuckled, “You and nephew-in-law brought such generous New Year gifts. I was thinking about what to give you in return when you interrupted me.

Forget it, I think I won’t give you anything in return and let you leave empty-handed!”

Jiang Chun grinned, “No way. I saw the sugar buns that my cousin-in-law steamed. Can I take a few back to snack on slowly?”

Qiu Shi walked in and laughed, “I’ve already packed them for you. I saw that you didn’t even look at the steamed buns, but only stared at the sugar buns and ate them eagerly. I knew you liked them.

I’ve packed ten for you. Don’t think it’s too little; we only steamed two pots, so we couldn’t spare more.”

Jiang Chun stood up, pulled Qiu Shi to sit down, and happily said, “Aunt, you’re the most thoughtful. You could tell at a glance that I like sugar buns, unlike my uncle, who racks his brain and still can’t figure out what to give as a return gift.”

Zheng Yi scratched his head and gave a foolish chuckle.

Jiang Chun and Qiu Shi laughed together.

Seeing that Zheng Yi was distracted and had clearly taken his words to heart, Song Shian, after drinking two more cups of "tea," took the initiative to suggest they head home.

Jiang Chun stood up, smiled, and said, “Uncle, aunt, cousins, cousin-in-laws, we’ll be leaving first. After all this work, you should rest too.

We’ll come to visit you again on the second day of the Lunar New Year.”

There is a local custom of married women visiting their natal families on the second day of the Lunar New Year. Although Mr. Zheng was no longer with them, Jiang Chun, his niece who had been taking care of the family hearth, had to come to visit her uncle.

Of course, since Jiang He hadn't remarried and didn't need to accompany a new bride on such a visit, he would also come to see his brother-in-law, Zheng Yi, on the second day of the New Year.

The Zheng family saw them off and gave them return gifts. Besides the sugar triangles that Jiang Chun loved, there were also two waxed ducks, a large package of waxed sausages, and a basket of crystal-style preserved eggs said to have been passed down from Su Province.

Jiang Chun almost burst into laughter right then and there.

The preserved eggs, made by the lady of the house, Zhong Wenjin, had already made their way to Lu Province so quickly—truly a thriving business.

*

On the way home, the sun was suddenly obscured by clouds, and as they neared Daliushu Village, the sky began to sprinkle with fluttering heavy snow.

This was the first snowfall of the year.

With the New Year approaching, there hadn't been a single snowfall, much to the villagers' anxiety.

A snowfall in winter is a sign of a bountiful year. If no snow fell throughout the winter, the wheat in the fields would wither and die from drought, leading to a significant reduction in yield.

Fortunately, it finally snowed today. As long as such a heavy snowfall lasted for a full hour, the wheat would still be salvageable.

She whipped the mule to speed up, eager to get home.

As soon as the mule cart came to a stop, she jumped down and used her key to open the door, then returned to the front of the cart and, grinning, said to Song Shian, "Husband, would you like me to carry you inside?"

Song Shian gave her a side-eye and, without needing her help, neatly lifted his outer robe and nimbly climbed down from the cart.

Jiang Chun clicked her tongue and sighed wistfully, "Now that your health is improving, you don't need me to carry you on and off the cart."

Song Shian turned around, grabbed a lighter package from the back, and was about to head inside when he stopped in his tracks and snorted, "You're not happy that my health is improving? It was you who kept nagging, wanting me to recover quickly so we could... be intimate."

"You don't understand," Jiang Chun said with a regretful sigh.

Of course, she hoped for his recovery, so he wouldn't be burdened by his health, and they could be a real husband and wife.

But once he fully recovered, he wouldn't be as dependent on her for everything.

Indeed, everything has two sides. You can't have it both ways. Just like the river of history, you can only move forward and look ahead.