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Tan Erqian squinted his eyes and slowly smiled. “Ever since Chen Shian left, Grandpa Sun took on a new young apprentice. This apprentice has rosy lips and white teeth, and he’s quite handsome. When his daughter came back with Chen Shian, she laid eyes on this apprentice and immediately took a liking to him, saying she wanted to marry him.”
He spoke with great detail.
Old Tan listened intently. “What happened next? Did Old Sun agree?”
Tan Erqian nodded. “Yes, Grandpa Sun really likes this new apprentice. After hearing about Chen Shian’s past, he immediately had his daughter divorce him and planned for her to marry this new brother. But, Father, this new brother is indeed a good person. He’s been very kind to me.”
Old Tan was stunned for a moment. “These wealthy families in the county are different. They just divorce when they want, and marry when they want. But what happened to Chen Shian? I haven’t heard anything about him. Where did he go?”
Tan Erqian shook his head. “I don’t know.”
He then quickly grabbed Old Tan’s arm. “Father, enough about him. I came back to tell you some big news.”
“What big news?” Wan Chunmei, who had just entered the room, asked.
Tan Erqian smiled. “Mother, do you remember that this time I came back to take the pickled vegetables and pickled chicken to sell at the rice shop?”
Wan Chunmei nodded. “I remember. So, how did it go? Did anyone buy them?”
Tan Erqian grinned from ear to ear, nodding repeatedly. “Yes, yes, not only did people buy them, but they were fighting to get them! In just two days, everything was sold out, and today, many more people came wanting to buy. Even the shopkeeper, Master Bai, rented me a cart to bring some back and told me to tell you to make more pickled vegetables.”
“What? They were fighting to buy them?” Wan Chunmei was stunned. “People actually fought to buy my pickled vegetables?”
Her face was filled with disbelief.
Old Tan chuckled. “Who said your cooking was bad? My wife’s cooking is the best in these ten miles!”
Wan Chunmei shot him a shy glance, then turned to Tan Erqian and asked, “By the way, how much did you sell them for in the county?”
Tan Erqian held up five fingers. “Five wen a jar.”
Wan Chunmei was shocked again. “I only sell them for two wen!”
Tan Erqian replied, “Master Bai also said I sold them too cheaply. He said I should be selling them for ten wen each.”
Wan Chunmei grabbed Old Tan’s hand. “Did you hear that? Ten wen! Ten wen a jar!”
Old Tan winced from the pain of her grip but endured it, smiling. “So what? I said your pickled vegetables are worth ten taels of silver!”
Wan Chunmei gave him a side glance. “Stop talking nonsense.”
Old Tan scratched his head, laughing. “This is a good thing, a good thing! Now that we’re building the house, leave it to me. You just focus on making pickled vegetables. The field still has plenty of radishes and cabbages. I’ll have someone pick them for you.”
Wan Chunmei glanced outside at the people working on the house. “Do you think you can handle it alone?”
Old Tan nodded. “Now that Erqian is back, he can help, and Xiaomei can help with the kids.”
Tan Erqian nodded. “That’s right. Master Bai said I should wait until the pickled vegetables are ready before I head back.”
Wan Chunmei thought for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, that’s settled!”
She turned around and began preparing the ingredients for the pickles again.
Tan Erqian fumbled through his pocket and said, “Father, Mother, here’s the money I earned from selling the pickled vegetables. You should take it.”
Old Tan looked at the large money pouch, took it, and patted it. “Quite a lot in here.”
Tan Erqian smiled. “It’s two hundred wen in total.”
“Ah? So much?!”
Both Old Tan and Wan Chunmei exclaimed in surprise.
Tan Erqian explained, “We sold more than a hundred wen’s worth, and when Mr. Bai heard we were building a house, he added a bit more himself. It just happened to be two hundred wen.”
Wan Chunmei furrowed her brows. “How can we let Shopkeeper Bai add his own money?”
Old Tan chuckled. “Oh, forget about it, forget about it. He’s just being kind. We’ll take it for now and make more pickled vegetables. Then we can send some to Shopkeeper Bai later.”
Tan Erqian nodded. “Father’s right.”
“Alright, alright, it’s time for dinner.” Tan Xiaomei, who had been standing by the stove, interrupted with a smile.
Tan Erqian washed his hands, changed into a fresh set of clothes, but instead of heading straight to dinner, he went straight to check on Little Qiyue. He picked her up, supporting her under the armpits, and lifted her high. “Little Qiyue, your second brother always keeps his word. I’ve brought you something good!”
Just then, Tan Siwen and Tan Wuguan, who had just entered, gathered around. “Second Brother, what is it? What is it?!”
Little Qiyue blinked her big round eyes and smiled, looking eagerly at Tan Erqian.
Tan Erqian sat down and gently placed Little Qiyue on his lap, then took out a piece of oiled paper from his pocket.
Tan Siweb and Tan Wuguan sat down eagerly, their eyes fixed on the paper.
“Second Brother, is it pastry inside?” Tan Si suddenly asked.
Everyone in the room immediately looked toward Tan Erqian.
He unfolded the yellow oiled paper, and a faint scent of osmanthus flowers wafted out.
Little Qiyue immediately burst into a joyful giggle as she smelled the fragrance.
Her soft voice echoed through the room, and everyone couldn’t help but smile along with her.
Inside the yellow oiled paper were several pieces of freshly made osmanthus cake!
In the countryside, it’s already a great treat to get a few pieces of rock candy or homemade malt sugar, and many children had never even tasted osmanthus cake.
Even Tan Xiaomei, who had been married for years, couldn’t help but glance over.
Tan Erqian took out the osmanthus cake and handed the first piece to Little Qiyue. “Here, try it and see if you like it.”
Little Qiyue held the piece in her hand but didn’t eat it immediately. She looked around at everyone with expectant eyes.
Tan Erqian then divided the rest of the osmanthus cake and handed a piece to each person.
When it came to Old Tan, he quickly said, “Child, I won’t eat it, you all eat.”
Wan Chunmei also shook her head. “I won’t eat either. Give it to your brothers and sisters.”
Tan Erqian hurriedly insisted, “There’s more, there’s more. Father, Mother, please eat some.”
Old Tan looked down at the cake and asked Tan Erqian, “How did you buy this osmanthus cake?”
Tan Erqian scratched the back of his head and smiled. “I passed by the pastry shop today, and the shopkeeper asked me to check the accounts. He gave me some cakes as a gift.”
Old Tan took the cake in his hands and replied, “Next time, don’t let him do that. After all, you’re Shopkeeper Bai’s person.”
“Yes, Father.” Tan Erqian nodded obediently, then turned to hand the cake to Tan Xiaomei.
When Old Tan and Wan Chunmei saw Tan Erqian leave, the two of them secretly took the osmanthus cakes, wrapped them in a handkerchief, and hid them away. In the end, they just couldn’t bring themselves to eat them.