Chapter 87 - Pickled Fish (1/2)

Madam Liu felt slightly worried, “We need to fry it with oil? Do we have enough oil at home? Should I… go borrow some from your Auntie Zhou’s house?”

Xiaocao thought about it and said, “Yesterday, we didn’t use much of the one catty of soybean oil, so it should be enough! But, we need white sugar to make pickled fish. It might be too late to buy it now… I wonder if Auntie Zhou has some…”

The Zhou Family was known as one of the more well-off families in the village. The husband was a capable earner outside, while the wife had also earned a decent amount of money by raising chickens. Madam Fang was never harsh and strict towards her children. If they wanted to borrow sugar from someone in the village, her family was probably the most likely to have it.

Madam Liu took off her apron and smiled, “I’ll go ask. About how much do you need?”

Xiaocao replied, “It’s just seasoning, so a small handful it enough…”

“A small handful? Cao’er, you don’t know about the price of white sugar, do you? One catty cost two hundred sixty copper coins! The small handful that you want is probably dozens of copper coin! Although your Auntie Zhou indulges her children, she won’t buy so much of it.” Yu Hai couldn’t help but remind her.

Xiaocao stared at him in shock, “What? Sugar is that expensive! Oh my, an ordinary household seriously wouldn’t be able to afford that…”

Madam Liu rolled her eyes and laughed, “White sugar isn’t something that commoners eat. What kind of fish dish are you making? It needs such an expensive condiment. Will you even be able to get a profit?”

Xiaocao looked at the hundred or so fish pickled in the pot and made the calculation in her mind. If she sold each fish for one copper coin, she would be able to earn sixty or seventy copper coins without a problem. However, without seasoning the pickled fish with sugar, it wouldn’t taste as good. If she put a little less… it should be okay?

“Mother, I’ll go to Auntie Zhou’s house with you.” Xiaocao took a few bites of the sweet potato in her hands, and then stuffed it into Little Shitou’s hand. She stood up and followed Madam Liu out the front door.

After walking around three hundred meters from their house, they knocked on the Zhou Family’s front door. A handsome youth, who was twelve or thirteen years old, opened the door. He had a healthy tan and a pair of crescent-like eyes. The corners of his lips were curled up slightly, which gave off the impression that he was smiling even when he wasn’t. He appeared very likeable and eye-catching at first glance.

“Wenhua! Why didn’t you follow your father to sell goods today?” Madam Liu was slightly surprised to see the teen and couldn’t help asking.

Zhou Wenhua coughed a couple times and a heavy breathing sound came from his chest. He suppressed the itchy sensation in his throat, swallowed his saliva, and said, “When I came back yesterday, I took off my clothes because I felt hot. As a result, I caught a cold and didn’t feel very well. So, my father told me to rest at home for a few days. Cough, cough… Auntie Yu, Little Sister Xiaolian, are you guys looking for my mother?”

Madam Liu asked with concern, “Have you seen a doctor yet? Don’t drag a minor illness into a major illness just because you have a good constitution.”

“Doctor You had already checked on my condition and opened a prescription. I’ve taken two doses of medication and feel a lot better now. Cough, cough… Mother! Auntie Yu and Little Sister Xiaolian is looking for you…” It seemed like Zhou Wenhua firmly believed that she was Yu Xiaolian, so Xiaocao just smiled and didn’t correct him.

Madam Fang came out of the house and saw the mother-daughter pair. She smiled and said, “Xiaocao, you came back from the docks! How was business today? Your braised food tastes so good, so there must be a lot of customers. Wenhua, this is Little Sister Xiaocao, not Xiaolian. Xiaocao has a slightly paler and smoother complexion than Xiaolian. She’s also a little shorter. If you don’t look closely, it might be hard to distinguish them. It’s also reasonable for you to make a mistake.”

Zhou Wenhua touched the back of his head in embarrassment for recognizing the wrong person. His mouth that smiled frequently curled up and he said, “So it’s Little Sister Xiaocao ah! In the past, Little Sister Xiaolian was always the one who came with Auntie Yu, so I thought it was her. I heard from Shanhu that your health has gotten better now. Congratulations!”

The twelve or thirteen year old youth was already such a good speaker. As expected, he had the quality of a good salesman. Xiaocao smiled at him and said, “The last few times I came, Brother Wenhua wasn’t at home. It’s inevitable for you to have mistaken since it’s the first time we’ve met. Sometimes, my mother also mixes us up when she isn’t paying attention! Well, there’s nothing I can do since we have the same face.”

Zhou Wenhua was amused by her seemingly helpless expression. His chest had felt stuffy due to his illness, but he felt a lot more comfortable now.

“Auntie Zhou, do you have any sugar at home? I want to make a new dish, but I’m lacking a few condiments…” Xiaocao looked at Madam Fang expectantly, fearing that she would say no. If they really didn’t have it, then she probably wouldn’t be able to make the pickled fish today…

Madam Fang smiled and said, “What a coincidence! If you came a day earlier, then we really wouldn’t have any. Yesterday, when your Uncle Zhou came back from selling goods, he got forty or fifty copper coins worth of sweets for the children. Since he had the money, he might as well buy more meat, or white rice and wheat flour. But, he bought that expensive stuff instead… Linglong, bring the remaining sweets from yesterday for Little Sister Xiaocao to try!”

Though Madam Fang was complaining, there was a hint of smile in her eyes. To Madam Fang and her husband, it didn’t matter if they had to suffer a little, but they couldn’t let their children be like their younger selves, inexperienced and ignorant. They didn’t want them to be treated like country bumpkins when they go to town.

Xiaocao took a look at Zhou Linglong’s hands and realized the so-called white sugar were chucks of sugar similar to that of rock sugar. No wonder it cost one copper coin per piece.

She chose an egg-sized piece of sugar from the pack. It was about an ounce of sugar, which would cost around fifteen or sixteen copper coins. She smiled and said, “Auntie Zhou, I want to use the sugar to make food, and then sell it at the docks. How much was this chunk of sugar? I can’t let you guys suffer losses when I’m making money…”