Chapter 32: Enthusiastic Neighbors
Before Li Jinzhu could understand what was happening, Shi Gun had already run off. The group of porters and attendants followed Shi Gun, and in the blink of an eye, they were all gone, leaving behind a courtyard full of eggs and neighbors in the alley watching the spectacle.
“What is going on!” Li Jinzhu’s voice grew hoarse.
“Let’s go inside and talk!” Li Xiaonan stepped forward, pushing Li Jinzhu into the courtyard.
“How do we get inside?” Li Yuzhu stood outside the threshold, craning her neck to look at the egg baskets piled so densely they blocked the entire courtyard.
These egg baskets blocked the courtyard gate. Without moving two or three baskets of eggs, the gate couldn’t even be closed.
“This… isn’t this Xuedong’s? Is it yours? What exactly is going on!” Li Jinzhu grabbed one of them by the arm, pushing Li Yin Zhu and Li Xiaonan into a corner by the courtyard gate, her eyes turning red with anxiety.
“No, it’s, it’s not, that…” Li Yin Zhu stammered incoherently.
“This morning, Sister San and I went out for a stroll and bumped into someone. That person bumped into us and immediately offered to apologize and compensate us. We ignored him. Just now, that person said his master felt bad and sent these eggs as an apology,” Li Xiaonan said, glancing at the increasingly crowded neighbors.
“Ah?” Li Jinzhu could hardly believe her ears. If Yin Zhu had said this, she would have definitely slapped Yin Zhu on the head.
Her daughter was both smart and sensible, she wouldn’t lie, but this matter was simply too absurd!
“We just met a rich eccentric. We’ll talk about this in detail later. Eldest Sister, you should think about what to do with these eggs first. There are so many, they won’t keep even in winter. Eldest Sister, first, uh, eggs, eggs!” Li Xiaonan tapped the courtyard floor repeatedly.
“A Nan is right, the eggs are the priority right now,” Li Yuzhu peered into the courtyard again, her brow furrowed tightly.
Li Jinzhu released Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu, leaned against the doorframe, scanned the courtyard, and then slapped her forehead.
How would she know what to do! In her entire life, she had only eaten a whole egg a few times, let alone seen so many eggs!
The four sisters, Li Yuzhu and Li Jinzhu huddled together, Li Yin Zhu and Li Xiaonan huddled together, their four heads sticking into the courtyard gate, their eight eyes looking at the courtyard full of eggs.
Li Xiaonan didn’t dare to make a sound. She truly didn’t know what to do. She was thinking: If these eggs all go bad in a few days, how far will the stench travel? Does Pingjiang City have city management?
Li Yin Zhu pursed her lips tightly, contemplating the ways she knew to eat eggs: boiled eggs, fried eggs, steamed egg custard. Which one was tastier? They were all delicious!
Li Jinzhu looked at Li Yuzhu, Li Yuzhu looked at Li Jinzhu. Their four eyes met, and Li Yuzhu shook her head. She really didn’t know!
Outside the courtyard gate, the neighbors had already gathered. Some had even climbed onto the steps, stretching their necks to look into the courtyard.
“Sister, why did your family buy so many eggs? Are you doing business?” A capable-looking woman in her thirties leaned over from beside Li Xiaonan, looked at the eggs in the courtyard, and asked with a smile.
“We’re not doing business,” Li Jinzhu replied with a hurried smile.
“Hmph! If you’re not doing business, how did your family buy so many eggs?” The woman was surprised.
“No…”
“It’s a debt being repaid. They didn’t give us copper coins, so they gave us eggs instead,” Li Xiaonan interjected.
“Oh my! That person is terrible! Giving eggs instead of copper coins, that’s bullying you! Oh my, that person is terrible!” The woman tutted.
“Yes, that’s right!” Li Xiaonan nodded and smiled.
“Sister, these eggs need to be dealt with quickly. If you sell them… tsk, there are too many. You need to sell them through a business. Your family isn’t in that business, and just to sell these eggs once, the commission from the business is quite steep. You’ll only get half the price for each egg,” the capable woman said with a look of concern.
Li Xiaonan, having withstood the test of the courtyard full of eggs, was the quickest to react. She looked at the woman and asked with a smile, “Sister, is your family in business? Can you give us some advice?”
“We just moved here because my younger brother passed the Xiucai exam…” Li Jinzhu, prompted by Li Xiaonan’s words, quickly chimed in with a smile.
“Oh my! Your brother? You don’t look that old. How old can your brother be to have passed the Xiucai exam?” The capable woman exclaimed, interrupting Li Jinzhu.
The neighbors gathered around were also astonished.
Li Jinzhu smiled humbly, “My brother is seventeen this year, not young anymore. He’s just lucky.”
“A seventeen-year-old Xiucai Scholar! That’s incredible!”
“He’s studying at the Prefectural School nearby, right? That’s truly remarkable!”
…
The surrounding neighbors exclaimed and envied them in a chorus of voices.
Li Jinzhu put her arm around Li Xiaonan’s shoulder, smiling, “Not really, he’s just lucky. They say a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. We just moved here and don’t know anything. We’ll need everyone’s care in the future.”
“Let me tell you!” The capable woman took Li Jinzhu’s arm and turned her to face the eggs in the courtyard. “I married from Gaoyou County. Do you know Gaoyou? My maiden name is Yin, and my family runs a preserved egg business. The Yin Family Preserved Egg Business is quite well-known in Gaoyou. Our Yin Family preserved eggs are famously delicious, and many people in our Pingjiang City know about them.”
Sister-in-law Yin said with pride.
“If you sell these eggs to a business, you’ll lose at least thirty to forty percent! That’s not worth it. Let me tell you, you’d be better off making them into preserved eggs and pickling some salted eggs, then starting a preserved egg and salted egg business! You’ll definitely make a lot of money!”
“Making preserved eggs isn’t easy,” Li Jinzhu ventured.
“It’s easy! I’m here! Let me tell you, there are no good preserved eggs in this Pingjiang City. Whenever someone from my family visits, I have them bring me preserved eggs. It’s not just me who says they’re delicious; ask any of our neighbors, who doesn’t say our Yin Family preserved eggs are delicious? I’m here, I’ll help you make them!”
“How much capital would that require?” Li Xiaonan asked, sticking her head out.
“Let me calculate. You have so many eggs, it won’t cost much in copper coins. However, your place isn’t big enough. You need to find a large courtyard. Let me tell you, in the alley behind your courtyard, there’s an empty courtyard. The house is too old, and it hasn’t been rented out for over half a year. That courtyard is large and spacious!” Sister-in-law Yin was very enthusiastic.
“Eldest Sister.”
Sister-in-law Yin’s words were interrupted by a call of “Eldest Sister.” Li Xuedong, returning from school, squeezed through the crowd of onlookers and called out.
“My brother is back! Thank you, Sister-in-law Yin. This is a big matter, I need to discuss it with my brother and sisters,” Li Jinzhu said to Sister-in-law Yin with a smile.
“So this is the Xiucai Scholar! He indeed has an air of talent, but he’s too thin. Yes, yes, yes, this is a big matter, and your family’s Xiucai Scholar should make the decision. Then you discuss it. My home is just next door to yours, right there. When you’ve discussed it, just call me.”
Sister-in-law Yin was quite perceptive. After giving a few instructions, she stepped down from the steps. As she passed Li Xuedong, she stopped, looked him up and down, met his gaze, and called out “Xiucai Scholar” with a smile. She then walked around Li Xuedong, waved her arm, and said, “Don’t stare, go on, go on.”
The neighbors, in small groups, chatted as they walked, occasionally looking back at the Li siblings before heading home.
Too tired, fell asleep. Another group will be finished tonight, scheduled for tomorrow.
Alas, may the plague and misfortune recede!
