RCAC chapter 8

Kotha: In previous chapter I mistranslated aiyu jelly as grass jelly 🫣🫣 I fixed it in this chapter

In the courtyard, Qiao Shen tidied up the items he had brought back from the village. With a few baked flatbreads, he stir-fried some greens and steamed a bowl of egg custard just for Xiao Changle, and that was lunch taken care of.

After the meal, Qiao Shen started making aiyu jelly with taro balls.

He boiled a big pot of water, poured it into a small basin to cool for storage. Then he started another fire to steam sweet potatoes and pumpkin in the pot, while sitting in the courtyard to dig out the aiyu jelly seeds, taking a small portion and leaving the rest to dry in a bamboo tray for storage.

He scooped a basin of cool boiled water and wrapped the aiyu jelly seeds in a clean piece of gauze. Qiao Shen started kneading them in the water. After extracting a certain concentration of aiyu jelly liquid, he stirred it evenly, filtered it again with another piece of gauze, and left it in a cool place to slowly set.

He took out the steamed sweet potatoes and pumpkin to cool, then added water to the pot to start cooking the red beans. You need to watch the red beans from time to time so they don’t overcook. Once they’re cooked but still keep their shape, it’s time to take them out.

Everything was ready, just waiting for the aiyu jelly, so Qiao Shen took this chance to go take a nap. Xiao Changle, who had spent the morning playing with his father, was picked up by his dad and cuddled off to sleep again.

After getting through the blistering heat of noon, Qiao Shen woke up.

The aiyu jelly had set, turning into a jelly with a faint yellow color.

Qiao Shen held the bowl, which had a layer of aiyu jelly at the bottom and was topped with red beans and yellow taro balls. Qiao Shen handed the bowl to Qi Shuo, who had cleaned his hands before taking it. He first scooped up some aiyu jelly with a spoon. The aiyu jelly was crystal clear, cold to the mouth, and sweet with brown sugar, without any of the sour bitterness of Bì lì fruit. The taro balls were elastic, fragrant, and chewy. After finishing a bowl of aiyu jelly with taro balls, Qi Shuo only felt a refreshing coolness that permeated his body, as if the scorching summer heat had been completely dispelled.

“It really tastes good, I can’t believe these Bili fruits aren’t sour or bitter at all.” Qi Shuo looked at Qiao Shen, a mix of admiration and surprise. Ever since Qiao Shen woke up, the things he made were strange but somehow delightful.

“These are seeds, not the fruit, of course they won’t be sour or bitter. Tasty, right?” Qiao Shen was very happy; he felt like he had already seized a business opportunity.

He added as a reminder: “Oh, and from now on, call these ‘aiyu jelly seeds,’ not Bili fruits. If someone else tries to make them, our Changle’s tuition money will be ruined.”

Qi Shuo helped Qiao Shen secure the aiyu jelly and taro balls on the small cart. After testing it, it was stable enough for Qiao Shen to push it out of the yard.

“I’m leaving. I left a bowl for Changle in the cupboard. Remember to feed him when he wakes up,” Qiao Shen said, then closed the yard gate and left.

Qiao Shen knocked on the gate of the Liu residence: “Xuan-ger, are you home?”

“Brother-in-law’s here… oh, what’s this…” Li Lixuan opened the door and saw Qiao Shen wearing a bamboo hat and pushing the small wooden cart, and asked curiously.

“I made some little sweets and was about to sell them when I passed by, so I brought a bowl over for Yongyuan to try.”

“Yongyuan, go grab a bowl! Your uncle brought you something tasty.” Li Lixuan called to his son while thinking of inviting Qiao Shen inside.

“I won’t come in, and this stuff isn’t easy to carry,” Qiao Shen said. Yongyuan brought over a bowl and greeted him; Qiao Shen patted Yongyuan’s head and took the bowl, filling it generously with aiyu jelly and taro balls.

“Aiyu jelly for sale, nice and cool aiyu jelly…” Qiao Shen didn’t have the heart to shout too loudly, he only called out as he passed by someone’s yard.

In summer, just hearing the words ‘nice and cool’ made not only children but also adults unable to resist opening their gates, curious to come out and see. Looking at the crystal-clear jelly, didn’t it look just like ice blocks in winter?

Some couldn’t help but go back to their yards to grab a bowl, and then one bowl after another was taken, quickly selling out the jelly taro balls from the two wooden tubs.

Qiao Shen dragged the empty little wooden cart with one hand and shook the money pouch with the other, heading back to the yard feeling satisfied.

Qi Shuo didn’t expect Qiao Shen to come back so quickly. He put down his carpentry work and went over to help move the little cart and unload the wooden buckets.

As soon as Qiao Shen got into the yard, he tossed the stuff to Qi Shuo, plopped down at the stone table, and started counting the coins.

Three coins a bowl—it really wasn’t expensive. The sticky rice cakes that ordinary folks usually bought went for one coin a piece, and people often bought five at a time.

“Sixty-nine copper coins, and I sold 23 bowls!” Qiao Shen didn’t expect that just by walking down this one alley, he actually sold more than twenty bowls.

In some households with many children, the adults weren’t stingy and would often buy three to five bowls for the kids to satisfy their cravings.

“Four trips a day, wouldn’t that be 200 coins?” Qiao Shen did the math. Based on this sales volume, if he made a bit more each day—two trips in the morning, two in the afternoon—and just covered the alleys around his neighborhood, he could earn quite a bit of money.

“Just don’t overwork yourself. Money can wait, and Changle still has a few years before starting school.” Qi Shuo kept chiseling the wood, watching Qiao Shen beam with joy, thinking to himself, ‘This little money-lover.’

That night, before going to bed, Qiao Shen made some extra aiyu jelly and let it set. Since there was no refrigerator, the taro balls and red beans could only be cooked fresh the next day.

The next morning, after breakfast, Qiao Shen kept busy with his dessert business, while Qi Shuo headed to the carpenter’s shop, which had a fully equipped workbench in the backyard, making his work convenient.

In the morning, in the slightly tidy residential alleys of the Dong Town, Qiao Shen was pushing a wooden cart, while Xiao Changle held onto Qiao Shen’s pant leg with one hand and a fragrant braised chicken leg with the other, gnawing on it as he helped his dad sell aiyu jelly.

“Selling aiyu jelly, nice and chilly aiyu jelly!”

“Selling…” Xiao Changle shouted along, but he couldn’t keep up with the rest of the words, so he just kept yelling ‘selling, selling, selling’ to back his dad up.

After waking up from his nap, Qiao Shen tidied things up, picked up the still-sleeping Xiao Changle, and took him to the Liu courtyard. Xuan-ger took the child and put him next to Yongyuan, and the two kids slept soundly on the bed.

Qiao Shen went back to the yard and pushed the cart. This trip, he went to the farthest alley to continue selling aiyu jelly. After selling the last portion, he went back and picked up Xiao Changle on the way. The father and son slowly walked home, accompanied by the setting sun.

Days repeated like this every day. Qiao Shen was busy from morning till night, but he did earn a decent amount of money.

In the evening, after Qiao Shen finished bathing and pouring out the dirty water, he went back to his room to tidy up. Seeing Qi Shuo walk in, Qiao Shen asked, “Where’s Changle?”

Qi Shuo looked at Qiao Shen. His long hair was draped over his back, the tips still dripping water, and the exposed skin had that fresh post-bath pink. Qi Shuo’s Adam’s apple moved slightly: “He was so sleepy at dinner that he couldn’t keep his eyes open. I just put him to bed and he fell asleep.”

Qiao Shen made a sound of exhaustion. This afternoon, Xiao Changle had insisted on dragging him down some distant alley, so he must be really tired. After tidying up, Qiao Shen turned around and bumped into a strong chest—he didn’t even realize when Qi Shuo had come up behind him.

Qi Shuo’s tall frame wrapped around Qiao Shen from behind. He tilted his head slightly, inhaling the faint scent of Qiao Shen’s half-damp black hair. His deep voice brushed against Qiao Shen’s ear: “Is this okay?”

Qiao Shen felt all the blood in his body rush to his ears. When Qi Shuo spoke, the warm breath made Qiao Shen’s face flush red. What should he do?

“I… I’m a bit tired today… I’ll go to sleep first.” Qiao Shen broke free from Qi Shuo’s embrace, the last sentence spoken so quickly that it was almost inaudible.

Qi Shuo watched Qiao Shen’s hasty retreat and pressed his lips together.

After lying down, Qiao Shen’s mind was in a complete mess. He could accept having a family and he liked kids, but he wasn’t ready yet. Did he really want to spend his whole life with Qi Shuo in this era?

Qi Shuo was quiet but reliable, doted on children, wasn’t as rigid as people in ancient times, could work in the kitchen, would actively cook and wash dishes, and could earn money—handing all of it over to Qiao Shen. Most importantly, the three months living with Qi Shuo had been very comfortable for Qiao Shen, without any pressure. Qiao Shen admitted to himself that he was willing to live with Qi Shuo like a family.

But Qi Shuo treated him like family, just like a married couple.

Qiao Shen rolled over and listened carefully to the surroundings. He wondered if Qi Shuo was angry. What should he do?

Qiao Shen had never been in a relationship before. Although he hadn’t tried pork, he had seen pigs run, but watching other people’s sweet love stories on TV, lying in his hospital bed, he didn’t even dare to think about it.

Qiao Shen never imagined that one day, he could skip the sweet romance and jump straight into a life of raising a child.

Qiao Shen turned over again. It was already completely dark, and Qi Shuo still hadn’t come in to sleep. What was he doing?

Qiao Shen took this question into his dreams to find the answer.​

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