By the time Liu Sanzhuang and his son reached the agreed meeting spot, the ox cart was already full. Hurriedly, Liu Sanzhuang lifted Liu An up and climbed aboard, apologizing to Old Man Zhou.
“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Uncle Zhou.”
“You’re right on time,” Old Man Zhou replied with a smile. “Everyone else just got here too.”
“Well now, Liu Sanzhuang, you sure bought a lot today,” said Aunt Jiang, a plump woman seated nearby. “And pork offal too? That stuff’s hard to clean and doesn’t taste good. You didn’t let the butcher cheat you, did you?”
Chuckling awkwardly, Liu Sanzhuang answered, “We were out of grain at home. My mother told me to buy some supplies. The offal may not taste great, but the family’s been working hard in the fields—at least it adds a bit of nourishment.”
Though simple and honest, he wasn’t foolish. All the good cuts of meat and grain had been carefully covered with a straw mat. Only the offal was visible in one corner. Fortunately, the other passengers were merely curious and didn’t poke through their basket.
Aunt Jiang sighed. “That’s true. The harvest hasn’t been good these past two years. If it doesn’t rain soon, this year will be worse. Grain prices are already rising.”
At her words, the cart fell quiet. The earlier excitement of going into town faded, replaced with worry.
Liu An understood. Farming meant depending on the heavens. With poor seed varieties and low yields, a drought would be disastrous. Silently, he prayed for rain—for several good rains. Without them, the common folk would truly have no way to survive.
Whether it was Liu An’s silent prayer or everyone’s anxious thoughts, as soon as the ox cart entered the village, the previously clear sky darkened and rain began to fall.
“Haha, rain just like that! Quick, run home before the grain gets soaked!” someone shouted.
Everyone grabbed their belongings and dashed off.
“An’er, let Uncle carry you! Brother Sanzhuang, I’ll take the basket!”
Just as Liu Sanzhuang worried about his son getting wet, his two older brothers appeared.
Liu Dazhuang scooped Liu An into his arms and tucked him carefully inside his rain cloak, shielding him as if protecting a treasure. Liu Erzhuang handed Liu Sanzhuang a rain cloak and lifted the heavy basket of grain into his own arms.
“Quick, head home!”
Liu Sanzhuang didn’t stand on ceremony. He hurried after his brothers. Moved by their care, Liu An said earnestly, “Uncle, when I grow up, I’ll definitely be filial to you and Uncle Erzhuang.”
Both men burst into laughter.
“Good nephew! We’ll be waiting for that,” Liu Dazhuang said cheerfully.
Liu Sanzhuang felt no jealousy seeing how devoted his brothers were to his son. In truth, his brothers and sisters-in-law treated An’er even better than their own children. Whatever good food there was, they saved it for him. When the boy grows up, he must repay them properly—otherwise he wouldn’t have the face to meet his brothers.
Back home, Old Madam Liu rushed forward anxiously. “My precious grandson! You didn’t get rained on, did you?”
“No, Grandma! Uncle and Uncle Erzhuang came to get us. Look!” Liu An spun in a circle to prove he was dry.
His mother, Xiao Chen, sighed in relief. Old Madam Liu quickly ordered her daughters-in-law, “Bring them each a bowl of ginger soup! Don’t let them catch a chill.”
“It’s ready, Mother!” the women replied, hurrying to serve steaming bowls. The eldest sister handed one to Liu An. “Drink while it’s hot. There’s sugar in it.”
Liu An obediently downed the sweet ginger soup in one gulp. In ancient times, a bad cold could easily turn fatal. Having been granted a second chance at life, he cherished his body.
Only after seeing him finish did his grandmother and mother finally smile.
“Grandma,” Liu An said happily, “I bought meat for you! We can have meat tonight.”
“My good grandson, then Grandma will enjoy your blessings,” Old Madam Liu said fondly, assuming the meat had been bought with the money she’d given them.
“Our longevity greens sold!” Liu An quickly explained. “The young master of the restaurant even signed an agreement with us—three coins per jin! From now on, we’ll deliver one hundred jin every day.”
“What? Three coins per jin? You signed a contract?” Xiao Chen gasped in disbelief.
Old Madam Liu shot her a glare. “You’re a mother already—why are you shouting like that?”
Flustered, Xiao Chen quieted down.
Old Madam Liu turned to her son. “Sanzhuang, is that true?”
Grinning, Liu Sanzhuang nodded. “It’s true, Mother. Starting tomorrow, until the greens stop growing in the hills, we’ll deliver one hundred jin to Heyun Restaurant every day. That’s three hundred copper coins daily.”
“What? Really?” Liu Dazhuang asked excitedly.
Liu Sanzhuang nodded again and pulled out the meat—and then the books—from the basket. Everyone stared in shock.
“Oh heavens, there are books too?” Old Madam Liu exclaimed. Meat was expensive but manageable once in a while. Books, however, were treasures beyond the reach of farming families.
“The young master thought An’er was clever and gifted them for his studies,” Liu Sanzhuang said proudly.
“My precious grandson truly is extraordinary! Even the restaurant’s young master likes him. So young and already earning money for the family—he’s our lucky star!” Old Madam Liu beamed.
Old Master Liu stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Tomorrow, ask the town’s private school if they’ll accept An’er. We can’t waste the young master’s kindness. If An’er learns to read, perhaps he could work as a bookkeeper in town one day.”
“Father… but schooling costs a lot of silver…” Xiao Chen said hesitantly. She dearly wanted her son to study, but she worried about the family’s finances—and whether others might object.
Old Madam Liu understood her daughter-in-law’s worries but waved them off dismissively.
“You’re all too short-sighted,” she said firmly. “Your men go to town and do backbreaking labor for only ten copper coins a day. Now we can earn three hundred coins in a single day without leaving the village! That’s a whole month’s wages for one person. In one month, that’s nine taels of silver. Even if the longevity greens only grow for four months, that’s thirty-six taels! And even if we share some profit with the villagers later, we’d still keep over twenty taels. That’s more than enough for An’er’s schooling.”
The entire Liu family gasped.
“Heavens, that’s so much money!”
They were stunned by the sheer amount.
“Lower your voices,” Old Master Liu warned sternly. “Do you want everyone to hear? If word spreads that these greens can be sold for money, the business won’t last long.”
Everyone’s excitement cooled instantly.
But Liu An smiled calmly. “Grandpa, don’t worry. We’ll sell quietly for now. If the villagers find out later, we can just buy from them—two jin for one coin. I’m sure they’ll be happy to sell.”
Old Master Liu’s eyes lit up. He looked at his young grandson with renewed appreciation. So clever at such a young age… With this boy in their lineage, the Liu family wouldn’t decline.
“Alright. We’ll do as An’er says. For now, we sell quietly. Keep your mouths shut—especially you young girls,” he added seriously.
Everyone nodded quickly.
Liu Dazhuang then turned to his brother Liu Sanzhuang. “What time did you agree to deliver the greens to Heyun Restaurant?”
“The young master said anytime before noon,” Liu Sanzhuang replied. “But I think we should go a bit earlier, so we don’t delay their business.”
“But it’s raining now,” Liu Erzhuang said worriedly. “Won’t that delay tomorrow’s delivery?”
“No need to worry, Uncle Erzhuang,” Liu An said reassuringly. “We agreed that in heavy rain or special circumstances, we don’t have to deliver. It won’t count as breaking the contract.”
“An’er mentioned it during the signing,” Liu Sanzhuang confirmed. “The young master understood.”
Old Madam Liu immediately declared, “If the rain stops later, you men should rise early tomorrow to dig more greens. That’s three hundred coins a day!”
No one objected—except little Liu An, who worried about safety. Three hundred coins a day was an enormous income for the family.
“Grandma, I’m hungry. Let’s eat,” Liu An said suddenly, noticing his sister Qi Ya staring longingly at the pork.
“Alright, alright, we’ll listen to my good grandson,” Old Madam Liu said, moving to cook.
But Xiao Cuihua quickly stopped her. “Mother, with all of us here, how can we let you work?”
“Yes, Mother, we’ll have it ready soon. Please go rest,” Xiao Sun and Xiao Chen chimed in.
Before leaving, Old Madam Liu gave her final instructions: “Render the fatty pork into lard. Use the leftover cracklings to make buns—let the children have a taste of meat.”
“Yay! Meat buns!” cried seventh girl Qi Ya. The other girls beamed; it had been a long time since they’d eaten meat buns.
“Father, wash the intestines with plant ash,” Liu An called out.
“You can clean the intestines with ash?” Aunt Sun asked skeptically. They’d bought offal before—hard to clean and always smelly.
“Just try it,” Liu An said. He knew salt worked better, but salt was precious—there was no way the family would let him waste it.
“An’er asked you to do it, so just do it,” Old Madam Liu scolded Liu Sanzhuang. “It’s smelly anyway—there’s nothing to lose.”
With no choice, Liu Sanzhuang went to clean the intestines.
Old Madam Liu took her grandson’s hand. “Come inside with Grandma. I’ll give you some pastries.”
“Grandma, you go ahead. I’ll make you a special dish. Just wait,” Liu An said confidently.
“Alright, Grandma will wait for her grandson’s cooking,” she said fondly before heading inside.
Liu An dashed into the kitchen and took out several Sichuan peppercorns and prickly ash pods he had gathered while foraging in the hills. These grew wild everywhere, but no one here used them.
By now, the pork fat had been rendered, and the women were mixing the cracklings with wild greens to make buns.
“An’er, your father finished cleaning the intestines. How do you want them cooked?” Xiao Chen asked.
“Put one bone and one portion of the cleaned offal in a cool place for tomorrow—I’ll need them. Chop this bone in half. Cut the intestines into small pieces. Add water and stew them together until very tender,” Liu An directed seriously.
“You smooth-talker,” Xiao Chen teased, though she followed his instructions. After all, her five-year-old son had already started earning money for the family.
When the stew had simmered for a while, Liu An quickly ground the peppercorns and tossed the powder into the pot.
“Brother! That’s not edible—why are you throwing things in?” sister Liu Ya said.
“It is edible, just wait and taste,” Liu An insisted. “Mother, cover the pot and let it braise. When it’s soft, just add salt and soy sauce.”
“You little rascal, always wasting precious ingredients. If this turns out inedible, I’ll tan your hide,” Xiao Chen said, though she covered the pot anyway.
Liu An wasn’t worried at all. Braised intestines were delicious—these people simply didn’t know how to cook them properly. The family had bought them once when he was just a baby, but he couldn’t speak then. After that failure, they never bought them again.
Now that he finally had the chance, he felt triumphant—though he suddenly frowned.
How was he going to explain where he learned about peppercorns? And how would he explain that soybeans could be made into tofu?
“Look at that face—scared now, aren’t you? See if you dare fool around next time,” Xiao Chen teased.
But the eldest aunt immediately defended him. “It’ll taste good. It’s meat, after all—better than plain vegetable soup. Don’t worry, An’er. Everyone will love it.”
Liu An secretly sighed in relief—now he just had to make sure it truly tasted amazing.