Chapter 019: Lu Qian's Transformation

Listening to Lu Qian, he said that he only sent a shrewd lad to the two southern cities. At each teahouse or small shop, he sold a prescription for just two taels of silver.

He plucked up the courage to try it, and unexpectedly returned with over a hundred taels of silver. After deducting the lad's expenses and reward, each family received fifty taels, which was truly a pleasant surprise.

If it weren't for Lu Qian studying in the academy and having difficulty moving around, and not wanting to engage in business with the identity of a scholar, he probably wouldn't have shared such a good opportunity with him.

"This is just a snack that our family came up with on a regular basis. If there's more in the future, we will naturally trouble Manager Luo again."

Lu Qian didn't want his sister to have a reputation for being greedy, so he vaguely agreed and changed the subject. The manager was interested in asking for the recipe for the meat sauce. When the kitchen prepared noodles for Lu Qian, he had tasted it once, and the taste was really good. If he could buy it, opening a noodle shop would surely be prosperous.

Unfortunately, Lu Qian didn't budge on this matter.

Soon, the lad brought out the dumplings, and the manager couldn't delay any longer and went inside. The lad happily took Lu Qian's reward and left, leaving Lu Qian alone to eat dumplings in the cold wind, feeling truly happy.

Of course, it would be even better if he could bring the iron stove from the dormitory, but his sister would still have to sell stoves to earn money next winter, so he couldn't bring it out to attract attention.

People came and went on the street, and occasionally mischievous children played with snowballs, unaware that the scholar sitting on the street had a large sum of money and his heart had already flown back to the village a hundred miles away...

The wind and snow didn't know the passage of time, but the mountains and forests knew the passage of time.

As the days passed by, as the New Year approached, signs of spring could be easily found.

The streets and alleys of Anzhou City had been quiet for most of the winter, but slowly began to liven up again.

The shops on the street, with their young lads wearing thick cotton coats, were energetically shouting, "New silk from the south, the most popular patterns from the capital! Come and take a look, come in and see!"

The peddlers carrying straw targets were also wandering around, the shiny candied haws on the straw targets attracting mischievous children who followed not far behind, occasionally drooling.

Lu Xiaomi pulled Lu Wu and walked on the street, not paying attention to the fabric shops or jewelry stores, but instead going in and out of the grocery and grain stores.

Seeing that the New Year was approaching in less than half a month, the family had almost finished the glutinous rice and fine flour they had prepared earlier, and there was hardly any wild boar meat left.

Gao Ren and Lu Wu were planning to go up the mountain to hunt again, but with the mountain roads closed due to heavy snow in winter, it was difficult to find the tracks of wild animals, and it was dangerous to go out in the snow. She firmly stopped these two food lovers from risking their lives.

But the New Year couldn't be celebrated without food on the table, so they had to prepare for the New Year again.

It wasn't easy to go into the city, and as usual, four or five sledges had come from the village. Lu Xiaomi wasn't afraid of buying too much and not being able to take it back, she just picked and chose, and then handed everything over to Lu Wu.

In front of the butcher's shop, a father and son brought three pigs to sell to the butcher. The butcher found one of them to be small and thin, not yielding much meat, but Lu Xiaomi happily bought it.

With the wild boar meat they had prepared earlier, everyone in the family had enough, and now they preferred the lean meat, often leaving the fat in the meat basin. This pig was just right.

The butcher was also happy, and after taking the twenty wen that Lu Xiaomi gave him, he drove the pig to the backyard, slaughtered it, skinned and boned it, and quickly cut the pork into neat strips.

When Lu Xiaomi asked for pig's blood and offal, he didn't ask much, and instead sent the blood and offal from the other two pigs as well.

So, at the Lu family's dinner table, there was an extra dish of blood sausage. The pig's blood was mixed with chopped green onions, ginger, salt, and a little pepper, stuffed into thin pig intestines, cooked, and cut into thick slices, which were then put into the mouth. The pig's blood was as tender as egg custard, and the pig intestines not only had no odor but also had a chewy texture, which made the originally somewhat reluctant diners praise it endlessly.

Gao Ren even scooped half a bowl, mixed it with rice, and ate it.

Lu Xiaomi thought of her third brother and calculated the days to urge Lu Lao'er to pick him up.

Lu Lao'er packed enough dry rations for the journey and dressed warmly before setting off. In just a few days, he picked up Lu Lao'san and the family was reunited once again, making it even more lively.

That night, after a sumptuous dinner, Lu Lao'san went to the backyard.

Lu Xiaomi was surprised to see the silver notes and her first reaction was to pull Lu Lao'san aside and ask, "Third brother, did you do something bad? Where did all this silver come from?"

Lu Lao'san smiled and said in a low voice, telling her about his cooperation with Manager Luo. In the end, he added, "Is it okay for me to sell this recipe?"

"Of course it's okay!" Lu Xiaomi's face lit up with joy. No one was happier than her to see her bookish third brother suddenly have a breakthrough.

In her opinion, Lu Lao'san would definitely pursue an official career in the future, and being more resourceful was much better than being stubborn and taciturn.

"I had originally thought of selling the recipe in the south, but Big Brother is soft-hearted, and Second Brother has a quick temper, so they are not good candidates for a long journey, so this matter was delayed. I didn't expect Third Brother to handle it!"

Praised by his sister, Lu Lao'san smiled even more happily.

"That's good, that's good."

"However, San Ge, you should stay out of this matter in the future. If rumors spread that you are greedy and neglecting your studies, it will tarnish our family's reputation. Your priority now should be to study and pass the imperial examination to uphold the family's honor. Of course, you shouldn't overwork yourself. Even if you don't study and take the examination, we can work together as siblings to do business and grow crops. Maybe in a few years, the Lu family will become the wealthiest in the region."

"Alright, San Ge, when you don't feel like studying, I'll help you out!"

Lu San didn't have the disdain for merchants and farmers that scholars often had, and he readily agreed. Lu Xiaomi carefully put away the silver notes, preparing to support San Ge in the future or to provide him with some money when he goes to the capital for the examination.

Children, children, don't cry, after the Laba Festival, we'll slaughter a pig!

After drinking Laba porridge on the entire Old Bear Ridge, every household, even if they didn't have a fat pig to slaughter, became busy.

The winter's snow and wind would come every few days, but the men still diligently swept the front and back of their houses.

The women dismantled and washed the bedding, steamed bean buns, and cleaned the wooden utensils, keeping themselves busy.

The mischievous children were attending the Lu family school every morning, so the women were able to focus more on their chores.

Out of gratitude, everyone almost simultaneously went to the Lu family's residence.

The Lu family's compound had more rooms than any other household. Xiaomi was hesitating whether to ask her father and brothers to help, but when she saw the women arriving, she was especially delighted.

Without hesitation, she assigned tasks and went to the kitchen to steam triangular red sugar buns, and then stuffed three or four for each family, making the women and children all smile happily.

Feng Jian had been recuperating for two months and could now walk a few steps without needing to lean on a wooden pole. At this moment, he was walking to the kitchen door when Lu Xiaomi pulled him over and stuffed a triangular sugar bun into his hand. After hesitating for a moment, he took a bite and then suggested, "Miss Lu, how about making some dumplings for dinner tonight?"

"Feng Da Ge wants to eat dumplings?" Lu Xiaomi was busy kneading dough. With so many people in the house, she planned to fry some twist pastries, meatballs, and dried fruits to entertain guests or to have as a snack during the New Year.

This was the first time Feng Jian had made a request for food, so she naturally couldn't refuse and replied with a smile, "Sure, I happened to buy half a pound of dried shrimp when I went to the city last time. How about making dumplings with radish, pork, and dried shrimp filling?"

Feng Jian nodded and then lowered his head to eat the sugar bun. The winter sun shone on his side, casting a halo around his profile, making him look even more upright and handsome.

As Xiaomi worked the dough, her heart suddenly skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but think of the cloak he had draped over her shoulders during the memorial service.

In her previous life, she had been busy filling her stomach and earning money to support her younger siblings at the orphanage, so she hadn't had the time or inclination for romance. Now, combining the two lives, she was already in her thirties, and she couldn't believe she was developing feelings for a twenty-year-old man. It was quite... ridiculous!

Xiaomi quickly turned her head and picked up a ladle to pour water into the pot.

But Feng Jian's expression changed when he saw this. Without thinking about the pain in his leg, he rushed over and pulled Xiaomi into his arms.

The water in the ladle couldn't withstand the sudden movement and splashed onto both of them, with a few drops mischievously jumping out.

As a result, the iron pot, which had been heating oil, suddenly became lively, crackling and sizzling.

Xiaomi was stunned. If Feng Jian hadn't pulled her away, she might have been turned into popcorn by now.

"Be careful!" Feng Jian was also quite startled. He wanted to scold her, but seeing Xiaomi's pale face, all he could manage to say was these light and airy words.

When Xiaomi came to her senses, she quickly stepped back and reached out to touch Feng Jian's injured leg. "Feng Da Ge, does your leg hurt? Do you need to find Uncle Bi San to take a look?"

Feeling the soft little hand touching his leg, Feng Jian stiffened for a while before coughing and saying, "It's nothing."

With that, he limped back to the east wing room.

Xiaomi was even more frightened. If they had both been splashed with hot oil just now, it would have been even worse.

But why wasn't he afraid of the danger? Why did he protect her in his arms?

Xiaomi patted her suddenly blushing cheeks, turned around, and continued to knead the dough on the cutting board.

The hot oil in the iron pot had also stopped sizzling and was now quietly emitting smoke. If one wasn't careful, no one would be able to tell the hidden passion beneath the calm surface...

Perhaps because of the previous incident, everyone was concerned about Xiaomi. Whenever they made dumplings, a basin of dough and filling would be sent to the east wing room. Everyone sat around, chatting and making dumplings together.

Xiaomi, feeling inspired, showed off her skills and taught everyone how to make different shaped dumplings. Surprisingly, Feng Jian turned out to be the best at it, making wheat ear-shaped dumplings even better than Xiaomi.

Feeling embarrassed, Xiaomi pouted and went back to making regular dumplings, while Feng Jian, for some reason, only made wheat ear-shaped dumplings.