169, Little Thought (7 more updates)
The women were delighted, what’s a little bustle to them? With their labor on this end, and men and children venturing into the mountains to fetch Jiji Grass, they could earn one to two hundred wen in a day, and five to six taels of silver in a month. Where else could they earn such money? Naturally, with money in hand, they craved a good meal. The braised meat they had refrained from buying before was now within reach, especially with the Mid-Autumn Festival approaching-it was time to make a purchase.
The day before Mid-Autumn, the shop had pre-sold over three hundred catties of braised meat. After consulting Xie Zhinuan, Xiaoyuan went first to order the pork, then set up several stoves in the backyard to braise the meat.
Xie Zhinuan was worried that Xiaoyuan and Dong Sheng would be too busy to cope, so she picked a few clean young men from the village to help out, offering them one hundred wen for just that day’s work.
Xie Zhinuan herself was also very busy. First thing in the morning, Yuanbao had already sent over quite a few items, and she thought of how Li Hengyi had been helping these past days.
Since the accounting office had not yet been found, Li Hengyi took care of the bookkeeping. She was grateful for his contributions and, knowing his penchant for sweets, decided to sort out everything Yuanbao had sent over.
The Mid-Autumn Festival calls for togetherness, so mooncakes were indispensable.
Xie Zhinuan had made several different fillings for the mooncakes, even specially preparing some with meat filling and slowly baking them on a hot plate.
As the aroma wafted out, Li Hengyi, who was sitting under the eaves doing the accounts, stopped his pen.
Yuanbao’s fanning hand also paused, absentmindedly swaying the fan.
Both of them simultaneously turned to gaze towards the kitchen.
The villagers were aware that Li Hengyi was doing accounting work for Xie Zhinuan. They were curious about his handsome features, and intrigued by the relationship between Li Hengyi and Xie Zhinuan, but they dared not gossip carelessly, as they were keen to earn money.
After all, it was Li Hengyi who kept the accounts, calling out the weights of the Jiji Grass, and then Yuanbao who handed out the money.
Young Master Li was good-looking but somewhat aloof, not allowing people to get close. He sat inside a shed to do the accounting, while Yuanbao and the weighers stood quite far, shouting out after weighing.
Xie Zhinuan was very busy herself, busy looking for vacant houses in town, and considering where to open her first shop once there was enough dried grass.
Her ideal location was in the county town.
But not Zhao’an County-rather, it was Fengping County next door.
She thought that after the fifteenth of the month, she would visit the county town to check out the properties there, preferably in the suburbs. If there were any restaurants for rent or sale in the county town, it might be possible to rent them to open an eatery.
She could not focus solely on the old clothes business, neglecting her own strengths.
“The mooncakes are ready!” Xie Zhinuan called out softly, and had Stupid Girl carry them out.
Then she went to check on the meat filling in the furnace.
The skins had turned a golden brown; just a little longer and they would surely be cooked through.
Several earthen pots outside were simmering away, their fragrant scents permeating the small courtyard, making one feel light-hearted and cheerful with every breath.
Li Hengyi finished his work, and Yuanbao immediately fetched water for him to wash his hands, then placed a plate of mooncakes before him.
Li Hengyi took one, and just as he was about to take a bite, Xie Zhinuan came out to grab something and said, “Be careful, the filling inside is hot!”
As she bustled in and out, sweat beaded on her forehead, and her face was flush with lovely redness, making one’s heartbeat quicken just by looking at her.
The scent of Leng Zhuxiang lingered around her, and Li Hengyi drew in a deep breath, nodding obediently before taking a small bite.
“Mmm!”
Sweet and soft, the filling contained wild fruit jam, and it was indeed delicious.
Li Hengyi ate in small bites, while Yuanbao, craving a taste, swallowed saliva. Xie Zhinuan saw him and chuckled, “Yuanbao, aren’t you going to have some?”
“…”
Caught off guard, Yuanbao quickly responded, “Eat, of course I’ll eat!” and snatched up a mooncake to nibble on, completely ignoring the murderous look in his master’s eyes.
Beaming, he walked over to where Xie Zhinuan was and asked solicitously, “Miss Xie, do you need anything done on this end? Just give the order!”
Chapter 171