Instead of using the method of fermenting bamboo shoots completely submerged in water, Li Xiaoxiao was afraid it might fail, so she decided to make them the same way people made pickles. In this place, every household would preserve part of their vegetables as pickles during the season when produce was abundant.
The washed wild bamboo shoots were dried of excess moisture and placed directly into jars. Salt, cooled boiled water, white liquor, old pickle brine, rock sugar, and dried chili peppers were added since there were no fresh chilies available. She even specially went to the pharmacy to buy Sichuan peppercorns. After seven days, the wild bamboo shoots were fully pickled.
Li Xiaoxiao had the eldest daughter-in-law scoop some out. They tasted good eaten directly or stir-fried with meat.
And so, during what should have been the rare slack farming season, Li Xiaoxiao led her sons, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters to gather bamboo shoots, fiddlehead ferns, purslane, pagoda tree flowers, and other wild vegetables on sunny days. When it rained, they rested; as soon as the rain stopped, they headed up the mountains to gather mushrooms.
Under such busy work, batch after batch of dried bamboo shoots, dried fiddleheads, dried purslane, and dried mushrooms were laid out at home. Li Xiaoxiao’s storage room eventually could not hold everything, so every room in the house had bags of dried vegetables hanging from the ceiling beams.
Not only that, the front yard, backyard, and even the bamboo grove—except for pathways—were filled with jars of pickled bamboo shoots.
After working nonstop for a month, the mountain bamboo shoots had grown too old, and only then did Li Xiaoxiao finally announce they would stop.
She had Qin Dashu take some pickled bamboo shoots to town to see whether they could be sold. Mainly because there was simply too much at home.
Qin Dashu carried two twenty-jin jars of pickled bamboo shoots and set off on an ox cart.
As soon as he arrived at the market, he paid two wen to the market official and scooped out a small bowl for him to taste. This was not considered bribery—anyone selling prepared food had to let the market official sample it before entering the market to make sure there were no problems.
If Li Xiaoxiao had been there, she definitely would have sighed that being a market official was quite a cushy job. Of course, if the food happened to be poisonous or spoiled, the first unlucky person would probably be the official himself.
The sour, spicy, refreshing flavor instantly filled the man’s mouth.
“Mmm~ This flavor is great. It’d go perfectly with rice or porridge.”
As he spoke, the market official handed Qin Dashu a wooden permit token. Qin Dashu thanked him repeatedly before entering the market. He found a stall, set everything up, and placed a bowl of bamboo shoots atop the jar along with specially prepared disposable bamboo skewers for customers to sample. These were all instructions Li Xiaoxiao had specifically emphasized.
Qin Dashu stayed by the stall, calling out to passersby. Once people asked the price and heard it was twelve wen per jin, many found it acceptable.
At the grocery store, a jin of stinky sour bamboo shoots sold for twenty wen, while fresh wild bamboo shoots cost four wen per jin.
So twelve wen was something people could accept. Anyone who tasted them usually bought one or two jin. Qin Dashu wrapped the bamboo shoots in dried lotus leaves, tied them with dried rice straw, and handed them to the customers.
There was no helping it—this era didn’t have plastic bags. This was the only solution the family could think of. They couldn’t exactly have customers carry the bamboo shoots in their bare hands.
Just as Qin Dashu was nearly sold out, a plump man came to the stall. After tasting the bamboo shoots, he did not hurry to buy any.
“Brother, these wild bamboo shoots really taste excellent. How much does your family still have?”
“My family made a lot this year. We’ve got around a hundred jars, each holding two hundred jin! All made when the wild bamboo shoots were at their tenderest.”
Qin Dashu answered honestly without any suspicion.
“So much? Aren’t you afraid they won’t sell and will spoil?”
“Hah! What’s there to fear? If this stuff is prepared properly, it keeps for a long time! If it doesn’t sell, we can give it away or eat it ourselves. It’s excellent with meals!”
“Brother, you know Hongyun Restaurant, right? I’m the manager there. My surname is Zhang, given name Laifu. May I ask how to address you?”
Zhang Laifu immediately took a liking to Qin Dashu’s straightforward honesty. Of course, he liked the bamboo shoots even more. Their sour and spicy flavor was appetizing and suitable even for people who normally couldn’t stand stinky sour bamboo shoots.
After all, people who loved stinky bamboo shoots adored them passionately, while those who disliked them wanted to vomit just from the smell.
“My surname is Qin. Shopkeeper Zhang, just call me Dashu! My family lives in Qin Family Village near the mountains!”
Outside the home, Qin Dashu was cheerful and confident.
“How about you come with me to my house and take a look? It’s alright even if you decide not to buy anything!”
Qin Dashu felt this was an opportunity. If he could get acquainted with the manager of the town’s most prosperous restaurant, then even if the pickled bamboo shoots didn’t all sell, his family would still have watermelons from their few plots in another month or so.
Ordinary people could hardly afford watermelons. Keeping them just for the family to eat felt wasteful. Selling them to a restaurant would be perfect—after all, the customers who dined there were wealthy.
Ah… Qin Dashu felt he really didn’t want to worry so much. But ever since his mother injured her head, aside from still being as fierce as before, she constantly came up with one sudden idea after another. He wondered whether it was a side effect of hitting her head.
Still, he didn’t dare oppose her. He had been beaten into obedience since childhood. Besides, his father’s death had been disgraceful, and his mother had struggled bitterly to raise the four siblings alone. Once, the uncle who claimed to care had come urging his mother to remarry, only to be chased out with a kitchen cleaver.
Who told him he was the eldest son? Worrying more was simply his responsibility.
Zhang Laifu was also an impatient man. He immediately had two assistants drive two ox carts and follow Qin Dashu back home.
Along the way, Zhang Laifu learned quite a bit about Qin Dashu’s family situation. What surprised him most was discovering that the infamous local hooligan Qin Dacai was actually Qin Dashu’s cousin. Fortunately, judging from Qin Dashu’s tone, he clearly despised Qin Dacai’s family. Not only were the two families on terrible terms, they were practically enemies.
“That’s good. I certainly don’t want any connection with that kind of person,” Zhang Laifu muttered inwardly.
When they arrived home, the eldest daughter-in-law was just preparing to start lunch.
Li Xiaoxiao was quite surprised to see Qin Dashu bringing guests back.
Qin Dashu jumped down from the cart first and introduced them.
“Mother, this is Shopkeeper Zhang from Hongyun Restaurant!”
“Shopkeeper Zhang, this is my mother, Madam Li.”
Zhang Laifu hurried forward with his assistants and bowed politely.
“Auntie, pardon the intrusion.”
“Not at all! It’s our family’s honor that Shopkeeper Zhang has come to visit!”
Li Xiaoxiao replied courteously.
Standing behind them, Qin Dashu instantly let out a sigh of relief. He had truly been afraid his mother would suddenly blurt out something like, “So you know you’re intruding!”
“Auntie, I’m about the same age as Brother Dashu. You can just call me Laifu.”
“Alright then! This old woman won’t stand on ceremony. Nephew Laifu, please come sit in the main hall. Dashu, make sure you keep Laifu company.”
Li Xiaoxiao smoothly followed along before turning toward the courtyard and giving instructions.
“Third Brother, take these two young men to park the ox carts and bring some fresh grass for the oxen.”
“Coming, Mother!”
Qin Sanmu quickly appeared at the doorway and led the assistants away.
Qin Dashu brought Zhang Laifu into the house. In the courtyard and under the eaves stood row after row of large jars, each covered with straw lids to keep them from the sun.
The moment Zhang Laifu saw them, he could no longer sit still and immediately pulled Qin Dashu along for a tour.
Seeing this, Li Xiaoxiao called Qin Erlin over, took out two hundred wen, and instructed him to buy an old duck from Qin Dafu’s house. She also asked him to invite Qin Youzhang and Qin Dafu over to entertain the guests. In this era, men still had to handle the reception of male visitors.
After buying the duck, he was also to buy some meat from Butcher Qin’s stall for the meal.
As for herself, Li Xiaoxiao entered the kitchen. She decided to personally guide the eldest daughter-in-law in preparing several good dishes.
Qin Dashu took Zhang Laifu around the front yard, the back yard, the bamboo grove, and even the vegetable fields.
Seeing so many jars of pickled bamboo shoots made Zhang Laifu grin from ear to ear. When he discovered the family was also growing ginger and watermelons, he became even more astonished.
In this era, ginger was mainly used medicinally, so very few households cultivated it. Even fewer people planted watermelons, which was exactly why their prices remained so high. Every year, Hongyun Restaurant could only acquire a small amount, and long-distance transportation caused heavy losses.
Zhang Laifu immediately grabbed Qin Dashu’s hand.
“Brother Dashu, once these watermelons ripen, you absolutely must save them for me!”
“Brother, what are you saying? Of course I’ll save them for you! We only planted a little this year, but if you need more, I’ll grow extra for you next year!”
Qin Dashu was overjoyed. Not only had the pickled bamboo shoots found a buyer, but the watermelons had as well.
Maybe his mother’s habit of suddenly coming up with strange ideas wasn’t such a bad thing after all.