Chapter 22: Steamed Buns

Li Laogen actually didn’t even dare to buy a steamed bun!

Jin Xiaoye felt somewhat speechless, but still accepted the three coins from Li Laogen’s hand, then took out another two coins from her pocket.

She intended to buy five steamed buns. In addition to the three for Li Laogen, she would give one to Li Qingzhi and split one between the two children.

As for herself, she had already eaten breakfast, so she could wait until evening to eat again.

There were plenty of food items sold on this side of the dock. The most common purchase for dockworkers was rice balls.

Cooked rice wrapped with pickled vegetables and dried tofu, one only cost two coins, but it could already fill an adult’s stomach.

In addition, there was a popular rice soup, with rice as the main ingredient. The shopkeepers would also prepare two or three types of soup. For just two coins, the men working hard on the dock could get a large bowl of rice, scoop some soup into it, gulp it down, and feel full.

The most popular soup for this rice soup was pickled vegetable and tofu soup, along with kelp soup and the like. Of course, for those who wanted to improve their meals, they could spend an extra five coins to add braised pork, or two coins for a stewed egg.

There was only one bun shop here, and that was Aunt Cui’s Bun Shop. After all, the people in Chongcheng County didn’t grow much wheat, and they rarely ate wheat-based food.

Wheat-based food was considered relatively rare and precious by many people. Noodles mixed with soy sauce could be used to make porridge, and dumplings were a dish that could be served on the table for the people of Chongcheng County.

Being able to eat a steamed bun or a bun in the county was already something to boast about for the people of Miaoqian Village.

Jin Xiaoye walked towards the place selling buns, with Li Laogen following behind, saying, “Xiaoye, one of those three steamed buns is for you to eat. After all, I regard you as my own daughter.”

The steamed buns at Aunt Cui’s Bun Shop were the cheapest, one coin each. However, one bun wasn’t enough for an adult man; basically, they needed to eat three to feel full, as people who did physical labor had big appetites.

However, Li Laogen was satisfied with two. He proposed to buy three because he wanted to bring one back to eat in front of other people in the village.

But he didn’t mind saying a few nice words in front of Jin Xiaoye. Anyway, Jin Xiaoye wouldn’t really take his bun; even if she did, she would give him another coin.

Jin Xiaoye glanced at Li Laogen and guessed the twists and turns in his mind.

But she didn’t care and wouldn’t take advantage of Li Laogen.

Aunt Cui’s Bun Shop was run by a married couple. The man sold buns and collected money outside, while the woman sold buns and collected money inside.

They also hired three middle-aged women to help. Two of them were responsible for wrapping buns, and one was responsible for watching the fire and steaming the buns.

When this couple had some free time, they also had to help make buns. They would wake up at three or four in the morning, first go to the butcher to get pork, then light the lamp, knead the dough, and chop the filling. They would be busy until dark before going home to sleep.

When Li Qingzhi and the others were eating buns, the woman referred to as Auntie Cui, who was rolling out dumpling wrappers on the side, intended to prepare some – all the dumplings that had been previously wrapped had been taken by Li Qingzhi and the others.

Li Qingzhi looked at these people bustling about and felt even more satisfied with the job he had just found.

He had just asked, and the auntie who helped at the bun shop only earned thirty cash a day, but at least the bun shop provided two meals.

Li Qingzhi had already finished his own basket of small steamed buns and began eating the two children’s small steamed buns.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were still young, unable to finish a bowl of dumplings. The buns ordered by Zhu Qian were too much for them to eat.

Li Damao and Li Ermao were used to this. Their father could eat a lot, even though he had already eaten a lot at home, he would still sneakily munch on grass when he went out.

Zhu Qian, however, was a bit surprised – this scholar looked so thin, yet had such a good appetite!

You see, there were ten small steamed buns in one basket, and they were quite big…

“Xiaoye!” Li Qingzhi finished another bun and then saw Jin Xiaoye walking towards them.

At first, Jin Xiaoye didn’t notice Li Qingzhi, but when he spoke, she looked over and said, “A Qing, you…”

Why did Li Qingzhi go to the bun shop to eat buns? He couldn’t have spent all ten cents, could he?

No, wait, for those kinds of small steamed buns at the shop, ten cents could only buy one basket. Before Li Qingzhi… she saw dumplings!

Jin Xiaoye had heard from Jin Moli about the taste of dumplings.

According to the rules set by her grandparents, their family only needed to give half of the money they earned outside to the family.

Her eldest uncle earned two taels a month, gave one tael to the family, and kept the rest for himself, so he was quite well-off, sometimes taking Jin Moli and the others to the county to eat good food.

As for her… although her father could earn a little by helping with banquet cooking, after giving half of it to the family, there was very little left, so naturally he couldn’t be so generous.

“Xiaoye, I met Mr. Zhu just now. He gave me a job and invited me to dinner,” Li Qingzhi stood up and walked towards Jin Xiaoye, “Come and have some.”

The two children had eaten some small steamed buns earlier, and now their two bowls of dumplings were only half eaten.

Grabbing the somewhat surprised Jin Xiaoye, Li Qingzhi asked again, “What about Dad?”

Jin Xiaoye looked over not far away.

Li Qingzhi looked in that direction and saw Li Laogen huddled on the side of the road with a basket, peeking over here.

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Zhu Qian had already finished eating, and since he still needed to look after his goods, he said goodbye when Li Qingzhi’s family arrived and left first.

After Zhu Qian left, Li Qingzhi told the shopkeeper and then carried the dumplings that Li Damao and Li Ermao hadn’t finished and the remaining small steamed buns, walking towards Li Laogen.

Eating in the shop, whether it was Li Laogen or Jin Xiaoye, would be uncomfortable, so they might as well eat outside.

“Is this dumplings?” Li Laogen held the bowl and looked carefully, couldn’t wait to eat one, “These are so delicious! What flavor is this? I’ve never had it before.”

“These are dumplings with mushroom and pork filling,” Li Qingzhi said.

“Mushroom? It’s really fragrant,” Li Laogen asked Li Qingzhi again, “A Qing, how did you end up eating dumplings in the shop?”

Jin Xiaoye had just heard Li Qingzhi mention something, but she wasn’t clear about the specific reasons. Now, holding a bowl of dumplings, she also looked at Li Qingzhi curiously.

Li Qingzhi briefly explained the situation, saying that Zhu Qian intended to have him help write a book and would pay him a silver coin a day.

He didn’t mention that after finishing writing, Zhu Qian would give additional rewards. He planned to quietly tell Jin Xiaoye later in the evening.

Not afraid of anything else, just afraid that Li Laogen might change his mind.

But even if it was only a silver coin a day, Li Laogen was already excited, “A silver coin a day? Silver coin?”

“Yes.”

“Does it include meals?” Li Laogen asked.

“It does,” Li Qingzhi said.

Li Laogen gasped, “In this world, there are actually such good things!”

Even Jin Xiaoye’s eyes lit up.

Today, she and Li Laogen carried so many things to the county town. If they sold everything, they could probably earn around thirty cents.

However, she couldn’t buy so many chicken and duck eggs every day. If she carried things to the county town like this every day, most likely she wouldn’t be able to sell them all.

Compared to those people who sell things by boat, she had no competitive edge at all.

Li Qingzhi could actually earn a silver coin in a day!

Li Qingzhi said, “This job won’t last long. After finishing writing the book, Mr. Zhu won’t hire me again. But I should be able to work for about a month and pay off the debts at home.”

Jin Xiaoye’s eyes lit up even more, but Li Laogen said, “Is Mr. Zhu blind? Why did he ask you to write a book? Can you even write?”

Li Qingzhi: “…”

Jin Xiaoye immediately glared at Li Laogen and said, “Go eat your dumplings! Why can’t A Qing write a book?”

Although Jin Xiaoye said so, she still looked a bit worried when she looked at Li Qingzhi. After all, Li Qingzhi had said before that his knowledge was average. Could someone with average knowledge really write a book?

Li Qingzhi said, “Mr. Zhu asked me to write a storybook, not an academic book. Some storytellers who know little about characters can still tell stories, right?”

“I see,” Li Laogen understood.

Li Qingzhi continued, “Explaining this matter to people would be complicated. If someone asks in the future, just say I’m helping Mr. Zhu copy books at his home.”

Helping Zhu Qian write a biography to earn some money wasn’t a big deal. At this time, there were many poor scholars. Some wealthy people would even specially invite many scholars to their homes when they celebrated their birthdays, asking those scholars to write poems and essays to praise them.

But explaining that he was writing a book to people would require too much explanation. It was better to say he was helping to copy books.

Jin Xiaoye also thought saying he was copying books was simpler. She turned around and gave Li Laogen a stern talking-to, telling him not to talk nonsense when talking to people.

She also calculated with Li Qingzhi, “Writing a book for a month, you can probably earn about four taels. After paying off the debts, there will be just over two taels left. By then, we can each make a set of clothes for you and the two children, and there won’t be much money left.”

She said this to Li Laogen to prevent him from thinking that there was money at home and then losing control of himself.

Li Laogen, despite being reprimanded, was still very happy. When Li Qingzhi took out ten large meat buns wrapped in oiled paper, he couldn’t stop salivating.

Not to mention those pale meat buns, even the oiled paper wrapping the meat buns was a rare item for him.

The buns were sold outside, and the shopkeepers wouldn’t provide oiled paper for packing.

Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen had only eaten two buns and dumplings that the children hadn’t finished yet, and they were not full.

Seeing the large meat buns, Jin Xiaoye gave two to Li Laogen, saying, “Each of us gets two, and these two are for you.”

Li Laogen took one, took a bite, and then put the remaining one in his own backpack. He happily squinted his eyes and said, “I’ve never had such soft and fragrant buns in my life.”

As if nobody else had ever had them! Jin Xiaoye also took a bun and took a bite.

After finishing the buns, Li Laogen remembered something, “Xiaoye, about that three cents…”

“I’ve already given you two meat buns, so I won’t give you the three cents,” Jin Xiaoye said. If she gave Li Laogen the money, he might end up spending it all tonight.

Li Laogen wore a mournful face.

Jin Xiaoye added, “I’ll buy ten cents of salted fish later.” She used to be reluctant to spend money, but now she could afford to buy some.

Li Laogen smiled again, “Buying salted fish is great!” Jin Xiaoye would definitely have something to eat if she bought salted fish.

After finishing their meal and returning the bowls to the shopkeeper, Jin Xiaoye took out the goods she hadn’t sold and started calling out to sell them. Seeing this, Li Qingzhi suggested going to buy the salted fish.

Jin Xiaoye then took out ten cents and gave it to Li Qingzhi.

“I already have money,” Li Qingzhi said. He hadn’t spent the ten cents Jin Xiaoye gave him before.

“You keep that money for yourself. Tomorrow when you come to the county town, you can take the boat,” Jin Xiaoye said.

Li Qingzhi thought for a moment and accepted Jin Xiaoye’s money.

He didn’t mind walking to the county town every day; it would be good exercise. But thinking of what happened to the original host five years ago… it was safer to take the boat.

After all, Li Damao and Li Ermao were going to walk with him. If he looked like this and no one cared about him, what would happen if someone tried to snatch the two children away?

Thinking of this, Li Qingzhi said, “By the way, Xiaoye, Mr. Zhu said I could bring Li Damao and Li Ermao to his house to write.”

“Can it be like this? Can I go too?” Li Laogen immediately asked.

Li Qingzhi said, “…There are people who bring children to work, but have you ever seen anyone bring their father to work?”

Li Laogen grinned sheepishly.

Jin Xiaoye was a little worried, “Wouldn’t people have objections?”

“It’s okay, Li Damao and Li Ermao are so well-behaved!” Li Qingzhi laughed.

After thinking about it, Jin Xiaoye didn’t say much more.

Actually, she had always wanted to do some small business. After receiving a piece of news today, that idea became even more irresistible.

Although Li Qingzhi was physically weak and would pant after walking a few steps, his endurance was good due to having the golden finger, and he could still walk to buy things now.

It was Li Damao and Li Ermao who were the opposite… Despite being lively and energetic when they first set out, after walking for half a day, they were already exhausted, especially after filling their bellies…

While Jin Xiaoye and Li Laogen were eating buns, the two children had already fallen asleep on the ground next to Jin Xiaoye.

Li Qingzhi gently touched the round bellies of the two children, then slowly walked towards the seafood stall.

He had a good impression of the seafood stall; the prices here were not expensive, and the children could eat more to replenish their nutrition.

As for the preserved food not being healthy… compared to malnutrition, that was worse.

Jin Xiaoye was in a good mood, having eaten buns to fill her stomach. She smiled while calling out, and people passing by were willing to stop and take a look.

The eggs she sold were not expensive, and they wouldn’t spoil for a few days, so they sold out quickly.

At this time, Li Qingzhi also returned.

Seeing the still sleeping two children, Jin Xiaoye suggested, “Shall we take the boat back?”

She knew where Mr. Yao waited for Yao Zhenfu every day. They could take his boat back, and giving him two wen would be enough.

“Okay,” Li Qingzhi agreed. He was actually quite tired now.

The two children were still fast asleep, so Jin Xiaoye didn’t wake them up. She quietly put them into her and Li Laogen’s baskets. They opened their eyes, took a glance, and fell asleep again.

How cute these two children were!

Li Qingzhi reached out and touched Li Damao’s little face. Unexpectedly, Li Damao, who was usually stable, opened his mouth and tried to eat his hand. When he failed, he puckered his lips.

Li Qingzhi really wanted to kiss him, but he was already nestled in the basket, so it wasn’t convenient.

After packing the baskets, Jin Xiaoye led Li Qingzhi along the small paths of the county town.

They had walked a lot today, perhaps even more than usual in the county town… Finally, they arrived at a riverside.

Jin Xiaoye put down the basket and sat in a shaded area. “Mr. Yao waits for Yao Zhenfu here every day. Let’s wait for a while, and he should be here soon.”

“Okay,” Li Qingzhi nodded.

Jin Xiaoye glanced at Li Qingzhi and said, “When we go back, I’ll borrow two sets of clothes for Li Damao and Li Ermao.”

Li Qingzhi was fine; although his clothes from five years ago weren’t great, they were still tidy enough to wear out.

But Li Damao and Li Ermao were different. Their summer clothes were worn-out.

These clothes were fine to wear in the village, but they were a bit inappropriate to wear to Zhu’s house.

“Okay. Xiaoye, when I earn some money, we’ll make new clothes for them,” Li Qingzhi said. There were six hot months here every year, and the two children should have two decent sets of summer clothes.

Li Laogen immediately chimed in, “I want new clothes too.”

“Dad, when we have money, I’ll definitely make some for you,” Li Qingzhi said.

 Li Laogen thought for a moment, “Forget it, I don’t need new clothes… I want a decent burial outfit, and I also want a coffin.”

In their village, those with some savings would prepare their own coffin and burial clothes in advance.

Unfortunately, Li Laogen had no money; he couldn’t afford a coffin, let alone burial clothes.

Before Li Qingzhi could speak, Jin Xiaoye said, “Dad, if you work with me diligently, I promise to buy everything for you. I’ll make sure you have a grand funeral, and I’ll invite more people to chant scriptures for you!”

Li Laogen was immediately touched, “Xiaoye, if you let me work, I won’t say a word against it.”

Li Qingzhi felt a bit speechless. It was strange that Li Laogen, who didn’t care about having new clothes while alive, now wanted a decent burial outfit.

They waited for a long time before Mr. Yao finally came over with his boat. Surprisingly, Li Damao and Li Ermao hadn’t woken up yet…

These two kids must have been exhausted earlier.

Mr. Yao agreed to take them on the boat without accepting any money, but Jin Xiaoye insisted on paying him two coins.

Previously, Yao Zhenfu complained about Mr. Yao’s dirty boat, but it was actually quite clean. Jin Xiaoye woke the two kids up and took them onto the boat.

Soon after, Yao Zhenfu arrived as well.

Yao Zhenfu didn’t like Jin Xiaoye, the shrew who often argued with her father-in-law, nor did he like Li Laogen, the shameless old man. When he saw them, he just nodded and went to talk to Li Qingzhi, “Brother Li, why did you come to the county town?”

“I want to see if I can find some work,” Li Qingzhi said. “You know, I can’t do farm work now. I can’t just sit idle at home.”

Yao Zhenfu knew that Li Qingzhi had been cooking and taking care of the children at home every day, which he looked down upon. Now hearing that Li Qingzhi wanted to find work in the county town, he felt sure that Li Qingzhi wouldn’t find anything, “Brother Li, it’s not easy to find work in the county town. I asked someone to help before but couldn’t find anything. You should focus on recovering your health.”

After speaking, Yao Zhenfu sympathetically looked at Li Qingzhi’s frail figure.

Before Li Qingzhi could respond, Li Laogen said, “It’s not easy to find work in the county town? How come my Ah Qing found work in just one morning! They even pay him a silver coin a day! “

Yao Zhenfu: “…”