Chapter 41.2

"What are you up to?" Fang Shi asked Song Dingxiang to take her son to the main house and placed him next to Li Shi, saying, "Why so secretive, afraid I won't be happy to hear it?"

"It's nothing," Song Dingxiang said with a wry smile, explaining the peach-picking matter, "just this, no need for Mom to say anything, Zijin is old enough to take charge of things on her own, so I've assigned it to her."

Li Shi laughed, "That's just your mom, always fussing. Now that we have the peaches, and sugar at home, take a look at how we can proceed."

Whether it's canned peaches or peach sauce, it's actually quite simple.

Begin by meticulously peeling ripe peaches and halving them before deftly extracting their pits. To mitigate any astringent notes, immerse the peach halves in a gentle saline water for about ten minutes. Subsequently, simmer them tenderly in a sugary elixir for approximately ten minutes until they attain a perfect balance of sweetness and texture.

While cooking the peaches, Song Zhiyuan also returned, bringing back four large ceramic jars and a big pack of rock sugar.

"Let's try making a few jars first to see how we can make it delicious and long-lasting," he said. Although he didn't talk much usually, his thoughts were much more delicate than Fang shi's.

Fang Shi meticulously cleaned the ceramic jars, then tenderly wiped their interiors with a cloth dampened in fragrant white wine. In the heart of the yard, she kindled a fire beneath a sturdy pot, where the jars were soon immersed in a cleansing bath of boiling water.

Once the peaches had softened in the gentle embrace of heat and cooled to a comforting warmth, Fang Shi carefully transferred them and their luscious syrup into the now sterilized jars.

Each jar was then sealed with a protective cap, layered with oiled paper to guard against moisture, and bound tightly with hemp rope. A thick coat of mud was applied, forming an impervious seal.

Once the jars had returned to ambient temperature, they were carefully relocated to a cool, shadowy corner within the house, where they would patiently await their moment to be savored.

A large basket of peaches, with the best-looking ones, were cooked into two jars of canned peaches, and another basin was cooked with well water, waiting for everyone to come back and eat together after dinner.

The remaining peaches, which were damaged or bitten by insects, weren't suitable for canning and couldn't fetch a high price.

After some thought, Song Dingxiang washed the peach skin and cooked it into a thick syrup, then skimmed out the skins and discarded them. She then added chopped peaches, some rock sugar, and let it dissolve, before transferring the syrup to a bowl and cooling it with well water.

Finally, all the diced peaches were cooked with sugar to make jam. Fang shi rolled out dough, made small balls, filled them with thick peach sauce, and shaped them into small sugar packets.

Once steamed, the sweet sugar packets were round and adorable, with a red dot on top, absolutely charming.

Not only were they cute, but when bitten into, the sweet peach fragrance would fill the mouth, making them very delicious.

"It's just a bit too sweet." Li Shi took a bite and found it too rich, so she stopped eating. "How much can we sell this thing for?"

Song Dingxiang replied, "If we sell it now, it probably won't fetch a good price. But when winter comes, if we wrap these sugar packets and sell them, we will definitely make a good profit."

Song Zhiyuan added, "Indeed, these peaches smell so fragrant, and with so much sugar added. When we sell them with thicker pastry and a bigger size, we can easily make a profit even by selling them for two wen each."

"As long as we can make money," Li Shi nodded with a smile, "it's all good. It's almost noon now, they should be back soon. Quickly, the second son's family should start cooking."

Fang shi rushed to the kitchen with her daughters-in-law to start cooking. In the hot weather of summer, everything felt less appetizing.

They picked a few eggplants from the field, steamed them, mixed them with garlic, vinegar, and a bit of chili sauce, grabbed a bunch of radish greens, washed some scallion leaves, and ate them dipped in a bowl of soybean paste. Finally, they cooked a pot of thick porridge in which they placed a circle of pancakes and steamed some mantou in a bamboo steamer.

By the time the workers from the field and the tea shop came back, it was just in time for the meal.

The workers in the field could smell the strong scent of peaches as soon as they entered the courtyard. Zhang Shi couldn't help but swallow her saliva and said to Zhao Di, "I bet our Second Miss has made something delicious again."

Zhao Di rubbed her stomach and laughed, "I know that no matter what our Second Miss makes, we'll all get a taste. My stomach is definitely enjoying the feast."

After they washed their faces and hands and entered the main house, Li Shi said, "Today I cooked some peaches, soaked them in well water. We can take them out after dinner to eat and cool down."

Jin Qiao and Qiao Liu helped out with the work and both tasted the small peach dumplings. They exclaimed, "I dare not go into the backyard anymore, the aroma is too tempting. Once in the backyard, I might not be able to resist and end up eating them all in one go."

Li Shi chuckled, "Eating them all in one go, you're not afraid of bursting your stomach. Eating them after they're cooled down is even more delicious. Eating them while hot is not as refreshing."

After a hasty lunch, the whole family rested on the kang bed. The summer heat was intense, but the thick bricks of the old house could somewhat fend off the heat.

However, Song Dingxiang was suffering from the summer, being bitten by mosquitoes every day. Even the best mosquito repellent cream from town only provided slight relief.

While others' rooms were mostly free of mosquitoes after burning mugwort, her room was filled with mosquito repellent pouches and mugwort smoke, but the mosquitoes relentlessly persisted, determined to bite her.

"It must be because the aroma of the mugwort is too enticing." Fang shi fanned Song Dingxiang for a while, then went back to her own room after seeing that her daughter had fallen asleep.

Song Zhiyuan was calculating the accounts, having gave a deposit of fifty taels for fifty porcelain jars and ordered a hundred large jars and two hundred small jars. When it was time to collect the jars, he would have to pay another fifty taels.

Clay jars were much cheaper, with a few wen being enough to buy a small jar, and a large jar costing just over ten wen. However, he was confident in his daughter's ability to make money, and even if they didn't sell well, they could always consume the goods themselves and make up for the losses in a year.

"The spicy cabbage in town has sold out, and there isn't much left at home either. Let's just keep it for our own consumption. This stuff can be stored, let's see if we can make more next year." Song Zhiyuan said to Fang shi.

Fang shi fanned her young son and said, "I think it's a good idea. Last year, many vendors came to our house to buy goods, and all the cabbage at home was used up. This year, your father planted an additional acre of cabbage, but I don't know if it's enough."

"In fact, I don't think it's necessary to plant so much. It's tiring to watch over it all day. It's better to buy from the village, as cabbage doesn't cost much anyway," said Song Zhiyuan.

Fang shi replied, "Isn't your father afraid of attracting attention?"

Song Zhiyuan chuckled, "Planting so much won't attract attention? Instead of planting everything ourselves, it's better to give some benefits to the villagers. I'll talk to my father later, and next year we won't plant as much. But let's see if we can sell everything we've produced this year first, and if we do, we'll buy from the village next year."

Fang shi fanned him a couple of times as well and said, "This is all men's business. Rest for a bit now, but remember, you still have to weed in the field this afternoon. It's all work, from inside to outside. There's so much to do in the fields - vegetables, grains, peanuts, soybeans, one after another. It's never-ending."

"Being busy means earning money. If you're not busy, where will you earn money?" Song Zhiyuan closed the account book, leaned next to his son, and whispered, "You should rest for a bit too, you still have to feed the pigs this afternoon."

After a short nap, the couple quickly got up and went to the backyard to cook pig feed, while Zhang shi and Song Zhicheng had already started working. They had a daily income from running the tea stand, and they were very grateful to their siblings and their spouses.

So, after a brief rest, they got up to prepare pig feed.

Fang shi and the others quickly took over, and Zhang shi went back to wash up and change clothes before going with Zhao Di to deliver green bean tea to the lotus pond. Some passersby were resting in the pavilion, so they went earlier to earn a few more coins.

In the evening, the refreshing sugar-soaked yellow peaches and the translucent trembling peach jelly that had already solidified were brought out. The sugar-soaked yellow peaches were fine, but it was the quivering jelly that opened everyone's eyes.

"The peach skins contain gelatin, so when you boil the peach skins, the water turns into this jelly when cooled. But you need a lot of peach skins, and it will melt when heated, so you can't make it with just a few peaches," explained Song Dingxiang.

Fang's eyes lit up with interest, "Can't we sell this too? Let's make some and bring it to the town, there's a well in the store. We can draw water and let it sit overnight, then sell it the next day."

"You've got money on your mind," Li shi dug into the peach jelly, nodding, "This is really good, refreshing and easy on the teeth. We can make more peach skins while cooking the canned peaches at home."

Song Dingxiang added, "That's right. I was thinking of making more after the busy farming season to take to Sixth Granduncle to taste. If he's interested, we can do it together. But we need grandpa and dad's approval first."

Song Xingyi glanced at Song Zhiyuan, who nodded, "Indeed, usually he helps take care of the orchard, and it's just our two families growing fruit. We should let him know about this money-making idea. However... let Dingxiang hold the recipe herself."

Song Xingyi let out a relaxed chuckle. "As long as it brings him some extra income, I'm content. But if he gets any ideas about the recipe, I won't hesitate to give him a good smack. I'm truly happy for him," he added, a genuine warmth in his voice.

He was genuinely happy because he had a close bond with his youngest two brothers, and he had helped graft many fruit trees for them without taking a penny.

Now, being able to provide his brothers with more ways to make money made him happy.

The days passed busily, and in the blink of an eye, it was time for the busy farming season.

These days, the whole village was filled with a sense of excitement. As soon as the sun dried the fields, people rushed in to start harvesting.

Song Zijin, accompanied by three elderly aunts and around ten young girls, headed to the orchard early in the morning. The children were well-behaved, and the elderly women were attentive.

The peaches were carefully placed in baskets, then picked up by the vendors to be loaded onto carts downhill.

Even though they only received ten copper coins and a few peaches as payment for the day, which was much less than what the strong laborers earned, it was still a rare income for them. After picking the peaches by midday, the elderly women didn't delay in going home to cook and deliver meals.

The children didn't delay in going back to the fields to help out, making it a win-win situation for everyone.

After the busy farming season, the lotus flowers in the pond also bloomed one after another, with delicate petals unfolding to reveal like soft pink champagne flutes stamens, as if the refreshing fragrance could be felt even from afar.

Song Zhixuan received the news of the blooming lotus flowers and with a heart brimming with anticipation, swiftly took his wife, father-in-law, and classmates from the academy, rushing in a donkey cart to the lotus pond.

Meanwhile, Zhang shi, forsaking the familiar rhythm of her tea stall, joined forces with Fang shi in preparing food and drinks for the group of students.

The arrival of so many scholars in the village attracted the attention of many young ladies and wives who sneaked glances. The group of single scholars also stood tall and showed off their best sides.

Song Dingxiang glanced from afar and thought her younger uncle stood out from the crowd as the most remarkable.

——— Author's Note: Today is a big drop in temperature!!!

I'm going to freeze to death!!!

It's not even November yet, when will the heating come on?