Chapter 151

A wooden board was placed on stones under the table, and the basket was placed underneath. Samples were taken out from the top for people to look at. When they were sold out, more goods were taken from underneath to replenish the supply.

There were many types of mountain mushrooms, eight in total, and Lu Yang grabbed a handful for Mr. Ding.

The mountain chicken was still alive, kept in a cage in the corner. The cage was lined with dry grass.

A cutting board was placed on top of the cage, with unsold lamb meat on it.

This was meant to be displayed outside for passersby on the street to see, but Xie Yan hadn’t put it out yet.

Mr. Ding definitely didn’t want the lamb; he had already bought a whole lamb.

Since he had come all the way, he thought about what his family wanted to eat and bought ten pounds of bamboo shoots, picking out a few of his favorite mushrooms to take home. He didn’t want the chicken; his family had lamb and wouldn’t be eating any other meat for a while.

Xie Yan also asked him, “Mr. Ding, do you eat bee larvae? We have some here. I sent a beehive to my classmate yesterday, and the bee larvae are still at home.”

When Lu Yang came to say that the lamb had arrived, he didn’t mention the bee larvae.

One person has only one mouth, and there’s too much good stuff to eat.

Anyway, at this time of year, things keep well. He was planning to wait two days before asking, but Xie Yan asked him all at once.

Mr. Ding didn’t want them, but he was craving them.

Honeycombs are hard to get, but you can still get some honey. Bee larvae are harder to come by.

He used to go to the market, but he only saw a few all year round. Everyone has regular customers, and unless the price is high, they won’t sell to strangers.

He walked around, went outside, and came back to ask the price.

“How much are the bee larvae?”

Xie Yan had written down the prices when he recorded the quantities of mountain goods, so he remembered them all.

“There aren’t many bee larvae, so it’s two silver coins for all of them.”

Two silver coins wasn’t expensive considering how difficult it was to obtain bee larvae.

He wasn’t very strong, and neither was Mr. Ding, who rarely did physical labor. The two adults struggled to move a basket of goods in the shop, and even moving a few steps to make room for the neighbors left them both out of breath.

Mr. Ding was hungry by then. The shop assistant brought him some tea, which he drank in one gulp, then took out the steamed buns he had just bought to eat.

He had bought two in total. He ate one himself, then noticed Xie Yan standing there and tentatively offered him the other one.

Xie Yan accepted it without hesitation, thanking him, “Mr. Ding, you’re such a kind person. No wonder my husband praises you every day.”

Then he really ate it.

Mr. Ding: “…”

Having earned money in the morning, Xie Yan was in a good mood. When Lu Yang woke up, he chattered excitedly about the good news, but Lu Yang felt like he hadn’t woken up yet. He closed his eyes and slept for a while longer. When he opened his eyes again, he asked Xie Yan, “Did you open the shop?”

Xie Yan nodded: “Yes, I opened the door and started business. Mr. Ding is such a kind person. He bought a lot of things and even treated me to some steamed buns.”

Lu Yang blinked, feeling the emotions in his heart, and found himself wanting to laugh.

Wow, he really loves her. He can even laugh about this.

He remembered that when he was at Chen’s tofu shop, he had also done something foolish like this, and Old Man Chen had scolded him when he got home. People become clever after making many choices in life and bearing many consequences, so they know what is most appropriate to do.

But Lu Yang discovered that in everyday life, it is rare not to make mistakes.

He felt that this little thing wasn’t worth getting angry about, nor was it worth losing his temper or scolding someone.

He got up, dressed, and said to Xie Yan, “Don’t spoil me. If you need to wake me up, just do it. I’m used to waking up before dawn. Back in the village, I could still get up early, but since moving to the county, I’ve become lazier day by day. How can this be?”

Their family wasn’t fully recovered yet, and Lu Yang couldn’t avoid being tired. After going out to work, he ran around everywhere, so he rested a bit longer on the bed.

Today’s medicine had already been boiled. Xie Yan got up early to light the stove at the door, kneaded the dough, and took turns with his mother watching the fire. When it was almost done, they carried it out to the corridor to cool.

Then he soaked some mushrooms, cleared out a pot, diced some meat, and stir-fried the mushrooms and meat into a sauce.

He made two large bowls of the sauce, kept one for himself, and took the other to Mr. Ding with Xie Yan to give him a bowl.

When he saw Lu Yang, Mr. Ding was in a great mood.

Lu Yang was good at dealing with people, much better than his scholar husband, and he even cooked sauce for him to eat.

With the sauce, Lu Yang could speak a little more directly.

He said, “Mr. Ding, my husband and I can’t hold our liquor. He’s about to start school, and I want to save some silver, so I won’t buy wine today. I’ll come back to buy some when he starts school.”

Whether or not to buy wine is a minor matter.

Mr. Ding doesn’t rely on their three or four cups of wine to make a living; the key is that it makes him feel good!

The sauce was just out of the pot and still hot. Mr. Ding took a spoon and scooped a small amount to taste.

The overall flavor was harmonious, with the sauce aroma filling the mouth. As he chewed, the tenderness of the mushrooms and the chewiness of the meat cubes were distinctly separate. The more he chewed, the more he could taste the original freshness of the ingredients, which was different from the initial sauce aroma.

If the sauce aroma upon entry is the flavor that makes you want to eat more, then the lingering freshness of the ingredients in your mouth is the flavor that tempts you to take another bite.

Mr. Ding is a businessman with spare cash; there are few food stalls in the county town he hasn’t visited.

He takes a liking to Lu Yang and offers him some advice: “Mr. Lu, it’s a pity you’re selling mountain mushrooms. You should be selling this sauce instead.”

Lu Yang understood and replied without hesitation, “Thank you. I’ll try making a couple of batches after I finish today’s work. If this business works out, I’ll send you two more jars!”

Business acumen isn’t something you can buy with money.

Mr. Ding smiled and gave Xie Yan a sly glance.

If this scholar spoke up, he’d probably just praise him as a good person.

Mr. Ding felt annoyed thinking about it, so he shifted his butt and just watched Lu Yang talk.

Unfortunately, Lu Yang had something to do today and couldn’t stay long.

After saying goodbye at the wine shop, they returned to the shop, gave Lu Lin a quick update, and then set off with the lamb leg and the booklet.

They rode in Lu Lin’s donkey cart as they moved around the county.

The cart was small, and the donkey wasn’t conspicuous, which was just right.

Xie Yan was slow to catch on, and only asked Lu Yang once they were outside, “Did I offend Mr. Ding?”

Lu Yang sat next to him, his face covered with a face mask.

His younger brother said that Chen Lao Ye was moving to the county today.

They weren’t sure which street yet, but he wanted to avoid him.

Upon hearing the question, he looked at Xie Yan: “What kind of offense is that? When dealing with people, one must have some genuine feelings. If you did it on purpose, Mr. Ding would certainly be annoyed, but since our two families have been in frequent contact lately, he knows you’re not well-versed in social etiquette, so why would he hold it against you? It’s just a matter of social etiquette; you can’t keep taking advantage of others’ understanding and act recklessly. We’re partners in life. If you do something wrong, I’ll smooth things over, and it’ll be forgotten. If I do something wrong, you’ll help me too. That’s what being partners is all about.”

Xie Yan: “…”

Is it that early? Everyone says it that way, right?

He sighed deeply: “Ah!”

Lu Yang was amused by him: “Why the rush? There’s plenty of time. Take it slow.”

There was nothing else to do.

The journey to Dongcheng District took some time. The car drove along the road, occasionally dodging pedestrians, rushing and hurrying, and arrived at the destination before noon.

Lu Laoyezhi’s house was a large courtyard. He had only one younger brother, who had married into the family.