Chapter 30: To Make Money, Spend Money First
The dishes turned out perfectly, but unfortunately, her electric rice cooker hadn’t arrived yet. The massive iron wok and the earthen pot were both occupied, and the small iron pot and the water kettle were completely unsuited for steaming rice. Left with no choice, Jian Xingxia could only use the small iron pot to boil a handful of dried noodles.
Pairing such a magnificent pot of chestnut braised chicken with plain noodles felt like a total waste of a good thing.
But Da Hei didn’t think so at all. He didn’t have white wheat noodles; he ate sweet potatoes instead. The sweet potatoes, which would normally be a bit dry and choking, became smooth and delectable once coated in the rich chicken gravy and potato puree. Even the sweet potatoes tasted like chicken.
Da Hei was skilled at hunting and had eaten plenty of meat with his late master, but he had never tasted chicken this delicious. His starkly black-and-white eyes bulged, shining brighter than lightbulbs. “Such a delicacy! If my master… my late master were still alive, he would surely be overjoyed!”
Jian Xingxia had heard a lot about Da Hei’s master from the Great Yu Empire, and she felt quite proud at that moment. “Every style has its own merit. The ingredients on your side are natural and pure, carrying their own innate flavors. But here, we have an abundance of seasonings—scallions, ginger, garlic, chilies, soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar—which can better strip away any gamey or off-tastes, unlocking the food’s full aroma and deliciousness.”
“Besides, with an advanced culture and easy trade, the meals we cook integrate the strengths of every region across the land. Once fused together, they form a legacy. Put it on your side, and these would probably be closely guarded family secrets.”
Da Hei couldn’t entirely grasp her words, but seeing Jian Xingxia smile, he grinned broadly right along with her.
From that massive wok of chestnut braised chicken, Jian Xingxia took only the choice portions for her two bowls, leaving all the rest for Da Hei. Da Hei’s stomach was like a bottomless pit; as long as Jian Xingxia didn’t set a limit, he could inhale any amount of food. And that was doubly true for something this delicious.
Having eaten and drunk his fill, Da Hei washed his own bowl and platter, then voluntarily headed out to the field to labor.
Jian Xingxia cleaned up the kitchen and checked on the earthen pot inside the firebox. Ensuring it hadn’t tipped over, she continued peeling chestnuts. The hundred-plus jin of chestnuts gathered two days ago hadn’t been fully processed yet, and today brought another two hundred jin.
Having too many chestnuts was a headache too. The next market day was on the 25th, eight days away. These chestnuts were already from last year’s crop, so they wouldn’t sell well at the market anyway. The villagers didn’t lack them either; with plenty of land in the mountains, every household grew various fruit trees. At best, chestnuts could only be bartered for other grain in the village, not traded for cash.
With hundreds of jin of older stock, bartering back and forth was a hassle, so Jian Xingxia decided to shell them for her own consumption. To her, as long as it didn’t cost money, it was a good thing.
Just like Da Hei.
Da Hei arrived at six in the morning and worked continuously until seven in the evening. When Jian Xingxia settled his wages, he wasn’t as terrified as the first two times, proactively asking for sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes were a staple food, and every bit of them could be eaten, making them the most economical choice for him.
Jian Xingxia didn’t mistreat him either. For dinner, she boiled noodles and gave Da Hei a massive bowl, along with two boiled eggs and a small basin of sweet potatoes and corn. Since he couldn’t take cooked food back, she made sure he ate his fill. Jian Xingxia felt she was an exceptionally understanding boss.
Once Da Hei left, total darkness fell. Jian Xingxia called Dahua inside, locked the front and back courtyard gates, and turned on the lights to hang out at home.
Before the sun went down, the storage battery had charged to over seventy kilowatt-hours. Jian Xingxia had turned the lights on early. After all, tomorrow was going to be another bright, sunny day, and since the battery capped out at one hundred kilowatt-hours, any extra sunlight would go to waste. It pained her to think about it, wishing she could plug in every single appliance she owned.
However, the old house was simply too bare, and she had brought very little luggage. Rummaging around, she found that aside from the electric lights and the water pump, the only electronics she had were her phone, her laptop, a rechargeable desk lamp, and the rechargeable flashlight left behind by Hu Da. Jian Xingxia plugged in everything that could be charged.
Taking a rare moment to rest, Jian Xingxia picked up her phone to look up what delicacies could be made with chestnuts and how to preserve them. She didn’t have time for overly complex recipes. There were hundreds of jin of chestnuts on hand, more could be gathered from the mountain, and this year’s fresh crop would be ready to harvest soon.
After scrolling through various methods, she actually found exactly what she needed—frozen chestnuts.
When the villagers had come to watch the spectacle during the day, they had all praised her brown sugar chestnuts, calling them soft, chewy, and sweet. Fangfang had even commented, “It’s just that the weather is too hot, so eating them gets too sticky. If they could be like sugar-coated haws, where the syrup doesn’t drip everywhere, that would be perfect.”
Jian Xingxia immediately remembered that her university convenience store used to sell a type of frozen chestnut, which was perfect for summer snacking. It was simple and didn’t require many ingredients.
But she had neither a refrigerator nor rock sugar at home. Jian Xingxia pondered over it: To make money, you have to spend money first.
She called Little Hu Liu. “Little Hu Liu, do you have time tomorrow? I want to head to the town to buy some things and pick up my packages while I’m at it.”
Little Hu Liu thought for a moment. “Is half a day alright? I’ll finish my chores in the morning and come pick you up in the afternoon.”
“Sure, let’s do the afternoon.”
With a new hope of generating income finally in sight, Jian Xingxia let out a sigh of relief and went to sleep peacefully.
The next morning, Jian Xingxia woke up early again. Checking the system, she saw that because she had frantically driven Da Hei into the mountain yesterday, the fellow had grumbled internally again. Only for the sake of the chestnut braised chicken had he given her a 75-point rating.
Jian Xingxia truly wanted to haul Da Hei over and give him a good thumping. But on second thought, there really was no temporary worker cheaper and more efficient than Da Hei; even Taoya’s wage tier was higher than his.
With her cash reserves severely depleted, Jian Xingxia had no choice but to recruit Da Hei again.
Da Hei, however, arrived in high spirits. After munching on two sweet potatoes, he headed straight out to work the field. Jian Xingxia boiled a massive pot of sweet potatoes, corn, and eggs, setting her own portion aside and leaving all the rest for Da Hei.
“I have to head out this afternoon and might not be back until late. Turn the soil over one more time, and bury this basket of wood ash and that pile of rotted fruit and leaves into the ground.”
The plot was too large, and Jian Xingxia didn’t have the means to buy chemical fertilizer for every section. She could only do her best to source organic fertilizer on the spot. It just so happened that the pile of rotted peaches beneath the tree from last year had fully decomposed, making it the perfect bio-fertilizer. The wood ash cleared out by Old Man Xu when he repaired the stove would also come in handy now.
Da Hei was adept at farm work, requiring very little oversight from Jian Xingxia.
Jian Xingxia focused entirely on scoring chestnuts. When it was time for lunch, Little Hu Liu called her. “Sister Xiaxia, I’ll be at your place by two.”
Jian Xingxia prepped everything in advance. The moment two o’clock struck, she slung her bag over her shoulder, grabbed her woven sacks, and hopped onto Little Hu Liu’s electric three-wheeler.
The electric three-wheeler belonged to Hu Ming’s family. It was far superior to a manual one, requiring zero effort to ride. On the twisting, winding mountain paths, the electric three-wheeler was even nimbler than a larger vehicle, reaching the town in just over half an hour.
Jian Xingxia went to pick up her packages first. They had arrived at the perfect time; now that she had electricity at home, she had more than enough to use.
She bought rock sugar at a nearby small supermarket. It cost three yuan more per jin than online, and buying ten jin pained Jian Xingxia’s heart intensely. After buying the rock sugar, she headed straight for the second-hand market.
