Chapter 38: We Are Destined
Old Master Zhang went out of the city early in the morning and looked all day. He didn’t let Li Jinzhu review anything and directly decided on a small workshop that originally did the incense stick business.
The next day, Old Master Zhang picked three or four reliable men from his warehouse, hitched a cart, and delivered the Li family’s courtyard full of eggs to the small workshop.
Sister-in-law Yin called a loafer from a tea house on the street, gave him a handful of large coins, and asked him to run around and tell all the lime businesses and other clients who had placed orders yesterday to quickly deliver their goods to the small workshop.
Li Yuzhu and Li Yin Zhu followed the first cart. Li Jinzhu and Sister-in-law Yin first went to the real estate agency closest to the workshop, selected two sturdy old women, agreed to a ten-day trial period, and then headed to the workshop with the two old women.
When Li Xuedong returned home from school, he and Li Xiaonan waited until it was completely dark. Li Jinzhu, the other two, and Sister-in-law Yin hadn’t returned. The two had to do it themselves. Li Xuedong took off his long gown and started cooking rice. Then he searched the entire house. Except for the vegetables in the backyard and oil and salt, there was nothing else. Not a single egg from the courtyard was left.
Li Xuedong went to the backyard to pick some vegetables, wash them, and stir-fry them. Li Xiaonan, while tending the fire, lifted the pot lid and spread a thick layer of lard along the edge of the pot. The lard melted and dripped into the rice, sizzling and releasing a fragrant aroma. After a while, Li Xiaonan lifted the pot lid and spread lard again.
Li Xuedong finished stir-frying the vegetables, and Li Xiaonan had spread lard three or four times. The rice was fragrant. Each of them scooped up a piece of golden-brown, crispy rice crust, placed a chopstickful of vegetables on it, and took a bite. It was truly fresh and delicious.
As they were eating sweetly, the courtyard gate creaked open. Li Xuedong held his bowl and poked his head out to look.
In the light spilling from the kitchen, Li Jinzhu led the way, and the three of them walked in, exhausted.
“It smells so good!” Li Yin Zhu sniffed and exclaimed.
“These two little ones can cook! Who stir-fried this? It’s all burnt.” Li Yuzhu peered into the pot of rice and pointed at the plate of burnt vegetables, laughing as she asked.
Li Xiaonan pointed at Li Xuedong with her chopsticks.
“She made the fire too strong,” Li Xuedong quickly explained.
“Where did this lard go? This lard jar was full this morning!” Li Jinzhu picked up the lard jar and asked.
“Here.” Li Yin Zhu had already lifted a piece of rice crust and taken a bite. While speaking indistinctly, she handed the oily, golden-brown rice crust to Eldest Sister.
“This must be A Nan’s idea!” Li Yuzhu peered over, scooped two pieces of rice crust with a spatula, and handed one to Li Jinzhu.
“You really know how to eat! No wonder Third Uncle said you’re a spendthrift.” Li Jinzhu looked at the large empty space in the lard jar with great heartache.
“Third Uncle was talking about you, not me, right?” Li Xiaonan asked Li Xuedong while biting into the rice crust.
Li Xuedong quickly nodded. He stopped halfway and felt something was wrong, so he quickly explained, “And me too. Third Uncle said it was a waste for us to take A Nan to Hangcheng.”
“This rice is a bit undercooked,” Li Yin Zhu poked at the rice in the middle with her chopsticks and tasted it.
“It must be because she lifted the lid to spread the lard, which made the rice undercooked,” Li Yuzhu lightly patted Li Xiaonan on the head.
“Scoop out the rice crusts, leave the undercooked rice in the pot, add some water to cook it as vegetable rice. Yuzhu, go to the backyard and pick some vegetables. Yin Zhu, tend the fire. Keep the fire low,” Li Jinzhu rolled up her sleeves and started cooking again.
………………………………
Gu Yan welcomed Madam Pan and Miss Shi, as well as Pan family’s sixth daughter, Pan Shihui. He immediately sent someone to Hangcheng to invite Sixth Aunt, Mrs. Fu, to bring her three cousins to Pingjiang Villa to accompany him. If Sixth Aunt couldn’t come, he insisted that the three cousins come to stay for a while.
As soon as the steward who went to Hangcheng left, Gu Yan left the villa and headed to the Huainan Salt Field to inspect the salt affairs.
He was someone on official duty!
Gu Yan was away for two or three days. When he returned from the Huainan Salt Field, dusty and travel-worn, his Sixth Aunt hadn’t come, but his three cousins had arrived the day before.
When Gu Yan returned to the villa, Madam Pan, accompanied by a group of young ladies, had gone to Hanshan Temple to offer incense.
As soon as Wang Gui entered the villa, he urgently summoned the scout who had been left to keep an eye on the Li Xiucai family and questioned him in detail.
When Gu Yan finished washing up and changed his clothes, Wang Gui was already waiting outside the hanging flower gate with his hands clasped. Hearing Gu Yan’s summons, he quickly entered the room with small steps and reported in detail the movements of the Li Xiucai family.
Upon hearing that the Li family had partnered with Yin Shi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Zhang family, who ran a warehouse next door, to do the preserved egg and salted egg business, and that preserved eggs and salted eggs were already being pickled in the workshop, Gu Yan’s eyebrows shot up, and he let out a laugh.
This must be the idea of the Li family’s Eldest Sister. He knew this Eldest Sister was not simple.
“Let’s go and see.” Gu Yan picked a folding fan from the tray held by a servant, unfurled it with a swish, and strode out.
Shi Gun and Wang Gui hurried to follow. They left the villa and headed straight for Cai Lian Lane.
The day after the workshop opened, Li Jinzhu had Li Yin Zhu stay at home to do laundry, cook, and manage the household.
They left before dawn every day and returned after dark. They returned home covered in mud and sweat. Their clothes needed washing and changing, and they also had to take care of Li Xiaonan and Li Xuedong. There was also a vegetable patch and a flock of chickens in the backyard. Someone had to stay home to manage the household.
When Gu Yan arrived at Cai Lian Lane, Li Yin Zhu had finished collecting eggs, feeding the chickens, washing and drying the quilts, and had just become free. She was walking out with Li Xiaonan, discussing where to go for a stroll.
As soon as they left Cai Lian Lane, they ran into Gu Yan.
Gu Yan had just dismounted halfway when his gaze fell on Li Xiaonan, and a smile appeared on his face.
“Hey! It’s that person!” Li Yin Zhu exclaimed.
Gu Yan leaned back slightly from her exclamation, gave her a look of disdain, pointed at Li Yin Zhu with his folding fan, and said to Li Xiaonan with a smile, “Your Third Sister, is she always so jumpy?”
“Who are you?” Li Xiaonan bristled like a cat.
“Step back a bit.” Gu Yan gestured to Shi Gun with his folding fan.
Shi Gun quickly signaled to everyone, and they retreated about ten paces, blocking the passersby.
Gu Yan leaned forward slightly, unfurled his folding fan as if to shield himself, and said in a low voice, “We met at the Imperial Examination Hall in Hangcheng. Don’t you remember?”
Li Xiaonan’s eyes widened, “You! You! You’re talking nonsense!”
“Don’t be afraid. If I wanted to do anything, I would have done it long ago. You’re always like this, like a cat with its fur on end. I have to tell you, I really have no ill intentions,” Gu Yan continued in a low voice, his expression sincere.
“Him?” Li Yin Zhu trembled, both in voice and body.
She understood what Gu Yan said. How did he know about A Nan taking the exam for someone else?
“It’s okay, he won’t do anything. He has no ill intentions,” Li Xiaonan quickly comforted her Third Sister.
“That’s right!” Gu Yan suddenly closed his folding fan and snapped it against his palm, startling Li Yin Zhu.
“Then what do you want? What are you going to do?” Li Xiaonan patted Li Yin Zhu and asked Gu Yan.
“We are fated,” Gu Yan said with a serious expression.
Li Xiaonan tilted her head back and rolled her eyes towards the sky.
“Let’s be friends, how about it?” Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan’s rolled eyes and smiled.
Li Xiaonan let out a scoff.
His demeanor reminded her of the distant past, of a petty rogue on the way home from school who thought he was incredibly suave and flicked his oily hair at her: “Little beauty, let’s be friends.”
“There’s a difference between men and women, men and women shouldn’t touch, men and women…”
Gu Yan waved his hand in front of Li Xiaonan’s eyes, cutting off her words.
“As expected, you speak nonsense with your eyes open.” Gu Yan unfurled his folding fan again. “All of this you’re saying is nonsense. However, there should be a reason for back and forth. How about this, they say you have an excellent approach to the investigation of things. I don’t understand much about the investigation of things. How about you teach me about it? What do you say?”
Li Xiaonan and Li Yin Zhu listened with wide eyes.
“I’ll pay you. One tael of silver per trip. If you teach well, I’ll add more. How about it?” Gu Yan bowed slightly, looking at Li Xiaonan.
“Where will we talk? I’m not going to your house,” Li Xiaonan said, holding her breath slightly.
“Then at your house,” Gu Yan replied very quickly.
“My house is not okay either! How about that teahouse over there?” Li Xiaonan pointed towards a quiet teahouse not far away.
“Okay.” After a crisp “Okay,” Gu Yan turned back to look at the teahouse. “Then it’s settled. I’m busy, and I’ll come over when I’m free. He will invite you to the teahouse for lessons. His name is Shi Gun.”
Gu Yan pointed his folding fan at Shi Gun. Shi Gun, not understanding why, quickly nodded and bowed with a smile, following Gu Yan’s fan.
