Chapter 57.2

Translated by Aviana

Thank you Lier and Weiyeung for your support!!! Bonus Chapter (1/2)

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Yang Tiegen came back before noon itself, sooner than she expected.

Without waiting to take a breath, he rushed over to Lin Qingwan and detailed his visit to Man Fu House.

Manager Li was very dissatisfied when he heard that he brought only 7-8 jin of Laweixian, feeling too few. He repeatedly urged him to deliver the rest in two days.

Even though Yang Tiegen wasn’t very smart, he wasn’t dumb either. At this moment, he clearly understood what his second sao meant. After leaving Man Fu House, he hastened home, even spending extravagantly by taking an ox cart.

Lin Qingwan poured a cup of water for Yang Tiegen to let him catch his breath. Only after walking in circles for a few minutes was she able to calm down the surging excitement in her heart.

Nevertheless, even after she calmed down, she couldn’t cover up the gleaming smile on her face.

There was still something important that she had to do. After letting Yang Tiegen rest for a while, she asked him to invite Yang-shi to come here for lunch. She then requested Yao-shi to kill the remaining chicken for today’s lunch.

Yao-shi simply thought that she wished to have a celebration and didn’t think much. When Yao-shi went out to kill the chicken, Lin Qingwan shared her plans with Yang Tiezhu.

After listening to her, he found her idea to be pretty good. After all, at the moment, he can’t move. This while, his third young brother, third dimei and his eldest gu helped them a lot. Furthermore, they were not just any other people.

At noon, Yang-shi joined them for lunch.

Ever since Lin Qingwan and they had separated from the Yang jia, Yang-shi didn’t avoid coming to Yang jia like before. It’s just that every time she visited the second branch, she didn’t even bother glancing at the main room.

While He-shi didn’t say anything whenever she saw Yang-shi coming, her complexion became unsightly every time without fail.

Wang-shi, seeing the second branch kill a chicken and then Yang-shi’s arrival, became envious and greedy, itching to have a little bit too.

However, Lin Qingwan didn’t give her a one bit face. After Yang-shi came in, she closed the door tightly. Exasperated, Wang-shi could only stroke her belly and turn around into the kitchen to prepare the meal.

The firewood in the kang was burning, warming the entire room. Five adults and two children huddled around the four sides of the kang table. Though a bit crowded, everyone had room to sit properly.

During the meal, Lin Qingwan put her plan in front of them.

Lin Qingwan came up with this plan when she was returning after selling Lameixian in the Man Fu House. It’s just that she wasn’t sure whether they would sell well then. Thus she didn’t say anything at that time. But from the news that Yang Tiegen brought back today, there wouldn’t be any less work to do from here on.

Firstly, she was currently pregnant, and as the days pass by, her stomach would only grow more and more. Yang Tiezhu was also injured and couldn’t get up any time soon. Secondly, she could see Yang-shi’s and the third branch’s couple’s genuine and sincere kindness towards them. Since the beginning, she wanted to repay them whenever possible. It just so happens that the making of Laweixian couldn’t be done by their second branch alone. They might as well pull the third branch along into it.

Of course, Lin Qingwan also had given serious consideration to the other potential possibilities in the future. Although she hadn’t concealed making Laweixian, the recipe of the primary condiment – Thirteen spice – was still in her hands. Even if any disputes arise on the third branch’s couple’s side or Yang-shi’s side, she wouldn’t have anything to worry about. Of course, Lin Qingwan was quite confident in her vision of people. The reason for holding this secret was just to guard against unexpected situations.

Yang-shi and the third branch’s husband and wife were stunned when they heard that Lin Qingwan wished to give them a share in the earnings. Because the idea of getting a slice of the pie never crossed their minds, as lending a helping hand was the only thought they had since the beginning.

Yang-shi and Yang Tiegen both repeatedly shook their heads and declined to take the dividends. After that, fearing that Lin Qingwan might misassume that they didn’t want to help her, they patted their chests, assuring that they would certainly help as long as they were not busy.

Lin Qingwan found it amusing yet was also touched. She then spoke about her future plans in detail and her plans to sell Laweixian in other restaurants as well.

After saying this, she intentionally put on a dejected face as she shared her woes with a lamentable sigh, “You see, currently I am pregnant, and Tiezhu won’t be able to get out of the bed anytime soon. The work will only increase from here on. The pork needs to be regularly purchased, the goods should be delivered to the town from time to time – for all this, I would need the third younger brother’s help very much.”

Yang Tiegen hurriedly added, “Second sao, I have to go to the town every day to do odd jobs anyway. I can help you with these.”

Lin Qingwan continued to grumble even more, “Lots and lots of lap cheong need to be made, that would be too much for just me alone, ah!”

Yao-shi and Yang-shi hurriedly replied, “We can help you with this. Anyways, we don’t have anything to do these days.”

“Furthermore, you also are aware of how our house is. Our house is too small to store and hang all the Lap cheong. Not only that, it would be too eye-catching to hang them here. You all must know how the people from the main house are…”

Yang-shi had a solution for this issue, “Then let’s do it at my place, my place is very spacious.”

“Also, I would have to go to town regularly to buy pork, return back and then go again to deliver Lap cheong. Third younger brother can help me, but he still has a family too. Thus, I can’t ask much of him. You all helping for a day or two is fine, but for a long-term basis, it wouldn’t be good for you would have to support your family too.”

Yang Tiezhu also persuaded him, “What Wanwan said is right! Just because of our family’s matter, I cannot trouble you all every single time. Besides, this isn’t a matter of a day or two. Laosan is already busy supporting his family and is in difficult times. We can’t always take your help for nothing. What will his wife and kids eat? Also, there is still annual monetary support that we have to provide to father and mother every year. That’s why Wanwan wishes to build a small business together. In this way, we all can support one another and generate enough income for ourselves.”

Laosan: appellation used for the third child in the family.

Yang-shi and the other looked at each other in dismay, as inwardly they too felt what the husband and wife said was reasonable. Even if Yang-shi readily provided a place for them, Yang Tiegen still has a family to feed. Especially the annual monetary support they have to give to the old couple is astronomical, and the pressure on him is huge. How would he be able to make money for all of that if he didn’t go to work?

After another round of persuasion from Lin Qingwan and Yang Tiezhu, the three finally nodded in consent.

Seeing them nod, Lin Qingwan smiled in satisfaction. Now that these words have been said, all the taboos also must be spoken in advance.

She mentioned that making Laweixian was a secret family craft that has been handed down in their family for generations. She warned Yang-shi, Yao-shi, and Yang Tiegen to not divulge about it to anyone outside at any costs, including its recipe, preparation method, seasonings used, and the likes.

Nevertheless, even if Lin Qingwan hadn’t explained it to them now, they were aware of it. After all, they had never seen this type of food in the past. Thus, it surely must be a rare dish, only handed down in a family. Now that Lin Qingwan had reaffirmed their guesses, they regarded it with utmost seriousness.

By the time the discussion over this entire matter was done, everyone was almost done with their dinner as well.

Lin Qingwan then mentioned her concern that Laweixian had been dried on the house’s beams. But they take a lot of time to air-dry, and there weren’t many beams to hang them in the house. Thus, it would be better to find a safe and spacious place to hang them.

After pondering it over for a moment, Yang-shi decided to build a simple row of shelves in her backyard. And fortunately for them, it just so happened that the courtyard wall at the back of Yang-shi’s place was made up of mud. Thus, inside happenings couldn’t be seen from outside. Moreover, there was also Dahei and Erhei who kept watch of the house at all times. Forget about any humans; even a rat couldn’t sneak in under their watch.

After a moment of thought, Lin Qingwan also felt this proposal was pretty good. She requested Yang Tiegen to help Yang-shi in building a shelf.

Yang Tiegen went to Yang-shi’s place to help her post-lunch without any objections.

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