Husband, Let Me Touch Your Abs - Chapter 101

Chapter 101

 

The two entered the yard, and Dahei, hearing the familiar voice, barked and ran over.

 

Zhao Beichuan patted the dog’s head and said, “Someone wants to pay for our liquor recipe?”

 

Lu Shiliu nodded and recounted everything that had happened recently.

 

Ever since the Lu family’s restaurant closed, people had been coming to the distillery to gather information, with some even offering money for the recipe.

 

But no one was foolish enough to sell it. They knew the difference between one full meal and being consistently well-fed. Even if they secretly sold the recipe, there would be no place to spend the money—after all, their indenture contracts were in the hands of their master. If they angered Lu Yao, they might not live long enough to use the money.

 

Unexpectedly, two nights ago, the black dog suddenly barked furiously in the night. Lu Shiliu, sensing something was amiss, woke up Lu house to investigate.

 

They found someone sneaking into the yard, rummaging through the warehouse, and stealing two pieces of last year’s distiller’s yeast. This frightened everyone, prompting them to begin nightly patrols. Each person took turns patrolling for an hour, ready to call for help if anything happened. At that moment, it happened to be Lu Shiliu’s turn.

 

Zhao Beichuan’s expression grew grave. “What do we do about the missing yeast?”

 

“No worries. Even if they took a few pieces of yeast, they wouldn’t be able to make much liquor.”

 

The process of making yeast was complex, and even if they had it, they wouldn’t be able to replicate it exactly. Moreover, the distillation method was still in their hands, so producing high-proof liquor would be impossible for the thieves.

 

“Shiliu, you’ve done well. Keep up the vigilance.”

 

“Yes!”

 

After leaving the distillery, the two walked with Dahei(dog) to the street to buy some food. The Lantern Festival was the day after tomorrow, which was the equivalent of the modern-day Yuanxiao Festival. Lu Yao planned to make some yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls) for everyone.

 

They bought a sack of glutinous rice flour, along with walnuts, peanuts, sunflower seeds, and sesame for the filling. Passing by the butcher’s, they also bought two pork knuckles and two pounds of lamb ribs.

 

By the time they returned home, the sky was already dark. Xiaochun was feeding the mule in the yard. Seeing them return, he hurriedly came over to take their purchases inside.

 

Lu Yao, seeing him wash his hands to help with dinner, patted him on the shoulder and said, “Go play with your younger siblings. Once the restaurant reopens in a few days, you won’t have much time to play.”

 

Xiaochun smiled, nodded, and ran off to play Ludo with them.

 

The Ludo board was hand-drawn by Lu Yao. It was simple, with a total of about thirty spaces, each marked with instructions like “move forward,” “move back,” or “pause.” The children used stones as game pieces, rolling dice to determine the number of spaces to move. Whoever reached the end first won.

 

To modern children, this kind of game would seem too simple and uninteresting. But to the children of this era, who had never seen such things, it was incredibly fun.

 

When Lu Yao first introduced it, the three children played until midnight, refusing to sleep until Zhao Beichuan sternly scolded them. Only then did they obediently return to their rooms to rest.

 

Lu Miao, who wasn’t much older than them, was also childlike. Seeing how much fun they were having, he joined in. It wasn’t until Lu Yao called them for dinner that they reluctantly put away the board.

 

After dinner, Mother Lu inquired about when the restaurant would reopen.

 

“Since the Lantern Festival is the day after tomorrow, I plan to reopen on the 16th.”

 

Mother Lu nodded. “Lu Miao, don’t get too carried away with playing these days. Help your brother more. If you came to the city just to play, I’ll take you back home in a few days.”

 

Hearing this, Lu Miao turned pale and quickly replied, “I understand. I’ll definitely help out more.”

 

In the evening, with nothing else to do, Lu Yao brought out the walnuts they had bought and began cracking them. The adults and children worked together to extract the kernels.

 

Mother Lu asked curiously, “What are you doing with so many walnut kernels?”

 

“I’m planning to make yuanxiao.”

 

“What’s yuanxiao?” The old lady had never heard of it.

 

Lu Yao vaguely replied, “It’s a type of food eaten in the city during the Lantern Festival.”

 

“Oh.”

 

With many hands, the work went quickly, and soon they had half a basin of walnut kernels. They also shelled the sunflower seeds and peanuts, grinding them together with sesame and sugar using a stone mortar to make the filling.

 

Lu Yao planned to make extra to give to Madam Jiang and Master Cao Wu. They might not care for other gifts, but they would certainly enjoy something they’d never tasted before.

 

Lu Yao made northern-style yuanxiao, which were different from southern-style tangyuan. He rolled the prepared filling into small balls the size of a fingertip, dipped them in water, then coated them with glutinous rice flour, finally rolling them in a basket to shape them into uniform spheres.

 

He selected the most perfectly shaped ones, packaging them in sets of ten with rice paper. He sealed the edges with rice paste, bundled ten rolls together, and placed them in a food box.

 

Presentation matters, and with this packaging, the yuanxiao looked much more upscale.

 

Lu Yao moved the finished yuanxiao outside to freeze overnight, planning to personally deliver them to the two families the next day.

 

The next morning, after breakfast, Zhao Beichuan drove the cart, and he and Lu Yao set out.

 

They first visited the Cao residence. Master Cao Wu wasn’t home, so Madam Cao received them.

 

Lu Yao said, “We went back to my hometown for the New Year and didn’t get a chance to visit during the holiday. I came back just before the Lantern Festival to bring some food for Master Cao and Madam.”

 

Madam Cao was delighted to receive food from him. Just the day before, her husband had mentioned missing their cooking, and now here it was.

 

“What is this?”

 

“It’s called yuanxiao, traditionally eaten during the Lantern Festival as a symbol of family reunion.”

 

Madam Cao unwrapped a roll and found small dough balls the size of a cow’s eye. Curious, she asked, “How do you eat this?”

 

“Cook it like dumplings—boil water, drop them in, and cook for two incense sticks’ time.”

 

“Oh, I’ll have the servants cook a bowl for my husband to try when he gets back.” A maid took the package away.

 

Madam Cao, a congenial woman, chatted with Lu Yao about family matters. “You came all this way yourself—how thoughtful.”

 

“You’re too kind, Madam. Thanks to Master Cao, our business thrived last year. And finding Xiaonian and Xiaodou was no easy task for him. This small gift hardly measures up.”

 

“Nonsense! I absolutely love the food you make.”

 

Lu Yao couldn’t help but laugh. “If you like it, Madam, I’ll bring more next time.”

 

Madam Cao waved her hand dismissively. “You mentioned returning to your hometown—how is your family doing?”

 

“They’re all well. I even brought my mother and siblings to live here with me.”

 

“That’s wonderful.”

 

The two chatted for a while. Seeing that it was getting late, Lu Yao stood up to take his leave, as he still had to visit the governor’s mansion.

 

When he stepped outside, Zhao Beichuan was waiting for him in the carriage. Ever since the incident, Lu Yao had not been allowed to go out alone.

 

The two arrived at the back gate of the governor’s mansion. Lu Yao carried the food box and knocked on the door, where a servant led him to a side room to wait. At the moment, Madam Jiang was entertaining other guests.

 

Lu Yao sat in a chair, and a servant brought him tea. After waiting for about half an hour, the maid next to Madam Jiang came to call him.

 

“Greetings, Madam Jiang. I went back to my hometown for the New Year and didn’t have the chance to visit you. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

 

Madam Jiang waved her hand at him. “Sit down.”

 

Lu Yao took a seat on the side chair. There was still half a bowl of tea on the table, likely left by the previous guest. Madam Jiang neither had it taken away nor asked for fresh tea to be served, so Lu Yao pretended not to notice, maintaining his polite demeanor as he spoke to her.

 

“The wine from last year was well-received in the capital. You’ll need to produce more this year.”

 

“Yes, but the weather is too cold for brewing right now. For now, we’re having the laborers prepare the raw materials.”

 

Madam Jiang got straight to the point. “How much wine are you planning to brew this year?”

 

“That… depends on how much yeast we can make. If we produce more yeast, we can brew more wine. If there’s less yeast, the yield might be lower.” Lu Yao dared not make any promises, as the lack of standardized controls in ancient times meant that unexpected issues could always arise.

 

“Eight thousand jin. This year, make eight thousand jin of wine for me. The rest will be yours.”

 

Madam Jiang’s demand was staggering—8,000 jin of wine could fetch 16,000 strings of cash even within the prefecture. If sold in the capital or other regions, the price would at least double!

 

“I truly can’t guarantee that, Madam. If the yeast doesn’t turn out well, we might not be able to produce even a single jin of wine…”

 

Madam Jiang dropped her pretense and spoke with an imposing tone. “If you can’t do it, hand over the recipe, and I’ll find someone else to make it.”

 

Lu Yao’s heart sank. He quickly bowed and said, “I will do my best!”

 

When Lu Yao left the governor’s mansion, his clothes were damp with sweat. A gust of wind made him sneeze. The feeling of being at someone’s mercy was truly awful.

 

Zhao Beichuan hurriedly helped him onto the carriage. “Why do you look so pale? Did Madam Jiang make things difficult for you?”

 

Lu Yao glanced back at the corner gate, his demeanor increasingly cautious. “Let’s talk at home.” Someone could be eavesdropping at the back gate, and any loose words might lead to trouble.

 

On the way home, Lu Yao finally told Zhao Beichuan what Madam Jiang had said.

 

“That much wine? Can we manage it?”

 

“It’s doable, but it will take a lot of effort,” Lu Yao replied, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Her tone was so domineering, though. She said if we fail, we must hand over the recipe so she can have someone else make it.”

 

Zhao Beichuan tugged at the reins. “What should we do now?”

 

“Maybe working with her was a mistake from the start, but it’s too late to change that now. Let’s just proceed. After the festival tomorrow, we’ll start buying raw materials.”

 

“If it gets too tough, we can just give up the recipe and focus on running our little tavern peacefully,” Zhao Beichuan suggested.

 

Lu Yao let out a bitter laugh. “You want peace, but will others let you have it?”

 

A man without guilt but with treasure is often a target. Everyone knew they could brew Lu wine. Without Jiang Ying’s protection, others driven by greed would undoubtedly come after them.

 

And Lu Yao feared that if they handed over the recipe, Jiang Ying would be the first to turn on them…

 

—

 

The next day was the Lantern Festival, and the city was bustling with activity.

 

Lu Yao brought his mother and the children to the streets. Having lost the children once before, he didn’t dare let them out of his sight for even a moment.

 

The streets were crowded with people, lined with food stalls selling all sorts of snacks. Even Mother Lu tried foods she had never eaten before.

 

“I heard there will be fireworks tonight. We’ll come out again to watch them,” Lu Yao said.

 

Lu Miao, flushed with excitement, ran over with two skewers of candied hawthorn and handed them to Lu Yao. “Third Brother, this city is so much fun!”

 

Mother Lu gave him a light smack. “You’re already seventeen years old, and all you think about is playing. Which family would want such a big kid?”

 

Lu Miao pouted and ran off to continue exploring with the children.

 

When they passed by Pingzhou Bridge, there was a stage set up for a play, and everyone stopped to watch.

 

The performers were singing old Qin opera tunes, quite different from modern opera styles, with a unique blend of ruggedness and melody.

 

Lu Yao listened for a while but couldn’t make out the story. Mother Lu, however, watched with great interest. “I haven’t heard such good opera in years. I remember before I got married, a troupe came to our town and performed for seven days. Almost everyone in town went to watch. It’s been nearly forty years since then.”

 

The children, uninterested in the lengthy opera, ran off to watch acrobatics nearby.

 

The acrobatics were simple compared to modern shows, featuring staff and spear tricks, handstands, breaking stones on the chest, and tightrope walking.

 

The performer on the tightrope was a young man with a striking red mark on his forehead. He was barefoot, wearing thin clothing, and stood on a stage seven or eight feet high. Next to him was a thin hemp rope that he was about to walk across.

 

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Little Bing’er, just walking the rope is boring. Dance on it, and I’ll reward you if you do well!”

 

The young man, addressed as Little Bing’er, lifted his chin and smiled. “Dance it is. Have your reward ready!” With that, he somersaulted onto the rope.

 

“Bravo!” Cheers erupted from the crowd.

 

The young man placed his foot lightly on the inch-wide rope, which immediately began to sway. Yet, he remained perfectly steady.

 

“Excellent skill!” More applause and cheers followed.

 

He slowly walked to the middle of the rope, then suddenly stopped and spun around, leaping in place, drawing gasps of awe from the crowd.

 

Then he performed a somersault on the rope. The man who had shouted earlier tossed a handful of coins. “Good! Here’s your reward!”

 

Spectators who could afford it threw money, while others clapped and cheered. Even Xiaonian and Xiaodou couldn’t resist tossing two coins.

 

Just as everyone was enjoying the performance, Xiaochun’s expression suddenly changed. He tugged at Xiaonian and Xiaodou.

 

“What’s wrong, Second Brother?”

 

Xiaochun pointed at a plump woman in the distance. “Look at that person. Isn’t she the one who tricked you before?”

 

Yuanxiao (元宵) refers to both a Chinese festival and a type of traditional food associated with it:

 

1. Yuanxiao Festival: Also known as the Lantern Festival, it is celebrated on the 15th day of the first month of the lunar calendar, marking the end of the Chinese New Year festivities. It features activities such as lantern displays, solving lantern riddles, dragon and lion dances, and family gatherings.

 

2. Yuanxiao (food): A type of glutinous rice ball typically eaten during the festival. These balls are filled with sweet or savory fillings like sesame paste, red bean paste, or ground peanuts. The dish symbolizes family unity and togetherness. In southern China, these rice balls are also called Tangyuan (汤圆), though they are made slightly differently.

 

Tangyuan (汤圆) is a traditional Chinese dessert made of glutinous rice flour, typically served in sweet soup. It is especially popular during the Lantern Festival (Yuanxiao) and other family gatherings, symbolizing unity and togetherness.

 

Key elements of Tangyuan:

 

1. Ingredients:

 

The outer layer is made of glutinous rice flour mixed with water to form a soft, sticky dough.

 

Fillings can be sweet (sesame paste, red bean paste, peanut butter) or savory (meat, vegetables).

 

Some tangyuan are unfilled and flavored with sweet syrups or soups instead.

 

2. Cooking Method:

 

Tangyuan is usually boiled and served in a sweet soup, such as ginger-infused syrup or osmanthus-flavored water.