CH 25

“Look, here, and here too, these are all from what you did yesterday,”

Qiao Yuan woke up and immediately started holding Yu Dameng accountable for the red marks on his shoulders and neck. Yu Dameng’s gaze was burning hot again, but Qiao Yuan no longer indulged him. He fiercely pinched his arm, urging him to get up quickly, “It’s almost noon, hurry up and get out of bed to work!”

Yesterday, Qiao Yuan tried his best to make Yu Dameng happy, using all his tricks, before he finally managed to stop the car1Driving the car is a slang for sex.. Today, he sternly warned him that he couldn’t do it until he recovered his health. Unexpectedly, Yu Dameng got drunk and forgot everything he had done, looking confused. This made Qiao Yuan very angry and he ordered Yu Dameng around in an annoyed tone.

Yu Dameng didn’t dare to have any complaints. Whatever his husband said goes.

They wouldn’t be able to sell vegetable pancakes today since it was too late. Qiao Yuan was now preparing to sell just pancakes.

Old Man Yu and Yu Dameng were busy making goods in the front shop. In the past few days, there were many more people who ordered the shredders and peelers, and it would take a while to finish them. As he expected, other iron shops also started to sell these two things. Those who couldn’t wait naturally went to buy them elsewhere. Of course, later these people found out that the ones they bought from other iron shops were not as durable as the ones from Yu’s family, and they regretted it very much. But that’s another story.

In the afternoon, Qiao Yuan was busy in the backyard when he was suddenly called to the front shop by Yu Dameng.

“What’s the matter?” Qiao Yuan asked.

“There’s someone here who ordered a batch of shredders and peelers, and he said he wanted to talk business with you.”

Qiao Yuan’s eyes lit up. Money! His steps couldn’t help speeding up.

When he arrived at the front shop and took a look, the visitor seemed somewhat familiar.

The man bowed and smiled, “Does Yu Fulang2Fulang (夫郎) means husband. He is being called Husband Yu or Husband of Yu. I prefer just calling him as is to show he is being called the husband of Yu Dameng, and I find both terms awkward as translation. still remember me? I am Li Yongchang, the steward of the soon-to-open Laike House3来客楼 (Láikè Lóu) – this literally means guest house, but it is referred to as a restaurant going forward, so I just translated this as the name of the restaurant.. We met at the wedding banquet in Xianhe Village, and I had asked you if you could make other patterns.”

Qiao Yuan returned the greeting, no wonder he looked so familiar. He nodded and said, “So it’s Steward Li, yes I do remember.”

Li Yongchang explained his purpose: “That day at the wedding banquet, I saw that the flower buns were very exquisite. Just as the restaurant is about to open, I want to order one to celebrate and let the guests see something rare.”

He also asked, “I wonder if Yu Fulang has any patterns?”

Originally, this business was delayed and he didn’t have much money in his hand, so he did not invest any capital. Qiao Yuan could only apologize and say, “Thanks for reminding me, Steward Li. I had forgotten about this matter. When is the opening date? I’ll make the patterns as soon as possible.”

Li Yongchang said, “It’s on September 20th, the day of the autumn temple fair. After Yu Fulang finishes the patterns, just go to Laike House and look for me. I hope you can do it as soon as possible.”

The autumn temple fair was a folk tradition held after all farming work was finished, to celebrate the harvest. On this day there was no curfew, and everyone could go out on the streets to celebrate the festival day, so one can imagine the bustling scene.

As a modern person, Qiao Yuan had no idea about this tradition. After Li Yongchang left, he asked Yu Dameng, “There’s still a temple fair?”

Yu Dameng naturally knew why he didn’t know, and explained it to him. Old Man Yu just thought that Yuan Ge’er was too restrained in Qiao’s family before, and he didn’t even know about the autumn temple fair that happened every year. He had to talk to Cuifen when he got back and pamper the child more.

After Qiao Yuan understood what the autumn temple fair was, he was even happier. This was a good day to choose, there would be a lot of people! And he still had ten days to prepare. He was so happy that he wanted to hug Yu Dameng right now, but he had to restrain himself because Old Man Yu was still there. “This is a fat sheep! I must slaughter it and get some meat!”

Yu Dameng didn’t understand, but since Qiao Yuan was happy, he was also happy. So, he nodded cheerfully.

Qiao Yuan smiled and secretly squeezed his hand.

The urgent task was to quickly find a painter. Yu Da Meng said: “Eldest brother used to have a classmate who was good at painting.”

Qiao Yuan rejected this suggestion, “He’s a scholar. If you ask him to paint landscapes or people, he might agree. But if you ask him to paint food, he might get angry and kick us out.”

Yu Dameng thought about it and agreed.

After thinking for a moment, Qiao Yuan had an idea. He took Yu Dameng’s hand and went out, “Let’s find a painter who illustrates storybooks!”

The two spent some silver at the bookshop, and finally got a name of a painter from the clerk, called Qian Yun, who usually did illustrations for storybooks.

Painter Qian Yun is very easy to talk to, as long as you have money, he can get things done. Qiao Yuan communicated with him and asked him to draw a pattern for celebrating the opening of the restaurant first. The main thing for the restaurant opening was to be impressive. According to Qiao Yuan’s idea, he planned to make a multi-layered stacked shape, where each small flower bun could be taken off individually. If the restaurant was willing, giving them out to customers on the day would likely get a great response.

However, this was just his own idea, Laike House might not necessarily choose it. So Qiao Yuan also thought of several other plans and also discussed them with Qian Yun. “If Painter Qian has any ideas, feel free to draw them out too. But since I’m making food, I hope Painter Qian will be sure to pay attention to use of color, mainly everyday colors that are easy to obtain.”

Qiao Yuan gave him some examples, such as purple from purple yam, green from vegetables. Qian Yun was very smart and could quickly come up with others, and he had an idea in his mind.

He was very interested in this, both amazed by the novelty of Qiao Yuan’s ideas, and curious about how these would be shaped by hand.

Qiao Yuan said at the right time: “The restaurant celebration pattern is just the beginning. If this works out, there will be more patterns for weddings, birthdays, longevity wishes, etc. I hope Painter Qian will work hard and finish them as soon as possible.”

When Qian Yun heard this, he knew this was a big client. He hurriedly cupped his fists and assured Yu Dameng and Qiao Yuan: “Big Brother Yu, Yu Fulang, please rest assured, I will definitely do my best for this matter!”

He asked Qiao Yuan a few more questions. Qiao Yuan paid him five hundred wen as deposit, with the remainder to be paid based on Qiao Yuan’s satisfaction with the drafts he turns in. The matter was considered settled.

Yu Dameng habitually held Qiao Yuan’s hand and left. Just as the two of them were slowly walking out of the alley, Qiao Yuan unexpectedly saw his uncle Qiao Guangzhi’s hurried figure. He looked around nervously, clearly showing signs of guilt, and didn’t seem like he was up to anything good!

The gossip fire in Qiao Yuan’s heart suddenly burned fiercely. He secretly pulled Yu Dameng to hide in a corner and stare at Qiao Guangzhi. They saw him stop in front of a house and knock on the door three times. A woman dressed up in a flashy manner opened the door.

Could he have just caught Qiao Guangzhi having an affair?

Qiao Yuan asked the nearby woman passing by for some information.

The woman looked at Yu Dameng next to him and pulled Qiao Yuan aside to whisper to him: “You’d better watch your man! That’s not a decent house!”

Qiao Yuan asked seriously, “What do you mean?”

“That place does flesh trade, a brothel!”

Qiao Yuan was shocked, he didn’t expect Qiao Guangzhi to be into this kind of thing.

The woman added: “Don’t take it lightly. Many men go to that house. Men are all bad seeds. You have to keep an eye on them.”

Qiao Yuan instinctively defended, “My husband would never do such a thing.”

“Ha, all men are good when they just get married. Who knows what will happen after ten or eight years? You can’t just look at the present. Anyway, you just be careful.”

Qiao Yuan politely thanked the woman.

Seeing her leave, Yu Dameng hurried to Qiao Yuan and anxiously asked: “What did she say to you? Why did she pull you aside?”

Qiao Yuan chuckled and repeated the exact words that the woman had just said to him to Yu Dameng.

When Yu Dameng heard this, he quickly said, “I would never do that.”

“Do you have the guts to do that? If you dare, I’ll cut off your big treasure and feed it to the dogs!”

Yu Dameng understood what big treasure meant and his face turned red. He held back for a long time and finally muttered, “I won’t do that.”

Qiao Yuan laughed. He grabbed Yu Dameng’s hand and coaxed: “Okay, okay, I know. Let’s go home, back home.”

Qian Yun was very efficient and brought the finished patterns the next afternoon.

He was indeed a professional painter. He considered both the feasibility and the color composition very comprehensively. Qiao Yuan was very satisfied. Moreover, Qian Yun had very carefully bound the drafts into a little booklet, which is exquisite and beautiful.

Qiao Yuan happily settled the remaining five hundred wen with him quickly. There were ten patterns in total, and he charged one hundred wen for each. This was because the patterns that Qiao Yuan wanted him to draw were not very complex in color matching, and they were small, so they used less paint. If it were those artists who made big paintings, they would charge a lot, and they would have to bring their own paint.

After Qian Yun left, taking advantage of the shop being not busy, Qiao Yuan took the booklet and went to Laike House with Yu Dameng.

Laike House had three floors. Just looking at the entrance from outside, it looked very grand. Qiao Yuan said to Yu Dameng boldly: “When we make money, we’ll come here to eat.”

Yu Dameng naturally agreed with everything he said.

They were greeted by Steward Li, who had gone to their shop that day. The restaurant’s plump shopkeeper Wang also joined in the fun. They looked at the ten patterns over and over again, and they couldn’t decide which one to choose. They felt that they were all good.

Qiao Yuan quickly recommended to them the layered one, “Personally, I recommend this one. It may look small when drawn, but it has a total of fifteen layers and is about four and a half chi4尺 chǐ a Chinese foot / one-third of a meter tall. It will definitely attract attention when placed outside the restaurant. Moreover, each small flower bun on it can be taken off individually and given to guests, which will surely have a good effect.”

When Steward Li and Boss Wang heard this, they realized how brilliant it was! If it could really be made, who wouldn’t remember the scene of Laike House’s opening for decades to come?

Qiao Yuan then pointed at two other patterns and said: “There are also these two basket-shaped ones. Make them into a pair, and mix them with some real flowers. Put them on both sides of this stacked flower bun and it would also be a beautiful sight.”

“Also, these twelve zodiac animal patterns can be used on the opening day. According to the zodiac, they can be given to the first few customers who enter the store or to customers who spend a certain amount of silver on that day.”

Steward Li and Boss Wang were both stunned upon hearing this, but after careful consideration, they thought that this idea was actually quite good. Boss Wang asked a question they were all most concerned about: “Yu Fulang, how much would it cost?”

“The stacked flower bun is one hundred taels, the two flower basket shapes are ten taels each, and the twelve zodiac patterns are one hundred wen each.”

Steward Li exclaimed: “That’s too expensive!”

“This stacked flower buns has fifteen layers, and it probably needs more than two thousand flower buns for it to be shaped. And I also have to order wooden frames from the carpenter to hold them! If you think it’s expensive, you can reduce the number of layers.”

He intends to make this flower bun business for the rich and powerful customers. If it was too cheap, they probably wouldn’t even look at it. He absolutely couldn’t lower the price.

Steward Li looked at the booklet again and sighed: “Yu Fulang really makes me worry.”

Boss Wang, however, was smiling. He picked up the booklet and stood up and bowed his hands: “Brother Yu and Yu Fulang, please sit down for a while. The owner happens to be here today sampling dishes. Let me go ask him.”

Qiao Yuan realized that the shopkeeper, Boss Wang, was of higher status than Steward Li.

Soon, he came back and said: “Our owner wants to meet you two. I wonder if you are willing?”

Qiao Yuan nodded and followed him to the second floor.

The owner of the restaurant that Boss Wang mentioned turned out to be a ger. He looked very handsome, but he appeared cold and aloof with a hint of sadness. Qiao Yuan could tell from his clothes that he was either rich or noble.

Seeing them come in, the young master5From this point forward, I will call him young master, although he is being called ger in the raw text. I just find it awkward to continuously call him ‘ger’. Also, since both he and Qiao Yuan are gers, I will use “little brother” or just plainly “you” whenever he mentions Qiao Yuan. He mostly refers to QY as “Xiao Ge’er” but not directly calling him as “Xiao Ge’er” put down the sketchbook in his hand. “Your ideas are very novel.”

Qiao Yuan bowed modestly. “You flatter me.”

The young master smiled faintly and said softly: “You don’t have to be modest, little brother. I’m not just saying this because of the flower bun. But I want to see the finished product of the flower bun first. Can you make one for me to try?”

Qiao Yuan agreed and Boss Wang led him and Yu Dameng to the kitchen of the restaurant.

After thinking for a while, Qiao Yuan decided to make a pair of lucky cats, with a smiling expression to match the occasion. Smiling cats were festive, and could also cheer up that melancholic young master.

The main colors were white, with red, black and golden yellow as accents. The restaurant kitchen was very well stocked. Qiao Yuan added a bit of milk to enhance the taste.

He moved his knife swiftly and smoothly. The others couldn’t see how he did it, but the image of the little cat came out. It sat obediently, smiling and raising one paw. On its paw, it held a golden ingot with the word “fortune” on it. It was so adorable that everyone in the kitchen was amazed.

Qiao Yuan copied the “fortune” cat perfectly and made a “wealth” cat.

Boss Wang was overjoyed, repeatedly saying: “The young master will definitely be happy when he sees this.”

Qiao Yuan figured out that this chubby Boss Wang didn’t lack money at all, he was just trying to find some novelty to cheer up that young master a bit.

As soon as he finished, Boss Wang happily ordered someone to send the pair of lucky cats upstairs.

The young master smiled when he saw them. He touched the lucky cats and praised: “They are really adorable.”

Qiao Yuan saw him smile and his eyes curved too. “They are called lucky cats. If you like them, you can have someone make a pair of porcelain ones and put them on the counter to bring good luck and joy.”

The young master nodded, then suddenly said to Qiao Yuan: “My name is Pei Yin, I should be a few years older than you.”

Qiao Yuan was startled, then smiled and bowed his hands to Pei Yin. “Young Master Pei, my name is Qiao Yuan.”

He then pointed at Yu Dameng and introduced: “This is my husband, Yu Dameng.”

Yu Dameng was still in a daze, so Qiao Yuan pinched him and he finally came to his senses and bowed to greet the others.

Pei Yin found their interaction amusing and his whole person became gentler. He chatted casually: “When did you two get married?”

“We got married in August.”

Pei Yin asked: “Did you see each other before you got married?”

Qiao Yuan replied, “It was an arranged marriage6盲婚哑嫁 literally translates to blind marriage and dumb wedding. Blind = marrying someone you don’t know, Dumb/mute = lacking in affection/communication when they got married.”

This time Pei Yin was really surprised. He said: “I…I thought you and Brother Dameng looked like you had been married for a long time.”

Qiao Yuan touched his nose awkwardly. It seemed like he and Yu Dameng hadn’t known each other for long. The fact that their relationship had progressed so quickly was all because he had been too proactive. How could someone as simple-minded as Yu Dameng have managed to marry him?

Pei Yun chatted with them for a while. He always seemed like he had something to ask them, but when the boss Wang brought out the silver, he completely stopped talking.

“Brother Yu, Yu Fulang, after discussing with Steward Li, we will order five of each of the twelve zodiac signs, so the total silver comes to one hundred and twenty-six taels. We will pay sixty-six taels as a deposit first. And these ten taels are for the pair of lucky cats today.”

Qiao Yuan took the sixty-six taels of deposit, but he refused to take the other ten taels. “I chose to make this pair of lucky cats today to make Big Brother Pei feel better. And I also used the ingredients from the restaurant’s kitchen. There is no reason to take money for this.”

Boss Wang glanced at Pei Yin, who nodded in agreement. He took back the ten taels of silver and said: “Yu Fulang is a man of great virtue.”

After signing the contract, Yu Dameng and Qiao Yuan took their leave.

Pei Yin stood by the window, lost in thought as he watched the backs of the two people walking away hand in hand.

Boss Wang stepped forward and asked: ” What is the young master’s intention in doing this business?”

Pei Yin looked back and nodded slightly: “Let’s observe them for a while longer.”

After saying that, he thought of the thing that troubled his mind and a faint sadness rose between his brows again.

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.