TTTQF Chapter 85

Homesick

In the evening, Jiang Miao mentions he will make some zongzi for the family the next day. Second Uncle Jiang takes the money and goes to a few familiar households to buy some glutinous rice.

Glutinous rice needs to be soaked beforehand so that the zongzi won’t expand and burst the leaves when cooked. Seeing Jiang Miao dump all the glutinous rice into a basin to soak overnight, Second Uncle Jiang feels a little distressed. This glutinous rice is much more expensive than the coarse rice they usually eat, and honestly, it just tastes like rice. Though it is more fragrant and glutinous, it is still just rice.

Wealthy families might enjoy it with some sugar, dipping the zongzi in sugar for a sweet, soft, and fragrant taste. But ordinary households don’t have sugar to spare.

"Uncle, do you have any bacon at home?" Fresh meat zongzi is also delicious, but you can't buy meat in Jiangjiawan.

Second Uncle Jiang nods, "Yes, there's a large piece hanging in the basket above. If you need it, I can take it down for you. Are you planning to eat it tomorrow?"

"It’s for making zongzi. The bacon is too tough; soaking it overnight will also help reduce the saltiness."

Second Uncle Jiang pauses with the stick in his hand, thinking, Using meat to make zongzi? Can it taste good?

"Second Uncle, what's wrong?"

"Nothing... nothing at all. Are you really going to use bacon?" Second Uncle Jiang can’t help but confirm again.

"Fresh meat would be better, but it’s not available here," Jiang Miao says with some regret.

Second Uncle Jiang silently takes down the cured meat and soaks it in the basin. Before leaving, he glances at the two mismatched ingredients, filled with questions, and goes to discuss them with Second Aunt Jiang.

"What do you know? Maybe Ah Miao learned this method from outside. There are so many people in Liangjing, and they have all sorts of ways of eating," Second Aunt Jiang thinks he is making too much fuss. After all, Ah Miao runs a shop; surely he wouldn’t be unreliable when it comes to food.

Today, Jiang Yu gestures to them for a long time, saying that the shop is doing well, with so many customers every day it is hard to count. Jiang Yu also hands her the earnings from last month, saying it is for the family.

Can Second Aunt Jiang accept it? She initially refuses the money, but Jiang Yu is persistent and insists on giving it to her. She can only accept it and save it for Jiang Yu’s future dowry.

Here, they receive money, and then the head of the household brings back a bag of money, saying it is given by Ah Miao. Aunt Jiang can't help but feel a bit emotional. She often hears people say that money is easy to make in the city, and she didn't believe it at the time, but now it really seems to be true! It’s a pity she’s getting old and can’t leave home; otherwise, it would be better to go out and find some work than staying at home.

Second Uncle Jiang isn’t upset by the comment. Instead, he turns to ask about Jiang Yu. This girl doesn’t talk much and doesn’t know how to vent her feelings when things happen. She comes back with good spirits this time, but he wonders if she has really moved on or is just putting on a brave face to avoid worrying them.

“I think she really has let it go. I mentioned the Liu family’s misfortune to her, and she doesn’t react much.”

“Why did you tell her that?” In Second Uncle Jiang’s view, it is best to just forget about the Liu family and not mention them at all.

“I couldn’t keep it to myself. It’s retribution! The Liu family was just relying on Liu Wang’s business profits and looked down on our Xiao Yu. I find out that before they came to break off the engagement, Liu Wang was already involved with another girl. And now, Liu Wang gets caught selling counterfeit goods by the authorities. Not only does he have to pay fines, but he also gets beaten. When that family hears about it, they come to break off the engagement too. It makes me laugh so much, haha. How could I not tell Xiao Yu about this good news?”

Second Uncle Jiang also feels quite pleased, thinking that informing Jiang Yu about this is a good thing.

…

Early the next morning, before dawn, Jiang Miao gets up to retrieve the soaked glutinous rice and prepare the ingredients. Second Uncle and Second Aunt Jiang take the girls from the family to gather zongzi leaves. The women are very efficient at picking; in just over an hour, the baskets and sacks they bring are all filled up.

Several people carry the zongzi leaves back, either by carrying them or putting them on their backs. Their fellow villagers are surprised to see so many zongzi leaves being gathered. The leaves can’t be eaten or used, so why pick so many? How many zongzi are they planning to make?

Second Aunt Jiang doesn’t explain much, just says they are needed, and goes home. As they reach the courtyard, the aroma of rice mixed with meat wafts out from the kitchen. They haven’t eaten breakfast yet, and their stomachs begin to growl upon smelling it.

Jiang Miao sits in the open space in front of the kitchen, making rice dumplings. With each spread, roll, and tie, a small, green, triangular zongzi appears before everyone’s eyes. Soon, the basin is filled with many zongzi.

“Brother Miao, can we eat the zongzi now?” Jiang Yue asks, her eyes drifting towards the kitchen.

“Not yet. It will take a while. I’ve cooked porridge in the kitchen; you all go eat that first.” The zongzi need to cook longer to avoid being undercooked. Jiang Miao has them pressed down in the water, and they have been cooking for about an hour.

After they finish the porridge, they move the benches over and start wrapping the zongzi. The bacon, having soaked overnight, is now softened and much less salty. Jiang Miao marinates it with yellow wine and ginger, then adds some soy sauce and brown sugar for color and flavor. When added to the seasoned glutinous rice, the aroma alone is enough to make one feel hungry.

The kids also come over to join in the fun. Jiang Miao lets them try their hand at wrapping, knowing that the resulting "ugly" zongzi will be theirs to eat.

Everyone chats while wrapping zongzi, quickly using up all the glutinous rice and meat that Jiang Miao has prepared.

"Almost done. That should be enough. I’ll go inside to check." Jiang Miao goes into the kitchen, pokes one of the zongzi with chopsticks, and pinches it with his hand. The zongzi feels soft and elastic; he knows they are done. He takes the zongzi out and places them in a wooden basin, then carries a batch of ten zongzi outside.

There are exactly ten people in the courtyard, so everyone gets one. Unwrapping the green leaves, the aroma becomes even more intense. Jiang Ershu, who has been skeptical, is won over by the flavor as soon as he takes a bite. The preserved meat is tender and stringy, and its chewy texture combined with the soft, savory glutinous rice makes for a delicious treat.

After finishing this batch, they go back for more, and if Jiang Miao hadn’t warned them that too much glutinous rice might be hard to digest, they probably wouldn’t have stopped.

After they finish the zongzi, Jiang Miao feels more confident about the shop’s new products.

Jiang Miao and Jiang Ershu pack the zongzi leaves into burlap sacks and then take them to the roadside at the village entrance. By then, the carriage arrives to pick them up.

The driver, seeing them from afar, quickly comes over to help. The large bags of zongzi leaves are piled into the carriage, leaving the four of them to squeeze outside.

"Young Master Jiang, I apologize. I should have brought a larger carriage," the driver says.

"It’s alright. I didn’t expect us to gather so many," Jiang Miao reassures him.

Once everyone is settled, the driver cracks the whip and heads towards Liangjing City.

Back in the city, Jiang Miao unloads the zongzi leaves in the courtyard, then calls the others to help wash them. He then takes the carriage to order some pork and goes to Manager Wang’s store to buy glutinous rice.

Manager Wang is delighted to see Jiang Miao. He says he hasn’t misjudged, and that Jiang Miao is clearly a capable person. Since the shop opened, it has brought him quite a bit of business.

"What do you need today?" Manager Wang asks.

"I need some glutinous rice. Let’s get 200 kilograms first."

"Making zongzi?" Manager Wang’s food radar immediately goes off. At the beginning of spring, he brought two ducks to Jiang Miao and had him cook them. He ate so much that he wanted to rush back overnight and catch a few more.

"Yes, with the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, I’m making zongzi to sell," Jiang Miao explains, adding, "Don’t worry, I’ll send a basket to you once they’re ready."

"That’s my brother!" Manager Wang praises. "Make more. I’ll include some zongzi as festival gifts."

Jiang Miao smiles, "Aren’t you worried they might not taste good?"

"If they don’t taste good, I’ll just accept it," Manager Wang says. He is already very impressed with Jiang Miao’s cooking skills; can something as simple as zongzi stump him?

While they are talking, the glutinous rice is already weighed. Jiang Miao pays and rushes back to the small shop.

After the first month of the trial period, he has increased everyone’s wages, and they work even harder now.

Fresh meat zongzi are tastier than preserved meat zongzi. After they are done, everyone eats several zongzi each and skips dinner. Jiang Miao has them bring bamboo baskets, fills some to take on the carriage, and also sets aside some for the driver. 

He gives a basket to Manager Wang's shop and another to the residents of the courtyard when he returns.

Everyone praises the zongzi and then pays to order some, saving themselves the trouble of making them.

"Brother, is this basket for us to eat at home?" Xiao Shitou is happy when he sees that there is still a basket left.

"The shop makes zongzi every day. If you want to eat, go to the shop to get some," Jiang Miao says, shattering his hopes.

"Ah?" Xiao Shitou’s face falls. "Then who are these for?"

"These are for Xiao Mu’s older brother. By the way, tomorrow, after breakfast at the shop, have Sister Xiaoyu get some zongzi for you to take to your teacher and give one to each of your classmates."

"Oh!" Xiao Shitou nods, still focused on the basket. "Can Brother Pei Che eat that much?" It’s a whole big basket!

"He has classmates too; he can’t eat them all by himself," Jiang Miao says. He then sees Pei Mu silently taking a zongzi and walking towards Xiao Baidian. He quickly stops him. 

"Be good, Xiao Baidian doesn’t eat this. Xiao Shitou, go get some dried fish to feed it."

Pei Mu is a bit disappointed. The zongzi is so delicious; why can’t Xiao Baidian eat it?

Jiang’s small shop posts a sign for May's special breakfast. When everyone gathers around to see, they find that only zongzi is being served, including fresh meat zongzi, salted egg yolk zongzi, and pork rib zongzi, all priced at five wen each, which is a fair price.

"Is the Young Heir's wife out of options?" Since Jiang Miao's identity is exposed, some people cheekily refer to him this way in private. However, when they meet, they still address him politely as Manager Jiang.

"Who knows? I’m just used to eating sweet zongzi, but I’m actually quite interested in these savory ones. I heard that in some southern regions, they eat savory zongzi."

"Tsk tsk, I won’t eat them. Savory zongzi must taste strange," says a firm sweet-lover with a look of disdain.

Everyone has different opinions, and most are negative. However, when the pot of cooking zongzi is brought outside, the unique aroma attracts many customers.

Jiang Miao has prepared wooden sticks in advance, so when customers come to buy, the staff cut open the strings, peel the zongzi, and skewer them on the sticks for the customers to hold and eat. This is both convenient and hygienic, avoiding the problem of their hands getting sticky.

This thoughtful gesture receives unanimous praise, and the savory zongzi wins over the majority of customers.

After eating, one customer wants to order some to give as gifts. He looks at the counter, glances inside, and asks, "Daniu, where is Manager Jiang?"

"He didn’t come today; he went out to deliver zongzi," Daniu, busy with tasks, answers without raising his head.

"I wanted to discuss some business with him. When will he be back?"

"I’m not sure. How about you tell me what you need, and I’ll let him know when he returns?" Daniu suggests.

"That works. I want..."

Jiang Miao doesn’t expect to find business waiting for him after just one day away. He grabs a basket and heads to the Imperial Academy. When Brother Fang sees him, he asks, "Bringing food for Master Pei again?"

"I brought some for you too," Jiang Miao says with a smile, taking out a few zongzi and placing them on the table. "Try these savory fresh meat zongzi and see if you can get used to them."

"Master Pei is lucky. You’re becoming quite famous at the Academy. Even Dean Li asked about it the last time he passed by," Brother Fang says.

"Well, it's rare to see a male wife. It’s unusual wherever you go."

"It’s not just because of this. Isn’t it also because you often bring food for Master Pei?"

"Never mind that. I’m going in now. By the way, since they’re still warm, you should finish them while they’re hot," Jiang Miao reminds him before taking the basket and walking inside with Pei Mu.

As soon as they leave, Brother Fang unwraps a zongzi and is about to take a bite when he notices someone coming.

"Dean Li, you’re back!" Brother Fang greets him warmly. Dean Li visits the academic office every few days.

"Yes, what’s that in your hand?"

"Fresh meat zongzi. Master Pei’s wife just came by to deliver some and gave me a few," Brother Fang explains. Noticing Dean Li’s gaze lingering on the zongzi, he adds, "Oh, you haven’t had anything to eat, right? Let me peel one for you."

Dean Li coughs lightly. "My stomach is indeed a bit empty. Give it to me, I’ll eat it inside." Being from the southern regions, he hasn’t returned there in decades while serving as an official in Liangjing. Today’s meat zongzi really stirs up his homesickness, making him shamelessly ask for some.

Brother Fang bundles up the remaining zongzi and hands them over. After taking a bite of the zongzi, Brother Fang suddenly regrets it a little. He should have saved more for himself.

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