Chapter 111: The Culinary Tycoon

Is It Ready?

After Lord Cai and the others left, on the same evening, Yu Qingze went to the village chief’s house and informed them about the matter.

“Great news!” The village chief exclaimed, slapping his leg in excitement.

Usually, rural folks rarely had the chance to meet anyone of high status. Perhaps the most important official they would encounter in their lifetime was a county magistrate, and there were even some who had never seen a county magistrate. If it weren’t for the lord governor coming to find Yu Qingze, they wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet him. Not only did the lord governor come today, but he also spoke to them and asked about their lives. Moreover, the lord governor was Lord Cai, who was well-liked by the common people, which made them even more excited.

Now, suddenly, they were told that this threshing machine thing could be presented to the Emperor to see. This news excited them so much that they were almost beside themselves.

Dajian asked somewhat skeptically, “That’s right, Brother Yu, can it really be shown to the Emperor and receive praise from the current ruler?”

Yu Qingze replied, “That depends on the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. According to Lord Cai’s estimate, the current ruler pays great attention to the lives of the common people, so there shouldn’t be any major issues with this kind of agricultural tool.”

Upon hearing this, the village chief, Dajian, and Dayong all chuckled. The Emperor…

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Village chief, in my opinion, most farmers can’t afford the threshing machine. If the wind valley cart is expensive, there might not be many buyers. It would take several households pooling their money to buy one. How about we submit the blueprints to Lord Cai?”

The village chief nodded and said, “You have the final say on this. Originally, you came up with these blueprints and drew them up. We are already very happy that you came to discuss it with us. Besides, this is a good thing. We wouldn’t be able to sell many of them even if we made them. Perhaps people from other places can afford to buy them. Threshing grain is such hard work, it would be nice if others could do it more easily.”

“Alright, I’ll reply to Lord Cai then.”

That evening, Yu Qingze went home and drew up the blueprints for the foot-operated threshing machine. He also made some adjustments to the original data based on Dajian’s input. After that, he drew up the rice bed, wind valley cart, and hand-pushed cart.

The next day at noon, after finishing his lunch, Yu Qingze went to the city. When he arrived, the governor hadn’t returned home for his meal yet, so he waited for a while until he finally saw Lord Cai.

Lord Cai and Master Sun were both delighted when they saw the blueprints. Master Sun took the blueprint of the wind valley cart and started studying it.

After explaining everything to them, Yu Qingze returned home. He still had to thresh the grain in the afternoon.

After finishing harvesting the rice, Yu Qingze and Grandpa Chang started sprouting the potatoes. Once the sprouts grew well, they would ask the villagers to cut the seed potatoes into small pieces and help plant them. However, they only had a small quantity of seed potatoes, so they could only plant them in their own fields for now.

Four days passed, and most of the employees’ rice had been harvested. The remaining small amount could be harvested by their own family members. Two of the vegetable-cutting employees asked other villagers who had finished their harvest to help with the final bit of rice. On the fifth day, they arrived at the store on time to work.

After harvesting the rice, the villagers started digging sweet potatoes and making sweet potato flour. When the temperature dropped a bit more, Yu Qingze said they could start making cured meat.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

In the past, winter used to be a leisurely season, but now it has become the busiest time of the year. However, everyone is happy because there is money to be made.

In the city, both the snack shop and restaurant have opened simultaneously, and everyone is busy following their routines.

After entering October, the temperature suddenly dropped, and the previously cool weather started feeling cold.

In the morning, when Chang Le was brushing his teeth, he felt a wave of nausea in his stomach. He frowned and pressed his stomach, wanting to drink some water to relieve the discomfort, but he couldn’t hold it back and vomited.

Poor Chang Le hadn’t eaten anything in the morning, so his stomach was empty. There was nothing much to vomit except for the acidic gastric juice.

“What’s wrong? Why are you vomiting? Is your stomach not feeling well?” Yu Qingze came out of the room and heard Chang Le vomiting, quickly approaching to pat his back.

Chang Le shook his head and handed the toothbrush to Yu Qingze, indicating that he should hold it. Then he bent over and vomited again, this time even yellow bile came out.

“Did you catch a cold these past couple of days? Or did you eat something bad?” Yu Qingze took the toothbrush and placed it on a nearby stool, continuing to pat Chang Le’s back.

After a while, Chang Le finished vomiting, drank some water to rinse his mouth, and raised his head. His eyes were red, with tears welling up in the corners, making him look pitiful. He didn’t know why he suddenly vomited; it didn’t seem like he caught a cold or ate something wrong.

Yu Qingze wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, “Come on, I’ll take you to see a doctor.”

Chang Le shook his head and gestured that it wasn’t necessary. He indicated that he just felt chest tightness and nausea earlier, but now he felt much better after vomiting.

Yu Qingze worriedly said, “Still, let’s go and get it checked.”

No need, I’m fine now. Chang Le gestured a few times, took a moment to relax, and then picked up the toothbrush from the stool to brush his teeth.

Seeing that he indeed seemed fine now, Yu Qingze went to freshen up as well but kept an eye on Chang Le, thinking that if it happened again, he would take him to Dr. Li’s place for a check-up.

Once both of them finished their morning routines, they closed the shop and went to a snack shop for breakfast.

Yu Qingze specifically served a bowl of plain congee for Chang Le and went to get some snacks for himself. However, before they could start eating, Chang Le covered his mouth and ran to the backyard.

Seeing this, Yu Qingze quickly put down his plate and followed after him.

Brother Chang was puzzled but followed them to the backyard as well.

When Yu Qingze arrived at the backyard, he saw Chang Le leaning against the corner of the wall, one hand supporting himself against the wall, and the other covering his stomach, dry heaving without actually vomiting.

Brother Chang asked, “What’s wrong with Brother Le?”

Yu Qingze shook his head and said, “I don’t know. He also vomited this morning, probably caught a cold. I’ll take him to see a doctor later.”

“Oh, make sure you remember to go,” Brother Chang reminded.

“Yeah, you go ahead and take care of things,” Yu Qingze said.

Brother Chang arrived at the kitchen door and happened to meet his mother.

Brother Chang’s mother stopped him and asked, “What happened? Is something wrong?”

Brother Chang replied, ” Brother Le vomited, but nothing came out. He dry heaved, and it looks uncomfortable. Boss Yu said he will take him to see a doctor later.”

“Vomited? Dry heaved?” Brother Chang’s mother was initially taken aback but then burst into laughter.

Brother Chang frowned and asked, “Mother, why are you so happy when Brother Le is sick?”

Brother Chang’s mother chuckled but didn’t say anything.

After Chang Le finished vomiting, Brother Chang’s mother made an excuse to take Chang Le to their room. Brother Chang followed suit and squeezed in as well.

Chang Le looked at the two of them with confusion and gestured, “What’s going on?”

Brother Chang shook his head and also looked at his mother.

Brother Chang’s mother asked, ” Brother Le, besides dry heaving, do you have any other symptoms?”

Chang Le gestured, indicating that he felt a little chest discomfort.

Brother Chang’s mother explained further.

Then, Brother Chang’s mother asked, “Have you recently caught a cold or eaten something unusual?”

Chang Le thought about it and realized that he had been eating the same as usual these past few days. As for catching a cold, the temperature had dropped, so he had been wearing more clothes and didn’t feel cold.

He shook his head.

Seeing this, Brother Chang’s mother smiled and then looked at the red birthmark on Chang Le’s forehead. He reached out and touched it, asking, “Have you felt any itching sensation on your birthmark recently?”

Chang Le touched his forehead and shook his head, indicating that he hadn’t felt any itching.

Brother Chang looked at the two of them with suspicion, and when he saw his mother touching Chang Le’s birthmark, a thought crossed his mind. He asked his mother in surprise, “Mother, are you suggesting that Brother Le is pregnant and has a baby?”

Brother Chang’s mother nodded and said, “That’s what I think. They’ve been married for over six months, so it’s possible. But his birthmark doesn’t itch.”

When a ger is pregnant, during the first three months when the fetus is not yet stable, the birthmark on the forehead may feel itchy. The more vibrant the red color of the birthmark, the itchier it becomes. After three months, when the fetus stabilizes, the itching subsides. This is a distinct characteristic during a ger’s pregnancy.

Upon hearing this, Chang Le was taken aback and instinctively looked down at his abdomen.

Is there a baby?

He couldn’t help but reach out and touch his abdomen, feeling flat and no different from before.

Is there a little baby inside here? A baby with my husband?

At the thought of this, Chang Le felt a wave of joy in his heart.

However, his birthmark was too faint, which makes it difficult to conceive, right? And his birthmark didn’t itch. It shouldn’t be, right?

He had never seen any a ger with a birthmark as dull as his. On the other hand, he knew someone whose birthmark was even darker, but they couldn’t conceive.

With these thoughts in mind, Chang Le’s hand that was touching his abdomen curled up slightly and quietly withdrew.

Brother Chang thought for a moment and also reached out to touch Chang Le’s birthmark, saying, ” Brother Le, maybe your birthmark’s color is still light, and it hasn’t fully manifested yet. Or maybe you just haven’t noticed it?”

Brother Chang’s mother, upon hearing this, also found it reasonable and said, “That’s also possible. When I was pregnant before, I didn’t feel my birthmark itching until after three months.”

“Yes, that’s possible,” Brother Chang agreed.

Upon hearing this, Chang Le’s heart skipped a beat, and a glimmer of hope emerged.

“We won’t figure anything out by speculating here. Let’s go see a doctor quickly. The doctor’s diagnosis will give us the answer,” Brother Chang’s mother suggested.

Brother Chang nodded and said, “Yes, yes, we shouldn’t guess randomly. Let Boss Yu take you to see the doctor.”

Saying that, Brother Chang turned to open the door, but Chang Le grabbed his arm.

“What’s wrong?” Brother Chang asked.

Chang Le gestured a few times to communicate.

Brother Chang looked surprised and said, “You want me to accompany you to see the doctor?”

Chang Le nodded and gestured, “Come with me, but don’t tell Brother Yu about this for now.”

Brother Chang held Chang Le’s hand and hesitated, “Are you worried?”

Chang Le’s eyes flickered, and he nodded gently.

He didn’t want Brother Yu to be disappointed. If he never knew about this, it would be fine. But if he found out, got excited, and later confirmed it wasn’t true, Brother Yu would definitely be disappointed. Going from hope to disappointment would also be hard for him to bear.

Brother Chang nodded and said, “Alright, I’ll accompany you.”

The three of them walked out the door.

Yu Qingze was waiting under the osmanthus tree, discussing something with Jiabao. When he saw them coming out, he quickly said, “Let’s go, we’re going to see the doctor.”

Chang Le shook his head and gestured, “You go and take care of the restaurant’s breakfast. We can’t all leave. What if we have to wait for a long time? Someone needs to cook.”

Yu Qingze replied, “It’s still early now. We can come back after seeing the doctor. Besides, the restaurant is not as important as your health.”

Upon hearing this, Chang Le blushed.

Brother Chang’s mother and Brother Chang exchanged a glance, both with a hint of amusement in their eyes.

Chang Le gestured, “Just let Brother Chang accompany me. As for the snack shop, Jiabao can settle the bill first.”

Yu Qingze furrowed his brow.

Brother Chang also said, “Boss Yu, let me accompany Brother Le. It won’t delay both sides. I promise to take him to Dr. Li’s and bring him back safely!”

Yu Qingze looked at the two of them and nodded, saying, “Alright then. Whatever the doctor says, make sure to tell me everything when you come back.”

Chang Le nodded.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Oh ho, the old vomiting + dry heaving = pregnancy lol