The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 180

 

| TBBOTOF | 180

In the main room, Tang Xu served a small bowl for each person, and then placed some meat pies onto small plates for them.

Ever since coming back, Xiao Bao has been sitting by himself, eating without needing anyone to feed him. His small hands grasp the food, and he's getting quite skilled at using them.

There were two kinds of fillings in the meat pies, one with pork cracklings. Tang Xu recently developed a particular liking for pickled cabbage and felt that this batch of pickles was especially good.

"When we eat shazhu cai, I'll make blood sausages," Tang Xu said, taking a bite of the meat pie. Since he wasn’t stingy with the oil, the first bite released a burst of juice.

Wei Dong turned slightly to avoid it and handed him a cloth to wipe his mouth.

"If you want to eat it, we'll slaughter a pig early tomorrow."

Most families keep their pigs until right before the New Year, worrying that an early slaughter would not leave the pig with enough meat. But their family didn’t need to worry; their pigs were all plump.

It was said that because of the fat sow and the wild boar producing two litters a year, Tang Xu had expanded the pigsty, mainly because he didn’t want the sow to be cramped when giving birth. 

So, he leveled the adjacent land and connected it to the pigsty, making a birthing room for the sow.

Now, besides the two large pigs kept for breeding, there were three pigs intended for slaughtering as New Year's pigs. 

These pigs each weighed around 300 jin (about 150 kg). Perhaps due to the wild boar's influence in breeding, their pigs had a particularly good appetite, ate a lot, and gained weight quickly. 

Moreover, they never got sick.

"Slaughter the pig tomorrow? I was thinking we should wait until Dad and the others come back," Tang Xu waved his hand, expressing that slaughtering a pig should be a family affair to make it lively. 

When the time comes, they could cook a big pot of sauerkraut, blood sausage, and pork ribs—the thought of it made his mouth water uncontrollably. 

Tang Xu took another bite of the meat pie. "With the snow piled up so thick on the road, who knows when Dad and the others will be able to return."

"Is business in town doing well?" Tang Qi asked casually.

Tang Xu nodded. "It's going alright. Since it got cold, we stopped selling ducks and geese. Now we only sell marinated offal, marinated chicken, tofu, and eggs. Business has been steady. Ah Li and Auntie still serve noodles at lunch."

"That sounds pretty tough," Tang Qi said, picking up a meat pie filled with pickled cabbage and placing it in his bowl before eating.

"What about over there? With the snow, are you still going out?" The two of them reconciled their accounts monthly. 

Initially, they planned to do it every three months, but Tang Qi insisted that it wasn't safe to keep the money with him for too long, so they agreed to settle the accounts monthly.

Tang Qi shook his head and took a sip of porridge. "We have a cow cart, so getting there is easy. I make the goods every day, and keep it fresh. After lunch, I take a round trip, and sales were even faster than before. Everyone's stuck at home with nothing to do, so they get bored. They really enjoy the spicy strips I make; they're chewy and just what they like."

Tang Xu raised an eyebrow. "In that case, you can make different flavors: spicy, sweet and spicy, and five-spice. You can also vary the sizes and lengths so you don't have to separate them when selling," he said with a light laugh, putting down his chopsticks and using his fingers to gesture the different sizes.

Tang Qi nodded repeatedly. "That's a great idea. I'll sell them like that starting tomorrow."

"You don't have to limit yourself to selling just spicy strips. You could also make tofu, fry tofu puffs, or press tofu to make tofu jerky. You can mix them with different seasonings and sell them. It's all about how you prepare them and the texture you want. As for tofu, it's versatile—you can do anything with it," Tang Xu suggested, offering more ideas.

Everyone at the table looked up at Tang Xu, impressed. He had really figured out how to run the business, coming up with so many variations just with tofu.

"No wonder you can make money," Old Wen joked, dipping a lamb-filled meat pie into a little vinegar as he teased Tang Xu with a smile. "With that mind of yours, you could even make it big in the capital."

"It's just some ideas, nothing more than repackaging the same thing. No need to flatter me," Tang Xu replied. He noticed that Xiao Bao had finished half of his meat pie and asked him, "Do you want more?"

Xiao Bao shook his head and pointed at the salted egg. "I want that."

"Alright, I'll give you half. Eat it with your porridge," Tang Xu said, cutting the salted egg in half and handing him a small spoon.

Xiao Bao scooped out half of the egg white and dropped it into Er Bao's bowl of porridge, then grinned at his second brother, "Eat."

Er Bao nodded, holding his bowl and slurping his porridge happily. Tang Xu couldn’t help but think that his second son was like a simple, happy-go-lucky kid who would eat anything given to him.

“Is it enough?” Tang Xu asked.

Er Bao, his cheeks puffed out with food, shook his head. After swallowing the porridge and egg white in his mouth, he grabbed another meat pie and took a big bite, nearly finishing a third of it in one go.

“Slow down and chew your food properly,” Tang Xu said, feeling a bit worried as he watched his son.

He then glanced at Wei Dong. This father really set an example for his sons; the two boys were taking after his appetite. Even at just one and a half and two and a half years old, they were already little eating machines.

Considering how big the two of them were growing, eating so much and being so active, running and jumping around all day, it was no wonder they were growing up like weeds.

Old Wen, who didn’t have a beard, rubbed his chin and smiled. “It’s rare to find someone who’s content with a steady, peaceful life, earning money bit by bit. Most people with money dream of moving to a big city, becoming a lord or lady, and having servants to wait on them. But here you are, with silver in hand, still working hard and raising your kids yourself.”

Tang Xu didn’t feel the need to explain his laid-back, contented mindset. He simply smiled and said, “I guess I’m destined to work hard. Besides, I actually like it this way. Having strangers coming and going in my home would make me uncomfortable.”

Old Wen nodded with a smile, praising Tang Xu, "You truly are a remarkable person."

He had seen all kinds of people in the capital, where the palace was filled with a myriad of personalities and the competition among them was fierce, Old Wen couldn’t help but appreciate Tang Xu's simplicity. Few people, male or female, had such a clear and contented mindset.

Tang Xu just smiled without responding to the compliment.

Old Wen didn’t press further and continued eating.

Wei Dong ate quickly and a lot. Whenever he shared a meal with others, his hearty appetite seemed to encourage everyone else at the table to eat a bit more, even the two old men.

Xu Ze brought over another large bowl of porridge and placed it nearby, so anyone could help themselves.

"Brother-in-law sure can eat," Tang Yang murmured quietly, keeping count and noticing that Wei Dong was reaching for his third lamb-filled meat pie. He whispered this to Wei Xi, who was sitting next to him.

Wei Xi, who was on his seventh meat pie, nodded and said, "My brother has always had a big appetite. It's not like you don’t know this."

"I'm still amazed every time I see it," Tang Yang muttered softly.

Wei Dong glanced at him, and Tang Yang quickly hid his face behind his bowl.

After the meal, Tang Qi, his wife, and their child prepared to head back on the cow cart. Xu Ze handed over five medicine packets and said, "Just follow the old man's instructions for how to brew these."

Li Juan nodded, accepting them and thanking him before they left.

Tang Xu escorted them to the door and handed a small basket to Tang Qi. "Here, take this."

Tang Qi took the basket and saw that it was filled with dried meat. He quickly tried to return it. "I can't accept this; you've already been too generous."

"Nonsense, it's not for you," Tang Xu said, pushing the basket back toward him and giving him a stern look. "It's freshly made jerky. Take it back and steam it before eating. If you keep it in a dry place, it’ll last quite a while. It’s a good snack, and Uncle can even use it as a side dish when he drinks."

Tang Qi pursed his lips, then held the basket close to his chest.

Tang Xu smiled and patted his shoulder, saying nothing more except, "We haven't split the family, so we can't let them suffer too much."

Both of them knew exactly what he meant by "them," without needing to say it out loud.

Tang Qi nodded. "I understand."

"One more thing," Tang Xu said, glancing at Li Juan, who was sitting on the cart, bundling their child tightly in a cotton blanket. 

When she looked up at him, he gave her a slight smile, which she instinctively returned. 

Turning back to Tang Qi, Tang Xu continued, "The ointment and herbal medicine we gave you for the child—don't share any of it with your mother. If the two children have different symptoms and if you use the wrong medicine, it could make things worse, and we’d all be in trouble."

Tang Qi was momentarily stunned but then nodded. "You're right. I was just thinking about giving the ointment to my younger brother, but after what you said, I definitely won’t."

Tang Qi shook his head with a bitter smile, saying, "You should've seen my mother. It's like she's possessed or something."

Tang Xu didn't offer any judgment. Whether she was possessed or not wasn't something new, and whether she was losing her mind had nothing to do with him.

"Go on, don't let the child catch a cold," Tang Xu said, not wanting to say more. He waved his hand, signaling them to leave.

Tang Qi responded with a grunt, climbed onto the cart, and patted the cow on its rear.

The cow flicked its tail, lifted its head with a low moo, and then slowly began to plod forward.

Tang Xu stood at the door, watching them leave until they disappeared from sight. Only then did he close the door.

Inside, Wei Dong was busy writing something, which was a rare sight. Tang Xu, curious, walked over to take a look.

"What’s this?" he asked, glancing at the messy writing, which seemed to be a jumble of ideas, almost like a plan of some sort.

Tang Xu furrowed his brow, staring at the paper for a while but couldn’t make sense of it.

"Ah Dong, your handwriting is worse than Xiao Xi's," he said, comparing the scribbles to ghostly scrawls. "Is this supposed to be cursive?"

"I can read it," Wei Dong replied without looking up, continuing to write quickly.

Tang Xu clicked his tongue, clearly displeased with Wei Dong’s nonchalant attitude.

He poked Wei Dong's arm and asked, "Where are the boys? They’re not in the house or the yard."

"They went over to the old man's place. All of them," Wei Dong answered, finishing the last strokes of his writing before looking up at Tang Xu. "Do you understand?"

"Nope," Tang Xu shook his head.

Wei Dong pointed to the paper. "This part is about the goods I plan to buy—the prices and quantities."

Tang Xu nodded, "Oh, now I get it."

He realized he had been looking at it horizontally, when it was meant to be read vertically.

Looking more closely, he noticed that Wei Dong wasn't planning to buy much, mostly just some food items.

Frowning, Tang Xu asked, "The road is so long, won't the food spoil by the time it gets there?"

"We'll sell as we go," Wei Dong explained. He never planned to take all the goods to the provincial city for sale. 

Instead, the caravan would sell along the way, buying more goods as they traveled. This way, they wouldn’t need to carry too much at once, and it also reduced the risk of being robbed.

Tang Xu nodded slightly, thinking that this was a smart approach. Unlike escorts, who had to transport goods to a specific destination before unloading, their caravan could stop at various towns along the route, sell what they had, and restock before continuing. If they sold well, they could even turn back after restocking.

Investing in their own caravan gave them the freedom to operate however they wanted, making their own rules.

The more Tang Xu thought about it, the more it made sense. He asked, "So, what kinds of food will you bring?"

"Only what will keep well," Wei Dong replied, looking at him.

Tang Xu blinked in surprise, widening his eyes. "Oh?"

"How about selling marinated foods?" Wei Dong suggested, pulling Tang Xu onto his lap and wrapping an arm around his waist. 

He kissed him gently before continuing, "You didn’t want to partner with Fuyun Restaurant because you were worried about the strain without much profit. So why don’t we do it ourselves? If we could make a hundred pieces of dried marinated food to sell, don’t you think we could earn even more silver?"

Tang Xu stared at him, shocked.

"Are you thinking of getting the villagers involved in this?" he asked, astonished by the bold idea.

This kind of endeavor was too big for just their family to handle alone, and Tang Xu knew that if Wei Dong brought it up, he must have already thought of a way to make it work.

Sure enough, Wei Dong nodded. "We'll keep the spice blend secret. Whoever wants to make it can buy the spices from us, then bring the finished products back. We'll buy them back and sell them ourselves."

Tang Xu twitched his lips, unable to resist commenting, "Old Wen was just saying that I'm good at business, but I think you're the real mastermind here."

Wei Dong lowered his head and planted a kiss on him.

Well, that’s why they made such a good team—an affectionate and harmonious couple!

Previous TOC Next