Chapter 20 – Entering the City to Sell

After entering the house, Qin Jin sat down on a stool, then patted his thigh.

Ye Miao blushed, placed his hands on Qin Jin’s shoulders, and sat down.

Qin Jin wrapped his arms around him, lowered his head slightly, and kissed Ye Miao on the lips.

Ye Miao lifted his small face, his beautiful eyes closing, his eyelashes trembling fiercely.

They had kissed many times already, but whenever he was surrounded by Qin Jin’s breath, his heart would still pound wildly.

As the warm lips landed, he opened his mouth as well. Their tongues touched, and he instantly melted, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. A smile unknowingly appeared on his small face.

His hands slowly moved from gripping Qin Jin’s shoulders to wrapping around his neck, and gradually, he lay completely against Qin Jin’s chest.

When the gentle kiss ended, his eyes were slightly misty, but he firmly locked his gaze onto Qin Jin, his face clearly full of affection and reliance.

How could there be something as wonderful as kissing…

Looking at the small husband in his arms with his flushed cheeks, Qin Jin couldn’t help but lower his head and kiss those rosy lips again.

This time, Ye Miao snapped out of his daze. His eyes curved into crescents as he tightened his arms around Qin Jin’s neck even more, his thin body squeezing against Qin Jin’s chest, as if wanting to merge into him.

Worried that his little husband might fall, Qin Jin tightened his embrace, holding him even closer.

Satisfied at last, Ye Miao obediently lay against his chest, calming his slightly racing heart.

Qin Jin also quietly took a breath. His big hand pinched Ye Miao’s shoulder, then slowly slid down to his buttocks, giving it a squeeze. Before the little husband could react, he said, “You don’t seem to eat little on normal days, so where did all the meat go?”

“Huh?” Ye Miao was startled and immediately asked, “Do I eat a lot?”

“Not a lot, just a normal amount.”

He could eat two fist-sized cornbreads in one meal, plus some vegetables and soup — not a small appetite at all.

But Ye Miao also had a high daily activity level, doing all the housework and even gathering firewood in the mountains whenever he had spare time. With all this exertion, even after a month of marriage, he hadn’t gained any weight.

Holding him still felt a little bony.

Only his butt had a bit of flesh.

But he couldn’t say that outright, lest his little husband start stuffing himself and end up overeating.

“From now on, use more oil when cooking. Don’t be so frugal,” he instructed.

“Okay,” Ye Miao nuzzled Qin Jin’s shoulder and agreed quickly.

“Tomorrow we’ll buy a chicken to stew,” Qin Jin added.

“Ah…” Ye Miao was a little stunned. It wasn’t a holiday — why stew chicken?

“To nourish you,” Qin Jin said, then changed the subject, talking about matters in the fields.

Ye Miao couldn’t hold back the smile on his face, feeling like he was soaking in a jar of honey. Whatever Qin Jin said, he readily agreed to. The two of them continued chatting in each other’s arms until dusk, when Ye Miao reluctantly sat up. It was time to prepare dinner.

His affection was so obvious that Qin Jin laughed and kissed him again: “Let’s do it together.”

Ye Miao’s eyes lit up, and he gave a heavy “mm” of agreement.

So the two of them entered the kitchen. With Qin Jin supervising, Ye Miao was much more generous with the oil while cooking tonight — using a big spoonful of lard to fry a large bowl of winter melon.

The oil shimmered brightly in the sauce.

The bowl of winter melon was completely eaten. Zhao Feng even used his cornbread to wipe the bowl clean until it was shiny before bringing it back to the kitchen.

He quietly asked Ye Miao about it and, after learning that it was Qin Jin’s idea, had no further complaints.

If it was Qin Jin’s decision, then it was fine.

Even though this son-in-law was good, their family was still in debt. He couldn’t allow Ye Miao to be wasteful on his own.

Seeing his dad’s expression, Ye Miao couldn’t hide the news and told him that Qin Jin planned to buy a chicken to stew tomorrow. Zhao Feng was puzzled for a moment but, thinking of their daily earnings, nodded and said, “He gets up at midnight every day. It’s really hard work. He deserves a chicken to nourish himself.”

“Brother Jin said it’s to nourish me. He thinks I’m too skinny,” Ye Miao said, struggling to keep a smile off his face.

Now Zhao Feng was really surprised, but he quickly smiled too and said, “Then you should listen to him more and work even harder.”

Ye Miao nodded heavily.

He was always obedient and hardworking in front of his Brother Jin.

The next day at noon, Qin Jin really brought back a young rooster, weighing five jin (about 2.5 kilograms). After plucking and cutting it into pieces, he stir-fried it in a pot, added water, and stewed it over high heat. Before long, the fragrance filled the entire courtyard.

When it was almost done, Ye Miao lifted the lid and added lots of winter melon and tofu, filling the big iron pot to the brim.

They couldn’t afford to stew plain chicken soup without adding other ingredients. In Ye Miao’s opinion, the pot was still too small — even after plucking and draining, the rooster still weighed four jin (about 2 kilograms). With so much meat, they needed to add lots of vegetables to stretch the dish so everyone could eat their fill.

The fire burned for a while longer, and the meat in the pot was finally cooked. Qin Jin found two chicken legs, served a small bowlful, and took it to the old courtyard.

When he came back, he placed the two chicken legs into Ye Miao’s bowl, then picked up his own bowl and squatted in the courtyard to eat—the only dining table at home was being used to dry hawthorn fruit rolls.

This rooster had been raised on grain, so its meat was neither tough nor gamey. Plus, Ye Miao’s cooking skills were good, so the meat tasted especially flavorful.

Ye Miao hugged his large bowl and squatted next to Qin Jin. He felt as if he were floating as he walked, and even with his mouth stuffed full of meat, he couldn’t stop himself from smiling.

Qin Jin found his silly grinning look amusing. Seeing Ye Miao struggling to hold the big bowl with one hand, he went into the house and brought out a small stool.

The bowl was even bigger than Ye Miao’s face; holding it with one hand was too tiring, so it was better to set it on the stool.

Now Ye Miao felt even happier. Even though it was the heat of midday, he didn’t care and insisted on sitting tightly pressed against Qin Jin.

Zhao Feng sat at the kitchen door, watching this scene, and felt that the meat in his bowl tasted better than anything he’d eaten before.

Qin An squatted next to Zhao Feng, glancing at the two people tightly huddled together not far away. A flash of envy crossed his eyes, but it quickly faded—what mattered most was the fragrant meat in his mouth.

In the afternoon, after Ye Miao came back from washing clothes by the river, he moved a small stool to guard the hawthorn fruit rolls. He taught Qin An some sewing while keeping an eye on the dining table. Only when Zhao Feng and Qin An had to go work in the fields did Qin Jin come out of the house to start peeling the fruit rolls.

The process had to be extremely careful to avoid breaking the whole sheet of hawthorn roll.

Once peeled, it was rolled up and cut into small sections about the length of a finger. Qin Jin handed these small rolls to Zhao Feng, Ye Miao, and Qin An to taste.

The apple puree hadn’t been made with a blender, so it wasn’t very fine, and the surface of the finished product wasn’t perfectly smooth.

But it still looked pretty good—shiny and moist—and when eaten, it was soft, chewy, sweet and sour, and had a nice texture.

“Tasty,” Ye Miao looked at Qin Jin with a face full of admiration.

Zhao Feng also said, “It tastes good.”

Qin An chewed the fruit roll carefully, reluctant to swallow. To him, this kind of treat was very precious.

Delicious!

Qin Jin also tasted a piece. For his own taste, it was acceptable—not amazing—but for people of this time, it should be considered a pretty good snack.

First trial: successful.

He carried a plate of fruit rolls to the Yan family, so Huang Chunlan could also try and see what hawthorn rolls tasted like.

While he was at it, he discussed specific purchase matters with Huang Chunlan.

To make sure the apple puree solidified properly, he had added a lot of sugar, so the cost was higher than that of pea cakes.

Even pea cakes didn’t sell that well, let alone hawthorn rolls.

If they were to mass-produce hawthorn rolls, Qin Jin would have to go into the city to promote them to snack shops.

The technical difficulty of making hawthorn rolls wasn’t high, but the fresh fruit season was very short. Qin Jin didn’t expect this business to bring him a lot of silver, so he wasn’t worried about others figuring out the method.

When he arrived at the Yan family’s house, the hawthorn rolls were unanimously welcomed.

The Yan family was wealthy enough to occasionally buy snacks, but hawthorn rolls were different from traditional pastries—they belonged to the candied fruit category.

Candied fruit was expensive; the Yan family only bought it once a year, around the New Year. So when they ate the hawthorn rolls, they found them fresh, delicious, sweet and sour, and very appetizing.

After receiving their praise, Qin Jin started discussing business with Huang Chunlan.

Her natal family had some apple trees planted in front and behind their house, with an annual yield of about a thousand catties. The Huang family had already sold two to three hundred catties.

How much was left exactly, Huang Chunlan would have to go back and ask.

This was a big deal involving several taels of silver, so Huang Chunlan immediately decided to return to her natal home. Her family lived north of the county town and had to pass through the city; if she left now, she could arrive before dark.

After coming back from the Yan family, Qin Jin wrapped some hawthorn rolls in clean linen cloth and headed to the county town.

There were three pastry shops in the town, but he went to the candy shop he usually frequented. This shop mainly sold cane sugar and maltose, along with some candied fruits. The shopkeeper’s surname was Niu, and he seemed quite friendly.

The candied fruits sold in the shop were mainly dried fruits, with only a few varieties: dried jujubes, dried apples, dried apricots, etc. Hawthorn rolls, being a different category, were a novelty for the shop.

As soon as Qin Jin entered, Shopkeeper Niu saw him and smiled: “Looks like Brother Qin’s business is good. You just bought sugar a few days ago, and you’re already out?”

Qin Jin smiled and shook his head. “Shopkeeper, I’m not here to buy sugar today. I’m here to discuss a business deal with you.”

“Business? What kind of business?” Shopkeeper Niu grew curious.

“Please try this first.” Qin Jin handed over the hawthorn rolls from his basket.

Shopkeeper Niu took them, examined them carefully, and then put one in his mouth.

After chewing for a while, he smiled at Qin Jin. “Brother Qin, what do you call this treat?”

“Hawthorn roll, made from apples.”

Made from apples?

Shopkeeper Niu was surprised and looked down again at the roll in his hand. He hadn’t tasted any apple flavor earlier.

“Brother Qin, how do you plan to do this business?”

“My idea is, I’ll make the hawthorn rolls and deliver them to your shop. I’ll only earn four or five wen per catty, and the selling price can be entirely up to you.”

Since Qin Jin was a countryman and providing a finished product rather than raw materials, he deliberately kept his own profit margin low to avoid being rejected.

“Hmm…” Shopkeeper Niu pondered for a moment and was just about to ask about the production cost when a figure flashed at the doorway—a customer had arrived.

He looked up and smiled, “Brother Gu, you’re here! What do you want to buy today?”

Qin Jin also glanced toward the door, and when he saw who it was, he smiled too—what a coincidence.

“Qin Jin, you’re here shopping too?” Gu Nan carried a small cart into the shop and, upon seeing Qin Jin, grew curious.

“Huh? Brother Gu, you know Brother Qin?” Shopkeeper Niu asked in surprise.

“We know each other. The pea cakes he makes are really delicious,” Gu Nan said, patting the small cart in his hand. “This little cart was also his idea. Impressive, right?”

“Aiya, then I must apologize for not recognizing greatness,” Shopkeeper Niu said, truly surprised this time.

The small carts had suddenly become popular in the county town. Guarding his shop, he could see several people pushing carts past his door every day, and even his little grandson clamored to get one.

His old wife had taken some coins to Carpenter He’s place, thinking she could buy one quickly, but it turned out there was a wait of several days for a finished cart.

That such a hot-selling little cart was actually the invention of the young Brother Qin in front of him—it was completely unexpected.