Chapter 45 - 045 Cooperation

Zhu Aiqing seemed preoccupied with worries before going to sleep. Beside her, Tian Manjin had already fallen asleep, his snoring resounding like thunder. Seeing her carefree husband, she was so irritated that she woke Tian Manjin up, "What’s wrong? I was sleeping well, why did you hit me?" Tian Manjin rubbed his sleepy eyes. "You really don’t worry about family matters at all. Sisi just went to deliver something to Zhong Shigen’s family. If people find out about this, our family is going to have some serious trouble." Zhu Aiqing was still concerned about their dealings with Zhong Shigen’s family. In these times, who dares to associate with a wealthy farmer? If someone with ulterior motives finds out, even though the Old Man is a veteran revolutionary, it’s better to have less trouble than more, isn’t it? Over the past few years, Zhu Aiqing had deliberately not mentioned the situation at Zhong Shigen’s family to her mother-in-law, for fear that Granny Zhao might take pity and help Zhao Manxiu’s family. Little did she expect that after all her efforts to keep it secret, it would be revealed by Ah Nan, the little rascal. It’s true that if they’re not family, they don’t share the same door—all so ready to help others! Seeing his wife’s distressed expression, Tian Manjin just smiled dismissively. A wife always worries over things. It’s just dealing with a wealthy farmer’s family—how serious can it be? And if Ah Nan, a young girl, sent something over, even if someone saw it, what does it matter? As long as the adults insist they didn’t know, what can those Rebel Faction members do? "Let’s sleep now, don’t overthink. What does it matter what a little girl like Ah Nan does? Just say you didn’t know, alright?" Zhu Aiqing’s eyes lit up. Yes, she had been too fixated on a dead end; she could just act as if she didn’t know. With her father-in-law’s background, as long as the adults didn’t cause trouble, those from the Rebel Faction wouldn’t dare do anything to them. Zhu Aiqing excitedly patted her husband’s back. When it comes to crucial times, men are indeed reliable! Tian Manjin, who had been woken up, couldn’t be bothered to sleep anymore. He had been feasting these past few days and was feeling fiery hot. Since he was awake, might as well relieve some of that heat. He chuckled, turned over to embrace his wife, and soon enough, heavy panting and soft moans filled the room. The busiest time of spring plowing was over, leaving only some finishing tasks. Tian Xinhua, since seeing those sacks full of sorghum, stopped going to the fields to work, preparing to embark on a big endeavor. The Old Man repeatedly exhorted the two youngsters to work quietly, trying not to let others find out, and not to brew too much at once to prevent too much of the alcohol scent from escaping and being detected by the villagers. The Old Man had thought things through very thoroughly. Tian Xinhua and Tian Sisi naturally agreed. When Granny Zhao heard that the white ape told her granddaughter to brew alcohol, she immediately cleared out a room in the backyard. That room was originally intended for boiling pig feed, but since later on only raising one pig was allowed, Granny Zhao didn’t use it and it had been empty. Now it was conveniently available for Tian Sisi and Tian Xinhua. Tian Sisi took out some pastries and shared them with Donghua Jian Country and the others, letting the kids go to the back mountain to gather firewood. Brewing alcohol consumes a lot of firewood. Everything was ready; when the villagers went out to work, Tian Sisi and Tian Xinhua started their grand brewing endeavor. They did not dare to steam too much at once, only a hundred pounds of sorghum. Tian Sisi took out ten wine yeast balls and, seeing the surprised look on Tian Xinhua’s face, explained, "This is excellent wine medicine, it’ll make the alcohol yield higher." Having seen a lot of Tian Sisi’s various secrets these days, Tian Xinhua was no longer surprised. He had confirmed that these alcohol recipes and grains must be related to Ah Nan. It must be that great-grandpa put the blame on himself to protect Ah Nan. This was also good, letting people think of great-grandpa rather than implicating Ah Nan. Tian Xinhua subconsciously thought so. Although the old and the young had not discussed it, they spontaneously made the same choice to protect Tian Sisi. It was indeed Tian Sisi’s good fortune. Tian Sisi told Tian Xinhua the steps of brewing alcohol. She was never one to be hardworking in the first place. Once she had taught Tian Xinhua, she wouldn’t have to do so much work in the future. Tian Xinhua had no idea that Tian Sisi was using him as free labor; all he knew was that Ah Nan had shared these secret recipes with him unreservedly, and his heart was deeply moved, gazing at Tian Sisi with eyes so "affectionate" they were practically oozing sugar. "Brother Xinhua, are you moved? Don’t be too touched, all these tasks will be yours in the future. I’ll just sit and count the money," Tian Sisi said, standing on tiptoe to pat Tian Xinhua’s shoulder. Tian Xinhua said with a beaming smile, "Alright, Brother Hua will do the work, and Ah Nan will count the money." So willing to agree? In the past, Tian Xinhua would surely have made a few sarcastic remarks, so what’s going on today? Tian Sisi looked at Tian Xinhua suspiciously, finding it all incredibly odd. Tian Sisi didn’t know that at this time, no matter what technology it was, it was very secretive. Generally, it would be passed down from father to son, from son to grandson, generation by generation. Even when masters taught apprentices, they would hold back something, leaving their own little secrets, and so as time passed, many ancient crafts were lost. Tian Sisi didn’t understand these nuances. She only knew that to make herself comfortable, it was natural to teach an apprentice. Also, Tian Sisi had a lot of trust in Tian Xinhua. Had it been someone else, she might not have been so generous. The two mixed the cooked sorghum and put it into the pots to ferment. Tian Sisi estimated that the fermentation would take about a day, which was several times quicker than the usual wine medicine. Tian Xinhua counted the large pots at home, finding five or six of them that Granny Zhao used for pickling vegetables. He thought about it and decided to steam a few more pots of sorghum to use up the remaining pots so that they could distill all the liquor at once tomorrow. Tian Xinhua tirelessly used a wooden stick to keep stirring in order to let the cooked sorghum cool down faster, while Tian Sisi stoked the fire. Fortunately, she had lived in the countryside in her previous life, so she could still handle this kind of earthen stove. The dancing flames reflected off her tender white face, coloring it like a rosy dawn. Tian Xinhua happened to look up and saw Tian Sisi’s side profile, beautifully flushed—causing him a moment of surprise. In the past, his male classmates were extremely envious of him, saying that he had a beautiful, fashionable cousin, but he always scoffed at it. How was Ah Nan good-looking? Wasn’t she just a little blond brat? Yet just now, he realized that the little blond brat who used to trail behind him had indeed grown up and become so pretty! Tian Xinhua shook his head and smiled, mustering all his strength to continue stirring. No matter how much Ah Nan grew up, in his eyes, she was still that little girl who would cry and wail, still the Ah Nan who would give him the chicken drumstick while she ate the chicken feet herself. Because both of them did their work during the day, there were no adults at home, so when Tian Xinhua and Tian Sisi distilled their first pot of liquor, the only ones who knew were Old Man and Granny Zhao, plus a few little ones from Donghua. These little guys were overjoyed these past few days, having something delicious to eat every day and never the same thing twice. Tian Sisi poured two small cups of the amber-colored first-run liquor for Old Man and Granny Zhao, watching them with a grin. Old Man took a small sip first, savored it, then nodded with a smile, "Not bad, it’s even purer than what the wine master brews." The wine master Old Man referred to wasn’t from Yuequan Village but lived in the town. Surnamed Wang, after the sorghum harvest each year, he would go around to each village. Those who wanted to brew liquor would invite him to their homes. He was provided with three meals a day plus a snack at night, and besides that, he was paid a wage of two yuan a day. The wine medicine was provided by the wine master himself. The wine Old Man used to drink was brewed by this very Master Wang. Granny Zhao couldn’t wait to take a sip as well, smacking her lips, "Seems pretty strong." Granny didn’t understand what made a good liquor. She only knew that it was quite fiery upon entering her mouth, but it didn’t burn the throat like other liquors, and after drinking it, she felt rather comfortable. Old Man snatched the cup from her hands, "Enough, with your taste, don’t waste this fine liquor." Tian Xinhua poured himself a small cup and drank it in one gulp. As soon as the liquor hit his throat, his eyes lit up. If he can’t sell this liquor, then his name might as well be written backward (but isn’t your name still Tian if written backward?), he thought with excitement. Overwhelmed with joy, Tian Xinhua scooped up Tian Sisi and planted two hard kisses on her cheeks, just like when they were young. "Ah Nan, we’re going to make big money, haha!" Tian Sisi, disgusted, wiped the saliva off her face and scolded angrily, "Tian Xinhua, aren’t you disgusting, getting all that slobber on my face." Tian Xinhua just chuckled, delighted by the sight of Tian Sisi with her round alarmed almond eyes, making him laugh even more. ps: Special thanks to I Love Myself XX, Fat Girl 0915, and Maple Leaf Frosty Distance for their support. Thank you! And thanks to all the readers who support Old Yang, I’m truly grateful!