The house remained quiet, especially within the Second Branch’s quarters. Even Ding Baoqin was absent, likely having gone up the mountain again. However, someone always had to stay behind to watch the house, so Liu Ping remained, sitting with her head bowed over her needlework.
“Mom, I’m back,” Ding Baozhu announced, setting down her heavily laden basket.
Liu Ping looked up and smiled. “My, you’ve bought so many things again. If the others see this, they’ll start gossiping again.”
Ding Baozhu laughed. “Let them talk if they want to. I’ll be leaving home soon anyway, so they won’t be able to bother me then. Besides, I only bought food; once it’s in our stomachs, that’s the end of it.”
“True, it might be for the best once you’ve moved out,” Liu Ping sighed. “Look, I’m planning to sew a few more sets of pillowcases and duvet covers for you now. That way, you’ll have less to prepare once you’re there.”
A girl marrying out needed to prepare a dowry, but in the village, a dowry usually consisted of nothing more than daily necessities and these hand-woven textiles. Families with a bit of a foundation might add a few pieces of custom-made furniture to make it look more substantial.
“Thank you for your hard work, Mom,” Baozhu said. She went over to close the room door, sat down beside Liu Ping, and whispered, “Mom, those mushrooms I showed you yesterday? I found a place to sell them today. I got the money and used it to buy all this.”
Sensing there was more to the story, Liu Ping set down her work and lowered her voice as well. “How much did you get?”
Ding Baozhu gave a mysterious smile and first pulled out the two strings of copper coins. Liu Ping glanced at them and knew there were at least a hundred coins there. She said in surprise, “Those tiny mushrooms sold for that much? If we had known, we should have looked for them sooner; we’d be rich by now!”
“Mom, don’t be in such a hurry. This is just the appetizer,” Baozhu said. She then pulled out the seven mace of silver, successfully changing Liu Ping’s expression from joy to pure shock.
Copper coins were the primary currency in the village. Even if a family managed to save some money, it was usually just a few bits of broken silver. A solid silver ingot, even a small one, was a rare sight.
“Zhu’er, those mushrooms…” As an elder, Liu Ping quickly recovered herself and asked.
Ding Baozhu replied with a smile, “Mom, it was just my luck this time. I gathered a very precious type of mushroom and sold it to the largest eatery in town. That’s how I got all this. It’s a large sum; why don’t you keep it safe for me for now?”
Liu Ping felt relieved. “It truly was your good luck. Many people go to the mountain to gather things to sell, but no one earns this much. I can keep it for you for now, but since you earned it yourself, you should take it with you when you marry. It will count as part of your dowry.”
She leaned in closer and whispered even more softly, “Having silver on your person prevents your in-laws from looking down on you. Even if they don’t like you in the future, this is enough to live on!”
A woman’s dowry was her private property, and no one else could touch it without her permission. Naturally, the more substantial it was, the better, though most villagers lacked the means for such luxury.
After the original owner’s impulsive act, the family scandal had been barely suppressed. However, village gossip was a powerful thing; people could fabricate stories out of thin air even without knowing the facts. Coupled with her already poor reputation, Hunter Xu might hold his tongue for Ding Hong’s sake, but her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law would likely harbor private grievances. Their impression of her certainly wouldn’t be good.
Heh, forget the mother and sister-in-law, Baozhu thought, even my future husband can’t stand the sight of me.
So, having pre-marital assets wasn’t a bad idea. At the very least, if things turned sour at the start, she wouldn’t have to rely on her husband’s family to survive.
Once they agreed, Liu Ping took the silver. She didn’t take the two remaining strings of copper coins, telling Baozhu to keep them for herself. Baozhu then showed her mother the goods she had bought from town.
Seeing the various ingredients for making Liang Gao, Liu Ping realized Baozhu wasn’t just talking; she really meant to go into business. Since the wedding date wasn’t set yet and Baozhu had no urgent matters at home, Liu Ping figured there was no harm in letting her try before she moved to the Xu family. Perhaps she could earn a bit more to add to her dowry and satisfy her hobby at the same time, so Liu Ping decided to leave her to it.
Then, Liu Ping noticed the bag of tea leaves and asked in confusion, “Why did you buy tea? Is it a gift?” To villagers, tea was more useful as a gift than as a beverage.
Ding Baozhu smiled. “No, I want to try combining it with the Cold Cakes.”
Pastries naturally went well with tea. Liu Ping didn’t think much of it, but when she saw the carp and picked it up, she smiled. “This fish is fresh. I remember they are most plentiful and cheap at this time. It seems we’ll have a treat again tonight.”
“I plan to make the carp for dinner. Mom, what should we have for lunch?”
Liu Ping helped organize the items and replied, “Your father and second sister aren’t coming back for lunch. Your third sister might be back soon. It’ll just be the three of us, so don’t make too much. Just a bowl of rice and one dish will do.”
“Alright, I’ll go get ready.”
Ding Baozhu picked up the carp and took it outside to clean it. Many people disliked carp because of its “fishy” smell, so when cleaning it, one had to pull out the white tendons on both sides to remove the odor. Of course, using slightly heavier seasoning also helped.
Before cleaning the fish, she found a bag of dried taro in the kitchen and set it to soak in water. By the time she finished cleaning the fish, the taro was rehydrated. She put the fish back in her room; the weather wasn’t hot, so it wouldn’t spoil before dinner time.
Then, as usual, Baozhu sliced some salted meat, fired up the stove, and made a simple dish of Stir-fried Taro with Salted Meat. The kitchen sizzled as the lard melted and the meat browned, filling the room with a rich aroma.
While stir-frying, she heard a shout from outside. It was Ding Baoqin returning. Baoqin had indeed gone to the mountain, specifically looking for food this time. Unfortunately, she hadn’t found any bamboo shoots or mushrooms, so she had only gathered some wild vegetables and fruits. She went to see Liu Ping first before heading to the kitchen to ask excitedly:
“Big Sister, what delicious thing are you making now?”
“Just a simple lunch. We’ll have a proper meal tonight,” Baozhu replied, waving her spatula. “You went to the mountain? Find anything?”
“Not much, just some wild vegetables and fruits I recognize. I wonder if someone else picked all the shoots and mushrooms,” Baoqin said regretfully, rummaging through her basket. “Here… oh, I also found some wood ear mushrooms and brought them back.”
Ding Baozhu glanced over and saw a pile of fresh wood ears. She smiled. “That’s not bad at all. I’ll use those to make a dish tonight; it’ll be perfect.”
She sent Baoqin back to the room, added a bit of water to the pan, and covered it to braise for a few minutes to thicken the sauce.
At that moment, her mind drifted to the dried taro. If taro were made into a paste, it would be a legendary filling, a personal favorite from her past life. But for commercial use, taro and sugar weren’t enough; it was best with milk. Milk was abundant where she came from, but here, it was likely an extremely precious luxury. She hadn’t seen any for sale in all of Xiang’an Town.
Still, she had already prepared three types of fillings. It was best not to be too greedy; she would see if these sold first.
Once the dish was done and the rice steamed, the mother and daughters sat down for lunch. The stir-fried taro was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, coated in the rich fat of the salted meat. Glistening with oil and topped with a handful of wild green onions, it smelled heavenly.
The three of them finished every bit of the meal. After a short afternoon rest, Ding Baozhu prepared to process the ingredients for the Cold Cakes. This part couldn’t be rushed. The fillings could be made immediately; with the pleasant weather, they wouldn’t spoil for a few days even if made early.
Calculating the time, she had over an hour in the afternoon to make the fillings. She would still make the Brown Sugar Jujube Paste and Red Bean fillings. For the third, she planned to make a Chestnut and Peanut Sugar filling using broomcorn millet.
The process for this filling was largely the same as the first two, with one exception: rather than being smooth, the chestnut and peanut filling could be slightly chunky to provide more texture and aroma. Most importantly, chestnuts and peanuts paired perfectly with brown sugar, allowing her to use the cheaper brown sugar.
Baozhu scrubbed several more jars, dried them, and scooped the finished fillings inside, calling Baoqin to move them all to their room.
Even after finishing the fillings, Baozhu didn’t stop. She took out the bag of green tea. Opening the package, a fresh, tender fragrance drifted out. Although she wasn’t a tea expert, she could tell this was this year’s new tea.
And with this new tea, she planned to make Matcha! (Known here as Mo-cha).
Taking a portion of the tea leaves, she spread them out in a small basket. She fired up the stove again and placed the basket over boiling water to steam the leaves. When she opened the lid, a dense tea aroma rushed out along with the rising steam—it was much stronger than before, and the leaves felt softer to the touch.
Using tools, she took the leaves out and spread them flat to dry. The village had no shortage of containers specifically for drying things in the sun.
The weather was clear and the afternoon sun was bright, but after the incident with the stolen bamboo shoots, Baozhu felt the outside wasn’t safe. Fortunately, there was a sun-facing window in her room, so she left them there to dry.
At Baoqin’s age, she was supposed to be learning needlework from her mother. The original owner had followed Ding Hong to work, so she had never really touched it. Seeing Baozhu bring in a basket of green things, the restless Baoqin immediately dropped her needle and thread to ask curiously:
“Big Sister, what is this?”
“It’s tea leaves. I’m thinking of using them to make pastries,” Baozhu answered truthfully.
“What? Tea leaves in pastries? Isn’t tea supposed to be served with pastries?” Baoqin felt more and more confused. She wrinkled her small face and added, “Besides, tea is so bitter. If you ask me, people only eat pastries to hide the bitterness!”
Liu Ping shook her head helplessly but said nothing. Baozhu laughed and said, “Then you’ll just have to taste it when the time comes and see how they pair together.”
Baoqin’s eyes lit up, as if she had been waiting for that exact sentence. “Okay! I’ll taste it very carefully and tell you exactly what I think!”
Baozhu occasionally turned the tea leaves, which now gave off a natural fragrance. By the time they were done drying, it was time for dinner.