Chapter 120 - 120 Salted Duck Egg and Preserved Egg
120 Salted Duck Egg and Preserved Egg
Lin Zheng stared at Su Binglan in disbelief. He stuttered, “B-Boss, are you genuinely agreeing to teach me kung fu?!”
One knew that many skilled people would not readily agree to teach their techniques to others, yet Su Bingalan did.
“Of course, I will. You can learn as long as you’re willing to work hard,” Su Binglan said.
Lin Zheng said excitedly, “Fret not, boss! I’m not afraid of hard work as long as I can learn kung fu from you!”
He was pa.s.sionate about serving his country and even thought of joining the army in the future so he could become like the major general.
Still, his pa.s.sion had died when he heard of the major general’s death. His self-abandonment also caused his loss of pa.s.sion.
“Yes, I will teach you kung fu in the future,” Su Binglan rea.s.sured Lin Zheng.
She knew how chaotic the outside world was, and it would benefit Lin Zheng if he knew kung fu to protect himself. Moreover, Lin Zheng was her subordinate, so she had to nurture him.
When Lin Zheng heard this, he hurriedly knelt and said severely, “Master, please accept my bow.”
However, Lin Zheng did not receive a reaction from his boss. He was stunned as he raised his head to look at Su Binglan. Lin Zheng wondered what that disdainful expression on his boss’s face meant. Was he not qualified to be her apprentice?
Su Binglan indeed looked at Lin Zheng with disdain. The more she looked at him, the more desperate Lin Zheng became. He wanted his boss to know he would be an excellent apprentice. “Master, I will learn well. I will not let you down!”
Su Binglan rubbed her forehead and said with a headache, “All right, I didn’t say I would take you as my apprentice right now.”
“I-I know. I will still perform well, Master!” Lin Zheng begged.
Whether or not Su Binglan had agreed, Lin Zheng had already started calling her master. She stared at him for a while and said, “Do you have money on hand?”
Lin Zheng pondered, ‘Does she want me to pay to become an apprentice?’
Afterward, he said, “Master, I will pay you when I return home to gather my money!”
The corners of Su Binglan’s mouth twitched, and she could not bear to look at Lin Zheng. She smacked his head and asked, “Do I look like a person who would ask for payment?”
Su Binglan wrote a medicine prescription on a piece of paper beside her as she said, “You have a good physique, so go and get this prescription. Put this medicine in hot water and bathe in it every day after training.”
Lin Zheng did not ask any questions and followed his boss’s instructions word for word.
…
After settling the matters in her shop, Su Binglan immediately returned to the village. When she arrived home, she saw her parents still grinding soybeans. Meanwhile, Su Wenzhe and Liu Yinyin had gone to town to sell the candied chestnuts.
Su Bingln greeted her parents and went to her grandparents’ house to look for her uncle, Su Fengchen.
Su Fengchen smiled when he saw Su Binglan. “h.e.l.lo, Binglan. What are you doing here?”
“h.e.l.lo, Uncle Fengchen. Have you finished the salted duck and preserved eggs I asked you to marinate?” Su Binglan responded.
Su Fengchen could no longer study for the imperial exams and do heavy work since his hands got severely injured. Therefore, he raised some ducks, chickens, and a few pigs.
The chicken and ducks had laid eggs, but he could not bear to sell them. Instead, he gave them all to Su Binglan so she would eat them.
Raising pigs was not easy, and he would sell them at the end of the year. However, he could not sell them for much and used that money for a year’s expenses.
Previously, he had borrowed a lot of money to treat his injuries. In addition, he still had to care for his parents, while his living conditions were also very tight.
Thus, Su Binglan thought of teaching her uncle to do business. She noticed her uncles raised ducks and chickens and had many eggs, so she taught him to make salted duck eggs and preserved eggs.
The dishes were new to the people of that era, and Su Binglan knew they would sell well. She planned to sell them in the tofu shop. Naturally, the profits from the eggs would go to her uncle.