BYBOTE Chapter 52: The Mischievous Couple

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Jing Rong, led by Han Yang, went to take a look at the house that belonged to Qin Guizhi’s maternal family, and he took a liking to it at first glance. Though the house wasn’t big—just two rooms on either side with a kitchen in between—it was even smaller than Xi Yanqing’s home. However, the courtyard was quite spacious, both in the front and the back. It was also evident that the previous owner had been quite diligent, as the house was well-maintained and clean. The only downside was that it had been unoccupied for a long time, making it look rather desolate.

But considering the size of the courtyard, which could accommodate his family’s sheep, Jing Rong felt it was worth buying for now. After all, this was just a temporary place—once everything was settled in Huaping Village, he would still need to build a new house.

With that decision in mind, Jing Rong went to find Village Chief Lin. Seeing how determined Jing Rong was, the village chief took him to meet Qin Guizhi.

Qin Guizhi had never met Jing Rong before, but since he was brought by the village chief and she was in urgent need of money, it didn’t really matter to her who bought the house as long as she got paid. She agreed to take Jing Rong to see it, but to her surprise, he said he had already checked the house and was here just to negotiate the price. Moreover, the price he was offering was different from what the village chief had suggested.

"Fourteen taels?!" Qin Guizhi's eyes widened as she stared at the unfamiliar young man in front of her. "Young man, have you never bought a house before? Bargaining is one thing, but this is outrageous! I’m selling it for eighteen taels, and you're cutting off four taels just like that? How is this a sincere offer?"

"I'm offering this price precisely because I sincerely want to buy it. I just inspected the house—it’s been unoccupied for a long time and lacks vitality. The roof has leaks, so I’ll need to repair it before I can move in. The courtyard fence also needs fixing. And inside, there’s nothing left but two brick beds—even the cooking pot on the stove has been taken. I’ll have to rebuild the entire kitchen setup."

"You can't just offer fourteen taels! Fourteen taels won't do," Qin Guizhi protested. She still had deep feelings for that house—if she weren't in desperate need of money to pay the hired laborers, she wouldn't have wanted to sell it at all!

"Then forget it," Jing Rong said, turning away without hesitation.

"Jing lad, you're not buying it?" Village Chief Lin was surprised. This young man was even bolder than him—fourteen taels?! He really dared to push the price down!

"To be honest, Grandpa Lin, I don’t necessarily have to buy a house in Huaping Village. There are a few suitable homes in Liuyan Village as well, and houses of the same size there are only going for thirteen taels. I was considering settling here because there are more people, but if the price goes above fourteen taels, it's not worth it."

"In that case, it's up to you," Village Chief Lin replied, showing no intention of bargaining on Qin Guizhi's behalf. He turned to leave as well.

"Wait!" Qin Guizhi quickly called them back. "Young man, I sincerely want to sell this house. The price is negotiable, but you can't really push it down to just fourteen taels! Do you know how much manpower it takes to build a house? And my house is in a great location—there's a small river nearby, making it convenient to do laundry in the summer." More importantly, if he walked away now, she might not be able to sell the house at all!

"Fourteen taels. Not a single coin more. If you're willing to sell at that price, I can buy it today."

"But fourteen taels is really too little." Qin Guizhi was torn—on one hand, she was afraid the buyer would leave, but on the other, she felt the price was too low. She had originally hoped to have some money left after paying the laborers, but with only fourteen taels, she wouldn't have much left.

"I'm leaving Huaping Village tomorrow. If you make up your mind, you can find me at the village chief's house," Jing Rong said. Village Chief Lin had advised him earlier not to mention Xi Yanqing or Han Yang’s family to avoid Qin Guizhi realizing anything and refusing to sell. While that seemed unlikely, it was best to be cautious.

"How about this—seventeen taels, young man? Seventeen taels, how does that sound?" Qin Guizhi tried to negotiate, hoping to make some profit.

"Fourteen taels. That’s my final offer." Jing Rong said, then walked away.

Village Chief Lin also turned to leave, but Qin Guizhi called him back. She asked where Jing Rong was from, and the village chief simply said he was a young man introduced by an old friend. Qin Guizhi didn’t overthink it, but she still felt fourteen taels was too little. She asked Village Chief Lin to persuade Jing Rong—if he could agree to sixteen taels, she would sell.

Village Chief Lin wasn’t sure if Jing Rong was serious about his final offer or if he was just bargaining aggressively before giving some room to increase the price. He said, "Yangfan's mother, I really can’t say. What if I say something wrong and he loses interest in buying your house? Haven’t Zhao and the others been pressing you for wages for a long time now? If you don’t sell the house now, you might not be able to sell it at all. Who’s going to come all the way here to buy a house in the dead of winter? I heard this young man wants to raise sheep and thinks our village has good pastures. But tell me, which of the nearby villages doesn’t have good pastures?" The same river ran through several villages, all of them with fertile land and rich resources.

Qin Guizhi knew Village Chief Lin had a point, but fourteen taels still felt too low!

Village Chief Lin sighed. "Think it over yourself. The one paying is Jing lad—I have no say in this."

Qin Guizhi gritted her teeth. "Let me think about it!"

Maybe... she could borrow some money to pay the laborers and keep the house? But where could she borrow from? The only person she could ask was her uncle, but after the trouble with Zhang Sheng, their family relations had soured. She didn’t want to go begging to him, and besides, Zhang Sheng’s family might not even have money to lend.

Just as she was worrying, more people arrived outside.

At first, she thought it was Village Chief Lin and Jing Rong returning, and she felt relieved. But when she heard their voices, she realized—it was the laborers demanding their wages again!

Someone had been watching her house. When they heard she had a buyer but refused to sell because the price was too low, they couldn’t stand it. They quickly gathered a group and came knocking.

"Qin Guizhi! If you don’t pay us today, don’t blame us for getting rough! We heard everything—you have a buyer!"

"Yeah! Open the door, or we’ll smash your walls down!" someone shouted angrily, throwing stones into her courtyard.

"Brothers, she won’t pay up unless she’s forced to! Smash it!" A burly man wielded a wooden club and started pounding on her door. "Zhang Yangfan, you coward! Hiding inside and not even daring to make a sound—what kind of man are you?! Get out here!"

"Yangfan, my son, what do we do?! Think of something!" Qin Guizhi was too scared to go outside.

"What else can we do? Just sell the house to that guy earlier!" Zhang Yangfan refused to go out either. He wasn’t about to reason with those rough villagers.

"But he’s only offering fourteen taels! That’s too little!"

"You think it's too little now, but if they break in and beat us up, even fourteen taels won’t be enough for medical bills!" Zhang Yangfan snapped impatiently. "Just sell it and get rid of them! I can't even sleep in peace at night with all this noise."

"How dare you talk back to your mother?! Do you know whose fault this is?!" Qin Guizhi scolded him, but in the end, she stomped her foot and rushed out. "Fine! Fourteen taels it is! People are more important than money!"

Jing Rong had planned to bargain down to fourteen taels and, if necessary, increase his offer to fifteen taels. At fifteen, the purchase would still be worth it. He hadn’t expected to actually get it for fourteen! He was surprised at first, but when he saw the group of laborers looming behind Qin Guizhi, he understood immediately. She had been backed into a corner.

Luo Yong had told him about the Zhang family’s troubles when they were in Huangtan Town, so Jing Rong already had a poor impression of Qin Guizhi and Zhang Yangfan. Fourteen taels might have been a low price, but he didn’t feel guilty about it at all!

Qin Guizhi was in a hurry to get the money, so she sent Zhang Yangfan to finalize the paperwork with Jing Rong. Since Jing Rong had brought silver with him, they went to town, signed the deed with their fingerprints, and completed the transaction in just one day.

Jing Rong himself found it hard to believe—everything had gone so smoothly! He hadn't expected to start off so well in Huaping Village.

"That was faster than expected," Xi Yanqing remarked as he examined the house deed. "You're still as efficient as ever."

"Jing Rong, will you be moving in right away?" Luo Fei asked.

"I'll move after selling my old house and land," Jing Rong said, a bit embarrassed. "These next few days, I'll have to trouble you and Brother Qi. The house has been empty for a while, so we need to warm the kang (heated brick bed) first. But for that, I need a stove, and I don’t have time to set it up before leaving."

"That's nothing. I'll find someone to install a stove for you tomorrow," Xi Yanqing said. It was a small matter—installing two stoves and lighting a fire every day was easy compared to the patience it had taken for Jing Rong to teach him to read in the past.

"Do you need furniture?" Luo Fei asked.

"The house is completely empty, but I’ll hold off on furniture for now. There are many other expenses ahead. For now, I’ll just get some bedding and fix the roof," Jing Rong said. "If the weather's good tomorrow, I'll be heading back. I’ll need Luo Yong's help for a while, so he won’t be coming back immediately. If you need anything, just write to me."

"Of course," Xi Yanqing agreed readily.

The next day, Luo Fei prepared some food for Jing Rong, who set off on his journey. Xi Yanqing, Han Yang, and Luo Ji went to town, bought new milk cows, and installed two large stoves in Jing Rong’s new house. Soon, smoke curled up from the chimney, signaling a fresh beginning.

A few young men took advantage of the good weather to repair the roof with some straw, ensuring at least that the wind wouldn’t get in. After finishing, Xi Yanqing sent a letter to Jing Rong, informing him that everything was progressing smoothly. On the way, he also sent some freshly frozen ice cream to Shi Shi’s home.

This time, they made three types of ice cream: one was a fruit popsicle made by soaking dried fruit in water and adding sugar, another was a pure milk popsicle, and the last was an egg yolk milk ice cream. The egg yolk milk ice cream was made using condensed milk, egg yolks, and sugar—though Xi Yanqing and Luo Fei weren’t entirely sure if what they made was truly condensed milk. They had simply boiled the milk until it thickened and decided to call it "condensed milk." Xi Yanqing had beaten the egg yolks for a long time, making the ice cream’s texture much better than before. Though there were still tiny ice crystals when eating it, they were much finer.

However, the cost increased—each ice cream cost nearly five wen to make.

"Then sell this one for ten wen," Shi Shi suggested after tasting it and finding the texture unique. "Our Songlin Town isn’t particularly large, but there are quite a few wealthy people here. Ten wen per ice cream isn’t exactly cheap, but it’s not overly expensive either." After all, for those who spent several taels of silver a day, what was ten wen? And even if not everyone spent taels of silver daily, plenty of people spent dozens or hundreds of wen a day. "Xi Di, you should make more. I have a friend with several restaurants on Zheng'an Street, and we can sell them there as well. These days, people love trying new things. Plus, with the New Year approaching, folks will have extra money to spend."

"Thank you, Brother Shi. We don’t necessarily have to sell them right away—we can start by offering small samples. Once people enjoy them, they’ll be more willing to buy." Xi Yanqing had never sold food before, but he understood the benefits of free samples.

"That’s even better." Shi Shi instructed Li Siyuan to take stock and put him in charge of this matter moving forward.

Xi Yanqing later realized that Shi Shi was quite wealthy and was only getting involved in the ice cream business to give Li Siyuan something to do. Li Siyuan found it unbearable and boring to stay at home just taking care of the kids, but he didn’t know what else to do. This ice cream business suited him well since all he had to do was handle the connections between suppliers and buyers—essentially earning some pocket money while keeping busy.

At that time, none of them expected the ice cream to become so popular.

Perhaps because winter was dry and people were prone to heatiness, the thought of something cold and refreshing made it hard to resist.

The ice creams Xi Yanqing and Luo Fei made came in different shapes. Flower-shaped ones were made from blueberry and raspberry-infused water with sugar, heart-shaped ones were pure milk, and paw-shaped ones were the egg yolk milk variety. Later, Luo Fei came up with the idea of sun and star-shaped ones—he used malt sugar to draw eyes, a mouth, and a few strands of hair on the semi-frozen round ice creams, making them look irresistibly cute.

"How many in total?" Xi Yanqing asked. This was their first official batch after numerous experiments. They had sixty molds, so they froze one batch, then another, and so on. Fortunately, Chen Huazhang helped make slot-style ice cream trays, which allowed them to store the frozen treats neatly under a cloth.

"One hundred and fifty-four in total," Luo Fei counted twice and recorded it on paper. He carefully noted the date, quantity, and cost of this first batch, though he ignored the test batches. The cost for this first batch was approximately three hundred and thirty wen.

"I'm heading to town later. Do you want me to bring anything back?" Xi Yanqing asked.

"I want some sesame candy, and could you get me more embroidery materials?" Luo Fei replied. In making the ice creams, he had only counted the molds and stoked the fire, while Xi Yanqing handled the boiling, stirring, and freezing—so he still had time to do embroidery. If the ice cream business failed, at least he had something to fall back on.

"You finished the last batch already?" Xi Yanqing smirked mischievously.

"Yep," Luo Fei answered without batting an eye. "You can take it back today."

"Seriously?" Xi Yanqing was surprised. "When did you do it? I never noticed!"

"When you weren’t home," Luo Fei said to himself, Why do I have to embroider in secret? But surprisingly, the sense of urgency made him work faster, and he embroidered even better than before.

He handed over the finished piece along with the design pattern. Xi Yanqing took a look and was amazed—it was incredibly detailed, with the figure on the fabric vividly resembling the original sketch.

Xi Yanqing admired it. "Wow, you’re amazing, wife!"

Luo Fei lifted his chin proudly. "Hmph!"

Xi Yanqing put an arm around his shoulders. "So, what were you thinking about while embroidering this?"

Luo Fei motioned for Xi Yanqing to lean in, then whispered something in his ear.

As Xi Yanqing listened, his breathing grew uneven, and he stared at Luo Fei with dark, heated eyes, as if ready to devour him.

Luo Fei patted his chest with a grin. "Go on now, and this time, pick the buyer who pays the most."

Xi Yanqing thought, Even if they offer more money, I can’t sell it! He had only set himself up for trouble. Luo Fei had suggested spreading ice cream on a certain part of his body and then licking it off...

Xi Yanqing drove the ox cart absentmindedly, his mind wandering elsewhere.

Fortunately, their efforts paid off. Within three days, the ice creams sold out at the pastry shop and Shi Shi’s friend’s restaurant. After deducting costs, commissions, and profits for Li Siyuan and the two store owners, they still made about one hundred and fifty wen.

That meant fifty wen per day—over one tael of silver per month. Not enough to become rich, but more than enough to cover living expenses. And once they expanded, their sales would grow as well.

Luo Fei did even better—his embroidery piece fetched four taels of silver. They no longer needed to dig into their savings, and the couple started living a more comfortable life, even planning to save up for a new house in spring.

As the twelfth lunar month began, the weather grew colder, and snow sometimes fell for an entire day.

With their ice cream business, Xi Yanqing and Luo Fei had a stable daily routine. Xi Yanqing cleaned the yard, fetched water, chopped firewood, and made ice cream, while Luo Fei cooked, embroidered, and practiced writing.

Luo Fei was learning fast, thanks to pinyin. He even knew more characters than the kids at the local school. He couldn’t write all of them yet, but he could recognize quite a few.

This time, the embroidery Xi Yanqing brought back wasn’t some tricky commission—it was simple floral and bird patterns. As Luo Fei was stitching a little bird, he heard Xi Yanqing calling him outside.

"Erbao, come out for a second!"

"What for?" Luo Fei was cozy indoors and didn’t want to step into the cold.

"Just come see!"

Luo Fei stepped outside and saw that Xi Yanqing had built two snowmen.

Xi Yanqing pointed at them. "Look, don’t they look like you and me?"

Luo Fei smirked, took a thick wooden stick, and stuck it in front of the bigger snowman. "Now it looks even more like you."

Xi Yanqing tapped Luo Fei’s nose. "You’re such a troublemaker."

Then he arranged some small wooden pieces behind the little snowman into the shape of a chrysanthemum flower.

Luo Fei: And who’s the real troublemaker here?!

The next day, Xi Yanqing took two large trays of ice cream to town again. If Luo Fei’s money was earned through eye strain and neck pain, then Xi Yanqing’s was earned through cold and hardship.

The northern region in the twelfth lunar month was freezing cold. There was no thermometer, but Xiyanqing felt that it was definitely around minus thirty degrees Celsius. Fortunately, this effort was paying off—now, in Songlin Town, they could sell around 180 ice pops per day. Besides being sold in pastry shops and restaurants, Shi Shi and Li Siyuan had even managed to introduce them into the brothels…

It was hard to say whether it was because this couple had extensive social connections or simply good relationships with people, but the sales of ice pops had now stabilized at around 100 per day.

Li Siyuan was now thinking about selling them in other towns. Since the sales were doing well here, it at least proved that ice pops were popular, meaning they could likely sell well elsewhere too.

"Brother Xi, if these ice pops stay frozen, how long can they be stored?" Li Siyuan asked.

"As long as they remain frozen, they should be fine for about a month," Xi Yanqing estimated, thinking they could continue selling for another two to three months.

"In that case, next time, bring an extra 500 pops. I have a friend in Hengyang Town, and I’ll have him sell them there as well," Li Siyuan said. "Hengyang Town has an even larger population than ours. If they sell well, this business could have a promising future."

"No problem. I don’t have the same extensive network as Brother Shi and Brother Li, so I’ll have to trouble you both with the sales channels. As for the production, I’ll do my best," Xi Yanqing replied. "Has Brother Shi’s friend responded yet?"

Xi Yanqing wasn’t expecting to make a fortune from selling ice pops—it was just a way to avoid sitting idle and consuming their savings during the winter. If they truly wanted to earn big, they would have to find a way to make ice in the summer. If they could do that, then the business would really take off.

"He has responded. My friend should be arriving in Songlin Town in about three days," Shi Shi said, also eagerly anticipating the possibility of making ice in the summer.

"Daddy! Daddy!" A young voice called from outside. "Is Uncle Xi here?!"

"Yes, you’re happy now, aren’t you?" Li Siyuan chuckled. "You’ve been longing for those little figurine ice pops for the past two days, and now your wish has come true."

"Xiao Changle, you’ve gained weight again," Xiyanqing teased, pinching Changle’s chubby cheeks. "Do you miss Uncle Xi, or do you just miss the ice pops I brought?"

"Both!" Changle said. "I miss Uncle Luo Fei too. Why didn’t he come?"

"Uncle Luo Fei isn’t feeling well right now, but he misses you too."

"Why isn’t he feeling well?"

"Uncle Luo Fei is going to give you a little brother or sister, so he can’t move around much," Li Siyuan explained. "When we have time, I’ll take you to visit him, okay?"

"Okay! It's a deal!" Changle exclaimed, then stretched out his little hands, looking at Li Siyuan with eager eyes.

"Alright, stop looking at me like that—I can’t win against you," Li Siyuan sighed, pinching his son's little nose. "Go find Grandpa Steward and have him get you a little figurine ice pop."

"Thanks, Daddy!" Changle cheered and dashed off, not forgetting to call out as he ran, "Uncle Xi, stay for lunch at our house!"

It was true what they said—"A seedling grows when planted." The first time they met Changle, it had been summer. Now, only two seasons had passed, and the child had grown taller and become much more articulate.

This made Xi Yanqing even more excited about the little life growing in Luo Fei’s belly.

Thinking of Luo Fei, Xi Yanqing decided not to stay for lunch at the Shi residence. Instead, he bought Luo Fei’s favorite foods and hurried back to Huaping Village. Meanwhile, over in Jing Rong’s area, the house and land had finally been sold to a local wealthy man, and he was preparing to rush over to Huaping Village along with Luo Yong, who was about to go stir-crazy from being cooped up.

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