Un jeune homme maladif qui voyage dans le temps jusqu'à la dynastie Song

Chapitre 3

The village head nodded to Gu Zao and said with a smile, "Tell me about it."

Gu Zao glanced at Fang Shi before saying, "After the autumn harvest, Uncle Mao can take the three mu of land by the river to cultivate himself or rent it to tenants. As for the remaining two mu, he can take them if he wants, but all the proceeds, after taxes, must be divided with my family, six for him and four for me..."

Before Gu Zao could finish speaking, Fang Shi grabbed her arm, and the Mao family members also showed their displeasure.

Gu Zao ignored him and continued speaking to the village head: "But I have one more condition."

He noticed something unusual about the front and asked curiously, "What kind of conditions?"

Gu Zao slowly said, "If Aunt Mao's condition doesn't improve, then my family's five mu of land will continue to be cultivated by the Mao family. But if she recovers one day, the land will be returned to my family, and we will have no further connection with her. Does the village head think this is appropriate?"

While the village head was still deep in thought, the Fang family and the Mao family had already started arguing. One was cursing Gu Zao for cutting off his own way out, and the other was shouting that this was not enough compensation. The villagers were also discussing it, and the ancestral hall was quite noisy.

Gu Zao stood there, her expression inscrutable.

The words she just uttered were actually the result of a night of deliberation.

Although she hadn't been there long, she already knew that the family relied on Fang's five acres of land, and there was really no future in it. Needless to say, the family's life was impoverished; they ate only a few simple, coarse meals each day. Besides a jar of coarse salt, the kitchen only had a small piece of pork fat, which they would rub on the hot bottom of the pot while cooking, just to give it a little oil. Fang worked hard every day, and her third sister's marriage was delayed. Even Qingwu, whom she had heard had attended school when the family was better off, was intelligent and studious. Unfortunately, the family's fortunes had declined in the past two years, and his studies had been disrupted. He was now alone, often staring blankly at a well-worn book from his past.

Now that this has happened, rather than losing everything and struggling to make ends meet with only two acres of barren land, it would be better to simply let the Mao family cultivate all the land at home. At least we could get some harvest and start a new business; life might not be any worse than before. As for Mao Tuanzi's wife, her current symptoms are very likely due to a stroke. She might recover someday, and when that happens, we can send her some gifts as a token of appreciation and get the land back.

The village head coughed, and his gaze toward Gu Zao was somewhat different from before. Seeing that the ancestral hall was in complete chaos, he feigned anger and said loudly, "I'm sure everyone has understood what Second Sister Gu meant. I think it's acceptable. Let's settle it like this, sign and seal it now, and have everyone witness it!"

The ancestral hall fell silent for a moment, then a voice rang out: "Six-four won't do, at least twenty-eight, you're twenty!"

Gu Zao looked over and saw that it was the same family member who had stood up for Mao Tuanzi yesterday.

Fang immediately objected and clapped her hands, saying, "Me, two? I wouldn't even accept fifty-five! I'll be eight, you'll be two!"

"You get two, I get eight!"

"I get eight, you get two!"

Seeing that the ancestral hall was in an uproar again, the village head was really annoyed this time. He slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"I'll be fair. The land will be divided 30/70: the Mao family gets 70%, and the Gu family gets 30%. The handover will take place after next month's harvest. Once the Mao family's wife recovers, the Mao family will return all the land to the Gu family. If you continue to argue, I'll just walk away and leave you to file a complaint in the county!"

As soon as the village head finished speaking, everyone fell silent again and looked at each other in bewilderment.

The village head's nephew was a county assistant in the county government. Although he was only an eighth-rank official, he was also the village head. In the eyes of the villagers, he was much higher than others. Now that he had spoken so fiercely, no one dared to argue anymore.

Gu Zaoyuan hadn't really expected anything from the 40/60 split; he just thought that if he quoted a slightly higher price first, the other party would eventually have to lower it. Now that the village headman had suggested 30/70, it was exactly what he wanted. Seeing that Madam Fang still seemed very unwilling, he quickly said, "The village headman's method is extremely fair, and my family has no objections."

Seeing that the Gu family had already expressed their opinion, the Mao family, though not entirely satisfied, did not want to openly offend the village head. They figured they had at least gained more than their share. With the five acres of land from the Gu family, even if Mao Tuanzi couldn't cultivate it all himself, he could rent it out to landless people and still get a good harvest every year. So they nudged Mao Tuanzi, who had been silent all along. Only then did Mao Tuanzi realize what was going on and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Li Zheng smiled, asked someone to bring paper and pen, wrote it down quickly, and then asked both families to sign and put their fingerprints on it. The little boy couldn't read, so he just pressed his fingerprint on it. Although Fang Shi from the Gu family was very unwilling, she knew that it was useless to make a fuss, so she could only reluctantly sign and put her fingerprint on it.

Gu Zao accepted the documents, bowed to the village head again, then grabbed Fang Shi, whose lips were pouting so much they could hang an oil bottle on them, with his left hand and Qingwu with his right, and hurried home.

Before she even stepped into the courtyard of her home, Fang Shi couldn't hold back her outburst. She angrily shook off Gu Zao's hand, poked her forehead with her finger, but couldn't utter a single word; tears streamed down her face first.

Knowing that she was heartbroken over the five acres of land and worried about the future livelihood of her family, Gu forced a smile, pulled Fang to sit down in the main room, wiped her tears with his sleeve, and carefully explained his reasoning to her. Finally, he said, "Mother, after this rice harvest next month, we will leave this rural place and move to Tokyo."

Third Sister and Qingwu, who were standing to the side, lit up with excitement, but Fang Shi spat and said hatefully, "Second Sister, it's easy for you to talk when you're not in the same boat. Even in Yangzhou, it would be hard to get a foothold. You're thinking of moving to Tokyo, where Third Sister and Qingwu will have to beg for food with you? When did you start having so many ideas of your own?"

Gu Zao wasn't annoyed, but just smiled and said, "Mother, there's always a way out. Aren't my eldest sister's husband and uncle's family all in Tokyo? They can make a living there. Why would we become beggars if we went? I have my own way of making a living. When we get there, I will make sure you don't go hungry. Even Qingwu and my third sister probably want to go too, right?"

Third Sister and Qingwu remained silent, but their expressions betrayed their undisguised joy. Madam Fang pondered for a long time before finally sighing dejectedly, "These days we only get a few bushels of grain a year. Staying here will only lead to starvation. We can only do as you said and try our luck in Tokyo. You crawled out of my belly; do you think I don't know your own limitations? Yet you shamelessly boast about having ways to make a living… Fine, if all else fails, we mother and daughters can go work for wealthy families. Making a living shouldn't be a problem… I heard that the female servants in wealthy families in Tokyo are divided into different ranks. I'll do odd jobs, and you and Third Sister are good at embroidery, so you can do needlework. Qingwu…"

Seeing that she had gone off on a tangent, Gu Zao figured she must have agreed, and breathed a sigh of relief. But then he felt a little hungry and realized it was already midday.

Third Sister had already figured it out and rushed to the kitchen to cook. Gu Zao smiled and was about to go and help when she saw a woman enter her courtyard. It was the lady of the house.

Gu Zao hurriedly went to greet her. This morning, the village head had shown her some favoritism, which meant she must have whispered sweet nothings in her ear last night. Gu Zao felt grateful to her.

When the lady of the house saw Gu Zao, she smiled and pulled her aside, saying, "Second sister, you just mentioned that matter to me last night. Well, I heard this morning that a family is having a happy occasion and wants to hire a cook for a day."

Gu Zao was overjoyed and hurriedly tried to usher her into the house, but the village head's wife peeked at Fang Shi and shook her head: "Your mother... I won't go in. I just like that you are quick-witted and capable, so I'll help if I can. You should call the cook who asked you for help and come with me to that house to take a look. If we are too late and they have already hired someone, we don't know when we will be able to come again."

Gu Zao laughed and said, "No one asked me to do this; it was just me."

The village head's wife was very surprised and stared at her for a long time.

Gu Zao pulled her along, not even bothering to explain anything to Fang Shi behind him, and hurriedly left the house.

The family celebrating the wedding was Mr. Fan from the neighboring village, and his wife and the village head's wife were cousins.

It turned out that Mr. Fan ran a private school. His family was poor, but he himself was well-read, and his son had gone to Yangzhou last year to take the autumn examination and actually passed, becoming a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) and returning home in high spirits. Now, matchmakers came and went in his house, almost breaking down the threshold. In the end, he was married to the richest man in the village, and the wedding was in a couple of days.

The scholar was getting married, and he was marrying the daughter of the richest man in the village, so the wedding banquet was naturally going to be a grand affair. Madam Fan knew that her family was not as wealthy as the bride's, but she did not want to be looked down upon by the bride's family. She refused the chef that the bride's family had sent for the wedding day, but secretly asked the village head's wife to inquire about finding a capable cook for her, so that she could make a good impression at the wedding banquet.

In less than half an hour, Gu Zao and the village head's wife arrived at Mr. Fan's house.

Madam Fan was a lean woman around forty years old. Before the village head's wife had even finished introducing Gu Zao, Madam Fan had already looked Gu Zao up and down at least three or four times, her eyes full of disbelief.

After the village head's wife finished speaking, Madam Fan pulled her aside and whispered a few words to her. When she returned, the village head's wife already looked troubled.

"Second sister, are you really a good cook? My cousin's wedding banquet the day after tomorrow is no laughing matter..."

Gu Zao smiled and looked at Madam Fan, saying calmly, "A banquet must include tea and wine, snacks, fruits, side dishes, assorted vegetables, wild game, river fish, and seafood. These can be further divided into upper, middle, and lower tables according to the quality and price of the ingredients. I wonder what kind of banquet Madam Fan would like?"

Madam Fan was stunned, but the village head's wife glanced at Madam Fan with a smug look on her face and laughed, "Why do we country folk try to imitate the pomp and circumstance of Yangzhou? It's just for the sake of a lively and entertaining show."

Gu Zao nodded and said, "What you two ladies say is absolutely right. So even for a single dish of meat, I can make at least ten different kinds, such as braised pork, white braised pork, oil-fried pork, dry-pot steamed pork, pork with sand removed, steamed pork with rice flour, smoked and braised pork, hibiscus pork, eight-treasure pork, and pot-roasted pork. There are also white-sliced chicken, roasted chicken, charred chicken, pounded chicken, stir-fried chicken slices, whole chicken, soy sauce chicken, mushroom-braised chicken, pear-fried chicken, fake pheasant rolls, yellow cabbage-fried chicken, chestnut chicken, pearl dumplings, and so on. If Madam Fan trusts me, just tell me the approximate cost of the banquet, and I will go home and make a menu for you two to review before deciding."

As Gu Zao spoke, the First Madam swallowed hard and nudged Fan Niangzi. Only then did Fan Niangzi's face show a slight smile, though she still had a hint of hesitation.

Knowing that she still didn't trust him, Gu smiled and said, "If it's convenient for you, Madam Fan, could you please lead me to the kitchen to cook a dish for you two to try?"

Fan Niangzi nodded and turned to lead Gu Zao towards the kitchen.

Second sister cooks

Gu Zao entered the kitchen and saw that the stove was already lit, with a maid tending it. On the stove were two yellow croakers, a piece of pork with half lean and half fat, and several purple eggplants, which were probably the dishes that Madam Fan had prepared for lunch, but had not yet been cooked. Presumably because the wedding was approaching, the kitchen was fully stocked with all kinds of ingredients. Gu Zao thought for a moment, then washed her hands and went to the stove, quickly getting to work.

She first chopped the pork into a fine paste, then chopped the shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and ginger into a fine paste as well. She added starch and kneaded it into a ball, put it in a dish, added rice wine and oil, placed it in a pot, added water, and let the girl steam it over high heat. While the meat was steaming, she cleaned and gutted two yellow croakers, removed the meat and bones, added four salted eggs, and mixed it. She also peeled the eggplant and cut it into chunks, setting each aside for later use.

Soon, a strong aroma of meat wafted from the stove. It turned out the meat was steamed and cooked. Gu Zao lifted the lid, took out a plate, and saw that it was indeed tender and glistening with oil, looking very appealing. The impatient village head's wife picked up a piece with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, chewed it carefully, and then smiled broadly. She picked up another piece. Seeing that she was enjoying it, Fan Niangzi couldn't help but try a piece herself.

She chewed slowly without saying a word, but the way she looked at Gu Zao was quite different from before. Gu Zao smiled slightly, then heated oil in the already dried-out pot and fried the fish pieces. She added broth and brought it to a boil, then stirred in the salted egg and took it off the heat. She added mushrooms, scallions, ginger juice, and wine, and finally said, "There's no chicken soup today. If you add chicken soup, the flavor will be even better. You can add some vinegar when you eat it."

The lady of the house hurriedly poured out the vinegar, and then dipped her chopsticks into the fish again. After taking a bite, she laughed and said, "This fish, which usually has a slightly fishy smell, tastes like crab today after you've cooked it. It's really delicious!"

Gu Zao laughed, "Madam has such a discerning palate; nothing escapes your notice. This dish is indeed called 'Fake Crab Meat.'"

The village head's wife nodded repeatedly, her eyes filled with smugness as she looked at Madam Fan.

Gu Zao cleaned the pot again, boiled water, blanched the eggplant pieces to remove the bitter juice, then fried them in oil. After the water had evaporated, he added sweet soy sauce and simmered them slowly until dry. While waiting for them to be taken out of the pot, he said, "If you're eating this eggplant at home, you can steam it until it's soft, cut it open, and mix it with sesame oil and rice vinegar. It's perfect for summer. You can also leave the skin on, simmer it until dry, and make it into a preserve. It tastes pretty good too."

Once the eggplant was cooked, all three dishes were neatly placed on the table. Only then did Madam Fan pick up her chopsticks and slowly taste each dish again. She nodded, and after some haggling, they settled on the price. She then told Madam Fan about the number of dishes for the banquet and the approximate dishes she would need. Gu Zao listened carefully and wrote everything down. Since the wedding banquet was the day after tomorrow, time was very tight. Therefore, he agreed to make a detailed list of the banquet dishes after returning home and send it to Madam Fan later today for her to review. He insisted that the dishes be finalized today so that everything could be purchased tomorrow.

Madam Fan was very satisfied and paid a deposit of three hundred coins on the spot. Gu Zao thanked her profusely before leaving with the village head's wife.

The village head's wife had already begun to look at Gu Zao with new respect. On the way back, she pulled her aside and asked about her cooking skills, curious about where she had learned them. Gu Zao gave a vague answer, only saying that she had learned by watching her husband's cook cook when she had nothing to do in Yangzhou a couple of years ago. Seeing that the village head's wife didn't seem to believe her, she let her have her way. When they were almost at the entrance of Dongshan Village and about to part ways, Gu Zao pulled her behind the crooked old locust tree, counted out one hundred coins from the deposit that Madam Fan had given her, and stuffed it into the village head's wife's hand.

The village head's wife seemed to be branded with fire, taking several steps back and repeatedly declining. Gu Zao, however, said seriously, "Granny, please don't refuse. This morning, the Mao family's affairs were all thanks to you, the village head. If it weren't for your intervention, my family would have lost all five acres of land. Today, you took on this job for me again, and when we were discussing wages, you were the one who fought for me to get seven hundred coins. This is what you deserve. If you don't accept it, I will never have the face to ask you for help again."

The village head's wife then accepted the hundred coins, smiling and nodding, "It's just that this is a rural area, so the wages can't be very high. I've heard that the best cooks in Yangzhou earn three strings of cash a day when they're handling weddings. Goodness, that's enough for a family in the countryside to live on for one or two months."

Gu Zao shook his head and smiled, "That must be the best and most famous chef in the city. How can I compare with them? I am already very satisfied with this income."

The two agreed to go to Madam Fan's house together after Gu Zao had arranged the banquet menu. Only then did the village head's wife head towards her own home, completely satisfied.

Gu Zao watched her receding figure, a slight smile appearing on her face.

She had just given the village head's wife one hundred coins, not only for the stated purpose, but also for another reason. She was thinking that by establishing a good relationship now, her family would be able to look after the annual income from the five mu of land after leaving Dongshan Village, since the distance was too far and they couldn't come back often. With her help, she thought the Mao family would not have to conceal or reduce their harvest.

When Gu Zao returned home, she realized she was terribly hungry. Her third sister had left some leftovers for her, which she quickly ate a few mouthfuls of. Then she pulled Qingwu into his room, and the two whispered to each other for a while. Although Qingwu didn't understand, he did as she said. Gu Zao then helped Qingwu grind the remaining ink from the inkstone that had been sitting for several years. Qingwu bent over, searching for old paper and a brush.

The two were busy when they saw Fang push open the door, her face full of anger.

"Second sister, did you hide that piece of silk in my room?"

Gu Zao then remembered that she had taken that piece of silk out last night, and must have been discovered by Fang Shi just now. She was about to speak when Fang Shi started scolding her: "Second sister, you spendthrift! I know you've always been coy and liked to dress up in a slicked-back manner since you were little, but this piece of silk was meant for Third Sister's wedding dress. Why did you secretly take it back to make yourself look bad?"

Gu Zao hurriedly put down the inkstone in his hand, went over to help her in, took out fifty coins that he had counted out beforehand, and handed them to her. Seeing that Fang Shi accepted them in a daze, Gu Zao smiled and said, "I sent that silk to the village head's wife last night."

Fang felt a pang of heartache and was about to scold again, but when she saw the money in her hand, she opened her mouth but didn't make a sound. Gu Zao quickly cut her off and said, "It's not a free gift. She got me a job preparing a banquet today. I just asked Qingwu to write down the list of drinks for me and I'm waiting to send it to the head of the family. This money is the deposit that the head of the family gave me for the job."

Fang finally realized what was happening and stared at Gu Zao for a long time. She stammered, "Second sister, when did you learn to prepare a banquet? You used to burn the food at home. This is not a job that can be done casually. If something goes wrong, it will be a big problem."

Gu Zao smiled and said, "Mother, don't worry. I just went out and cooked some dishes for the master to try. He was very satisfied."

Fang stood there blankly for a long time, lost in thought, before suddenly stopping and bursting into a tirade, startling Gu Zao. Listening closely, she realized she was cursing the man from Yangzhou, Mr. Li, who had been cursed to death by her second sister: "You heartless bastard! I thought my daughter would live a life of luxury in your household, but it turns out she's been reduced to a servant in the kitchen! My poor, delicate daughter! You heartless bastard, you deserve to die a horrible death..."

Fang clutched the money tightly in his hands, muttering curses under his breath. Gu Zao ignored him and pulled Qingwu down to sit.

When the village head's wife returned, she had said that banquets in the countryside should not be like those in the city, where elaborate dishes are served but food is plentiful. The important thing is that the food is plentiful and delicious. However, judging from Fan Niangzi's intentions, she seemed to want to show off and be superior to others in the village. Gu Zao had already considered these two ideas and thought about them carefully. He then slowly recited all the dishes used in the entire banquet from beginning to end and had Qingwu dip his brush in ink and write them down one by one.

Qingwu had only attended school for a few years before, and then stopped for two years, yet his handwriting was remarkably upright, far better than Gu Zao's own. Whenever he encountered something he didn't know, Gu Zao would use her finger to trace it to teach him if she knew it, and if she didn't, she would teach him to write the pinyin and leave it there for him to recognize. Although Qingwu didn't understand the meaning of these twisted and convoluted characters, he followed Gu Zao's instructions and wrote them down one by one.

Gu Zao took it and looked it over carefully. She added or removed a few items, and when she looked at it herself, she was almost satisfied. After the ink dried, she folded it and put it in her bosom. Ignoring the sun outside, she went to the village head's house, called the village head's wife, and the two of them, holding a cool umbrella, went to Fan Niangzi's house.

When they arrived at Madam Fan's house, Gu Zao took out the menu and spread it on the table. However, the village head's wife and Madam Fan ignored it, as neither of them could read. So Gu Zao took it himself and read it aloud one by one.

The lady there nodded repeatedly, and Madam Fan listened silently. In the end, she only added or subtracted one or two items, and it was basically settled. Gu Zao finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Since there was no market in the village, many things were in short supply, so they needed to go to the county town tomorrow to buy them for the day after. Gu Zao naturally wanted to go, and the village head's wife, being a cousin and a relative, also volunteered to go along. However, Madam Fan, whose wedding was approaching and who had many things to do at home, thought for a moment and said that she would have her sister go to the county town with her to buy the items tomorrow.

Gu Zao knew that she was worried that he would buy low and report high and embezzle, so he didn't say anything. He just smiled and nodded in agreement. Although the village head's wife was dissatisfied, she had nothing to say. She thought that everyone did things this way. The three of them agreed to meet at the entrance of Dongshan Village early the next morning and then parted ways.

County town procurement

When Gu Zao returned home, it was already late afternoon, with the setting sun casting long shadows on the ground. Fang Shi had gone to the fields again. Qingwu, having heard Gu Zao's words, was in his room reviewing his old lessons. However, his third sister was leaning against the door, looking somewhat dazed. When she saw Gu Zao return, she smiled and welcomed her in, quickly drawing a basin of water from the well in the yard.

Gu Zao smiled, leaned over to wash her face, and was wiping the water off her face with her eyes half-closed when her third sister handed her a clean face towel.

Gu Zao answered the call, wiped her face dry, and then felt a little relieved.

"Second sister, you've been completely different since you woke up that day..."

When her third sister suddenly blurted out such a remark, Gu Zao was startled.

"So do you think the old days were better, or the current days are better?"

Gu Zao composed herself and looked at her with a smile, asking.

"Of course it's better now. Now that I've seen my second sister, I feel like I have a pillar of support, and my heart is much more at ease. If it were before, if something like this had happened in the family, I don't know how chaotic it would have become..." the third sister said slowly.

Gu Zao patted her hand and nodded, saying, "If you think it's good, then it's good. You and Qingwu have suffered too much in the past. Your second sister will definitely make sure you both live a comfortable life from now on!"