Chapter 29: Clinginess

Shao Diandian discovered an interesting phenomenon when she went to sleep: including tonight, the three little ones had taken turns sleeping with her for three nights. The first night it was Da Hu, the second was Er Hu, and tonight, it was Xiao Hu. The three children actually understood a rotation system.

Da Hu and Er Hu were already asleep, but Xiao Hu was still struggling to keep his eyes wide open, his little head darting left and right. Shao Diandian asked him, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Hu replied, "Xiao Hu... not sleep." He was the youngest, and since it had finally been his turn to sleep with his mother, he didn't want to sleep; he wanted to stay awake.

Shao Diandian asked, "Why not?" Xiao Hu didn't answer. How could Shao Diandian know the little schemes in his head? She blew out the lamp, lay down beside him, and said sternly, "Close your eyes!"

Xiao Hu closed his eyes obediently, yet he still didn't sleep. "Mother," he called out. Shao Diandian pretended to be asleep. After calling her three times, he finally stopped. But if one thought he had finally fallen asleep, they would be gravely mistaken. A small lump appeared under the blanket of the three children. Soon, that little lump wiggled its way toward Shao Diandian. Xiao Hu had crawled into her quilt. He wanted to sleep with his mother, and he wasn't going to tell Da Hu or Er Hu! Coincidentally, that was exactly what Da Hu and Er Hu had done as well.

The first thing Shao Diandian did upon waking was to search for the children: one at the head of the bed, one at the foot, and one curled up in the corner. After settling the three of them, she went to Old Man Shao’s room to wake up Shao Erdan. There was a lot to do today, and she couldn't handle it all alone.

When Shao Erdan came to the kitchen after visiting the latrine, he was surprised to see Mrs. Wu there. He looked stunned. Mrs. Wu hurriedly explained, "I... I had nothing to do, so I came over to help." Shao Erdan looked at his sister, and since she didn't object, he simply accepted it.

Mrs. Wu was nervous and fidgety at first, but since Shao Erdan just kept his head down and worked without paying her any mind, she gradually relaxed. Shao Erdan mainly handled the heavy lifting, while Mrs. Wu helped with washing, chopping vegetables, and kneading dough. She was efficient and tidy, and she remembered everything Shao Diandian told her after just one instruction. With Mrs. Wu and Shao Erdan helping—mostly Mrs. Wu—they finished twice as much work as the day before in the exact same amount of time.

Shao Diandian was very satisfied. "My mother is awake; I need to go," Mrs. Wu said, keeping a constant eye on her own household's activities. Shao Diandian replied, "Alright, go ahead. We'll discuss your wages after I return from town."

Mrs. Wu shook her head. "You've already given me enough." Twenty copper coins! Her husband, Liu Ping, worked as a laborer in town, and even working himself to the bone, he couldn't earn that much in a day. If he was lucky, he’d make five or ten coins, but most of the time, he only got two meals. "I'll come back tomorrow morning." She turned to leave through the back door of the kitchen, but then turned back, thinking of something. "I... I won't take any wages!"

Shao Diandian chuckled. "Alright."

"I'll help you look after the children, too," she added, sneaking back a second time. Shao Diandian was almost amused to death by her furtive behavior.

Before leaving, Shao Diandian went to Wei Ting's room. His wounds were healing well, and she would be able to remove the stitches tonight. Afterward, she left a message for Old Man Shao. She had intended to leave a note, but she realized with dismay that all three members of her family were illiterate. "Even if I wrote in simplified characters, Old Man Shao wouldn't recognize them," she muttered. She then said to Wei Ting, "When my father wakes up, tell him to go learn about vegetable gardening from Auntie Qian."

Shao Diandian went to the market with Shao Erdan. The young butcher had just opened his stall. He had been jilted and was in a foul mood, but life had to go on. Shao Diandian approached his stall and asked with a smile, "Have you thought it over? Will you split the profits with me, or will you just supply me?"

The butcher looked at the chubby village girl who had dumped him and turned his head away in sorrow. "Split the profits." That way, if there was a loss, it would be on her, and if there was a profit, he would have a share.

Shao Diandian smiled. "Very well."

The butcher frowned at her. "You aren't surprised at all. Did you know I would choose to split the profits?"

Shao Diandian spread her hands. "Because splitting the profits means you don't have to bear the risk. If we earn, you have a share; if we lose, it's on me."

"But I want a thirty-seventy split," the butcher said.

"Twenty-eighty! And you must sell your meat to me for half price!"

"Half price? That's too much!"

"Just think of it as a wholesale price. The goods I provide will sell at a good price. You do the math; you'll make it back!"

The butcher finally agreed. Shao Diandian smiled. "Then let's try it for one day. Happy cooperation."

After leaving behind two large jars, Shao Diandian and Shao Erdan went to Jinji. Even though it had only been two days, Shao Diandian's "wife cakes" had already become the talk of Jinji.

"Honestly, can't you change up the variety of pastries here at Jinji? They're so expensive, and it's always the same few things. The cakes made by a little village girl taste better than your shortbread! And the name is novel, too... 'Wife Cake'!" The one complaining was a regular customer of Jinji.

Shopkeeper Sun didn't care. "They only go to buy them because that girl once saved a child at Jinji. How could her cakes possibly taste better?" Their master chef at Jinji had retired from the capital and had even served as an imperial chef in the palace! Could he lose to a little village girl?

"Oh, the wife cakes are here!" The regular customer didn't say another word and left Jinji. "Girl! Save some for me!"

"Wife cakes, pfft, vulgar!" Shopkeeper Sun coldly headed to the back kitchen. A few chefs were gathered together tasting a cake. They had to taste every batch of cakes sold to ensure the quality was up to standard before they could be sold; otherwise, they would rather throw them away than sell them to customers. They had recently been trying to improve their own shortbread.

"It smells so good." Shopkeeper Sun walked up and looked at the cakes on the table. "Is this a new batch? It seems different from the previous recipe." The chefs didn't speak. Shopkeeper Sun took a bite, and his eyes lit up. "Fragrant, soft, sweet, and chewy—it's much better than what we were making! Who made this?"

The chefs looked at each other. One of them summoned the courage to say, "It was bought from outside... it's the wife cake from that little village girl." Shopkeeper Sun was speechless.

At the alley entrance near Jinji, Shao Diandian sold the last wife cake on her tray and prepared to pack up. "Miss, give me two red bean ones and one dried vegetable one!" a young woman said as she walked by.

Shao Diandian said politely, "I'm sorry, they're all sold out for today."

The woman pointed to Shao Erdan's basket and asked, "Aren't there still some in there?"

Shao Diandian replied, "Those are not for sale."

Shao Erdan leaned over to his sister's ear and whispered, "Sister, why aren't we selling the rest?"

"You'll know in a moment."

Half an hour later, the two of them were standing at the entrance of Wutong Academy. The students had already started their classes by then, and there were few people outside. The servant at the gate stopped them and asked, "What are you here for?"

Shao Diandian replied, "I'm looking for Shen Chuan."