The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 224

 

| TBBOTOF | 224

Before dinner, Tang Xu got out of bed decisively.

He decided to refresh himself properly.

Besides the large pot used for cooking pig food, the other pots were all being used to braise ducks.

The aroma was rich and extremely fragrant.

"Every time you make this braised duck, just the smell makes my mouth water," said Old Wen, holding a cup of honey water to soothe his throat. 

He saw Tang Xu gently stirring the pot with a spoon, took a deep sniff, and added, "The scent is so fragrant! When your father and the others make braised duck at the shop, the people living nearby must find it hard to resist, right?"

Tang Xu chuckled softly and gently pressed the spoon against the duck, which had turned a deep crimson color, checking its tenderness. 

Once he felt it was ready, he took the duck out and placed it in a large basin nearby, preparing to thread it onto bamboo sticks to hang and dry later.

"Our shop's braised duck is reasonably priced, so a lot of people from the neighborhood come to buy it. Last time, we even saw someone order ten ducks at once, saying they wanted to add a dish to their banquet at home."

Tang Xu was happy that Tang Erhu and the others had managed to open the braised food shop; it was certainly easier than working the fields all day long.

Last time he went to town and saw Tang Erhu, it was obvious—his dad had put on some weight; his face had rounded out. His dad even joked about it, saying that eating more and working less had made him gain some fat.

Old Wen, still captivated by the aroma, kept his eyes on the large pot steaming with white smoke. "What is that?" he asked, noticing something else in the pot besides the whole ducks—something long and tubular, which looked a lot like... whole intestines?

Tang Xu tilted his head to glance at the spot he was pointing to and replied blandly, “Duck intestines; they taste good when braised.”

Old Wen blinked a few times and silently withdrew his gaze.

Although he had eaten duck intestines before, seeing them twisted together in such a deep crimson color still had a shocking effect on him.

“Next time, I’ll wrap them up and cook them together. Old man, what do you want for dinner tonight?” 

Recently, they had been eating a lot of noodles at home, and he was thinking of making some rice instead.

Old Wen said, “How about steamed pancakes? You could make those lotus leaf pancakes that can hold some meat.”

Tang Xu nodded. “Sure.” He planned to make pancakes and steamed rice because he was craving rice.

Tang Yang and Wei Xi came out of the study, each holding their practiced calligraphy from today, along with a book they had recently been reading.

The book was filled with traditional Chinese characters, which Tang Xu glanced at but couldn’t recognize.

Noticing the two of them entering Old Sun’s room, he raised an eyebrow and turned to Old Wen, asking, “Old man, do you think I should prepare a gift for those two?”

Old Wen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said, “No need for that; that old man hasn’t mentioned taking them as disciples, so there’s no need for a master gift.”

Tang Xu thought about it and agreed, but he still felt that not bringing anything at all would seem inappropriate.

Old Wen saw through his thoughts and suggested that he could send that old fellow a few bottles of fruit wine. “The fruit wine you brew tastes great and won’t get you drunk. Sun Zhengren likes that. It would be even better if you could find a nice set of colored glass cups to go with it.”

Tang Xu couldn’t help but twitch his lips, thinking to himself, Where am I going to get him colored glass cups? He knows roughly how glass is made, but unfortunately, he doesn't know how to make it!

Colored glass cups are hard to come by; if he could make a few, even five or six sets would be enough to make his family wealthy!

His mind had wandered off a bit, so he quickly refocused.

Tang Xu shook his head, placed the pot lid back on, and pulled the firewood from the stove to extinguish the flames.

“Old man, you can go sit inside. What are you doing out here with me?” He tilted his head to look at Old Wen, who was following him to another pot, puzzled about why the old man seemed in such a good mood today; he hadn’t seen him like this before.

Old Wen smiled and said, “It’s stuffy inside. You’re really afraid we’ll freeze; that fire wall is burning too hot. I feel like I’m roasting standing so far away!”

Tang Xu scratched his nose. The fire wall in the main room had been lit early. He was worried that the temperature inside would drop before they started eating, and the food would get cold shortly after being served. 

With old elders and young children at home, he couldn’t let them eat cold food, or they might get sick.

“Is it really that hot?” Tang Xu hadn’t gone into the main room since lighting the fire; he had been busy outside and hadn’t realized how warm it was inside.

Old Wen sighed and looked at him. “You can go check for yourself.”

Tang Xu chuckled and waved his hand. “No need! Ah Dong!!! Can you pull out two pieces of firewood from the fire wall in the main room? Old Wen says it’s too hot!”

Wei Dong agreed and put down the sickle he was using.

He had been cutting bamboo, which he needed later to make a frame.

Zhao Ming was quicker to respond, getting up and saying, “I’ll do it!”

Wei Dong watched him dash over without saying anything, then swung his sickle to cut a notch into the bamboo and expanded it.

He needed to make the notch just right to secure the other pieces of bamboo in place, as it couldn’t be too big or too small.

Liu Ge’er had just come out of the main room after wiping the table and was about to head to the kitchen to help. 

He saw Zhao Ming running over to pull firewood out of the fire wall and quickly reached out to stop him. “Hey, hey, hey! Don’t pull it out! Brother Xu said he’s worried the old elders and kids will get cold in the main room.”

“Brother Xu told me to pull it out,” Zhao Ming said sternly. 

He always seemed to have a serious expression, and Liu Ge’er had never seen him smile.

“Oh, I see.” Liu Ge’er withdrew his hand, but when he noticed Zhao Ming was about to pull all the firewood out, he reached out again to stop him. “Leave two pieces; if you take all of it out, the room will get cold soon.”

Zhao Ming nodded and put the firewood he had pulled out back into the stove, then placed the burnt pieces of wood into a nearby barrel, which contained various sizes of wood meant for burning.

After tidying up the firewood on the ground, he stood up and brushed his hands off, looking at Liu Ge’er. “Are you going to help Brother Xu with the cooking?”

Liu Ge’er shook his head. “What’s wrong? Do you need something from me?”

Zhao Ming replied, “No.” 

After saying that, he walked away, leaving Liu Ge’er looking confused as he watched him leave.

“Brother Xu!” Liu Ge’er called out as he quickly walked over to Tang Xu, who was heading toward the kitchen. “I’ll help you with the cooking.”

Tang Xu smiled and responded, “Old Wen said he wants steamed pancakes. You go get some old sourdough starter to make the dough rise; I’m going to steam some rice.”

Liu Ge’er nodded. “What dishes are we making?”

“Ah Dong brought back some pork ribs this morning. You wash the ribs, soak the dried mushrooms, and also soak some dried bamboo shoots while you’re at it.”

That should be enough; he planned to stew a large pot of ribs, adding some fatty meat to make it fragrant and tender. The old elders would definitely love it.

Tang Xu went into the kitchen and took some dried noodles from the rack, soaking them in a basin—he was preparing to stew noodles, one of his favorites!

While making dinner, the chubby boy ran over, particularly excited as he exclaimed, “Dad! Great-grandpa said he wants to take me as a disciple! He also said I need to study!”

Tang Xu was taken aback, looking down at him with confusion. “What did you do? Why does he want to take you as a disciple?”

“Just now, I took Er Bao and Xiao Bao to listen to great-grandpa tell stories. Then I told him we had already heard those, so he should tell us something different. He didn’t believe me, so he asked me to tell him the story since I had already heard it. I told him, and he was so happy! He even asked me to tell him several stories that great-grandpa had told us before,” the chubby boy said, licking his lips. 

He picked up a large bowl from the small table and gulped down a good portion of warm water, wiping his mouth and boasting, “My mouth was so dry from talking! Great-grandpa said he wants to take me as a disciple and praised me for being smart!”

Tang Xu’s head buzzed as he listened. He had been thinking about how to ask Old Sun to be a teacher for the two young boys at home, but unexpectedly, his eldest son had impressed the old man enough for him to say he wanted to take him as a disciple.

A disciple! Considering Old Sun’s age, he should be at the point of taking in disciples.

Tang Xu reached out and pinched the chubby boy's cheek, seriously reminding him, “You need to study hard with Old Sun. Don’t be mischievous, okay?”

“I will! Dad, I promise to make you proud.” The chubby boy picked up the bowl again and finished the rest of the warm water. “I came to tell you that great-grandpa said he would discuss this with you and father himself.”

Tang Xu nodded, a plan forming in his mind.

After dinner, the dining table in the main room was set with flower tea and pastries. Old Sun took a sip of jasmine tea and glanced at the chubby boy, who was sitting obediently in a chair, swinging his little legs. He smiled slightly.

The chubby boy held a flaky pastry in one hand and was feeding Xiao Bao with the other, gently coaxing his younger brother, “Xiao Bao can’t eat too much. Just take a couple of bites, and I’ll eat the rest!”

The little pastries weren’t large, just about the right size for Xiao Bao to finish in one go. They were sweet on the inside, with a crispy, crumbly outer layer. Tang Xu made them small to prevent the children from overeating and getting stuffed.

Xiao Bao took a bite, and crumbs fell into the chubby boy’s palm. He didn’t mind at all and simply scooped them up with his hand, licking his fingers clean.

Old Sun stroked his beard, his eyes filled with laughter.

“Tang Xu,” he turned to Tang Xu, “I find Wei Junsong to be quite talented, and I’d like to take him as my disciple. Are you and his father willing?”

Tang Xu quickly nodded and patted Wei Dong’s hand.

Wei Dong nodded in agreement.

“Old Sun, my Da Bao is quite clever,” Tang Xu said seriously. “If the old man has taken a liking to him, then of course his father and I are willing.”

Old Sun chuckled and glanced at the chubby boy.

The chubby boy grinned widely at him, while Wei Dong reached out to gently pat his son’s head. “Go and bow to your master.”

The chubby boy responded with an enthusiastic “Okay!” 

He stuffed the remaining half of his flaky pastry into his mouth, clapped his hands, jumped down from the chair, and ran over to kneel in front of Old Sun with a loud thud.

Tang Xu watched him do it, worried that he might hurt his knees.

Fortunately, the chubby boy didn’t feel any pain because he was wearing thick clothes.

Tang Xu handed him a cup of tea. “Offer tea.”

The chubby boy, a bit confused, took the tea cup in both hands and offered it to Old Sun.

Once Old Sun received it with a smile, the boy heard his father say to bow, and he promptly knocked his head down three times. 

Then, with a beaming face, he called out, “Great-grandpa~~!”

The entire room of adults burst into laughter. Old Sun gently patted the top of his head twice, his expression warm and loving. “You can’t call me great-grandpa anymore; you have to call me master.”

“Master~~” the chubby boy replied, grinning from ear to ear, happily acquiescing to whatever he was told to call him.

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