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墨書 Inktalez
The ability to sell Salted Eggs brought immense joy to the entire village. They understood well the approach taken by Man Jin Uncle and Bimu to earn a little extra money; without their leadership, they would never have realized that Salted Eggs could be so profitable, and at such a high price. Perhaps some of them had thought about selling Salted Eggs in the city for money later on, but without connections, they could only sell fresh eggs at a slightly higher price during market days. Now, however, they were able to sell each egg for seven or eight times more.
The extra money earned by Man Jin and his son was a reward for the villagers' hard work. They collected the Salted Eggs and transported them to the county town for sale, saving the villagers the trouble of running errands.
The villagers were thrilled to sell all their Salted Eggs to Man Jin and his son, and then they began preparing another batch of Salted Eggs. They learned from Bimu that this business could likely become a long-term venture, and since Aoyama Village was the only one producing Salted Eggs, demand would surely exceed supply in such a large region. United in purpose, all the villagers kept the method of making Salted Eggs a secret; no one from outside the village was allowed to know, lest they lose their chance to profit. They especially warned the daughters-in-law who had married into Aoyama Village not to share the recipe with their families back home, or else their husbands would immediately abandon them and drive them out of the village.
The first batch of Salted Eggs was made primarily for personal consumption, with each family producing only a few dozen. In total, there were only three or four hundred eggs from the entire village—enough for Bimu to carry back to the county town alone. However, Man Jin Uncle accompanied him—mainly to collect payment and distribute it among the villagers upon their return.
Early in the morning, Keeper had someone waiting at the door for Bimu. As soon as he saw him return with the Salted Eggs on his back, he immediately instructed Aguang to take twenty eggs into the kitchen to boil while he began counting them.
"Why are there so few?" Keeper asked, slightly dissatisfied upon seeing just over three hundred Salted Eggs.
Man Jin Uncle, with a glimmer of intelligence hidden behind his seemingly simple demeanor, replied earnestly, "Zhao, the Shopkeeper, these Salted Eggs are a secret recipe passed down through generations in Aoyama Village. Everyone makes just a small amount for themselves. We never expected you would recognize their value; it truly honors us from Aoyama Village. We gathered all we could from our homes and this is all we managed. But rest assured, we have already started preparing another batch of Salted Eggs that will be ready in half a month—at least a thousand eggs."
Keeper seemed somewhat satisfied: "You are from Aoyama Village?"
Recently, news about Aoyama Village's ancestors showing signs had stirred excitement throughout the county town. The Celestial Seeds they offered had been distributed by the County Magistrate to various villages and were reportedly thriving. Zhao had relatives in rural areas and often heard stories of gratitude towards Aoyama Village; hearing that Man Jin Uncle was from there made him drop any thoughts of prying into their secret recipe. No wonder these Salted Eggs tasted so good—they must have learned it from their ancestors! If he tried to steal this recipe, he would be offending Aoyama Village's ancestors. What if they came looking for him in the middle of the night?
Man Jin Uncle squinted knowingly at Keeper's thoughts and chuckled inwardly. Indeed, their ancestors were powerful; their descendants were reaping benefits now. Just by revealing that he was from Aoyama Village, others would treat him with respect and avoid offending them.
"Yes," Man Jin Uncle nodded. "Our village is blessed by our ancestors; whether it's grains or vegetables grown in our fields, they taste better than those from other places. Keeper, would you like to buy our village's vegetables?"
Zhao's interest was piqued: "You won't be selling them at higher prices than others, will you?"
"Not at all," Man Jin Uncle assured him repeatedly.
Zhao thought about how much time was wasted buying vegetables at market days; it would be better to have a designated supplier deliver them directly. "Alright then," he said. "You can deliver vegetables every two days; I will purchase them at market prices."
Man Jin Uncle nodded eagerly, his face filled with smiles: he had found another way to make money.
Content with his earnings from selling Salted Eggs, Man Jin Uncle left the county town just as the sun was rising high in the sky; many people were just starting their day. The traveling merchants staying at the inn had risen early as well and were already in the lobby asking for breakfast. The chefs in the kitchen prepared one Salted Egg per table for Aguang and Bimu under Keeper's direction. Each egg was cut into twenty pieces by the head chef and arranged beautifully on plates like blooming flowers. The guests stared in awe before taking bites.
"Delicious!" one guest exclaimed after tasting it loudly. "This dish is fantastic! It's too bad there's not enough of it—Keeper, bring out another plate!"
Zhao smiled as he approached: "I apologize, dear guest; that first plate was complimentary from our inn. If you'd like another plate, you'll need to pay."
The guest retorted: "Do I look like I can't afford it? Hurry up and bring me another plate!"
Many guests echoed this sentiment, urging Keeper for additional plates of Salted Eggs until all twenty were sold out in an instant.
The guests, still wanting more, said to the Keeper, "Bring us two more plates."
The Keeper looked troubled. "I'm sorry, but the kitchen has run out of Golden Dawn Eggs."
"Golden Dawn Egg? What a lovely name. 'Jinx' is another name for the sun, and the golden yolk of this egg indeed resembles the sun," chuckled a guest dressed in a brocade robe.
The previous guest didn't care about the name; he just wanted the dish. "If it's gone, can't you have the kitchen make more? I can wait."
Zhao, the Shopkeeper, had no intention of letting the kitchen prepare more Salted Eggs. Selling twenty Salted Eggs was just enough to last half a month, and by then, the people from Aoyama Village would deliver a fresh batch. He absolutely could not let demand exceed supply.
"My lord, we have run out of materials as well."
"What?" The guest was furious. "You can't send someone to buy more? It's just a few eggs; why are you making excuses?"
Zhao quickly replied, "It's not that I'm making excuses; it's just that the Golden Dawn Egg is not an ordinary egg. It takes half a month to marinate using a secret method. While chicken and duck eggs are easy to procure, other ingredients and the marinating technique are something even I don't know."
The guest was skeptical. "You really don't know?"
Zhao swore earnestly, "I truly don't know. If I did, I would have had the master chef prepare thousands so that guests could eat as much as they wanted. Don't you think I want to make money?"
Finally, the guest relented and left the Keeper alone, though he continued to stare longingly at the empty plate, licking his lips.
After this incident, the reputation of the Golden Dawn Egg spread far and wide. Every morning, many people flocked to the inn just to have a taste of it. The price of the Golden Dawn Egg skyrocketed from thirty wen each to one or two silver coins. Bimu was left dumbfounded and greatly admired the Keeper; he realized that compared to this true businessman, his own father was far behind.
Many traveling merchants passed through Jingyang County, and they would always buy a few Salted Eggs for their journeys. Salted Eggs were delicious, easy to carry, and not prone to spoilage, making them very popular among merchants. As these merchants traveled their routes, news of the Golden Dawn Egg spread throughout Da Zhou and even reached neighboring Northern Liang. The emperor became interested in it as well. Fortunately for him, he had a very perceptive uncle who presented the Golden Dawn Egg to him just as it gained fame. The emperor enjoyed it so much that he personally inscribed five characters: "The First Egg." From then on, the reputation of the Golden Dawn Egg grew even larger. Zhao, the Shopkeeper became one of the wealthiest people in town after Jiang Young Master due to this egg, while Aoyama Village saw its quality of life double because of it—Zhao could not monopolize the Golden Dawn Egg; many other merchants approached Aoyama Village with offers that increased from ten wen per egg to twenty or thirty wen per egg, allowing villagers to profit immensely.
Meanwhile, at the borderlands, Elder Brother Li could only express his inner reaction upon tasting what everyone praised as an exquisite delicacy: "Wow."
Li Zhoule and Li Yishu observed the changes brought about by Salted Eggs in Aoyama Village and sighed, "Sometimes unexpected opportunities yield great results!"
As time passed steadily into May, the Duanwu Festival was approaching. In modern times, this festival is not given much importance; aside from eating zongzi and hanging mugwort leaves, traditional activities like dragon boat racing are rarely seen. However, in ancient times, Duanwu was highly significant. It originated from Qu Yuan's story but can be traced back even further to around the Neolithic period when ancient Baiyue tribes held rituals for dragon gods during Duanwu. Later on, Duanwu became associated with evil days due to its occurrence in midsummer when humidity and heat prevailed; poisonous insects thrived and pestilence began to spread easily among humans. Thus, ancient people placed great importance on this solar term with various activities aimed at warding off evil spirits and toxins.
The Hanno family made their own zongzi; although now there were many shops selling zongzi with various flavors that could simply be heated up at home for consumption, they still preferred making their own—after all, they had plenty of free time.
After soaking glutinous rice overnight and preparing various ingredients, the Hanno family gathered around the dining table to wrap zongzi. They made sweet zongzi with mung beans and jujubes while savory ones were filled with braised meat and sausages. Since all three members of the Hanno family preferred savory flavors, they made mostly savory zongzi with only ten sweet ones prepared. Mom Han and Dad Han skillfully wrapped them into small parcels no larger than half a palm—cute and delicate. After cooking them up nicely, Hanno secretly hid a few away. After dinner, under the pretense of taking a walk, Hanno took several zongzi to their rented room and disposed of them in a trash bin.
After being able to video chat with the Li Siblings and the Wen Family Brothers, Hanno realized that the items he placed in the Porcelain Jar during festivals did not reach Li Yishu's world. This confirmed to him that the Porcelain Jar did not connect to just one world; rather, other worlds might have restrictions and could only be opened during festival times. To prevent his family's rice dumplings from being wasted in an unknown world, Hanno decided to send them to the Li Family in advance, along with his blessings. Soon after, Hanno received rice dumplings sent back by the Li Siblings. Although the filling was not as generous as what the Han family used, the fresh and authentic ingredients from ancient times were far superior to what could be grown in the present day. The taste was unlike anything that could be cultivated now. Han Dad and Mom Han praised them after tasting.
The Li Siblings and Wen Family Brothers enjoyed the rice dumplings sent by Hanno immensely. Although their lives had improved and they could often eat meat now, dates were still a rare treat, let alone sausages. This world had no sausages. Elder Brother Li knew how to make sausages but had not thought about it for a while; later, he joined the army and focused on fighting and improving his skills, leaving no room for thoughts of sausage-making. Thus, even to this day, sausages had yet to appear in this world.
Li Zhoule, intrigued by the delicious sausage, thought about asking Sister Han for her recipe, believing she would share it with her.
After breakfast, Li Zhoule tied colorful threads around the wrists of Li Yishu, Wen Ziyu, and Wen Zixue. These colorful threads were known as "Bibi" or "Hehuan Cord," symbolizing a prayer for peace from war and disease, as well as protection against evil spirits. Li Zhoule then took out a sachet embroidered with colorful threads and gave it to Wen Zixia to wear. Inside were herbs like Mugwort and Calamus, along with Cinnabar and Realgar, which also served to ward off evil and illness.
As they stepped outside, they saw villagers preparing to go out. Every household had hung Mugwort and Calamus outside their doors, waiting for Duanwu Festival when women would boil these herbs into water for bathing their children.
Thanks to the sale of duck eggs, every household now owned a mule for transportation; cows were still too expensive. The villagers opted for a mule for temporary use.
The county organized a dragon boat racing event, and villagers went to watch the races. Each family brought food; at noon, they would eat rice dumplings while watching the races from the shore. Some better-off families even brought Realgar wine. This wine was made from Calamus and Realgar; although many knew Realgar was toxic, ancient people believed that drinking Realgar wine could drive away evil spirits—essentially using poison to combat poison.
The villagers greeted the five with enthusiasm; everyone was living well now thanks to their efforts. Without Li Zhoule generously sharing her recipe for Salted Eggs with all the women in the village, how could they sell Wen Qian's chicken and duck eggs for twenty or thirty coins each?
"Zhou Le! Your Aunt Manchong has reserved a tent on the shore to block out the sun; do you want to join us?" Aunt Manchong warmly invited Li Zhoule and her companions.
"No need," Li Zhoule replied with a smile. "Brother Wen already reserved a tent for us; we have a place to stay cool and won't get sunburned. Where's Shuo?"
Aunt Manchong said, "He went to his grandmother's house. You haven't forgotten this custom, have you?"
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