Chapter 172
"It's Young Fang!" Li Da said: "I know this youngster, he often comes to my place to buy meat. He seems like a good one to me. In the future, you both work well. Being a servant isn't honorable, but at least you still have your lives, isn't that so? As long as you work hard, he probably won't treat you too harshly."
"I know," Li Yanmei said, wiping her tears. "I've made Father worry about me."
"What kind of talk is that? As long as you are safe and well, your father doesn't care about anything else."
Swallowing her pride, Li Yanmei borrowed some silver, bought a few steamed buns, and the family made do with that for their meal.
When Zhao Ger came at noon and they heard he was Fang Zichen's fulang, Lin Xiaoxia and Li Yanmei were a bit stunned.
Fang Zichen's looks were simply too outstanding. Although Li Yanmei had no particular romantic interest in him, every time she saw him, her heart would flutter uncontrollably.
She had once said to Lin Xiaoxia, "I wonder what kind of ger or young woman could possibly be capable of winning over someone like him."
Lin Xiaoxia thought about it, racking his brains, and finally said: "At the very least, his looks won't be bad. Someone like him probably wouldn't fancy an ordinary person."
Zhao Ger's looks were upper class, not the exceptionally, exceptionally handsome type, but he had large eyes and a small, round face. He looked exactly like the very well-behaved, very obedient, clean, and especially cute type.
They never imagined that it would be such a seemingly unassuming little ger who had managed to win Fang Zichen's heart. It seemed this person probably wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface; his methods for controlling a husband must be quite formidable.
Li Yanmei immediately felt a sense of awe and respect towards him.
Zhao Ger familiarized himself with them a little. After learning their names, he began teaching them how to make pumpkin cakes.
Lin Xiaoxia possessed great strength, he could easily mash the pumpkin into a smooth paste without needing to steam it for very long first. Li Yanmei's skill was even more impressive. The large, heavy flat pan Zhao Ger had specially made could fry over ten cakes at once. While Zhao Ger had previously flipped each one laboriously with chopsticks, Li Yanmei simply flicked the wok, sending the pumpkin cakes flipping into the air before they landed neatly back inside with a soft slap.
Zhao Ger watched, dumbfounded.
This skill is impressive.
It's just... a bit wasteful of oil.
Zhao Ger took Li Yanmei to sell for one morning. Li Yanmei had experience selling meat, so she picked it up quite quickly.
Jiaojiao was still too young to count, so her only task was to watch the fire near the kitchen door. The responsibility of handling money still rested with Guaizai. Since Zhao Ger needed to return to his own duties, he instructed Li Yanmei that once the day's work was done, she should escort Guaizai to the Zuixiao Restaurant and hand him over to his father.
Jiaojiao had been a big child since she was born. Seeing Guaizai so small and hearing him speak with such a soft, milky voice made Li Yanmei's heart melt. When she spoke to him, she deliberately softened her own voice.
"Guaizai, are you tired?"
"Not tired," Guaizai said seriously: "A man must stand tall between heaven and earth, he cannot say he is tired."
[顶天立地 (dǐng tiān lì dì): lit. to stand tall between heaven and earth; fig. to be a person of indomitable spirit and noble character].
Li Yanmei stared blankly for a moment, then started laughing wildly.
Lin Xiaoxia came out from the backyard and happened to hear this. He approvingly patted Guaizai's head: "Not bad. To have such awareness at such a young age, not bad, not bad."
The step of simmering the chili sauce was done by Zhao Ger himself.
Other people in town had also begun selling chili sauce. However, the sauce they sold wasn't fragrant and, when eaten, seemed to lack a certain essence. Although it was a bit cheaper than what Zhao Ger sold, most people were still willing to buy from Zhao Ger.
The reason the business was booming was the crucial step of simmering the oil.
Zhao Ger was kept constantly busy, and it took him a full three days to complete a batch of chili sauce.
The rented shop had only one room in the backyard. They hadn't thought about buying servants originally, so now that room was given to Lin Xiaoxia's family to live in. Zhao Ger and Zhou Ger could only go home to sleep.
This arrangement also had its benefits. Although the commute was somewhat tiring, it allowed them to see their children every day. They were accustomed to living at home, so staying in town felt somewhat uncomfortable.
The weather was getting colder and colder. The pumpkin cakes sold well. The pumpkins they had previously moved to town were used up, so Zhao Ger asked Hexi to help bring the pumpkins from home.
The Village Chief had previously helped Fang Zichen a lot. Fang Zichen remembered the favor and, once again using his authority, assigned him specifically to deliver firewood to Zuixiao Restaurant.
Zuixiao Restaurant's business was booming, so the amount of firewood needed daily was considerable. Previously, they had cooperated with an old man from Xiaorong Village, but in recent years, the old man's health had declined, and he delivered less firewood. Shopkeeper Yang was considering finding another farming family to supply them. Upon hearing this, Fang Zichen immediately sent for Hexi.
After all, they were all his own people, so how could he let the fertile water flow into outsiders' fields?
[肥水不流外人田 (féi shuǐ bù liú wài rén tián): lit. Don't let fertile water flow into outsiders' fields; fig. One should not let advantages or benefits go to outsiders]
Hexi felt deeply grateful to him for this. Therefore, when Zhao Ger requested his help, Hexi came without a moment's delay.
When the twelfth lunar month arrived, the weather became increasingly cold.
Zhao Ger took out the cotton-padded jackets he had previously asked Aunt Liu to make. He wrapped Guaizai up in three layers inside and three layers outside, bundling him up like a ball, so much so that the child couldn't even put his arms down.
Fang Zichen watched the boy waddling like a penguin.
In the past, if Guaizai fell, he would instantly scramble back up using both hands and feet. Now, when he tumbled over, he would just roll on the ground, completely unable to get up on his own.
There was simply no other way; the weather was just too bitterly cold.
In the past, both his home and his classroom had heating during the winter, so Fang Zichen had never experienced cold like this before. Now, he constantly felt as if he had been dumped directly into the Arctic.
The wind was bitingly cold, feeling as though it could scrape three layers of skin right off a person.
At night, they also had to cover themselves with two quilts. Even with this, Fang Zichen still complained of being cold. Seeing him like this, Zhao Ger went to town again and bought two bags of charcoal. At night, they burned it in the room, and only then did Fang Zichen feel a bit better.
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