Author Archives: Thandar

Honeymoon Period

The next day, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, the early birds had already started chirping on the branches.

Chang Le suddenly sat up in surprise, looking around with a bewildered expression, still groggy and not fully awake.

“Brother Le, what’s wrong?” With his embrace suddenly empty, Yu Qingze also woke up and sat up, asking.

Chang Le turned to look at Yu Qingze, rubbed his eyes, and then sighed in relief. He gestured, indicating that he thought he was still in the shop and had overslept.

He was used to waking up before dawn in the shop. He thought he was still there and became worried that he would be late for opening the shop. It was only when he saw Yu Qingze beside him that he realized what had happened. Yesterday, he and Big Brother Yu became a couple, they had become one, and yesterday… they had completed the ceremonial rituals.

Thinking about last night, Chang Le felt his cheeks flush, but inexplicably, he felt a closer relationship with Brother Yu.

It was a feeling of merging into one.

Yu Qingze gently pressed Chang Le back onto the bed, holding him tightly and saying, “It’s still early, sleep a little longer.”

Chang Le’s biological clock was already set, so he couldn’t fall back asleep now. Nestled in Yu Qingze’s arms, he didn’t dare move, afraid of disturbing Yu Qingze’s rest. In the dim light, he opened his eyes and counted the new stubble on his chin—one, two, three…

After counting for a while, he quietly extended his index finger and lightly touched Yu Qingze’s chin, feeling the roughness.

As Chang Le touched his chin for a while, Yu Qingze suddenly opened his mouth and gently bit Chang Le’s finger, giving it a kiss.

“Fun, isn’t it? Hmm?”

Chang Le’s eyes curved.

Seeing his expression, Yu Qingze intentionally rubbed his chin against Chang Le’s face, the prickly stubble tickling him and making Chang Le burst into laughter.

“Ticklish or not?” Yu Qingze reached out to touch Chang Le’s waist, gently massaging it. Last night was their first time together, and they had done it twice. The second time took a bit longer, and he was worried that his lack of experience might have hurt Chang Le.

Chang Le raised his eyes, looked at Yu Qingze, blushed, and nodded, indicating that it was a little ticklish.

Yu Qingze kissed his forehead and increased the pressure in his hand as he continued to massage.

Chang Le felt comfortable being kneaded and enjoyed his husband’s service with half-closed eyes.

While massaging, Yu Qingze’s hand slid down, gliding over the hills and reaching the valley, giving it a touch.

Chang Le’s body stiffened, and he twisted forward, looking at Yu Qingze with open eyes, gesturing and asking, “Are you going to do it again?”

Yu Qingze was taken aback when he saw the gesture, but then he burst into laughter and playfully rubbed Chang Le’s nose, saying, “Do you want to do it again? Hmm?”

Chang Le neither nodded nor shook his head, gesturing instead, “If you want to, then I’ll do it.”

In fact, he still felt a bit swollen, as if something was still inside his body, causing some discomfort. But more than that, it reminded him of the feeling from last night. It was… comfortable.

Bringing up the question now made him feel ticklish, as if feathers were lightly tickling his mind. Well, to be honest, he did want to do it again, but he was too embarrassed to bring it up. However, if Brother Yu expressed his desire, he could go along with it…

Yu Qingze chuckled softly, brushed Chang Le’s nose, and said, “Weren’t you very shy just now? How come you’re so bold now?”

Chang Le shyly blinked his eyes and snuggled into Yu Qingze’s embrace, not saying anything.

Yu Qingze silently chuckled. This little darling was sometimes easily embarrassed, but other times surprisingly bold, always bringing him pleasant surprises.

“My dear, I wanted to ask if you feel any pain here. Are you hurt?” Yu Qingze lightly touched that area and anxiously asked in a soft voice. Based on the knowledge he gained in his previous life, when two men engage in such activities, especially for the first time, that area is prone to injury and requires careful care.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Upon hearing that, Chang Le lifted his head and shook it, then gestured, “I’m not hurt, just a bit swollen. It should get better in a while.”

Yu Qingze felt slightly relieved upon hearing this.

He had just tasted the pleasure, and last night was naturally not enough. In that short moment earlier, Little Aze had already awakened.

However, he didn’t dare to arouse Chang Le’s body further at the moment, fearing that he might end up getting burned himself. After all, it was Chang Le’s first time last night, so he couldn’t be too forceful. For the sake of long-term happiness, he had to take good care of Chang Le’s body. At least he had to wait until Chang Le’s body adjusted before seeking further intimacy.

Although it was uncomfortable to resist the temptation, he couldn’t bear to let go of the person in his arms. Silently, he shifted his body slightly backward to avoid arousing Chang Le’s suspicion.

During these three days after their marriage, they didn’t have to go to the shop. They entrusted Brother Chang and others to take care of it, and Jiabao was there to oversee things as well.

With plenty of time left in the morning, the two of them silently cuddled together as if dozing off.

As they held each other, Yu Qingze felt Chang Le inching closer, their bodies pressing against each other, and their noses lightly rubbing against Yu Qingze’s chin. Chang Le’s lips occasionally brushed against his chin, causing a ticklish sensation.

Yu Qingze’s heart leaped with joy. Was Chang Le’s body unconsciously seeking intimacy with him, craving him?

When Chang Le’s lips brushed against his chin again, Yu Qingze gently lowered his head, capturing those tempting lips, and fully entwined Chang Le’s tongue in his own mouth. As he had expected, Chang Le was also yearning for him. The moment their lips touched, Chang Le responded passionately.

“Is it okay?” Yu Qingze asked in a husky voice.

Chang Le’s eyes were filled with mist, and he nodded gently, lightly pressing down on Yu Qingze’s arm and leaning in for a kiss.

With Chang Le’s consent, Yu Qingze became like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, no longer holding back his desires.

…

A majestic fish, freed from its owner’s restraint, rejoiced in its newfound freedom and set out to find a hidden paradise.

It swam through the vast ocean, breaking through numerous barriers, and traversed a dense forest. There, it encountered an adorable little turtle it had seen before—a bit clumsy but unexpectedly delightful. The fish paused, joyfully playing and getting close to the little turtle until the turtle grew tired and went to rest. Then, the fish resumed its journey.

After a while, the majestic fish arrived at a valley.

The valley was abundant with lush water plants, and a gentle and clear stream flowed through it. Excitedly, the fish leaped into the water, swimming joyfully. As it swam, it reached the upstream of the stream and discovered steep cliffs on both sides, with sheer rock faces. At the bottom of the cliffs, there was a secluded cave, from which the clear stream flowed.

The fish looked at the cave entrance, small and mysterious yet enticing. A strange charm seemed to be drawing it in. It gathered its energy and cautiously stuck its head into the cave, but it was met with resistance. Undeterred, the fish mustered its strength and continued to squeeze into the cave until it finally managed to enter.

Inside the cave, it was dark but warm, as if wrapped in something. What’s more, as soon as it entered, it immediately felt its spiritual energy surging, providing immense comfort. Moreover, the longer it stayed, the more it sensed its spiritual energy increasing, and its cultivation growing.

Filled with excitement, it bravely ventured forward, pushing forward until it reached the end of the cave! Suddenly, the cave trembled violently, and then, something started shimmering on the wall ahead. Seizing the momentum, the fish fiercely rushed forward, colliding with force!

Instantly, a warm liquid, warmer than the previous stream, gushed out. This liquid made it even more agile, allowing it to move freely, and intensified the spiritual energy within its body.

It repeatedly and fiercely collided with that part of the cave wall, generating more liquid and enriching its own spiritual energy.

Its cultivation gradually strengthened, growing stronger and stronger!

Finally, it broke through!

…

As the heavy rain subsided, the sky began to brighten.

Satisfied, Yu Qingze hugged Chang Le and planted a kiss on his face. He whispered, “Brother Le, did you feel good?”

Chang Le’s forehead was moist with sweat, his cheeks flushed, and his breath hadn’t completely calmed down. Upon hearing the question, he nodded earnestly. It felt so good!

Seeing this, Yu Qingze felt a surge of contentment.

“Do you want to sleep a little longer?”

Chang Le shook his head. It was already so bright outside, how could he continue lying in bed?

“It’s alright, it’s just the two of us here. I don’t want you to be too tired. Be good, lie down for a while, and I’ll call you when breakfast is ready?”

Chang Le looked at Yu Qingze, slightly hesitant, but eventually nodded. His waist was indeed a little sore, and he was quite tired. Resting for a while would be nice.

Yu Qingze got up and went to freshen up and prepare breakfast. When he finished, he saw Chang Le sleeping soundly and couldn’t bear to wake him up. So he climbed back into bed and cuddled his beloved wife, enjoying a peaceful nap.

According to their previous agreement with Grandpa Chang, they would have their meals at their new home today and return to their old home on the third day.

As a newlywed couple and with such a rare leisurely time, they didn’t step out of the house for the whole day.

After waking up in the morning, it was already close to noon. The two of them cooked together, had lunch, and then spent the afternoon tidying up their new home.

After dinner, Yu Qingze brought a stove into their washroom and heated water in a pot on top of it, so they wouldn’t need to go to the kitchen to get hot water at night.

Naturally, they indulged in each other’s company in the evening.

After the encounter in the morning, Yu Qingze noticed that Chang Le had ample lubrication and didn’t experience dryness. They would need several days of rest after intercourse. He wasn’t sure if it was due to Chang Le’s exceptional talent, the ger physique in this world, or different physical structures. In any case, he had only used a bit of the lubricant he had prepared for the first time and hadn’t needed it since then.

Yu Qingze naturally felt delighted about this.

On the third day, Yu Qingze and Chang Le, as a married couple, returned to their old home with the gifts they had prepared.

After having lunch, they started packing and moving in the afternoon.

The furniture in the new house was all newly made, so there was no need to move it. They only had to transfer their clothes and other belongings.

Not having to move furniture made things much easier. They didn’t have a lot of clothes either. They packed their things and used a handcart to transport them back and forth a few times. They also moved the chickens, the pair of piglets they had recently bought, and firewood. That completed the move. Besides, the two places were close to each other, so they could always come back to pick up anything they needed.

In the evening, the whole family gathered together and had their first true reunion dinner in the new home.

After dinner, the two young boys ran around the yard, excitedly playing. The red lanterns that were hung in the corridor for the wedding were still there. They lit the oil lamps inside each lantern, filling the yard with a warm yellow light.

This new house was so big, spacious, and beautiful. It had multiple rooms…

Due to the boys’ insistence, they ended up sleeping in the same room, with bunk beds, while the other room became a study. Yu Qingze had prepared two new desks and made a bookshelf, giving it a neat and organized appearance.

On the fourth day, Grandpa Chang, Yu Qingze, and Chang Le went up the mountain to pay respects to their deceased siblings and Chang Le’s parents. They informed them that Chang Le had gotten married, that his husband was good to him, and that they were living well now. They wanted to assure the deceased family members that there was no need to worry.

***

Life gradually returned to normal.

With the weather warming up and Grandpa Chang’s old ailment improving, Yu Qingze and Chang Le returned to living in the shop, replacing Brother Chang and his mother.

Yu Qingze started considering their future once again.

For the sake of their business and their own happiness, it was time to train a few more apprentices, besides Brother Chang and his mother.

They needed someone skilled in making dim sum and cooking.

Relying solely on themselves to do everything was exhausting for both him and Chang Le. Once the apprentices were trained, they could focus on management. Yu Qingze was worried that if they continued doing everything as they had before, their nighttime activities would be affected.

That was not the life he desired.

While Yu Qingze was planning how to select and train apprentices, a group of private security guards unexpectedly arrived at the shop, startling them.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: The whole fish thing describing sex was just …. undescribable lololol … was the author indicating a sperm swimming around or what? I was confused.

Studying Together

As night fell, the guests gradually departed, and the villagers who had come to help swiftly tidied up the wedding venue before bidding farewell and returning home.

Before leaving, Matchmaker Liao, went into the new house and handed a small booklet to Chang Le, urging him to take a good look before the groom entered the room. Then he left.

Curiosity piqued, Chang Le opened the booklet and flipped through a page, blushing furiously before hastily closing it and hiding it under the pillow.

What… What is this?

After a while, still blushing, Chang Le cautiously pulled out the booklet and began to read it, his cheeks burning hot.

Outside the room, once all the guests had left, Grandpa Chang instructed, “There is hot water on the stove in the kitchen, and there are dumplings, rice cakes, and dishes in the pot. They’re still warm. Remember to eat if you’re hungry.”

Grandpa Chang, Chang Hao, and Jiabao are also returning to the old house tonight. Not everything has been moved to the new house yet, so they will wait for Chang Le to return in three days before moving again.

Yu Qingze nodded in response to the words.

After closing the door, Yu Qingze went to the well to wash his face, then walked quickly towards the new house.

As he approached the entrance, he paused for a moment, straightened his ceremonial robe, lifted his arm to sniff his clothes, and detected a smell of alcohol. He frowned. However, he only had this one ceremonial robe and couldn’t change it.

He decided to loosen his belt, open the front of his robe to create a breeze, hoping to dissipate the smell of alcohol a bit so that it wouldn’t bother Brother Le.

Inside the house, upon hearing footsteps approaching, Chang Le hurriedly stuffed the small booklet back under the pillow, adjusted the pillow, pursed his lips, took a deep breath, and unconsciously clenched his fingers tightly.

Outside, the footsteps stopped but didn’t enter the house.

With his head covered, Chang Le couldn’t see outside and could only listen attentively to the movements.

I wonder what Brother Yu is doing. Why isn’t he coming in?

Chang Le quietly lifted a corner of the cover to peek towards the door… Of course, he couldn’t see anything, only a glimpse of the door panel through the screen, but somehow it seemed to calm his nerves a little.

Creak…

The door opened! Brother Yu is coming in!

Chang Le quickly put the cover back down, placed his hands on his knees, straightened his posture, and sat upright.

Yu Qingze bypassed the screen and saw Chang Le sitting on the wedding bed, waiting for him. His heart began to beat rapidly, urging him to hurry over.

He approached slowly and saw Chang Le sitting up straight, the cover slightly moving, hands clasped on his thighs, and his left index finger unconsciously picking at the little finger of his right hand.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Yu Qingze’s lips curved into a smile as he walked over and sat next to Chang Le, taking his hand and holding it.

“Brother Le,” Yu Qingze paused, grinned, and said, “No, it should be, my wife, sorry for the long wait, I’m back.”

Chang Le’s covered head trembled slightly, and his fingers squeezed Yu Qingze’s hand.

Yu Qingze chuckled, gave Chang Le’s hand a squeeze, and continued, “By the way, now we should uncover the cover first, right?”

He placed Chang Le’s hand back on his thigh, then stood up and went to the small table in front, picked up the veil, and returned to stand in front of Chang Le. Gently, he lifted the red veil on Chang Le’s head with the veil stick.

As the veil fell, the beautiful countenance was revealed.

Yu Qingze stared at Chang Le intently. After a while, he softly said, “Brother Le, lift your head.”

Chang Le, upon hearing this, raised his head slightly, pursed his lips, smiled at him, and quickly lowered his head again.

Yu Qingze chuckled softly, holding Chang Le’s hand, he led him to the table, put the veil stick back on the table, and poured two cups of wine—one for Chang Le and one for himself. He said, “Let’s toast to our union.”

Chang Le accepted the cup.

The two intertwined their arms around each other’s and drank the vow wine.

From this day forward, Yu Qingze was his husband, and Chang Le was his wife. They were united as one, their hearts forever entwined.

Setting down their wine cups, Yu Qingze reached out and caressed Chang Le’s cheek, gently tracing his eyebrows, eyes, nose, and lips. His eyes were filled with infatuation, as if he couldn’t get enough of the sight before him.

“You look so beautiful.”

Chang Le blushed at his words, tilted his head to look at the man in front of him, his eyes filled with a hint of shyness and unmistakable love.

After admiring for quite a while, Yu Qingze leaned in, wrapped his arm around Chang Le’s waist, gently kissed the center of his forehead, kissed his eyes, pecked his nose, and lightly brushed his lips against Chang Le’s. Then he whispered, “Brother Le, my wife, I love you.”

Chang Le’s heart trembled, he tilted his head slightly back, creating a bit of distance, and gestured in front of Yu Qingze, indicating, “I love you too.”

“Mm, I know.” Yu Qingze caught Chang Le’s hand, kissed it, and then pulled him to sit down, saying, “You must be starving after not eating anything all day. Sit for a moment, I’ll bring the food over.”

Saying that, Yu Qingze went to the kitchen and brought back the meal, including rice balls and dumplings.

Chang Le was indeed famished. He had woken up very early in the morning and only had a little bit to eat. He hadn’t eaten anything for lunch either, so he was extremely hungry.

Therefore, he didn’t bother with pretense and started eating.

Yu Qingze told him to take his time and then went to the washroom in the adjacent room to freshen up. He took hot water from there and brought it over. In the washroom next door, there was a basin filled with pre-prepared clean water. After Chang Le finished eating, he could directly go there to wash up.

Chang Le finished eating until he was about 70% full and then set the bowl aside. He took his clothes and went to wash up.

When Chang Le came out after washing up, Yu Qingze had already cleared the bowls and chopsticks, and the scent of the food in the room had dissipated. The red dates, peanuts, longan, and lotus seeds on the bed had also been removed.

Chang Le went around the folding screen and saw Yu Qingze leaning against the headboard, flipping through a small booklet.

Chang Le: …!! Look at the cover, isn’t that the booklet given by Matchmaker Liao!

He immediately rushed over and snatched the small booklet from Yu Qingze’s hand, hiding it behind his back, blushing and unable to look at anyone.

Yu Qingze was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled lightly and said, “…Brother Le, do you also want to take a look? Shall we appreciate it together?”

Chang Le shook his head blankly. “‘Also’? It seems like Brother Yu’s reaction is a bit strange.”

“Don’t be shy. This is something very beautiful and normal between married couples.” Yu Qingze got off the bed, pulled Chang Le over, had him sit on the bed, and then embraced him. He took the small booklet from Chang Le’s hand and held it from behind. He rested his head on Chang Le’s shoulder and whispered in his ear, “We’ve already done some things together, haven’t we? Later, we’ll complete what we haven’t done yet.”

With that, Yu Qingze opened the small booklet, wanting Chang Le to familiarize himself with it first to avoid feeling nervous later.

The booklet was right in front of him, and Chang Le couldn’t hide from it, so he took a quick glance.

Huh, why is the first page different from what he had seen before?

He flipped back a couple of pages, then returned to the cover and breathed a sigh of relief.

Chang Le: I thought it was the one I had hidden. The cover is the same, but the content inside is different. It’s not the same booklet. Thankfully, thankfully!

He subtly glanced at the pillow that was hiding his own booklet. The pillow had been slightly askew from Yu Qingze leaning on it earlier, but fortunately, it hadn’t been exposed.

“My dear, are you reading it so quickly? Are you eager to see more pages and learn different positions?” Yu Qingze teased as he watched Chang Le flipping through the pages rapidly.

As Chang Le heard his words, his face instantly turned crimson, and he angrily slapped his hand.

“It’s okay, we’ll try them one by one soon,” Yu Qingze suppressed his laughter and lowered his voice as he maneuvered his hand through Chang Le’s back and knees, lifting him onto the bed.

He reached up and removed the hairpin from Chang Le’s hair, and as the dark locks cascaded down, Yu Qingze kissed Chang Le’s lips.

They had engaged in kissing and other intimate activities many times before, so they were already familiar with each other’s bodies to some extent. With the busy period they had gone through, it had been a while since they were this intimate, and they quickly fell into the rhythm.

After their passionate reunion, Yu Qingze reached out his left hand towards the pillow, intending to retrieve the ointment he had prepared. However, unexpectedly, his hand touched something beneath the pillow and pulled out another booklet.

He glanced at it sideways, then opened it briefly. He leaned in close to Chang Le’s ear and said playfully, “So my dear also has such a precious collection. We must thoroughly study it another day.”

Chang Le turned his head to take a quick look, blushing, and hastily snatched the booklet, throwing it away. Then, he pulled a corner of the blanket and covered his face.

Yu Qingze chuckled lightly, and with the ointment in hand, he lifted the corner of the blanket while showering his dear with kisses, whispering some embarrassing words to soothe his beloved in his embrace…

The red curtain slowly descended, and a faint fragrance filled the air inside the canopy. Their silhouettes intertwined, and it became a night of blissful love.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: OK, I was a little confused by the title “Studying together” coz this is the wedding chapter but turned out they were reading porn together sheesh hahahahah

Getting Married

The house built by Yu Qingze was grand, and he had chosen top-quality materials, attracting many villagers to gather and watch during the construction process.

Now that it was completed, it looked even more impressive.

The entire house was made of blue bricks and large roof tiles. In addition to the main house, there were two wing rooms on both sides, as well as some small side rooms. There was a surrounding wall enclosing the entire property, including the pigsty, firewood shed, and storage room in the backyard, all made of blue bricks and tiles.

Entering through the front gate, there were corridors on both sides, directly connected to the east and west wing rooms. Even in the rain, one could walk through the corridors and reach the main house through the east and west wing rooms.

On both sides of the east and west wing rooms, there were small side rooms. Yu Qingze divided the small side rooms into two sections, connecting one of them to a bedroom. He turned it into a front washroom with a rear toilet.

He put a lot of effort into designing the toilet, making it a semi-modern squat toilet. It had a sloping pathway made of several long, smooth stone troughs that led directly to the septic tank outside the house. Because the pathway was long, the smell from the septic tank wouldn’t enter the house, which was very convenient.

There were three such toilets, one in each of the east and west wing rooms, and one in the main house. This way, it wouldn’t be so difficult to go to the toilet during the cold winter nights.

In the middle was a spacious courtyard with two small flower beds. The rest of the space was left empty for drying things. The main house had a spacious hall in the middle, with the kitchen on the left and two bedrooms on the right. A water well was dug at the entrance of the kitchen, eliminating the need to fetch water from outside, making things very convenient.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Behind the main house, there are storage rooms, a woodshed, and pigsties.

The villagers eagerly went inside to explore, looking here and there, filled with curiosity.

No wonder it’s Boss Yu, even the house is different from others. Look at this house, it’s more spacious and better than Master Yu Xiucai’s. It’s the first of its kind in Niutou Village.

Old Man Cai and Old Man Zhao heard that Yu Qingze’s house was completed, so they found time to come together and visit.

Yu Qingze was extremely happy. Both families have deep blessings, so their visit couldn’t be better. According to tradition, if fortunate and noble people are invited to visit the new home before moving in, it brings blessings and good luck to the new house.

The two families looked at the new house one by one and nodded in approval. They all thought it was great, especially the toilet, which left a deep impression. They thought it was very convenient and wanted to have one in their own homes.

After the new house was completed, Yu Qingze and his family spent a whole day cleaning every corner and opened the windows for ventilation. Then they temporarily locked the door.

They still needed to invite someone to choose an auspicious date for moving in and also consider a lucky date for the marriage.

On the eighth day of the third month, Yu Qingze went to find Matchmaker Liao to discuss the marriage matters and asked him to find someone to choose an auspicious date.

The person they found to choose an auspicious date was an elderly man. He visited the new house and examined the birth charts of the couple. After calculating for a while, he finally said, “This month, there are two good days for moving in and getting married. The tenth day is suitable for moving in, and the twenty-eighth is suitable for marriage and moving in.”

“Moving in on the tenth is possible, but would it be too rushed for the wedding?” Grandpa Chang asked the elderly man which day next month would be suitable for the wedding.

The elderly man replied, “There are no suitable days in April for the two of them to get married. It will have to be in May, and May sixteenth is also a good day.”

Yu Qingze couldn’t wait to get married immediately. Upon hearing this, he asked Matchmaker Liao, “Uncle, do you think the twenty-eighth is possible? What preparations do we need?”

Matchmaker Liao answered, “It’s a bit rushed, but it’s still manageable. It’s possible to make it on time. However, have you prepared your wedding attire?”

“Can’t we buy wedding attire?” Yu Qingze asked.

Brother Le listened on the side and gestured, “I’ve prepared mine.”

Yu Qingze looked at Brother Le in astonishment, “Brother Le, you’ve prepared the wedding attire? When did you do it? I didn’t see you doing it.”

Brother Le blushed slightly and gestured, “I started preparing before the new year. Brother Chang and his mother also helped. It was completed a couple of days ago.”

Yu Qingze asked, “Did you make mine too?”

Brother Le nodded with a red face.

It seems that Brother Le and I had the same idea, both eager to get married soon. Yu Qingze felt delighted and smiled. He then said to Matchmaker Liao, “The wedding attire is ready.”

Matchmaker Liao asked, “What about the wedding quilt?”

“We can buy that,” Yu Qingze replied. Making it ourselves would be too tiring for Brother Le.

Upon hearing this, Matchmaker Liao said, “That works too. Well then, Uncle, if you agree with the twenty-eighth, you need to start preparing quickly.”

Grandpa Chang looked at the two couples and, seeing that they both wanted the twenty-eighth, nodded and said, “Let’s go with the twenty-eighth then.”

Yu Qingze asked the elderly person who chose the auspicious date, “Sir, can I move in and get married on the same day?”

The elderly person replied, “You can, if you don’t mind the hassle on that day.”

Yu Qingze said, “I don’t have time to organize a separate housewarming banquet. Let’s combine the housewarming and the wedding together. Grandfather, Brother Le, what do you think?”

Both of them had no objections.

So, they decided to move in and get married together on the twenty-eighth.

They discussed some precautions for moving in and other matters regarding the wedding. In the afternoon, Yu Qingze, led by Matchmaker Liao, went to the city to purchase the betrothal gifts.

They were busy buying the betrothal gifts for two days. Just after Yu Qingze finished purchasing the gifts, the next day, Grandpa Chang asked Matchmaker Liao to go and prepare the dowry. Matchmaker Liao was busy running around as well.

After both sides had finished their purchases, Matchmaker Liao went through the subsequent procedures as per Yu Qingze’s request.

Two days later, the village chief had the furniture prepared and applied varnish according to Yu Qingze’s requirements.

A few men moved the large pieces of furniture into the new house and placed them casually. They would arrange them properly on the auspicious day of moving in.

The preparations for moving in and the wedding were progressing smoothly.

Meanwhile, in this month, two major events also took place in Dasheng Village.

First, on the ninth day of the third month, the Chunwei examination was held.

(T/N: Chunwei examination was an imperial examination held during the Tang Dynasty in ancient China. It was a significant examination that took place in the spring and was open to talented scholars seeking official positions in the government. The successful candidates would be eligible for appointment to various bureaucratic positions within the imperial court.)

Second, in early March, a particularly massive corruption and bribery case was uncovered in the court. The emperor was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. Two high-ranking officials involved in the case were thrown into the imperial prison, while the other implicated officials were all thrown into the prison of the Ministry of Justice, awaiting punishment according to the law.

With the investigation of this corruption and bribery case, a nine-year-old wrongful conviction case also came to light.

On the twenty-fourth day of the third month, the county magistrate, the magistrate’s assistant, and the historian of Tongshan City were arrested for their involvement in the case. County Magistrate Zhao Jin temporarily took charge of the administration.

The court was in turmoil, sparking a massive anti-corruption wave. People in the court were in a state of panic, while the common people below praised one another, believing that these parasites of the nation should be rooted out and cleansed!

On the day when the county magistrate and others were arrested, many common people gathered on the streets, throwing rotten eggs, vegetable leaves, and dishwater at these corrupt officials.

Yu Qingze also witnessed this spectacular street parade in front of a snack shop, feeling a sense of relief in his heart.

The news spread throughout the city for several days before gradually calming down.

But Yu Qingze didn’t have time to listen to gossip anymore. The twenty-eighth was approaching, the day of his wedding!

On the twenty-eighth day of the third month, the entire staff of the snack shop took a day off and hung a sign saying, “Closed for one day due to the owner’s joy.”

Niutou Village.

Today, the whole village knew that Yu Qingze was going to marry Brother Le, and it was their auspicious day for moving into the new house.

Outside Yu Qingze’s new house, red lanterns were hung, and red “Xi” characters were pasted. Apart from the beds and cabinets in each room not being properly arranged, everything else was decorated according to the wedding requirements.

Early in the morning, Yu Qingze, accompanied by his family, followed the instructions of the elderly person who determined the auspicious day for moving in and completed all the necessary tasks. Then he freshened up before changing into the wedding attire and opening the door to welcome the guests who came to witness the ceremony.

Afterward, an elderly couple from the village, who had four generations living together, arrived to help Yu Qingze make the bed in his bridal chamber.

They skillfully arranged the wedding bed with red canopy curtains, embroidered mandarin ducks playing in water on the bedding, and matching pillowcases and sheets. They sprinkled peanuts, red dates, longans, and lotus seeds on the bed and playfully placed a small baby on it before picking him up again. They also set up the red candlestick and prepared the wedding wine, then closed the door and left.

Old Master Cai and his wife, accompanied by Cai Yunwei, and Old Man Zhao with his two children, came to witness the ceremony. Boss Liu also came with his spouse. Yu Qingze invited them to the hall and asked the village chief and other elders to keep them company before going out to greet other guests.

The villagers immediately felt that the level of the wedding had greatly improved upon seeing them.

On this day, Jiabao was also dressed in festive attire. He was busy welcoming guests at the entrance and in the courtyard together with the villagers who came to help.

On the other side, not far away, Brother Le’s house was also adorned with colorful decorations. The villagers with the surname Chang gathered there as Brother Le’s family.

Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao were busy welcoming the villagers, their smiles never fading since the morning. Chang Sheng, after the incident of the last feast, had indeed become more open-minded. Today, for Brother Le’s wedding, he also came to help with the bridal procession.

In Brother Le’s room, Brother Chang, his mother, and Wen Li were busy doing his makeup and dressing him up.

Brother Le’s long bangs had just been trimmed a few days ago and now fell neatly, making him look his best.

Wen Li, as his only elder ger figure, was combing his hair for him.

As for Brother Chang’s mother, after Brother Le’s mother passed away, he became the best elder ger to him, taking care of his wedding attire.

After his hair was styled, Brother Chang also applied makeup for Brother Le.

His eyebrows resembled distant black ink, his eyes shone like stars, his nose was delicate and exquisite, and his teeth were white with rosy lips.

“You look so handsome! Boss Yu will definitely be captivated by you!” Brother Chang admired Brother Le’s appearance.

Blushing, Brother Le smiled sheepishly at the compliment. This was his first time wearing makeup, and he couldn’t recognize himself in the mirror.

With her hands on Brother Le’s shoulders, Wen Li looked at him in the bronze mirror and said, “Brother Le, your uncle did a lot of inappropriate things in the past that hurt your heart. I’m sorry.”

Brother Le was taken aback, he pursed his lips and gently shook his head, indicating that the past was already behind them.

Wiping his eyes, Wen Li continued, “Originally, I should have talked to you about what happens after marriage, but you handle things better than I do, and you are more reliable. I won’t say anything. Uncle wishes you and Aze a long and happy life together, growing old together.”

Brother Le smiled and nodded, gently patting Wen Li’s hand to express his gratitude.

Just then, the sound of drums and gongs came from outside. Matchmaker Liao opened the door and said, “The groom is here to welcome the bride. Hurry up and cover his head.”

Wen Li then placed the red veil over Brother Le’s head.

Although Yu Qingze’s new house was only about thirty steps away from Brother Le’s house, Yu Qingze deliberately rented a bridal sedan chair, carried by eight people.

After welcoming Brother Le, they used the sedan chair to bring him back to the new house in a grand manner.

The villagers looked on with sighs and admiration.

Who could have predicted that Brother Le would have such a splendid wedding and marry such an outstanding and capable man?

“The auspicious moment has arrived! The couple should perform the ceremony!”

The couple, holding the red embroidered ball, walked slowly into the hall.

Yu Qingze felt delighted and couldn’t help glancing at Brother Le from time to time.

From today onwards, Brother Le would be his spouse.

He had entered into a marriage!

Brother Le felt both happy and nervous. His palms were sweaty, and he kept his gaze fixed on the ground, afraid of stumbling and embarrassing himself.

Feeling Yu Qingze stop beside him, Brother Le also stopped and let out a breath. They had finally arrived.

“First bow to heaven and earth!”

The two of them turned around and knelt down for a bow.

“Second bow to the parents!”

They turned around again and knelt before Grandfather Chang, who was seated in the center of the hall.

“The exchange of bows between spouses!”

They turned to face each other and slowly performed the bow.

“The ceremony is complete! Escort them to the bridal chamber!”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

In the end, Grandpa Chang was persuaded by the three younger ones.

In fact, Yu Qingze also leaned towards the courtyard-style design. With this design, the main house and the east and west side rooms were separated by a certain distance. They could have Grandpa Chang stay in the main house, he and Brother Le in the east side room, and the two young boys in the west side room. This way, they wouldn’t have to worry about being overheard when they did something at night.

Yu Qingze didn’t have high expectations for the soundproofing measures of ancient houses, so the courtyard-style design clearly aligned more with his expectations.

In the end, Grandpa Chang was persuaded, so they decided to build the courtyard-style house.

Once the style was determined, Yu Qingze redrew the designs and carefully marked how each part should be constructed. Then he went to find the village chief.

He had the blueprints ready, but he didn’t know the specifics of how to implement them. He had never built a house before and didn’t know what needed to be done, so he had to seek the help of the village chief.

In the village, when people built houses, they would ask the villagers for help. The village chief knew more about these matters than Yu Qingze. Moreover, they would need to seek assistance and consult with knowledgeable people when it came to hiring workers and purchasing materials.

“Wow, you’re planning to build something this big?” The village chief was taken aback when he looked at the blueprints that Yu Qingze brought.

“Yes,” Yu Qingze nodded and proceeded to explain the functions of each room in the blueprints to the village chief.

The village chief scratched his head and pondered for a while.

Dajian and Dayong also looked at the blueprints, and their eyes lit up.

“Dad, this house design is great. We can also build something like this. Look, Big Brother can live on this side, we can live on this side, and if Little Brother gets married in the future and is willing, he can live here too. It won’t interfere with each other, and we can take care of one another. It’s perfect,” Dayong said excitedly.

Dajian also nodded, “Right, the new house can accommodate two households, and we can still live in our current house. It’s enough.”

The village chief gave them a stern look and said, “Of course, I know it’s good, but have you thought about how much money it will cost to build such a courtyard? Do we have that much money?”

Upon hearing this, Dajian and Dayong fell silent. Yeah, they needed to have enough money!

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “My situation is different from yours. When Xiao Hao and Jiabao grow up and start their own families, they probably won’t live with us anymore. I will build another house for them.”

Even the closest brothers could inevitably have conflicts after starting their own families, so it was best to live separately. Moreover, by that time, he was confident that he could build them a good house.

“Aze, are you planning to build a house with blue bricks and tiles?” the village chief asked.

Yu Qingze nodded, “Yes.”

“Regarding the materials, you can go and ask Scholar Yu. He knows the prices of the materials they bought when they built their houses,” the village chief suggested.

“Alright, I’ll make a note of that. And if I want to finish the construction within a month, how many workers should I hire for help?” Yu Qingze asked.

“So urgent?” the village chief asked in surprise.

Yu Qingze nodded and smiled, “Once the house is built, I will marry Brother Le.”

Understanding his intentions, the village chief and the others laughed.

The village chief said, “In that case, you’ll need to hire at least fifteen to twenty workers and a couple of helpers to cook. When building houses in the village, it’s common to have someone in charge of meals. The daily wage for the workers is usually sixty wen, while the cooks would receive around forty to fifty wen. You can figure out the expenses yourself.”

“Which workers in the village would be more suitable for this?” Yu Qingze inquired.

The village chief then recommended about twenty people to him, but he warned that some of them might be busy with their farming duties in the second lunar month.

Yu Qingze noted down the names and said, “By the way, Village Chief, I also need your help to make some furniture, like cabinets, wooden beds, and tables. I’ve written down the designs in this notebook. There are two designs for the cabinets and wooden beds. They need to be painted as well. We can start making them now, or else I’m afraid we won’t finish in time.”

“Oh, let me take a look.” The village chief took Yu Qingze’s notebook and flipped through the pages.

…

After discussing with the village chief, Yu Qingze went to see Scholar Yu and inquired about where they used to buy blue bricks and tiles, as well as their prices.

Afterward, Yu Qingze visited the place Scholar Yu recommended for buying blue bricks and tiles. He also went to the master who had previously built their stove to ask for recommendations and visited two familiar shops, comparing prices. Finally, he chose two that seemed more suitable.

From the Lantern Festival onwards, for the next half month, Yu Qingze would visit the shops only once every other day. He was busy with the preliminary preparations for building the house, consulting with people, hiring workers, examining materials, negotiating prices—his days were filled with constant busyness. Fortunately, by the end of the first lunar month, everything was ready.

After the first day of the lunar month, the construction of the house could begin.

There was a skilled worker in the village who was known for his expertise in house construction. Yu Qingze hired him as the foreman, and they had already discussed and assigned the tasks beforehand.

On the first day of the second lunar month, the foreman gathered all the workers and reiterated the requirements and job assignments. Everyone started working.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

With the commencement of construction, Yu Qingze had to supervise the progress every day. He was busy coordinating the work and managing the materials, leaving him with little time to visit the shop. He could only go occasionally and rely on Jiabao’s updates in the evenings. Fortunately, everything was going well at the shop. He heard that the newly opened restaurant next door was doing quite well.

While Yu Qingze was occupied with the house construction, Brother Le had an additional task every evening apart from managing the shop.

Making wedding attire!

In fact, he had been secretly working on it before the Lunar New Year, but he didn’t dare let others know.

Brother Chang and his mother were also helping him with embroidery.

The wedding attire for a rural groom was not as grand and luxurious as those in wealthy households, but it still required a lot of effort. After all, this bridal attire was not like ordinary clothes—it would be worn only once in a lifetime and needed careful preparation.

“Brother Le, what about you? Why didn’t you tell us before the New Year? Now you’re in such a rush. Can you finish it in time?” Brother Chang said.

Brother Le’s mother added, “It’s okay. Let’s work a bit harder. We should be able to finish in time. But Brother Le, how about Yu Qingze’s wedding attire?”

Brother Le gestured that he had already completed it.

Brother Chang was surprised, “You made it for him? So fast?”

Brother Le nodded gently and gestured, “The groom’s wedding attire is not as complicated. It can be made quickly.”

He had secretly worked on it during the New Year holiday when everyone else was asleep.

Brother Chang covered his mouth and chuckled, saying, “I’ve never seen a bride-to-be making wedding attire for his fiancé before.”

Brother Le blushed and reached out to hit him. Brother Chang teased him again.

Brother Chang’s mother also laughed and said, “Well, this is a special case. Yu Qingze doesn’t have anyone else in his family to prepare it for him. Maybe he hasn’t even thought about it yet.”

Brother Le nodded. Indeed, he had never heard Yu Qingze mention this matter.

In fact, Yu Qingze had thought about it, but he had oversimplified it. He thought he could just go to a ready-made clothing store and buy a suitable set. After all, they had readymade options there.

Both of them were busy with their respective tasks, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed. Finally, on the fifth day of the third lunar month, the house was completed!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: I feel like this chapter was really rushed 🤔

The House is Built

Yu Qingze and Chang Le sat for a while before they went to freshen up and prepare breakfast.

As the day grew brighter, households everywhere started lighting firecrackers to welcome the new spring. Yu Qingze also ignited firecrackers at the entrance of the courtyard to greet the new year.

As the firecrackers crackled, Chang Hao and Jiabao woke up and hurriedly ran to the door to watch. Chang Hao regretted waking up just a little late and missing the chance to light the firecrackers.

After they finished watching the firecrackers, Chang Le handed Jiabao the new cotton shoes they had just finished making last night and told him to put them on.

“Thank you, Brother Chang Le,” Jiabao’s nose turned slightly red as he held the shoes and looked at them for a while, reluctant to wear them.

Chang Le patted his shoulder, gesturing that there was no need to thank him.

“Brother Jiabao, hurry up and put them on,” Chang Hao urged him.

“Okay.” Jiabao put on the shoes, and after wearing them, he carefully admired them from all angles, a happy smile spreading across his face.

Before breakfast, the four younger generations took turns paying New Year’s respects to Grandpa Chang.

Grandpa Chang sat in his chair, very happy, and then generously gave each of them a couple of silvers as New Year’s money.

Chang Hao held the silvers and smirked. In previous years, Grandpa only gave them a token amount of two wen as New Year’s money. This year, it’s a lot more! Two silvers!

However, he just enjoyed the feeling for a moment. After breakfast, he handed the silvers to his older brother to keep. They were going out to pay New Year’s visits later, and he didn’t want to lose them. Otherwise, he would be heartbroken.

When the time was right, Chang Le placed the melon seeds, peanuts, and other snacks that were served to guests on the table, along with raisins and the like. They were waiting for someone to come and pay respects to Grandpa Chang so they could entertain them. Then he and Yu Qingze went out to pay New Year’s visits with the others.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, they didn’t visit relatives. Instead, they visited each other in the village to pay New Year’s respects. They would start visiting relatives on the second day.

Chang Le and the others first paid respects to the head of the Chang family and Chang family elders, and then they joined other members of the Chang family to visit the elders in the village and other villagers one by one.

The descendants of the Yu family were doing something similar.

In the morning, the whole village was bustling with New Year’s visits. Smiling faces and the scene of bowing and paying respects could be seen everywhere. The children were happily eating and holding various snacks given to them by the adults. Their pockets were full.

When they finished the rounds of visits and returned home, the house was lively. Many people were sunbathing and chatting at the door, mostly waiting for Yu Qingze to return so they could pay their respects to him.

Yu Qingze chatted with the adults while Chang Le was busy greeting guests. Chang Hao and Jiabao were playing with the other children in the yard. The younger boys enjoyed kicking shuttlecocks, while the little gers liked squatting and playing with fighting cocks or throwing stones.

It was very lively.

It wasn’t until close to noon that the villagers gradually went back home.

Since they had moved here and didn’t have relatives living nearby, Chang Le’s family didn’t have to visit relatives during the Lunar New Year.

During these few days of rest, Chang Le and Yu Qingze, along with the others, completed all the work that needed to be done in the fields. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have time to do it once the snack shop opened.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

In the evening, after studying together for an hour, Chang Le started making clothes for the spring, and Yu Qingze continued to work on the unfinished toothbrushes. The two boys also helped him.

Through their experiments, they made a total of four different styles.

One style involved threading pig bristles through two holes and securing them with hemp rope or thin wire. The second style involved folding the pig bristles in half and pulling them through a hole, then securing them with wire at the bent part on the back. The third style involved creating a small wooden groove and embedding the back of the toothbrush into it, similar to a drawer, so that the bristles would naturally stay in place. The fourth style involved making the toothbrush hole narrow at the top and wide inside, resembling a gourd shape, and then folding the pig bristles and inserting them, with a small bamboo piece wedged in the middle to hold them in place.

Each style had its advantages and disadvantages, but at least they could be used for a while. They made several brushes, ensuring that each person had one, and the remaining brushes could be kept as replacements. Then they made two larger brushes specifically for washing clothes.

Afterward, the village chief came to find Yu Qingze and saw the toothbrushes and larger brushes. They discussed the idea of making and selling them.

Yu Qingze had no objections if the village chief could make them. Making money was always a good thing, so he explained the process to the village chief.

On the fifth and sixth days of the Lunar New Year, Yu Qingze took the two boys to pay New Year’s respects at the Cai family and Zhao family. When they went to the Cai family, they learned that Master Cai (Governor) and his family had also returned for the New Year but had gone back to Yunzhou on the third day.

Then, on the eighth day, the snack shop opened for the New Year. Yu Qingze gave everyone red envelopes and motivated them. The enthusiasm of the people was high, and they worked energetically.

On the opening day, many old customers came to visit. They were used to eating dim sum from here, and during the New Year, breakfast at home just didn’t taste the same; it felt bland. Now that the snack shop was open, they naturally couldn’t wait to come.

After the smooth opening of the snack shop, Yu Qingze began to consider building the house.

Because of the custom of “no construction during the first month of the Lunar New Year,” building a house had to wait until after the first month. However, this period of time could be used to prepare for the initial work.

He fenced off an additional two acres of land next to the plot he had originally chosen for the house, and then he went to Li Zheng with the village chief to pay for the two acres of land and complete the necessary procedures.

Coming back and looking at the large empty land, Yu Qingze started thinking about the style of the house.

Originally, he planned to build a four-bedroom, one-living-room house, but now he changed his mind. With the addition of Jiabao to the family, the house needed to be a bit larger. He also wanted to have a study and a storage room.

He made a good amount of money from selling cured meat before the New Year, and he could sell it for another half a month. With that, he would have enough money to build a bigger house.

In his mind, Yu Qingze drew several sketches of house designs. Some were based on the typical style of local residences, while others were new styles created by Yu Qingze combining modern architecture. There were also courtyard-style designs. He planned to discuss with Brother Le and see which style they liked.

On the evening of the eleventh day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Qingze specifically called Brother Le back home. After dinner, Yu Qingze took out the house designs and explained them to everyone, then asked them to choose their favorite design.

As everyone looked through the designs, the three younger ones chose the courtyard-style design, while Grandpa Chang chose a design where all the rooms were under one roof, probably because it felt more like a family.

Then the three younger ones started persuading Grandpa Chang, saying how nice the courtyard-style yard looked and how it wouldn’t feel so crowded to live in, and so on.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: Does this mean the wedding date is soon? woooooo!!!!

Chang Sheng hesitated for a moment, lowered his gaze, then raised his head with a silly smile and said, “I… I won’t go. You go back and eat quickly. It’s cold outside, and the food will get cold soon.”

Chang Le looked at his second uncle for a long time, and then gestured a long message.

Chang Hao said, “My brother says that what happened back then was an accident, and it’s not your fault. Father and mother have never blamed you either. My brother also said that our family is doing well now, and he is doing well too. Brother Yu treats him well, and he will get married next year. It’s time for you to let go of the past and live a good life.”

Upon hearing this, Chang Sheng’s nose tingled, and he quickly turned his head, wiping his eyes with his hand, and whispered, “If only I had taken better care of you, all of this wouldn’t have happened… Sigh, let’s not talk about this. You should go back and eat, don’t worry about me, go back quickly.”

Chang Le frowned, stepped forward, took the bowl and chopsticks from his second uncle’s hand, and placed them in the kitchen. Then he grabbed his second uncle’s wrist and started walking.

“Hey, Xiao Le, wait, wait…” Chang Sheng was a bit flustered, but he couldn’t resist the strength of Brother Le, who was dragging him along.

At the door, they ran into Wen Li, and Chang Sheng asked Wen Li to help stop Brother Le.

Wen Li sneered at him and said, “If you have the ability, stop him yourself. Every year it’s the same, we invite you but you never come. You’re already old, yet you insist on having Brother Le and the others come and invite you!” With that, he turned his head and walked away. It wasn’t until they had walked quite a distance that Chang Sheng finally sniffed hard, blinked his eyes, and held back the sour feeling.

So, Chang Sheng was forcibly dragged to the Chang’s courtyard by Brother Le.

“Oh, Chang Sheng is here! Come, come, sit here. Aze has cooked some delicious dishes. We must have a good drink.” When the men at the table saw Chang Sheng, they called out to him.

Brother Le pulled Chang Sheng directly to that table and gave him a bowl and chopsticks. With these men around, his second uncle couldn’t leave.

Grandpa Chang and Yu Qingze were also sitting at that table. When Chang Sheng sat down, Yu Qingze poured him a drink and raised his glass first, saying, “Second Uncle, we’ve been looking forward to your arrival. It’s almost New Year, so let’s have a good drink. Cheers, and Happy New Year!”

Chang Sheng was still a bit reserved, but seeing Yu Qingze toasting as soon as they sat down, he instinctively picked up his glass and replied, “Happy New Year! Happy New Year!”

…

They had a lively meal of the pig-killing feast, and everyone praised Yu Qingze’s cooking skills. Finally, they understood why his shop was so popular.

His skills were extraordinary!

After breakfast, the men who helped with the pig slaughter stayed behind to cut the remaining pork, while others went back home.

They kept the meat they would need during the New Year and turned the surplus into cured meat. Some of it was stuffed into jars to be cured. It took them a whole morning to process the entire pig.

The next day was New Year’s Eve.

They woke up early that day. The whole family was wearing new clothes made by Brother Le and looked especially spirited.

After breakfast, Grandpa Chang and Brother Le were busy killing chickens and ducks, while Yu Qingze and two young boys posted couplets, hung lanterns, and put up New Year paintings.

After finishing the decorations, everyone started preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner together. It was a bustling scene.

The New Year’s Eve dinner here usually starts in the afternoon and continues until evening. They would then have another meal of dumplings a little later in the evening.

The New Year’s Eve dinner was prepared extravagantly, with chicken, duck, and fish on the menu. Yu Qingze also bought some lamb and made braised lamb. He also stewed pig’s trotters with sweet potato vermicelli, which was delicious.

“Come, come, the final dish, ‘Year after Year with ‘Yu’!’ Xiao Hao, you can set off the firecrackers!” Yu Qingze placed the last dish of braised fish on the table and called out to Chang Hao, who was in the yard.

“Oh, great!” Chang Hao had been waiting to set off firecrackers. When he heard Yu Qingze’s voice, he lit the fuse of the firecrackers with the incense in his hand.

Crackling sounds filled the air—crackling sounds filled the air—

It’s New Year!

After paying respects to their ancestors, the five of them sat around a table and could finally start their meal.

This was Yu Qingze’s first New Year’s Eve dinner since he came here, and it was the happiest New Year’s Eve dinner he had in the twelve years since his grandfather passed away.

Because he could finally celebrate the New Year with his family again.

He was filled with joy and excitement, but unfortunately, Grandpa Chang was drinking Chinese medicine and couldn’t have alcohol. Brother Le accompanied him and had a few drinks instead.

The two young boys couldn’t drink, so Yu Qingze bought fresh apples and oranges and made juice for them. The two boys were delighted with the drinks.

They spent a whole hour enjoying the meal. After finishing, Brother Le just collapsed and fell asleep.

Yu Qingze helped him to his room and let him rest. He himself took a short nap and then woke up to make dumplings.

In the evening, the family had another meal of dumplings. They sat around the charcoal brazier, eating melon seeds, peanuts, and red dates, chatting and staying up late together. The atmosphere was joyful.

Brother Le listened to their conversation while making shoes. These were cotton shoes he was making for Jiabao. There was one shoe left without the upper part, and he wanted to finish it tonight so that Jiabao could wear the new shoes tomorrow.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

They chatted for a while, and Yu Qingze remembered the pig bristles he deliberately kept from yesterday’s pig slaughtering. He went to find a piece of wood and picked up the small knife he borrowed from the village chief’s house to start shaving.

“Big brother, what are you doing?” Jiabao asked.

“I’m trying to make a toothbrush,” Yu Qingze said as he shaved. He remembered reading online that ancient people used pig bristles to make toothbrushes. They would make small holes in the wood and insert the pig bristles into them.

Upon hearing this, Chang Hao curiously asked, “Toothbrush? For brushing teeth?”

Yu Qingze nodded and said, “Using willow branches is not very convenient for us, especially in winter when the willow branches are dried up. If I can make it, it will be more convenient for us to brush our teeth.”

“Oh, what does it look like?”

“It’s probably like this. I’ll thin down this piece of wood a bit, then carve a row of small holes inside and secure the pig bristles in them…”

“But how do you secure them?”

“Well, I have to think about that. Maybe you can think about it too?”

“Oh, then let’s think. Can we tie it with a rope?”

“If the rope gets wet, it might break, right? How about using wire?”

“Like a shuttlecock, if we fill it up with bristles, they won’t fall out, right?”

“…”

The two young boys started discussing back and forth.

They stayed up until late at night, but Grandpa Chang couldn’t stay awake any longer and went to sleep. The two boys were also dozing off.

Yu Qingze told the two boys to go to sleep and stayed up for the New Year’s Eve with Brother Le.

“Brother Le, if you’re sleepy, you can go to sleep. I can stay awake.”

Brother Le shook his head and gestured with the shoes in his hand, indicating that he wouldn’t feel sleepy as long as he had work to do.

So, one was making shoes while the other was making a toothbrush. They would steal glances at each other from time to time, and before they knew it, the sky was already getting bright.

When they saw the first light of dawn on the horizon, they smiled at each other.

The new year had arrived.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

It’s New Year’s!

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, the winter sun was warm and gentle.

Brother Le took all the bedding and sheets from the entire family to be washed, while the four men took charge of cleaning the house.

Lately, their cured meats were selling well, and even Grandpa Chang and Chang Hao were helping out at the snack shop. So on that day, the snack shop didn’t close for the holiday. They only finished work half an hour earlier, which meant the house hadn’t been cleaned yet.

Wearing straw hats and holding clean brooms tied to long bamboo poles, they began sweeping the house.

The two young boys didn’t have much strength, and their hands quickly grew tired from holding the bamboo poles. So, Yu Qingze instructed them to sweep the floor and wipe the tables and cabinets.

The four men thoroughly cleaned every nook and cranny of the house, moving cabinets and beds to sweep underneath.

“Hey, Xiao Hao, look, I found a copper hairpin here.” Jiabao discovered a hairpin covered in mud while sweeping under Chang Le’s bed. It had been buried in the ground for quite some time. He picked it up and showed it to Chang Hao.

“Where? Let me see.” Chang Hao walked over and carefully examined the hairpin. “I’ve never seen it before. It doesn’t seem to belong to my brother. I’ll ask Grandpa.”

“Grandpa, we found a hairpin.” Chang Hao went to the main room, holding the copper hairpin, and asked Grandpa Chang. He added, “It doesn’t seem to belong to my brother.”

“What hairpin?” Grandpa Chang stopped what he was doing, turned his head to take a look, paused for a moment, then reached out and gently wiped off the dust on it. He said, “This belongs to your mother.”

Chang Hao widened his eyes in surprise and exclaimed, “It belonged to my mother?”

When Chang Hao’s mother passed away, he was only two years old, so he has no memories of his mother. The only thing he remembers is the annual worship during holidays. From the time he had memories, he only had his older brother and grandfather.

“Hmm.” Grandfather Chang looked at the hairpin for a while and then said, “When you were young, you were playing with it and accidentally lost it. Your brother searched for it for a long time but couldn’t find it. Where did you find it?”

Chang Hao replied, “Brother Jiabao found it between the bedpost and the corner of the wall. We moved the bed, and it was buried in the soil.”

Grandfather Chang nodded and handed him the hairpin, saying, “Take it and clean it. Give it to your brother when he comes back.”

“Okay.” Chang Hao took the hairpin and went to the kitchen to wash it.

When Brother Le came back and saw the hairpin in his younger brother’s hand, he excitedly snatched it away, caressed it repeatedly, smiled silently, but his eyes were moist.

Seeing his brother so emotional, Chang Hao said, “Brother, Grandpa said this is mother’s hairpin, right?”

Brother Le nodded.

“I lost it when I was little?”

Brother Le continued nodding.

“I’m sorry, brother.” Seeing his brother’s expression, Chang Hao knew that his brother cherished this hairpin a lot. Although he didn’t have much impression of their mother, he knew that his brother had a deep emotional connection with him.

Upon hearing this, Brother Le shook his head, touched his younger brother’s head, indicating that it was alright.

Brother Le put the hairpin in the room and carefully stored it.

Unexpectedly finding a long-lost item, especially their mother’s belonging, made Brother Le very happy.

The next day, on the twenty-ninth day of the lunar year, Brother Le’s family was going to slaughter the New Year’s pig.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

Early in the morning, before the sun rose, the whole family woke up. Chang Hao, Jiabao, and the rest of the family joined in to watch the lively scene.

The skilled men from the village who were good at slaughtering pigs and a few helpers had arrived. Wen Li and Brother Chang’s family also came over. It was a custom in the village to invite relatives and close friends to help during the pig slaughtering and have a meal together. Yesterday, when Brother Chang’s family slaughtered the pig, Brother Le’s family also went over for lunch.

The boys were in the kitchen boiling water and steaming rice. They prepared three big pots of boiling water.

The men brought two large long benches and placed them in the yard. Then, they went into the pigsty. The man responsible for slaughtering the pig hooked its neck with an iron hook and dragged it out.

The fat and sturdy pig screamed, waking up the people from nearby houses. Upon hearing the noise, they realized it was pig slaughtering and went back to sleep peacefully, as they had been hearing it frequently lately.

Some people helped drag the pig from the front, while others chased from behind. It took some effort, but they managed to get the pig out of the pigsty and into the yard. They then lifted the pig onto the bench, placing it on its side. Several men held down the pig’s limbs and body firmly, preventing it from moving.

Chang Hao, Jiabao, and the children from Brother Chang’s and Wen Li’s families stood by curiously watching. Even though they had seen it yesterday, they couldn’t take their eyes off the scene.

The man slaughtering the pig saw that Brother Le had already prepared a wooden basin and instructed him to collect the blood later. Then, he positioned himself and swiftly slaughtered the pig.

Upon seeing this, Brother Le quickly took the wooden basin to collect the pig’s blood.

After collecting the blood, Brother Le immediately carried the basin to the kitchen and added some water and salt to it, so it would solidify.

In the yard, once the pig stopped moving, the man slaughtering it made a cut just above the hind hoof. Then, they began blowing air into it. After inflating the pig, several men lifted it and placed it into a large wooden basin. They then started pouring hot water over the pig, thoroughly wetting it, and began scraping off its hair.

After cleaning off the pig’s hair, they hung the pig upside down on a ladder and started the process of gutting it…

Upon seeing the pig’s hair, Yu Qingze remembered something and gathered all the pig’s hair together, placing it under the eaves of the house.

Once the pig’s internal organs were removed, Yu Qingze immediately asked Brother Chang’s mother to take the pig intestines and clean them. He planned to make blood sausages for everyone later.

While the men in the yard were busy cutting the pig into pieces, Yu Qingze and Brother Le started washing and cutting vegetables to prepare dishes.

They busied themselves all morning, and the food was ready. People in the countryside were not so particular, so they simply set up tables and benches in the yard to eat. Altogether, there were three tables, and it was lively.

The dishes were served.

Blood sausages, stir-fried pig liver, stir-fried pork kidney, braised pork, stir-fried pork, braised pig intestines, assorted cured meats, vinegar-braised cabbage, and lean meat soup.

As everyone smelled the aroma of the dishes, they became invigorated. After taking a bite, they couldn’t stop themselves from eating, exclaiming how delicious it was.

After Brother Le had arranged the dishes on the table, he looked around and didn’t see his second uncle. He found Wen Li and gestured, asking why his second uncle hadn’t come.

“You’re asking about your second uncle?” Wen Li looked at Brother Chang Le gesturing and guessed. Every year, he would ask the same question.

Chang Le nodded.

Wen Li shook his head and said, “You know, every year we invite him, but he never comes. It’s okay, don’t worry about him. You should go ahead and eat.”

After hearing this, Chang Le fell silent for a while. Then he gestured again, saying, “I’ll go call him.”

Saying that, he untied his apron, called Chang Hao, and went out.

“Hey, Brother Le…” Wen Li watched from behind, sighed, put down his chopsticks, and followed them.

They arrived at the second uncle’s house, and he was sitting at the kitchen doorway, drinking porridge. When he saw Brother Le and his brother coming in, he froze.

“Xiao Le, Xiao Hao, why are you here? Isn’t it time for lunch?”

Brother Chang Le gestured a couple of times, and Chang Hao said, “Second uncle, my brother says to come with us for lunch.”

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: I want to eat all those dishes … Brother Yu, adopt me toooooo

Ji Cha had no idea that there was such a place in the base. Now that he was inside and heard the sound of the door being closed behind him, he realized that he had been a bit reckless.

However, when he borrowed the information card from Zhang Xing, he had told him that he was going to in the eastern district, and he had also brought his own information card. Even if something happened, he didn’t believe that the group of people led by Brother Qiang would dare to lay a hand on him.

As soon as the door closed, the light inside immediately became insufficient.

Brother Qiang walked in front of him and systematically introduced the situation here to Ji Cha.

“We have all kinds of women here, ranging in age from their teens to their forties and fifties. It just depends on how much money you have. We offer all kinds of services.”

Ji Cha pretended to be timid: “I’m just afraid that if I spend money here, someone will find out, you know?”

Brother Qiang laughed heartily: “Who knows about that? Those who have the authority to check consumption records are not ordinary people. We use shopping points to pay here, just like going to a supermarket, except that the pricing is more flexible.”

In fact, to put it bluntly, this kind of business always has someone covering it before they can dare to be so open and aboveboard. Ji Cha was very sure that there must be high-ranking people above them who paved the way or provided protection.

Afraid of arousing Brother Qiang’s suspicion, Ji Cha asked again, “How do we choose, do you have any photos?”

Brother Qiang nodded, then took out a phone from his pocket, opened one of the albums, and handed the phone to Ji Cha: “Take a look, the price is listed below each photo.”

Ji Cha took the phone, and the photos were obviously arranged in order from young to old. The women had different looks, and their eyes facing the camera were not lively at all. Here, they were not considered human beings, but commodities with prices clearly marked.

Ji Cha chose a girl in her twenties with a good appearance: “Is this one okay?”

Brother Qiang glanced at it and smiled, “Kid, you have good taste. Although this one is a bit expensive, her service is absolutely top-notch.” He patted Ji Cha on the shoulder and asked him to follow him.

Ji Cha was led through a maze-like building, wondering what the place was originally used for. After a couple of turns, they reached a small door at which Brother Qiang stopped. On the way, they saw many rooms with pictures of women pasted on the doors, and as they climbed the stairs, they could hear ambiguous sounds coming from between the door seams.

Ji Cha noticed security guards stationed at each corner, and there were three on that floor alone.

Brother Qiang took out a key from his pocket and after counting, he picked one and inserted it into the lock. It took a few turns before the door finally opened. The room was dark, but Brother Qiang turned on the lights. Ji Cha saw only a mattress with a girl sitting on it, just like the one in the photo.

“Half an hour, you can finish early if you want,” Brother Qiang said. “It’s 30 points. Swipe the card downstairs after you’re done.”

He closed the door again, but this time he didn’t lock it, so Ji Cha could open the door from the inside.

It was the first time Ji Cha had been to such a place before, and he felt nervous, especially when he saw the girl on the mattress. The girl seemed accustomed to this kind of life. She got up, smiled at Ji Cha, and began to undress.

“Wait,” Ji Cha hurriedly stopped her. “Can we talk first?”

The girl was puzzled. She had never met anyone who wanted to chat before getting to the point.

“Talk?” she asked. “About what?”

She was worried that Ji Cha didn’t quite understand what Brother Qiang had said earlier, so she repeated it: “We only have half an hour, and they have already started timing outside.”

She then tried to undress again, but Ji Cha held her hand and said, “Don’t take off your clothes yet. Sit down.”

The girl was quite obedient and sat down as instructed by Ji Cha. She asked, “Do you want to try something different? That will cost extra.”

She thought that Ji Cha wanted to talk to her about some strange sexual fetishes.

Ji Cha had never encountered someone who was so direct. He couldn’t help blushing and asked shyly, “What’s your name?”

“I’m Xiao Rou,” the girl answered, but Ji Cha wasn’t sure if that was her real name.

“I didn’t know there was a place like this,” Ji Cha hesitated for a moment and asked the second half of his question, “Are you doing this voluntarily, or are you being forced to do it?”

Xiao Rou was taken aback and didn’t expect Ji Cha to ask that. She laughed at herself and said, “Does it matter?”

Ji Cha replied seriously, “Of course it matters. This kind of place is not allowed in the base.”

“The base has no jurisdiction over here. If they could, they would have cracked down on this place six months ago,” Xiao Rou realized that Ji Cha was not a genuine client, so she put her half-removed clothes back on. “This place was originally tacitly approved by the upper echelon of the base.”

“How do you know that?”

“You think no leaders have come here to play? There are plenty,” Xiao Rou became a little impatient, “Are you one of those silly people who come here to try to persuade others to change their ways?”

Ji Cha didn’t know how to respond to that, but what caught his attention more was Xiao Rou’s first sentence. Someone clearly knew about this place and even came to participate?

Xiao Rou obviously didn’t want to say much more to him. Ji Cha stayed in the room for about twenty minutes before leaving.

Brother Qiang stood not far from the doorway, smiling as he asked Ji Cha, “Feeling good, aren’t you? Come by more often when you have the time, it’ll do wonders for your spirit.”

Ji Cha handed over his information card, and Brother Qiang took it to have his men deduct the points before returning it to Ji Cha.

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

On the way back, Brother Qiang didn’t follow Ji Cha but let him go alone. Ji Cha walked slowly down from the upper floor and turned two corners. He thought he was about to leave the place when he suddenly heard hurried footsteps behind him.

“Wait a minute,” Brother Qiang’s voice rang out.

Ji Cha’s hand was already on the door handle, and he had even opened the latch when he turned to look at Brother Qiang, “What’s wrong?”

He felt something was off, and when he opened the door a crack, Brother Qiang’s face immediately changed. He yelled to his men to stop Ji Cha, “Don’t let him run!”

The two men guarding the door rushed forward to stop Ji Cha, their hands pressing against the door to prevent him from opening it any further.

In his panic, Ji Cha pushed harder, hoping to open the door wide enough for him to slip out. He didn’t realize that he had used too much force, and the door flew open suddenly, causing the two men to stumble backward.

Ji Cha didn’t have time to ponder why his strength had suddenly increased; he just dodged through the open door. Those outside had heard the commotion and saw Ji Cha rushing out in a hurry, so they knew something was wrong and surrounded him.

“Don’t move!” One of them even had a gun and pressed it against Ji Cha’s waist.

Brother Qiang had also caught up by then and said, “Bring him inside.”

The gun was not a joke, and Ji Cha dared not move. He followed Brother Qiang’s men back inside the iron gate.

“What kind of person are you? You come here without doing business and ask all these questions?” Brother Qiang’s friendly demeanor was gone, and he was now not only wary of Ji Cha but also had murderous intent.

Ji Cha calmly replied, “There is another information card in my right pocket. If you take a look, you’ll know who I am.”

Brother Brother Qiang’s stepped forward to retrieve the information card from Ji Cha’s right pocket. His men then scanned it according to the procedure. When they saw that it was Ji Cha from the farm, even Brother Qiang’s was taken aback.

The farm is neither big nor small, and rumors say that Director Ji and Captain Liang are still close.

Quick to react, Brother Qiang whispered a few words to his men and two of them ran upstairs. Then he turned back to Ji Cha and smiled, “I didn’t expect it to be Director Ji, pardon me.”

The person behind Ji Cha who had been pointing a gun at him also put it down under Brother Qiang’s signal. Since his identity was exposed, Ji Cha saw no reason to beat around the bush, “You guys are doing this here, surely you know that you might get caught one day, right?”

But Brother Qiang played dumb, “What are you talking about? Director Ji, have you misunderstood something? We’re just doing some small business here.”

As he spoke, someone brought a pile of things over, which Brother Qiang handed to Ji Cha, “This is what you scanned with the other card just now, please count it and see that there’s absolutely nothing missing.”

Ji Cha then realized that Brother Qiang’s game was to deny everything even if it killed him. Compared to the women upstairs who were temporarily taken away by him, Ji Cha had no witnesses or evidence, so there was no way to convict him immediately.

Plus, if there were people covering up for Brother Qiang above, a little maneuvering could easily solve this problem.

Of course, all of this was on the premise that Ji Cha was just a farm director, but he wasn’t. He was also Captain Liang’s boyfriend.

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

Hidden Thoughts

Among the five carts of cured meat, one cart was reserved for the Cai family, Zhao family, and Boss Liu. Yu Qingze set it aside for them.

Today, there was no rush to start cooking. They quickly set up their stalls and began selling.

According to the two individuals who came from the other side of the river, they owned a restaurant in the city across the river. Yesterday, two customers at their restaurant mentioned how delicious their newly bought cured meat and sausages were. Unable to resist, they took out a piece of cured sausage and asked the staff at their restaurant to steam it. The aroma of the sausage caught their attention.

They shamelessly asked the customers for a taste and, after trying it, they hurriedly inquired where it was bought. It turned out to be from the city on this side of the river. They keenly felt that if they could bring this food to sell at their restaurant, it would definitely sell well. So, early in the morning, they took the earliest boat and came over.

The two expressed their desire to establish a long-term partnership with Yu Qingze, ensuring a continuous supply of cured meat.

“Sorry, both of you. I would also love to have a long-term partnership, but we can’t guarantee a continuous supply of cured meat as the weather gets hotter. We estimate that we can only sell until the end of the first month of next year,” Yu Qingze regretfully explained.

Upon hearing this, the two individuals immediately bought all the cured meat they had brought with them. They planned to come back tomorrow to stock up some more, just in case they run out in the future. They couldn’t afford to miss out!

In the morning, people from the Cai and Zhao families also came to pick up their reserved cured meat. Yu Qingze sold it to them at the purchase price without charging extra.

In the afternoon, when Boss Liu had some free time, he also came by. Standing at the entrance with Yu Qingze, he tilted his chin towards the shop on the left and said, “I heard they’ll open for business after the New Year.”

Yu Qingze glanced at the original Wang’s shop, where people were coming in and out, and renovations were taking place. He asked, “I heard it will be a restaurant?”

After the incident with Boss Wang, their shop closed down completely not long after. Later, someone rented the place, and within a few days, they started making noises inside, doing renovations. Until now, they still haven’t opened for business.

Boss Liu nodded and said, “Yeah, not sure where they’re from. New faces.”

Yu Qingze replied, “No matter where they’re from, as long as they’re dedicated to running their business, it’s good.”

The two chatted for a while, and then Boss Liu used his newly purchased cart to pull his cured meat back home.

In the following days, the cured meats sold very smoothly, and the villagers were enthusiastic about making sweet potato noodles and cured meats. Everything was developing in a positive direction.

In the eyes of Yu Qingze, it seemed that way.

However, Yu Qingze didn’t know that while he was unaware, the village secretly dealt with two households.

The reason was that some villagers noticed that Yu Qingze was selling cured meats for twenty wén more per jin than they were. This immediately sparked some scheming in their minds.

One household went directly to the seldom-visited Chengdong Market to sell, but they were discovered by a villager who was squatting there collecting sweet potatoes. The other household, being more clever, secretly transported their goods to a neighboring town to sell. Unfortunately, that day, they were discovered by a villager who happened to be returning home for personal matters.

They didn’t dare to directly inform Yu Qingze about the two households’ actions, so they told the village chief.

Upon hearing about this, the village chief became furious and extremely angry. He called the men from the two households to his home and scolded them, saying, “Do you have no brains?! Huh? Now you can earn twenty wén more for every jin of cured meat, and you still find it insufficient? Yu Qingze only earns twenty wén per jin, and he still has to pay for labor and rent. He earns even less than you. How can you be so greedy? Without someone like Yu Qingze, can you earn this money? Has your conscience been eaten by dogs?”

One of the men from the household whispered, “We just wanted to make some extra money before the New Year.”

“Make some extra money? You made a few hundred wén more now, but when Yu Qingze finds out, will you be able to earn this money in the future? If he finds other ways to make money, do you think he’ll tell you or not? Have you forgotten the rules he set? You’re blinded by money! You have pig brains! Even calling you pig-brained is an insult to pigs!”

Upon hearing this, the two households immediately remembered the requirements Yu Qingze had mentioned, and they deeply regretted their actions.

A villager nearby said, “Village chief, should we tell Aze about this?”

The two households who had done wrong immediately pleaded, “Please don’t tell him, please don’t tell him. We promise we won’t go out to sell anymore, Village chief, please don’t tell him…”

The village chief looked at the two households, who were indeed poor, and sighed. He said, “I can’t make this decision. If one day you commit another offense, both the village chief and they,” he pointed to the men who had discovered them, “will be implicated because of you.”

“That’s right! How can you guarantee that you won’t do it again? If you do it again, both the village chief and us will know about it. Then, well, we’ll be protecting you. By that time, Aze definitely won’t be willing to teach us anymore. It’s not easy to find a way to make money, and you’ve ruined it. Village chief, I think it’s better to tell Aze,” said the man who was collecting sweet potatoes on the street.

The two households became anxious and said, “We promise we won’t go out to sell anymore! We just had a moment of madness to commit such a foolish act. Village chief, how about this? We can write a written guarantee, promising not to do it again.”

Another man asked, “What if they do it again?”

“If they do it again… we… we…” The two households stumbled and couldn’t come up with an answer.

The man who was collecting sweet potatoes became angry and immediately said, “Fine them! Each household should be fined ten yuan, no, at least twenty yuan of silver to Aze. Additionally, if we are implicated as well, they should compensate for our and the village chief’s losses!”

“That’s too much! Daniu, you’re just being greedy!” one of the men stared at him.

“What else guarantees that you won’t do it again?” Daniu retorted.

The village chief nodded and said, “That’s a good idea! Let’s do it this way. If you agree, I’ll write the guarantee letter for you to sign and affix your seal. If you don’t agree, I’ll immediately go and tell Aze!”

The two households had no choice and eventually agreed to sign and seal the guarantee letter.

After two days, the village chief contemplated the matter and finally found an opportunity to tell Yu Qingze.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qingze fell silent for a moment and then sighed, saying, “My intention was to help everyone make some extra money, increase their income. But with more people involved, it’s inevitable that various schemes would arise. I anticipated this and warned them beforehand. Village chief, I appreciate your handling of the situation. You can pretend that I don’t know about it. Having something to restrain them, making them tremble in fear and dare not go out to sell anymore, is quite good.”

The village chief also sighed, feeling somewhat frustrated.

After thinking for a moment, Yu Qingze continued, “Village chief, here’s what you can do. Pretend that I’m unaware of this matter, but quietly inform the other villagers, especially those households who might have similar intentions. Treat it as your advice to them, reminding them not to commit the same mistake.”

Greed is something that everyone can fall prey to, and such incidents are indeed difficult to avoid. Moreover, Yu Qingze himself didn’t have a good way to handle it. He could choose not to teach them any other methods in the future, but if they became dissatisfied and exposed these two methods, it would create even more trouble. It was better to handle it through the village chief’s intervention.

The village chief pondered for a moment and nodded, saying, “Alright, I’ll go back and talk to them.”

After the village chief spoke to them, those in the village who had similar intentions but hadn’t taken action yet immediately gave up the idea.

A fine of twenty yuan? How long would they have to work to earn that much!

In mid-December, the first snow fell in Tongshan City, and the weather became even colder. At this time, every household began preparing for the New Year, stocking up on goods and getting ready for the festivities.

The atmosphere of the upcoming New Year could already be felt on the streets. Shops had hung up red lanterns in advance, and various fried and dried goods, as well as festive gifts, were displayed throughout the streets. There were more people on the streets than usual, creating a lively atmosphere.

The school had already started its winter break, and during this period, Chang Hao came to the shop every day to help. The mischievous child had a way with words and made everyone laugh with his witty remarks about their snacks.

Grandpa Chang went out for a stroll every day, buying New Year goods, and Yu Qingze accompanied him, selecting a variety of items for consumption and gifts.

At the snack shop, after discussing with Brother Le, Yu Qingze decided to keep it open until the twenty-seventh of the twelfth lunar month and give everyone a holiday starting on the twenty-eighth. They would resume work on the eighth day of the first lunar month.

On the last day of business before the New Year, Yu Qingze distributed everyone’s wages and gave each person an additional three hundred wen as a festival allowance.

The workers were delighted to receive their wages and festival allowance. Boss Yu always paid their wages on time every month without any delays. And during festivals, they even received extra allowances. Recently, their families had also earned a good sum of money from the sweet potato flour and cured meats.

This year, the entire village will be able to have a great New Year.

Everyone cleaned up the shop, wiped the tables and chairs, turned them upside down, and stored any unused ingredients such as flour in the storeroom. The remaining fresh vegetables were taken home by Boss Yu. The stove and firewood were extinguished with water, and the garbage was disposed of properly. All the doors and windows were securely closed and locked. After thoroughly tidying up, everyone finally went home together.

The Lunar New Year is just around the corner!

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

Thandar: I wonder where Boss Wang is and what he is doing now. Better not show up in the novel later, Mr. Wang.

Yu Qingze laughed and said, “Dr. He, don’t worry about it. The prescription you gave to Grandpa is incredibly important to us. You don’t need to be polite with me. Just choose whatever you like.”

Dr. He laughed and said, “Alright then. I won’t be polite. I’m still savoring the lunch I had at your place yesterday.”

Upon hearing that Yu Qingze was the person who saved his father’s life, the middle-aged man immediately clasped his hands and bowed, saying, “I am grateful for Boss Yu’s help. We will be forever indebted to you. If you ever need anything in the future, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Yu Qingze smiled and replied, “Brother He, there’s no need to be so formal. We just happened to come across the situation. We’re all villagers here, so no need to worry about it.”

The middle-aged man wanted to say something, but Dr. He interrupted him, smiling and saying, “Alright, you two don’t need to keep being polite. We met by fate, and if we keep going on like this, I’ll be starving.”

“Hahaha, Dr. He is right. Come on, let me take you to get your food.” They helped Dr. He, and Dr. He helped them. It was hard to say who owed a debt of gratitude to whom, just as Dr. He said, it was good enough to have made the acquaintance.

Yu Qingze took the two of them to get their food and then said, “We also have a sour and spicy noodle dish, but you can’t have it since you injured your leg.”

Dr. He expressed some regret upon hearing this and said, “My son also said the sour and spicy noodles are delicious. If only I had come on the day when it was available. Now I can’t have it even if I want to.”

Yu Qingze smiled and said, “Then you can come and eat it another time. After all, Yunzhou is not far from here.” Dr. He mentioned that his family was from Yunzhou.

“That’s true. When you visit Yunzhou, remember to come to my house as guests, so I can properly entertain you. I usually go out for two months in spring and autumn, but the rest of the time, I’m at home.”

“Sure, thank you in advance, Dr. He.” Yu Qingze replied with a smile.

Dr. He and his son returned to Yunzhou the next day. Although Dr. He had some other places to visit originally, his leg injury prevented him from doing so. He could only return home and recover. Before leaving, Yu Qingze also gave them some cured meat to take back and taste.

Two days later, the first batch of cured meat and sausages prepared by the villagers were ready. Yu Qingze inspected them one by one and purchased them according to the previously discussed price.

During the purchase, he explained to the villagers in advance, “Fellow villagers, let me make it clear beforehand. You’ll earn 15-20 coins per jin for each type of cured meat. When I sell them, the price will definitely be higher than that; otherwise, I won’t make any profit. That’s for sure. Regardless of how much I sell them for later, if someone sees that I’m selling at a higher price and secretly goes to sell it in the market, once discovered, it will be considered a breach of contract, and I won’t cooperate with them again. I hope everyone remembers.”

The villagers agreed.

After selling the first batch of cured meat, the villagers were extremely happy to receive money. By this time of the year, it was almost New Year’s, and they didn’t have much to sell. There wasn’t much work to be done in the fields, and they mostly stayed idle at home. When it came time for the Lunar New Year, buying New Year goods required money for everything.

Nowadays, every household in the village is making sweet potato noodles and cured meat. Sweet potato noodles are made faster, and once sold, some of the money is used to buy more sweet potatoes, while the rest is used to buy meat to make more cured meat. They can sell sweet potato noodles approximately every two days, and a second batch of cured meat can be sold two or three days after the first batch.

The money that comes in circulates and generates more money. The month that used to require spending money has now become a month of earning money. How can they not be happy?

The entire village now wishes to worship Yu Qingze. Everyone praises Brother Le as well, saying that it’s fortunate he saved Yu Qingze in the first place. He truly made the right choice! Otherwise, they wouldn’t have such a good opportunity now!

Translated on ho lo lo novels dot com.

In one day, Yu Qingze and his team bought all the cured meat and sausages in the village, categorizing them based on the strings representing different flavors. The next morning, he borrowed the village head’s ox cart and flatbed cart, as well as flatbed carts from Brother Chang’s and Tie Zhu’s houses. He also borrowed several scales. Together with the shop’s employees, they first brought five flatbed carts of cured meat to the shop.

The prices and sales arrangements were made in advance.

When it was time to open the shop, they set up two large tables at the entrance, covered them with clean mats, and placed various cured meats on them. They placed price tags in front of them. Afterwards, they brought out stoves and began steaming the cured meat and sausages in front of everyone.

On this day, all the employees were working, and Grandpa Chang also came to help at the shop.

Yu Qingze selected two employees who were good at talking and had arithmetic skills. When the cured meat and sausages were almost steamed, and the aroma had already filled the air, they started banging the gong and shouting at the entrance.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Gentlemen, come and have a look! Our Yu’s Delicious Delights proudly presents a variety of cured meats: cured pork, cured sausages, cured chicken, cured duck, and cured fish. The flavors are unique, mouthwatering, and unforgettable. The fragrance spreads for miles! With the upcoming Lunar New Year, invite your guests, visit your relatives and friends, and bring our cured meats. There couldn’t be a more suitable choice…”

In fact, even during their preparation process, they had already attracted quite a few people. Now, with the aroma of the cured meat filling the air, without the need for the assistant’s shouting, people naturally walked over.

“What is this? It smells so good!”

“Boss Yu, what kind of food is this? It smells amazing!”

“Yes, just smelling this aroma makes my stomach rumble, even though I just had breakfast.”

“…”

When Yu Qingze lifted the lid, instantly, the aroma of the cured meat became even more intense.

Everyone took a deep breath, feeling their saliva production go into overdrive in their mouths, and they couldn’t help but swallow hard.

It smells so good…

“Dear villagers, these are cured pork, cured sausages, cured chicken, cured duck, and cured fish. I’ve cut them into small pieces. Please taste the flavor,” Yu Qingze said, and together with one of the employees, they cut the cured meat into small pieces and skewered them on bamboo sticks. Brother Chang handed them out to everyone to taste.

The oily but not greasy, rich and fragrant flavor immediately captivated everyone’s taste buds!

“Boss Yu, how much is this cured pork? And what about these cured sausages…”

“I like the spicy flavor. How much for the spicy ones?”

“This cured duck is delicious too!”

“…”

While Yu Qingze was busy cutting the meat, Brother Chang took the lead and answered, “Dear villagers, please listen to me. The cured pork and cured sausages come in three flavors: five-spice, spicy, and numbingly spicy. The five-spice flavor is 70 wen per jin, while the spicy and numbingly spicy flavors are 80 wen per jin. Cured chicken and cured duck are 60 wen per jin, and cured fish is 50 wen per jin.”

Yu Qingze set the prices, all of which were 20 wen higher than the purchase price.

“It’s so expensive!”

“Yeah, quite pricey!”

“But the taste is really good! I’ll buy some to try!”

“Same here, I’ll buy some too.”

“Waiter, can I buy half a jin?”

“You can buy half a jin. And you can buy cured sausages by the piece!”

“Give me half a jin of spicy cured pork and a piece of regular cured sausage!”

“I’ll take a piece of cured fish. I love eating fish!”

…”

The entrance of the snack shop suddenly became lively. People were ordering half a jin here and a piece there. The three of them couldn’t keep up. Yu Qingze quickly called another assistant from the shop to help.

In the morning, most of the locals were buying a small amount to take home and taste. After all, it was quite expensive, and if they bought it home and no one liked it, it would go to waste.

Those who bought more were the traveling merchants. They were about to leave, and who knows if they would have a chance to come back? Moreover, at this time, most of the traveling merchants were rushing back home for the New Year. Buying something fresh and unusual to take back for their own consumption or as gifts for relatives and friends was also an option.

As noon passed, in the afternoon, more local people came to buy, and the volume increased accordingly. They no longer bought half a jin or a piece but bought in larger quantities—chunks, five or ten pieces, one or two whole ones.

Yu Qingze and his team were busy, not even having time to return to the shop for lunch. Later, it was Brother Chang who arranged for someone to take turns with them, allowing them to come back and have their lunch.

Before they could close in the afternoon, the five carts of cured meat they had brought out were already sold out. The wooden box used to collect money was filled to the brim with copper coins and silver fragments.

Brother Le carried the large box of money into the room, and Yu Qingze had Brother Chang come in together. They organized the copper coins into stacks and put the silver fragments in a separate small bag.

Then, Yu Qingze and Brother Le carried the large box of money to the bank and managed to exchange it for silver bills before the bank closed.

The cured meat and sausages made by dozens of households in the entire village were not just five carts’ worth. On the following day, Yu Qingze and his team dragged another five carts to the shop.

Even before they opened the shop, many people were already waiting at their front gate. These were the ones who didn’t manage to buy cured meat yesterday but specially came early today to buy. Among them were two individuals who said they came all the way from the other side of the river.

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸