CH 18

If he hadn’t greeted Yu Dameng, Qiao Yuan wouldn’t have recognized him. The person in front of him was actually Zhang Wensheng. He clearly remembered that this person was handsome and elegant in the original owner’s memory. How come he looked so shabby in his eyes?

He was not even a bit better than his Dameng. There was no comparison!

Zhang Wensheng saw that Qiao Yuan was speechless and thought that he had guessed right. Yuan Ge’er really couldn’t let go of him. He looked at him with a resentful and pitiful expression and called out sadly, “Yuan Ge’er.”

The disgust in Qiao Yuan’s expression was evident as he put on a stern face. “Scholar Zhang, according to age, my Dameng is older than you, so you should address me as older brother’s husband1嫂夫郎 (sǎo fū láng) – this means older sister’s husband lol, I’m not sure why Qiao Yuan used that because older brother’s wife is 嫂子 (sǎozi) .”

Zhang Wensheng thought that Qiao Yuan was still angry and wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Qiao Yuan, “My husband and I have something to attend to, so I won’t keep you company. Goodbye.”

After Qiao Yuan finished speaking, he grabbed Yu Dameng and left.

Zhang Wensheng looked at their clasped hands, clenched his fists, and was filled with hatred.

After walking for a mile and completely losing sight of Zhang Wensheng, Qiao Yuan angrily pinched Yu Dameng. “Are you dead? Someone is flirting with your husband in front of you, and you don’t react!”

Yu Dameng looked confused and didn’t understand what was going on. When he finally realized, he turned his head angrily and wanted to go back to settle accounts with Zhang Wensheng.

Qiao Yuan stopped him and pretended, “I think Scholar Zhang is really good-looking, and he speaks softly. No wonder the previous Yuan Ge’er liked him. Sigh, just looking at him makes my heart flutter.”

Yu Dameng suddenly became very nervous, “I’ll listen to you.”

Qiao Yuan suppressed the smile that was about to burst out and admonished him, “Then you have to be more obedient. In the future, when you meet him, you have to protect me and not let him say a word to me.”

Yu Dameng nodded blankly, and naturally held Qiao Yuan’s hand again.

Qiao Yuan glanced at him, and his mood became even more relaxed.

Yu Dameng had given him fifteen taels of silver before, and he had also earned some from selling steamed cakes. After deducting the small expenses, he and Yu Dameng had a total of sixteen taels and three qian of silver in their hands. In fact, this was already considered a lot of savings for a farmer’s family. But Qiao Yuan still felt uneasy. What if there was an emergency? This money wouldn’t last long.

And he also planned to earn money and change houses as soon as possible. The current house was just temporary, so Qiao Yuan only bought some urgently needed daily necessities. Four towels, four bowls, six plates, two wooden basins, two dozen sheets of paper and some kitchen utensils. These alone cost more than one tael of silver. Qiao Yuan felt the pain in his wallet.

Old Man Yu moved two big bags of noodles and rice for them, which should be enough to eat for a while, so they don’t need to buy any for home use. The flour needed for the stall can be directly delivered to the shop by the grain store clerk.

The two of them went to the seasoning store again and bought two jars of rapeseed oil, two jars of salt, one jar of sugar and various other seasonings.

Mrs. Li, the wife of the shopkeeper, was overjoyed. Yu Dameng’s husband came once and cleared out many seasonings that were rarely sold in the store. She praised the two for being a perfect match, which made Yu Dameng very happy.

This was even more expensive, costing more than two taels of silver at once. Fortunately, these could be used for a long time. Qiao Yuan comforted himself silently.

They bought a lot of things, and Yu Dameng didn’t let Qiao Yuan help him carry them. Qiao Yuan felt sorry for Yu Dameng and insisted on taking a cart at the town gate to go home.

Xianhe Village was close, and it only cost two wen per person. Because they had a lot of things, the driver charged them an extra wen, making the total cost five wen. Qiao Yuan thought it was worth it.

It was already evening when they returned home, so they had dinner at the old house. The iron pot in their new home hadn’t been seasoned yet.

After a tiring day, Qiao Yuan, who was weak, was almost exhausted. At night, he ordered Yu Dameng to give him a massage.

There were only two of them in the house now, and it was very quiet. It was inevitable that they would have some improper thoughts.

Yu Dameng had that strong physique, and he was still at the age of vigor. He must be a strong bull. As for himself, with his small frame, he wouldn’t be able to stand Yu Dameng tossing him a few times. So, for the time being, Qiao Yuan hesitated  and temporarily gave up his idea.

After a good night’s sleep, Qiao Yuan regained his energy and was full of enthusiasm. He heated up the iron pot and made six scallion and egg pancakes and boiled a pot of egg drop soup. After finishing breakfast, he went to the shop with Yu Dameng.

Because it was the first day of setting up the stall, Qiao Yuan came early on purpose. He rushed to the morning market and bought some eggs, cucumbers, carrots, potatoes, fresh chives, bean sprouts, tofu and other green leafy vegetables. The amount was not much, he just mixed a little of each color.

The vegetables were all grown by the farmers themselves and brought to town to exchange for money. There were plenty of vegetables in this season and they were not expensive. He bought so many for only twenty wen. As for the eggs, Qiao Yuan ordered a hundred, which cost seventy wen. It hurt him so much that he didn’t earn a penny yet but invested a lot.

After Qiao Yuan finished preparing the vegetables and mixing the batter, he asked Yu Dameng to help him set up a table outside the shop. The area was spacious, with the table placed on one side and a large open space on the other.

The new griddle needed to be heated up. Qiao Yuan used some pork skin and ginger slices from home to stir-fry for two rounds, then tried to make two pancakes to get the feel.

The people on the roadside saw this kind of food for the first time and and cannot help but be curious, stopping to watch. They saw him scoop up a spoonful of batter and pour it in the middle of a round iron utensil. He used a small wooden scraper to turn it over, spread it flat and then smear it again. A thin pancake was formed. They didn’t know what his batter was made of, but it smelled very good.

Someone couldn’t help but ask: “Young man, what are you making? How come we’ve never seen it before?”

Qiao Yuan said politely: “This is called pancake, I came up with it myself. I’m selling vegetable pancakes now, which is made by mixing and stir-frying these vegetables, seasoning them, and rolling them into the pancake. Do you want to try one?”

The person still had concerns, “So how much do you sell this?”

Qiao Yuan answered, “The pancake costs one wen each, and the vegetables also cost one wen. If you want to add an egg, it’s an extra wen.”

The price was not expensive, but everyone was still watching. After all, it was a new food, and no one dared to be the first to try it, afraid of wasting money. Qiao Yuan saw this and made two for Old Man Yu and Yu Dameng to eat first.

Several kinds of vegetables were mixed together, stir-fried with hot oil, and added with seasonings that Qiao Yuan had ground beforehand. The aroma wafted out immediately. He took a freshly made pancake and put these vegetables in the middle of the pancake and spread them evenly. He folded up the four sides, then flattened them, added some cold oil and flipped the pancake on both sides on the griddle until the skin was golden brown. The vegetable pancake was ready.

Old Man Yu and Yu Dameng were sitting outside the shop, each enjoying their own food and making others envious.

The smell of vegetables and pancakes mixed together was still floating in the air, tempting and alluring. Someone on the side couldn’t stand it anymore and stepped out first: “Young man, give me one without eggs.”

Qiao Yuan asked, “Do you have any vegetables that you don’t eat?”

The person laughed heartily and said, “No, I’ll eat anything, I’m not picky.”

Qiao Yuan worked quickly and skillfully, and soon made it for him, wrapped in oil paper. The man took a bite and praised: “Delicious! Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, this pancake has a chewy texture, and the vegetables are also tasty. Give me another one with an egg added!”

The others saw him praise it so much, and couldn’t help but join in and line up to order.

It was early in the morning, and Yu Dameng was not busy yet, so he stood by and helped him collect money. His pancakes were medium-sized, and although he gave enough vegetables, many strong men could not eat enough. Qiao Yuan suggested adding an extra pancake to the order, so they could have two pancakes rolled with vegetables to eat.

Most of the customers didn’t have any special preferences, so Qiao Yuan could stir-fry a lot of vegetables at once, and the pancakes were cooked even faster. They didn’t have to wait long in line to get them. The aroma linegered, and the ones who bought them went out to promote them to the ones who came later.

In less than two hours, Qiao Yuan ran out of vegetables.

The later customers were very regretful. “Why didn’t you prepare more?”

Qiao Yuan smiled and explained, “This is the first day of selling, I was afraid I wouldn’t sell them all.”

The man saw that there was still a little batter left in the basin, and asked: “Can you sell me some pancakes then?”

When Qiao Yuan heard this, he naturally had no objections and started making pancakes while saying, “You can fry some vegetables at home and wrap them up, they’ll taste good.”

The man bought all the remaining pancakes, and Qiao Yuan received one wen.

Finally, they closed the stall. Qiao Yuan was almost exhausted. He thought that he would prepare a little more than today’s amount in the future. Making money was important, but he didn’t want to ruin his health. He still wanted to grow old with Yu Dameng!

Yu Dameng felt sorry for him and massaged his shoulders. Qiao Yuan was embarrassed to accept it in front of Old Man Yu, and gently pushed his hand away.

The three of them counted, and there were a total of two hundred and seventy wen in the jar. After deducting the cost, Qiao Yuan estimated that he had earned about one hundred and fifty wen. Old Man Yu was shocked. It was just like Cuifen said, they had brought home a golden baby. This seemingly unremarkable food had earned so much in just two hours. Wouldn’t that mean he could earn more than four taels of silver a month? That was almost more than his iron shop!

“Dad, this is on better days. If the weather is bad, we can’t open for business. Besides, this food is actually quite simple to make. It’s only a matter of time before someone figures it out. If we want to make money for a long time, we still have to work hard.” Qiao Yuan explained a bit, but he was already very satisfied. He felt that he could really survive and stand on his own feet in this different world.

After resting for a while, Qiao Yuan recovered and found a more reliable vegetable vendor. He agreed with him on the time of delivery every day. The vendor was very happy to get a large and stable order, and promised him repeatedly that he would do a good job.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. If you want to show your support, you can buy me a coffee. It would make my day! For every five coffees I get, I will release a bonus chapter.