Chapter 114
After coming all this way, Zhao Ger didn't plan to return empty-handed. Since he had silver with him, he went to Old Man Li's place and bought nearly sixty jin of meat.
Old Man Li had slaughtered two pigs today. The belly cut, with its perfect layers of fat and lean meat, looked particularly fine.
Last time, Wu Ger had sent a cured rabbit to their home, and Uncle Liu's daughter-in-law had also sent a piece of cured meat. After cooking it, he noticed that Fang Zichen seemed to quite like it.
Cured meat made from entirely lean meat became tough and unpalatable; the belly cut was far superior for this purpose. However, he had come in a hurry and hadn't brought a carrying basket. The fifty, nearly sixty jin of meat was too heavy and awkward to carry in one hand. It was also greasy, making it impossible to simply sling over a shoulder. He instinctively looked toward Fang Zichen for a solution.
Fang Zichen was playing with Guaizai. Catching his gaze, he asked warily, "What?"
Zhao Ger said, "We don't have a carrying basket. What should we do?"
And here he thought it was about settling scores after the fact! Fang Zichen said offhandedly, "If you don't have one, then go buy one!"
By that time, the morning market had long since dispersed. The vendor selling carrying baskets had already packed up and gone home. The general store did have them, but the baskets there cost several more copper coins than those sold by the vendors.
Because of this, most people wouldn't buy a carrying basket from the general store unless they were desperate. The baskets in the general store had often been sitting there for a long time.
Carrying baskets were made from bamboo. With careful use, they could generally last a few years. But the longer they sat in the shop, the shorter their usable life became after purchase.
Zhao Ger was reluctant to spend those extra copper coins.
They already had two at home, buying another one would be superfluous.
He glared at Fang Zichen: "It's all your fault!"
Fang Zichen: "..." Everything was perfectly fine just a moment ago, and now it's my fault? Didn't he already eat the tanghulu as a peace offering? How is his anger still not gone?
He nearly rolled his eyes to the back of his head.
This ger really didn't bother with reason at all. When he became unreasonable and started making trouble, it was truly a headache. When Fang Zichen couldn't win an argument, he got scolded. When he could win an argument, he got hit.
Relying on his favor, Zhao Ger was becoming utterly lawless. But what could he do? He was, after all, his own fulang. And he blamed himself for being bewitched and momentarily blind when he chose him. This was the fulang he himself had married, no matter how bad his temper was, or how much he liked to hit and kick him, he just had to endure it.
He was truly stuck for life with this round-faced ger.
Fang Zichen sighed and stepped forward to negotiate with Old Man Li.
They had bought a lot, and they were acquainted, so Old Man Li had one of his apprentice help deliver it back for them.
Only then did Zhao Ger smile sweetly again.
He knew he had been somewhat unreasonable just now. He had misunderstood Fang Zichen, and it was his own fault for coming in a hurry without a carrying basket and then suddenly buying the meat. Fang Zichen hadn't blamed him, he should be secretly pleased. Yet he was the one who got angry, and Fang Zichen had instead comforted him, merely complaining a couple of sentences the entire time.
Fang Zichen was tolerant of him, so he should quit while he was ahead. But he couldn't help wanting to test where that bottom line was! To gauge just how angry Fang Zichen would be if he found out he had concealed the matter of the Feng family? And whether he, by his own efforts alone, would be able to coax him back into a good mood.
There were few other customers near Old Man Li's pork stall at that moment. He had gone into the backyard to find his apprentice, so no one was paying attention to them.
"Husband," Zhao Ger proactively hugged Fang Zichen's arm and said, with sincere feeling, "You're so good!"
Fang Zichen lowered his head and kissed him on the cheek, smiling as he said, "I think so too. Your family's ancestral grave must really be emitting green smoke."
[祖墳冒青煙 (zǔ fén mào qīng yān): lit. ancestral grave is emitting green smoke; fig. one's ancestors are bestowing great luck or blessing, often used sarcastically or self-deprecatingly]
Zhao Ger: "..."
Zhao Ger hit him again: "Shameless!"
"Where am I shameless? I just helped you, and now you're dismantling the bridge after crossing the river? So ungrateful." Fang Zichen heaved long and short sighs, saying, "Who knows what sins I committed in my past life to end up falling into the hands of a ger like you in this one, Ai..."
[过河拆桥 (guò hé chāi qiáo): lit. to dismantle the bridge after crossing the river; fig. to abandon or betray someone after achieving one's goal.]
"Talking nonsense again." Zhao Ger said, without much sincerity, "Don't be angry!"
Fang Zichen: "Then say a few words to coax me!"
Zhao Ger furrowed his brows: "How should I coax you?" He wasn't very good at praising people, let alone coaxing them. Before, when he coaxed Fang Zichen, he would kiss him. But that was in their own courtyard. Right now, in public, that one kiss just now had used up all his courage.
"Look at you, you even need to be taught this. Just say you love me, that you love me very, very much. That the first time you saw me, your heart was secretly promised to me, that you fell deeply and are now helplessly in love with me, that you can't think straight if you don't see me for a moment, that it feels like your heart is being torn apart, like being burned by raging flames, and so on!"
Zhao Ger felt somewhat embarrassed. How could he possibly say such things out loud? He could only grit his teeth and shoot him a look that lacked any real intimidation.
Fang Zichen still needed to rush back to work. He teased him a few more sentences, until Zhao Ger's face turned crimson with shame and he couldn't lift his head.
Noticing that Zhao Ger, in his shyness, had also clenched his fists at his sides and his jaw was tense, Fang Zichen knew this tigress was about to erupt. He knew when to stop, shoved Guaizai into his arms, and slipped away hastily as if his soles were smeared with oil.
There weren't many guests today, the restaurant wasn't as busy as before.
Fang Zichen grabbed a brush and wrote swiftly on paper.
It wasn't that he was suddenly bursting with literary inspiration, writing poetry or lyrics. He was writing recipes.
In the modern era, during summer vacations, he often stayed at the military compound. After his grandmother got older, she couldn't handle big tasks and, finding idleness boring, she learned to cook from the family's cook.
Back in the 70s and 80s, she was the daughter of an official's family. After marriage, she hadn't set foot in the kitchen even half a step.
In her later years, she had a sudden whim to learn cooking. But her talent in this skill hadn't been activated. Even following the cook's instructions step by step, the things she fried nearly sent his grandfather—a soldier for many years, still healthy and spry in his seventies—straight to the ICU.
His grandmother's cooking wasn't great, but she read quite a few cookbooks. Sometimes, after reading them, she'd just leave them on the tea table. Fang Zichen would occasionally flip through them.
He never thought he'd need to use them back then, so he didn't read many. Now he truly felt the regret of studying too little when he needed knowledge the most.
In the end, he managed to write down over ten recipes.
After renting a shop, he couldn't just sell chili sauce alone. Relying solely on selling chili sauce, he could forget about being extravagantly spendthrift again in this lifetime.
____
As soon as Zhao Ger arrived home, carrying his son and accompanied by the apprentice, Zhou Ger came over to see him.
After Zhao Ger left around noon, Zhou Ger had felt uneasy, unsure whether telling Zhao Ger was the right thing or not.
Zhou Ger had been anxiously awaiting Zhao Ger's return, worried that his earlier revelation might have caused Zhao Ger got beaten.
After Zhao Ger left, Zhou Ger had been anxiously waiting, his mind filled with worry. Now, seeing him return not only with a unfamiliar young man but also having bought pork, he was stunned. But with an outsider present, he had to restrain himself. Once the young man had put down the pork and left, he coaxed Guaizai to go play in the yard and urgently asked Zhao Ger.
Zhao Ger smiled: "He did indeed hire one."
"And you can still laugh?" Zhou Ger said, "Are you so angry you've gone stupid?"
Zhao Ger knew he was worried about him. After thinking about it, he decided to tell him the whole story.
Zhou Ger: "..."
Zhou Ger couldn't contain himself, he burst into laughter.
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