Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Early July marked the start of the rice harvest for farmers.

In previous years, this was also the time when bandits frequently descended from the mountains to steal grain and kidnap people.

This year, despite Deputy Magistrate Yang’s presence to deter the bandits, grain was crucial not only to the farmers but also to the bandits themselves. Unable to cultivate the mountainous terrain, if they didn’t want to spend money on grain, their only option was to steal it.

The public office sent out patrols, but with limited staff and the vast territory of Guangkang, they selected young men from the villages, each team led by two public office officials.

The public office had just a few dozen regular staff, so not every team needed to include a regular staff member. With dozens of villages under its jurisdiction, each team was responsible for three neighboring villages. Even so, manpower was stretched thin.

They had to rotate between two patrol shifts, with each shift patrolling for three days before switching.

Even on non-patrol days, they still had to report for work, taking turns having one day off.

This arrangement would continue until the grain tax was collected in August.

Qi Cheng was assigned to the first patrol rotation.

Returning on the fourth day, he went straight to the public office without going home first.

By the time he returned in the evening, he looked haggard. He wolfed down his food, took a quick bath, and fell asleep without even shaving his stubble.

Lu Yuan felt bad for him. She had asked the old lady to buy an old hen from a neighbor early on and prepared chicken soup.

Qi Cheng didn’t have to go to the public office that day and slept until noon.

After waking, he had recovered half his energy.

While Qi Cheng washed up, the old lady grumbled, "When will this ever end? If it’s not fighting bandits, it’s patrolling. They’re working you like a mule."

Qi Cheng rubbed his face and replied, "I’m not the only one being treated like a mule."

The old lady retorted, "So it’s a whole herd of mules."

Qi Cheng answered seriously, "Indeed, a herd of hardworking, patient mules."

Lu Yuan, standing nearby, was speechless.

After lunch, Lu Yuan asked him, "Did you spot anything unusual during the patrol these past few days?"

Qi Cheng said, "It’s still early. Some places haven’t even started harvesting yet, so if they were going to act, it wouldn’t be so soon. At most, they’re just scouting."

"But they probably know the public office has sent patrols, so they’re laying low."

"Then the period before the grain tax collection is crucial. But what about after? If the bandits steal the remaining grain from the people, what then?"

Qi Cheng replied, "If even we can think of it, Deputy Magistrate will have considered it too. He must have a plan."

The summer heat made Lu Yuan’s snack business sluggish, with only the spicy tofu skin selling relatively well.

Deep-fried savory tofu, fried dough sticks, and soybean milk were already being sold by others on the night market street. With more options available, business naturally slowed down.

As for sweet soups, other shops sold drinks and desserts quite well. However, Lu Yuan’s taro was especially sweet, soft, and glutinous, making it well-known in the night market. Most customers came specifically for her taro-based sweet soups.

Seeing this, Lu Yuan decided to stop making fried dough sticks and soybean milk, lightening her workload and reducing preparations.

With one stall and one shop, during the busiest months of the year, Lu Yuan earned nearly eight strings of cash per month.

Combined with Qi Cheng’s salary, their monthly income reached eleven strings of cash. Counting and recording the money every other day was always Lu Yuan’s favorite time.

As for Qi Cheng, by mid-August, he finally made it through the grain tax collection and could return home, no longer needing to patrol.

After more than a month of work, he had not only lost weight but also tanned several shades darker.

After dinner, the stifling heat drove the whole family to the riverbank to cool off.

The couple, the old lady, and the two children walked slowly behind them.

A cool evening breeze swept by, causing the willow trees along the bank to brush the water’s surface, creating ripples. Children ran past Lu Yuan, laughing and playing.

For a moment, Lu Yuan felt as if two eras had overlapped.

These scenes, whether in this era or her own, were not so different.

Qi Cheng, walking beside her, noticed her distraction and asked, "What’s wrong?"

Lu Yuan snapped back to reality and smiled. "I’m homesick."

Qi Cheng fell silent.

He didn’t know where the "home" she referred to was.

Glancing at her sideways, he tentatively offered, "If you miss home, I can accompany you back."

Lu Yuan shook her head with a smile. "I can’t go back."

Qi Cheng could see the helplessness in her smile.

Lu Yuan turned to him and said, "No matter where we are, living is what matters most. Even if I can’t go back, I’ve adapted to life here and have people I care about deeply."

"Aside from missing home, everything is quite good."

No war, no worries about food or clothing, with people who cared for her and whom she cared for—life was simply like that.

A year together had given Qi Cheng some understanding of his wife. If she could go back, she wouldn’t say such things.

He felt both relieved and heartbroken for her.

Being separated forever from loved ones was as painful as death, the only consolation being knowing they were still alive.

Yet, sometimes, one might not even know if the person they missed was alive.

Qi Cheng’s gaze deepened as he looked at her.

Lu Yuan smiled and asked, "That look in your eyes... are you feeling sorry for me?"

Qi Cheng smiled back. "I’m sorry you had to endure so much hardship this past year."

Lu Yuan chuckled. "It wasn’t that bad."

At most, it was only half a year. As for the later days, though busy and tiring, that was just life—something to be endured, whether in this era or the previous one.

After a while, tired from walking, they returned home.

Qi Cheng cut up some winter melon and brought it to the stone table in the yard.

He had bought the winter melon from a farmer on his way home earlier that day.

Lu Yuan picked up a slice and tasted it. Though not particularly sweet, the cantaloupe had a very strong fragrance.

She said, "This melon is too big. We can't finish it, and it'll spoil by tomorrow. I'll take some over to the old lady next door later."

Qi Cheng said, "It's in the kitchen. Finish eating first, then take it over."

Lu Yuan nodded, then asked, "Did this melon cost much?"

Qi Cheng replied, "Not expensive. Such a big melon only cost eighteen cash."

Lu Yuan said, "I'll go to the East Market tomorrow to check it out and buy two melons to add to dessert soups, or pound them for beverages, or peel and cut them into pieces to sell."

The old lady laughed and said, "With just this one melon, you can come up with so many ideas."

Lu Yuan said, "It's not that many ideas."

After thinking for a moment, she added, "If we could hang it in the well for an hour or two, it would be very refreshing to use for dessert soup or to eat in the evening."

But this wasn’t very practical. Whether it was the well in Willow Lane or the one in Night Market Street, people drew water from them from time to time, and there was a good chance the cantaloupe could fall into the well. It would also affect others drawing water.

Qi Cheng thought for a moment and said, "Isn’t there a well in the courtyard of the pastry shop? They store water and don’t use it all the time. Why don’t you go ask?"

Lu Yuan clapped her hands and said, "Yes, I can go ask the pastry shopkeeper's wife. I’ll hang it for an hour in the afternoon before setting up the stall."

Cantaloupe is the ideal pairing for dessert soup and can also be used to make taro and taro balls.

As for sweet potatoes, there’s no need to think about them—they haven’t been introduced yet.

The only question is whether mung bean starch can replace tapioca starch to achieve a soft and glutinous texture.

During summer and autumn, dessert soups and beverages are the most profitable.

She definitely had to seize this opportunity to make a few more inexpensive and delicious beverages and dessert soups.

Qi Cheng then said, "The lychees are ripe too. I’ll buy some tomorrow to try."

The old lady said, "Those things cause internal heat. Buy fewer."

Mentioning lychees reminded Lu Yuan of lychee drinks.

She had noticed the price of lychees. Since they had just come into season, they were relatively expensive, about ten cash per jin.

Once they were fully in season, they would cost just a few cash per jin.

Lychees from other regions were expensive, and those in Chang'an were exorbitantly priced. But Lingnan was a lychee-producing region, and without good preservation methods, most lychees were sold locally.

If lychee drinks were made, probably five out of ten people would order them. She definitely had to make them.

But it would require some effort.

She had seen some videos about ancient lychee drinks.

They weren’t actually made with lychee flesh.

Using lychee flesh to make juice didn’t yield a very strong flavor, but if you added a few pieces of lychee flesh and a few dark plums, you could make a pot of very rich lychee drink.

However, lychees spoil easily. This pot of drink had to be finished within half an hour, or it would go bad.

But if it sold quickly, one pot could fill three or four cups and be sold out in no time.

"You don’t need to buy lychees after work tomorrow. I’ll stop by the market in the morning and buy some. I want to make some lychee drinks too."

The old lady laughed and said, "With just four people and eight hands, one stall and one shop each staffed by two people, plus snacks, dessert soups, and beverages, can you handle it all?"

Lu Yuan said, "We definitely can’t handle it all, so I’ve asked the families of my husband’s colleagues to help for a while."

The old lady asked in surprise, "When did this happen?"

The old lady was getting on in years and couldn’t go to noisy places, so she hadn’t been to Night Market Street for a long time and didn’t know what was happening there.

Qi Cheng nodded and said, "We found three helpers, from July to the end of October."

They added two more people to the shop and one more to the stall.

As a constable, with miscellaneous subsidies and occasional rewards, he sometimes earned just one string of cash a month. It was difficult to support a large family in the city with that kind of money, so every household wanted to supplement their income.

After Lu Yuan discussed it with Qi Cheng, he approached a few families facing difficulties and suggested the idea.

Those who came to help earned twenty cash per night, the same as everyone else except for Hu Qiniang.

The next day, Lu Yuan took the small cart to the East Market.

This cart could not only be used to transport goods for the stall but also to carry vegetables. It was very convenient, and many people asked Lu Yuan where she bought it and how.

After buying vegetables, lychees, and cantaloupes, Lu Yuan went to the dried fruit shop owned by their proprietor.

The proprietor smiled when he saw her and asked, "What brings you here today, Mrs. Su?"

Lu Yuan smiled and replied, "The southeast wind, of course."

"Proprietor, please pack me a bag of dark plums and a bag of licorice-preserved plums."

The proprietor quickly packed them for her and asked, "It’s been so hot lately. Business at the dessert soup stall must be very good."

Lu Yuan replied, "Business is excellent at all the dessert soup and beverage stalls on this street."

The proprietor said, "In that case, I should also sell some sour plum drink."

Lu Yuan said, "Since you already sell dried fruits, making sour plum drink would save on costs."

The proprietor clapped his hands and said, "I think it’s feasible. If I also brew some aged citrus peel beverage, I might make some money."

Lu Yuan said, "The proprietor could also set up a small awning outside the shop and sell sour plum drink and aged citrus peel beverage for one cash per cup. With so many people in the East Market in the morning, it’s no worse than the Night Market."

The proprietor thought it over carefully and said, "You’re right. It really could work."

A bucket of sour plum drink would cost at most ten cash to make but could yield dozens of servings.

After paying, Lu Yuan returned to Night Market Street.

She cut one melon and took it to the pastry shop.

The pastry shopkeeper's wife greeted her warmly: "Oh, what brings you here today?"

Lu Yuan handed her the cantaloupe and said, "I came to ask if I could hang a cantaloupe in your well for an hour in the afternoon. I also brought some melon for you."

The shopkeeper's wife took the melon and said, "Of course! We fill the well with water in the morning, and we usually cover it at other times to keep the children from running around. Why don’t you bring the melon around noon? Hang it until you open your stall in the afternoon, and it’ll be even more refreshing."

Lu Yuan said, "Thank you, Mrs. Chen."

Mrs. Chen said, "No need for thanks. You often support my business, and when you make new snacks, you always bring some over. I'm still looking forward to what you'll create with these bitter melons."

Lu Yuan smiled and replied, "I'll make sure to bring some by tonight once it's done."

After chatting for a while, a customer arrived, and Lu Yuan prepared to leave. Mrs. Chen quickly called out, "Wait a moment! I’ve also tried making some new pastries recently. Take some back to try."

Watching Mrs. Chen’s busy figure, Lu Yuan was deeply struck.

It seemed everyone was working hard to make ends meet.

She had truly integrated into this kind of life.