The braised meat was brought to a boil over high heat, then simmered over low to medium heat. Considering the wild boar meat was quite lean and gamey, this simmering process took nearly four hours. The small Ji family courtyard was filled with the mouthwatering aroma of braised meat. Although it was getting late by now, everyone tacitly agreed not to mention eating, all waiting for the meat in the pots to be perfectly cooked.
Ji Linxia and Yingtao, who occasionally went in to add firewood, couldn’t help but sniff the air. If anyone else offered to go in and add wood for them, neither was willing to give up the task.
Ji Dehong and Ji Deyuan squatted at the kitchen door, their eyes fixed on the pots, and asked, “Second Aunt, how much longer?”
The adults were too shy to ask, but when the children did, all eyes turned to Jiang Jingyi.
Jiang Jingyi couldn’t help but smile. “Let me take a look.”
She entered the kitchen and had Yingtao lift the lid. She scooped a piece into a bowl, then picked it up with chopsticks and took a bite. The originally dry, gamey wild boar meat was now thoroughly infused with the fragrance of soy sauce and spices, stewed until tender and meltingly soft in the mouth – absolutely delicious.
Jiang Jingyi nodded. “Stop the fire now.”
Tomorrow, they could bring along a small stove, put the pot on it, and keep it simmering. She was sure that with this aroma wafting through the air, no one would be able to resist buying.
“Miss, look outside.” Yingtao, who had been standing at the door, suddenly came in and said.
Jiang Jingyi poked her head out. Goodness, a crowd had gathered at the gate, many of them holding bowls, clearly waiting.
The scene was quite amusing. Jiang Jingyi chuckled. “Sister-in-law, let’s scoop some out first and serve everyone.”
Looking at the pot full of meat as if it were a pile of copper coins, Lady Yun responded with an “Okay,” then asked, “How much should we sell it for?”
Jiang Jingyi was taken aback. She had no concept of current prices.
“How much is braised meat selling for outside?” Jiang Jingyi looked at Ji Qiuyang. Ji Qiuyang frowned slightly. “I’ve never bought any.”
Ji Dongyang and his wife, who sold tofu in the town and county, knew this well. “In the town, it’s about eighty wen per catty. In the county, probably around ninety wen.”
Jiang Jingyi nodded and said to Lady Yun, “Then let’s sell it in the village for sixty wen a catty. If anyone says it’s expensive, tell them this is a special price for fellow villagers. Tomorrow when we go to the county, we’ll sell it for at least a hundred wen a catty.”
“O-one hundred wen?” Lady Yun was shocked. “But even regular pork is only a bit over thirty wen a catty.”
She was a bit anxious, thinking they wouldn’t be able to sell it at such a price.
Jiang Jingyi, however, stated it as a matter of fact. “Everyone knows where this wild boar meat came from. Can it compare to farm-raised pigs? My husband risked his life for this. Sixty wen a catty is already very low. Besides, they can eat this meat straight away or stew it with cabbage – the flavor will definitely be better than stewing raw meat.”
Ji Dongyang said to Lady Yun, “Just listen to your sister-in-law. Say it like that.”
Lady Yun nodded hesitantly and scooped out about twenty catties from the pot. Even as she did so, she felt a pang of regret, muttering to herself, “If we sold all this at a hundred wen, we’d be losing out on quite a bit.”
But since they were fellow villagers, they couldn’t very well refuse to sell. So, she carried the basin into the yard and addressed the people outside, “Everyone knows how we got this pork. Second Brother is a scholar; the fact he could hunt this boar was thanks to the blessings of the gods in heaven. Everyone understands how rare this meat is, and you can all smell its aroma. So, we’ve discussed it and decided to sell this braised meat at sixty wen per catty.”
As soon as she finished, Aunt Lin, perched on the wall, immediately piped up, “Sixty wen a catty? Your family is robbing people! A catty of raw pork is only thirty wen.”
Jiang Jingyi came out of the kitchen and glanced at her. “Our family isn’t selling to you, Aunt Lin. You go buy raw pork. I heard from Butcher Xu that there’s still some pork left today.”
Aunt Lin’s eyes widened. “You… you’re bullying me!”
“That’s right, we are.” Jiang Jingyi shot her a dismissive look, then turned to the people at the gate with a smile. “Everyone, you can go to the town and ask about the price of braised meat there. It will definitely be higher, not lower. This braised meat is from a wild boar, killed by a scholar. Tomorrow, when I go to the county and start selling, I can get a hundred wen a catty for it.”
Everyone realized she had a point. Wasn’t a wild boar killed by Scholar Ji something special? Someone in the village who had actually bought braised meat in town chimed in, “Braised meat in town is eighty wen a catty. I’ve heard it’s even more expensive in the county. Sixty wen from the Ji family is indeed very cheap.”
Hearing this, the others hesitated. The person who had just spoken immediately said, “Give me a catty.”
With someone taking the lead, a few others from slightly better-off families began to be tempted. Most people only bought meat by the catty for dumplings during festivals; they rarely splurged just to eat meat.
Jiang Jingyi said cheerfully, “This meat will also be great if you add some of the broth to stew vegetables tomorrow. Since we’re all neighbors, how about this: for every catty of meat you buy, I’ll give you half a bowl of the broth to take home for stewing?”
“That’s a great idea.” Someone immediately beamed.
A catty of raw pork wouldn’t yield a catty of braised meat. When you calculated it that way, it wasn’t expensive. And if it made stewed vegetables taste good, then it was worth it.
So, a few more people came forward with their bowls to buy. The Ji Dongyang couple, already accustomed to small trading, deftly weighed the meat and ladled out the broth. Before long, nearly twenty catties were gone.
Their village wasn’t very big, and not many were willing to spend money on meat. Twenty catties were probably the limit. After closing the courtyard gate, Jiang Jingyi scooped out a large bowlful. “Is this all we’re having for dinner?”
Old Lady Ji smiled. “I’ve already washed some greens. We’ll just stir-fry a couple of vegetable dishes to go with it.”
Jiang Jingyi was in high spirits today. She rolled up her sleeves and directed Yingtao to tend the fire while she stir-fried a few vegetable dishes. She also stewed some cabbage with the braised meat broth. Tasting it, she found it was indeed quite good.
When the food was served on the table, Jiang Jingyi picked up a braised pork trotter to eat. In winter, she could make some jellied meat; that would surely be delicious too.
With meat, vegetables, and steamed rice, the meal successfully conquered the stomachs of the Ji family. Lady Yun said cheerfully, “Tomorrow morning, we’ll go to the county to sell. We’re sure to get a good price.”
Ji Dehong nodded vigorously. “Right, right. I’m going too. Second Aunt’s cooking is absolutely irresistible.”
Jiang Jingyi nodded. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll go with Big Brother and Sister-in-law. I’ll also pack some to send to Grandfather and the others.”
“That’s only right.” Old Lady Ji thought of the dowry items still piled in her daughter-in-law’s room and nodded. “The He family helped us a lot. We must properly thank them.”
Jiang Jingyi was surprised. “What did they help with?”
Lady Yun sighed and explained, “We haven’t had a chance to tell you yet. These past couple of days, we’ve been going to the county to sell tofu and tofu skin. Then today, some people came looking for trouble. They were about to overturn our stall when we happened to run into Uncle He, and he stepped in to help us.”
“Because Uncle He intervened, those little ruffians didn’t dare bother us anymore.” Ji Dongyang had a smile on his face. “Tomorrow, we’ll go with Sister-in-law to thank him properly.”
Lady Yun nodded. “Maybe we should prepare some decent gifts to take?”
Jiang Jingyi said, “Just prepare some simple, homely things. The He family isn’t the type to fuss over such matters. Once we get to the county, I’ll buy some other things, that’ll be fine.”
With that settled, Old Lady Ji opened her strongbox and took out some money to give to Jiang Jingyi. “For tomorrow’s expenses, use the household money. Keep your dowry well stored away.”
Just as Jiang Jingyi was about to decline, Lady Yun smiled and said, “Sister-in-law, don’t refuse. Since we haven’t divided the family property, this is how it should be. Not to mention your dowry, even my dowry, Mother won’t let me touch it. Going to the He family isn’t just for your sake, it’s for all of us, so it’s right to use the common household funds.”
Hearing this, Jiang Jingyi stopped refusing. She felt her luck was truly good, not only was her mother-in-law and sister-in-law kind, but even her sister-in-law from the other branch was an honest person. It seemed fate wanted her to prosper and live well.
The Yun couple quickly washed up and went to their room to rest. Ji Qiuyang asked, “Should I take a day off and accompany you?”
Jiang Jingyi waved it off. “No need. You focus on your studies.”
Having said that, she also went to wash up.
Ji Qiuyang, bluntly rejected by Jiang Jingyi, unconsciously furrowed his brow. Was he being dismissed?
Old Lady Ji smiled. “I’m relieved to see you two getting along so well.”
Ji Qiuyang’s frown deepened. Getting along well with Jiang Jingyi? Since when? Although he now knew that Jiang Jingyi wasn’t the original person, that didn’t mean they were getting along well.
But facing his mother’s smile, Ji Qiuyang couldn’t bring himself to say otherwise. After chatting with Old Lady Ji for a bit, he went to take a bath.
Back in the room, Jiang Jingyi watered the bean sprouts again, touching the tiny shoots that had emerged, feeling quite pleased. Suddenly, she remembered the purpose of their trip up the mountain – they were supposed to cut vines to weave baskets. How had they ended up spending the entire afternoon on braised meat?
What about her mushrooms? What about her strawberries?
Just then, Ji Qiuyang entered. Jiang Jingyi looked at him with a pained expression. “What about my strawberries and mushrooms?”
Ji Qiuyang sighed helplessly. “Sister-in-law put them in the cellar. You can get them tomorrow.”
Jiang Jingyi felt embarrassed. “Oh.”
She lay down on the bed, turning her back to Ji Qiuyang. Ji Qiuyang calmly spread out the reed mat and lay down, then heard Jiang Jingyi ask, “Don’t you want to know if I used to be a person or a spirit?”
Ji Qiuyang replied steadily, “Have you ever heard of a spirit being this greedy?”
Jiang Jingyi was displeased. “Are you calling me greedy? If being greedy could bring in money, you try being greedy and see.”
A hint of amusement crept into Ji Qiuyang’s voice. “I’ve also heard that spirits and monsters are particularly eloquent and argumentative.”
Jiang Jingyi sat up with a start, then slowly got off the bed. She drifted over and whispered close to Ji Qiuyang’s ear, “Actually, I’m a fox spirit who’s cultivated for a hundred years, here specifically to suck the essence of handsome scholars.”
Her breath was so close to his ear, the exhaled air tickling his earlobe, sending a shiver straight to Ji Qiuyang’s heart. His body involuntarily stiffened. He heard himself ask, “A nine-tailed fox?”
**