Chapter 34: A Bit Smelly

The pan-fried dumplings didn’t sell out, leaving Jiang Qiaozhi and Wu Xiaochun feeling uneasy.

Previously, when they were in town, Jiang Liyun was too busy selling dumplings to console them. But now she had the time: “Dad, Mum, even if we sell fewer pan-fried dumplings, we can still earn a dozen or twenty yuan a day, which is much better than working.”

“I’m planning to sell fried chicken. We’ll close the stall earlier in the morning and go sell fried chicken in the afternoon.”

“The money from selling fried chicken might be more than selling pan-fried dumplings.”

…

“You want to sell fried chicken? How do you sell that?” Wu Xiaochun asked.

Jiang Liyun explained, “I’ll dismantle the whole chicken and sell fried chicken wings, fried chicken thighs, fried chicken frames, and boneless chicken strips.”

While Jiang Liyun made fried chicken for her family by directly chopping it for sale, she planned to dismantle the chicken.

Chicken thighs and wings could be fried and sold directly. Chicken meat could be made into boneless strips, and the remaining frames could also be fried for sale.

As for chicken innards, she planned to treat the construction workers to lunch soon, keeping the innards for herself. If the fried chicken business picked up and there were too many chicken innards, she could marinate them and sell them as cooked food.

The more time-saving method for selling fried chicken was to buy frozen chicken thighs and wings and marinate them. However, at this time in Jiuyu Town, there were no frozen chicken thighs and wings available. While larger cities might have them, she couldn’t go there to buy them.

She could only buy chickens and dismantle them herself, which was quite troublesome. However, she didn’t plan to sell too much initially—just a couple of chickens at a time—to avoid exhaustion.

There weren’t many people in town willing to spend money on fried chicken, but after Jiang Liyun painted a promising future for selling fried chicken to Jiang Qiaozhi and Wu Xiaochun, they didn’t worry about someone taking their business anymore.

Jiang Liyun then added, “Mum, Dad, we don’t need to worry about others. Let’s focus on doing our own thing.”

Jiang Qiaozhi and his wife nodded in agreement. Jiang Liyun was pleased with them; her parents might not make decisions, but they were obedient. When it came to making dumplings, they followed her instructions without taking matters into their own hands.

In her previous life, hiring people to help with making dumplings frustrated her when some wouldn’t follow her instructions. One person, in particular, insisted on putting less meat in the buns to save costs, despite her objections. She promptly let that person go.

Jiang Qiaozhi and his wife were cooperative. If she said to put in a certain amount of meat, they did just that.

Returning home, they encountered Zhou Qiaoxia. She smiled upon seeing them. “Heard someone copying your pan-fried dumpling business and stealing your customers?”

Jiang Liyun wasn’t surprised; she knew about it. After all, Old Feng has been going to the town’s morning market every day recently, and their pan-fried dumpling spot is quite close to the market.

However, Zhou Qiaoxia’s eagerness to mock her was a bit annoying, resembling the brainless cannon-fodder characters in TV dramas.

Jiang Liyun said, “Heard you’re struggling to afford those chickens now? Auntie, you said Uncle Feng wouldn’t sell vegetables anymore, but recently he’s been going every day. Is it to earn money to buy feed?”

“You…” Zhou Qiaoxia was furious.

“Mum, you’re a bit smelly.” Feng Yi stood in front of Jiang Liyun with a sincere expression. “Can you move away a bit? Don’t stink up, Sister Liyun.”

If Zhou Qiaoxia could have won against Feng Yi, she would have surely started a fight.

Standing behind Feng Yi, Jiang Liyun couldn’t help but laugh when she saw Zhou Qiaoxia’s disapproving expression.

Feng Yi spoke the truth; Zhou Qiaoxia indeed smelled a bit.

With over two hundred chickens kept at home, they needed to feed them, provide water, and clean their droppings. Zhou Qiaoxia and Old Feng were the ones handling these tasks, so it’s no surprise they smelled.

The Jiang family didn’t raise pigs, but they had chickens and sheep. Jiang Liyun usually avoids going near the sheep pen.

It truly stinks there!

Luckily, the responsibility for taking care of the sheep and chickens rested with Jiang Qiaozhi, so Jiang Liyun didn’t have to help.

Zhou Qiaoxia left in a huff, and the Jiang family happily returned home to prepare lunch. Jiang Qiaozhi tended to the fire, Wu Xiaochun washed vegetables, and Jiang Liyun took charge of cooking.

As for Feng Yi, he found time to go back to the construction site.

By now, the first floor of the house was complete, and they were working on the second floor.

During this time, people used “five-hole panels” for building houses. These panels were precast with reinforced steel, cement, and sand, and they could be bought like bricks.

After completing the walls for the first floor of the house, they simply laid the five-hole panels on top to continue constructing the second floor.

While people considered five-hole panels a good thing, they did have several drawbacks.

For example, when building houses with five-hole panels, the width must match that of the panels. Moreover, to cut costs, merchants selling five-hole panels often engage in shoddy workmanship, compromising the quality of the panels.

Several decades later, people no longer use five-hole panels to construct houses. However, at the time, it was considered a good option. Some households in the village used wooden boards as floor panels, which were even more hazardous than five-hole panels.

Jiang Liyun pondered that in less than half a month, the framework of the house would be completed.

Building a small brick and tile house happened swiftly, but after finishing the framework, they still needed to install windows, paint the walls, and pour the floor. Moving in would require some more time.

At present, they owe money in some areas, such as to the brick and tile factory for purchasing bricks. Due to these circumstances, they had only spent a few hundred yuan so far on building the house.

Once Wu Xiaochun finished washing the vegetables, Jiang Liyun instructed, “Mum, go to Aunt Yuxian’s place, buy three chickens from her, and ask her to help kill them and pluck the feathers.”

Chicken blood is edible, and chicken feathers can be sold. In their community, those who sell chickens are usually willing to help with the slaughtering.

However, most households don’t usually do this.

They prefer to keep the chicken blood for themselves.

Yesterday, the chicken Jiang Liyun used to make fried chicken was slaughtered by Feng Yi, and he collected all the chicken blood. Today, for lunch, Jiang Liyun made a soup using that chicken blood.

But since she planned to sell fried chicken, if she slaughtered the chickens herself at this time, they wouldn’t be able to consume all the chicken blood, so it’s better to have someone else do it.

“Why bother having someone else do it? Let your dad handle it.”

“Dad is too busy,” Jiang Liyun said. “Mum, just listen to me.”

Alright… Wu Xiaochun went out.

Unexpectedly, after a short while, Wu Xiaochun returned with Aunt Yuxian.

Aunt Yuxian asked Jiang Liyun, “Liyun, you want to buy chickens again, and this time, three?”

“Yes, Aunt Yuxian.” Jiang Liyun smiled.

Jiang Yuxian said, “I thought your mum got the message wrong, but with your words, I feel reassured.” With the confirmation from Jiang Liyun, Jiang Yuxian took Wu Xiaochun to select suitable chickens.

Observing this, Jiang Liyun felt somewhat helpless. In their village, when children were sent to buy or sell things, the sellers were often cautious and might take the child home to confirm with their parents to avoid any misunderstandings.

However, in her case, they brought her mum along for confirmation.

Once Wu Xiaochun and Jiang Yuxian left, Jiang Er Shu and Feng Yi returned.

Jiang Liyun asked Feng Yi to make tea for Jiang Er Shu, saying, “The dishes aren’t ready yet; have some tea first.”

It was still early, so Jiang Er Shu and the others chatted while drinking tea. The topic shifted to chicken farming: “The price of feed has been increasing; buying 100 kilogrammes of feed is now two yuan more expensive than before.”

“The price of chickens hasn’t risen, so the profit will be much less.”

“Chicken farming is not profitable. Fortunately, my family doesn’t raise chickens.”

…

Jiang Er Shu felt fortunate that they didn’t raise chickens. On the other hand, next door, Zhou Qiaoxia was looking at her chickens, fantasising about making a fortune by selling them.

“Back in the day, during the New Year, each family would slaughter a chicken. Throughout the festival, we would serve this limited amount of chicken meat to guests, and guests wouldn’t dare to eat, fearing that the host wouldn’t have chicken meat for other guests.” Zhou Qiaoxia reminisced with Old Feng. “But now it’s different. People are willing to eat chicken meat. On New Year’s Eve, we slaughter chickens, and on the same day, we eat them. Later, when we have guests, we buy more. By then, our chickens will surely fetch a good price.”

“Yes, last year during the New Year, the price of chickens doubled!” Old Feng said.

While the two were discussing, Feng Xiao Xiao, who was studying at the village primary school, returned.

Zhou Qiaoxia and Old Feng valued their son more, but since they only had Feng Xiao Xiao as a daughter, they also doted on her.

Zhou Qiaoxia greeted her and said, “Xiao Xiao is back. Quickly, go eat.”

However, Feng Xiao Xiao avoided Zhou Qiaoxia, saying, “Mum, you smell bad. Don’t hug me.”

Zhou Qiaoxia: “…”

On the other side, Jiang Liyu also returned, surrounded Jiang Liyun, and chatted about school matters. For example, a classmate borrowed her comic book and didn’t take care of it. Also, Feng Xiao Xiao had another argument with someone today; that boy said Feng Xiao Xiao stinks, and then Feng Xiao Xiao scratched his face.

Jiang Liyun knew Feng Xiao Xiao.

Feng Yi’s younger sister was spoiled at home and had a bad temper.

Having been influenced since childhood, Jiang Liyun didn’t take Feng Xiao Xiao seriously.

In her memory, Feng Xiao Xiao once complained about Feng Yi, saying he was “dirty and smelly.” After she married Feng Yi in her previous life, Feng Xiao Xiao came to ask him for money and mocked her, calling her a “cripple.”

Unexpectedly, now it was Feng Xiao Xiao who was being avoided.

“Liyu, don’t mock her,” Jiang Liyun instructed Jiang Liyu.

She didn’t like Feng Xiao Xiao, but the girl was still young. Making fun of her was not right.

“Sis, I dare not mock her; she might hit me,” Jiang Liyu said timidly. “But she keeps saying I wear torn clothes.”

Jiang Liyun sighed inwardly and gave Jiang Liyu a hug. “Liyu, during the New Year, I’ll buy you new clothes.”