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Tan Erqian thought for a moment and said, “It’s Huai Qin.”
“Huai Qin?” Wan Chunmei didn’t quite understand.
Tan Erqian wiped his hands, grabbed a piece of blackened firewood, and wrote the character “Huai” on the wall.
Wan Chunmei, though she recognized a few characters, didn’t understand the meaning of these two characters. “I don’t understand, but it sounds nice. Not bad, not bad.”
With so many children at home, the naming process had always been a bit casual—just using numbers like one, two, three, four, and five, so it was easier to tell them apart.
Now, hearing about Tan Sanyuan’s name, she thought it was very nice. It immediately gave the impression of a scholar.
She turned to Tan Sanyuan and asked, “Sanyuan, Dr. Li gave you such a nice name. Why didn’t you tell your father and me? It sounds much better than ‘Sanyuan’.”
Tan Sanyuan placed Tan Qiyue down and replied nonchalantly, “The name Father and Mother gave me is naturally the best. This name can be used or not, which is why I haven’t mentioned it.”
Wan Chunmei smiled and said, “Good child, this name is really nice. You should use it. If you go to a bigger school later and meet those scholars, it’ll be good to have an elegant name so they don’t look down on you.”
Tan Sanyuan replied calmly, “If someone truly wants to look down on you, it won’t matter how nice your name is. But if someone respects you, even if you’re called ‘A Cat’ or ‘A Dog’, they’ll still respect you. So, Mother, it’s not important.”
Wan Chunmei stared at her son for a moment. He was growing up so understanding, it made her heart ache.
Perhaps it was because his health had always been poor that he had developed such a personality. If she could, she would have preferred him to be like Yiliang and Erqian, carefree and always smiling.
At that moment, Tan Erqian broke the silence. “Mother, this time, make some more pickled vegetables. I’ll bring some to my master. He really liked the ones I brought last time and even gave a jar to a guest.”
As he spoke, it seemed like something came to mind. He continued, “Oh, right, I remember my teacher saying that the guest was from the capital. After they took it home, they ate it several times and liked it so much that now they’ve finished it and want us to make more to send back to the capital. I almost forgot about that!”
Wan Chunmei was puzzled. “The guest from Shopkeeper Bai’s place? Didn’t I only give you three jars of pickled vegetables last time?”
Tan Erqian nodded. “Yes, three jars. One for me, one for my teacher, and one that was originally for Chen Shian. But that little rascal took it, and instead of appreciating it, he tossed it to the trash. My teacher thought it was a waste, so he took the jar and, by chance, gave it to that guest from the capital.”
Wan Chunmei understood and frowned. “I thought Chen Shian was a good person when I gave it to him. If he’s going to act like this, even if I only have a single leaf of cabbage, I won’t send anything to him again.”
Tan Erqian nodded in agreement. “Yes, Mother, you’re right.”
“But, how can pickled vegetables be sent to the capital? The capital is so far away.”
Wan Chunmei immediately asked.
Tan Erqian scratched the back of his head and grinned. “I don’t know about that. I just need to take a few more jars back, that’s all.”
At that moment, Tan Sanyuan unexpectedly spoke up, “Shopkeeper Bai is a merchant. He must have a caravan. He can just have them take it to the capital.”
Tan Erqian suddenly understood and looked at Tan Sanyuan, surprised. “Third Brother, how do you know so much?”
Tan Sanyuan pulled out a book from behind him, continuing to read as he replied, “It’s written in the book.”
Tan Erqian was a bit skeptical but continued washing the large white radish in his hands.
By the time the radishes were nearly cleaned, Tan Yiliang and Tan Erqian had returned, each carrying large baskets of cabbage. The whole family started working together again, busy making pickled vegetables.
This time, they did things a little differently. Wan Chunmei asked Old Tan to slaughter a few chickens, which were then chopped up and used to make pickled chicken.
After they had lunch, the sauce was ready.
The delicious aroma spread all over the village.