After eating two eggs, Zhou Shen carefully saved the remaining three. He also asked Liu An if he could bring more the next day. The other boys, having finished theirs, eagerly pulled out their coins and began reserving braised eggs for tomorrow.
Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Liu An found it hard to refuse and agreed. The boys cheered in excitement, but Liu An quickly pressed a finger to his lips in a “shh” gesture. They immediately understood and fell silent.
Still, walls have ears. Just before dismissal, Scholar Li called Liu An aside.
“I’ve heard your family’s braised eggs are quite delicious.”
Liu An’s heart jumped into his throat. He thought the teacher was angry. Quickly, he bowed and said, “Teacher, I’m sorry! I was wrong. I shouldn’t have sold eggs to my classmates in school. Tomorrow I’ll return their money and won’t sell anymore. Please don’t expel me from the academy!”
Scholar Li couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You misunderstand. I’m not angry. In fact, since some of our students eat lunch here at the academy, I was wondering—could you arrange to deliver fifty braised eggs to the school kitchen each day starting tomorrow? I’ll have them sold at cost to the students. Tell your Class D classmates to buy them from the kitchen during lunch break. That way, it won’t interfere with your studies.”
The academy had four classes—A, B, C, and D. Liu An was in the beginner Class D. Some wealthier students paid meal fees and ate lunch at school instead of bringing food from home.
Realizing the teacher wasn’t upset and had even thoughtfully arranged things to protect his studies, Liu An felt deeply grateful. Smiling, he said, “Thank you, Teacher, for thinking of me. I’ll ask my father to deliver the eggs starting tomorrow.”
Scholar Li nodded in satisfaction but added a reminder, “It’s good that you understand. Let your father and the kitchen handle the business. You are to focus entirely on your studies. Don’t let this distract you.” He then handed Liu An a string of coins. “This is one hundred copper coins. Give it to your father.”
“Yes, Teacher. I will study diligently,” Liu An replied respectfully with a deep bow.
After testing him on the day’s lessons and confirming that Liu An had mastered everything thoroughly, Scholar Li finally let him leave.
Outside, Liu An saw his father waiting in his coarse clothes. Without embarrassment, he waved cheerfully. “Dad! I’m here!”
Liu Sanzhuang opened his arms to catch his son as he ran over. Smiling, he teased, “You’re a scholar now—why shout so loudly? Aren’t you afraid others will laugh at your father for being just a farmer?”
“Of course not! You’re my father—why would I be ashamed? Besides, without farmers, what would they eat? And my classmates and teacher are all honorable people. They wouldn’t mock us. Dad, I have good news!”
“What good news?” Liu Sanzhuang asked, deeply touched by his son’s words.
“Teacher said starting tomorrow, you should deliver fifty braised eggs to the academy kitchen every day. He already gave me the money—it’s in my bag,” Liu An whispered into his father’s ear.
“Fifty eggs? That’s a lot! Can the students even finish that many? In this heat, won’t they spoil?” Liu Sanzhuang worried his son hadn’t thought things through.
“Don’t worry, Dad. The teacher arranged it. The kitchen will handle the sales and settle payments with you directly. So it won’t interfere with my studies.”
“Your teacher really isn’t upset about this? He won’t expel you?”
“No, he won’t,” Liu An assured him, then carefully recounted everything that had happened.
Only then did Liu Sanzhuang relax and break into a wide grin. “That’s another steady source of income for our family! An’er, you must study well and not waste your teacher’s kindness.”
“I will. By the way, do we have enough eggs at home? Should we buy more?” Liu An asked thoughtfully.
After thinking for a moment, Liu Sanzhuang replied, “Eggs cost more in town. It’s better to collect them back in the village.”
Liu An nodded. He had almost forgotten—one copper coin per egg was the village selling price. In town, they cost three coins for two. Their low price was exactly why the braised eggs sold so well at school.
When father and son met up with Old Master Liu and the others, Liu An immediately noticed the smiles on their faces.
“Grandpa, did all the mala mix sell?” he asked quietly.
Old Master Liu nodded with a grin. “All gone. Let’s hurry home and clean the pig offal. We’ll need to prepare more tomorrow—it wasn’t enough today.”
Hearing this, Liu An felt a surge of relief. With this business thriving, his father and uncles wouldn’t have to carry heavy loads as laborers anymore.
Liu Sanzhuang happily announced, “Father, brother Dazhuang, brother Erzhuang—the academy wants fifty braised eggs delivered daily starting tomorrow.”
“That’s wonderful news!” Old Master Liu exclaimed proudly. “Our An’er is truly capable.”
“Yes,” uncle Dazhuang added, “our improved life is all thanks to An’er’s ideas. Without him, we might still struggle just to eat our fill.”
“An’er is smart—takes after me,” Liu Erzhuang declared suddenly.
He was immediately met with eye-rolls from his father and brothers, and laughter broke out as they continued home together.
Although the Liu family kept a low profile, villagers couldn’t help noticing how often they had been going to town lately.
“Uncle Dahai,” one neighbor called out, “have you struck it rich? Why are you all heading to town every day?”
Old Master Liu chuckled good-naturedly. “You know my grandson isn’t strong enough for farm labor. We’re sending him to study and learn some characters. Maybe someday he can work as a bookkeeper in town. Since we don’t have much money, we’ve started selling a bit of food there to support his schooling.”
“Uncle Dahai, what kind of food are you making? It smells incredibly fragrant,” Aunt Deng asked curiously. The others standing with her also cast sideways glances at Liu Dahai.
Liu Dahai knew that with the village’s biggest gossip, Aunt Deng, around, there was no hiding it. So he answered openly, “Oh, it’s nothing much—just a recipe from my third daughter-in-law’s family. It’s called spicy mixed vegetables.”
“Is it tasty? How much do you sell a serving for?” Aunt Deng pressed on.
“Three yuan per bowl. If you’d like to try some, just let us know ahead of time. I’ll have the family set aside a bowl for you, and you can come by the house to get it.”
When the villagers heard that it cost three yuan a bowl, they all sucked in a sharp breath. Aunt Deng exaggeratedly exclaimed, “That’s expensive! Who could afford that?”
Liu Dahai shook his head, putting on a troubled expression. “Aunt Deng, you don’t understand. Our spicy mix contains meat and vegetables, and you know how costly seasonings are. The ingredients alone are expensive. And we have to carry everything from the village to town to sell it. In the end, we barely make any profit.”
Hearing this, the villagers nodded. They all knew how precious meat and spices were. Whether the business actually made money was hard to say. Then their eyes drifted to the Liu family’s only grandson, Liu An. Everyone quietly withdrew their earlier envy. After all, education was a bottomless pit. Their village hadn’t produced even one licentiate scholar in decades. Raising a scholar could empty out a family’s entire fortune.
The three Liu brothers might be simple and honest, but they weren’t foolish. While their father spoke with Aunt Deng, none of them interrupted. Liu An, standing to the side, obediently played the part of a frail, delicate child, perfectly supporting his grandfather’s story.
After they parted ways with the villagers, Liu An quietly praised his grandfather. “Grandpa, you’re amazing. Just a few words and you brushed Aunt Deng off.”
“Of course I am! Don’t you know? Your grandfather has always been capable. Otherwise, how would you be so clever?” the old man said proudly, puffing up under his grandson’s admiring gaze.
The three brothers immediately looked away, pretending they hadn’t heard a thing. Sensing the slight awkwardness, the old man coughed and said, “Let’s hurry home. We need to eat early and prepare the pork offal. There’s a lot to do tomorrow.”
Since everything had sold out and they weren’t burdened by heavy loads, they made much better time on the return journey. Liu An looked at their tired faces with concern, thinking to himself that once they earned a little more, he would persuade Grandpa to buy a mule. That way, everyone wouldn’t have to work so hard.
Just like the day before, dinner was already prepared when they got home. After eating quickly, everyone looked expectantly at the old patriarch. Grandfather Liu understood their looks at once and smiled. “The spicy mix sold very well today. Tomorrow we’ll probably need to make more.”
Everyone beamed. The old matriarch said excitedly, “Everything sold out? Oh my heavens, I told you our good grandson is clever. Life is really getting better for our family.”
The old man nodded. “Keep your mouths shut. Don’t go showing off. On our way back, we ran into Aunt Deng. By tomorrow, the whole village will probably know we’re selling spicy mix. But I told her there’s meat and expensive seasonings in it, so we don’t actually make much—especially since we still have to support An’er’s schooling. That stopped her from digging further.”
The old matriarch swept her gaze sternly across the room. “You all heard him. Not a word about our family’s situation leaves this house. There are too many eyes in this village.”
After thinking for a moment, Liu An said, “Grandpa, since the matter is already spreading, we probably can’t keep the longevity greens secret for long either. Tomorrow, let’s send a bowl to Great-Granduncle, Second Great- Granduncle, and Third Great- Granduncle’s families. We can also ask them to help gather some of the greens for us. We’ll buy them at one yuan for two jin. As for the other villagers, we can wait until they start picking them. They don’t know what the greens are for anyway—we’ll just say they’re used for the spicy mix.”
“What if they ask for the recipe?” Xiao Chen asked worriedly.
“They won’t,” Liu An replied. “Grandpa already told Aunt Deng on the road that the recipe comes from Mother’s family and can’t be shared. If it spreads and everyone starts selling it, we won’t earn anything, and I won’t be able to continue studying. Right, Grandpa?”
Grandfather Liu had been struggling with whether to tell his brothers the whole truth. But hearing his grandson’s words, he decided it was better not to. The family had only just begun to see some income. If the recipe spread, it would all disappear—and his precious grandson’s education might be cut short.
“An’er is right. That’s what we’ll say,” he declared firmly.
The old matriarch was satisfied with his decision. She had no issues with Dahai’s eldest and second brothers—they genuinely treated them well. But the third brother? She had her doubts; there were too many calculations behind his smile.
The next morning, sunlight bathed the earth as Liu An energetically followed his grandfather and uncles toward town once more. Unlike yesterday, they carried an extra bucket of goods. Feeling sorry for his sons, the old man grit his teeth and spent ten yuan to rent Old Zhou’s ox cart from the village.
So the group cheerfully climbed aboard the cart and set off. The cart rolled steadily along as a gentle breeze carried the scent of fresh air. They chatted and laughed, their spirits high.
Meanwhile, the old matriarch stayed busy at home. She and Xiao Chen each carried bowls filled with spicy sauce, intending to deliver them to Dahai’s three elder brothers’ households.
Walking side by side in silent understanding, they followed the narrow field paths until they reached the eldest brother’s home.
“Oh my, Zhang Shi, you’re too kind!” Tao Shi, the wife of Liu Dajiang, said with a smile as she took the bowl from the old matriarch’s hands.
“My third daughter-in-law has a recipe from her family and came up with this dish. Yesterday, our third son Sanzhuang took some to town to sell—it tasted quite good. So today we’ve brought some over for you all to try something new.”