Chapter Bonanza (8/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The night was as smooth as water, a cool breeze carrying the chill.

Brothers Huo Feng and Huo Ling chatted in the courtyard, while Huo Ying played ball with Dager and Huang Yae.

Ye Suping and Yan Qi preferred staying indoors rather than feeding mosquitoes, so they decided to twist hemp rope together to pass the time.

Farmers commonly used two types of hemp rope: the finer variety was called hemp thread, suitable for making straw sandals or sewing shoe soles.

The thicker rope had more uses. It could be twisted into multiple strands of varying thicknesses, depending on the desired result. The difference lay in the method: hemp thread required a hemp twister, while thicker rope was mostly twisted by hand.

Today, the in-laws were making the finer hemp thread. The wild hemp was already prepared at home—stems gathered, stripped of bark, soaked, and sun-dried. It looked like a bundle of dry grass but was remarkably resilient, refusing to snap even when pulled hard.

They grasped several soft, slender hemp stalks in their hands, smoothing them out. One end was held between their teeth, while the other was wound around the hemp twisting tool. Fingers flicked the wooden device, causing the small wooden object to spin continuously, naturally twisting the hemp strands tightly together.

Ye Suping handed Yan Qi the hemp. She watched as he wound each strand onto the twisting tool before moving on to the next. She mentioned that Huo Ling wore out two pairs of straw sandals every month, and they never had enough hemp thread.

Once a full bundle was wound, Ye Suping helped him remove it, winding it into a ball of thread in her hands.

“I heard from the second brother that you plan to sell stuffed buns at the big market?”

“That’s the plan, but whether it’ll work out remains to be seen.”

Yan Qi chewed on a strand of hemp, his words muffled. After a moment, he released the strand and said, “Huo Ling says if it succeeds, we’ll have something to do during the snowy season when we can’t go into the mountains. At least we won’t be without income. There are so many expenses these days.”

“I used to think Second Brother wasn’t cut out for managing daily affairs, but now it seems he just hadn’t found his moment. If this business really takes off, things will gradually get better.”

Ye Suping sighed, “I don’t have your skill.”

Yan Qi smiled faintly at her words. “I was just dabbling around. I went to the market to see what everyone sells. Baojia Town is bustling—people there have seen it all. After much thought, I came up with the idea of pastries. Let me make a batch of dough tomorrow and fry a few to try. You, Big Brother, and Yingzi can help us taste them.”

She then added, “Speaking of which, Sister-in-law, you’re so skilled at raising chickens, ducks, and pigs. Your poultry lays more eggs than others’, and your pigs are sturdier than anyone else’s. Half our livelihood comes from the fields, and the other half relies on these animals. That’s real talent.”

These words seemed to strike a chord with Ye Suping. She slowed her pace and said, “It’s just that they eat a lot and grow strong. Your older brother and I have been discussing how to earn more silver while we’re still young—to prepare for our old age and give the children something to fall back on. After all, there will inevitably be more mouths to feed in the future. For that reason, next year we’ll raise more chickens, ducks, and geese. We can’t manage it this year, so for now we’ll just raise an extra pig. I’ve already spoken with Old Zhuang from the Liu family. His sow should be farrowing any day now. When it happens, we’ll go pick one out and bring it home.”

Yan Qi listened, puzzled. Why wait until next year to raise chickens and ducks? Though the spring chicks season had passed, the autumn chicks were just around the corner.

He paused his twisting of hemp. “Raising them together is indeed hard work. We must also gather plenty of fodder before winter sets in, or else they’ll have nothing to eat during the cold months.”

Ye Suping glanced at Yan Qi, seemingly unable to hold back any longer. “Enough. I’m not one for beating around the bush. I’ll tell you straight.”

Yan Qi immediately sat up straight, expecting news of trouble at his brother’s and sister-in-law’s home. Instead, Ye Suping placed her hand on her belly and smiled. “You and Second Brother are going to have another little niece or nephew.”

Yan Qi froze for a moment, then his eyes widened. His stunned expression turned to delight. “Sister-in-law, you’re expecting?”

Joy lit up his face. He tossed whatever he was holding onto the nearby table and looked at Ye Suping’s belly. “When did this happen?”

Seeing his genuine happiness for her, Ye Suping smiled deeply. “It was just this past half-month when Bearded Ma took my pulse. He said I’m two months along.”

She tugged Yan Qi’s hand. “I should have told you and Second Brother first, but your eldest brother is too shy to tell Second Brother himself, so he asked me to tell you first.”

“I’ll tell him tonight.”

Yan Qi’s lips remained turned up in a smile. They were family; a new addition to the household was naturally a cause for great celebration.

“Has Yingzi heard? She’ll have a playmate soon.”

Ye Suping nodded with a smile. “She knows. She’s been clamoring for a little sister so she can braid her hair and play house.”

“Children are at that age where play is everything. Naturally, that’s all she thinks about.”

After that, they forgot all about the hemp rope, spending ages discussing nothing but childbirth and raising children. Only when Huo Feng and Huo Ling came in, covered in mosquito bites, did Yan Qi finally return to his room.

Huo Ling was rubbing purple grass oil all over himself, struggling to reach his back. Spotting Yan Qi enter, he asked for help.

Yan Qi took the small medicine bottle and applied it to two mosquito bites on his back. “How many times did you get bitten? Why isn’t even old ox liver working?”

“Who knows? Tonight, these mosquitoes just have it out for me.”

Huo Ling casually waved his fan a few times, sending a breeze toward the ger.

He glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. “What did you sister-in-law tell you to make you so happy?“

Yan Qi rubbed his face in surprise. ”You could tell?“

”We share the same bed every night. If I couldn’t even tell that, I’d be wasting my time as your husband.”

Yan Qi chuckled. “You’re getting sidetracked.”

He glanced back toward the doorway, then pulled Huo Ling a couple of steps inside. Sitting down on the edge of the kang, he couldn’t wait to say, “My sister-in-law told me some wonderful news. Has my brother mentioned it to you?”

Huo Ling shook his head. “Not yet. What’s the good news?”

Yan Qi leaned closer and whispered a few words in his ear. Sure enough, Huo Ling looked genuinely surprised and delighted.

His first reaction was, “What’s there to be embarrassed about? Big Brother always gets caught up in trivialities. That’s his child—my own niece or nephew, for heaven’s sake.”

Yan Qi smiled. “Regardless, now that we both know, we can speak openly about it starting tomorrow.”

“That’s exactly what I mean—why all the beating around the bush? We’ve both been staying at home for two nights now. It’s a wonder he managed to hold back.”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next morning, Huo Ling and Yan Qi claimed the kitchen together, declaring they’d make stuffed pancakes for the family breakfast.

Yan Qi scooped a basin of flour, saying he’d make dough wrappers different from the bald old man’s at the market.

Huo Ling thought he was making unleavened pancakes, but that wasn’t the case. The ger boiled a pot of water, scalded half the flour, then mixed it with the other half. The resulting dough didn’t form a ball—it was wet and sticky, clinging to his hands.

Huo Ling had intended to help him wrap the stuffed buns, but now he couldn’t.

“You can make wrappers with this kind of dough?”

Huo Feng and Ye Suping were also watching curiously nearby. Ye Suping picked up a chopstick and scooped a bit. “Won’t it all tear when you wrap the filling inside?”

Yan Qi shook his head. “Not only won’t it tear, but the finished dumplings will have thin skins and generous fillings.”

With that, he got to work. He pulled a ball of dough, flattened it in his hands, then placed two spoonfuls of the vegetarian filling—chives, eggs, and wood ear mushrooms—on top.

Then, pulling the dough upward like stretching a cloth sack, he successfully enclosed all the filling without any visible tears.

Such stuffed pancakes must go straight into the pot. Huo Ling had already prepared it for him, the oil sizzling hot. With a loud “splat,” the pancake stuck to the bottom of the pan. One after another, they were placed in. After a moment, they were flipped over. The aroma of oil filled the air, and they were already turning a golden brown.