Chapter 11: Master, Your Skills Are Truly Divine…
“...”
Li Yuanjing was momentarily speechless.
He hadn’t expected Yuniang’s reaction to be so intense...
But Li Yuanjing quickly regained his composure.
This “yellow clay water purification method” was a miraculous sugar-making technique recorded in the “Heavenly Craftsmanship Manual.” Not to mention in ancient times—even as late as the Reform and Opening period of the 1980s, rural workshops were still using this method to extract white sugar.
Li Yuanjing himself had even experimented with it.
He was brimming with confidence.
With a smile, he drew Yuniang into his arms and said,
“Why are you crying, girl? How about we make a bet?”
“If my trick works, you’ll agree to one thing for me. If it fails, I’ll let you deal with me however you wish. How does that sound?”
“This...”
Yuniang was momentarily confused. She looked at Li Yuanjing, then at the dirty funnel, clearly unsure what to choose.
After all,
Though she was pained to see him “waste” such precious syrup, his recent actions made her feel...
Her brother was no longer the unreliable man she used to know.
“Drip, drip.”
As the two tangled in indecision, the large funnel finally began to work.
Sparse black droplets slowly trickled into the wooden bucket below.
Then,
The flow quickened visibly.
Li Yuanjing let out a long breath of relief and, greedily eyeing Yuniang’s delicate lips, teased,
“Well, girl? Are you going to take the bet with your brother or not?”
Yuniang’s pretty face flushed red.
She was, after all, a woman and sensed what he was implying...
But
She still gave him no answer, her small hands entwined tightly, lost in thought.
Li Yuanjing only chuckled, not pushing her, just waiting patiently with his arm around her slender waist.
Before long,
The droplets in the funnel sped up, gradually revealing the shape of the syrup at the top.
“Brother, this—this—this...”
At that moment,
Yuniang, in his arms, suddenly stiffened, instinctively straightening her back. Her beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, as if witnessing a miracle—she looked into the funnel, unable to utter a word.
There—
At the top of the funnel, as the dirty water drained away, the once dark red syrup residue was now as white as snow.
What else could it be, if not the legendary “Snow Sugar”?
“Heh heh.”
Li Yuanjing was full of pride and satisfaction. He dug at his ear and said to Yuniang,
“Girl, who was it saying I was wasting good things just now?”
“Brother, this—this—this...”
Yuniang’s cheeks were so red they seemed ready to drip, a mixture of shyness and excitement making her whole body burn.
Li Yuanjing relented and stopped teasing her. He scooped up a bit of the warm white sugar, brought it to her lips, and said,
“Come, girl, taste it. See if this is any different from the Snow Sugar our parents brought back before.”
Yuniang stuck out her lovely little tongue and tasted the fresh sugar. Her eyes lit up in amazement.
“Brother, it’s so sweet, so sweet! Sweeter than what mother and father brought home. I’ve never tasted such sweet Snow Sugar in my life.”
“Brother, there must be a pound or more of this Snow Sugar! Is it really, truly ours?”
...
The next day.
As the first rays of sunlight streamed in, Li Yuanjing habitually opened his eyes.
In his arms,
Yuniang, sweet and fair as if from a painting, slept soundly.
But,
Sensing Li Yuanjing’s movement, her long lashes fluttered with excitement, betraying that she was already awake.
She was clearly only pretending.
“Mua.”
Li Yuanjing planted a big kiss on her pretty face and grinned,
“Don’t pretend, girl. I won’t tease you today. Don’t forget what I told you last night—make some crispy fish as I taught you, just as a trial.”
As he spoke,
Li Yuanjing got up and quickly tidied himself.
Now that the white sugar was ready, he had to find a way to turn it into cash right away.
He’d already asked Yuniang last night.
Even though the loan from Philanthropist Xue wasn’t due until the fifth of next month, the autumn taxes were due tomorrow.
In the past, being two days late wouldn’t matter.
But with Philanthropist Xue and his cronies—Wang Cuihua, Hou Wu, and the rest—watching every move in Quanzi Village, if Li Yuanjing wasn’t prepared, who knew what trouble they might stir up.
“Brother.”
“Shouldn’t I go out to collect firewood today? The autumn tax is due tomorrow. We need to pay at least an ounce of silver...”
Seeing Li Yuanjing about to leave, Yuniang became anxious, running over in her brand-new sheepskin jacket.
“An ounce of silver?”
Li Yuanjing suddenly smiled, planted another kiss on Yuniang’s cheek, and, as if performing a magic trick, pulled out at least an ounce and a couple of coins of silver from his pocket, placing it into her delicate hand.
“Take this. If it’s not enough, just ask me for more.”
“Eh? Brother, this...”
Feeling the bright, heavy silver in her hand, Yuniang was utterly stunned.
This was real silver, not just coins.
Could it be... Brother really could perform magic?
...
Bidding farewell to the still-bewildered Yuniang, Li Yuanjing pushed the handcart to the gate, where Zhang Kun was already waiting for him.
Clearly, he had been there for some time.
Seeing Li Yuanjing come out, he hurriedly greeted him with respect,
“Master...”
Li Yuanjing saw that Zhang Kun looked much better than yesterday. He set down the handcart, patted Zhang Kun’s shoulder, and said with a smile,
“Brother Zhang, you’re coming with me on a long trip today—any problem with that?”
Zhang Kun was overjoyed and nodded vigorously,
“No problem, no problem, Master...”
As he spoke, he rushed to push the handcart himself, and Li Yuanjing couldn’t outmatch him.
Realizing this, Li Yuanjing couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.
After all, he had always been a frail scholar; though he’d improved a bit these days, it would take time.
But Zhang Kun, even with one arm lost, was still a former soldier from the Northeast—an emaciated camel is still bigger than a horse.
“Brother Zhang, wait a moment.”
Seeing Zhang Kun barely managing to keep the cart balanced with one arm—struggling even though there were only a few fish in the sack—Li Yuanjing returned to the yard and soon came back with some hemp rope.
Then,
He tied the rope to the two handles of the cart and looped it around Zhang Kun’s neck, saying with a grin,
“Try it now, Brother Zhang.”
“Mother of mine, Master, this—this is truly ingenious! Why didn’t I think of it before...”
With the rope looped around his neck, Zhang Kun’s balance improved noticeably. He was so impressed he looked ready to kneel and thank Li Yuanjing.
Li Yuanjing found it amusing.
People in ancient times really were simple and honest.
Such a small trick, and he’d already established so much authority in Zhang Kun’s mind.
He carefully locked the courtyard gate for Yuniang, then called Zhang Kun and set off for Dazigou Village!
Exactly.
For his first batch of white sugar, Li Yuanjing had chosen to approach Wang Youdao, the influential contractor and old friend of Honest Li, as his breakthrough to convert it into money.