RMCF: Chapter 36

 

Chapter 36

“Then I'll go buy them now. You can put the leftover vegetables by the stall; if anyone wants them, sell them cheap. If someone comes to buy meat, you can even give some away as a bonus.”

“Alright.”

Zhang Fangyuan watched him walk away before withdrawing his gaze. He hawked for a while longer. By the time it was almost noon in town, there were hardly any customers left. Wives bringing lunch early started arriving at the meat market, and many butchers began eating.

The market selling poultry and livestock was still quite far from here. Seeing that Xu He wouldn’t be back for a while, Zhang Fangyuan took their lunch to the eatery he frequented and asked the cook to heat it up. Then, with a step, he headed towards the east market.

“Brother Zhang! It’s been so long since I’ve seen you~ Are you here to find me today?”

As soon as Zhang Fangyuan entered through the back door of the Yunliang Pavilion, a heavily made-up woman with a sickly sweet voice, fanning herself, slithered up like a water snake and attached herself to him. Without even lifting his eyelids, he roughly shoved the approaching woman away: “Where’s An San’er?”

The woman, pushed aside, only let out a coquettish complaint, seeming long accustomed to Zhang Fangyuan’s roughness. Her voice dropped the sweet tone, “An San’er, Brother Zhang is looking for you!”

Hearing this, a short man hurried out from inside. At first glance, he looked shifty-eyed and crafty, but up close, he just seemed clever and alert.

“Brother Zhang, since you stopped working here, I haven’t seen you at all. Where are you working now? What brings you to find me today?”

Zhang Fangyuan pulled the man aside. Actually, after turning over a new leaf, he hadn’t planned on coming back to a place like a brothel again. But life had thrown him a difficulty, and he had to swallow his pride.

“Give me some of those things you used to secretly sell under the overpass.”

“Ah?”

Zhang Fangyuan slapped the man on the head. “What 'ah'? Hurry up. I came all this way.”

“Yes, yes, yes.” An San’er covered his head, not daring to be disrespectful to Zhang Fangyuan. He quickly undid his collar, suddenly opening his outer garment. Inside, three rows on top and three rows on the bottom were sewn with no less than ten pockets, filled with various books and booklets. “Which one does Brother Zhang want?”

Zhang Fangyuan glanced over, somewhat awkwardly touched the tip of his nose, and reached out to pick one with a very vivid and suggestive cover.

“Is this one effective?”

“Very effective! This is the bestseller under the overpass, the very one you picked. Even that flirtatious Ninth Lady just asked me for a copy.”

“…”

Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan didn't even flip through it and directly threw it back into An San'er’s arms. If even Ninth Lady read it, could it be meant for decent people?

“Do you have any for ger?”

An San’er didn't know what he said wrong, flustered as he caught the thrown booklet. “Brother Zhang, you should have said you preferred that taste earlier.”

“This one is excellent. Only two copies left.” An San’er smiled lewdly, lowering his voice. “All pictures. Sells the best!”

Zhang Fangyuan glanced roughly, the tips of his ears burning. He hastily stuffed the booklet into his sleeve and took out some money for An San’er. “This will do.”

“Brother, just take it if you like it! Why pay?”

An San’er was used to Zhang Fangyuan's former temper when he managed the place, often smashing tables. Suddenly seeing him so polite was overwhelmed by the favor. The money felt hot in his hand, and he tried to return it.

“Take it if I give it to you. Why so much nonsense? I'm leaving!”

With that, ignoring An San'er’s confused expression, Zhang Fangyuan strode out of the Yunliang Pavilion.

“Brother Zhang is acting really strange today.”

A seductive woman leaning against a railing in the distance snorted. “When is he ever not strange? I'm supposedly the top courtesan of Yunliang Pavilion. What man doesn't become infatuated and clingy? Only he avoids me like the plague. Looks strong and vigorous, but probably eighty percent impotent.”

“Ninth Lady, you only dare say that behind Brother Zhang's back.”

The woman rolled her eyes. “Get lost and go sell your smut.”

When Xu He returned to the meat market carrying two pairs of chicks and two pairs of ducklings, Zhang Fangyuan wasn't at the stall. He settled the little ones, threw them some wild vegetable leaves to eat. With food, they were less noisy. He hesitated about whether to look for Zhang Fangyuan when the man returned carrying their lunch box.

“Bought them back?”

Zhang Fangyuan glanced over: two roosters, two hens, and the same for the ducks. The little ger knew how to pick; the pairing was quite appropriate.

“Why only buy a few? Could’ve bought more.”

Xu He said, “Buying too many isn’t cost-effective. Better to wait for the chickens and ducks to grow up, lay eggs, and hatch them ourselves.”

“That's too much trouble.”

Xu He said, “I’ll handle it then, won’t trouble you.”

The two opened the food box next to the stall. The hot, fragrant aroma of the stir-fried meat made the butcher next door frequently glance over. Although the dish wasn't as fresh and fragrant as when first out of the wok, being hungry now made it taste just as good.

“When I went to heat the food, even the cook at the eatery said you make this dish extremely well. Maybe later we should just open a restaurant.”

Xu He was somewhat confident in his skills. Even Liu Xianglan from the Xu family, who almost never said a good word about him, had praised his cooking a few times. Later, Xu Shaochun wasn’t happy about it, so she stopped mentioning it.

“Alright, then don’t spend money recklessly in daily life from now on. Save up earlier, and we can rent a shop and open a restaurant.”

Zhang Fangyuan, mouth full of rice, looked at Xu He with a smile didn’t say anything.

Business at the stall was pretty slow in the afternoon. How much meat got sold in a day mostly depended on the morning market. Only three customers came the entire afternoon. Xu He gently fanned away flies trying to land with a cattail leaf fan. The meat market smelled strongly of raw meat, which would be even more overwhelming in summer.

 Looking at the hanging meat, Xu He couldn’t help but worry a bit. The wild game sold quite well, and Zhang Fangyuan said if Wang Jiu brought more goods in the future, they’d still buy them. However, when buying pigs, they should try to select fatter, sturdier ones. But leaner meat wasn’t necessarily always hard to sell. Sometimes leaner meat sold better; sometimes fatter meat did. Business was inherently an unstable endeavor.

“None of the pork offal sold at all today. Might have to sell some at a discount tomorrow, otherwise it might spoil.”

Zhang Fangyuan wasn’t as worried as Xu He. “I told you to pick more to eat ourselves. Keeping it doesn’t mean it’ll sell well.”

Xu He didn't respond to that.

Later, with really no business, and considering the little ones in the cage kept defecating and needed to be taken back early to settle in, the couple simply packed up the stall ahead of time and returned to the village.

Once home, the little creatures were released in the backyard, immediately scampering happily around. Zhang Fangyuan scattered a handful of crushed corn mixed with chaff near the base of the wall, and the chickens and ducks scurried over, burying their heads to eat.

When Xu He planned to raise poultry, he had woven a fence with bamboo strips. It was easy to pen the chickens and ducks. The weather had been good lately, no rain, so letting them sleep in the backyard for now was fine. He thought he’d find wooden planks tomorrow to make a proper chicken coop, so they wouldn’t have to worry about wind and rain.

“No need for you to do it tomorrow. I’m good at these things.” Zhang Fangyuan fetched a hammer from his tool shed. There were a few logs in the yard, perfect for making a chicken coop.

Xu He furrowed his brows slightly and wiped his hands on the apron around his waist. These things were indeed what men were good at. But in the Xu family, his father was often away working. If the chicken coop or pigpen broke, they couldn't always wait for his father to come back and fix it. If it took too long, he'd get scolded. Every time his father repaired something, he would watch. Over time, he learned how to do it himself, so his father didn't haveto be troubled again.

“Then I'll go cook.”

There was no leftover cold rice for the evening meal, so he had to cook fresh rice again. He measured an extra bowl of rice; they could eat some tonight and have enough left for tomorrow morning to pack in Zhang Fangyuan’s lunch box.

Having eaten meat at noon, he kept dinner simple: a cold salad of leftover ferns from the market and a stir-fry of dried cabbage he found in the cupboard. That was enough for dinner.

Listening to the clanging sounds outside the kitchen, Xu He turned back, glanced at the two pieces of cured smoked meat hanging above the stove, used a stool to reach them, took down the cured meat, cut a slice of the streaky cured pork about three fingers wide, and soaked it in rice-washing water.

By the time Xu He finished cooking the meal, Zhang Fangyuan had already prepared all the wooden planks for the chicken coop. They just needed to be assembled and a roof added.

“Time to eat.”

Zhang Fangyuan had smelled the stir-fried dried cabbage long ago, but he hadn’t rushed in while his work was unfinished. When Xu He called, he eagerly hurried over.

“Wash your hands!”

Zhang Fangyuan had to dejectedly go wash his hands.

There was no meat for dinner, but Zhang Fangyuan still ate two large bowls. Xu He’s cold salad was very appetizing—chopped scallions, ginger, garlic, and chili peppers mixed with a bit of soy sauce. The ferns were crispy and tender, with a slight bitterness, perfect for hot weather.

“Tomorrow I won’t go to town with you to help at the stall.”

“Why?!” Zhang Fangyuan’s chopsticks, busy shoveling rice, paused involuntarily at these words.

Xu He explained, “Two people guarding the stall isn’t necessary. Tomorrow I’ll go up the mountain again to look for fresh wild vegetables, and go to town with you the day after.”

Hearing this, Zhang Fangyuan calmed down: “Alright then.”

After eating, Zhang Fangyuan went back to working on the chicken coop. Xu He washed the dishes, tidied the kitchen, and boiled water. After finishing those chores, he went to help Zhang Fangyuan with the chicken coop. They moved the materials to the main hall and worked quietly.

They finished close to the end of the Xu (9-11pm) hour. Zhang Fangyuan stretched his arms, pleased with the completed coop frame. Xu He wouldn’t have much trouble installing it tomorrow. He stood up and pinched Xu He’s ear. “Let’s wash up and sleep.”

He leaned closer and whispered something by Xu He’s ear. Xu He’s ears burned, and he stood up, his body a bit stiff.

………… One could avoid it on the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth.

He silently went to take a bath. Today he didn’t mention washing clothes, going to bed early instead, waiting for Zhang Fangyuan to finish bathing and come in.

When Zhang Fangyuan returned to the room, he was still wearing those large shorts. Under Xu He's gaze, he didn't immediately get into bed but squatted in front of the cabinet to get something. When he came over, Xu He saw it was a booklet.

“I specifically went and bought it.”

Zhang Fangyuan sat leaning against the bedside, looking at the ger lying properly under the covers. He reached out an arm, circled his shoulders, and pulled him to lean against his chest so they could see the booklet together.

Xu He didn’t know what he was up to, thinking he really meant to teach him to read as mentioned earlier. When the booklet opened, his face instantly burned from his ears down.

Even doing that deed made him feel too ashamed to face others. Now, seeing the vividly drawn images on the paper pages depicting exactly what they did after blowing out the lamp, the sense of stimulation was infinitely magnified, making one dare not look directly.

“You… you’ve already looked at this?”

Zhang Fangyuan lowered his gaze to see Xu He’s reddened ears. Suddenly his hand stiffened, and he felt a bit embarrassed himself, “No.”

“Oh.”

 The two flipped through the pages, but their minds wandered, their faces flushed. Halfway through, Zhang Fangyuan, feeling unbearably hot, couldn’t help but toss the book aside.

 

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