Chapter 191: Were You a Sieve in Your Past Life?
After browsing the shops, the two headed over to Jishi Hall to hand Divine Doctor Jin and Manager Qiu’s property deeds to Divine Doctor Jin. Upon hearing from Wen Jun that Datou and the others had invited the young master of the Li family to their house again, the corners of Wen Yao’s mouth twitched. Resigning herself to her fate, she took Wen Nong along to the market to buy groceries again.
At this time of year, the market was fully stocked with all kinds of melons, fruits, and vegetables. Even the fish at the fish stalls were plumper than in other seasons. However, since their family looked after their own fishpond, there was no need to buy any of that.
After walking for a while, Wen Nong was already carrying quite a lot of things in his hands.
“Yao’er! Yao’er!” Suddenly, the two heard a shout and saw Butcher Zheng, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, waving at them.
Wen Yao and Wen Nong walked over with smiles. The meat at Butcher Zheng’s stall was as fresh as always.
“Uncle Zheng,” the siblings greeted him.
Butcher Zheng wiped his hands clean, looked at the things they were carrying, and smiled. “Buying so many groceries?”
Wen Yao nodded. “Yes, we have guests coming to the house tonight. Uncle Zheng, how is your business? It’s been a while since I last saw you.”
The corners of Butcher Zheng’s mouth split wide and hadn’t pulled back since. “Business is fantastic! It’s all thanks to you. Now I have to slaughter two pigs every day. I keep half at the stall, and the rest is sent directly to Zui Xian Tower.”
As he spoke, Butcher Zheng lifted a large piece of pork belly straight off the chopping board, wrapped it with a piece of paper, and was about to put it into the basket Wen Nong was carrying on his back.
“Ah, Uncle Zheng, what are you doing?” The siblings quickly tried to stop him.
Butcher Zheng ignored them, however. He was tall and muscular; when he pressed down on Wen Nong’s shoulder, Wen Nong couldn’t move at all and could only let Butcher Zheng place the meat into the basket.
“Didn’t Yao’er say that the family is hosting guests tonight? Take this meat back to add a dish,” Butcher Zheng said with a smile.
Wen Yao burst out laughing. “Uncle Zheng, with this much meat just for one dish, how much would that guest have to eat?”
Butcher Zheng glared at her with a smile. “You silly girl, just take it when it’s given to you. Treat it as a small token of my appreciation. You’ve helped me so much, so I have to give something back. Right, Wen Nong, how is your shop coming along? Just let me know whenever you need goods delivered.”
Wen Nong nodded. “Yes, Yao’er and I went to see the shop today. It’s already built. Now we just need to decorate the interior a bit before we can reopen for business. I’ll let you know when the time comes.”
The other meat vendors nearby watched Butcher Zheng chatting and laughing with Wen Yao and her brother. By the time Butcher Zheng saw them off, the onlookers’ eyes were filled with both envy and jealousy. Who on this entire street didn’t know by now that the meat from Butcher Zheng’s family sold the best?
Just the meat delivered to Zui Xian Tower every day was enough for him to earn a fortune. Yet, this man stubbornly stuck to this stall, coming here every day to compete with them for business.
Though they were jealous, there was nothing they could do about it. Butcher Zheng was tall and stout; they couldn’t even beat him in a fight, so they might as well mind their own businesses peacefully.
There was no need to buy chickens or ducks, and now there was no need to buy meat either. Looking at the items in their hands, Wen Yao decided to head back.
Passing by a grocery store, they went in to stock up on some seasonings.
“The weather is truly getting hotter and hotter.” Just from being exposed to the sun for a short while, Wen Nong was already covered in sweat.
It was only the beginning of the fifth lunar month, and it wasn’t the hottest time yet. However, Wen Nong’s complaint about the heat gave Wen Yao a reminder.
“Let’s go, Second Brother. Let’s make a trip back to Eldest Brother’s place.”
The two returned to Jishi Hall. Seeing them carrying large and small bundles, Divine Doctor Jin said with a smile that he would bring Jin Xiuyi over to sponge a meal tonight.
Wen Yao had never turned them away, so she generously invited them over. She also reminded Divine Doctor Jin not to forget to invite Manager Qiu and Mr. Li. After all, since their son was going, it wouldn’t make sense not to invite the fathers.
Once Divine Doctor Jin agreed, Wen Yao found Wen Jun.
“Brother, get me some saltpeter,” Wen Yao said.
Medical shops usually stocked saltpeter, as it was sometimes needed when processing medicinal herbs. Naturally, their Jishi Hall had some as well.
Wen Jun glanced at her. “What do you want saltpeter for?”
Wen Yao pointed toward the sky outside and arched an eyebrow. “On such a hot day, I’ll bring them something cool.”
Wen Jun froze for a moment, then remembered that saltpeter could be used to make ice.
After speaking with Divine Doctor Jin, Wen Jun led Wen Yao to the backyard storehouse to fetch some saltpeter.
“Be careful, don’t hurt yourself,” Wen Jun instructed. He escorted the two back to the carriage and watched them leave.
The moment they arrived home, Wen Nong first went to report about the shop to Old Man Wen and Old Madam Luo. After handing the property deed to Lady Li for safekeeping, he consciously went to the back mountain to help his father and third uncle with their work.
Wen Yao, meanwhile, informed Old Madam Luo that Divine Doctor Jin and the others were coming over for dinner again tonight.
“I understand. Little Sister, I think you and Yueniang shouldn’t rush to leave tonight either; just eat at our place,” Old Madam Luo said, having no objections to this. These few individuals were all benefactors of the family; it was just a single meal, so how much could they possibly eat? Glancing at her younger sister who was still busy working, Old Madam Luo simply spoke to the younger Old Madam Luo, telling her to stay for dinner tonight as well.
The younger Old Madam Luo knew that Wen Yao’s culinary skills were superb. The wedding feast she had organized for her second son previously was still being praised all across the surrounding villages.
“Alright, it’s not busy right now anyway. Let Yueniang keep an eye on things while we go help Yao’er tidy things up first,” the younger Old Madam Luo said.
As the three walked toward the new house together, Wen Yao suddenly spoke up: “Great-Auntie, my second cousin is currently working at the yamen, but what about my eldest cousin and his wife? What do they do at home?” There was also Old Man Jiao; in her memory, Wen Yao seemed to have only met him two or three times.
The younger Old Madam Luo replied, “Your eldest cousin’s wife takes care of the family’s land at home with Ningning and Yuanyuan, while looking after your grand-uncle. Your eldest cousin has to go out to work every day. He learned the craft from a bricklayer in the village and takes on jobs outside.”
Something flashed through Wen Yao’s mind, but it vanished in an instant before she could catch it.
“Why are you asking about this?” Seeing the slight frown on Wen Yao’s brow, Old Madam Luo’s heart suddenly missed a beat, and she asked with a thoroughly defensive look.
This girl couldn’t possibly be training her sights onto her little sister’s family, could she?
Wen Yao scratched her head and began to think hard about what she had just missed.
“Grandma, don’t interrupt me.”
In the end, Old Madam Luo didn’t give her the chance at all. She directly pulled away the hand Wen Yao was using to scratch her hair, tucked the girl under her arm, and continued walking forward, while loudly speaking to disrupt her line of thought.
“Alright, stop thinking about it. Just take good care of the matters right in front of your eyes first. You don’t need to worry about your eldest cousin.”
“No, Grandma, I wasn’t thinking about that just now,” Wen Yao hurriedly explained. But Old Madam Luo simply didn’t give her a chance, tossing her straight into the kitchen before starting to prepare the dishes for the evening.
By the time the sun dipped below the mountains, Old Man Wen returned with the large battalion of working men. Upon seeing Wen Nong, Wen Yao finally remembered what had flashed through her mind in the afternoon.
“Grandma, I know what I wanted to say this afternoon!” Wen Yao said with quite some excitement.
Knowing that she couldn’t avoid it after all, Old Madam Luo could only say, “Whatever it is, talk about it after dinner. The guests will be here in a moment.”
She really didn’t know what kind of creature this girl had been in her past life. How could she have so many ideas from morning till night? She was just like a sieve. Could it be that she was a sieve spirit in her past life?
