"Sister, sister, someone is looking for you outside." Yang Chuxia had nothing to occupy her and was watching Mingcui and Ming Liu, two young girls, sew clothes.
Both of the girls were proficient in needlework, and since Yang Chuxia didn’t need their services at the moment, she had brought out some fabric for them to get started on clothes for the children.
Yang Qingtong came in from outside, her forehead sweaty even in such weather.
"Why are you so hot? Who’s looking for me?"
Yang Qingtong took the handkerchief Yang Chuxia handed her and wiped her face haphazardly before saying, "I was playing spinning tops with Qingbao. The person is a middle-aged man; by the way he speaks he doesn’t sound like one of our Quanya people. He said he was sent by Young Master Mu."
"Young Master Mu? Mu Shaofeng?" Yang Chuxia thought for a moment, could it be the sugar-making master had arrived?
"Come on, let’s go up front and see."
Ming Liu then said with a smile, "Let Mingcui accompany Madam to the front. I’ll stay here and finish the buttons on these clothes."
Upon reaching the front courtyard’s parlor, they saw a middle-aged man sitting in a chair, with a cup of hot tea poured out on the low table next to him, but the cup lid was perfectly placed, obviously untouched.
Looking at the middle-aged man, his clothes were worn, the color of the original fabric could no longer be discerned, and his shoes were worn through at the toes, revealing the socks inside. Though his attire was shabby, he appeared clean, his hair meticulously combed up, secured with a wooden hairpin.
"Good day to you, sir, I am Yang Chuxia! I heard that Young Master Mu sent you, is it Mu Shaofeng?"
"I am Tang Tanghai, sent here by Young Master Mu to seek out Madam Ye."
Hearing this address, she knew Mu Shaofeng had told him about their family’s identity here. Tang Tanghai, now that’s an interesting name. At first listen, it’s like a sea of sugar.
Yang Chuxia smiled, "Mr. Tang, please take a seat. I presume Young Master Mu has already told you the purpose of your visit."
As soon as the topic came up, Tang Tanghai’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly said, "My family has been making sugar for generations, and Young Master Mu told me that you have a new raw material for sugar-making, so I rushed here from the North. May I see that raw material?"
He was indeed eager, asking to see the goods after barely two sentences. It showed he truly was passionate about sugar-making. Upon hearing he came from the North, she asked, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Tang. I’ll have someone bring over the raw materials. You mentioned coming from the North, Mr. Tang; did your family come with you, or do you need me to arrange something for them too?"
"Madam, your concern is appreciated, but I am currently here alone."
Yang Chuxia raised an eyebrow, a solitary traveler with no attachments, it made sense he could travel from the North to the South. However, given that his family had a tradition of sugar-making, they should have had a substantial family business by now, yet he didn’t seem the part.
Despite her questions, she didn’t probe further.
Soon enough, Fugui, leading a young lad, brought in a bundle of sugarcane, while Fugui himself was carrying a plate of peeled sugarcane. Seeing this, Mingcui stepped forward to take the plate and placed it on the table next to Tang Tanghai.
"Mr. Tang, this is the raw material, called sugarcane. It can be eaten as a fruit or a snack, very sweet to the taste. Considering that beets are sweet and can be used for making sugar, and sugarcane is somewhat similar to beets, I thought that if beets can do it, so can sugarcane, especially since sugarcane seems to be even sweeter than beets," said Yang Chuxia.
No sooner had Yang Chuxia finished speaking than she saw Tang Tanghai holding a piece of sugarcane and staring blankly, his eyes fixed on the item in wonder.