041 House Warming
After sorting himself out, Qin Mian unhurriedly walked to the outside of the door. The sky was just touched by the first glimmer of light. In autumn, the song of cicadas and the croak of frogs were absent, which made the village rather quiet.
The sound of footsteps startled Lei Tie, who was practicing kung fu in the yard. He turned to look back.
The teenager was wearing a brand-new cyan cotton duandaon the top, with a light brown vest and a light brown waistband around his waist, cyan slim-fit pants on the bottom and deerskin boots on his feet. This manner of dressing was both concise and nimble, just like a little gongzi of any family. His long hair was not tied into a top bun like other people, but rather into a high ponytail tied with a cyan headband. He looked full of youthful energy, stretching and looking up at the sky at the same time, and with a relaxed smile on the face that blossomed heroism, he appeared even more refresh and energetic.
Lei Tie also wore a new same outfit, but the duanda and pants were dark blue with also light brown vest and waistband. The vest was not worn on his body as he was practicing, but was hung on the clothing bamboo pole.
In fact, it was just because Qin Mian didn't bother to draw more clothing design drawings, so they made the same style and added modern elements to the ancient conservative style.
Although Lei Tie's face was scarred, it was almost nonexistent after looking at it for a long time. Then, with the help of such outfit, it perfectly outlined his wide shoulders and narrow hips. Moreover, his whole person was tall and upright with heroic posture that made him seemed stately and handsome.
"Morning." Qin Mian looked up and down at Lei Tie with appreciative eyes and greeted him in high spirit.
Lei Tie pulled back his gaze as soon as he saw the other person and continued to practice. Every gesture and motion was powerful and forceful, vigorous and dynamic.
Might as well suffocate you to death!The smile on Qin Mian's face froze as he looked down at the man. He glanced around and saw a small pebble on the ground. Seeing that Lei Tie didn't notice him, he picked up the pebble and threw it towards the man's back. His practice seemed exemplary, but who knew if it was just for show? He tested the man.
Lei Tie appeared as though he was not yet aware of it and still continued with practicing palm moves, but when the pebble was about to touch him, his right hand suddenly changed its movement and inclined to the back as if he had eyes at the back of his head and caught the pebble between his index finger and middle finger. Without turning back, he continued to practice the move just now.
Qin Mian raised up his eyebrows. It turned out, it was not for show. He wasn't sure if he was wrong, but just now Lei Tie seemed to shoot a glance his way. Although it was a very mild one, it appeared as if the man belittled him.
He rolled his eyes and cackled. The yard hadn't been cleaned up yet, so there were still many pebbles scattered on the ground. He bent down and picked up some more pebbles and threw them towards Lei Tie in succession.
Lei Tie was practicing fishing for the moon in the sea, suddenly leapt up and turned over in midair. His right palm was like a palm-leaf fan moving to and fro abruptly, and all the five pebbles were caught in his palm. At the same time, his body also fell on the ground steadily and noiselessly, and his gaze on Qin Mian.
So cool!
Qin Mian's eyes lit up and rushed to him. "I'm old now. Can I learn to your level?"
Lei Tie's corner of the lips rose. As he was not used to smile, it looked somewhat rigid but the smile in his eyes was undoubtable. Qin Mian noticed that and he was even in a better mood.
"You're not old," said Lei Tie.
Qin Mian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course he didn't mean that. If he was old, wasn't Lei Tie older? If other people said this, he would think that they were trying to make a difference with him, but it was kind of funny when it came out of Lei Tie's mouth.
"I don't mean that, of course. I heard that if you start training martial arts from a young age, you can progress quickly."
"No matter, step by step. Teach self-defense first." Lei Tie threw away the pebbles.
The few pebbles fell in the corner, next to each other. Qin Mian gave him a squint. "What a show off."
Lei Tie patted his head and began to teach him.
One could never assume that only women needed self-defense, men did too, especially the underage. In ancient era, human traffickers were rampant. There were not a small number of teenagers who were abducted and sold by the traffickers in that business.
The so-called self-defensive techniques were generally short-range and close to the body attacks; simple, practical and fast. In other words, hit the opponent's vital points, attacked the eyes, temples, jaws, throat, abdomen, between the legs, knees and other positions in the shortest time.
Lei Tie stood behind Qin Mian with one arm around his waist and the other arm around his neck, "If the opponent holds you from the back…"
The warm breath fanned on his ear made Qin Mian shrunk his neck.
Seeing the other person's earlobe red, Lei Tie paused before he went on: "You can hit the opponent with your elbow, or kick the knee with your heel."
He looked at the head of the person in his arms, paused and added, "If you are tall enough and in a quandary, you can ram the opponent's head with your head."
Qin Mian's face turned gloom.What did he mean by the pause in the middle?He might not be tall now, but that didn't mean he wouldn't grow tall in the future.
He turned his head and stared at Lei Tie badly.
Lei Tie changed his position as if nothing were wrong, "I'll teach another way…"
In this fashion of someone taught and somebody learnt, Qin Mian had mastered several basic skills of self-defense.
"I'll run for a few laps and come back to prepare breakfast." Qin Mian was very interested in practicing martial arts, so he was very concerned about daily exercise. If he wanted to have profound kung fu, he should first improve his physical fitness. He waved to Lei Tie and begun to run out.
Lei Tie locked the gate and went up the mountain with bow set on his back.
When Qin Mian came back from running, Lei Tie also returned. There were three Sichuan pepper trees in the yard.
"It's a misjudgment." Qin Mian stepped into the door, panting, sweating, and fanning himself with his hands, "I sweat all over. Forget to prepare a set of running clothes and shoes."
"Buy it next time in town." Lei Tie grabbed a shovel in his hand and asked, "Where to plant?"
Qin Mian poured a cup of water and drank in a big gulp. He glanced around the yard and went to the place not far from the gate, pointed it with his feet, "It doesn't smell very good, plant it here."
Lei Tie nodded and bent down to dig a hole.
Qin Mian stood by and watched for a while before he went to make breakfast.
At breakfast, the two decided on the house warming day two days later.
After breakfast, Lei Tie went hunting. Qin Mian poured some spring water on the three Sichuan pepper trees and then went to invite the villagers to their house warming from door to door while meeting the villagers in passing.
Instead of going to the old house first, he went from the west to the east of the village.
When he arrived at the old house, Du Shi, who was drawing water at the well side, saw him enter the gate, her eyelids twitched. She asked impatiently, "What are you doing here?"
Since the other party didn't like him, Qin Mian also didn't allow himself to be snubbed despite showing good intentions and straightforwardly said: "Mother, the day of our house warming is fixed in the day after tomorrow, you guys should come earlier."
Only then did Du Shi's face eased up. "You're thoughtful, we'll go earlier."
Qin Mian added: "We are going to make eight dishes; four meat and four vegetables. I'm afraid I'll have to go to the garden to pick some vegetables then."
Four meat and four vegetable dishes were a pretty good banquet. After thinking that her whole family would go to the banquet, it would be bad not to let him pick the vegetables. "Got it."
Qin Mian didn't want to talk more with her, "Mother, continue your work. I've to go to the next house."
Du Shi waved her hand.
When Lei Tie returned home in the evening, he and Qin Mian decided on the menu. Eight dishes; four meat and four vegetables were diced chicken with pepper, simmer-fried fish, twice cooked pork, sweet and sour pork ribs, three delicacies stir-fried (potato, eggplant and green pepper), simmer-fried tofu, baked golden corn and stir-fried lettuce. There was no soup because most of the people from the peasant household preferred solid and few like watery soup.
The snacks and deserts for the guests were quite common, namely, fried melon seeds, fried peanuts and osmanthus cakes. They couldn't prepare anything too good otherwise it would be too eye-catching.
There were three people in charge of the cooking, which included Aunt Wang, while the other two were the women that had done banquet with Aunt Wang. They were Aunt Liu from the same village and Sixth Sister Ma from the neighboring village.
In the early morning on the day of the house warming, Qin Mian and Lei Tie drove the cart to town to buy vegetables, wines, snacks and cakes. Once home, Qin Mian cleaned the house and Lei Tie went to the village to borrow tables and stools.
Aunt Wang and the other two had come early and were busy in the kitchen. There were more than 70 families in the village, even if there were only two people from each family, there were going to be more than 100 people. Moreover, most of the villagers like to benefit at others' expense, so those who had children would surely bring them along. One could imagine how many ingredients were needed to feed so many people.
Fortunately, Qian Shi and Lei Chuntao came here early to help wash the ingredients.
Qin Mian was quite surprised that Qian Shi would come and secretly asked Lei Chuntao, which let him know that Lei Xiangyi scolded her and forced her to come.
Nearly noon, the villagers came with gifts one after another, all of which were from their households. The gifts prepared were ordinary but practical. They gifted a few eggs, or vegetables, or a piece of cloth and if their conditions were good, they would gift a piece of bacon or a jar of wine. It was all the same in whichever village and no one would anything wrong with it.
Qin Mian happily accepted the gifts and courteously invited them to the table.
The meal was served turn by turn. Those who came early could eat first and those who came late didn't have to worry as they could look around the new house, admire the new furniture, and then eat snacks while chatting and laughing.
Qin Mian had foresight and expected that there would be some confusion on this day. He came into agreement with Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli in advance to ask them to help entertain the guests, and together with Lei Tie, there wasn't any mishap throughout the event.
Even so, Qin Mian was very tired. When he sent the last wave of guests out, he sat on the settee, not wanting to move while his stomach growling with hunger.
The three chefs, Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli hadn't eaten the food either. Qin Mian didn't sit for a long before Lei Tie and two others brought out the reserved table of dishes. The few of them wiped out the food completely. A jar of wine was also finished without a drop left.
When Sister Zhang, Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli left, Qin Mian not only paid the three chefs high wages, but also packed a cake for each of them.
After everyone left, Qin Mian lay on the settee holding his full stomach and lazily bumped into Lei Tie's back with his leg. "Wash the dishes."
Also seated on the settee, Lei Tie who had drank a bit much wine, supported his head on one hand and patted Qin Mian's leg with the other before he stood up, "Go to sleep."
Qin Mian heard the sound of water and dishes colliding in the yard from time to time and his lips rose unconsciously before he fell asleep in a daze.
Note:
An outfit specially made for hand-to-hand fight
042 Rent a Shop
After the sun set, it rose again for the new day.
Qin Mian slowly drank the egg soup in the bowl, his calf under the table bumped against Lei Tie's leg. "Today, let's go to the town and buy everything that need to buy. Besides, I'd like to see if I can rent a shop. Autumn and winter seasons are the perfect times to make money."
Lei Tie's hand paused, "Sell what?"
Qin Mian tapped the bowl with the soup spoon and said confidently, "Food." He had all kinds of food in his head, not a thousand, not a hundred. Anyway, he had spiritual spring water, he wasn't afraid that he couldn't make money. If he wanted to stand up in this era, he must have money, authority and influence. At present, he could only aim at money. Plus, the food industry was the fastest way to earn money. For the other things, he would consider them later.
Lei Tie profoundly looked at him before he nodded.
After breakfast, the two drove to town in an ox cart. The wheels rolled up the withered leaves and blew them farther along the wind.
There were a lot of things to buy. The ox cart didn't have a carriage, so Qin Mian and Lei Tie were sitting on the shaft together. They weren't cold as they wore a lot of clothes and it felt refreshing when the cold air blew on their faces.
Qin Mian had quietly fed some spiritual spring water to the ox and therefore, the young ox completely awakened human attributes. It cooperatively walked by the side of the road and automatically bypassed pits and stones on the ground, which made people secretly wonder.
When they got to town, they followed the street to find the suitable shop. However, Qin Mian very quickly found out he had been too optimistic. Running Water Town was a lively town, but because of this, the marketplace had been saturated and relatively stable, it was not easy to find a store for rent or sale.
After not finding the suitable shop around the town, Qin Mian didn't quit and went to look for a broker. There were several shops in the broker's hand, one of which was near the fork in the road. The size and location of the shop were very suitable, but the shop was only for rent and the price was 200 taels. Qin Mian couldn't afford it. He could only wave his hand regretfully and consider turning a house into a shop. However, the houses that were sold and rented in the broker's hand were not suitable for shops.
"This is a good one." Not giving up, the broker recommended the 200 taels shop to Qin Mian. "Such a big shop with good light is worth only 200 silver taels! There is no such shop as this one beyond this village."
Qin Mian laughed hollowly. Even if he had money, he wouldn't want to buy it.
"This one." Lei Tie opened up, as his long finger pointed to a piece of paper on the table.
Inwardly, the broker was pleasantly surprise. This shop had been up for a long time, but nobody showed an interest to it. Could it really be able to rent out today?
Qin Mian was a little stunned. When Lei Tie was with him, especially during business matter, he usually didn't speak easily. This was the first time that the man offered an opinion. However, he didn't feel displease but instead he was happy because it made him feel that he wasn't alone.
He smiled at Lei Tie before looking at the paper, which briefly introduced the situation of the shop. He frowned slightly, "This place is good, but it's too small. How can we accommodate five or six tables when we are selling food?"
Lei Tie said: "I've an impression of this place. The shop is not big, but there is an open space at the door."
Qin Mian's heart jolted. If there was an open space at the door, it would be fine to add some tables outside. Thinking of this, he asked the broker, "What's the situation of this shop?"
The broker was happy at once and spoke in detail, "We're honest person and I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. Several years ago, a hundred year old tree was planted here. On the left was a grocery store and on the right was a clothing store. Later, the tree was bought and dug out by a rich family. The feudal official felt it was a pity that the land was empty, so they built a house here, which turned out to be a tea shop. Although the shop is small, it has a good location and the rent is not high. It's only 2 silver taels a month, 24 taels a year."
"So, it was like that." Qin Mian was a little moved. "Can we visit the shop to have a look?"
"Of course, I've the key." The broker was smiling from ear to ear and was even more polite, "These two gentlemen, please."
They followed the broker to the shop and the broker opened the door. Qin Mian looked at the left and right shops before entering. There were four sets of tables and chairs in the room, which were old but intact. The shop was indeed not very big and its entirety could be concluded as crowded. It was trapezoid, narrow inside and wide outside. The inside couldn't run a back kitchen, only could place four more tables at most. As Lei Tie said, there was an open space outside the door, which could hold about four or five tables.
Qin Mian thought the place was small before, but now he thought it was just right. If the shop was too big, he and Lei Tie might be too busy to handle it.
Qin Mian looked at Lei Tie in consultation.
Lei Tie nodded.
Qin Mian made up his mind and said to the broker: "This shop, rent for a year."
The broker said happily, "Good, let's go back to sign the paper first?"
Qin Mian gestured towards him to lead the way.
After going through the formalities at the brokerage, the broker gave Qin Mian the key.
Holding the key, Qin Mian felt a subtle emotion:we can be considered as people with career. He excitedly led Lei Tie forward. "Go, let's make up the things in the shop today and open it as soon as possible."
043 Wife, I Can Raise You
Opening a shop was not a simple thing. Before opening, it was necessary to decorate the shopfront, supplement all kinds of materials in the kitchen, add equipment, hire employees, and advertise.
The catering business mainly focused on cleanliness. Therefore, Qin Mian didn't spend much time in the decoration of the shop, only let people clean the roof, walls and ground. There were some unsightly holes in the wall, so he asked Lei Tie to make bamboo pieces and wood chips of different sizes and arrange them into artistic and stylish patterns to fix on the wall that might after all be accepted as a kind of distinguishing feature. The tables and chairs were all new, so as to make the customers feel comfortable when they ate.
In addition, Qin Mian bought a large noodle maker. The noodle maker of the Rich and Honor Woodcraft Shop had its own characteristics in Qin Mian's design. Its appearance was polished perfectly and was carved with patterns, which sold well. At the beginning of the noodle maker springing up, other woodcraft shops in the town had to buy from here.
After dark, Qin Mian and Lei Tie didn't go to sleep immediately, but discussed things on the heatable brick bed with the oil lamp lit.
"You didn't say what to sell." Lei Tie's back leaned on a lump of a quilt.
Qin Mian raised his head with a smile and looked very confident. "It's cold, so naturally people want to eat something warm. I want to sell hot spicy soup and hot pot." He was very glad that people in this world didn't think that food could be cook by dipping finely sliced ingredients briefly in boiling water or soup.
He explained to Lei Tie in detail how the hot spicy soup and hot pot were made. "In short, I cooked vegetables and meat dishes in the boiling soup. This soup is not a common soup, but a special one, made of 18 kinds of seasonings. Do you remember the cinnamon, dried tangerine peel and vanilla I bought? That's what this soup needs."
Lei Tie looked at him for a moment before taking away his brush and paper. "It's late. Talk tomorrow."
Qin Mian also began to feel sleepy. He yawned and lay down, "Let's sleep. I'll make it for you tomorrow and you'll know."
Lei Tie blew the oil lamp and lay down, habitually holding a person in his arms. "Okay."
Qin Mian was excited when he thought that he would be able to open business in a few days. His sleepiness suddenly subsided and he made a joke: "Now, it's me raising you."
Lei Tie's arms stiffened. "I'll go up the mountain tomorrow."
Qin Mian laughed, "I'm joking."
"Spicy hot soup requires meat dishes." Lei Tie left no room for doubt.
Qin Mian thought about it and acquiesced, "Alright. There are still a lot of things to prepare. Tomorrow I have to grind the dried tangerine peels and cinnamon into powder." He also bought a stone mill purposely for the seasoning.
"I want to go deeper this time, be back in two days." Lei Tie spoke again.
"For so long?" Qin Mian vaguely felt that something was wrong with the man, but he was unable to get the words out, so he didn't think much about it, "Fine, I'll prepare more dried food tomorrow morning."
The next day, Qin Mian felt vaguely aware of the movement around him. He woke up abruptly when he remembered that Lei Tie said he would go up the mountain last night.
The morning light had glimmered outside, because the curtains were closed, the room was dark, but the lamp was still lit at the head of the bed.
Lei Tie was sitting on the edge of the heatable brick bed, putting on his shoes. Turning around, he whispered: "Go back to sleep."
Qin Mian shook his head and looked at his clothes. "No. The temperature in the mountains is low, put on a lined jacket."
After he dressed neatly, he went to the kitchen to make breakfast and made some thick minced meat pancakes. Then, he wrapped them in oil paper and put it into the bum bag he made for Lei Tie.
They ate the remaining pancakes with mushroom soup.
"Be careful." This was not the first time Lei Tie went hunting in the mountain, but Qin Mian felt uneasy for no reason, so he repeatedly cautioned.
"Nothing will happen." Lei Tie stroked his side face. "If there is something, wait till I come back."
Qin Mian's heart jumped. How did this conversation sounded like a conversation between husband and wife? He pinched his hot ear and waved his hand to drive the man away. "I know. Go, go. Go early, return early."
Lei Tie nodded and left.
Qin Mian stood in the yard for a while before walking around the yard to aid digestion and then reviewed the moves he had learned before. Afterwards, he went to work on his proper business, which was grinding dried tangerine peels, cinnamon and Sichuan pepper into powder with a stone mill.
Since there was no one at home, the yard was strangely quiet. Qin Mian felt that the empty yard was an eyesore. He went out with a hoe and a basket, planning to dig out something to decorate the yard.
The sky was overcast, the sun was missing and there was no cloud in the gray sky. It didn't look like it was going to rain, but Qin Mian still felt very jittery. After wandering at the foot of the mountain for a long time, he found several wild chrysanthemums. Although the white and yellow flowers were small, they were blooming brightly. He planted chrysanthemums in the yard and poured a cup of spiritual spring water.
Until the afternoon of the third day, Lei Tie hadn't come back, and Qin Mian's heart sank abruptly. Lei Tie said that he would come back in two days, but he hadn't appeared yet, could something have happened? He was so flustered by the thought that he couldn't help running to the mountain in the distance.
At the foot of the mountain, he couldn't help laughing bitterly. He had gone crazy, he actually wanted to find Lei Tie. This was a mountainous area and he didn't know where Lei Tie had gone, finding him would be not as easy as he thought it to be?
"Boom" A thunderbolt sounded overhead. After two days of gloomy weather, it finally began to rain. The continuous patter of raindrops fell and soon the ground was soaked.
Qin Mian's heart sank to the bottom of the valley. The condition on the mountain on rainy days would be more arduous. Immediately, a burst of anger erupted and he ran into the forest, shouted: "LEI TIE YOU ASSHOLE"
His voice was like light swallowed by darkness, leaving not a thread of trace.
He walked back with a cold face and caught a sight of Lei Daqiang standing not far away with a load of firewood, looking at him in a bad way.
"Eldest's wife, what are you shouting?"
Qin Mian frowned and eased his mood, "Father. Brother Tie went hunting and said that he would come back in two days, but until now, there isn't a sign of him. Do you think there's"
Before he finished his words, Lei Daqiang interrupted, "It's not the first time for him to go hunting in the mountains, he knows his boundary. But you, since you are eldest's wife, you should know that he is the most important to you. What did you shout just now?" Lei Daqiang sternly stared at the teenager who stood up as stubborn as a little poplar, not very pleased.
Qin Mian's face changed. He snorted, "It's none of your business!" He didn't look at Lei Daqiang as he walked away quickly.
"You You…" Lei Daqiang stared at his back in disbelief, trembling with anger as he yelled, "STOP FOR ME!"
Qin Mian pretended not hearing it and walked away quickly. Whether he was filial or not, no one saw him anyway and Lei Daqiang couldn't do anything about him either.
He wasn't in the mood to have dinner and only ate two steamed stuffed buns. When it was past ten o'clock and he still hadn't seen a sign of Lei Tie, he could only put out the light and go to bed.
In the middle of the night, a dull sound in the yard woke Qin Mian up. A thief?
He didn't dare to light the oil lamp and groped around the door. Then he heard the sliding sound of the main door's bolt, his heart rose to his throat and he yelled, "WHO?!"
"Wife, it's me."
Qin Mian felt both happy and angry, only to find that his night clothes were wet with sweat. His voice carried reproach yet very gentle, "How come you are back now?"
He groped around in the dark and opened the door before he went to light the oil lamp with thefire foldon the side table. Then he looked back. Wasn't Lei Tie standing in front of him?
"I went to the county."
The rain was still falling. Lei Tie had brought in a burst of dampness as he conveniently put the bow set on the table, took out a piece of paper from his bosom and said with pursed lips: "I can raise you."
Qin Mian was taken aback and looked at the paper in puzzlement. Although it was written in traditional Chinese character, he still recognized the three words of five hundred taels.
"Where did it come from?"
Lei Tie made light of it, "Hunted a black bear and the four paws sold for 500 taels. Is there food?"
Qin Mian was shocked as he connected the man's I can raise you and noticed that the man's clothes on the waist side were torn as well as there was a faint smell of blood. His heart squeezed tight, his expression also sunk as he threw the silver banknote to the man and sneered: "I was just joking and you slap me in the face with the money. Lei Tie, you are truly skillful!"
He turned around and left. He had gotten up urgently and only wearing night clothes, his body was so cold but it couldn't be compared with his heart.
Lei Tie was stunned. Seeing Qin Mian storming towards the bedroom angrily without turning his head back, he was flustered and went to grab the other person's arm. "I'm not."
"Let go." Qin Mian said coldly.
Lei Tie's pupils turned darker and his mouth agape. He fastened the person into his bosom and his big palms pressed the other person's back tightly.
"You let me go!" Qin Mian couldn't get free, he was fuming with rage. The bloody smell caught in his nose made him even angrier.
"No." When the wound was touched, Lei Tie grunted but his arms were not loose, he said in a muffled voice, "I didn't want to slap you in the face. Wife, I can raise you."
Qin Mian's struggling movement froze as there was a burst of acid-like in his thoracic cavity and at the same time, there was a kind of reality enlightenment in his brain. He was also a man, how could he forget how strong a man's self-esteem was? Although he said that at first, it was really just a joke, but it was a fact that he made more money than Lei Tie before. How could Lei Tie not care? He was angry that Lei Tie didn't see that he was joking and that he didn't take his own safety seriously.
He raised his head, the man was still expressionless, but there was a touch of imperceptible bewilderment hidden in his deep eyes and his arms wound around his back were very hot.
He was somewhat defeated as he softened his voice, "Let go, I'll see your wound."
Lei Tie grabbed his wrist, went back to the table to get the oil lamp and pulled the other person to the bedroom before he let go. "Get dressed."
Qin Mian put on his cotton-padded jacket and glared at him unhappily, "Sit down."
Lei Tie complied and sat down by the heatable brick bed, "Just a small wound."
Qin Mian ignored him, lifted up his wet clothes and once he saw five bloody scars, there was a tremor in the apex of his heart. He angrily said: "Didn't you go to the county? Why didn't you go to a physician's and bandage the wound before coming back?"
"It looks serious, but the injury is not serious. Afraid you're worried, I returned as soon as the bear's paws were sold. The injury is not serious." Lei Tie said.
Qin Mian gave him a severe look before he fetched water, gauze and wound healing medicine. He carefully cleaned up his wound, sprinkled the powder carefully and bandaged it up.
"When did you go to the county? How did you get back?"
"At about late afternoon, I happened to meet someone who drove to the town after going down the mountain and hitchhiked his cart. No one in the town bought bear paws, so I had to hire a cart to go to the county. It was already night when I was going back, couldn't hire a cart, so I walked back."
Perhaps he knew that Qin Mian was still angry, he who seldom said so many words, gave a very detailed answer. This made Qin Mian's heart soften and his anger dissipated.
He stood up. "There is still hot water in the pot. You should take a bath and change into dry clothes. Be careful not to touch the wound. I'll make you something to eat."
Lei Tie gave a response and followed him out with the oil lamp.
That silver banknote lay silently on the ground. Lei Tie picked it up and handed it to Qin Mian.
Qin Mian put it in his pocket and walked into the kitchen.
Note:
A tight straw paper roll that was burned and put off but was left only ember. The ember is easily ignited with a skillful blow.
044 Drop a Visit
These days, Qin Mian cooked more rice every day so as to make sure Lei Tie could have meal at any time he returned. The remaining cooked rice in the evening was just right for making fried rice. He took two eggs and stirred them into liquid, next he grabbed a carrot and a handful of vegetables to wash before the carrot were diced and the vegetables were chopped, and then delicious fried rice was made. At the same time, strong aroma of sour and spicy soup was cooked on the charcoal stove.
After taking a bath, Lei Tie put on clean clothes and came to the kitchen. He saw the wife was putting the fried rice on the table, so he bent over and carried the earthenware pot on the stove and followed after him.
"Is it enough?" Qin Mian asked. The fried rice piled high on the plate was full of color and flavor. Because of his love of food, Qin Mian had a special love for all kinds of dishware. The dishware at home was of different shapes, sizes, and the plate for the fried rice was very large.
"Enough." Lei Tie went to the kitchen and took four bowls; two rice bowls and two soup bowls. "You have some too."
Qin Mian was really hungry and scooped a bowl of fried rice.
"Enough?" Lei Tie sat down beside him and asked. Seeing the wife nodding, he moved the rice plate to his front and began to eat.
It could be seen that he was really hungry, but although his movement didn't lose the former grace, it was somewhat urgent. The corner of Qin Mian's lips gave a tiny smile, yet his words were blunt, "No one's robbing you." He said that, however his hand picked up the soup bowl, scooped a bowl of soup and put it on Lei Tie's left hand side.
"Hadn't eaten for a day." Lei Tie replied briefly. After a sip of soup, he continued to eat.
Qin Mian couldn't bear to say anything more and bowed his head to eat. After he finished a bowl of rice, he drank half a bowl of soup before putting his chopsticks down and watched Lei Tie eat.
Then Lei Tie drank the rest of the soup.
Qin Mian asked uncertainly: "Are you full? If you aren't, I'll make two more pancakes."
"Full." Lei Tie got up to collect the bowls.
Qin Mian beat out a yawn, "Wash them tomorrow."
Lei Tie was taken by surprise. He had always known that the little wife liked cleanliness and neatness, especially in the kitchen. The used bowls absolutely were not allowed to be left for the next day to wash. This was the first time.
The black pupils under the light were covered with soft tinge as he agreed and only put the bowls and chopsticks on the stove before he came out of the kitchen.
After they both rinsed their mouths, they returned to the bedroom together.
Qin Mian put the banknote into a money box, locked it, put away the key and got into the bed.
Lei Tie put out the light and took someone into his arms. Qin Mian wasn't in the mood to be contentious and adjusted to a comfortable posture, carefully avoided the man's injuries as he enjoyed the man's body temperature far higher than himself. Once again, he ascertained that this man was the best stove in winter.
"How are you these days?" Lei Tie was still able to objectively touch the wife's face in the dark, and he gently caressed and stroked it.
Remembering Lei Daqiang, Qin Mian hesitated for a moment before he said it. He was sure that Lei Daqiang would drop a visit tomorrow.
"I haven't seen you for a few days and it's raining, so I scolded you to the mountain and your father scolded me back. Then, I returned with it's none of your business." Qin Mian said calmly, but he felt a little perturbed. After all, Lei Daqiang was Lei Tie's father. He quickly added, "There was no one else around at that time."
"There's no harm." Lei Tie apathetically said, "Just tolerate on the surface will suffice."
Qin Mian didn't like the suddenly roused lonesome atmosphere. He turned over in the man's embrace and said in a loud voice, "Sleepy. Sleep, sleep."
Lei Tie enclosed his arms and held the person in his embrace more tightly as he also closed his eyes.
The next day, the sky finally cleared up and the cool wind was gentle. It was a clear and refreshing autumn weather. Although the chrysanthemum in the yard had been hit by the autumn rain, it looked more vigor with dewdrops. The newly blossomed flowers were bigger and the fragrant was more concentrated. The ground in the yard was soaking wet and whenever the feet trampled on, it would get muddy. Previously, he had no money thus he didn't spend any effort on the yard. At present, he had the 500 taels brought back by Lei Tie, he had enough confidence. This yard needed to be sorted out.
"Lei Tie, where are you?" Qin Mian looked at the open gate and shouted out, knowing that the man wouldn't go far away.
Lei Tie's voice came from outside the courtyard wall, "Here."
Qin Mian turned and went into the kitchen. As expected, he saw that the bowls and chopsticks of yesterday had been washed, and the cooking wok and stove were also cleaned up.
After making breakfast, there were two additions of osmanthus trees in the yard with luxuriant flowers and sweet smell that assailed the nostril.
Qin Mian walked over in surprise, "Where did you dig it up?"
"On the mountain." Lei Tie had seen the chrysanthemum in the yard and guessed that he didn't like the empty space in the yard.
"Plant it after breakfast."
Lei Tie washed his hands and sat down at the table. There were two portion of stir-fried noodles and two bowls of soup on the table. Both of them consumed a large amount of food, so their bowls were large, but Lei Tie's bowl was larger than Qin Mian's.
Lei Tie emotionally sighed in his heart that the wife's craftsmanship was good. Since they lived alone up to now, basically, breakfast wouldn't be repeated within five days. Today's stir-fried noodles were added with golden eggs, bright red shredded chili and green pakchoi's leaves, which aroused people's appetite.
He was thinking thus much but his face had been consistently expressionless.
However, Qin Mian could still see from his eyes that he liked today's breakfast. He was secretly being cocky:You bastard should thank your ancestor for marrying this young master.
"The road is full of mud, it's inconvenient to go to town. It's better to wait until the ground is dry. Today, let's go to the river bank to pick up some stones to pad the yard. At least, there has to be a walkway. How about it?"
"En."
"Plant the two osmanthus trees next to chrysanthemums. Leave some room for some fruit trees." Qin Mian glanced at the yard, but still felt that the yard was a little small. He had lived in the city for a long time in his previous life that he didn't like narrow space. Well, he would have to wait until he made a lot of money.
"Fruit trees, find in the mountain later. Eat quickly." Lei Tie gently tapped his (QM) bowl with his chopsticks.
While they were eating, there were two people outside coming in. They were a man and a woman that looked less than 30, with smile on their faces.
Qin Mian recognized that the woman was the one who had been prying when he came to see the house site, that lived next door to them and her man was called Zhou Erhao.
"Lei Tie and Lei Tie's wife are eatingne." Erhao's wife's smiling expression seemed to be forced out and both corners of her eyes outlined with deep lines.
Qin Mian and Lei Tie got up and invited them to come in to sit down, unclear of their purpose of coming.
"Hah-hah, thank you for your hospitality." Zhou Erhao put his hands in his sleeves as his triangular eyes kept looking east and west, rounding the whole circle before his eyes fell on the oily stir-fried noodles on the dining table and secretly swallowed his saliva. He'd heard that Lei Tie's treat to the guest was very generous. However, when Lei Tie was building the house, he was delayed by his father-in-law's family affair and when Lei Tie family's was having house warming, he was yet again dragged by his brother-in-law's affair and failed to eat that meal which made Zhou Erhao regretful. Last night, he heard something from his neighbor's house and he knew the opportunity was coming. Today, as soon as his wife urged him, he followed her coming over here. The breakfast of the people in the villager was basically porridge, steamed cornbread and pickles vegetables. Lei Tie's family's livelihood was really prosperous. That stir-fried noodles weren't only filled with eggs but also a lot of oil, which made it smelled delicious.
Qin Mian intuitively disliked them. He thrown a meaningful glance at Lei Tie and lowered his head to eat his noodles. He couldn't always be the one to get them out of predicament.
"Is there something?" Lei Tie was suspicious.
Erhao's wife quickly waved her hand and looked concerned, "It's nothing, nothing. It seems that you two had a quarrel in the middle of the night. We came to see if there is anything we can do for you. Since we are going to be neighbors hereafter, please don't be polite to get our help."
"Thank you very much." Lei Tie nodded his head as he said in low voice.
"Looking at the style of your furniture," Zhou Erhao touched the settee with greedy eyes as though he was staring at a beautiful woman. "It must not be cheap? Your family is the only one in our village who has these things."
Lei Tie frowned and sat down to eat his noodles.
Qin Mian kicked him under the table, "Thank you for your concern but there's nothing wrong with Lei Tie and me. You guys can sit anywhere. The weather is getting colder and the food cools quickly, so you'll have to wait for us to finish our meal before we accompany you guys."
He and Lei Tie looked at each other and very tacitly slowed down. After they unhurriedly finished eating the stir-fried noodles, they dilatorily drank the soup.
Zhou Erhao and his wife sat for a while and felt bored. Eventually, they were aware that they weren't welcome and stood up while smiling dryly and said few words of farewell before leaving.
Qin Mian hit Lei Tie with his knee, "These two people don't seem good. Afterwards, be cleverer."
Lei Tie glanced at Qin Mian with unclear meaning, he drank his soup in one gulp and watched him drink it. He waited patiently for Qin Mian to finish drinking before self-consciously collected the dishware.
"Spicy hot soup or hot pot for lunch?"
He still remembered. Qin Mian squinted at him, "Sure."
After Lei Tie washed the dishes, they planted the osmanthus trees, put on old shoes and went to the river bank to pick up stones.
Plain Water River was one of the main water sources of Green Mountain Village, which flowed from north to south close to the west of the village. It was basically this place where the villagers irrigated their farmlands, watered their vegetables, washed clothes, fished in their leisure time and so on.
Beside the greenish-black stone slab by the river, two women were chatting while washing clothes. They were Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu. When they saw Qin Mian and Lei Tie passing by, they smiled kindly.
Qin Mian was taken by surprise and smiled back. No matter why they changed their attitude, it was not a bad thing.
There were many large and small stones on the river bank, which had been washed away by rain all the year round. Not a while later, they picked up to half a basket.
"Eldest, you are here." An ill-meaning voice sounded from behind them.
Qin Mian's movement paused before he seamlessly retreated behind Lei Tie.
Lei Tie straightened up, "Father."
Lei Daqiang snorted coldly, stepped closer with large strides and yelled with his rough voice: "You know I'm your father! Do you know what attitude your wife taken in front of me?"
Lei Tie looked as usual as he casually lifted his right hand and the goose warm stone in his hand fell accurately into the basket in the distance.
045 Qin Mian's Counterattack
Du Shi stood by Lei Daqiang's side with schadenfreude in her eyes and shot a glance at the eavesdropping Fang Hongliu and Zhou Cuihua. She pulled down Lei Daqiang's sleeve and hypocritically advised him: "Old man, if there is something, talk it over."
"He can't even manage his own wife, how can I talk it over with him?" Lei Daqiang jumped to his feet and pointed to Lei Tie's nose. "What's the use of you, this son?! Your wife dared to say disrespectful words to me, and that was unfilial! You tell me, how to justify him?"
Fang Hongliu and Zhou Cuihua looked at each other, staying there without any intention of leaving as their hands assumed a feigned manner of rubbing their laundry.
Qin Mian's expression changed. He went to Lei Tie's side and stood still. He hesitated for a moment before quietly held the man's hand.
Lei Tie hadn't carried any expectation for Lei Daqiang for a long time, he said indifferently: "My wife and I already know that you don't welcome us. Since the last time we built the house, my wife has not been to your house. I also want to ask how my wife provoked you."
"You!" Lei Daqiang was so angry that he became very red and contemptible: "Bastard rebels against me! Last time, he called you an asshole on the mountain, so I scolded him and he actually said it was none of my business. Was that what someone's wife should say?"
"Ha! Funny." Qin Mian didn't want to put up with the old man anymore; he blocked Lei Tie with his arm and refused to let him speak. He raised his voice as he said: "It happens that Sister Zhou and Sister Fang are also here, they can bear witnesses. Now that you mentioned it, I'll talk about it. Your son had gone hunting for three days and he had not been seen. I asked you to find some people to go with me to find him. However, as a father, you acted as though you didn't hear me as you only cared about your face as an elder and didn't care about the safety of your son. That is case number one. No matter what, you could say it in private, but you humiliated your own child in front of two outsiders. That is case number two. You are heartless! If a father is heartless, why should you ask the son to be filial? Even if these cases are brought to the feudal authority, there is no excuse for you!"
Report to the feudal authority? Du Shi was scared, her pupils contracted and her neck shrank after.
"You, you rebel, rebel…" Lei Daqiang's fingers trembled with face red as if it was about to burn.
Qin Mian held his head up and chest out as he stealthily took aim at Lei Tie.
Lei Tie seized Qin Mian's shoulder and dully said: "We still have something to do. Please excuse us."
The two people no longer paid attention to Lei Daqiang and Du Shi, continued to pick up pebbles as if nothing had happened.
"You, you guys wait for me, I'll find someone to judge who is right! Humph!" Lei Daqiang was furious. He left a sentence that appeared severe, but weak inside as he walked away flipping his sleeve.
Du Shi quickly followed up. When she thought of Qin Mian's words just now, she felt uneasy.
Qin Mian frowned. He must taught Lei Daqiang and Du Shi a lesson, otherwise, if they did this a few more times, could he and Lei Tie be at peace? When he caught sight of Fang Hongliu and Zhou Cuihua make faces at each other and murmur in low voices in excitement, he thought of a plan. He walked over quickly.
"These two sisters."
"What, what's the matter?" Recalling of the shiny kitchen knife in her memory, Fang Hongliu shivered and her laundry almost drifted away with the current.
Zhou Cuihua smiled dryly and didn't dare to make a sound.
Qin Mian took out a money pouch from his sleeve pocket and smilingly said: "No need to be nervous, sisters. I already forgot about the last time. We're all from the same village, some bumps are inevitable. Don't you all think so?"
"Yes, yes, little brother is right." Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu nodded repeatedly while glancing at Lei Tie, who was still picking up pebbles. It appeared that he coddled Qin Mian very much.
Qin Mian said with a smile: "As long as you two do me a little favor, I can give 100 Wen each. How about it? Of course, it's not murder and arson."
Zhou Cuihua's and Fang Hongliu's eyes brightened.
Zhou Cuihua testily asked: "What is it?"
Qin Mian crouched down beside the two women and lowered his voice. The smiling expression on his face was wicked and his bright eyes twinkled with excitement.
Lei Tie saw clearly, shook his head slightly, picked up two pebbles and threw them into the basket.
Over there, Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu didn't wash their laundries but stood up with excited eyes.
"Little brother rest assured. We'll make sure it's done." Zhou Cuihua vowed in all sincerity and seriousness.
Fang Hongliu picked up the laundry into the basket and said in a hurry: "Count on us. We'll do it right now."
Qin Mian generously gave the two women a total of 40 Wen. "This money is a deposit. After you have done it, I'll pay the rest."
"No problem."
Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu carried their laundry baskets and walked quickly with their small feet. They soon enter the village.
Qin Mian insidiously laughed, and then a small pebble hit him lightly in the chest.
"Come and help."
"Coming." Qin Mian walked over as he smiled happily.
"What did you say?" Lei Tie asked.
Qin Mian squatted down beside him and sneakily laughed, "Secret."
Lei Tie actually heard all about it. He just liked to see the boy's complacent look and very much liked how the boy cared about him.
The two people made round trips several times until they picked up a sufficient number of pebbles. The pebbled path ran from the courtyard gate to the house door and connected with the bathroom door. Lei Tie hammered the pebbles hard which embedded them into the ground. They were solid enough and looked both scenic and stylish.
It was noon when it was done.
"Hot pot for lunch?" Qin Mian sought Lei Tie's opinion, "There is no bamboo sticks for hot spicy soup."
"En."
"When you go to the garden to pick vegetables, pick some of every kind of vegetables. While you are at it" Qin Mian smiled, "Pay attention to whether there is any astir in the village."
Lei Tie nodded and went out with a basket.
Qin Mian went to the kitchen to make hot pot seasoning. Most people could see the basic materials of the hot pot base in the modern hot pot shop. The reason why Qin Mian ground tangerine peels and Sichuan pepper into powder was to make it difficult to recognize. There were 18 ingredients in his hot pot base, including hot pepper, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, tangerine peel, star anise, cassia bark, etc. Some of them were not used as seasoning by people in this world, but used as medicinal materials or spices. This was also the main reason why the food in those restaurants was not so good. It was only because Qin Mian was blessed to travel through the time and space that he could pick up such a big bargain.
This seasoning could be used not only for cooking hot pot, but also for stir-fry.
As soon as Lei Tie entered the door, his nostrils were assailed with spicy aroma and his Adam's apple rolled involuntarily.
"You're back." Qin Mian unscrupulously instructed him, "Wash the vegetables together. We have to dig a well in the yard. It's too troublesome to carry water from outside all the time and that's inconvenient to wash vegetables."
Lei Tie's eyes swept over the brilliant red soup on the charcoal stove before he moved a wood block to the kitchen, sat face to face with Qin Mian, took the peeler and peeled the potatoes, "I'll find people after lunch."
"Is there any astir in the village?" This was what Qin Mian most concerned about.
Lei Tie raised his eyelids to look at him, "En, I saw many people talking together on the road, but I didn't hear what they were saying."
Qin Mian decided to wait for news from Fang Hongliu and Zhou Cuihua. He discovered two wet lotus roots in the vegetable basket. "Where did these lotus roots come from?"
"From Brother Zhang."
Qin Mian got up to wash the vegetables and got a shiver from the cold water, "Brother Zhang is really good. We need a lot of bamboo sticks to sell hot spicy soup. If Brother Zhang is willing, how about asking him to make bamboo sticks? It can be done at home and it's easy."
"He certainly is willing." Lei Tie also got up, "You trim the vegetables and I'll wash them."
"Sure, you do it." Qin Mian was glad, "Anyway, your skin is thicker than mine."
Lei Tie silently let Qin Mian take advantage of him.
With a clear division of labor, they quickly put the processed ingredients on the table, including lotus root slices, spinaches, pork balls, potato slices, mushrooms and tofus. Because of the short time, these were the only kinds they prepared and the chopped pheasant was cooked in advance. At this time, it was already well-cooked and the aroma was mouth-watering.
Unfortunately, there was no vermicelli, which was Qin Mian's current regret. However, he would be able to make it later.
"Let's eat."
They picked up chopsticks and ate while dipping.
"How? Isn't it good?" Qin Mian took a bite of the pheasant's meat. It was soft and delicious. He squinted contentedly. "There is a vegetable market in the town, so it'll be convenient to buy vegetables. When the shop is officially opened, there will be more varieties."
Lei Tie picked up a piece of pheasant's meat and seeing that it was drumstick's meat, he put it into Qin Mian's bowl, "Hire a person to wash dishes."
"Of course." Qin Mian said, "You're in charge of food preparation, I'm in charge of collecting money and then hired a waiter to be in charge of washing dishes. That is the arrangement for the time being. If the business is good enough, more people will be hired."
Speaking up to this point, his butt moved uneasily on the stool as he whispered, "I don't want people from the old house to intervene in the business of the shop, so I don't want to ask any of them to join. Do you have any opinion?"
Lei Tie didn't show an unhappy look, only asked: "Why?"
Qin Mian explained: "In my opinion, the most taboo in business is the involvement of relatives, which is inconvenient for management. In case of any contradiction, it will affect the relationship. Third brother, fourth brother, fifth brother and little sister are all good. Later, it is better to give them an idea of making money and let them do it by themselves, rather than let them interfere in our shop."
Lei Tie gave him a gentle look. "Follow you."
Only then Qin Mian was smiling again and picked up the colander to scoop out two meatballs for the man.
When Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu entered the gate and smelled the spicy aroma, they secretly drooled.
"Oh, you are having meal."
"You two are here." Qin Mian got up to meet them.
Zhou Cuihua hastily said: "You sit down and continue to eat."
Qin Mian saw their looks and knew that it was done. He invited them to sit down and sent Lei Tie away with an excuse first. "Brother Tie, go and get some meatballs." What he asked Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu to do was aimed at Lei Daqiang and Du Shi. Even if Lei Tie knew what it was, he couldn't let Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu know that Lei Tie knew it. Otherwise, it would be harmful to Lei Tie' reputation when it was spread out.
Lei Tie obediently entered the kitchen.
046 Lei Xiangzhi
Qin Mian asked with a smile: "How is it?"
Fang Hongliu said in a low voice: "It's done. As soon as we returned to the village, we let others hear what you taught us to say. Now, it has been spread to the whole village."
Zhou Cuihua then said: "Everyone knows that today's thing is because the old couple is being heartless that they came to find fault with you when you're already separated from them. At this time, the whole village is talking about it. Everyone is mostly on your side."
"That's good." Qin Mian took out the two shares of 80 Wen that he had prepared. "Sisters also had seen it today that Brother Tie and I were forced to do nothing by them. Without any other choice, I just came up with this method. We only seek to live peacefully in the future. Therefore, I don't want a fourth person to know that today's thing is what I asked people to do. Can sisters understand?"
The teenager's usual kind eyes suddenly became sharp and showed a kind of compelling aura. Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu both looked shocked.
Fang Hongliu hurriedly stated her stand: "Little brother, you can rest assured that no other person will know."
Zhou Cuihua also nodded incessantly.
Qin Mian gave a wee smile and handed over two strings of copper coins. "Thank you very much."
"You're welcome."
Once the money was in hands, the two women were all smiling and stood up to leave.
"We won't disturb your lunch time."
Qin Mian sent them until to the gate of the courtyard and snapped two osmanthus flowers to give them. "These flowers are very fragrant, sisters should like them. Put them in the side room and the smell will give you a refreshing spirit once you wake up."
Zhou Cuihua and Fang Hongliu felt moved in their hearts and said thanks as they received it.
When they hadn't walked far away, they met an old aunt.
"Which house did you go just now?" The aunt forced a smile as she glanced at the enclosed wall of Qin Mian's house.
Fang Hongliu smilingly said: "Oh yes! We heard that their family dug up two osmanthus trees from the mountain; it is very fragrant. We both had the cheek to break a branch. Don't you smell it, Auntie?"
.
After lunch, Qin Mian and Lei Tie went to Zhang Dashuan's house. The Zhang couple had three children in total. The eldest was an 11 years old son and his name was Zhang Baolu. The second and the third were girls. They were very beautiful little girls. The second was 9 years old named Zhang Yimei and the third was 6 years old named Zhang Erli. [Note]
When Qin Mian first learned of this, he had even joked with Zhang Dashuan that he (ZDS) knew how to pick a name.
When they arrived in front of the half-person high fences, Qin Mian saw the door of the main house was opened.
"Is Brother Zhang at home?"
After a while, a tall and big man came out of the house with a smile on his face. "Here. Come in and have a seat."
Qin Mian and Lei Tie scraped mud off their feet at the door before entering.
"How come you two are free to visit today?" Sister Zhang poured tea for them while asking with a smile.
Zhang Baolu was not at home. Zhang Yimei and Zhang Erli were a little timid and clung to Sister Zhang.
Qin Mian handed the snacks in his hand to Sister Zhang, "This is a snack that I made up myself at home to give to the children."
Sister Zhang and Zhang Dashuan looked at each other and burst into laughter. In their eyes, Qin Mian himself was still a child. Thus, it sounded especially funny.
The relationship between the two families was good. Sister Zhang politely received it and opened it. "If every time you come here and bring food, be careful that the children might run to your house every day. How to make this? It looks quite nice and smells good."
Qin Mian disagreed and said: "Simple. It's called sweetguozi. When mixing flour, adds some sugar in, kneads the dough into small lumps, roll it in sesame seeds, and then fry it."
Fried food required oil, which no one would eat aside from during New Year and festivals. From this, Sister Zhang thought deeply that not only Qin Mian had a good relationship with Lei Tie, but Qin Mian also managed their family.
Seeing that the two children were staring at the oil paper package, she gave them each a small handful and wrapped up the rest. "Quickly thanks Uncle Qin."
"Thank you, Uncle Qin." The two little children held the guozis in hands and happily ran out to play.
"Are you coming for something today?" Zhang Dashuan asked. Knowing that Lei Tie didn't like to talk, he simply didn't look at the man, but asked Qin Mian.
Qin Mian said that he was going to open a restaurant and wanted to hire people to make bamboo sticks.
Lei Tie was drinking tea on the side with the attitude that said he followed Qin Mian's decision in everything.
Sister Zhang was overjoyed. "This is a good thing. Our family head has been thinking about going to the town or the county for work these two days. Look, your two brothers still keep you in mind."
Zhang Dashuan was also happy. At the moment, the farmers were idle. Many people went to the town to look for work, but they might not be able to find one. In addition, some jobs were tiring and the pay was little.
"Make bamboo sticks, simple, and hands over to me."
Having said that, Qin Mian still wanted to make the request clear, "The pay is according to the number of bamboo sticks. A hundred bamboo sticks is paid for 10 Wen and because they are for food, the bamboo sticks can't have bamboo spines. It is not clear how the business will be in the first few days of opening, but first prepared 400 bamboo sticks on the first day. 100 of them should be painted with red paint at one end of the stick. After that, how much sticks to paint red depends on the actual situation."
Bamboos grown everywhere, it costed nothing; this was a business without any cost. Zhang Dashuan and Sister Zhang wouldn't decline, thus they nodded at the same time.
"You guys seek me because you guys trust me, so I'll definitely do it to your satisfaction." Zhang Dashuan promised.
Coming out from the Zhang's house, Lei Tie went to find a well digger. Qin Mian had nothing to do, so he went with Lei Tie and they got things done.
The next day, four well diggers came to work in the yard. Qin Mian and Lei Tie couldn't help and didn't go to add to the mess.
Qin Mian recalled the water pressure well he had seen in the countryside in his previous life and drew a structural diagram. He planned to take it to the iron shop to build it immediately, but he changed his mind and put the drawing into the space for later discussion.
Unexpectedly, not long after breakfast, a rare guest came to their home.
"Eldest brother, eldest sister-in-law." Lei Xiangzhi had a warm smile on his face.
"Fifth brother has come back. Come in and sit down." Qin Mian warmly welcomed him. He had heard many times that Lei Xiangzhi was a good at learning. He would participate in the county level imperial exam in February next year and very likely to win a Xiucai. As the saying went, things could be handled easily with having someone in the Imperial Court, it was necessarily to make a good relationship with such talented people.
The trio sat in the living room. Lei Tie rarely took the initiative to care about the youngest brother, "Today's holiday?"
"Yes. I'll go back to school again tomorrow morning." Lei Xiangzhi held a teacup as he answered his older brother respectfully.
Lei Tie said: "We have an ox cart. I'll send you off tomorrow."
"Alright, thank you very much, eldest brother." Lei Xiangzhi gladly accepted.
After the basic greetings, Lei Tie was silent.
Lei Xiangzhi looked at the osmanthus trees in the yard. "The house of eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law has changed a lot. I can see that you two are doing well. The other brothers and I can be at ease."
Qin Mian cheerfully said: "The change is quite big. You and your other brothers can visit when you guys are free."
Lei Xiangzhi nodded, looked at him and was about to speak, but saying nothing.
Qin Mian said: "Fifth brother came here because of the rumors circulating in the village?"
Lei Xiangzhi was taken aback. Subconsciously, he avoided Qin Mian's sharp eyes. After thinking that he had no malice, he met Qin Mian's eyes again. With a helpless expression, he said frankly: "Such is the case. This little brother knows that there has been a long-standing conflict between eldest brother, father and mother. I dare not ask eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law to forgive them, only hopes that it will not break the mutual affection between us brothers and little sister."
Lei Tie was silent without words.
"Of course." Qin Mian nodded and motioned to Lei Xiangzhi to drink the tea. "Fifth brother is knowledgeable and reasonable. I think you know that this contradiction is difficult to reconcile, so it is not as good as to let nature take its course. Your eldest brother is not unreasonable. You guys are still brothers and sister. Just, I'll speak out of turn and ask fifth brother not to take offense."
When Lei Xiangzhi heard his extraordinary speech and on point wording, he knew that his family had looked down on the teenager before. He stood up and bowed with hands folded in front as he said: "Eldest sister-in-law's counsel, Xiangzhi dares not ignore. There will be no harm for eldest sister-in-law to say it."
"Don't regard me as a stranger. Sit down." Qin Mian was fond of this child and didn't mind giving him more advice, "If possible, fifth brother should persuade father and mother often. The Book of Ritessaidto govern the country and bring peace to all, one should first be able to govern one's family; to govern one's family successfully, one should first learn to govern oneself. The family's reputation is related to fifth brother's examination as an official. If fifth brother can't govern one's family successfully, how will others think of you?
Judging from today's situation, even if you brothers are separated in the future, father and mother most probably will follow you. After all, the old parents are big on leaning upon benefits. The sooner you deal with them, the better. There is no need for me to say much about the principle within it."
Lei Xiangzhi nodded and faintly smiled, "Thank you for your advice. I understand. The child that father and mother most care about is me. In other words, I'm the one who can keep them within bounds. Eldest sister-in-law can rest assured. After I go back, I'll give them a detailed justification."
"That's exactly what I meant." Qin Mian nodded approvingly.
After chatting with him, Lei Xiangzhi only felt that his downheartedness had dissipated a lot. He stood up and said: "Eldest brother and eldest sister-in-law are still busy here, so I won't disturb you guys anymore."
"You wait first." Qin Mian walked into the bedroom. When he came out, he had two small silver ingots and two oil paper packages, and handed them to Lei Xiangzhi. "A few days ago, your eldest brother said he would like to support his youngest brother's study. You take these two silver taels. It isn't much, but it's your eldest brother's regard. These snacks are for you bring home to try."
Lei Xiangzhi refused to accept, "No need, father and mother give me enough money."
Qin Mian put things into his hand, "Take it, be a man and get it over with, don't be like an overly caring woman."
Woman Lei Xiangzhi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry.
Lei Tie indisputably said: "Just take it."
Lei Xiangzhi had to take it.
Qin Mian said: "Don't tell others about this money, keep it to yourself."
Lei Xiangzhi nodded: "I understand."
He put the money into his sleeve pocket, bid farewell to his eldest brother and sister-in-law, and went far away. He walked along in a leisurely way while thinking about how to persuade Du Shi. Before he even reached the gate of his home, he saw Du Shi and two women of her age with hands on their hips, traded insults at each other. There was also a circle of people watching the fun. "Why is this old hag scolding me? A thing that didn't give birth to a son! My son will be a Xiucai next year. Where is your son, ah?"
After hearing this, the initially high spirited woman's red face turned white. She screamed and rushed at Du Shi, "AHH EMBROIDERER DU! WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO WITH YOUR MOUTH APART FROM SWEARING AND TALK CRAP? I'LL TEAR YOUR MOUTH!"
Note:
[Zhang Baolu] Bao= treasure/precious; lu=path/journey
[Zhang Yimei] Yi=One/First; Mei=beautiful
[Zhang Erli] Er=Two/second; Li=beautiful
[gu zi] is fruit, but since it is a snack, I leave it in pinyin bcuz I couldnt find a suitable name for it.
[xi cai] a person who has passed the county level imperial exam (historical); scholar; skillful writer; fine talent
047 Eating Savory Restaurant
What happened in front of the old house soon spread to Qin Mian's ears, but he didn't pay any attention to it. About the old house, if he could avoid them, he would do it desperately. Afterwards, Lei Daqiang and Du Shi no longer provoke him and Lei Tie. However, if they came to provoke again, he still had more vicious tricks.If people don't offend me, I won't offend them. If people offend me, I will definitely offend them.
After the well construction at home was completed, Qin Mian and Lei Tie drove the ox cart to the town. In order to promote their "Eating Savory" Restaurant, Qin Mian specially painted 20 posters with the paintings of hot pot on the top and hot spicy soup on the bottom, as well as the restaurant's address and opening time stated at the very bottom. The promoting paintings were very lifelike that it aroused people's appetite when looking at it. Fortunately, he learnt to paint in the previous life for three years, therefore he could paint so well. These paintings alone took him a day. When they entered the town, he and Lei Tie pasted the posters in conspicuous places in the town. Two sheets were left and they pasted one at the door of the shop.
In order to save time, Qin Mian went directly to the brokerage and hired a waiter named Zheng Liu, who lived in the town and was only 14 years old. Although he was not very old, his glib talk was particularly nimble. The agreement was 500 Wen per month and there would be a bonus if work did well. Qin Mian had inquired that this monthly salary was higher than that of the ordinary hired worker. He didn't mind being generous as long as the waiter get right on the job.
Back in the store, Qin Mian gave Zheng Liu the last poster and asked him to beat gong on the street while shouting: "EATING SAVORY RESTAURANT WILL OPEN TOMORROW. ALL DELICIOUS HOT SPICY SOUP AND HOT POT WILL BE 20% OFF!"
Qin Mian and Lei Tie stayed in the shop and bustled about, seizing the moment to make pork meatballs and vegetable balls.
Zheng Liu went back and forth several times around the town and every time he passed the shop's door, they could hear his clear and brisk voice: "EATING SAVORY RESTAURANT WILL OPEN TOMORROW. ALL DELICIOUS HOT SPICY SOUP AND HOT POT WILL BE 20% OFF! EATING SAVORY RESTAURANT WILL OPEN TOMORROW. ALL DELICIOUS HOT SPICY SOUP AND HOT POT WILL BE 20% OFF!…"
"He seems to be a steadfast person." Qin Mian rolled a ball in his hands and said to Lei Tie at the same time.
Lei Tie said: "Time reveals a person's heart."
More than two hours later, Zheng Liu stepped into the shop.
"Bosses, I'm back."
Qin Mian said: "You've worked hard. Thirsty? Pour your own water."
"Thank you, small boss."
Qin Mian glanced at Lei Tie and said with a severe countenance: "I'm the big boss. He's the small boss."
Zheng Liu was taken aback and suspiciously looked towards Lei Tie while murmuring in his heart: It's the opposite?
Lei Tie nodded, "He is the big boss."
Qin Mian's face looked smug, "Heard that?"
"Yes, big boss." Zheng Liu responded with a laugh. After drinking the water, he self-consciously squatted on the edge of the big wooden basin to help washing the vegetables.
There was a corner door in the kitchen leading to the back of the shop and there was a well in the back of the shop, which was shared by several shops nearby. It was very convenient to wash vegetables.
Qin Mian informed Zheng Liu, "The vegetables must be washed clean. If I find worms or rotten leaves in it, you're in trouble."
Zheng Liu patted his chest and said: "Don't worry, big boss. This little one doesn't have any other prospects, but this pair of eyes is capable. If you find worms or rotten leaves in the vegetables, you can immediately chase me out."
"En." Qin Mian kept rolling ball in his hands. "We are doing food business, so I'm afraid the food is not clean. You can understand this principle without me saying it. Anyway, you don't have to be too nervous. If you do well, your big boss I will reward you."
"Yes."
Afterwards, the trio didn't talk anymore.
After the food balls were ready, Qin Mian taught Lei Tie and Zheng Liu to skewer them.
"The bamboo sticks with red paint are used to skewer meat dishes and those without red paint are used to skewer vegetables. This will make it convenient for us to charge for meat dishes and vegetable dishes. When I collect the money, I count the bamboo sticks. Four on a bamboo stick for the boiled meatballs; also four for the vegetable balls; four pieces for fish fillets; four slices for streaky pork; six slices for potato As for noodles, 2 Wen per serve…"
The boiling wok in the kitchen made a gurgling sound. Qin Mian went to stirred it and the aroma became stronger.
Zheng Liu took a sniff, "Smell so good! Big boss, what are you cooking?"
Qin Mian voiced: "Big bone soup. Our hot pot and spicy hot soup are not suitable for eating in the morning. The shop is open for business at aboutthree quarter of snake hour. Your small boss and I will come very early to bring the ingredients over. Your small boss and I are in charge of making the balls while you'll stew the big bone soup to be used, wash the vegetables and skewer the dishes every morning. When the shop opens, you're responsible for entertaining the customers. Seeing that you'd work hard today, you can have dinner with us in the evening before you go home."
Zheng Liu was greatly happy and glad that he found good employers, "Thank you very much big boss; thank you very much small boss!"
Qin Mian secretly praised him for his cleverness for not leaving out Lei Tie. He took a glance at Lei Tie, but he couldn't help laughing again and then cracked a joke: "Small boss, add more strength. Otherwise, it will be dark when we get home after dinner."
Lei Tie looked at the remaining bamboo sticks; there were about 40 sticks left. He stood up and said, "I'll make dinner."
Qin Mian voiced: "It's time-saving to cook spicy hot soup. Just cook it together with noddle."
By the time Qin Mian and Lei Tie got home, it was dark. The next day when the sky was bright, they drove the cart to the town. The cart was loaded with noodles made by the noodle maker and vegetables they bought priory. When they returned to the shop, they conveniently bought a few steamed stuffed buns for breakfast.
Zheng Liu was a diligent person. He appeared at the door of the shop almost at the same time with them. The trio had breakfast, and then each had their own division of labor.
At three quarter of snake hour, Lei Tie ignited firecrackers, and together with Qin Mian, they uncovered the red cloth on the plaque.
Altogether, there were eight tables in the shop; four in the shop were for the customers who ate hot pot. Qin Mian had taken these four tables to be rebuilt in the carpentry shop and each table was embedded with a charcoal stove to cook hot pot. The four tables outside the shop were for spicy hot soup customers.
The big pot for cooking the spicy hot soup was placed at the door. After boiling the thick soup with hot pot ingredients, the rich aroma floated around along the autumn wind, attracting people from afar to look over curiously.
Yesterday's publicity was very effective, and soon a group of people flooded into the shop.
Zheng Liu hollered: "DELICIOUS HOT POT AND SPICY HOT SOUP; EAT ONCE AND WANT SECOND!"
At the entrance, there a three layered wooden rack, on which various kinds of dishes that had already been skewed were placed. Seeing a young gongzi about 20 years old curiously scanning all kinds of dishes on the wooden rack, Zheng Liu immediately took a small hollow wooden basket and handed it to him, "For delicious spicy hot soup; vegetarian dishes for 1 Wen a skewer, meat dishes for 2 Wen a skewer! It's cheap and delicious. Gongzi, you can choose what you want to eat."
The gongzi interestingly picked up the dishes he wanted to eat and put them in the basket. Then, he handed the basket to Lei Tie at the door, to simmer the dishes.
A moment later, a second person came, then a third person – – – –
"Waiter, we brothers are going to have hot pot!" Four big men wearing duanda garment walked into the shop.
Zheng Liu quickly ran over, "Gentlemen, please sit down. We have all the dishes on that rack in our shop, which can be served immediately after you order."
"Fish fillet, streaky pork, pork balls…"
Zheng Liu nodded as he listened, waiting for the customers to finish order before he quickly ran to the kitchen, put food ingredients on plates and served on the table. Once black charcoal was added, the fire on the stove roared more and the hot pot soup soon boiled. The aroma lingered around.
A man on the table outside the shop was eating spicy hot soup, and he was full of praise, "Delicious. It's spicy and numbing. Gratifying spicy and satisfyingly numbing!"
People kept coming and soon there were no available seats.
Qin Mian watched with a smile. Based on this trend, today's turnover wouldn't be bad.
"Check out, boss." A young couple beckoned Qin Mian.
Qin Mian quickly walked over, "Coming."
He swept the bamboo sticks on the table and said with a smile, "Seven skewers of vegetarian dishes and six skewers of meat dishes, 19 Wen in total. After 20% discount, it is 15 Wen. Thank you for your patronage and please come again."
The couple paid the money happily and after they went away only in few steps, the seats were occupied by new customers.
An old man with a short beard and two boys of about ten years old walked slowly to the shop. Upon seeing that there was no empty seat in the shop, the old man frowned and dissatisfiedly asked: "There is no seat left?"
Qin Mian said, "Welcome, honored customers. These three customers must be from the town. I don't know if these customers want to eat hot pot or spicy hot soup? The raw ingredients of hot pot are the same as spicy hot soup. Both are delicious. If these customers want to eat hot pot, I'm afraid you'll have to wait. But, if it spicy hot soup, you can pack it to take home; undisturbed and it won't take long."
The old man couldn't help laughing and looked at him a few times. "You this small boss actually simplify matters."
Qin Mian also laughed, "I'm telling you the truth."
"Grandfather, I don't want to wait." The older boy took the old man's hand and hinted.
The old man looked at him with a smile, "Then, we'll order spicy hot soup."
Qin Mian made a gesture, "Customers, please come in and choose what you want to eat."
Qin Mian hadn't in the least expected that the scene of full seats continued until the sun went west, and even the nearby residents brought their own bowls.
"Big boss, we've run out of dishes for spicy hot soup!" Zheng Liu reported in time, wiped the sweat on his face with the cloth towel on his neck and rubbed his stomach quietly. There were too many customers today. Not only he, but also the two bosses were too busy to have lunch. They had been hungry until now.
Qin Mian was both happy and worried. "They are sold out so soon? Now it's too late to skewer another. Forget it. Close the door when the dishes are finished."
As he was entertaining two tables of hot pot customers, the dishes in the kitchen ran out.
Lei Tie asked Zheng Liu to close half of the shop's door.
Qin Mian looked at the sky and lamented: "Our estimation was still too cautious. If we sell in two more hours, we can make a lot of money."
Lei Tie said to placate: "Tomorrow, prepare more dishes."
Qin Mian thought so, too. He looked at the broken silvers and copper plates in the drawer happily. He took out ten copper plates and handed them to Zheng Liu. "Little Liuzi, go buy some steamed stuffed buns. I'll be counting the money with your small boss."
"Alrighty."
Qin Mian divided the money into two piles. He counted one pile and Lei Tie counted the other.
Note:
Its the Chinese zodiac hour; 9 a.m to 11 a.m, Basically of it is 10.30 a.m
son of a feudal prince or high official. Basically, a wealthy young man
Qin Mian used [zi xi] which meant humble me
048 The People from the Old House Come To Make Trouble
"Two, four, six…"
When Zheng Liu came back from buying the steamed stuffed buns, Qin Mian thanked and rewarded him with 5 Wen, sending him away first. While gnawing at the steamed stuffed bun in one hand, his other hand skillfully fiddled with the copper coins, "86, 88, 90…"
Only after a long time did he raised his head and exhaled easily, "My count is finished; a total of 2 taels and 319."
Lei Tie quickly finished counting the last copper coin, "2 taels and 453."
Qin Mian's eyes brightened, "Hahaha! So much, and it only took one day to earn the monthly rent back."
Lei Tie glanced at his (QM) hand, "Hire another waiter tomorrow. You're only responsible for collecting money."
Qin Mian only hesitated for a few seconds before he agreed, "Sure, it's a matter of 500 Wen."
They put all the money in the money pouch, locked the door and drove the cart home in the dusk. The night wind was colder than the day, especially when they passed over the mountains, the wind was stronger that the shivering cold went straight into the neck. Qin Mian sat next to Lei Tie, but he still had to press onto the man's body. He also didn't understand it himself why he didn't get into the cart's compartment.
Lei Tie switched to his left hand to raise the whip while his right arm enclosed a person.
"Wear more clothes tomorrow."
"Go to the cloth shop tomorrow and buy some good cloth to make two scarves." Qin Mian rubbed his stomach, "I'm not full. I'll cook the hot pot at home."
Lei Tie said: "400 bamboo sticks and not one is missing."
Qin Mian understood his meaning and said with a smile: "Don't worry. I need the bamboo sticks for other purposes."
Until half a month later, the business of Eating Savory Restaurant still didn't fall back, but was getting better with each passing time. Qin Mian added barbecue business in the shop. Due to the shop being too small, he discussed with the owner of the neighboring grocery store to occupy the open space in front of their store and gave the owner of the grocery store 100 Wen a month as fee. Qin Mian got along with people quite well and gave the owner a bowl of spicy hot soup or a few barbecues to eat from time to time. Consequently, the last trace of unhappiness in the owner's heart disappeared.
The name of Eating Savory Restaurant gradually became well-known. Some people in the county even went to Running Water Town to eat hot pot and spicy hot soup, merely to get through this kind of spicy and numbness addiction. There were two restaurants that tried to make hot pot and spicy hot soup dishes. Unfortunately, no matter how much they tossed about, the taste of the soup was not as good as that from Eating Savory Restaurant. Another restaurant wanted to buy Qin Mian's secret recipe, but Qin Mian refused without hesitation.
The ox cart of Qin Mian's family dashed to the town every day and finally attracted the attention of an idle hoodlum in Green Mountain Village. In less than a day, the news about Qin Mian and Lei Tie opened a restaurant in the town blew across the village like a gust of wind.
"What?" Hearing the news, Du Shi accidentally broke a bowl.
"Second brother, does eldest brother really run a shop in the town?" Lei Xiangyi somehow couldn't believe it.
Lei Xiangren looked anxious, "Really! It was Zhao Mazi who told me. At the beginning, I also didn't believe it. I secretly went to the town to have a look and confirmed it. Not only that, the business is also very good!"
Lei Xiangli frowned to himself and said dully: "Even if eldest brother run a shop, how about it? It has nothing to do with us."
"That's not the case." Lei Xiangren glared at him, "I saw he also hired two waiters in that shop. He would rather hire others than us. This is inexcusable, right?"
"This…" Lei Xiangyi felt a little uncomfortable. They had been looking for jobs recently, hoping to earn some money to support the household expenses, but they had not found any.
Lei Xiangli lightly snorted, "That's their shop. It's their business to hire people. Why must we be hired?"
Lei Daqiang's face turned red and then white. At this time, he deeply regretted that he had quarreled with the eldest son. If there was no such thing, he could make the eldest son hire all of his brothers to help in his shop.
"Mother, says something." At the thought of not taking advantage of that shop, Zhao Shi's heart was burning with discontentment.
Qian Shi also eagerly looked at Du Shi.
Du Shi rightly and self-confidently said: "What else can I say? Of course, your own brother must run the shop with people on our side."
Lei Chuntao frowned and said in a slow voice, "Mother, did you forget? We have already separated from eldest brother; he and we can't be considered as a family."
"You little girl!" Du Shi was so angry that she jabbed at her head. "You always favor outsiders!"
Qian Shi secretly cut a quick look at Lei Chuntao and hugged Du Shi's arm affectionately, "Mother, what do you think that we should do now?"
Lei Xiangli and Lei Chuntao's faces sank simultaneously.
Lei Xiangren squeezed to Du Shi's side.
"What do you say, old man?" Du Shi did not immediately comment, but looked at Lei Daqiang.
Lei Daqiang patted the table, "Anyhow, it's wrong for him to ignore his brothers."
"Father, what should we do? We all will listen to you." Lei Xiangren immediately asked.
Lei Daqiang squinted. "When they come back in the evening, go to them and ask them to arrange for you brothers to go help in the shop. If they don't agree, force them to agree."
Lei Xiangyi was surprised, "Isn't that not good?"
Du Shi's corner of her mouth cocked up and her voice was as gentle as a real loving mother, "The older generation had passed onif brothers are of the same mind, their sharpness can cut through metal. Only by working together can you five brothers have a bright future."
"Absolutely not, father." Lei Xiangli abruptly stood up, "The relationship between us and eldest brother has been extremely bad. If you really do that, the two families will breed enmity."
"Where is the relationship as serious as you said?" Lei Xiangren pushed him aside and disdainfully said, "Old Four, you are too timid. That's not going to work for you."
Lei Xiangli and Lei Chuntao looked at each other as there was a sense of uneasiness in their hearts. It was fine if it was only Lei Tie, but judging from the several interactions they had with Qin Mian, Qin Mian was definitely not a simple teenager; he could not be underestimated.
Lei Chuntao apprehensively spoke: "Father, mother, did you forget what fifth brother said last time?"
Du Shi recalled what Lei Xiangzhi had said to her last time when he came home, and she immediately hesitated. In case the small trouble became serious, it was truly going to be unfavorable for Little Five.
Upon seeing that the situation was going badly, Lei Xiangren blocked Lei Chuntao's view. "Mother, I think Little Five thought too much. We can make more money for Little Five is a good thing. Don't you think so?"
"Second brother!" Lei Chuntao stomped her feet.
Du Shi waved her hand and said: "What your second brother said is reasonable. I think we should arrange people to go to their shop. Not to mention, we can take this opportunity to restore the relationship in our big family. What do you think, old man?"
Lei Daqiang nodded in agreement, "That's right, it's for Eldest own good. Old Four, you watch the movement over there. As soon as they come back, immediately return to inform me."
Without waiting for Lei Xiangli to talk, Lei Xiangren said, "Father, I'll go. Anyway, I'm free."
"Sure."
Du Shi purposely served the dinner in advanced by nearly an hour. Lei Xiangren quickly finished his meal and went to the village. When he saw the familiar ox cart from a distance, he ran back home.
Qin Mian and Lei Tie were very tired after a busy day. When they got home, they bolted the courtyard's gate and got ready to have a rest after taking a bath.
The courtyard's gate was knocked before the water had boiled well.
"Who?" Qin Mian raised his voice as he asked.
"Eldest sister-in-law, we have come to see you." Lei Xiangren happily called out.
Qin Mian's good mood was half spoiled. He glanced at Lei Tie, turned back and returned to the house.
Lei Tie spoke towards the outside of the courtyard: "You all go back. There is no need to see us."
There was a moment of silence outside the courtyard. Lei Daqiang lightly shouted as he unyieldingly said: "Eldest, your mother and I also come, quickly open the gate."
Lei Tie indifferently spoke: "Besides at every festival and New Year, it'd better for our two families to pay fewer visits to each other."
"What are you talking about? You open the gate first and we talk." Lei Daqiang's patience was limited.
"I know what you want to say. There are enough staffs in the shop. Moreover, we had written agreement, it's impossible to fire them. You can't possibly make me arrange second brother and the others to work in the shop." Lei Tie explained.
"You!" Lei Daqiang's liver ached with anger.
Lei Xiangren also carried a stomach of anger, "Eldest brother, aren't your words too unreasonable?"
Qin Mian had reached the end of his forbearance. He ran into the yard. "Second brother, you're bullying people too much. At the beginning, we said that both sides should not interfere in each other's family affairs. Or, do you all want to go to Li Zheng's house and have a good look at the agreement to see if this was written in it?"
"Fine, fine, fine!" Du Shi said in shrill voice, "Since you two don't care about a few younger brothers, don't blame me for bringing people to the shop to make trouble tomorrow."
In the yard next door, the eavesdropping Zhou Erhao and his wife exchanged looks, and shook their heads as if by prior agreement, expressing sympathy for Lei Tie and Qin Mian.
Qin Mian said coldly: "Oh? You are welcome to try."
Lei Daqiang was furious, "Let's go!"
Angry and resentful, Lei Xiangren shouted: "Lei Tie, Qin Mian; you all are cruel!"
When outside the courtyard came the sound of distant footsteps, Qin Mian elatedly went back to the house.
Lei Tie walked with him. "They are really going do it. Don't be afraid, I've my own countermeasure."
"I'll be afraid?" Qin Mian's eyes flashed as he sneered. He walked into the house with his hands on his back and said calmly, "I'm waiting for their move. Actually, I'm looking forward to them making trouble. Heh, heh, heh."
Lei Tie's back felt inexplicably cold. This little wife of his was really
"Won't you come in to scoop out the water for bath?" Qin Mian prompted him from the kitchen.
The next day, the restaurant opened as usual.
The middle of the horse hour was the busiest. Many people squatted on the roadside with bowls as they ate. This was a phenomenon that had never occurred in any other restaurant.
Du Shi, Zhao Shi and Qian Shi furiously came over.
As soon as Du Shi patted her thigh, she sat on the ground and howled, "O God, open your eyes. My eldest son is unfilial ah" All the customers in the shop were surprised. They turned around to look at Qin Mian and Lei Tie withheads together and ears stretched out.
"What's the matter? Which boss's mother is this old woman?"
The two waiters; Zheng Liu and Wang Shun looked at each other helplessly.
"It is stepmother." Qin Mian coolly provided a sentence as he walked out of the shop, "Everybody, since you don't need ears to eat, you may as well listen to it."
Hearing his words, Du Shi was stunned. Upon seeing that his expression looked confident yet normal, she felt inexplicably uneasy and somehow couldn't keep going [with her plan].
"Mother, we all depend on you." Zhao Shi whispered.
Qian Shi promptly pushed Du Shi's back.
Note:
If the brothers work together, they can overcome any difficulty.
the period of the day from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The middle period of it basically 12 p.m
exchange confidential whispers; gossiping
049 Without Fierce Tricks, It Wont Work
Du Shi then wailed loudly, "He has money to open his own shop, I only asked him to take account of his blood brothers, but he didn't want to. This unfilial thing…"
Qin Mian inserted again, "His brothers know that our shop is not short of staff and the two employees we hired are both on contract; we cant break the agreement, but they still insist on us to hire them. Dear customers, as you can see, our shop is so small, where do we need so many staffs?"
"That is true." Majority of the customers nodded in agreement.
Some also boldly said: "The brothers still want to, isn't it so they can take money for doing nothing?"
Du Shi's face intermittently turned blue, red and white. She lowered her head, her thoughts unknown. Then, she got up from the ground and looked at Lei Tie, who was cooking the spicy hot soup as if nothing bothered him. She said in a sad voice: "Eldest, I know you don't like me and always think that this stepmother I, am aiming at you. I don't ask you to be filial to me, only ask you to take your brothers into account based on the fact that you all are of the same father."
A few customers showed an understanding look and nodded slightly, feeling that what Du Shi said was reasonable.
Qin Mian's expression turned cold.Good one, Du Shi. You know it won't work by using force, so you have to mislead the outsiders.
"Whatever you say, it's a fact that you abused Lei Tie and forced him to run away from home when he was 12. Do you think so many people are fools and only listen to your one-sided words? A little inquiry into these matters will tell us who is telling the truth."
Du Shi fiercely stared at Qin Mian like staring at the enemy who killed her son. The jeering eyes of the people around continuously fell on her, which made the hatred and anger in her chest constantly stirred up and blood rushed up to her head. Suddenly, she strode to the nearest table and overturned the table without warning.
All of a sudden, the six bowls of spicy hot soup on the table all flew out. One bowl flew straight to Qin Mian.
Everyone cried out in alarm.
"AH!"
"BE CAREFUL!"
Qin Mian was also frightened and helplessly watched a bowl of spicy hot soup fly towards his face.
Just then, a dark shadow flashed by.
It turned out that Lei Tie abruptly stepped into the air and moved his hands several times to catch all the six bowls of spicy hot soup and put them steadily on another table. There was not a drop of soup spilled from the six bowls.
After another look, Lei Tie had stood by Qin Mian's side, as steady as Mount Tai.
"Oh!" A customer stared at Lei Tie as he marveled, "I didn't expect that the big boss of this shop can even do Kung Fu!"
"Big boss?" The corner of Qin Mian's mouth twitched as stared at Lei Tie. Aside from the two waiters and a few old customers in the shop, others were still used to calling Lei Tie the big boss.
Lei Tie paid attention to him without him (QM) noticing as a ghost of smile flashed through his eyes.
"Are you all right?"
It was only his heart that beat a little too fast, thus Qin Mian shook his head. "I'm fine."
Du Shi was frightened to be as dumb as a wooden chicken by Lei Tie that her legs trembled and she could not move for a moment. Just now, she could see it clearly that Lei Tie flew over from the door of the shop and caught the six bowls.How, how can he fly?
"Everyone had been frightened," Lei Tie said to the customers with hands cupped in obeisance, "All customers are given 20% discount from us two as a means of helping everyone get over the shock."
"Exactly." Qin Mian smiled genially, "Everyone, please eat slowly. Don't need to spoil your mood to enjoy [meal] because of others."
Majority of the customers in the shop were men, therefore they weren't afraid of Du Shi a married woman. They laughed one after another as they said that it's fine, and stayed to continue eating.
Lei Tie looked at Du Shi coldly; his black pupils becoming more isolated and deep, as if the two eyes were black pool.
Du Shi tried to move her eyes away, but she found that she could not move her gaze, her lips trembled but she could not speak a word and the panic in her heart drowned her like the tide, somehow put her out of breathe.
Zhao Shi and Qian Shi were also scared to death. They huddled together for fear that Lei Tie would transfer his anger to them.
Lei Tie held back his threat and said in a low voice, "Still not going?"
After saying that, he pulled Qin Mian back into the shop.
At once, Du Shi's back straightened up again.
Zhao Shi and Qian Shi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, rushed to hold her up as they whispered, "Mother, let's go."
Du Shi walked out a few steps and recklessly snorted, "Heh! Look at your terrified appearance! He merely intimidated me, and that's all. How could he dare do that to me? This won't do, I've to find another way. In a word, this shop heh."
One of the customers, who immersed in spicy hot soup dish, shook his head at her words.This stepmother is truly making one speechless.
Qin Mian stood at the door of the shop and looked at Du Shi, Zhao Shi and Qian Shi murmuring over there with a sly smile on his lips that appeared horrifying.
Wang Shun asked carefully, "Big boss, what are you thinking about?"
With a smile on his face, Qin Mian inadvertently asked: "Little Shunzi, you're 18 years old now, right? Have you been matched a wife?"
Wang Shun's face turned red, "Getting married in March next year."
"Oh, then take this Congratulations in advance from me." Qin Mian said again, "Boy, look at you, obviously very satisfied with your wife. You must have hired a famous matchmaker to act as go-between the prospective marriage partners?"
Wang Shun shook his head. "The matchmaker who acted as my go-between was Aunt Wang from Yao Mountain Village. The most famous matchmaker in our Running Water Town is Matchmaker Jin in the town. Allegedly, 9 out of 10 people who she had acted as go-between have a very peaceful married life."
A customer who ate barbecue called out: "Small boss, collect the money!"
"Coming!" Qin Mian answered while begrudged.The small boss is Lei Tie!
He turned his head to glare at Lei Tie, who happened to look at him.
Qin Mian was sure that Lei Tie was smiling just now; although the man didn't smile on his face, he did in his eyes. After receiving the money, he went on to talk to Wang Shun, "What you just said is true? Is that Matchmaker Jin really that good?"
"Of course!" Wang Shun affirmatively said, "That's what the aunties in our village said. However, she is also more expensive than others."
"Oh." Qin Mian glanced at Zheng Liu, who was passing by with a dish in his hand and overheard them. He joked: "Little Liuzi also wants to marry a wife? Little Shunzi, quickly tell him the address of that Matchmaker Jin. Hahaha."
Zheng Liu knew that thissmallboss was very kind and instantly asked Wang Shun for the address of the matchmaker with a grin.
Qin Mian had a sly smile in his eyes as he quietly memorized the address in his mind.
In the afternoon, after the dishes sold out, Qin Mian ran to Lei Tie, who was cleaning up the kitchen utensils. "Why don't we stay out tonight and spend a night in town?"
Lei Tie nodded in agreement.
After Qin Mian took the money from the cash box, he said to Zheng Liu and Wang Shun, "You two should go back to rest earlier after you clean up."
"Aye, see you tomorrow, bosses."
They went to book a room in the only inn in town and after telling the waiter to feed the ox, Qin Mian took Lei Tie to a clothing shop.
"I've a fierce way to make Du Shi preoccupied to try finding trouble with us later on. Do you have any objection?"
Lei Tie shook his head, somewhat curious of the wife's plan.
Qin Mian replied with a mysterious smile and said without explanation, "You'll know soon. Come with me."
The past few days had been fine weather with cloudless blue sky and shining blazing sun. The warm sunshine sprinkled on the mother earth and covered everywhere with a layer of warm color, making people feel good.
Lei Daqiang, Du Shi, Lei Xiangren, Zhao Shi and Qian Shi were in a very bad mood. At the thought of Lei Tie and Qin Mian counting money every day, their hands ached and their hearts felt just like a hundred ants biting it.
"Mother, have you actually come up with a way? Are we really going to watch eldest brother make money?" Between Lei Daqiang and Du Shi, Lei Xiangren had more faith in Du Shi.
Du Shi frowned, "Am I not trying to figure it out?"
"It's been several days…" Qian Shi murmured and sighed to herself. Here she was worried, but her husband didn't care in the least.
Lei Xiangyi was aware that his wife was staring at him. He also wanted to make money, but while he felt very apologetic for his brothers, he felt lack of interest because they did not separate from the family that even if they really got money from his eldest brother's shop, he would not get a share of it.
Lei Daqiang hatefully said: "This really won't do, I'll personally make an appearance. I just don't believe this."
When the family was discussing, a sprightly voice came from outside the courtyard, "Is this Lei Daqiang, Brother Lei's home?"
At the gate stood a woman dressed in a bright red gown with golden border, looking very festive. She had gray hair, was about 50 years old, but she had a smile on her face and bright clear eyes as she stood with her head raised high, bearing a unique momentum. Taking a look at her hair worn in a bun, there was a bright red flower. Wasn't this a matchmaker dress up?
At thought that there were two sons and one daughter in the family who had not been engaged to others, Du Shi was pleased and quickly went out, "This is the Lei's home. May I know who are you?"
The woman cheerfully said: "I'm Matchmaker Jin from town."
Du Shi was greatly rejoiced, "You're surnamed Jin? Are you perhaps the one who is called the famous mouth?"
"I'm not worthy of such compliment. Hehe, it's merely praise made by others." Although Matchmaker Jin said so, her eyes looked a little proud, clearly pleased with her own skill.
"Come in, come in." Du Shi's face was radiating with smiles and said to Zhao Shi and Qian Shi, "Why haven't you bring out the tea and snacks yet?"
Lei Xiangli's earlobes were red as he hung down his head uneasily. Lei Xiangzhi and Lei Chuntao were both younger than him, this Matchmaker Jin most probably coming for him.
As Matchmaker Jin walked into the house, she looked around at the people in the room. Soon, her eyes fixatedly fell on Lei Daqiang's face. Lei Daqiang's face looked a little old, but all the countrymen were like this. He was in his early 40s, his body seemed thin, but judging from his strong arms, he was not weak. After getting this basic information, Matchmaker Jin felt a greater chance of success.
"Congratulations to Brother Lei and Sister Lei. If the next step succeeded, not only will Brother Lei enjoy happiness in the future, but sister will also gain a bosom friend." Her face was full of smiles and while the words she spoke were a little unclear, her intonation was spry that could easily obtained people's favorable impression.
"Gain a bosom friend", in other words, the family would be adding people. Du Shi thought about it for a while. She didn't dare to slight Matchmaker Jin and added tea to her as she asked, "Which family's girl is it? Is it for Old Four or Old Five in our family?"
Matchmaker Jin did not answer immediately, but mentioned: "This girl is not only beautiful and kind-hearted, but also quick at manual work. Not only that, she also said that she was willing to bring a dowry worth 20 silver taels. Brother Lei and sister, don't you think this is a great joyful event?"
20 taels! Du Shi and Lei Daqiang's eyes sparkled, showing a great sense of joy.
However, Lei Xiangli felt rather uncomfortable. 20 taels dowry was not a small amount. Ordinary people could only save less than 2 silver taels even if they tired themselves out for a year. Would he be able to keep such a rich wife under control?
"Is what Matchmaker Jin said true?" Lei Daqiang couldn't believe it. "The conditions of our family are just ordinary. Will such a girl wants to marry into our family?"
Matchmaker Jin smiled deeper, "Why not? What's more, aren't matchmakers playing the role of mediators?"
Du Shi asked: "Then, does this girl meant for our family's Old Four or Old Five?"
Matchmaker Jin sipped her tea, chuckled and looked at Lei Daqiang. "None of them. She meant to be an equal wife for Brother Lei."
"What!"Bang, Du Shi fell from her chair and sat on the ground, struck dumb with astonishment.
Note:
Chinese-styled gown
A matchmaker
Mainly describe people who are good at expressing eloquence and the like
Compared with concubines, the legal and social status of an equal wife is equivalent to that of a formal spouse, and the children born are regarded as inherited children with inheritance rights.
050 Give Matchmaker Jin a Like
"Puff" Lei Xiangren coughed and spurted out tea. He wiped his mouth as he stole a glance at his parent's face. He wanted to laugh but didn't dare to. "Matchmaker Jin, you must be mistaken."
Lei Daqiang's face flushed red; it was unknown whether he was shy or angry.
Both Zhao Shi and Qian Shi lowered their heads as they snickered while suppressing the laugh, making their faces flushed red.
Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli looked at each other. Their father had three grandchildren; two grandsons and a granddaughter, but still had someone came to act as matchmaker.
Lei Xiangyi stammered: "Matchmaker Jin, is mistaken, right?"
Matchmaker Jin seemed as though she did not notice the others' flushed faces and waved her hand as she said: "How could I make a mistake? If I'm mistaken, won't it hurt my own reputation? The girl also knows about your family's situation, and she is quite satisfied. I'm not exaggerating but the girl's appearance is first-grade. She is gentle, amiable and her cooking is especially first-class. When she truly became your family, you all can live comfortably afterwards." She spoke as she looked at Lei Daqiang.
Lei Daqiang was cornered, sitting on pins and needles. However, the words "gentle", "beautiful" and "20 silver tales" constantly circled around his mind.
At this time, Du Shi finally regained her mind, stood up and glared at Matchmaker Jin, "Get out of here! You go match such agoodgirl to others!"
The smile on Matchmaker Jin's face faded and her cold eyes fell on Du Sh's face as she said calmly, "Why should sister be so angry? Brother Lei hasn't said anything yet."
"You get out of here, I"
"Mother!" Lei Xiangli was shocked and hurriedly stopped her. He said quickly in her ear, "Don't be impulsive! If you offend Matchmaker Jin, what will happen to the marriage of me, fifth brother and little sister?"
The flame of fury in Du Shi's belly swirled, she couldn't understand Lei Xiangli's words at all, "What's the relationship between your marriage and her? Get out of the way!"
Matchmaker Jin sat there, looking at Lei Xiangli with a smile.Finally, someone has a brain.
Lei Xiangli said anxiously: "Listen to me. Matchmaker Jin is the most famous matchmaker in town. She must know other matchmakers. You think about what would happen if she spoke ill of us to other matchmakers? Fifth brother and I are men, but little sister's reputation must never be spoiled."
Du Shi quivered and her mind finally cleared up with incessant lingering fear. However, the anger and reluctance did not disappear.
"Matchmaker Jin, our family head doesn't plan to marry an equal wife. Can you please," Du Shi suppressed her anger and grudge as she made a gesture with her right hand towards the door. If she could, she would like to pick up Matchmaker Jin and throw her out.
Matchmaker Jin sneered to herself. The people who asked her to come forward promised to give her 8 silver taels, more than double the price of matchmaking. The disparity between Lei Daqiang and that girl was too far that she didn't have much confidence at first, but she had to get it done just because of Du Shi's attitude towards her today.
She ignored Du Shi and looked at Lei Daqiang, "Brother Lei, I've come today without malicious intention. As soon as you heard mine, Matchmaker Jin's reputation, you will know that I, Matchmaker Jin don't tell lies. Otherwise, my reputation won't be so loudly praise. Don't you think I'm right?"
Lei Daqiang was not muddle-headed. Lei Xiangli's worry was the same as his. His youngest son and his only daughter were his treasures. Therefore, he didn't dare to offend Matchmaker Jin and just nodded in embarrassment, "Yes, I know that Matchmaker Jin, you are showing goodwill, but…" He had been with Du Shi for so many years that the feelings were quite deep, so it was unreasonable to marry an equal wife.
Du Si furiously stared at him, "Old man, why you paying attention to her?"
Matchmaker Jin looked at Lei Chuntao, who was stunned with fright, and said gently: "Better let the girl step out first."
Lei Chuntao had long been scared witless being under the oppressive pressure, hurriedly went back to her own side room.
Matchmaker Jin confidently said to Lei Daqiang: "Before coming, I'd inquired about your family's situation. There are three unmarried people in your family; they need money whether they are married in or married out. The fifth gongzi is studying; more money needs to spend on various things. Adding it all up, the sum is not small. Sister Du is managing the household, but the money saved isn't increasing." She gave Du Shi a meaningful glance. She actually despised Du Shi's "stinginess". It was fine if she was stingy to others, but she was even so stingy to her own family.
Du Shi said coldly: "Matchmaker Jin, you are an outsider, not qualified to interfere in our family's affairs."
"Brother Lei, the girl's joining to your household will benefit you all and do no harm." Matchmaker Jin continued, "Why don't you listen first? If you don't agree, can I still force you to marry her? I think Sister Du is not feeling well. It'd be better ask her to have a rest first."
Lei Daqiang looked at Zhao Shi and Qian Shi as he said: "Help your mother-in-law back to her room."
Du Shi felt all the more far from good, "Lei Daqiang, you dare!"
"Go quickly!" Lei Daqiang glared, Zhao Shi and Qian Shi hurriedly dragged Du Shi to leave.
Lei Xiangren, Lei Xiangyi and Lei Xiangli did not leave. The appearance of Matchmaker Jin was so sudden and strange that they doubted her. They also wanted to hear what Matchmaker Jin was thinking of doing.
Matchmaker Jin's expression eased down and her smile was more sincere. "I'm a person that speaks the truth. If there's something that doesn't sound good, please forgive me, Brother Lei."
Her attitude had always been very kind and gentle that the uncomfortable feeling in Lei Daqiang's heart couldn't even flare out. He nodded, "Matchmaker Jin's words are valued upon. If you have anything to say, feel free to."
Matchmaker Jin said: "Money; it can't increase on its own. Brother Lei, there are still three unmarried children. You all ask yourself honestly, if the situation in your family continue to go on like this, can you make up the money for the three people to get married? Well, even if you have enough money now, do you all want your sons and grandchildren to continue to suffer in the future? There are also two daughters-in-law who don't even have a decent hair ornament on their heads. You two don't want to be better to your wives?"
Lei Xiangli didn't say a word. He knew that his parents had some money, but it was not enough to hold a wedding ceremony for the three. Moreover, Old Five needed money to spend on his studies. The main reason why Du Shi was stingy was Old Five.
Lei Xiangren and Lei Xiangyi both nodded their heads slightly.
"The money you have can't give birth to money, but you have to find a way to make the money grows money." Matchmaker Jin spoke with sincerity, which easily let people's guard down. "The girl I want to match with Brother Lei is a dowry maid of a young lady from a rich family. The young lady valued her very much and originally agreed to let the girl go out to get married, but the young lady got pregnant soon after she got married, so the girl stayed with her for three more years. After she was let go with great difficulty, the girl's father died of illness and she had to observe the mourning for three years. Now, the girl is 26 years old. Because of this, the girl with such older age has yet been match with a man. But this girl is really good. She has learned a lot from following the young lady, including nursing people's health with meals and particularly adept in managing affairs."
After a pause, she went on to say: "I don't think it's strange to say that if isn't for the girl's older age, which is not easy to match, as an outsider, I won't be willing to match her to Brother Lei."
Saying such words, she appeared even more sincere.
At this moment, Lei Daqiang's interest was aroused. Nursing people's health with meals? Wasn't that mean he could get healthier and live longer in the future?
Matchmaker Jin had a pair of piercing eyes, how could she not see it? She addeda handful of firewood, "Brother Lei, think about it. This girl has a wide range of knowledge and is good at managing affairs. Once she joins the household, she will surely lead the family to live a prosperous life. Brother Lei is not very old. It will be a great joy if you can have children at old age."
Lei Xiangren and his two brothers looked at each other while wondering in their hearts. Was Matchmaker Jin's mouth too eloquent, or were they too easily incited? At the bottom of their hearts, they felt that the girl was really too good. But after all, this matter concerned their parents. The three brothers dared not express their opinions and secretly looked at Lei Daqiang from time to time.
Everything that needed to be said had been said. Matchmaker Jin stopped talking and drank tea slowly, giving Lei Daqiang time to think.
Lei Daqiang was silent for a long time before he asked, "The betrothal gift?"
Matchmaker Jin said: "Miss Wei is considerate. She said it is fine as long as it is not much worse than the ordinary people's." At this time, she mentioned the girl's surname.
Lei Daqiang tentatively said again: "If I can meet her…"
Matchmaker Jin laughed candidly, "This is easy to do. On a certain day, I'll call her to the town and you two can meet at a distance."
"Lei Daqiang, you dare!" Du Shi's shrieks came from the side room. It turned out that she had been eavesdropping.
In a short while, she rushed out of the side room.
Lei Daqiang had just heard so many good words about Miss Wei. At this time, once he heard Du Shi's reaction, he thought about Du Shi's various frivolous quibbling acts and his heart became more inclined to Miss Wei. He berated, "Why are you making a ruckus?"
The authority of the owner of the house had made an appearance; Du Shi did not dare to utter anything for a moment and just looked at him with unbelievable eyes.
Matchmaker Jin stood up, "I'll go back first. I'll accompany Miss Wei to sit at the teahouse the morning after tomorrow."
Lei Daqiang politely sent her until the courtyard's gate, "Thank you for your trouble, Matchmaker Jin."
As soon as Matchmaker Jin left, Du Shi finally blew up and yelled as she threw herself at Lei Daqiang. "Lei Daqiang, I'll fight with you"
Lei Daqiang's neck was scratched by her fingernails, leaving a bloodstain. He gritted his teeth in pain as he pushed Du Shi away and covered his neck with anger: "You shrew!"
Bang, Du Shi hit the table and fell to the ground.
"AHH" Du Shi got up and rushed to Lei Daqiang. The two wrestled with each other.
"FATHER!"
"MOTHER!"
The central hall was in chaos.
Qin Mian sat behind the counter, collecting money while sneakily laughed. Today was the day when Matchmaker Jin went to the old house. As long as he thought of the scene that would appear at this time in the Lei's house, he felt overjoyed.
All the customers who came to eat looked at him in a funny way.
Seeing that Qin Mian was in a good mood, Zheng Liu came to the counter with a broad smile, "Big boss, eat spicy hot soup tonight?" Because of the busy business, the shop covered his and Wang Shun's lunch and dinner, but they were usually not the food in the shop. Very rarely, Qin Mian would take the initiative to leave the food in the shop for them.
Note:
Like as in an online post on Weibo, Facebook etc.
In ancient China, when ones parents died, the children arent allowed to do things for example: marrying, participate in imperial examination, going to war and etc. for three years in the name of filial piety.
Add firewood to the fire, making it bigger give encouragement
