18 Testing Angelo

“Aunt, you can count on my word.”

Qin Jinquan pretended not to notice Zhu Erhong’s darting eyes and maintained a smile. “But as I said last time, for Ange’er’s sake, his wages will be recorded for now, and I’ll pay him all at once when he gets married, with a nice red envelope. If you agree, then let Ange’er stay, how about that?”

“You’re the one paying the wages; it’s up to you,” Zhu Erhong replied, withdrawing her gaze and smiling warmly.

Hmph, if he dared not pay her wages, she would spread the word at the village entrance and even at the city gates, ruining Qin Jin’s business!

Besides, before the day of pay came, Ange’er might have already learned the recipes for pea cakes and qianzhang.

“Alright, then let Ange’er stay. From today on, his wages will be calculated monthly,” Qin Jinquan said cheerfully.

“It's settled then.” Zhu Erhong patted Qin An affectionately on the shoulder. “Ange’er, since Brother Jinquan is willing to help you, you must remember his kindness. Whatever he asks you to do, you do it diligently, understand?”

“Okay.” Qin An kept his head lowered, looking dull but obedient.

Zhu Erhong smiled in satisfaction.

At that moment, Qin Jinquan called out, “Auntie, have you and Ange’er eaten? If not, stay and have something.”

“We ate at home. Ange’er is here to work, not to eat. You can send him to do any work,” Zhu Erhong said.

“Hmm… how about letting him go with Sister Miao to the village chief’s house to move pumpkins? Sister Chunlan said her family has too many pumpkins. They can’t finish them all, so Sister Miao wants to buy a few more to make pumpkin cakes.”

Pumpkin cakes?

Zhu Erhong’s eyes brightened. Pumpkins could be made into cakes? How? Like the flatbread kind?

She quickly nodded, “Alright, you arrange it.”

She smiled, the wrinkles on her face deepening. “You all hurry and eat, then get to work. I have a lot to do at home.”

Declining Qin Jin’s invitation to sit and rest, she left cheerfully, her heart burning with excitement.

Pumpkin cakes, huh.

Qin Jinquan saw Zhu Erhong to the door. Seeing she was really leaving, he called Qin An into the kitchen to eat.

Qin An had indeed already eaten lunch, but Ye Miao enthusiastically pulled him to sit down. He couldn’t refuse and ended up eating half a bowl of steamed noodles.

Although mixed with some cornmeal and without meat, the noodles had plenty of lard, leaving his mouth greasy after eating.

And that fried bean curd skin tasted somewhat like meat.

His cousin’s family had really good food!

After lunch, Qin Jinquan pushed a small cart and, together with Ye Miao and Qin An, went to the village chief’s house.

Yesterday, Huang Chunlan mentioned when buying pea cakes that her pumpkins were ready to be pulled out—the vines had aged. However, she still had over twenty pumpkins left, too many for her family alone to eat, and she feared they would spoil, so she told Ye Miao she could come take some.

Taking them was fine, but not for free.

Qin Jinquan planned to pay.

Now that he was earning more cash daily, he dared to spend a bit.

He also wanted to test Ange’er.

He felt sympathy for Qin An but had to be cautious when it came to his own business.

When they arrived at Huang Chunlan’s house, she looked surprised to see Qin An.

Qin Jinquan smiled and explained, “Second Aunt thought that if Ange’er could receive wages monthly, it would be easier to arrange his marriage, so she let him work at my house. To avoid any mishaps, she wants me to keep his wages until he gets married.”

“Sister Chunlan, if you know any suitable young men, you must tell Ange’er. Now he can get wages every month.”

Upon hearing this, Qin An lowered his head even more, looking embarrassed.

Huang Chunlan was quite surprised. Could Zhu Erhong, known for being tight-fisted, really do this much for Ange’er?

Keep in mind, Zhu Erhong was the kind of person who wouldn’t let guests eat their fill at a wedding banquet!

Suppressing her surprise, she smiled, “Don’t worry, if there’s a suitable young man, I’ll definitely tell Ange’er. Everyone knows he’s hardworking and capable.”

Her gaze then fell on the small carts Qin Jinquan, Ye Miao, and Qin An were pushing.

Curious, she pushed the cart around a few times. Her family members also joined in. The cart was indeed practical and fun. After confirming the address of the He family, she went into the kitchen to get the pumpkins for Qin Jinquan.

Seeing Qin Jinquan wanted to pay, Huang Chunlan shook her head decisively. “No need to pay. You want to make pumpkin cakes, right? When you make some, just bring a few over for us to taste.”

It was pumpkin season, and pumpkins weren’t worth much. She preferred a few pumpkin cakes in exchange.

Qin Jinquan thought about it, put the money away, and agreed.

He let Ye Miao and Qin An push the carts home and went straight to the county town.

His family’s sugar and candied dates were running low, so he needed to replenish supplies, and he also needed to buy some glutinous rice, which was necessary to make pumpkin cakes.

Dongyang County didn’t grow rice, so the rice and glutinous rice in the grain stores were imported, making these foods more expensive than local grains.

Qin Jinquan bought five jin of rice and two jin of glutinous rice. Such a small amount cost him forty wen.

Back in the village, he borrowed a stone mill from Zhang Qi’s family to grind the glutinous rice into flour.

Carrying the glutinous rice flour home, Ye Miao and Qin An had already steamed the pumpkins.

The steamed pumpkin needed to be squeezed to remove excess water. If too watery, more glutinous rice flour had to be added when mixing the dough, which would diminish the pumpkin flavor.

The pumpkin also had to cool before adding flour. If added while still hot, the flour would gelatinize and become very sticky.

Once the pumpkin was cool, sugar and glutinous rice flour were mixed in to form a dough, then shaped into small cakes and fried.

Qin Jinquan explained the process carefully, and Ye Miao and Qin An listened intently.

Actually, Qin Jinquan wanted to make the old-style pumpkin cakes—cookies sandwiching pumpkin—but there were no cookies here, so he had to skip that step.

Still, even without the cookies, the fried pumpkin cakes were delicious—crisp on the outside and soft inside. Ye Miao beamed with delight and praised Qin Jinquan’s cleverness.

Qin Jinquan modestly said he had only heard about the recipe.

The whole afternoon passed making pumpkin cakes.

By evening, Qin An returned home.

Zhu Erhong, seeing him come back, immediately pulled him into the kitchen and anxiously asked, “Did Qin Jin make pumpkin cakes?”

“Yes,” Qin An replied with lowered eyes.

Zhu Erhong brightened. “How did he make them? Are they tasty?”

“I don’t know. I wasn’t in the kitchen when they were made. I didn’t see the process.”

Zhu Erhong frowned. “He purposely kicked you out of the kitchen?”

“I left on my own.”

“What?” Zhu Erhong’s voice rose, and she suddenly jabbed Qin An hard on the forehead. “Are you stupid? I let you go there to find out the recipe!”

Qin An dodged a step to the side, avoiding her finger, and explained, “If I’d gone up on my own, Brother Jin would immediately know what I wanted and might find an excuse to send me away in a few days.”

“You wanted to learn the recipes for qianzhang and pea cakes, right? It’s not worth it just for pumpkin cakes.”

“Besides, pumpkin cakes need glutinous rice and deep frying. Even if they’re made, they wouldn’t sell. Pea cakes don’t sell well either.”

That made sense. Zhu Erhong’s brow furrowed, somewhat swayed by his words.

Pumpkins weren’t worth much, but glutinous rice was precious. She hadn’t even tasted it in her whole life!

If they really made pumpkin cakes, they’d have to set up a stall in town—country folks couldn’t afford them.

After some thought, her expression softened. “Forget the pumpkin cakes for now. Focus on qianzhang; those sell best.”

She had carefully observed at the city gates that qianzhang sold much better than pea cakes.

Qin An nodded and rolled up his sleeves to prepare dinner.

The next day, after breakfast, he went to Qin Jinquan’s house.

Actually, Zhu Erhong wanted him to go over in the middle of the night, but he used Qin Jinquan as an excuse to refuse. It wasn’t a lie—whether for pea cakes or qianzhang, they didn’t need him yet.

After all, Zhao Feng went to the fields every day, and Ye Miao had free time to pick wild vegetables or embroider handkerchiefs.

When Qin An arrived at Qin Jinquan’s, Ye Miao had just woken and was getting ready to do chores.

Seeing him, she beckoned, “Rest a bit first. After I feed the chicks, we’ll go up the mountain to gather firewood.”

“How about I go with Uncle Feng to work in the fields?” Qin An suggested.

“No need. Just come with me to gather firewood. Collect plenty so we don’t have to go up the mountain again tomorrow,” Ye Miao shook her head.

The night before, he and Qin Jinquan had agreed to assign Ange’er some light, easy tasks for now.

Qin An thought about it and nodded.

The two quickly grabbed some hemp ropes and headed up the mountain to collect firewood.

By noon, both returned with large bundles of dry wood, though Qin An’s load was heavier—he was stronger than the average boy.

They washed up and were about to enter the kitchen to make lunch when Qin Jinquan came back.

The weather was cool today, and many people went to town for the market, so things were selling fast.

Qin Jinquan had bought some apples grown by farmers themselves. They were small, about half a fist, not very sweet but not sour either.

Qin An washed a few and placed them on the stove.

Seeing Qin Jinquan leave the kitchen with one apple in hand, he hurried after him. “Brother Jin.”

“Hmm?” Qin Jinquan turned and looked at him. Seeing his hands empty, he said, “Why aren’t you eating? Try it, these apples aren’t sour.”

Qin An smiled faintly. It was clear this cousin genuinely meant well.

There weren’t many who treated him sincerely; he didn’t want to make things hard for Qin Jin.

Moreover, though Qin Jinquan hadn’t said it outright, he knew Qin Jinquan was testing him, which was normal since they weren’t close before.

And even if it was a test, Qin Jinquan had truly taught him how to make pumpkin cakes, for which he was grateful.

“Brother Jin, I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?”

“My mother wants me to find out the recipes for pea cakes and qianzhang, but I don’t want to. First, it will offend you and Sister Miao; second, even if I learn them, the benefits won’t go to me. But if I don’t find them out, she’ll definitely call me back.”

“She can only tolerate it for a month.”

He could only stall for a month. Beyond that, his mother would lose patience.

“In that month, I’m bound to cause you and Sister Miao some trouble. You don’t need to pay me wages; just have Sister Miao teach me some embroidery when she has time.”

Actually, for the embroidered handkerchiefs, Zhu Erhong went to the cloth shop to pay deposits and collect the handkerchiefs and threads. After he finished embroidering, Zhu Erhong would sell them, so he never actually handled any money.

But Zhu Erhong wouldn’t control him forever; once he married, she wouldn’t be able to.

So he wanted to learn some real skills to rely on.