Ordinary people always had so reservations about funeral businesses, a reason Qiao Xiong initially refrained from frankly speaking about his trade — Hua Xiaomai was a young girl of fourteen or fifteen, an age at which most girls are timid and even more so cautious and distant when it cos to spirits and the supernatural. Should she refuse because of this, he would be at a complete loss.
"Hmm..." Hua Xiaomai was indeed hesitant, but not for the reason Qiao Xiong presud.
On the surface, Hua Erniang appeared fierce and terrible toward her, partly to show Jing Taihe, and partly to silence the villagers' gossip, a fact Hua Xiaomai understood very clearly. In fact, her sister truly cared deeply for her. Recently when ng Yuhuai suggested she work as a cook at the Lianshun Escort Agency, Hua Erniang had flatly refused with a stern face, evidently not wanting her to experience hardship. Now that Qiao Xiong had co calling, if Hua Erniang knew of it, she likely wouldn't easily agree.
"You see, little sister of the Hua Family, hear out!" Seeing her take a long ti to respond, Qiao Xiong grew anxious, rubbing his hands, "That funeral shop, though it deals with the deceased and sounds sowhat ominous, it's actually a business that accrues moral virtue! Think about it, how hard is life for people in this world? When they pass away, 'Qiao's' helps manage their affairs efficiently. For the grieving families, it's a consolation. They have a couple of peaceful days even in hell, right? Even outsiders looking in find it respectable! You..."
"Uncle Qiao, you misunderstand, that's not what I ant." Hua Xiaomai snapped back to reality, looked up at Qiao Xiong, and pursed her lips, "I'm just worried that my elder sister won't agree. She always forbids from wandering outside, and with the New Year approaching, there are many chores at ho I need to help with. If she finds out, this just won't work."
"Sister Er's temper is indeed a bit difficult to handle, and she's really fierce with her little sister," Pan Taigong remarked, nodding with empathetic agreent from the side.
Qiao Xiong had also heard of Hua Erniang's reputation in Fire Knife Village, and just thinking about her fierce and aggressive deanor made him shudder, showing a hint of difficulty on his face, "What to do then? Little sister from the Hua Family, although you're young, I truly admire your cooking skills. This is the most important al of the year at Qiao's Paper Shop, and if you can't co, it would really weigh on my heart... Talk to your elder sister, please. I won't let you work for free; I'll pay you!"
Hua Xiaomai pondered for a mont, then looked up at him with a smile, "Uncle Qiao, don't be anxious. I'm flattered you value my cooking. How about this? I can try my best to prepare this reunion dinner, but I need you and Pan Taigong to do a small favor. Please don't tell my elder sister about this beforehand, and, ideally, not the other villagers either. I figure, by the ti I've earned the four coins, I'll hand them to her. By then, it will be a fait accompli, and even if she gets angry, there can be no redy. Is that alright?"
Pan Taigong and Qiao Xiong looked at each other and nodded concurrently, "Agreed, we'll follow your lead."
"Alright, then I'm taking this job," Hua Xiaomai breathed a sigh of relief, smiled at Qiao Xiong, and said, "The third day of December is still seven or eight days away. I'll finalize the nu in the next few days, list all the necessary ingredients, and you can check it. Once you approve, you can send soone to gather them. The day of, I'll sneak out of the house early in the morning to help set everything up before rushing back. My elder sister might not even notice."
Qiao Xiong scratched his cheek in delight, repeatedly saying, "Then it's settled, no changes allowed! You arrange the table for fifteen silver coins, and order whatever's needed; don't worry about the expense, the most important thing is that it's delicious and presentable!"
Hua Xiaomai also felt a mix of joy and relief, lifting her head and smiling at him.
That afternoon, Hua Erniang and Jing Taihe returned from their in-laws in the south of the village, looking quite displeased, and they sounded as if they had swallowed firecrackers, banging and clattering around the house. Captioned on the nu, Hua Xiaomai couldn't just keep to herself in the western room and had to stay by Hua Erniang's side, picking so interesting jokes to amuse her. Unsurprisingly, Hua Erniang wasn't receptive at all, but instead grabbed her ear and scolded her furiously.
"Stop your whining and babbling, and get on with your chores! On such a cold day, who allowed you to pick vegetables and at in the yard? If you catch a cold, your mother will still have to spend money on a doctor for you! Where are the thick cotton-padded jacket and trousers I made for you the other day? Are you waiting for them to bear little cubs for you? Hurry up and change into them!"
Despite her peculiar way of showing care, Hua Xiaomai was grateful yet found it amusing. Regardless, as soon as Hua Erniang was ho, she could fill every corner with her loud voice, her graceful figure bustling about the courtyard, never resting. It was only after dinner when everyone returned to their rooms that Hua Xiaomai finally had a chance to sit down and think about the nu for Qiao's Paper Shop.
The odd noises from the eastern room continued to waft in, almost imperceptibly. Hua Xiaomai lit a candle that was almost burnt out, rummaged through boxes and drawers to find a worn-out brush, sat at the table with the brush in her mouth and stared off into space. Suddenly, she thought of sothing and turned her head toward the direction of the eastern room.
It had been two or three years since Hua Erniang married Jing Taihe, and they were so passionate about their marital duties, so why had they still not had a child? Typically, a woman's greatest mission after marriage in that era was to continue the family line. Hua Erniang had been married to Jing Taihe for quite so ti without bearing any children yet she still managed to keep her husband completely under her control, which was a skill in its own right.
The candlewick spat and sputtered, dropping a tear of wax onto the table. Hua Xiaomai quickly stretched out her hand to scrape off the mark with her fingernail and refocused her attention back on the nu.
In Fire Knife Village, prices were low; fifteen taels of silver were more than sufficient to cover a banquet table, and it wasn't difficult to procure so rare ingredients. However, the key was that rely stacking up an assortnt of rare items was not only uninteresting but also smacked of wasteful show-off. Turning ordinary ats, fruits, and vegetables into extraordinary dishes would better demonstrate a chef's skill.
Without ink, all she could do was scribble uselessly on the table with a pen. The next day, she nagged Hua Erniang to take her around the market to morize the prices of various ingredients and secretly observe what kinds of vegetables the people of Fire Knife Village preferred and their tastes. Three days later, she finally drafted a nu in her mind. Seizing the mont when Hua Erniang wasn't paying attention, she sneaked out of the house and headed straight to the east side of the village to Qiao's Paper Shop.
The entrance displayed two boy and girl figurines, just like the ones often seen, with rosy cheeks and festive attire. However, their smiles sohow sent chills down one's spine. Inside the shop, various sizes of white lanterns hung, blocking out most of the light from outside and making the interior look dimr and more chilling.
Hua Xiaomai's heart involuntarily shuddered. Okay, she considered herself an atheist and was usually fearless, but in such an atmosphere, she couldn't help but feel a trace of dread. She walked in cautiously, and not paying attention, she tripped over a box at the threshold, and stumbled forward, banging into the counter.
On hearing that Hua Xiaomai had arrived, Qiao Xiong hurried out from the inner hall, beaming, with another person in tow. They caught sight of Hua Xiaomai's awkward fall right onto the counter. Hua Xiaomai quickly steadied herself and rubbed her sore elbow, casting a glance at the person beside Qiao Xiong, and imdiately started groaning inwardly.
Why, why was it ng Yuhuai again? Was this guy born to be a rat, popping up everywhere? The Leader wasn't out on escort missions and was just loitering around the village. How embarrassing to have such a scene witnessed by him!
"Sister from the Hua family!" Qiao Xiong, unaware of her inner resentnt, smiled cheerfully as he approached, "I've been looking forward to your visit! How have you progressed with that nu?"
Hua Xiaomai tried her best not to look at ng Yuhuai and nodded with forced calmness, "Well, I've thought it over, but I'm not very good at writing, so, could you please have soone help write it down?"
By heavens, she wasn't lying; she really wasn't good with traditional characters!
"Why bother getting soone else? I can do it!" Qiao Xiong was even happier, leading her toward the backyard while pointing, "Look, the kitchen is right here and there's a big open area outside. I plan to set up the banquet tables here. You can bring the dishes straight out from the kitchen, and we can enjoy the drinks while taking in the aromas from the kitchen, how great is that?"
He then pointed at ng Yuhuai, "You haven't t him yet, right? If you talk about soone young and knowledgeable, he'd rank second to none in our village! He'll be an honored guest on New Year's Eve. Knowing you were coming today, I invited him over to help check the nu."
Hua Xiaomai glanced at ng Yuhuai's indifferent face and let out a light "Oh," "This place looks good, Uncle Qiao. Maybe you should hurry up and bring out the paper and pen, so we can finalize the nu. I need to get back quickly before my elder sister gets suspicious."
Before she had finished speaking, the sound of a walking stick tapping approached from the courtyard entrance followed by an elderly voice, "Nonsense, nonsense! It's bad enough that you won't let old Zhao prepare this reunion al, but to randomly bring in so girl to do a slapdash job? Are you trying to kill ?!"
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