Chapter 95: The Culinary Tycoon

Dahe Returns

In the late afternoon, when the busiest time in the shop had passed, everyone could finally catch their breath.

At this moment, a dark-skinned man entered the snack shop, carrying a large hemp sack. The sack was almost half-filled, and no one knew what was inside, but it looked heavy.

The man placed the large sack on the ground after entering the shop and smiled when he saw Brother Chang. He called out, “Brother Chang.”

Curious, Brother Chang turned his head. No customer had ever entered and directly called him by his name. As he looked, his eyes widened in astonishment, and he exclaimed, “Dahe?!”

“Yeah,” Dahe nodded and smiled, asking, “Big Brother Yu and Brother Le here?”

“They are, they are. Let me take you to them,” Brother Chang nodded with a smile, walking and saying, “I heard from Brother Le that you went to work on a boat. How have you been during these past six months? Did you get to visit many places on the boat?”

Since last year, Dahe left home and nobody has seen him since. At this moment, upon hearing the voice of Brother Chang, the other comrades also looked over curiously, and sure enough, it was Dahe. Everyone greeted him one after another.

“Dahe! Long time no see!”

“Dahe, hey, why did you get even darker?”

“Dahe!”

“…”

Dahe picked up a sack and waved to the villagers busy over there, replying to their greetings. Then he turned to Brother Chang and said, “Not bad, I’ve been to both the north and the south, and every place is different. I’ve gained a lot of knowledge.”

Saying that, the two of them arrived at the kitchen door. Brother Le, who heard the voices outside, had already walked to the door and joyfully greeted Dahe with his flour-covered hand.

Upon seeing Brother Le, Dahe’s eyes softened, and he smiled warmly, calling out, “Brother Le, long time no see.”

Brother Le nodded with a smile.

Behind them, Brother Chang’s mother also came to the door and greeted Dahe with a smile, “Dahe, welcome back!”

Dahe nodded and called out, “Uncle Mo.”

Brother Chang’s mother responded with a nod and said, “It’s good to have you back.”

Brother Le pointed to the backyard and gestured to Brother Chang, indicating him to take Dahe to sit in the courtyard.

Brother Chang nodded and said to Dahe, “Let’s go to the backyard, there are tables and chairs there, and it’s cool.”

Dahe followed Brother Chang to the backyard.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

In the backyard, Yu Qingze was settling the accounts with somone who had come to deliver coal balls. When he saw Dahe and Brother Chang entering the backyard, he exclaimed in surprise, “Dahe? You’re back?”

Dahe walked to the osmanthus tree, set down the sack, and called out, “Brother Yu.”

Yu Qingze bid farewell to the delivery person and quickly walked over, pointing to a stone stool, saying, “Have a seat and let’s talk. When did you come back?”

“Just got off the ship. I came to see you all.” Dahe sat down and replied.

“Just got off the ship? Have you had lunch?” Upon hearing that he had just arrived, Yu Qingze turned to Brother Chang and said, “Brother Chang, please bring some dim sum and tea.”

“Sure.” Brother Chang readily agreed and then said to Dahe, “You sit here, I’ll bring some snacks for you to try.”

Dahe smiled warmly and said, “Brother Yu, Brother Chang, there’s no need to go through so much trouble.”

“It’s okay, just have some. You’ve been running around on the ship, working hard.” Yu Qingze said.

As Brother Chang turned around, Brother Le had already washed his hands and brought a tray of dim sum and tea.

“Brother Le is here. Dahe, I have to go back to work now. There are still customers ahead. I’ll talk to you later after I’m done.” Seeing that Brother Le had brought the dim sum and tea, Brother Chang greeted Dahe and went back to work. It’s still during working hours, so it’s not good to be away for too long.

“Alright. Go ahead with your work.” Dahe replied.

Brother Chang went back to the main hall to continue his tasks.

Brother Le placed the tray down and poured a cup of water for Dahe from the teapot, handing it to him.

“Thank you, Brother Le, I can handle it myself.” Dahe quickly reached out to take the teacup, accidentally brushing his fingers against Brother Le’s. He hurriedly placed the teacup on the table, lowered his head, and placed his hands under the stone table, rubbing them gently.

Yu Qingze noticed the situation and took three plates of snacks from the tray, placing them on the table. He said, “Dahe, have a taste. You probably couldn’t enjoy these on the ship.”

After finishing the snacks, Yu Qingze placed an empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks in front of Dahe. He turned to Brother Le and said, “Wife, go and bring a few plates of spare ribs and chicken feet, also bring a bottle of osmanthus wine. Get a set of bowls and chopsticks for me as well. Dahe and I will have a couple of drinks and have a good chat.”

Brother Le nodded and got up to leave.

Wife? Upon hearing Yu Qingze calling Brother Le “wife,” Dahe clenched his fist and looked up, asking, “…Brother Yu, Brother Le, are you two married?”

Brother Le nodded with a smile and then turned to the kitchen.

Seeing Dahe’s desolate expression as he watched Brother Le’s back, Yu Qingze sighed softly in his heart. He then pretended to be oblivious, smiling as he replied, “We got married exactly a month ago. If you had returned one month earlier, you could have had a celebratory drink with us.”

Upon hearing this, Dahe snapped back to reality, his eyes flickering. He forcefully pinched his thigh.

The pain in his leg brought Dahe back to his senses. He kept reminding himself that Brother Le was already married, and he had already decided to bless him and Yu Qingze, hadn’t he? He had already decided to let go, hadn’t he? Don’t stare at him, don’t show any abnormality. He mustn’t let Yu Qingze notice his feelings for Brother Le…

He forced a smile, pulling up the corners of his mouth, and said, “Congratulations to you both! Look at me, I didn’t prepare any gifts. I’ll make it up by getting something for you tomorrow.”

“No need to be so polite. Come, have a taste first,” Yu Qingze smiled and said, then changed the subject, asking, “During these past few months, which places did you visit with the ship? Did you go directly to the sea for shipping, or did you take the Grand Canal route?”

Dahe took a sip of tea, ate a meatball, and then replied, “Both. I’ve made three trips in total. Usually, it takes about two months for a round trip, and three months for longer journeys. I’ve been to both the north and the south, and I’ve gained a lot of experience. I even went back to the village during the Chinese New Year to take a quick look.”

“You’re back. Why didn’t you come find us?” Yu Qingze asked.

Dahe scratched his head and answered, “I was afraid of being seen by my father and the others, so I didn’t show up. But seeing everyone now, I feel relieved.”

“I see,” Yu Qingze understood and continued asking, “What kind of cargo do you mainly transport on the ship?”

“We transport various types of cargo, depending on the orders received from the boss. Sometimes it’s transporting silk and fabrics from the south to the north, and other times it’s transporting furs and other goods from the north to the south…” As he spoke, Dahe began to tell Yu Qingze about his experiences while working on the ship.

After spending several months running the ship, Dahe had gotten even darker in complexion, but along with the deepening of his skin tone, his knowledge and experiences had also increased. With this newfound knowledge, his personality had undergone noticeable changes, becoming more cheerful and talkative.

After bringing the snacks over, Brother Le also sat beside the stone table and listened to him. Yu Qingze’s understanding of foreign countries was limited, so he listened attentively and occasionally asked questions.

The three of them ate and chatted, continuing their conversation until closing time.

“I even saw foreigners!” Dahe exclaimed excitedly.

Brother Le widened his eyes and gestured, “What kind of foreigners?”

Yu Qingze, of course, knew about foreigners and helped Brother Le ask, “What kind of foreigners?” Are they similar to the foreigners in his previous life?

Dahe replied, “They had golden and brown hair, blue eyes, high noses, very fair skin, and tall stature. They also spoke differently from us. And there was his servant, who had large eyes, very dark skin, even darker than mine, and curly hair. He had a lot of facial hair, covering his entire chin!”

Brother Le’s mouth dropped open upon hearing this, and Yu Qingze also showed surprise, asking, “There are people like that too?”

“Yes, it was the first time I saw such people. They said they all came from across the ocean, so they are called foreigners. I heard that there are even more than just those with golden hair and dark skin. In distant places, after crossing the sea, there are many people from other countries who look different from us,” Dahe nodded, expressing his amazement.

“I see!” Yu Qingze exclaimed. Based on the description, he couldn’t tell if they were “Americans” or “Europeans” in this world.

“By the way, Big Brother Yu, Brother Le, I brought something for you,” Dahe said.

Dahe put down his chopsticks and brought over a large hemp bag that was placed by the tree. He untied the grass rope on the bag while saying, “This time I went to the northern region, and I saw a new thing among the people there that we don’t have here. They call it ‘ground eggs.’ They say it was brought by the foreigners. In the state near the capital, they have been growing it for a year, and it’s just harvested. It’s said to have a high yield, allowing many families who couldn’t eat enough during winter to have enough food for the season. I tried it, and it tasted pretty good, so I brought back a bag.”

“Oh? Ground eggs? What are they?” Yu Qingze’s interest was piqued. It sounded somewhat familiar.

“They are about the size of a child’s fist, long like sweet potatoes, with yellow skin. You’ll see them soon,” Dahe said, struggling with the tight grass rope. Unable to loosen it with his fingers, he resorted to biting it with his teeth.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze felt that it sounded somewhat similar to potatoes.

“I’ll go get scissors,” Yu Qingze said. Seeing that Dahe couldn’t untie the grass rope, he went to the room and fetched a pair of scissors. With a snip-snapping sound, he cut the rope.

With the rope undone, Dahe opened the mouth of the hemp bag, and Yu Qingze and Brother Le looked on curiously.

Yu Qingze: …It really is potatoes!

His eyes gleamed with excitement. This was a great find! If successful in cultivation, it could solve the problem of many impoverished families not having enough to eat.

Brother Le picked up one of the potatoes and looked at it curiously.

“Hmm, why is it sprouting?” Dahe scratched his head, looking at the potatoes in the bag that had already sprouted. He took out some more and checked their bottoms, which were also sprouting. He worriedly said, “They were fine when I bought them. I didn’t expect them to sprout within just a month. I wonder if they are still edible.”

“They’re not edible!” Yu Qingze immediately said. Sprouted potatoes are poisonous and should not be eaten.

Dahe looked puzzled. “They’re not edible? That’s a pity. I wanted to bring them back for you to try.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “No problem, I’ve seen these things before. We can just plant them in the ground. Did you ask the person you bought them from how to plant them?”

Yu Qingze could easily come up with a dozen or twenty ways to cook potatoes, but when it came to planting them, he was stumped.

“Just bury them in the soil, fertilize them with manure, and see if they grow naturally?” he wondered.

Dahe scratched his head and said, “I didn’t ask in detail. They just casually mentioned that you can bury these potatoes in the soil, and that’s it. No need to cut vines and replant like sweet potatoes.”

“Then let’s give it a try. Since they’ve already sprouted, it would be a waste not to plant them,” Yu Qingze suggested. However, he was unsure if they could grow in the summer, as he knew that potatoes were usually harvested in winter. He felt a bit concerned.

“Alright, let’s give it a try. If it doesn’t work out, it’s fine. I can bring some more next time,” Dahe said as he packed the potatoes back into the bag.

“Speaking of which, Dahe, you’ve seen a lot of things while traveling on the ship. I’d like to ask for your help in purchasing some items for me.”

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Thandar: I thought they already had potatoes since they already had sweet potatoes. Lol I’m a dummy when it comes to farming and stuff like that.