CH 13

May 06 2022

The ‘Husband and Husband’ Plan

That evening, Yu Qingze came back from the city with a large bag of things. As soon as he entered the yard, he said to Chang Le, who was pounding rice, “Brother Le, you don’t have to cook at night, I’ll make noodles.”

These past few days, Yu Qingze only came back after dark. Hearing his words, Chang Hao was very happy. He could eat Yu Qingze’s food tonnight. Yu Qingze wishes you the best for reading on hololonovels.

Yu Qingze came back late for the past few days, so Chang Le has been cooking. Like his brother, he was also excited; he rolled up his sleeves and eager to learn a new dish.

However, although he has learned from Yu Qingze for a few days, his level of cooking still has lots of room for improvement just by looking at it, and it cannot be done in a day or two but by continuously practicing.

So, these days, Chang Hao and the others have often eaten test food by Chang Le. Chang Hao doesn’t want to recollect the taste. Anyway, they ended up eating sour beans, pickled cucumbers, and green vegetables to pad their stomachs.

Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao still comforted Chang Le that the food he made was delicious, otherwise they’d be suspected by the chef.

Now seeing Yu Qingze coming back so early and said he’d make dinner, how could Chang Hao not be excited.

He is simply moved to tears.

“Here are the flour and some seasonings to make the noodles at night.” Yu Qingze carried the big bag into the kitchen and put it down on the table. In order to buy all these seasonings, he went to many places, and some of the seasonings were even bought from the pharmacy.

Chang Le also followed into the kitchen and became very interested when he saw the things on the table; some of them were not used for cooking.

Washing his hands, Yu Qingze first rinsed a small piece of ginger, an appropriate amount of star anise, cinnamon, and pepper, and left it to dry, and then began to knead the noodles.

Put an appropriate amount of flour into the basin, add some salt, pour in water, stir with chopsticks until mixed well, then knead into a smooth dough, cover with a damp cloth and let the noodles rest.

Then, Yu Qingze asked Chang Le to start the fire and started making chili oil.

After heating the pot, pour in the vegetable oil. When the oil temperature is 70% to 80% hot, add the ginger slices and other spices. When the ginger slices start to turn yellow, take them out, and leave the other spices to a boil over a low heat, cool them down until the surface of the oil is no longer bubbling, then pour the chili powder, white sesame seeds and a small amount of peanuts into the pot and stir well. Finally, put it back on the stove and simmer on a low heat, add a little salt, and wait until the chili oil turns bright red, and you’re done.

Afterwards, let the chili oil cool and keep it into a bowl for later use. Yu Qingze put the chopped ginger and garlic into a bowl, added soy sauce, vinegar, and a little pepper to make a sauce. Many condiments are not available here, so they can only be made from scratch.

At this time, the dough resting aside was ready.

Yu Qingze continued to knead the dough, and let Chang Le start boiling water on the other side.

Waiting for the water to boil, Yu Qingze started to pull the noodles. After the noodles are cooked, run them through the cold water and put in a large bowl, then add shredded cucumbers, sour beans and chopped green onions, drizzle with chili oil and sauce, stir well, and the cold noodles are ready.

The four bowls of cold noodles were on the table, Yu Qingze said, “This is cold noodles, try and see how it taste.”

Chang Hao was the first to start.

The homemade noodles have a strong aroma, the taste is smooth but not weak, the sauce is just: right salty and sour, and the chili oil enhances the aroma and color and stimulates the appetite. The sour beans and cucumbers add a refreshing note to the dish, reducing greasiness and making it more appealing.

In this hot summer, a bowl of sour, spicy, delicious, and refreshing cold noodles is an excellent choice. “It’s delicious!” Chang Hao took a sip, only said two words, then stopped talking and just ate.

Grandpa Chang and Chang Le also said that it was delicious and appetizing after eating it. The dish doesn’t make them sweat profusely like eating noodle soup.

The four of them finished all the cold noodles. Yu Qingze wishes you the best for reading on hololonovels.

After dinner, Yu Qingze told them his plan to make money.

“Grandpa, I’m going to open a food stall. I’ll make cold noodles and Liangpi. Oh, Liangpi is another kind of cold noodles. I’ll make it for you tomorrow and let you try.”

(T/N: Liangpi is a noodle-like Chinese dish made from wheat or rice flour. It is a specialty dish originating from the cuisine of Shaanxi Province. Source: Wikipedia)

“That’s not a bad idea. The weather is hot now, so I have no appetite. This cold noodle is very appetizing, and you can’t find it here. It will definitely sell well!” Grandpa Chang agreed after listening to Yu Qingze.

Chang Le and Chang Hao also nodded wildly, thinking it was great.

Yu Qingze has been researching for a few days, and he came to a conclusion that this can make money.

“I have already ordered a stove and briquettes in the city, and then I went to the village chief’s house to order a small cart and two small tables. I also bought a pot, tableware, a bucket, a basin, and some other small things. Basically everything I need to open the stall.” Then Yu Qingze turned to Chang Le and said, “Brother Le, I must be too busy by myself, I want to ask you for help, is that okay?”

Chang Le was startled and pointed at himself in disbelief, me?

“Yes.” Yu Qingze nodded, “I don’t know how it would sell at first. I’ll pay you fifty coppers a day first. If the business is good, I’ll pay more.”

Brother Le is diligent, energetic, and has a good character. It is right to ask him for help.

Because he had such impure thoughts about Chang Le in his heart, Yu Qingze was thinking about waiting for a while before bringing Chang Le in and turning the food stall into a “husband’s stall”!

Partnership sounds much more intimate than an employment relationship, isn’t it, and it’s easier to remove the quotation marks from ‘husband’s stall’ and turn it into a proper husband and husband stall!

Moreover, this family is so kind to him, and there is a life-saving grace. Even if he and Chang Le can’t be together, he still wants to take this family to make some money and let them live better.

Originally, he wanted to directly propose cooperation with Chang Le, but he knew how difficult it was for farmers to make some money. Chang Le was relatively conservative, and they would not make a decision easily if they did not see that they could make money. Moreover, most of the money Chang Le makes from selling vegetables must be saved. Grandpa Chang’s health isn’t great in the winter, and he needs to take medicine frequently, so they can’t easily put these savings to use somewhere else.

Let them see the prospect of making money first, so that they can follow him with confidence.

Fifty coppers a day? This is more than a day’s work in the county seat! There is a man in the village next to them who works in the city, and only 800 coppers a month!

Chang Le quickly waved his hand and made gestures. Chang Hao translated.

Chang Le said that he was very willing to help, but he couldn’t speak. In the business of this kind of food stall, it is important to be able to speak in order to greet customers, and fifty coppers a day is too much, he felt that he was not worth the price.

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “Brother Le, it’s not much at all, believe me, your labor is totally worth the price, and it’s a very hard job, you have to serve the dishes, collect the dishes, wash them, carry water, and count the money. If you want to help me make the noodles, you need to know everything, and I am afraid that I will have to wrong you by asking so much.”

Chang Hao also has some unspeakable secrets in his heart, but he knows his brother better. If he persuades his brother directly, it probably wouldn’t work. So, he said, “Brother, it does sounds like a lot of hard work, then … maybe you shouldn’t do it.”

Yu Qingze was worried, “Brother Le, I don’t know other people here, and I don’t know much. I don’t dare to trust others easily, I can only trust you.”

When is Chang Le afraid of hard work? He is afraid that he can’t do much and feel sorry for taking so much money. Of course, it is good to be able to make money. If he can really earn fifty coppers a day, he can send his younger brother to school! In winter, grandpa’s medicine expenses can also be earned!

Chang Le glanced at Grandpa, and Grandpa Chang said ‘you decide for yourself’, and looked at him with a smile.

Brother and Yu Qingze said so, Chang Le thought about it for a while and nodded.

Chang Hao lowered his head and smiled. Although his brother looks kind and docile on the face, he is actually very stubborn. Sometimes things have to be said the other way around.

The matter is settled, and Yu Qingze felt at ease.

After he sketched the drawings, he went to the village chief’s house to ask him to help him make a cart and two sets of tables and stools.

The village chief’s family is now doing their best to make rice beds, but for Yu Qingze, the village chief still gives him priority.

The table that Yu Qingze was going to make was a folding table. Da Jian saw the drawings and immediately became interested, pulling Yu Qingze to discuss it. Yu Qingze told him all the principles. Dajian eagerly went to study how to make it.

The village chief and the others gave him a timeline of three or four days. During this period, Yu Qingze still has some preparatory work to do.

Early the next morning, Yu Qingze took Chang Hao to jog in the yard.

Before, he promised Chang Hao he’d teach him some self-defense skills. He was busy with his market research and only had time at night, but this time frame doesn’t work either. Chang Hao had to write for an hour first, and then in the free time, Yu Qingze asked him to sprint and workout the lower body first.

The ten-year-old boy is resolute in his heart; he is very interested in practicing kung fu, and he learns it very seriously. *Zamabu is really boring and requires perseverance, but he finds it interesting.

*(T/N: Horse stance)

Chang Hao was half-squatting, his feet were slightly wider than his shoulders, his hands were clenched to his sides, his eyes were straight, he followed Yu Qingze’s instructions, breathing as steady as possible.

On the first day, he could only hold on to a cup of tea before taking a break, and now he can hold on for almost half an hour!

Just as he was teaching Chang Hao the horse stance, Yu Qingze saw several gers looking into their yard. When Yu Qingze looked over, those people disappeared quickly.

Yu Qingze:  …

When Yu Qingze saw the figure of a little ger flashing past the fence of the yard again, Yu Qingze frowned and asked Chang Hao, “Xiao Hao, are those gers coming to see you and are embarrassed to come in when they saw me there?”

Chang Hao glanced outside and said, “They’ve been like this for several days. They’re here to see you. They come every day. You’ve been out early and coming back late for the past few days, so you don’t know, and there are several people who’ve set their eyes on you and been asking about you”

Yu Qingze was confused, “They came for me? Why would they?” Could it be because I look handsome?”

The young man was quite well informed; he snickered: “You don’t know, you are famous in the village now. They were busy in the fields a while ago, and they didn’t have time to pay attention. Now that they’re all free and have nothing to do, they finally have time to inquire. Everyone now knows that you are twenty-eight and have yet to get married, so they all want to come and if there were any reasons behind.”

“…And what reason did they come up with?” Yu Qingze frowned; he has a very bad feeling, that the answer is not what he wanted to hear.

The little boy couldn’t stop laughing, and said, “How do I know what it is, they don’t tell me, they just keep asking. If you want to know, ask yourself.”

“…No, I don’t want to know at all.” It shouldn’t be anything bad, no?

“Oh, someone else asked if you wanted to find a husband.” After Chang Hao finished speaking, he carefully glanced at Yu Qingze’s expression.

Yu Qingze thought in his heart that he already has a good candidate, so he shook his head and said, “I don’t want to as of now. I can’t even afford to eat much, how can I find a husband to endure hardship with me?”

Yu Qingze couldn’t help laughing and crying. The country people have no entertainment, and they gather together to chat when they are busy. Yu Qingze wishes you the best for reading on hololonovels.

Hearing this, Chang Hao snorted with satisfaction. As long as Brother Yu has no interest in others, then there is hope for his brother!

Waiting for them to be together every day, slowly, Big Brother Yu will be able to notice his brother! Isn’t there a saying, love after spending some time together, and with him fanning the fire on the side, Big Brother Yu will definitely become his brother-in-law!

Yu Qingze still doesn’t know that he already has a hidden helper to chase his husband, but he still wants to make money first, get a household registration, build a house, and only when his life is stable, he can propose a marriage!

In the morning, Yu Qingze made Liangpi.

Liangpi is a little more complicated. The flavor is distinct from that of cold noodles, and it is more refreshing and savory. It was praised by Chang Le and the rest of the family.

Taking advantage of the fact that the stall cart, tables, and stools are not ready, Yu Qingze has been making noodles ahead for both cold noodles and Liangpi and let them dry for later use.

Thus, people who passed by Chang family in the past few days saw noodles dried on a bamboo pole in the yard. Some people wanted to buy them to eat, but Yu Qingze refused them.

He also borrowed the ox cart from the village chief’s house, went to the city to buy all the ingredients he needed, such as oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc., and brought back the stove and briquettes that were made.

Cucumbers, capers and shallots are all bought directly from Chang family house, and buckets and wooden basins are bought from the village chief’s house.

He also bought a signboard and asked Yu Xiucai to write five big characters on it—Yu Ji Yi Xian, the name of his food stall.

(T/N: Yu Ji Yi Xian, 余记一鲜, I guess it could be translated to ‘Rememberable Fresh Bites’. Please correct me if I’m wrong).

After buying these things, Yu Qingze’s 27 taels of silver are not much left.

Three days later, the village chief’s family finished making the cart, tables and stools. Yu Qingze wishes you the best for reading on hololonovels.

Everything is ready, the food stall can finally open!

READERS’ OPINION REQUESTED

Hello lovely people, I wanna ask you guys about the pronouns in this novel. There were few times the author uses the female terms such as wife, but many more times they used the term husband. Which one do you prefer for me to continue using from now on? Use all male terms (husband, uncle, man, father, etc.) or incorporate some female terms (wife, mother, aunt, etc.)? Please let me know. 

Liangpi; courtesy of sohu.com

Cold Noodles; courtesy of Rasamalaysia.com