May was the season for harvesting wheat. Even the wild pheasants in the mountains could grow plump just by scavenging in the fields. As expected, the traps Qin Yi had set beside a farmer’s wheat field had caught several more pheasants. Wild pheasants were fierce by nature and impossible to raise at home, so he needed to take them to town and sell them as soon as possible.
He tied the wings and legs of the captured pheasants and stuffed them into a basket. Only one bird, whose neck had accidentally been snapped by the trap, was left outside the basket. A dead pheasant would not fetch a good price anyway, so it might as well serve as an extra dish for the family.
To sell the chickens, he first had to go home and get his horse. If he relied on his own legs, it would take a full hour to walk to town.
Qin Yi carried the broken-necked pheasant through the gate. The moment he stepped inside, a cloud of dust rushed straight at his face. Amid the dust stood Jian Jia, wearing a square headscarf with a handkerchief tied over her nose and mouth. She held a large broom and was sweeping the withered branches and rotten leaves in the courtyard into a pile.
More than half of the originally cluttered courtyard had already been cleared. The old well in the middle, previously hidden beneath piles of debris, had reappeared along with its weathered wooden pulley.
Seeing it suddenly reminded Qin Yi of the past. Back then his parents were still alive, and Qin Lang had only just begun to toddle about. Whenever Qin Yi came running home in a sweat, his mother would walk to the well and start turning the pulley. Their well pulley had been around for years, and sometimes the hemp rope would get stuck on the edge and refuse to move. Whenever that happened, his father would hurry over to take the handle without needing to be called.
The memories rose in his mind like a mottled ink painting. Qin Yi could no longer remember what he had eagerly chattered about as he circled around his parents, but he still remembered how cool and sweet the fruits chilled in the well water had tasted.
Although the Qin family courtyard looked full of junk, it was not too difficult to clean. After sawing apart several rotting logs that lay across the top of the pile, the remaining debris became much easier to deal with. The dried branches and crushed leaves created thick dust as they were swept up, coating Jian Jia from head to toe. Still, perseverance paid off. Under her steady effort, the piles of rubbish gradually gathered together.
Just as Jian Jia was sweeping with her head lowered, a pair of black shoes appeared at the edge of her vision. In the next moment the broom in her hand was taken away by Qin Yi. He naturally took over the unfinished task while speaking at the same time.
“I’m going to town later to sell the game. I might come back a bit late. There’s chicken in the kitchen. If you know how to handle it, deal with it first and we’ll cook when I return. If not, just leave it there.”
After a short pause, Hunter Qin added, as if reassuring her, “Don’t worry. We won’t be making roast chicken for lunch today.”
If he had not said that, it would have been fine. The moment he mentioned it, Jian Jia immediately remembered the terror of being dominated by dark cuisine. Qin Yi was a rising star in the dark cooking world. She had a strong premonition that if he cooked again today, the shock would be even greater.
However, since Qin Yi was going to town, Jian Jia hoped he could bring back a few things. After thinking for a moment, she spoke carefully.
“Could you bring back some seasonings? Things like sugar, vinegar, pepper, chili, ginger. Oh, and buy some vegetable seeds for the current season. Also, we’re running low on grain at home.”
Fortunately, Pastoral Pampered Love was a fictional setting. Jian Jia could still find familiar condiments here. If it were the real ancient society she knew of, many seasonings and ingredients might not have been introduced yet.
Perhaps because of her childhood experiences and her later professional habits, Jian Jia had a slight tendency to hoard supplies. She liked keeping grain, vegetables, and seasonings stored at home so they were always available. Even before the supplies ran out, she would already start restocking.
The Qin family only had the most basic oil and salt for seasoning. The rice jar in the kitchen held only a small amount of flour, and the vegetables growing on the western side of the house had mostly grown wild and old. After checking the household supplies, Jian Jia realized she had quite a bit of work ahead of her. Of course, these things could not be accomplished overnight, so she decided to have Qin Yi bring back whatever could be bought first.
Qin Yi did not stop sweeping. He only gave a slight nod. His reaction was so calm that Jian Jia did not notice it. When she looked up, Qin Yi’s expression remained unchanged as he continued sweeping the ground. Jian Jia was momentarily stunned. Had she asked for too much?
Thinking about it more carefully, she suddenly realized she really had gone too far. Hunter Qin had sold off his belongings just to gather the fifteen taels of bride price. He probably did not have much money left. Although the things she asked for were only basic necessities, Qin Yi might not be able to afford them.
Jian Jia turned her head and thought for a moment before quickly returning to her room. When she came out again, she held a small embroidered pouch. The colorful pouch was clearly the same one that had rolled out of her bundle yesterday, except the embroidered character “Xu” beneath the pair of mandarin ducks playing in water had disappeared.
Inside the pouch were two hundred copper coins, taken from the string of coins He Xiaohong had given her.
The currency system in the Great Jing Dynasty had four types: gold, silver, copper coins, and small coins. Gold was the most valuable. One tael of gold equaled ten taels of silver. One tael of silver could be exchanged for one thousand copper coins, and one copper coin was worth ten small coins.
In these times, two small coins could buy a jin of grain. One copper coin could buy nearly three jin of rice or six large flatbreads. Therefore the two hundred copper coins in the pouch could purchase quite a number of things.
Jian Jia was very self-aware. Since she was living under the Qin family roof, she needed to share both gains and losses with them. Giving Qin Yi money to buy things could express her attitude and also make her own living conditions more comfortable.
Qin Yi looked at the pouch in his hand, and for the first time a trace of emotion appeared in his dark brown eyes. His long brows drew together slightly.
“What is this for?”
Jian Jia straightened up and smiled. “Money for buying things. They’re the things I asked for, so naturally I should pay.”
Qin Yi tossed the pouch back into her hands and turned his body aside, speaking calmly.
“No need. I have money.”
Now it was Jian Jia’s turn to feel puzzled. She stared at Qin Yi’s back and curled her lips in annoyance. Honestly, what was with the attitude? She disliked people like Qin Yi the most. He was so handsome, yet wore that expressionless face all day long, and every time he spoke it sounded as though forcing a few words out would cost him his life. Would it really kill him to show a little more expression or speak a few more words? As roommates working toward mutual progress, would a friendly conversation really take his life?
Seeing how firm Qin Yi was, Jian Jia did not insist further. There would be plenty of days ahead that required money. Keeping some savings tucked away was always a good thing.
Qin Yi worked quickly. Before long he had carried the piled-up trash out of the courtyard. With his help, Jian Jia’s workload became much lighter. When she heard the sound of horse hooves gradually fading away, Jian Jia slowly walked into the kitchen.
On the kitchen floor lay a pheasant that had already been bled. It had probably been dead for quite some time. When Jian Jia saw it, its neck and legs were stiffly stretched out, giving it a rather unsettling appearance.
At the sight of the chicken, Jian Jia once again thought of the burnt-outside, raw-inside chicken from the previous night. Qin Yi’s calm voice echoed in her ears.
“Don’t worry. We won’t be making roast chicken for lunch today.”
No, she was definitely not reassured.
She only felt more frightened. Even if she had to die trying today, she was determined to take control of the kitchen.
This was a hen. Judging from the sharpness of its beak and claws, it was an old hen.
In her previous world, such a chicken had another nickname: the “prison sentence chicken.” Anyone who ate it would supposedly end up behind bars. Fortunately the Great Jing Dynasty had no wildlife protection laws. People still lived by the simple belief of relying on the mountains for food if they lived by mountains, and relying on water if they lived by water.
Jian Jia lifted the pheasant and weighed it in her hand. Wild game from the mountains could not compare with the plumpness of farm-raised chickens, but it still had a fair amount of meat. Hen meat tended to be tough and dry, making braising or roasting less ideal, but it was perfect for soup.
As it happened, she had taken a clay pot from her original home. Previously she had only seen clay pot cooking in videos by other food bloggers. People said that soup simmered in a clay pot using traditional stove methods tasted even better than soup made in a casserole.
Jian Jia crouched beside the pheasant with eager anticipation in her eyes. With the right timing, the right ingredients, and the right tools, it would be a shame not to make a clay pot chicken soup today.
After all, the chicken had already sacrificed itself.
The jujube-red horse galloped swiftly along the mountain road. Dappled sunlight flickered across Qin Yi’s cold and handsome face. He had traveled this road leading to Chicken Cry Town countless times. Even with his eyes closed he could find the way.
When he was young and followed his father along this path, the journey took an hour. As a restless teenager, he could reach the butcher’s shop in town in a little over half an hour with a load of game on his back. Now that he had his jujube-red horse Junjun, the trip took less than the time it took for a stick of incense to burn. In an hour, he could travel there and back.
Qin Yi gripped the reins tightly, feeling Junjun’s breathing and stride beneath him. This might be the last time they would run together along this mountain road, and he cherished every moment. Yet no matter how much he slowed down, Chicken Cry Town still appeared at the end of the road.
Junjun stopped and snorted softly. Turning its head, it rubbed against the back of Qin Yi’s hand, as if telling him that they had arrived.
The pheasants he caught today were in good condition. The butcher offered a high price of seven or eight copper coins for each one. Qin Yi wiped the pork grease from the coins before placing them one by one into his dusty coin pouch.
After leaving the butcher’s shop, Qin Yi did not mount his horse and returned home as he usually did. Instead, he led the reins toward the largest store in town, Donglai General Store. Facing the shop assistant who eagerly came forward, he said calmly, “I’d like to buy some seasonings. Sugar, oil, mountain pepper and the like.”
The shop assistant broke into a wide grin. “Right away, sir. Please wait a moment.”
Qin Yi did not enter the shop. He leaned sideways against a pillar outside the store. The bright sunlight stung his eyes slightly, so he closed them and gently stroked Junjun’s mane with his right hand.
“Hey, Old Zhang, look over there. Isn’t that Hunter Qin? Haven’t seen him for days. Come on, let’s go say hello.”
A rough voice sounded beside Qin Yi. Without opening his eyes, he already knew the speaker was Old Yang, a hunter from a neighboring town.
Old Yang was warmhearted and could strike up a conversation with anyone. Qin Yi had crossed paths with him a few times and did not have a bad impression of him. However, the hunter beside him, Hunter Zhang, was narrow-minded. Jealous of the amount of game Qin Yi caught and the business he had taken from him, Hunter Zhang always cast hostile glances whenever they met.
“You didn’t know? Hunter Qin has been busy getting married these past two days. You should have seen the spectacle. Whew.” Hunter Zhang’s voice dripped with sarcasm.
Old Yang sounded surprised. “Really? Hunter Qin got married? That’s good news. He’s not young anymore. It’s time he found a woman to build a life with. Which family’s a girl is she?”
Hunter Zhang lowered his voice and muttered, “You know Jianjia Village, right? The daughter of Jian Zhishan’s family.”
Old Yang sucked in a breath. “Her? Wasn’t she fond of that handsome scholar? What was his name again? Xu something?”
“Who knows. If you ask me, I wouldn’t dare take a woman like that. She’s got a pretty face, but she’s not the kind meant for family life. Hunter Qin is still young after all.”
“Tsk, tsk…”
The two stood at the corner in the distance, pointing toward Qin Yi and gossiping while sighing dramatically. They were so absorbed in their chatter that they did not notice Qin Yi had already opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a hawk as it swept across their faces.
“Sir, the items you asked for are ready.”
The shop assistant came out carrying dozens of paper-wrapped packages. Qin Yi accepted them, gave a brief “Mm,” and withdrew his gaze from the two men.