In the evening, Chen Yuchun came to pick up Dazhuang and learned that Ping ger had found a child and planned to raise him.

After bringing Dazhuang home, he quickly gathered some small clothes and a box of fruit powder and rushed back to the Chen family.

“Ping ger, in my opinion, don’t rush to settle the child, keep it for a few days and see how things go. If he can be raised, we can settle him later.” Chen Yuchun had no objections to his third brother wanting to raise a child before getting married. It was a good thing for him, especially since he had difficulties in having children. If this child could be raised, it would be a blessing for his brother.

Dad Chen hadn’t expected this: “Ping ger, I think your elder brother is right. Why don’t we raise him for a few days first?” His elder son brought over the box of fruit powder and didn’t hurry to head to town.

“Okay, let’s keep him for a few days and see.”

After discussing, Chen Yuchun prepared to leave, he needed to return home to get dinner ready, bathe the child, wash clothes, and take care of the various chores—there was a lot to do.

“Eldest brother, wait a moment.”

Chen Yuping called him back, took out a bowl, and poured half a bowl of shrimp paste: “Add some when cooking to enhance the flavor. It’s also delicious to spread on steamed mantou.”

“I don’t want it,” Chen Yuchun shook his head. “It’s not easy to catch shrimp, and making it into paste is a lot of work, it’s better to sell it. I don’t like shrimp.”

The tone of his words felt familiar, and for a moment, Chen Yuping seemed to hear his grandmother’s voice: “I don’t like meat, I don’t like chicken legs, I don’t like fish.” It was indeed quite frustrating: “Eldest brother doesn’t want it, you can take it back for Zhiwei to try.”

“He doesn’t like it either.”

Dad Chen, familiar with his eldest son’s temperament, added, “Ping ger, you mentioned making dumplings tonight, right? We don’t need this much, let your elder brother take half back, and he can have dumplings tonight. This broth tastes really good, adding some vegetables will make it even tastier.”

“This broth can’t be saved for tomorrow. If we don’t eat it, we’ll have to throw it away. Yesterday’s broth went to waste, which felt quite regrettable. Let Ping ger put some dumplings in it.”

Chen Yuchun was about to refuse, but after hearing his dad, he nodded: “Third brother, pour me a bowl of broth.”

Chen Yuping not only poured a bowl of broth for his elder brother but also a small bowl of spicy sauce.

Chen Yuchun hurriedly took them and left.

“Tomorrow night, I’ll make bone broth, let elder brother take some back to eat,” Chen Yuping said. After interacting a couple of times, he felt a bit closer to his elder brother. Seeing him so thin, he felt a pang of sympathy. At first glance, his elder brother seemed difficult to approach, but he was actually a soft-hearted person.

Father Chen sighed: “He was born during our family’s toughest times. This child understood things early on and took on responsibilities. At that time, we were too busy thinking about food and clothing to notice anything else. Only when life became easier did we realize his personality had formed, wanting to take everything upon himself to lighten our load, hiding his own troubles for fear of causing us trouble. He’s stubborn, and no matter how much we say, he’ll do what he wants.”

“Your elder brother has a strong sense of pride too.”

“Did Chun ger just come by?” Father Chen, coming out after washing, saw the small clothes on the chair, which had been worn by Dazhuang, then passed to An ger, and now to Cao ger. He smiled, thinking, “These clothes were sent over by him.”

Father Chen examined the clothes closely: “Yes, Chun ger takes good care of them and they’re still very new.” He wouldn’t bring over anything that wasn’t good. “He also sent a box of fruit powder for Cao ger. We will keep the child for a few days and see how it goes before settling.”

“Chun ger is very thoughtful.”

Chen Yuanqiu and Chen Yuandong returned.

The two of them went into the mountains to set traps. This time, they set them far out, needing to walk half an hour into the mountain, checking every couple of days, and they had a good haul.

Once back, they started preparing dinner.

They had dumplings made with broth, adding the dumplings to the pot, and for those who liked it spicy, they could add some chili sauce. They also blanched some greens, and it tasted very good and flavorful.

“Eating these dumplings every night won’t get boring for me,” Chen Yuanqiu said, slurping the noodles, and happily chatting. He ate quickly, adding chili sauce, and was already sweating after finishing half a bowl. “The more you eat, the more energy you get.” He took a couple of sips of mung bean soup: “Refreshing!”

Father Chen chided him: “Eat slowly, no one’s fighting you for it.”

“It’s really delicious, I think it’s even better than skewers,” Chen Yuandong said, enjoying the dumplings and finding them more flavorful.

“It’s too heavy, we can’t eat it every day, just occasionally,” Chen Yuping noted, making a lighter three-flavor noodle soup for his sister-in-law, who couldn’t have such heavy food while nursing.

Within a few days, the vegetable garden could no longer supply enough for the skewers.

Because they were busy selling at the market all day, customers came not only from their village but also from neighboring ones, leading to high consumption of greens.

Buying ingredients from the village to sustain their business wasn’t possible due to low profits, which didn’t interest Chen Yuping.

“Starting tomorrow, we won’t sell skewers anymore.”

Liu Guixiang felt a bit regretful. In just six or seven days, they had made two to three hundred wen from the skewers.

This business looked small, just one wen per two skewers, but with so many customers, it added up quickly. Counting the money in the evening was always a pleasant surprise.

Father Chen sipped his strong tea, closing his eyes in enjoyment, leisurely saying, “After the busy farming season, we won’t grow corn in our little valley anymore, let’s clear the land to grow vegetables.”

“I think that’s fine,” Dad Chen considered before adding, “Let’s plant fewer sweet potatoes and more vegetables.”

Chen Yuandong said, “There’s also a patch of land next to my house, I’ll tidy it up tomorrow.” They had purposely left a bit of land when building their houses, as every family kept a little plot for gardening.

Hearing that they wouldn’t sell skewers temporarily, everyone was in disbelief, it was even scarier than a nightmare.

“Is it true that you’re not selling skewers anymore?” someone asked Ping ger.

“Third brother, is it really true? You’re not selling skewers anymore? What’s going on?”

“This won’t do! I was counting on the skewers to satisfy my cravings, how will I live without them? I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

Everyone began to chatter, strongly demanding the continuation of the skewers, with some even saying they’d be fine with one wen per skewer.

Chen Yuping coldly refused: “It’s too hot, eating fewer skewers is good for your health.”

“I feel like if I can’t eat skewers, I’ll feel unwell.”

“Exactly, food doesn’t taste good at all.”

“I’m already feeling unwell! Hurry, someone help me, I can’t bear the thought of living without skewers. I feel dizzy and weak.”

“…” Unexpectedly, they could also act like drama queens in ancient times. Chen Yuping rolled his eyes: “Stop pretending, it’s really fake. There won’t be any skewers for now, but I’ll see about making some braised pig intestines in a few days. If not, I’ll come up with some new food for you.”

“Will it be like the skewers? Cheap, good value, and tastes great?” someone asked cheekily.

“That’s hard to say, I don’t know yet.”

“Ping ger, you need to hurry! I’ve gotten used to your food, if I don’t eat it for a day, I feel off. Braised pork and braised pig trotters are a bit expensive, and eating them daily isn’t sustainable.”

“Speaking of this, let me tell you, I saw Second Shan boy, the well-known troublemaker from our village, running errands in town. I thought I was mistaken, but when I got closer, it really was him. You know why? It’s because he craved the food from Ping ger’s stall, and when he ran out of money, he had to think of ways to make some to satisfy his cravings.”

That was indeed surprising, and everyone laughed.

“Ping ger’s food is genuinely delicious. I heard that the five sturdy kids from the village head’s family now help with chores at home just to get a taste of the skewers.”

“Hahaha, Third Brother, you really can’t just stop selling the skewers. Everyone agrees, right?”

Though everyone was clamoring for the skewers, Chen Yuping still decided to halt the skewers

.

No more early mornings to prepare the broth, which meant he could sleep in, what a blessing.

Only the shrimp paste steamed buns were still available all day, but business had quieted down considerably.