Zhao Zhitong, having ’defeated every unrivaled child in the village,’ stood on a tree branch, hugging the trunk, overjoyed. Her incredibly smug little expression, however, didn’t even last a minute.
Sun i’s voice, tight with annoyance, carried from the distance. "Zhao Zhitong! Are you climbing trees again!"
"Ah!" Zhao Zhitong cried out, quickly scrambling down from the tree. "My Mom’s calling ! I have to go now. We’ll battle another day!"
With that, she scampered off on her short legs, disappearing in a flash.
Sun i led Zhao Zhitong ho, closed the door, and began to scold her, "You think you’re quite sothing, don’t you?"
She had just left the Village Chief’s house when she heard villagers discussing how her daughter was stirring up trouble at the village entrance.
When she hurried over, she found a group of children—little radish heads, as they were—gathered under the tree. And there was Zhao Zhitong, perched on a branch like a monkey king, looking so proud it made Sun i want to hide her face in sha.
"You’re a girl! How can you behave without a shred of maidenly grace? If word of this gets out, who will dare marry you when you’re older?"
Zhao Zhitong didn’t think she’d done anything wrong. She pouted and said sweetly, "Lots of people want to marry !"
Whenever she played house with her friends, they always argued over who would get to have her as the bride.
Sun i: "..."
Just then, Zhao Dong returned from Butcher Zhao’s. Seeing his wife and beloved daughter in a standoff, he asked, "What’s going on?"
A frustrated Sun i pushed Zhao Zhitong into Zhao Dong’s arms and said irritably, "I can’t manage your daughter anymore. You deal with her."
She then recounted how Zhao Zhitong had been ’dominating everyone’ at the village entrance.
"Wow!" Zhao Dong listened, a proud smile on his face. "Daughter, you’re amazing! You’ve got my spirit from back in the day!"
Sun i: "..."
Zhao Zhitong looked up with admiration. "Wow, Dad, were you also amazing at climbing trees when you were little?"
Zhao Dong instantly started to brag. "You bet! No one in the entire school could beat . Back in my day..."
Sun i stared at him, speechless. "Zhao Dong!"
You’re supposed to be teaching her a lesson, and here you are, bragging!
Seeing his wife’s expression, Zhao Dong imdiately sobered up. He quickly changed the subject, putting on a stern face. "Ahem, but no matter how amazing you are, you still have to listen to your Mom. You can’t climb trees anymore, understand? Otherwise, Dad will have to spank your little bottom."
Zhao Zhitong hugged Zhao Dong’s neck, cooing, "Okay, Tongtong will listen to Mom."
Once Sun i went into the kitchen, Zhao Dong put Zhao Zhitong down, pinched her little cheek, and said, "Good girl. Go play now. Dad and Mom still have to deliver tofu to a few of your uncles’ houses."
Just as he finished speaking, Sun i erged from the kitchen carrying the portions of tofu.
Besides delivering to a few friendly neighbors, Sun i also took several bowls of tofu to the village well. Many villagers often gathered there to chat, so sharing the food was a good way to offer free samples and advertise.
By the ti she returned, it was almost dark.
Zhao Dong was already in the kitchen preparing dinner. Though his cooking skills weren’t exceptional, he could manage to make porridge and heat up stead buns.
When Sun i returned, the porridge was ready. She then stir-fried two dishes: one made with tofu residue, and another with garlic water spinach.
After a day, the vegetables in their vegetable garden were ready to be eaten. This water spinach was picked from there.
Here, they called it Yong Vegetable, and it was a very common type of green. Almost every household grew it in their vegetable garden.
Sun i was an excellent cook. And perhaps it was just her imagination, but that night’s water spinach tasted even more crisp and delicious than usual.
The crisp water spinach, combined with the fragrance of garlic, tasted absolutely divine. The family ate with great satisfaction.
Zhao Dong praised generously, "Honey, your cooking is getting better and better!"
Zhao Zhitong also rubbed her round little tummy, praising her mother’s delicious cooking in her sweet, childish voice.
As they were going to start selling tofu the day after tomorrow, Zhao Dong and Sun i began their preparations after dinner.
Zhao Dong moved a large jar from the storeroom that was originally used for holding grains.
Once cleaned, it could be used for soaking beans. The jar was quite large, over a ter tall, and could hold nearly a hundred pounds of beans at a ti.
Since it was their first day selling, they hadn’t decided on a standard amount. Zhao Dong suggested they start by soaking fifty pounds of beans to test the waters.
Once everything was done, it was already late. Zhao Dong and Sun i quickly washed up and went to bed.
The next day, the couple rose before dawn. Zhao Dong used the early morning quiet to fill the two large jars in the courtyard with water.
Then, he and Sun i packed the soaked beans into hemp sacks and loaded them onto a flatbed cart.
For easier transport, they used hemp sacks for now, planning to add water once they reached the mill; it was conveniently located right next to the river channel anyway.
Sun i also placed several large wooden barrels on the cart. Once everything was secured, Zhao Dong pushed it out the gate.
They headed toward the village entrance, crossed the bridge, and followed the river channel for so distance before reaching the mill.
The mill was built close to the river channel. Water drawn from the channel powered its grindstones, allowing it to operate day and night, grinding vast quantities of grain.
Next to the mill stood a Water Mortar Room, its machinery turning with a constant CREAK, CREAK as it hulled rice for the local farrs.
Both the Water Mill and the Water Mortar Room had been built by Country Gentry Wei’s family from Xiaoyi Village. Theirs was the only water-powered mill in any of the surrounding villages.
Country Gentry Wei’s family was from Xiaoyi Village, and their ancestors included several scholars. In the current generation, one family mber served as a County Magistrate elsewhere. Consequently, the Wei family was considered prominent and wealthy in this region.
The current head of the Wei family, Old Master Wei, hadn’t received much formal schooling himself, but he held high hopes for the younger generation. In fact, the Private School where Sun i cooked had been funded by the Wei family for the education of their children.
The man in charge of the Water Mill, who was middle-aged, greeted Zhao Dong warmly when he saw him arrive with the cart.
He seed a little surprised that Zhao Dong intended to grind wet beans but didn’t comnt.
Zhao Dong asked about the pricing and capacity. He learned that the mill charged by the shichen (a traditional two-hour period), at a rate of two coins per shichen. Fifty pounds of beans could be ground in one morning.
Zhao Dong calculated that it was a good deal and paid a deposit.
The middle-aged man took out a ledger. "What’s your na?" he asked.
"Zhao Dong."
"Alright." The middle-aged man picked up a brush and wrote a line in the ledger. Zhao Dong glanced over and saw it was written in traditional characters, so of which he didn’t recognize.
But he could roughly guess that it recorded his na, the type of grain being milled, and the deposit paid.
Finally, the man had Zhao Dong make a handprint in the ledger and then told him he could leave. Before Zhao Dong departed, the man reminded him to return partway through the grinding process, as there might not be enough barrels to hold all the processed beans at once.
Zhao Dong readily agreed. It was much more convenient not having to wait there the whole ti and only needing to return once. He thanked the man and headed back with his cart.
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