Chapter 28: Sleeping Over

Old Li’s vegetable patch was filled with a variety of produce. Shao Diandian picked some white radishes, napa cabbage, and garlic sprouts.

"What is this?" Shao Diandian asked, gesturing toward a patch of lush green vegetables.

"Cilantro," Old Li replied. "It has a rather strong flavor; many people aren't used to it."

Isn't this just the coriander from her past life?

Cilantro is a wonderful thing—packed with vitamins, trace elements, and various minerals. It helps clear rashes, aids digestion, and promotes circulation, making it perfect for the winter.

Shao Diandian picked some cilantro as well, filling Old Li’s basket to the brim. She had arrived to inspect the land and hadn't brought anything with her. Seeing Shao "Fatty" plucking so many vegetables, Mrs. Qian’s face turned green with frustration.

Old Li turned to Shao Diandian and said, "Since you aren't selling these and only cooking for your own family, you don't really need this much land. Half an acre is plenty. You could use the remaining acre and a half to grow grain."

Shao Diandian took his words to heart. She certainly wouldn't leave the extra land barren, but rather than grain, she preferred to grow sugarcane. Sugarcane could be boiled down for sugar, which would significantly lower the production costs of her pastries and increase her profit margins. As for selling the sugar itself, she had no such plans for now. In this era, both sugar and salt were rare commodities backed by powerful, influential cartels. If she were to disrupt the sugar market with low prices, she would inevitably become a target. She wouldn't do that until she had enough power.

"Grandpa Li, Grandma Qian, I’ll be heading back now."

"Go on then," Old Li said.

Mrs. Qian rolled her eyes behind her back. Shao Diandian, amused, carried the basket away from the garden. She was broad-minded and easygoing, so she didn't take offense.

Once home, Shao Diandian took out the vegetables and returned the basket to the elderly couple. It was heavy, covered with a clean piece of cotton cloth. After she left, Mrs. Qian lifted the cloth and was stunned to find six pastries and two large pieces of meat inside. She gasped in shock.

***

Shao Kang finished crafting the crutches and called Wei Ting over to the backyard to try them out. It had to be said, Old Man Shao was truly kind to this son-in-law. One just wondered if he would cough up blood the day Wei Ting eventually left.

Shao Erdan had finished entertaining the children and went to the village entrance to fetch water. The three little ones, refusing to take their afternoon nap, slid off the bed and scurried next door. They stood outside the window of the second household’s small hut.

Niudan wasn't eating egg custard today. His grandfather, Liu Shan, had gone to a banquet in the back village yesterday and brought him half a bowl of peanuts and a piece of maltose candy. He would eat a peanut, then lick the maltose.

"Do you know what this is?" He taunted the three little ones. "Peanuts!" He then held up his half-licked candy. "Maltose!"

"I'm not giving you any! I’ll make you drool to death! Nyeh-nyeh-nyeh!"

The three little ones blinked, then turned and scampered away.

"Hmph!" Niudan snorted and went back to licking his maltose.

Suddenly, the three little ones returned, each holding a glistening sugar-coated hawthorn skewer. Niudan’s eyes went wide. The three little ones began to lick their treats; unsatisfied, they soon started gnawing on them with their tiny teeth. Niudan instantly felt that the maltose in his hand had lost its appeal.

Once they finished, the three little ones went home and brought back a bowl of fried sesame balls and crispy fritters, eating them one by one in front of Niudan.

"Waaaah—" Niudan was moved to tears by the sight.

***

Shao Diandian sat behind the kitchen sharpening a knife. From the neighboring kitchen came the sharp scolding of Old Mrs. Wu.

"You can't even feed yourself, yet you keep bringing things to your maiden home! Is this how a wife behaves? You can’t even produce a son! Nothing but a waste of money!"

"Eat, eat, eat! All you think about is eating!"

The first part was directed at young Mrs. Wu, and the latter was likely aimed at her two daughters. The two girls began to cry.

"Stop that howling!" Old Mrs. Wu impatiently raised her hand and struck both granddaughters hard. Young Mrs. Wu tried to shield them with her body and took several blows herself.

"Waaaah—" Niudan began to cry in the front room, a true, full-blown wail.

Old Mrs. Wu’s expression shifted. "Niudan, what’s wrong?" Too distracted to continue disciplining her daughter-in-law and granddaughters, she rushed to the front room to coax her precious grandson.

Shao Diandian continued sharpening her knife. About ten minutes later, young Mrs. Wu opened the back door of the kitchen, intending to catch a breath of air. She caught sight of Shao Diandian sitting in the snow, sharpening her blade. Perhaps worried that Shao Diandian had heard the commotion, she looked rather embarrassed.

Beside Shao Diandian lay a few pounds of pork ribs and some freshly picked vegetables. Young Mrs. Wu walked over silently and crouched down to help shell the vegetables. Shao Diandian didn't ask what had happened, nor did she refuse the help. Once the vegetables were done and young Mrs. Wu had finished washing the ribs, Shao Diandian went inside and returned with twenty copper coins for her.

Young Mrs. Wu froze.

"It seems you need this more than food."

Young Mrs. Wu’s eyes grew warm. Her mother was ill, and she had wanted to bring her a few eggs, only to be caught and berated by her mother-in-law. She had lived like this for years and had grown numb to it, yet for some reason, the moment Shao Diandian handed her those coins, a wave of unspeakable grievance welled up in her heart.

"I don't bring things to my maiden home every few days," she whispered.

Shao Diandian nodded. "I know."

A tear fell from young Mrs. Wu’s eye. The grievances she had bottled up for years fermented under the influence of Shao Diandian’s trust, until they finally burst forth.

***

The three little ones had been so heavy-handed with their bed-wetting the previous night that two mattresses were soaked. With the snow falling and no sunlight, the bedding hadn't dried out. Tonight, Shao Erdan still had to sleep with Old Man Shao. The three little ones, getting their wish, enjoyed their third night of "slumber-party" privileges.

They waved goodbye to their father with gusto and hugged their small pillows as they headed to Shao Diandian's room. Shao Diandian was preparing to rest when Shao Erdan asked from the doorway, "Sis, are you asleep?"

"No, come in," Shao Diandian said.

Shao Erdan was there to discuss tomorrow's business. "Sis, are we going to set up our stall at Jin’s Pastry Shop, or at the academy?"

Shao Diandian pondered seriously. "We’ll go to Jin’s."

Shao Erdan: "Ah."

Shao Diandian looked at him with a smile. "Did you want to go to the academy?"

Shao Erdan replied, "There are so many students at the academy! We’d definitely sell more there than at the entrance of Jin’s!"

Shao Diandian chuckled. "That’s not necessarily true." The area around Jin’s was filled with high-quality clientele who could afford the prices, and it saved time.

Shao Erdan asked again, "So, are we giving up on the academy business?"

"No," Shao Diandian said, "we just need to change our sales model." Thanks to her CEO mother in her past life, she still had a few business concepts in mind.

Shao Diandian said to Shao Erdan, "It’s getting late. Go to sleep."

Shao Erdan nodded. "Okay. Remember to wake me up tomorrow."

Shao Diandian found it amusing. "I will." How was it that her silly brother was more enthusiastic about selling pastries than he was about extorting money?

Just as Shao Erdan was heading out, he poked his head back in. "Sis, one day you should make a type of pastry and call it an 'Erdan Pastry'!"

Shao Diandian: "..."