“Dad, you went to the village; what did the people in the village who know how to build houses say?” By the time Li Menglan had finished packing up all the dried persimmons and the sky was nearly dark, Li Dazhu finally walked back from Shangliang Village with a smile on his face.
“Her dad, wash up first. Whatever it is, let’s talk after eating.” Zhang Yuniang had already drawn water from the well and handed the face towel in her hand to Li Dazhu.
“That’s right! Dad, Sister made something delicious today.” This kid Li Zhihao was increasingly showing the tendencies of a glutton.
Li Menglan hurried into the kitchen. The scallions, ginger, and garlic had all been washed clean and chopped fine, placed in bowls. To make the braised pork offal, pig trotters, pig head, and the like taste even better, Li Menglan had also used Sichuan pepper powder and dried chili peppers to make some spicy, numbing dried chilies.
Pig intestines, pig lungs, pig stomachs, and pig hearts—Li Menglan had cut a bit of each, filling a small basin to the brim. Even to let her family enjoy it more, Li Menglan had also carved meat from half a pig’s head, placed it in a bowl, and carried it all out together.
“Girl, what have you made this time?” The moment Li Dazhu saw the two large basins of braised dishes Li Menglan carried in, with the air permeated by a rich meaty aroma, it gave one a mouthwatering sensation.
Even Lin Sanniang, who usually didn’t like to talk much, sniffed: “Mm…. It really smells so good!”
Li Fujin took one look at that crystal-clear pig head meat and fell in love at first sight: “My good granddaughter’s pig head meat today looks delicious at a glance.”
Li Fujin had already, even as he spoke, picked up a chopstick of the dressed pig head meat and put it in his mouth. Mm…. Fragrant, spicy, with a faint numbing flavor, it instantly spread across Li Fujin’s taste buds.
Wow…. Good heavens, this flavor was absolutely superb; because of the seasonings, the inherent greasiness of the pig head meat had completely vanished.
“Mm…. Delicious!” Li Fujin’s praise caused the old and young of the Li family, who originally hadn’t moved their chopsticks, to all spring into action.
This meal was dinner. Li Menglan had made mixed grain rice cooked with rice and sweet potatoes together. As for dishes—aside from the braised pork offal and pig head meat, there was only a simple stir-fried cabbage and braised eggplant.
The old and young of the Li family all ate their fill to their heart’s content this meal. Li Zhihao let out a burp: “Er…. Sister’s cooking skills are getting better and better, Mom—look, I’ve overeaten again.”
Because he had eaten too much, the consequence of his greed was a swollen, uncomfortable belly; Li Zhihao sat on the stool not wanting to move.
Hearing Li Zhihao’s words, Li Menglan quickly tugged hard to pull up her second brother and said: “Second Brother, you can’t let your stomach get ruined from overeating; slowly walk a few laps in the courtyard! This can help you digest, and your stomach won’t feel uncomfortable.”
“Sister, is that true? Where did you hear that from?” Li Zhihao looked at Li Menglan with a mixture of belief and doubt.
“Second Brother, could it be that your sister would harm you?” Li Menglan glared at Li Zhihao with feigned annoyance, and regardless of whether he was willing or not, conveniently pushed him out into the courtyard.
The next day, before the sky had even brightened, the Li family had already awoken from their dreams and begun busying themselves.
The dried persimmons had already been packed up by Li Menglan last night. Because time was rather tight and she couldn’t wait for the persimmons to develop their natural sugar frost, Li Menglan took the rice flour she had prepared beforehand—mixed with honey water, stir-fried until fragrant, and ground fine—and sprinkled it over the persimmons. They looked quite presentable.
Li Menglan had also tasted the flavor…. It was passable. Of course it couldn’t compare to those from her previous life, but by the standards here it was already quite good. Li Menglan absolutely believed they could be sold for a good price.
Because there was quite a lot to bring today, and many things to buy back as well, Li Dazhu had already spoken with Wang Tiezhu yesterday about borrowing their ox cart for today. Li Dazhu had already gone to the village.
Li Menglan turned and went to the kitchen, bringing some of yesterday’s braised pork offal and pig head meat; of course…. the seasonings could not be left behind.
“Sister.” The two brothers Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao were weighing the dried persimmons. When they saw Li Menglan come out, Li Zhiming went up to greet her: “The persimmons were just weighed—one hundred forty-six jin total. Should we load them all onto the cart?”
Li Dazhu had already driven the ox cart to wait at the courtyard gate, which was why Li Zhiming had asked this.
“Big Brother, weigh out sixteen jin.” Li Menglan thought for a moment and said: “Leave these behind; I have other uses for them later. As for that one hundred thirty jin, you and Second Brother load it all onto the cart!”
Today, it wasn’t just Li Dazhu and his daughter Li Menglan going to Qingshui Town—the two brothers Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao were also going together.
Basically, all country folk could drive ox carts. Li Dazhu drove the cart; after Li Menglan, Li Zhiming, and Li Zhihao—the three siblings—were seated securely, the cart clattered slowly off in the direction of Qingshui Town.
By the time the Li family group arrived in Qingshui Town, the sun had just revealed most of its face; it was still very early.
Outside Qingshui Town there was something like a paid parking area from her previous life. Li Dazhu parked his ox cart under a thatched shed outside town, gave the cart watchman three wen, then led Li Menglan and her brothers to unload the things from the cart.
“Girl, where should we go now?” Li Dazhu was a man without many ideas of his own, so naturally he turned his inquiring gaze toward his daughter.
Li Menglan thought for a moment. Apparently, in the entire Qingshui Town, the person capable of buying her dried persimmons—aside from Zhao Qingyun…. there really wouldn’t be anyone else.
“Dad, I think we should still go to ‘Xianke Ju’ first to take a look?” Li Menglan said with finality.
Hehe…. As for Li Zhiming and Li Zhihao, those two “classmates” were just labor responsible for carrying goods and had no say in the matter.
When Li Dazhu and his group arrived at Xianke Ju, the place had just opened its doors. The attendant who was sweeping up spotted Li Menglan with sharp eyes: “Yo! Isn’t this the Li family’s little girl?”
Li Menglan looked up. Wow…. It was an acquaintance! “Brother, it’s you! I want to find your family’s young master. Is he here?”
The one greeting Li Menglan was none other than their old acquaintance from the last time Li Dazhu and the others were at Xianke Ju—the teahouse attendant Xiao Si.
“Li family’s little girl, you’ve come too early; the young master is still at the residence and hasn’t come over yet.” Xiao Si looked at Li Menglan apologetically.
“Er…. I see!” Li Menglan was startled for a moment. Indeed…. how could a wealthy young master from a grand household possibly keep early hours like common folk?
“Then…. when will your family’s young master come over?” Li Menglan asked with a frown.
“That’s hard to say. The young master doesn’t come to Xianke Ju every day; that day you were just lucky enough to happen to run into him when he came to inspect the account books.” Xiao Si scratched his head, somewhat helplessly.
“Girl, then…. what do we do now?” Li Menglan hadn’t made a sound, but Li Dazhu panicked first.
“Dad, don’t panic first, let me think.” Li Menglan comforted her father with gentle words.
“How about….” Xiao Si looked at Li Dazhu and his children standing in front of Xianke Ju so early in the morning, and suddenly felt a bit soft-hearted. After thinking, he said: “Li family’s little girl, why don’t you go to the residence to find the young master?” Xiao Si had pointed out a clear path for Li Menglan.
“The residence? You mean the Zhao Residence?” Li Menglan hesitated for a moment: “Brother, could you do a good deed to the end; just take us there.”
Who knew which nook or cranny Zhao Qingyun’s home was tucked away in; having someone lead the way…. would definitely be much better.