Chapter 15 Mountain Home Hearth 15

Chapter 15: Hearth and Home 15

The few people in the carriage couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter.

Especially the auntie, who, having been put on the spot by Liu Zaiwen’s remark, was still fuming. She couldn’t resist a sarcastic jab.

“I suppose he still wants to, right? Isn’t Scholar Liu just back from the provincial examinations?”

Liu Zaiwen held an imperial degree, so most villagers respected and deferred to him.

But this auntie was quick-tempered. Her family was well-off, and none of her children attended the Liu family school. While she usually showed the Lius deference to maintain good relations, if provoked, she wouldn't tolerate it for a second.

Liu Zaiwen choked on her words. He instinctively wanted to retort but was quickly surrounded by others who eagerly barraged him with questions:

“Aren’t you Scholar Liu from Shanghe Village? Did you go for the provincial examinations again this time?”

“How did you do? Surely better than last time, right?”

“This is your second attempt, isn’t it? When will the results be announced?”

…

Liu Zaiwen: “…”

Liu Zaiwen grew flustered. He closed his eyes again, leaned back against the haystack behind him, and resumed his pretense of sleep.

The others, met with such cold indifference, felt awkward. They assumed Liu Zaiwen looked down on them as poor farmers and grew sullen and displeased.

But Liu Guyu gave a small eye-roll and immediately saw through it—he must have failed the exam and was too embarrassed to admit it.

Liu Guyu couldn’t be bothered with him anymore. He leaned back, closed his eyes, and took a quick nap.

He was exhausted today. He had gotten up early to cut bamboo in the mountains and, without much rest afterward, ate a quick meal before hurrying to town. After running several errands to buy what he needed, he rushed back to the village by carriage. By now, he was both tired and hungry, his stomach rumbling loudly.

Fortunately, he was quick. By the time he reached home, it was around 3 p.m., so he could start simmering the bamboo fungus and bone soup. It would be perfectly ready by evening.

Yawning, he entered the kitchen and pulled out a plate of leftover wild vegetable pancakes from the pot, eating one with cold boiled water.

Cui Lanfang saw his listless, drooping appearance and felt both amused and sorry for him. After he finished a pancake, she said, “Alright, Banban and I will handle dinner tonight. Go back and rest for a while. Look at you—your eyes are all red.”

Liu Guyu was truly sleepy and didn’t refuse Cui Lanfang’s kindness. After washing his hands and feet, he climbed into bed and fell asleep in no time at all.

He slept soundly and woke up to find the sky outside already darkening. Shuffling in his slippers, he walked to the window, yawning as he pushed it open to look outside. The setting sun cast a golden glow, and the evening clouds merged like jade, creating a beautiful scene.

“Brother Liu! Dinner’s ready!”

Qin Banban poked her head out of the kitchen and happened to see Liu Guyu standing by the window. She called out to him loudly.

Liu Guyu quickly rubbed his eyes and vigorously scrubbed at his face, finally rubbing away the last traces of sleepiness.

“Coming!”

He replied promptly and hurried out. Even before entering the kitchen, he caught a rich, enticing aroma—the meaty scent of bone broth blended with the fresh fragrance of bamboo fungus, making his mouth water.

The smell alone perked him right up!

Liu Guyu hurried into the room and began eating.

A large bowl of bamboo fungus and bone soup was placed on the table, still steaming hot. Its rich but not greasy fragrance filled the entire room. The broth was clear and bright, with two large bones, cracked open and stewed until fall-off-the-bone tender—so soft that a gentle poke with chopsticks could pry off a piece of meat. The bamboo fungus was particularly fresh and tender, smooth and crisp to the bite.

“Here, have more meat.”

Cui Lanfang added a large portion of meat to Liu Guyu’s bowl and urged Qin Rongshi beside her, “Second Brother! Stop reading and come eat!”

Liu Guyu had given the newly borrowed book to Qin Rongshi, who was so absorbed in it that he couldn’t be bothered with dinner.

Even such delicious bone broth couldn’t distract him—truly quite the scholar!

With this much dedication, he’s bound to succeed in anything!

Liu Guyu muttered to himself.

*

Time flew by, and soon it was the day of the temple fair.

Liu Guyu rented an oxcart from the Village Head’s family. Since it was for five days—a fairly long time—he made sure to settle the terms clearly to avoid disputes later.

As he packed, he said, “We have too much stuff. If we make money, we really should buy our own cart. We can’t keep borrowing from others.”

In the past, Cui Lanfang would have balked at the expense, but perhaps having tasted Liu Guyu’s cooking, she now felt confident about their small business.

She even started picking options, “Let’s buy a mule cart. Mules are cheaper than oxen or donkeys, and since we don’t farm, we don’t need a plowing ox. We don’t need to buy a flatbed cart either—we can have the village carpenter make one. It’ll be much cheaper than buying one in town!”

Though she agreed, she was still pinching pennies. Liu Guyu listened carefully and thought her suggestions made sense.

Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi got on the cart, with Qin Rongshi driving toward town. Riding was much easier than walking, and Liu Guyu spent the journey full of energy, thinking about finally making money.

At the town gate, as Lin Xingniang had said, there was a town entry fee. Fortunately, Liu Guyu had prepared in advance and handed it over with a smile to the gatekeeper.

Fushui Town had north and south gates. Coming from Shanghe Village, they entered through the south gate, which happened to be right next to the Guanyin Temple, saving them a lot of time.

Liu Guyu thought they had set out early, but when they arrived at the temple, many stalls were already occupied. There were vendors selling oil cakes, vegetarian stuffed buns, noodle stalls, pancakes, chestnut flour cakes… and plenty of other snacks. There were also lanterns, blessing sachets, toys, hair accessories, rouge, combs, mirrors, and more—a dazzling array.

“Brother Gu Yu!”

As Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi approached, they heard a familiar voice. Looking up, they saw Luo Maier not far away.

She and Lin Xingniang had already set up their stall, lit the stove, and sold several griddle breads.

Luo Maier was calling out loudly and waving energetically at Liu Guyu.

Liu Guyu quickly pushed the cart over. Qin Rongshi carried a large bucket filled with bamboo tubes of various sizes and several bundles of bamboo skewers tied with straw rope.

Lin Xingniang had just seen off a customer and finally had a moment to turn to the two. She pointed to the spot beside her and said, “Hurry over! I saved this spot for you! I forgot to mention it last time—the temple fair gets really crowded. If you come late, you won’t get a good spot!”

Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi quickly thanked her, squeezed their cart into the stall, and hurriedly unpacked their goods. The ice jelly and bowl cakes were ready to sell. Since it was their first day, Liu Guyu hadn’t prepared too much, worried they might not sell out and spoil.

Next to them was a thin man selling tangyuan. He glanced over, saw that Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi were unfamiliar faces and young, and didn’t think much of them. Instead, he laughed and said, “Oh, how old is this Young Gentleman to already be selling food? Quite impressive. What are you selling?”

Liu Guyu replied, “Bowl cakes and ice jelly.”

The tangyuan vendor had never heard of these names. He craned his neck to look at Liu Guyu’s stall but couldn’t make sense of it. He couldn’t help but purse his lips slightly and mutter, “Never heard of them. Can they be any good?”

Before Liu Guyu could answer, Luo Maier, who was munching on a griddle bread nearby, pouted and snorted unhappily, “They’re delicious! Uncle, isn’t your stall busy? How do you have time to stare at others’ stalls?”

The tangyuan stall indeed had few customers.

Tangyuan—every household knew how to make them. There was no special skill involved, and no need to buy them outside, so business was pretty slow.

He shot Luo Maier a dark look but knew her mother was a force to be reckoned with. In the end, he said nothing more, just pursed his lips and turned his head away.

Lin Xingniang stroked her daughter’s braid, then leaned closer to Liu Guyu and whispered, "The one next to you is no good, you’d better be careful!"

She spoke quietly.

"Don’t be fooled by him selling rice balls now—he’s sold all sorts of things before! He just copies whatever sells well. A few years ago, he even tried selling Chinese flatbread like me! But his skills are mediocre, nothing ever works out, and he always ends up back selling rice balls!"

"Your bowl cake (bo zai gao) is something new, so be careful not to let him copy it."

Liu Guyu quickly thanked Lin Xingniang for the warning, then took a bamboo tube, scooped a bowl of ice jelly (bingfen), and handed it to Luo Maier.

"Oh, don’t give her too much—that’s meant for selling!"

Lin Xingniang said with a laugh, then asked if he and Qin Rongshi had eaten breakfast. From her manner, if they hadn’t, she was ready to hand them a couple of flatbreads.

Liu Guyu hurriedly replied, "We’ve already eaten! We’ll be busy all day, so of course we had a good breakfast before heading out! Please, don’t trouble yourself. Oh, looks like you’ve got another customer at your stall—you should go help them!"

Lin Xingniang’s flatbread business was really thriving. She sold both vegetarian and meat options: vegetarian ones included preserved vegetable flatbread and scallion and mushroom flatbread, while the meat option was pork flatbread.

Seriously, the smell was amazing. Even though Liu Guyu had already eaten, the smell still made his mouth water.

He quickly looked away and turned his attention back to his own stall.

He set out the bowl cakes and ice jelly. The bowl cakes came in four flavors: peach, grape, red bean, and osmanthus. They looked delightful—clear and glossy, and shimmering with soft red or yellow hues.

He also scooped a bowl of ice jelly, topping it with crushed peanuts, fresh peach chunks, a sprinkle of dried osmanthus, and a pour of brown sugar syrup. It looked quite appetizing.

But it was still too early. At this hour, most people buying food were looking for breakfast items—steamed buns (mantou), flatbreads, or even rice balls. Even the rice ball stall next door had attracted a couple of customers.

Seeing no one at Liu Guyu’s stall, the rice ball vendor couldn’t help but smile smugly. Pretending to be kind, he said, "Oh, I told you—the business isn’t so easy! Don’t feel bad, it’s just tough. Not everyone can succeed at this."

Liu Guyu wasn’t annoyed or anxious. He turned to the vendor with a smile and said, "Hey, big mouth, shut it. Your spit’s getting in the pot."

The vendor: "..."

Most people in town weren’t that fussy. It was common for customers to chat with vendors while waiting for their food, and no one really minded unless it was pointed out.

But Liu Guyu had to mention it. A woman holding a child was standing in front of the rice ball stall and had just ordered a bowl. Hearing Liu Guyu’s remark, she couldn’t help but worry.

Spit… splashed in… Did it really? She hadn’t paid attention, but the vendor had been talking nonstop… with so much chatter, it was entirely possible…

She immediately turned to leave with her child, saying repeatedly, "I don’t want it anymore, I don’t want it."

She left without a second thought.

Vendor: "Hey, don’t go! The rice balls are already in the pot! Hey! That’s not fair!"

Author's note:

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Happy May Day!