The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 174

 

| TBBOTOF | 174

The weather is getting colder, and there has been heavy snowfall. Despite timely clearing of snow from rooftops, in the village, some roofs have collapsed under the weight of the snow.

Fortunately, no one was injured.

However, this didn't have much to do with Tang Xu and his family. The snow did cover the hay in the backyard, so they went out every day to clear the snow.

After working busily, Tang Xu finished tidying up, and since they weren't going out, he decided to clean up the house.

While organizing the storage room, he moved forward a lot of pickled vegetables and cured meat they had prepared earlier. They would eat these in the near future since keeping them for too long might cause mold and spoilage.

“Dad!” The chubby child, dressed in thick cotton clothes and bundled up like a little ball, ran over with rosy cheeks. “Dad! I want to eat candied hawthorn!”

Tang Xu put down the jar he was holding, turned to look at him, and said, “Alright, I'll make some for you all later. Where’s your father?”

“Dad and Er Bao are building a snowman!” The chubby child took a step forward, but Tang Xu quickly stopped him, saying, “Don’t come in, it’s messy here and you might slip. Go play outside, and if you feel cold, come inside right away and check if your little brother is cold too.”

“Got it~” The chubby child turned around and ran out, but because he was so bundled up, he ran much slower.

Seeing how clumsy he looked, Tang Xu couldn’t help but laugh. 

Xu Ze asked, “Brother Xu, are you planning to get some hawthorns?”

“Yes, let’s get plenty. It’s cold, so whatever we make will keep well. Also, bring some crabapples and pears,” Tang Xu actually wanted to make a lot more. If they couldn’t finish it, they could always sell it later.

Candied hawthorns are a perfect treat for this kind of weather—crunchy when you bite into them, sweet and tangy at the same time.

Xu Ze went to get the fresh fruits that Tang Xu had stored and also brought back a good amount of drunken dates.

"Can these be made into candied treats too?" Xu Ze asked.

"Of course! You can even make candied yams and taro," Tang Xu replied, brushing the dust off his clothes before heading to wash his hands and then the fruits.

"Yams and taro too? How do you make them?" Xu Ze asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Tang Xu laughed and said, "Just cut them into pieces, steam them, and then coat them in sugar, just like with the fruit. You can make candied anything—even cucumbers if you want."

With a spark of curiosity, Xu Ze ran to the ice storage and brought back a fresh cucumber. "Let's make one and see how it tastes!"

Tang Xu playfully poked his cheek. "Just make sure you actually eat it after it's done."

"Of course I'll eat it! It's covered in sugar—how could I not?" Xu Ze then went to grab some taro and yams, peeling and cutting them into pieces before steaming them.

Tang Xu placed the washed fruits in a drying net to drain the water, and once they were dry, he would string them together to make candied treats.

Wei Xi and Tang Yang heard that he was making candied hawthorns and came over to help. 

When they learned that almost anything could be made into a candied treat, their curiosity was piqued too. They each brought over a green chili pepper and a green eggplant to try making into candied snacks.

"You might as well try finding some small tomatoes instead. Steaming the eggplant and then coating it in sugar might not turn out as good as you think," Tang Xu suggested, genuinely unable to imagine what candied eggplant would taste like.

Tang Yang thought about it and agreed that his brother was probably right. He went back to get some tomatoes, picking out five small ones to bring over.

"You guys work on that skewer, but don't make it too big. String four fruits on each skewer, starting with the smaller ones at the bottom and the larger ones on top," Tang Xu instructed, handing them bamboo skewers and showing them how to thread the hawthorns as an example.

While they sat down to thread the fruits, Tang Xu glanced out the door and saw that several snowmen of various sizes had already been built in the courtyard, each one with eyes, noses, and mouths made of stones.

"Nice work!" Tang Xu gave a thumbs up to the three kids, "Now hurry back inside and change your clothes, and drink some ginger tea!"

Wei Dong bent down to pick up Xiaobao, and nodded towards the two other little boys, "Let's go."

The four of them—father and sons—rushed inside.

Tang Xu followed them into the house, grabbed some dry clothes for them to change into, and then heated up water to soak their feet.

The four of them sat in a row, each holding a bowl of steaming hot ginger tea. The spicy-sweet drink warmed them from the inside out.

Xiao Bao sipped his tea carefully, blowing on it and letting out little hissing sounds as he drank. "Spicy!"

"But it'll make you sweat and keep you from getting sick. Otherwise, you might catch a cold," Tang Xu said, gently patting his little head, which was now warm to the touch.

Er Bao and the chubby boy, both with warm feet, also felt cozy and comfortable, and Tang Xu breathed a small sigh of relief.

After Tang Xu finished patting his son's head, he was about to pull his hand back, but Wei Dong narrowed his eyes and extended his own head, saying, "Pat mine."

"Huh?" Tang Xu was momentarily stunned, then he chuckled. "Really? Competing with the kids over this? Fine, fine, you're warm too."

Wei Dong let out a light hum, clearly displeased at being overlooked. 

After all, who doesn’t want some attention too?

Before they had children, the two of them used to be affectionate all the time. Now that they had kids, it wasn’t as easy to have those intimate moments.

"Brother, we’ve all changed our clothes. When are you going to make the candied hawthorns?" Tang Yang called out from outside the window.

"Right now!" Tang Xu pointed to a few bowls on the ground. "You help pour them, and I'll make the candied hawthorns."

The three little ones quickly put on their shoes and followed Tang Xu to the kitchen, obediently sitting on small stools, watching eagerly as Tang Xu boiled the sugar and made the candied hawthorns.

Since it was cold, the candied hawthorns cooled quickly. Each piece of fruit was coated in a layer of sugar, forming a crunchy, crystal-clear shell that looked so tempting you just wanted to take a bite.

The three little ones couldn't help but swallow, but none of them moved, sitting patiently with their faces upturned, waiting for Tang Xu to give them their share.

Tang Xu first gave the skewers to the three who had helped out, then to the three who had been waiting to eat.

"Go ahead and eat," Tang Xu said as he took a bite of a sugar-coated yam skewer. It made a crisp crunching sound, revealing the soft, sweet, and fluffy yam inside.

"Take it over to the old man," Tang Xu said, placing two skewers of candied yams and taro on a plate and handing it to Wei Xi. "I doubt they can eat the hawthorns."

"Probably not, their teeth aren't great anymore," Wei Xi replied, holding a skewer of hawthorn in his mouth while carrying the plate as he ran off.

Xu Ze finished eating a crabapple skewer and then reached for the cucumber one he had picked earlier.

The cucumber, coated in a golden layer of caramelized sugar, looked unusually shiny and green, almost too pretty to eat.

Tang Xu handed a skewer of drunken dates to Wei Dong, who had just come in from outside, then noticed Xu Ze's conflicted expression. 

He laughed and said, "This is what you chose yourself. You can't waste it, so no matter how reluctant you feel, you have to finish it."

After saying that, he pointed to the nearby skewers of tomatoes and chili peppers. "You two, eat yours too."

The tomato skewer likely wouldn’t taste too bad—after all, cherry tomatoes are commonly sold candied in later times. But this variety of tomato wasn’t as sweet; when they cooked with it, they often had to add sugar to balance the sourness.

Wei Xi took the chili pepper, while Tang Yang grabbed the tomato. They exchanged a glance and then turned to look at Xu Ze.

The three boys raised their unusual candied skewers and lightly tapped them together.

Then, they all took a bite.

As soon as they took a bite, they all felt like they were questioning their life choices.

One was sweet and spicy, another sweet and sour, and the third one was sweet but tasteless after that.

All three of them grimaced, clearly not enjoying the strange flavors in their mouths.

However, sticking to their principle of not wasting food, they each forced themselves to finish their skewers, even though they didn’t like them. They silently vowed never to let their curiosity get the better of them again.

They made quite a few candied hawthorns, skewered onto stalks made from corn husks, creating a bright red display.

"Let's sell these. Eating too many isn’t good for us. If we want more, we can always make more," Tang Xu suggested to Xu Ze, smiling as he added, "Ze’er, why don't you try selling them? Three coins per skewer."

Xu Ze's eyes widened in surprise, pointing at his own nose. "Me? Sell them?"

"Yes," Tang Xu nodded, "You said you wanted to find a way to make money, right? Start by selling the candied hawthorns—it'll help you build confidence." Tang Xu smiled and gave him a gentle pat on the head.

Xu Ze was thrilled, nodding enthusiastically. "I'll do my best to sell them!"

Tang Yang and Wei Xi, eager to join in the fun, decided to help too. The three children set up a small stall right outside their house.

However, since the road was covered in thick snow that no one had cleared, they waited for a long time without seeing a single customer.

"This isn’t working," Tang Yang said, rubbing his hands together and blowing on them for warmth. "How about we start calling out to attract people?"

Wei Xi nodded in agreement. "Good idea!"

The three boys started calling out, which did attract quite a few people to come and take a look. 

However, seeing the thick snow on the ground, no one was willing to make the effort to walk over.

Tang Yang’s eyes lit up with an idea, and he quickly ran back home. "Brother-in-law!"

Wei Dong was busy feeding the mule when he heard Tang Yang call out, so he turned to look at him. "What's up?"

"Brother-in-law, can I borrow the mule? We want to go sell the candied hawthorns," Tang Yang ran up to him, clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture. 

"The roads are hard to walk on, so the villagers see us but don’t come over to buy. I was thinking if we hitch up the mule cart and go around, we could probably sell everything."

Wei Dong nodded. "Alright, just bring me the cloth wraps for the mule's legs."

In snowy weather, even the mule's legs could get cold. Tang Xu had made some long, thick leg wraps for the mule, and they always put them on whenever they took the mule out in the snow.

Wei Dong hitched up the mule cart and took Wei Xi and Xu Ze with him. They not only brought the candied hawthorns but also a jar of salted duck eggs to deliver to the old family home, to give the elderly folks a little something extra for their meals.

As they drove the cart around, calling out, people started coming out to take a look. Seeing that they were selling candied hawthorns at just three coins per skewer, most families with children ended up buying at least one.

Luckily, they had made a lot of candy, but even so, it wasn’t enough to meet the demand.

They ended up collecting over a hundred copper coins, and Xu Ze was grinning from ear to ear.

He was truly delighted.

When they arrived at the Tang family’s old home and brought the jar of salted duck eggs inside, the old lady was surprised.

"The roads are almost blocked off. How did you three manage to get here?"  Wu Guizhi quickly pulled the three children onto the warm kang and called out to Luo Pingping, "Hurry and make some ginger tea. They need to drink a hot bowl of it to avoid catching a cold."

"We're fine, Grandma. These salted duck eggs were pickled by my brother, and they're really good! You should scoop one out when you have porridge in the morning. It goes perfectly together!" Tang Yang said as he grabbed a handful of roasted peanuts from the kang and started cracking them open with a crunch.

 "We made a lot of candied hawthorns at home, and we saved two for you and Grandpa."

Xu Ze handed over the two yam skewers. "Grandma, try these. They're soft and really tasty."

Wu Guizhi accepted them with a beaming smile, patting Xu Ze affectionately. Her eyes were full of love. "Ze’er, you’ve grown so much, and you're looking more and more beautiful."

Xu Ze, sitting on the edge of the kang, suggested, "Grandma, when the weather gets better, why don't you come over and stay with us for a few days? Brother Xu always mentions you."

"It’s too close to the end of the year to go visit now. I’ll come over after the New Year, when spring arrives. How are the old men doing?" Wu Guizhi chatted with him for a bit.

"They’re all doing well, Grandma. But you have to take good care of yourself too. If anything comes up, make sure to let us know," Xu Ze replied with a nod.

The old lady had always been fond of Xu Ze. 

This ger was sweet-looking, with a pair of dimples that appeared whenever he smiled, giving him a soft and endearing appearance. 

This kind of look was especially appealing to elderly women. 

Plus, Xu Ze was the great-great-grandson of Old Master Xu, which only made him more precious in her eyes.

"Ze’er, you're getting to the age where you should be thinking about getting engaged. Have you made any plans?" the old lady suddenly changed the subject, catching him off guard.

Xu Ze froze, his face turning beet red in an instant.

But—but—but—he’s only in his early teens!

Isn’t it way too early to be thinking about this!

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