Chapter 62: Zhao Qingzhu Gets Married

The elderly woman who had asked the question chuckled upon hearing this, "Buying for a wealthy household—they must pay quite a bit, right?"

Jiang Li paused while carrying her shoulder pole and turned to look at the old woman.

"Since I'm helping them out, they certainly have to give me a labor fee. Otherwise, why would I bother doing it?"

"But as for how much they pay for the eggs—those wealthy families have money, but they aren't fools. You can buy eggs anywhere in town for two cash a piece. Did you really think that when you used to take eggs to town to sell, a wealthy family would pay you extra just because they bought them?"

Everyone burst into laughter at this. Everyone had sold eggs before, and when those wealthy families bought them, they paid the exact same price while still nitpicking about whether the eggs were clean or dirty.

The old woman's weathered face turned red. Nearby, a few younger women stretched their necks out with smiles and asked Jiang Li, "Mistress Jiang, have you finished collecting them? I still have a few dozen at home. I've been too busy lately to find the time to sell them in town."

"I haven't collected enough yet. Aunties, if you have any, you can bring them over to me."

"Wonderful! When will you be home? I'll count mine up and bring them over."

Jiang Li smiled, "I'll be home all day today. While the sun is still out, you are welcome to come by, Aunties."

"Mistress Jiang, would the evening be all right?"

Jiang Li smiled, "The evening won't do, Aunties. I don't have an oil lamp."

The woman gave an awkward smile.

Jiang Li was young, and the villagers knew she was capable, yet some still felt that a young woman from a prominent family like hers couldn't possibly know how to tell a good egg from a bad one.

And so, after tentatively asking a question, she had been politely rebuffed.

Naturally, when buying eggs, one couldn't crack open every single one to check if it was good or bad. Therefore, people either shook them to listen, or inspected them against sunlight or lamplight.

If an egg appeared slightly reddish and translucent with a clearly defined yolk outline, it was fresh.

Conversely, if it looked otherwise, it might already be spoiled.

After Jiang Li left, someone nearby poked fun at the woman who had just asked the question, "Fourth Sister-in-law, did you honestly think Mistress Jiang wouldn't know how to inspect eggs, and plan to bring her bad ones in the dark to trick her?"

With her intentions exposed, the woman's face flushed a deep red. Annoyed, she snapped, "Nonsense! Am I that kind of person? It's just that I have to dry some beans later and won't have time during the day, so I figured she'd be home in the evening."

With a few chuckles, the crowd dispersed.

The women chatting nearby also hurried home to fetch their eggs.

After all, the price of eggs in town was the same—two for a single cash—and going there required a trip. It was much easier to simply sell them to Jiang Li.

Just as Jiang Li carried her shoulder pole back home and emptied the water buckets into the large ceramic jar, she heard someone knocking at the door.

Jiang Huahua crawled out of its nest and looked toward the courtyard gate. The feet of the women standing outside paused instinctively, not daring to step inside.

Jiang Li turned around and smiled, "Aunties, please wait for a moment."

Then she looked back at Jiang Huahua, "Go on back to sleep. They're just folks from the village."

Lazily, Jiang Huahua slinked back into its nest.

Jiang Li re-entered the house, grabbed a bamboo basket, and took out a handful of copper coins before walking back toward the courtyard entrance.

"Aunties, come this way. There's no seating in my courtyard," Jiang Li said, leading them toward the front of the old house outside.

There were plenty of stones over there, and with some straw mats spread out, people could sit directly on the ground.

Most importantly, the sunlight was glorious.

There were four or five women, each carrying a bamboo basket containing thirty or forty eggs. Jiang Li inspected the eggs on the spot, counted them, and paid the cash.

All of them were honest folk, and there wasn't a single spoiled egg in the lot.

Jiang Li looked at them and memorized their faces.

There was no courtyard in front of the old house, and since they spent quite a while counting eggs outside, villagers passing by stopped to ask questions. Hearing what was happening, those who had eggs to sell hurried back home to retrieve them.

Throughout the entire afternoon, women came one after another to sell their eggs.

Jiang Li sat without even shifting her position, eventually purchasing over five hundred eggs.

Combined with what she had already bought, this was enough for another seven or eight deliveries.

Whether she would need more depended on whether the Li family wished to continue their regular order. If they did, she would buy more; if not, she certainly wouldn't need to purchase in such large quantities.

After packing everything away, Jiang Li boiled the eggs she needed to deliver the next day.

Scarcely had she finished when Granny Zhao arrived.

Seeing her boiling so many eggs, Granny Zhao let out a startled cry, "Goodness, does that household eat this many every single day?"

Earlier, when Jiang Li had first decided to buy eggs, she had gone to ask Granny Zhao first. However, because Zhao Qingzhu was getting married, Granny Zhao had said that all the accumulated eggs had to be saved for the wedding.

At that time, Jiang Li had told her she was buying a few to cook and sell to a wealthy family in town.

She hadn't specified the exact number, but seeing this massive earthenware basin now, Granny Zhao was genuinely astonished.

Jiang Li smiled, "There are a lot of people in that household. They told me each person eats two, so I deliver ninety pieces every other day."

"Then are you heading to town tomorrow?"

"Yes, but I'll be leaving very early. These need to be delivered before the household has breakfast."

Granny Zhao nodded and said, "That works out well, then. Come back early; we're butchering a pig tomorrow morning."

"Ah? Are you butchering a whole pig?" Jiang Li asked, somewhat surprised.

Granny Zhao smiled, "Buying meat is expensive. After thinking about it, we decided it's better to buy a whole pig to butcher. That way, we can use all the internal organs and trimmings to make delicious dishes."

Thinking about it, Jiang Li realized she was right. It would yield several extra dishes, and any leftover meat could be carried to the market to be sold.

"With the skill you showed when you stewed those large intestines before, I'm sure nobody would mind that it's not the prime cuts. Qingzhu's older brother managed to buy a pig weighing less than two hundred catties from the neighboring village. We'll butcher it tomorrow. As soon as you get back, come straight to my house. Tell Xiaoman and A'ning not to cook any lunch; just eat over at my place for the next two days."

"Oh, we can't possibly do that. You've invited people to help—will they all stay to eat for days?"

Granny Zhao made a gentle fist and tapped her playfully, "You silly girl... are you the same as the others?"

Jiang Li let out a soft laugh, "Once everything is settled, the three of us will gladly impose upon your hospitality for a couple of meals."

Then Jiang Li asked, "Is there anything else you need bought? I can pick it up on my way back from town."

"Everything is already prepared, no need to bring anything."

In rural banquets, the cooking was always handled by women in the village who possessed exceptional culinary skills.

Jiang Li was one of them, and moreover, Granny Zhao had asked her to handle the meat dishes, which required considerable effort. Therefore, after the pig was butchered tomorrow, she would need to determine which parts should be set aside for specific dishes. Since different cuts had different textures, they required different cooking methods, meaning she had to prepare in advance.

The following day, Jiang Li set out earlier than usual.

The young gatekeeper was yawning, seemingly having just come on duty.

"Why are you so early today?"

Jiang Li smiled, "There's an event in the village today, and I need to go back and help out, so I came earlier."

As she spoke, she handed over the two tea eggs she had prepared for him in advance.

The young man accepted them cheerfully and went in to announce her arrival.

She brought him something every day; a single cash or two might not mean much to him.

Although these two eggs didn't cost much, delicacies like this were reserved solely for the masters in their household, entirely out of reach for servants.

Because of his interaction with Jiang Li, he received a pair every other day.

When he told the other servants, they were all green with envy.

Consequently, whenever he helped Jiang Li deliver her goods, he did so completely of his own free will.

Knowing Jiang Li was in a hurry to leave, he returned very quickly, carrying the payment for today's eggs along with an earthenware jar.

"Here, this is the money for today, and this jar of malt sugar is a gift from the steward."

Jiang Li frowned slightly, "A gift from the steward?"

The young gatekeeper smiled, "Mhm. I suppose the masters enjoyed your five-spice eggs so much that they wanted to reward you."

"I heard that when the master first tasted them, he thought they were invented by the head cook and wanted to reward them with ten taels of silver."

Jiang Li feigned astonishment.

The young man chuckled, "To our master, that's just small change."

"The first time I came here, I walked from the front gate to the back gate for ages, and I thought I had taken a wrong turn. Such a huge estate is almost half the size of our entire village."

Although Jiang Li was simply praising the Li estate, the young man felt a strong sense of reflected glory.

His mouth split into a grin he couldn't control, prompting him to add, "Our master used to be a high-ranking official in the capital. After retiring from office, he came back here. Our Second Master, Third Master, and the others are still in the capital."

The more Jiang Li listened, the more impressed she seemed, marveling aloud, "How incredible."

With that, she accepted the silver coins and the earthenware jar from the young man's hands.

The jar had a significant weight to it, likely filled to the brim.

Jiang Li lifted the lid to take a look, and the light-yellow malt sugar made her swallow hard.

Watching her expression, the gatekeeper remarked, "This was made by the cook in our household. You couldn't buy sugar this pure anywhere in the county seat."

Jiang Li nodded. She had seen the sugar sold in shops before; some of it was quite dark, and she had no idea what was mixed in, but it certainly didn't look this pure.

This golden, glistening sugar looked intensely appetizing just by sight.

After taking the items, she told the gatekeeper, "Please pass a message of thanks to Steward Master for me. Tell him I appreciate it very much and love the gift."

After Jiang Li left, the gatekeeper bolted the side door and headed toward the main kitchen.

Not many people used this back gate during the usual hours, and since it was still early, he didn't need to stand guard continuously.

Since Jiang Li had asked him to pass along a message, he went to find the steward.

Hearing the message, the old steward smiled and said, "Keep track of the days. In about half a month, when she brings eggs again, take a jar from the kitchen and give it to her."

Chunfu listened to this instruction with intense curiosity.

Countless people delivered vegetables, meat, and cloth to this household, yet he had never seen anyone rewarded with jars of malt sugar.

"Uncle, could this young woman end up becoming a mistress of our household in the future?"

The old steward's expression changed abruptly, and he said in a deep voice, "Nonsense! If I ever hear you say such a thing again, I'll skin you alive."

Chunfu gave an awkward smile and rubbed the back of his head.

"If not, why are we treating her so kindly?"

A flash crossed the old steward's eyes as he said, "Don't look down on this young woman. She can slay wild pigs and catch small dragons!"

Chunfu froze instantly. Slay wild pigs? Catch small dragons? Was that something a frail young woman could possibly do? He shook his head frantically, "Impossible! A wild pig could toss her into the air with a single nudge!"

The old steward sneered at him.

"If you don't believe me, go ask Butcher Sun one of these days. His wife is on very close terms with her."

"The master believes that although she is a woman, she is different from ordinary people and might accomplish great things in the future! Do you even know what it means to cherish talent?"

"And another thing, don't you dare go spouting nonsense in front of that young woman, or you'll find yourself knocked flat by a single punch."

Chunfu nodded repeatedly, though he remained half-convinced.

Carrying the jar of malt sugar on her back, Jiang Li made a trip to the apothecary.

She had been using large quantities of aromatic spices lately and had visited several times, so the young apothecary's assistant knew her quite well.

"The same spices as before?"

Jiang Li smiled, "Yes, but give me a larger amount this time—half a catty of each."

The assistant furrowed his brow and muttered, "What on earth are you making? You go through so much of this?"

"Cooking."

"Stewing meat?" the assistant asked.

Jiang Li smiled, "Meat, eggs, anything works. The next time I come, I'll bring some for you to try."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, by the way, little brother, if your shop gets any fresh ginger, please save a couple of pieces for me—more if you have them."