Chapter 38 Mountain Home Hearth 38

Chapter 38: Mountain Home Fireside 38

Time slips by unnoticed in the mountains, and before long, the end of the year was nearing.

After finishing their stall business for the day, Liu Guyu went to the meat market and bought a large amount of pork and ribs, planning to make cured meats. His carrying basket was filled to the brim with pork, heavy and full.

He bought the meat from Song Qingfeng. Though the two weren’t particularly close, they had built some rapport since the incident with Luo Qingzhu. Since Liu Guyu was buying in bulk, he managed to get a significant discount.

Easygoing by nature, Liu Guyu had no notion of the need for unmarried men and women to maintain distance. He handed over the payment and casually slipped two oil-paper-wrapped flatbreads to Song Qingfeng, cheerfully saying, “Butcher Song, Aunt Lin asked me to bring these for you. She said the meat stall has been so busy lately that you might not have time to eat in the evenings, so here are a couple of flatbreads to tide you over.”

With the New Year approaching, many families were preparing cured meats, and business at the meat market was booming!

Nearby, Qin Rongshi had already shouldered the basket full of meat. Glancing back at Liu Guyu, he said, “Let’s go. Aunt Lin is waiting for us outside the town gates.”

Before Liu Guyu could respond, Song Qingfeng quickly accepted the two flatbreads and added, “Thanks! You two should hurry along now—don’t keep Aunt Lin waiting!”

Liu Guyu nodded and turned to catch up with Qin Rongshi, who had already taken a few steps ahead.

When they reached the town gates, they spotted the familiar donkey cart parked by the roadside. The donkey was tilting its head to nibble on wild grass, its lips puckered high.

“You’re here! Hurry and get on—let’s head home!”

Lin Xingniang called out lightly, urging them onto the cart before driving the donkey back to the village.

The weather had grown increasingly cold. Though Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi were both dressed in newly made cotton-padded jackets and trousers, the biting wind still stung their cheeks.

The cart wheels creaked as they turned. The donkey, in its prime, had short, sturdy legs, hard hooves, and great strength. But the cart hitched to it was old, its wheels worn and constantly emitting rhythmic “squeak-squeak” sounds. Mud and dried grass clogged the wheel gaps, and with every few turns, dried twigs and leaves would shake loose, scattering along the road.

The group sat in the cart, listening to the rhythmic “squeak-squeak” all the way back to the village.

Gradually, the village emerged through the gray, chilly mist. It was supper time, and smoke curled from the chimneys of every household.

“My brother has already cooked the meal!”

Mai’er exclaimed happily, pointing toward their own courtyard not far away.

In the past, only Lin Xingniang and Luo Mai’er lived together. By the time mother and daughter returned home, it was already late, and the house would be cold and deserted, with no fire lit. They had to start from scratch to cook a meal, and by the time they could eat something warm, the moon and stars would already be shining in the sky.

Now that Luo Qingzhu was back living at home, he naturally still lived at home. While the mother and daughter ran their flatbread stall in town, he took care of household chores and cooked meals, timing it so that his mother and sister could return to a warm meal.

When they reached their doorstep, the two parties bid farewell and returned to their respective homes.

As soon as Liu Guyu and Qin Rongshi entered the house, they saw Cui Lanfang and Banban tidying up.

This wasn’t just a simple cleaning—it was a thorough sweep of the entire house, inside and out: the floors, walls, beams, and the courtyard.

This was known as *da yangchun*, a major pre-New Year cleaning to welcome the coming year.

It was a massive task and exhausting work.

Qin Rongshi frowned as soon as he stepped inside, looking at Cui Lanfang and saying, “Mother, didn’t I say to wait until I got back to do this?”

Cui Lanfang’s health had improved significantly. Her complexion was better, she had gained a little weight, and she even looked younger! But Qin Rongshi still remembered the doctor’s orders: she must avoid overexertion and heavy labor.

Cui Lanfang set down the bamboo broom, dipped water to wash her hands, and replied, “It’s not tiring. I know my own limits. Banban and I just did a light dusting and cleared the spiderwebs from the walls. The rest is waiting for you to handle when you return.”

She wasn’t making excuses. The family had spent so much money on her treatment, and Cui Lanfang knew she had to take care of herself—they couldn’t let all that silver go to waste!

She had only done light work with Banban, taking breaks frequently and avoiding any real strain.

After she spoke, Qin Banban nodded emphatically, looking seriously at her brother and Brother Liu as she said, “I kept an eye on Mother! I made sure she didn’t overwork herself!”

The little girl wore her hair in twin buns tied with red ribbons, which swayed charmingly as she nodded.

Liu Guyu found her adorable and couldn’t resist patting Banban’s head a couple of times, teasing her like a child: “You’ve really done a great job!”

Qin Banban didn’t catch the teasing tone and thought he was genuinely praising her. Puffing out her chest proudly, she nodded again with emphasis.

Cui Lanfang chuckled and called out, “Come inside and eat! The food’s been ready for a while—it’s all warming in the pot!”

The family entered the kitchen and ate by the warmth of the fire.

After the meal, Liu Guyu slipped away quietly into his room and soon emerged carrying a locked wooden box.

“Tonight’s after-dinner activity: counting money!”

With that, he opened the box and poured out all the copper coins and broken silver inside.

He and Qin Rongshi had been running their stall at the East Market for nearly three months. On busy market days, they could earn over 500 wen, and on quieter days, around 300 wen. In a month, they could make three to four taels of silver. After deducting monthly expenses and business costs, they had managed to save about ten taels over three months.

As their earnings gradually increased, Liu Guyu went to the banker's shop to convert the copper coins into silver fragments. Now, the cash box contained several irregularly shaped silver pieces of varying sizes.

The small wooden chest held twenty taels of silver, all saved over the past few months.

Liu Guyu declared, “Now we have enough for Mother’s medicine and for Erlang’s studies next year! There’s even plenty left over. If we keep this business going, maybe next year we can live a life where we eat meat every day and buy new clothes with each season!”

At this, Liu Guyu began to dream about the future, his gaze drifting into the distance.

“Once I’ve earned enough, we’ll repair and expand our courtyard. Banban is growing up—she should have her own room. We’ll replace the thatched roof with black tiles and build a proper wall around the property.”

The Qin family lived in an old thatched house that was poorly insulated against the cold. Liu Guyu had long wanted to replace the roof with tiles, but upon inquiry, he found that black tiles were expensive!

As a temporary measure, he had replaced the old thatch with fresh, thickly layered straw and covered the windows with windproof oiled paper, making it just barely adequate for the winter.

…When it came down to it, they still weren’t earning enough.

Liu Guyu sighed inwardly.

He felt it wasn’t sufficient, but Cui Lanfang and Qin Banban were already wide-eyed with astonishment. Banban, in particular, had eyes like those of a lively young deer—round, bright, and sparkling with excitement.

Cui Lanfang exclaimed in disbelief, “Twenty taels? Good heavens, we’ve saved that much?!”

In the village, most families considered themselves lucky to save four or five taels in a whole year. Yet they had managed to save twenty!

Qin Banban also asked, her eyes shining, “Can I really have my own room?”

The girl was already thirteen but still shared a room with her mother.

Liu Guyu patted her hand and promised solemnly, “Of course you can! We’ll even have a wardrobe and a dressing table made for you, to store pretty dresses and hair ornaments.”

The girl cheered, throwing her arms around Liu Guyu in excitement and rubbing her cheek against him. “Yay! Brother Liu is the best!”

Qin Rongshi remained silent, but his eyes gleamed like bright stars, clearly moved.

He had studied since childhood, first under Old Scholar Liu, who often praised him for his diligence and said he was born to take the civil service examinations—a natural scholar destined to go far.

But then misfortune struck his family: his elder brother was conscripted into the army, and his father died unexpectedly, forcing Qin Rongshi to leave school and return home.

He had thought his chance at the imperial examinations was lost forever, never expecting to have another opportunity to enter an academy.

At this thought, Qin Rongshi looked up at Liu Guyu and saw him leaning in close to his sister, both grinning from ear to ear.

Cui Lanfang was overjoyed and tentatively asked, "Then... could I buy some chicks to raise next year? Hens can lay eggs, and when they grow up, we can eat them too... Gu Yu, what do you think?"

Liu Guyu replied, "Of course! That’s a great idea! We’ll keep all the eggs for ourselves!"

Cui Lanfang exclaimed, "Great! That's great!"

The whole family gathered together, discussing the future, their eyes crinkled with smiles.

*

They worked together on the Spring cleaning, tidying up every corner of the house and yard until the entire home seemed to shine.

After the cleaning, they immediately started making cured meats without a moment’s rest.

Qin Rongshi went up the mountain to cut cypress branches, and Qin Banban went along to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, Liu Guyu and Cui Lanfang busied themselves in the kitchen. Liu Guyu cut the meat into long strips, arranged them on a large winnowing basket, and seasoned them with spices.

Cui Lanfang sat by the stove, stuffing sausages. In ancient times, there were no tools for this task—it was all done by hand. It wasn’t particularly strenuous, but it was tedious. She sat there for half a day, her neck aching from the effort.

The sausage filling was also prepared by Liu Guyu—finely minced pork mixed with scallion whites, salt, fermented bean sauce, ginger, pepper powder, and chili flakes. Once seasoned, it was ready to be stuffed.

Just then, Qin Rongshi and his sister returned with the cypress branches. On her way back, Banban paused outside the Luo family’s house and called out, "Brother Qing Zhu! Are you home?"

The Luo family had a pomelo tree, heavy with fruit that weighed down its branches. Behind the fence, a black and a white dog lay under the tree with their puppies.

Banban, now much more outgoing, spoke louder when addressing others. She confidently approached the door and asked Luo Qingzhu for a few pomelos, explaining that she wanted to use them to smoke the cured meat.

Cured meat smoked with cypress branches and pomelo peels had the most fragrant flavor, and this was how villagers traditionally prepared it every year.

Luo Qingzhu picked several pomelos for them. Seeing their hands full with cypress branches, he kindly helped carry the pomelos back to their home.

After thanking him and seeing him off, Qin Rongshi entered the house carrying several large yellow pomelos.

Once inside, Qin Banban dropped the branches and fluttered into the kitchen like a butterfly, calling out, "Mom! Brother Liu! We’re back!"

She went around giving everyone a quick, affectionate squeeze before pulling up a small stool to sit beside Cui Lanfang and help stuff the sausages.

Qin Rongshi set down the pomelos, tidied up the cypress branches, and then went to the backyard behind the kitchen, where he started building a smoking pit.

The smoking pit was constructed from stones and wood. Qin Rongshi worked on it for a long time, his hands raw and blistered before it was finally done. He then placed two long bamboo poles across the top to hang the cured meats.

By the time he finished, washed his hands, and returned to the kitchen, the sausages were ready. Liu Guyu was cutting the last piece of straw string used to tie them.

The sausages, coiled in circles, filled the winnowing basket to the brim. The cured pork and ribs, already marinated, were placed in a large basin, filling the room with the rich aroma of meat.

Liu Guyu had splurged this time, buying thirty pounds of pork—half for cured meat and half for sausages—as well as three racks of ribs, which would also taste delicious when smoked.

Qin Rongshi clasped his hands behind his back and said, "The smoking pit is ready. We can start smoking now."

The family happily carried the winnowing basket and basin outside, hanging the marinated meat strips, ribs, and sausages in order.

Once everything was hung, Qin Banban crouched by the smoking pit to light the fire, using a stick to stir the pomelo peels as glistening drops of fat dripped from the meat.

"...It smells so good."

The meat had just started smoking, but Banban already seemed to catch its fragrance.

The cypress branches crackled as they burned, the flames reflecting on Cui Lanfang’s smiling face. She added, "Yes, it’s been two or three years since we last made cured meats. I’ve really missed this."

*Do not laugh at the rustic haze of the farmhouse’s aged wine;*

*In a bountiful year, guests are treated to ample chicken and pork.*

The cured meats made by farming families had a unique flavor unmatched elsewhere. Every year before the New Year, villagers would prepare cured meats, comparing their hauls—the more a family made, the more prosperous their year had been, signaling good times ahead!

But after chuckling for a moment, Cui Lanfang turned to practical matters. She looked at Liu Guyu and asked, "We’ve been busy with household chores these past two days. Tomorrow is market day—and we haven’t prepared anything for our stall!"

Liu Guyu, mimicking Qin Banban, crouched by the fire pit and poked at the embers with a stick, wondering whether to bury a few sweet potatoes to roast.

Hearing Cui Lanfang’s question, he looked up and replied with a smile, "I wasn’t planning to set up the stall tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is the New Year’s market. Since the New Year is approaching, let’s all go to the market together!"