W Chapter 51

Chapter 51: Pickled Vegetables

Vegetables lose their freshness when pressed for too long, and as the sun rises higher, the number of people dwindles.

After being exposed to the sun, the vegetables wilt, further affecting their appearance.

Shen Gui followed the instructions and quickly sold the good-looking vegetables at the usual price.

By the time all the soup dumplings were sold, the sun was fully up, and the refreshing air had completely disappeared, replaced by a stuffy heat.

After packing everything up and sending it to the warehouse, and buying the ingredients for the next day, the three of them left town to return home.

Shen Gui told Ling Xing about selling vegetables to the restaurant.

Ling Xing hadn’t expected that the incident back then would still be a hindrance here.

In fact, Shen Gui was a little worried, as he had planted a lot of vegetables in his vegetable field.

He had even borrowed money from his parents to buy the vegetable seeds.

There were many people selling seasonal vegetables, and the prices were low.

If he wanted to earn money, the best way was to sign supply contracts with restaurants and eateries.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to make any real money by selling them individually.

Today, he was completely relying on the blessings of his elder brother-in-law’s stall attracting customers for his vegetables to sell so quickly.

If he were to set up his own stall to sell, there would be more competition, and it would take much longer to sell everything.

He would also have to pay a stall fee.

Forget about making money, it would be good enough if he didn’t lose money.

However, Shen Gui also had a plan in mind, which was to sell in the county.

The journey would be farther, but if he signed a contract with a restaurant or eatery in the county, that distance wouldn’t matter.

The Liu family called the shots in the town, but it was impossible for every family in the county to be on good terms with the Liu family.

There would always be a few who were their rivals.

Along the way, Ling Xing and Shen Gui remained silent, and Shen Hui didn’t know what to say, so he could only pay more attention to his surroundings.

After arriving home, Shen Gui gave the thirty-eight copper coins he had earned today to Cao Manyue to keep, and then ran off to the vegetable field to squat and space out.

He was wondering whether to rent a cart, because relying solely on the small amount he could carry on his back wouldn’t fetch a good price.

When Ling Xing found Shen Gui, he was still struggling with the cost of renting a cart.

“Fourth Brother, I want to buy your vegetables to make pickled vegetables.”

Pickled vegetables were actually something Ling Xing had wanted to make from the very beginning. According to the original owner’s memories, even when his family was well-off, they would still eat pickled vegetables.

Ancient times were different from modern times; greenhouses and insulation didn’t exist.

If you wanted to eat fresh vegetables in winter, it wasn’t something ordinary wealthy families could do.

You had to have power and influence, with special estates and people building greenhouses specifically for planting.

Therefore, pickle shops were very popular.

Unless you were among the top wealthy elite who looked down on pickles and preserved vegetables, everyone else, rich or poor, liked them.

Since pickled and preserved vegetables required time, and good quality salt and some seasonings were also very expensive, the cost was too high.

Moreover, it was cold at that time and there were no vegetables for him to make; a skilled woman couldn’t cook without rice. Although Ling Xing knew how to make them and had many recipes in his mind, he just thought about it and gave up.

Now that there were ready-made vegetables at home, starting to make them at this time was perfect for selling in the autumn and winter when it got cold.

He also had the capital to buy seasonings now.

Well-made pickled and preserved vegetables actually had a great market. They could be stored for a long time and could also be used as new seasonings for cooking.

Thinking of the famous chili sauce and fermented bean curd in his previous life, which had good palatability, the merchants earned a fortune.

Ling Xing was very optimistic about pickles and preserved vegetables.

However, Shen Gui didn’t know all this; he thought Ling Xing was saying he wanted to buy his vegetables to comfort him.

“Elder Brother-in-law, I’m fine. You don’t have to buy vegetables that you don’t even need because of me.”

“I’ve thought about it. If the restaurants and eateries in town don’t want my vegetables, I’ll take them to the county to sell. But if I’m going to the county, I’m thinking of taking more at once. Do you think I should rent a wheelbarrow? The village chief’s and Fang’s families have them, but I definitely can’t borrow from Fang’s. If I borrow a cart from the village chief, will he agree to lend it to me?”

Ling Xing knew that whether borrowing or renting a cart wasn’t the problem. What Shen Gui was really struggling with was whether to go to the county.

Xiao Liucun was relatively far from the county seat, and he had to pay to enter the county. He wouldn’t need to pay a stall fee if he sold vegetables by pushing a cart.

But such a long distance meant that he might be robbed halfway.

The Da Yu Dynasty was a new regime and had not yet stabilized. Yunshui County, in particular, was a remote county, and although the security was much better than before because of Magistrate Lin, it didn’t mean there were no hidden dangers at all.

There were many villages poorer than Xiao Liucun. When people couldn’t even afford to eat, they weren’t afraid of being arrested, flogged, and imprisoned.

And there was no surveillance here; if he really got robbed, he could only blame himself for being unlucky.

Better safe than sorry.

Ling Xing himself didn’t really agree with Shen Gui taking so many vegetables to the county in the dark. Wasn’t that a blatant target?

“Fourth Brother, don’t worry. Let me explain to you in detail.”

Ling Xing’s voice was gentle, which greatly eased some of Shen Gui’s anxiety.

Following Ling Xing’s words, Shen Gui looked over, looking like he was listening attentively to what his elder brother-in-law was saying.

“I’m buying your vegetables, firstly because your vegetables are really good, and secondly because I’ve wanted to make pickled and preserved vegetables for a long time. I have many recipes. The pickled cucumbers I made the other day are one of them.”

It just so happened that the pickled cucumbers could be taken out to eat today. That small jar was made for Xie Qingya, but he also had to taste whether the flavor was right first, didn’t he?

Afraid that Shen Gui would still think he was buying vegetables because he pitied him and wanted to give him money, he said to Shen Gui, “Let’s go, come with me to the kitchen.”

Shen Gui followed listlessly, walking like a wandering soul.

When Cao Manyue returned today, she could tell that her husband was not quite right. Although all the vegetables were sold, something must have happened and he suffered a blow.

Otherwise, he would definitely have been beaming and hopping around.

How could he be so quiet and absent-minded?

Cao Manyue was even more worried when he went to the vegetable field.

Seeing him come back from the vegetable field with his head drooping, Cao Manyue couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

At least he knew to follow his elder brother-in-law out of the vegetable field.

The pickle jar was placed in a cool, ventilated place in the corner. Ling Xing picked it up, removed the water from the jar mouth, and then opened the lid.

Shen Gui’s eyes couldn’t help but drift over there, wanting to know the taste of the pickles as soon as possible.

It wasn’t because he thought his vegetables could be sold to his elder brother-in-law if the pickles were well-made.

It was purely because he was greedy.

Because he had never eaten delicious pickles in his life.

His family couldn’t bear to spend that money to buy them from the pickle shop.

The homemade ones, besides being salty and slightly bitter, had no other taste.

Ling Xing noticed Shen Gui’s expression and saw that he was attracted by the food, and couldn’t help but laugh.

Eating was really more important than anything else.

He sped up, and soon a rich, salty aroma wafted out.

Shen Gui couldn’t help it and craned his neck to take a look, taking a deep breath.

“It smells so good, Elder Brother-in-law!”

At this moment, he couldn’t care less about being upset; his mind was only filled with the savory pickled cucumbers.

The three words “I want to eat!” were written all over his face.

Ling Xing used clean chopsticks to pick out a small cucumber.

The cucumbers, which were not yet the size of fully grown fingers, had become much softer after being pickled.

Ling Xing was generous with the seasonings, and even without tasting it, the smell alone made it seem delicious.

These small cucumbers were crispy after pickling and had a savory and salty aroma, making them very tasty even when eaten plain.

Shen Gui crunched on the pickled cucumber, feeling extremely satisfied.

“Elder Brother-in-law, you’re really good at making food.”

Because of a pickled cucumber, Shen Gui’s last bit of gloom disappeared, and he returned to his usual carefree and smiling self.

“If you like it, I’ll pickle some for the family later.”

The reason he hadn’t made any for the family before was because he wanted Shen Gui to sell more for money.

Now that the restaurants and eateries in town wouldn’t accept their vegetables, and selling them individually was too much, it was the perfect time to let go and make pickled vegetables.

This small jar of pickled cucumbers was to thank Wang Juan and his husband for the books they had sent.

Shen Gui could only savor the crisp and salty taste, not daring to say that he wanted to eat more.

Thinking of what Ling Xing had said just now about buying his vegetables to make pickled vegetables, Shen Gui was now really sure that his elder brother-in-law wasn’t just looking for an excuse to give him money out of pity.

“Alright, Elder Brother-in-law, you can just go to the vegetable field and take as much as you need.”

As for the money, Shen Gui wasn’t thinking of earning Ling Xing’s money; a cost price would be enough.

Seeing that Shen Gui had completely recovered, Ling Xing laughed.

“Fourth Brother, would you like to do the pickled vegetable business with me?”

Now that there was a soup dumpling stall, plus the increase in the items sold at the stall, Ling Xing should add more later.

In this way, he actually didn’t have much time to pick vegetables, wash vegetables, and then pickle them.

The best way was to do it together with Shen Gui.

Shen Gui had the time and the raw materials, and he had the recipes.

When the time came, he would provide the recipes and sell the products, and Shen Gui would make the pickled vegetables.

As for Shen Gui knowing the recipes as a result, Ling Xing didn’t really care.

As long as they weren’t leaked to anyone outside the Shen family, it didn’t matter.

Although Shen Gui was usually a bit impulsive, he wasn’t stupid and knew that Ling Xing was pulling him into a business to make money.

This business was much bigger than Cao Manyue helping to make cold noodles, and Shen Gui didn’t dare to nod his head easily.

It wasn’t because he was afraid of being scammed, but because he was afraid that his parents wouldn’t agree. This was obviously him benefiting from his elder brother-in-law.

So at noon, the entire Shen family sat together to discuss Ling Xing and Shen Gui doing the pickled vegetable business.

Ling Xing’s attitude was very clear; he didn’t think he was at a disadvantage. He just wanted everyone to make money together, and since they couldn’t be separated, they should work together to make a good life.

The attitude of the Shen family elders was that they couldn’t let Ling Xing suffer a loss. They already felt sorry for him, so how could they take advantage of him like this?

Shen Gui wanted to follow Ling Xing, but in the end, he had to listen to his parents.

Cao Manyue had the same idea as Shen Gui, and on this matter, she didn’t think she should interrupt or say anything.

After all, she herself had already benefited from her elder brother-in-law.

So she sat aside the whole time, without saying a word.

There wasn’t much of a stalemate, and the result came out.

In any case, the Shen family elders also wanted the family to have a good life.

Who didn’t want to see things get better and better?

Even if they only lived a simple life like ordinary people, they were currently too poor.

The house was almost uninhabitable.

Little Five was just eleven this year, and Ling Yue was five years old. Although Ling Yue was still young, in more particular families, they wouldn’t let Ling Yue sleep in the same bed with a Ge’er or a girl at this age.

Not to mention Little Five and Ling Yue, even Little Chun and Little Xia, these two children were seven years old and getting older.

It wasn’t good for them to keep sleeping in the same bed with their parents.

But there was really no place to live in the house. Ling Yue’s body wasn’t very good, and he wasn’t very familiar with the family when he first came, so it wasn’t good to ask him to separate from his brother and sleep with the unfamiliar Shen Hui or Shen Chengshan.

Not to mention that Shen Hui was twenty-three this year. Because his family was poor before, he was away from home all day to earn money, hunting in the mountains, doing dangerous jobs, which was why he hadn’t married.

His age had been dragged on until now, and it wasn’t right not to get married anymore.

If he got married, the small space carved out of the kitchen wouldn’t be enough to live in.

The family had to build a house, and the second son had to get married and take a wife.

All of this required money.

After careful consideration, the elders said to Ling Xing, “Xing Ge’er, we’re very happy and grateful that you’re thinking of bringing Si Lang along to do business with you. You came up with the recipe, and you’ll be the one selling it later, so the share for Si Lang doesn’t need to be too much.”

Ling Xing said, “If my parents don’t agree with a fifty-fifty split, then let’s do a forty-sixty split.”

“The vegetables are grown by Fourth Brother, and I really won’t have much time to spend on pickled vegetables later. Fourth Brother needs to keep an eye on it. With this kind of split, I can feel at ease doing other things.”

The Shen family elders pondered for a moment and didn’t say anything more in the end.

“Alright, let’s do it that way.”

Shen Gui grinned when he heard this, and Cao Manyue was also clear in her heart that following her elder brother-in-law to do this business wouldn’t bring wealth and luxury, but at least it could guarantee food and clothing.

A little bit of hard work and hardship wasn’t anything.

She was overjoyed and secretly wiped away her tears.

Ling Xing and Shen Gui didn’t delay and went around the vegetable field.

They definitely had to make pickled cucumbers. They came out quickly and could earn a wave of money first.

Ling Xing was preparing to make sauerkraut with the greens, and when the green beans grew, he would make pickled green beans.

There were many flavors of pickled vegetables that could be made with radishes: savory, spicy, and sweet and sour.

As for chili peppers, they could be made into chili sauce and pickled peppers.

Cabbage could not only be made into sauerkraut, but also kimchi, and the taste was very good.

As for eggplant, cut it into thin strips, dry the water, add salt, a moderate amount of chili peppers, and spices, stir-fry until fragrant, let it cool, then layer the eggplant and corn flour, put it in a jar and seal it well.

After pickling, it would have a mellow aroma and a faint wine aroma, and the taste would be excellent. [Note 1]

Even garlic could be pickled into sweet garlic and Laba garlic.

Ling Xing didn’t plan for other vegetables that weren’t available in large quantities, and they could just be pulled out and sold directly.

Just these were already enough to keep them busy.

“Fourth Brother, if you can’t handle it, you can ask Third Sister’s in-laws to help. When the time comes, you can divide the work and do different parts of different pickled vegetables, and you don’t have to worry about the secret recipes being leaked.”

Because of the Yunxia Restaurant incident, the family was afraid of anything happening, so they went to the mountains to ask Zhao’s family to help.

During the spring plowing season, the most important time, the Zhao family sent several strong laborers down without saying a word.

Life in the mountains wasn’t easy either.

If the Shen family opened their mouths, Zhao Changming, as Shen Yan’s husband, would definitely come down.

It was said that Shen Yan was pregnant, and it would be good to let the Zhao family come down to help with work and earn wages, and save more money to raise the child.

Shen Gui thought it was feasible and told the Shen family elders about it directly.

The old couple were so moved.

They only had one daughter in the family, and the parents also felt sorry for her.

If they could let their son-in-law earn some money and also bring the in-laws to earn some, their daughter would have a better life in the Zhao family.

But this matter still needed to wait. There were enough people now, and it depended on how well they sold later.

If they sold well, they would definitely have to ask people to come and help.

Ling Xing asked Shen Lai to send the pickled cucumbers to Xie Qingya. After he finished the things he needed for the stall, he had to teach Shen Gui how to make pickles.

He would have to do this from now on until Shen Gui had completely learned and didn’t need him to watch.

Shen Lai ran over to hug the small jar of pickled cucumbers, but Shen Hui intercepted him.

He said, “Let me send it. I happen to have a few questions to ask Wang Juan.”

Upon receiving the pickled cucumbers, Xie Qingya couldn’t wait to take out one to eat and immediately fell in love with the crisp, savory taste and flavor.

That was good. When he didn’t want to cook, it was enough to just eat pickled cucumbers.

Hearing Shen Hui say that he wanted to ask Wang Juan questions, Xie Qingya said while eating, “Seventh Young Master is in the study.”

Wang Juan wasn’t surprised to see Shen Hui come over.

A few years ago, he accidentally met the former county magistrate and chatted for a few words. At that time, he saw Shen Hui leaving with his prey on his shoulders.

At that time, he guessed that Shen Hui should have seen something, but over the years he had remained stable in the village, thinking that perhaps Shen Hui didn’t see him clearly at the time.

It wasn’t until the last time he sent books that Shen Hui whispered that he wanted to ask him for guidance.

Wang Juan realized that this person not only saw him talking to the former county magistrate, but also seemed to know something.

But Shen Hui hadn’t said it all along.

Thinking of how his husband was on good terms with Ling Xing, and after so many years, it was the first time that Qing Ge’er made a friend.

If Ling Xing or the Shen family wanted him to help with anything, he would agree for the sake of Qing Ge’er.

Wang Juan could also feel that Shen Hui really just wanted to ask him about the imperial examinations and didn’t have any other intentions, so he nodded in agreement.

Today was Shen Hui’s first time coming here.

It was later than he had imagined.

Shen Hui first read books at home by himself. He completely remembered the basic things at a glance and had no problems.

He wasn’t sure about some of the things that came later, so he saved them up to ask Wang Juan together.

After all, he had been an official before, and he had been reading books all these years. Wang Juan cleared up Shen Hui’s confusion in a few words.

And Shen Hui’s comprehension was also extremely strong. Sometimes Wang Juan would say the beginning, and he would suddenly understand the whole meaning.

His butt had just warmed up, and the questions were gone.

Wang Juan said a few words, his throat was a little itchy, and after coughing a few times, he asked directly, “What does Shen Er Lang know?”

Although the words were abrupt, Shen Hui understood Wang Juan’s meaning.

“I only know that Brother Wang was once the superior of the former county magistrate, and that he was at least a Jinshi in the imperial examinations. I don’t know anything else.”

Shen Hui didn’t have such a strong sense of curiosity. After knowing these things, he didn’t inquire, and naturally didn’t know anything else.

Wang Juan was a little surprised. It could be explained that he saw him and the former county magistrate knew each other.

How did he see that he had been the superior of the former county magistrate? He didn’t write it on his face.

Seeing Wang Juan’s confusion, Shen Hui truthfully said, “I can read lips. The former county magistrate called you ‘sir.'”

Wang Juan understood and also knew that Shen Hui had seen it unintentionally and didn’t continue to watch afterward.

This made Wang Juan look at Shen Hui with new eyes. He had this ability, but he didn’t stare intently to get to the bottom of things.

At the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Shen Hui didn’t know anything else.

“If you have anything you’re not sure about later, feel free to ask me. Come here in three days, and I’ll write you some of the imperial examination articles I’ve read before.”

Shen Hui nodded his thanks, “Thank you.”

At home, Ling Xing was teaching Shen Gui how to pickle cucumbers step by step.

Shen Gui’s mind was active, and he learned quickly.

Ling Xing didn’t even move for the second jar. He just watched from the side, and Shen Gui managed to do it clumsily without making any mistakes.

In the evening, the temperature dropped a bit, and Cao Manyue started making cold noodles.

She moved quickly, the shape of the cold noodles was good, and they were very even. In no time, she had made them all.

The bamboo steamer wasn’t small. Five pounds of flour made about twenty cold noodles. Looking at the pile of cold noodles, Ling Xing thought it would be enough to sell for a while tomorrow.

Cold noodles had to be mixed with seasonings to taste good. Ling Xing’s stall couldn’t temporarily provide mixing services. There weren’t many people, and they couldn’t handle it.

And it would be more expensive to sell them with seasonings. Ling Xing was thinking of telling the customers how to make the seasonings, just like with the pig skin jelly, and letting them mix it according to their own tastes at home.

One pound of good flour was twenty coins, which could make five large cold noodles, and there was also a lot of gluten.

Single slice with gluten, cost four coins.

Ling Xing was preparing to sell half a slice of cold noodles with a moderate amount of gluten for four coins, and a quarter of a slice of cold noodles with a moderate amount of gluten for two coins.

This price wasn’t expensive. Two coins for cold noodles and gluten, cut up, was also the amount of a bowl.

Tasting was definitely going to be cold noodles that had been mixed well. Ling Xing got up early the next morning, directly cut a cold noodle, added some gluten, and mixed it well with seasonings.

He made two flavors, one spicy and one sweet and sour.

Today Shen Gui was still going to sell vegetables together. There were fewer types than yesterday, but the quantity hadn’t changed.

Without having to find sales channels at other restaurants and eateries, Shen Gui just guarded the stall to sell.

Because of this, cold noodles were added to the soup dumpling stall today. Although it was a bit busy, nothing went wrong.

And the cold noodles were also recognized by the customers.

Its own taste was smooth and chewy, and eating it when the weather was hot was appetizing and refreshing. If the sauce was well-seasoned and mixed evenly, whether it was spicy or sweet and sour, it made the people who tasted it unable to stop.

They couldn’t wait to eat the whole bowl.

The gluten inside as a side dish, coated in different flavors of soup, was very flavorful because it had been soaked for a while.

Taking a bite, the chewy texture directly burst with juice, which was extremely delicious.

Of course, you had to buy something that tasted good. Those who were short of money would buy two coins, and those who weren’t short of money would buy four coins.

Many people bought it together with pig skin jelly. It was difficult to eat when the weather was hot, and these two items were the magic weapons for eating.

Shen Gui’s vegetables were also selling quickly. They were almost sold out just as the sun came out.

They had just been picked from the vegetable field not long ago and hadn’t been exposed to the sun, so they were the freshest.

The prices were also right, and those who could buy them bought them along the way.

The vegetables were almost sold out, so Shen Gui helped Ling Xing tell the customers how to mix the sauce, allowing Ling Xing to take the time to drink water to moisten his throat.

Because of the pig skin jelly, the amount of cold noodles was not small, and the selling time was extended. By the time the soup dumplings were also sold out, the sun was half an hour later than before, and it was even more scorching.

The three of them returned home. Ling Xing made the things he needed for tomorrow, and Shen Gui went to the vegetable field to pull radishes.

Little Chun, Little Xia, and Cao Manyue helped to do it together. They also had to clean up later. They were going to pickle radishes today.

Ling Yue was reading at the private school and didn’t come back at noon.

Xu Youfang was busy making velvet flowers. She had become more proficient in making them these past two days, and the colors and shapes were even more beautiful.

Shen Hui had gone up the mountain. Xu Qi said he wanted medicinal powder before, and herbs had to be picked on the mountain.

As he was about to leave, Ling Xing stopped him and confirmed that he had brought snake repellent medicine before letting him go.

After leaving the house and walking down half a mile, Shen Hui’s tense state was able to relax.

There was less work in the fields, and Shen Chengshan had time to repair farm tools, and the yard was ringing.

Everyone was busy with their own things, only Shen Lai was sitting on the threshold of the main room entrance, holding his head in a daze.

He had nothing to do and couldn’t think of anything to do.

Even sweeping the floor and washing the dishes had been done by his fourth sister-in-law early in the morning.

A Yue had gone to study, and Little Chun and Little Xia were busy pulling radishes, and no one was playing with him.

If he went to the village to find someone to play with, the boys wouldn’t take him. Ge’ers and girls thought that his temperament was like a boy, and they weren’t happy to play with him.

Shen Lai sighed.

How boring.

Note 1: This is a traditional Chinese way of pickling eggplants.