Since all the eggs at home were managed by Old Madam Liu, Liu An went to her after washing his hands and asked, “Grandma, how many eggs do we still have?”
Thinking her grandson simply wanted some eggs to eat, Old Madam Liu hurried to comfort him. “There are about thirty left—enough for you to eat for quite a while. If we run out, Grandma will buy more for you. Don’t worry. Are you hungry? I made two meat patties just for you today. How about I steam you some egg custard tomorrow?”
Liu An shook his head. “Grandma, no need to steam egg custard. Tomorrow morning, could you take out twenty eggs and braise them for me?”
“Twenty?” Old Madam Liu was startled. “How could you possibly eat that many? It’s hot out—if we braise too much, they’ll spoil.” Afraid he didn’t understand, she patiently explained.
At that moment, Liu Sanzhuang walked over and lightly smacked the back of Liu An’s head. “You little rascal, what scheme are you up to now? You think you can eat twenty eggs by yourself?”
Rubbing his head, Liu An shot him a resentful look. “Dad, how many times have I told you not to hit my head? You’ll knock me stupid!”
Old Master Liu glared at his son. “Didn’t you hear what my precious grandson said? No more hitting his head! If you make him stupid, I’ll break your legs myself!”
After being scolded, Liu Sanzhuang glared at Liu An. “If you weren’t always causing trouble, would your old man get yelled at?”
Old Madam Liu rolled her eyes at her son. “Who told you to hit my grandson? Your father and I wouldn’t even tap him once, and you dare to? This house is not yours to run.”
Seeing his mother genuinely upset, Liu Sanzhuang quickly put on a placating smile. “Mother, don’t be angry. You’re right—this house is yours and Father’s to decide.”
Liu An, standing to the side, made a silly face at his father in triumph. That nearly made Liu Sanzhuang storm over for another swat, but Liu An promptly ducked behind his grandmother.
Old Master Liu finally spoke up, “If you two still have the energy to fool around, sit down and eat. Everyone’s been waiting.”
Liu An obediently sat and finished dinner with the family. As soon as he was done, he ran to fetch his schoolbag, pulled out twenty copper coins, and placed them on the table.
Everyone was stunned at the sight of so many coins.
Old Master Liu asked seriously, “An’er, tell Grandpa honestly—where did this money come from?”
“Grandpa, don’t worry. I didn’t do anything bad. My classmates liked our braised eggs. They gave me this money and asked me to bring some more tomorrow.”
“You brat!” Liu Sanzhuang exploded. “The family works so hard to send you to school, and you go there to do business? Skip a day of discipline and you’d climb onto the roof! Father, Mother—you can’t keep spoiling him, or he’ll grow lawless.”
This time, Old Madam Liu and Old Master Liu fell silent. They were worried too—that Liu An might become distracted by making money and neglect his studies.
Realizing his father had misunderstood, Liu An quickly explained, “Dad, I didn’t actively sell them. I was eating one when a classmate named Wang Fugui thought it smelled delicious and asked if he could buy some. I figured it wouldn’t be right to refuse a classmate. So I told him two coins each. They liked them and asked me to bring more tomorrow to share with their families.”
Hearing the explanation, Liu Sanzhuang’s anger eased somewhat, but he still looked concerned. “What if the teacher gets upset? School is for studying, not business.”
“Dad, don’t worry. I didn’t sell widely—just to a few classmates who wanted to try them. It won’t be a problem.”
Old Master Liu spoke earnestly, “Even so, your father has a point. It’s fine to bring some for classmates this once, but other business matters should be handled by the adults. Your job is to study well and treasure this opportunity. We may be poor, but earning money is our responsibility. Since you’re attending the private school, focus on your learning and don’t disappoint the family.”
“I understand, Grandpa. I promise I’ll study hard. The teacher even praised me today. My handwriting isn’t very good yet, though—I need more practice.” Then he added to his father, “And Dad, don’t forget you promised to make me a sandbox.”
Liu Sanzhuang nodded. “I won’t forget. Finish eating and go read.”
Relieved that he had escaped serious punishment, Liu An hurried back to his room to study. Old Madam Liu gathered up the twenty coins and sighed. “Don’t be angry at An’er. He’s been sensible since he was little. He sees how poor we are and just wants to help the family earn money. Such a small child, already worrying about so much—I feel heartbroken.”
“Mother, we know,” Liu Erzhuang said. “We’re not angry—just more concerned about him. We bought some pig offal today. Once we braise it tomorrow, we’ll sell it at the construction sites in town. There’s hardly any food for sale there, and even plain flatbread and vegetable soup cost a lot. If we mix our braised vegetables with offal and sell each bowl for two coins, plenty of people will buy.”
“That’s right,” Liu Dazhuang added. “A set of pig offal costs only three coins. With some greens from our fields, one bucket can make about eighty bowls. After deducting costs, that’s around one hundred and sixty coins profit. Add the three hundred coins we earn daily from the longevity greens, and we could make at least four hundred and fifty coins a day—almost thirteen taels of silver a month.”
“Thirteen taels? That much?” Old Madam Liu gasped. The others were wide-eyed as well. They could barely save two or three taels in an entire year before—now they might earn thirteen in a single month.
Old Master Liu’s face grew stern. “Keep your mouths shut. Don’t say what shouldn’t be said—especially the children. Watch them carefully. If I find out anyone leaked this, I’ll break their legs.”
Everyone quickly agreed. Even little Qi Ya, usually greedy for snacks, covered his mouth with both hands and shook his head vigorously, promising not to breathe a word.
After finishing his lecture, Old Master Liu nodded in satisfaction. “The fifty wooden bowls and chopsticks I ordered from Carpenter Li should be ready. Eldest, come with me to pick them up.” With that, he took Liu Dazhuang and headed off.
Old Madam Liu was still excited about the income they had just calculated. Yet everyone overlooked one small detail—Liu An’s daily earnings from selling braised eggs.
At one coin per egg, selling around twenty a day meant twenty coins of profit daily. Compared to the dazzling prospect of earning thirteen taels of silver a month, this small sum seemed insignificant, so no one paid much attention.
Knowing his son was eager for the sandbox, Liu Sanzhuang worked together with his second brother to make one for Liu An. Once finished, they carried it into Liu An’s room.
“Take a look—does it work for you?” Liu Sanzhuang asked.
Liu An examined the sandbox carefully, his face lighting up with satisfaction. “Thank you, Dad. Thank you, uncle Erzhuang.”
“Focus on studying. Don’t keep thinking about making money, understand?” Liu Sanzhuang warned again. “If I hear from your teacher that you’re slacking off, I won’t care how much your grandparents protect you—I’ll tan your backside.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. Don’t you trust me?” Liu An grinned, then pushed him toward the door. “Now hurry out and stop disturbing my studying.”
The third branch of the family only had two rooms. Previously, Liu An had shared a room with his parents. But now that he needed a quiet space to study, he moved into the spare room attached to his grandparents’ quarters.
With the family matters settled and everyone busy with their respective duties, Liu An finally felt at ease. He began practicing characters diligently in the sandbox.
After practicing for some time and feeling that his strokes had improved, he carefully picked up a brush and tried writing on paper. Although the characters were still far from elegant, they were much better than the crooked, worm-like scribbles he had written in class that morning.
It seemed he would have to devote serious effort to calligraphy from now on. Otherwise, passing the imperial examination would be difficult. He had once worried about learning too quickly and drawing unwanted attention, but now he realized there was no need—his handwriting alone would keep him from seeming like a prodigy. If he didn’t improve, he wouldn’t stand a chance in the exams anyway, he thought to himself.
Practicing in the sand truly felt different from writing on paper. When the family’s situation improved, he could buy more paper to practice properly. For now, thrift was necessary. So he alternated—practice in the sand for a while, write one page on paper, return to the sand, then another page on paper. The results were noticeably better.
When the light in the room began to fade, Liu An stopped writing. After tidying up, he went into the courtyard to practice a set of health-preserving martial arts he had learned in his previous life.
Ever since he could remember, he had practiced this routine in the yard—and had even insisted his family join him. At first, they felt awkward copying a child’s movements, but Liu An persisted. Eventually, he even “forced” his grandparents to learn. After practicing for a while, Old Master and Old Madam Liu genuinely felt their health improve. From then on, whenever they had time, the Liu family would join Liu An in doing the exercises.
Before dawn the next morning, the women of the Liu household rose early to prepare braised pig offal. The eldest daughter sorted the longevity greens gathered the day before with the second daughter’s help. Meanwhile, the men—including Old Master Liu—set off for town.
“Father, can you manage that load? If not, give it to me,” Liu Dazhuang asked, concerned, seeing his father carrying a basket of wild vegetables.
Old Master Liu shook his head. “Your old man here can still work another ten years. This is nothing. You mind your own loads. And Sanzhuang, walk carefully—don’t drop my grandson.”
He was fifty this year—middle-aged by modern standards, but in ancient times, with an average lifespan of fifty or sixty, he was already considered elderly.
“Good thing you ordered wooden bowls from Carpenter Li,” Liu Sanzhuang remarked. “If we’d bought porcelain, wouldn’t that be much heavier?”
Old Master Liu nodded. “That was An’er’s reminder. Wooden bowls are cheaper and less fragile. Porcelain is too precious for our small business. If they break, we’d lose money.” His gaze softened as he looked at his young grandson.
“An’er, you named this dish ‘Mala Mix.’ Do you think it’ll sell well?” Liu Sanzhuang asked.
Liu An, perched on Liu Erzhuang’s back, grinned. “Dad, let’s just try. We’ve brought crushed chili peppers. Everyone’s taste is different—those who like spice can add some. I think plenty of people will enjoy it.”
Old Master Liu nodded. “Even if it doesn’t sell, we won’t lose much. Oh, and An’er, later your father will carry the braised eggs to the school gate for you. You’re too small to carry that much weight.”
“Got it, Grandpa. And you all must take care of yourselves. If you get hungry, buy some steamed buns to eat with the mala mix. Don’t be stingy. Good health is more important than anything.”
“We will. You just study hard,” Old Master Liu replied. Then he turned to his sons and began assigning tasks. “Sanzhuang, send An’er to school first. Dazhuang, come with me to deliver vegetables to the restaurant. Erzhuang, take the mala mix to the construction site and wait there—we’ll join you shortly.”
With that, he led the eldest son toward the restaurant, while Liu Sanzhuang brought Liu An to the private school.
Once classes began, Liu An immersed himself in study as usual. At lunchtime, however, his classmates immediately surrounded him.
“Liu An, did you bring the braised eggs?”
He nodded and distributed them. Zhou Shen and Wang Fugui had already paid. The others handed over their coins as they received their eggs.
“Liu An, your family’s braised eggs are really delicious. Can you bring more tomorrow?” Wang Fugui asked after devouring three in a row. He carefully wrapped the remaining two to bring home for his parents to taste that evening.