055 – The First Festival after Being Together
“It’s a little expensive.” Lei Xiangren wore a look of agreement, “A few thin pieces of streaky pork are also 2 Wen.”
Chen Si, who stood a few steps away outside to serve the hot pot guests, looked disdainfully at the two, speechless. Where are these people from? Don’t eat if it’s too expensive. Moreover, the meatballs on each skewer are the same size. Is it necessary to pick and choose?
Without looking up, Qin Mian said slowly: “Out to the right are people selling steamed stuffed buns and continue ahead are people selling noodles and sesame seed pancakes.”
Zhao Shi stooped talking.
Lei Xiangli blushed in embarrassment for his second brother and second sister-in-law. He said in a loud voice: “Another customer is coming. Hurry up, choose well and cook them first.”
Zhao Shi and Lei Xiangren did not talk anymore and sped up their selection of dishes.
Qian Shi had already chosen the dishes she wanted without a word. Anyway, all the money they made today would be given to Du Shi. Right now, she would be a fool if she did not eat.
Seeing that her husband only picked vegetable dishes, she cut a look at him and helped him to pick again. She picked more meat dishes for him.
Lei Xiangyi smiled gently.
Qian Shi’s face turned red.
Lei Xiangren and Zhao Shi took a look at the small baskets in their hands. Not to be outdone, they picked all meat dishes.
Once they checked out, the total was 62 Wen. It was 50 Wen after 20% discount. Lei Xiangren and Zhao Shi were so distressed that they frowned. On the second thought when they recalled that this money came from Du Shi, the load in their heart unloaded.
After eating, the few people drove the cart home.
Out of town, in the quiet road, only the bell on donkey’s neck jingled.
Lei Xiangren lightly shouted out “ah”, which attracted the attention of Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli.
“Second brother, what’s it?” Lei Xiangyi asked.
Lei Xiangren pondered: “Old Three, Old Four, I’ve an idea. You two listen and think about it.”
Zhao Shi and Qian Shi both looked over.
“Say what you want to say, second brother.” Lei Xiangyi said in annoyance.
Lei Xiangren said: “Today, we’ve made a net profit of 160 Wen. After taking out 50 for the meal, there is still 110 Wen left. I think, us three brothers can split 20 Wen each and give the rest to mother. What do you two think? You see, I’ve two children. I don’t even usually have money to buy them snacks.”
Lei Xiangyi sneered: “Who believe you? I don’t believe you give all the money you earned previously doing manual work to mother.”
Lei Xiangren glared, “If you’re keen on saying that, you must be the same. Otherwise, how do you know I did it?”
Lei Xiangyi did not speak.
Lei Xiangli was secretly depressed. Could he be the only one honest enough to give his mother all the money he earned?
Lei Xiangren toned down his tone, “Who hasn’t been selfish? Aren’t you often saying that you don’t have money to buy snacks for Xinxin? As for Old Four, it’s time to get married. You need to save more money, right? When the new wife joins the household but you’ve no money to even buy a flower for her, you’ll lose face.”
Lei Xiangli’s face felt hot, he busily said: “If you want talk about things, just talk about things. Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Oh, fourth brother is still shy.” Zhao Shi laughed out loud.
Lei Xiangyi and Qian Shi exchanged a meaningful look.
“I’ve no objection,” Lei Xiangyi said with a bitter smile. “You know that mother doesn’t like our Xinxin. Up to now, we can count the number of times she eats snacks on one hand, in exception of festivals.”
After he and Lei Xiangren reached the same opinion, both looked at Lei Xiangli.
Although Lei Xiangli felt that it was not good to cheat Du Shi, he did not object to it, “Quit it… No objection.”
The few people tacitly smiled and each immediately took 20 Wen to keep. Then, they talked about other topics leisurely.
After work ended in the evening, Qin Mian gave 5 Wen to Chen Si, asking him to send snacks to Zheng Liu and Wang Shun, as to express sympathy and solicitude for them on behalf of him and Lei Tie.
Qin Mian reserved some dishes and rice for him and Lei Tie, which he used to cook fried rice on the still burning stove to fill their stomach. Only then did they drive the cart home.
At this moment, the sky was pitch-black with the nearly full moon hung in the sky. The moonlight was light and soft, and the white clouds floated quietly around, making the curtain of night even darker.
Qin Mian looked back and said, “Is it my imagination? Why do I always think there’s someone behind us?”
Not to mention, he and Lei Tie were on the mountain road. The mountains on both sides were very quiet, which was really a little horrifying.
“There are people.” Lei Tie calmly spoke.
Qin Mian was taken aback, “Who? The people who want to covet the recipe?”
“Don’t worry.” Lei Tie pressed down his (QM) hand and gently pulled the reins. The ox stopped.
The sound of ox’s hooves and the rolling of wheels disappeared. The night sky became more silent. A gust of wind blew and Qin Mian could not help but shiver.
Lei Tie motioned him to sit still in the cart. Then he jumped out of the cart silently, walked to the middle of the road, and calmly looked behind the cart.
Qin Mian inexplicably thought of the scene where the martial arts masters were about to face each other in the martial arts genre novels.
Since Lei Tie looked very calm, he was not nervous anymore. He turned around in the cart and looked at the distance curiously.
Four big stout men with sturdy rods in their hands approached quickly.
Seeing a dark figure standing in the middle of the road, they did not run away. They looked at each other and vaguely felt that something was wrong. After a moment’s hesitation, they still held up their rods while quickly approached and came to a stop two zhang[1] away [6.6 meter].
“Lei Tie, Qin Mian; you two must know why we came here. If you are wise, give up the soup recipe!” One of them threatened with a rod.
Lei Tie’s figure flashed. Qin Mian heard a scream before he could see any movement. When he looked carefully, the man who had just spoken was kneeling on the ground with his hands and arms stretched out behind his back in a strange shape. He was continuously shaking and his face’s muscles distorted into an ugly look. The stick in his hand had gone somewhere.
The remaining three were so shocked that they did not dare to step forward. Even Qin Mian, who had drunk the spiritual spring water, could not see Lei Tie’s movement, so the three were even less likely to see it because they were more frightened by the unknown.
With a sly smile, Qin Mian raised his voice as he said: “Lei Tie, I didn’t see it. When dealing with the next one, slow down so I could learn.”
The three men shivered at the same time.
“Alright.” Lei Tie’s right foot only briefly touched on the ground before he flashed out and stood behind the second man. His right hand right hand made three quick strokes in a certain position on the man’s arms.
The second person reacted the same as the first. He cried out in pain and fell to the ground. No matter how hard he tried, he could not stand up. He looked at Lei Tie with fear, his voice trembled, “You-you… What have you done to me?”
Lei Tie said: “This is just a small lesson. You can’t move for three days from today. Go back and tell your boss, if he dares to be presumptuous again, I’ll make him soft as dough, unable to take care of himself for a lifetime. If he doesn’t believe it, he can try at any time.” He spoke slowly and in a flat tone, but that was what made him more intimidating.
However, Qin Mian burst out laughing. Has this guy been smoked[2] by the smell of smoke in the restaurant for a long time? He can even think of “dough” as an analogy.
The remaining two people no longer had the courage to fight. They carried the injured two people and flee in disorder.
“Let’s go.” Qin Mian called Lei Tie to get on the cart, “It’s so cold.”
Lei Tie got on the cart and they continued to hurry on their way. “Hire another accountant instead of going to the shop every day.” He had long found that his wife was afraid of the cold. When they slept at night, he (QM) persistently drilled into his arms.
Qin Mian hesitated. It was not that he was reluctant to spend money on people from the ancient times. “Hire an accountant… What if he covets the money?”
“Slavery deed and death deed.” Lei Tie said indifferently.
Qin Mian was stunned. The slavery deed was one of the characteristic products of feudal society. It was a little hard for him, who came from modern times, to accept the concept. But after he hesitated for a moment, he accepted it. There was a so-called “when in Rome, do as the Romans do”. It would be too pretentious to live in such a society but still needed to put up with human rights.
“It’s good idea to buy an accountant. Later, we can go to the shop when we want to and stay at home in winter when we don’t want to.”
They went to the brokerage and bought a man named Yue Dong. He was twenty years old who could write and calculate. It costed 15 silver taels to buy Yue Dong. After the goods delivered and the bill settled, Yue Dong’s slavery deed also went in Qin Mian’s hands.
The shop was too small to live in. Qin Mian did not want outsiders to live at home, so he reserved a bunk for Yue Dong in the communal bed of the inn. Although it was not convenient now, everything would be rearranged after the New Year.
The staffs in the restaurant had a clearer division of labor. Before the shop opened, Zheng Liu, Shi Tou and Wang Shun were responsible for washing and skewing dishes; Yue Dong and Chen Si were responsible for stewing and chopping meat to make meatballs. After the meatballs were ready, they also helped to wash and skewer dishes. After the shop opened, Chen Si was responsible for barbecue, Shi Tou was responsible for spicy hot soup, and Zheng Liu and Wang Shun were responsible for welcoming customers and serving dishes. Yue Dong was only responsible for collecting money.
After observing Yue Dong for several days, Qin Mian found that he was calm and careful. He simply gave Yue Dong the key to the shop and asked him to hold concurrent posts as a manager and be in charge of stocking up.
Yue Dong did not expect that the two bosses would value him so much before long. Since then, he had been more serious and responsible.
After the shop was handed over, Qin Mian and Lei Tie only needed to send enough seasonings to the shop every few days and occasionally visit the shop to check the account books.
When he did not go to the shop, Qin Mian stayed at home and wrote a plan to make a fortune in the coming year. Meanwhile, Lei Tie went to the mountain every two days and each time, he brought great harvest.
Qin Mian discovered that Lei Tie liked this current life better than going to work in the shop all the time.
These few days, the prey he caught was more than enough for them to celebrate the New Year. A portion of it was sent to the shop, and the rest were salted and hung on the beam to dry.
“Don’t go up the mountain today. It’s the winter solstice.” Qin Mian watched Lei Tie wash the ingredients for breakfast, with a smile on his face. He did not know when it started, but every time he cooked, the man would take the initiative to wash rice, trim and wash vegetables, and even cut the vegetables. All Qin Mian had to do was the last process.
“Winter solstice.” Lei Tie thought that it was no wonder he smelled all kinds of aroma in the village early in the morning.
The ancients believed that on winter solstice, the light force of heaven and earth began to develop and become stronger, which represented the beginning of the next cycle. It was a very auspicious day.
Therefore, the winter solstice was a very important traditional festival. On this day, people would make some delicious food to celebrate and at the same time, it also signified that the future would be better. The miserly and the poor also had to cook something delicious. Otherwise it would be considered unlucky.
Note:
[1] 1 zhang = 10 Chinese feet = 3.3 m.
[2] It has the same meaning as to educate.
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