“Excellent! Your first attempt and it’s already this good.”
Ye Li held Jiang Ji’s shoulders and rose onto his toes to kiss him.
Having received praise, Jiang Ji felt pleased inside, though his face revealed nothing. He lowered his head and pecked Ye Li lightly on the lips.
The kiss ended almost instantly. Ye Li stepped back and pointed at the basket.
“I bought three jin of pork leg and four marrow bones. You mince the meat, and I’ll start simmering the bones.”
Hearing this, Jiang Ji shifted his gaze toward the basket.
It was filled to the brim. Several oil-paper packages lay on top, hiding whatever was underneath.
He had not expected Ye Li to buy marrow bones as well.
Just buying meat alone must have cost nearly a hundred copper coins.
But the food had already been brought home.
And Jiang Ji was no longer a child like Xiaomai and Yage’er, who could only receive kindness without returning it.
He had the ability to repay now.
If he did not devote every ounce of effort to studying from now on, he would truly be unworthy of all that meat.
Suppressing these thoughts, Jiang Ji followed Ye Li’s instructions and began chopping the filling with loud rhythmic thuds.
Meanwhile, Ye Li blanched the bones, then shoved a thick log into the stove so the broth could simmer slowly.
By then Jiang Ji had already finished mincing the meat, and the chives had been chopped finely. The filling could now be mixed.
Before seasoning it, Ye Li asked Jiang Ji to knead the dough so they could eat buns sooner.
Before leaving for the county town, Ye Li had already mixed the dough. In the warm weather, after two or three hours it had fully risen.
However, there was not much white flour left at home. Since he planned to fry pastries later that afternoon, he mixed quite a lot of cornmeal into it.
The dough now had a yellow-orange color.
Jiang Ji had never kneaded dough before, but growing up in a farming household he had watched it done countless times. Without any guidance from Ye Li, he quickly got the hang of it.
Seeing that Jiang Ji was managing well enough, Ye Li began preparing the filling.
Chives had a strong aroma and natural freshness, so they required few seasonings.
The pork needed its gaminess removed. There was no cooking wine available, but Ye Li never liked using it anyway. Instead, he added a small splash of yellow wine, a bit of soy sauce, salt, and sesame oil.
That was enough.
Once Jiang Ji finished kneading the dough, Ye Li took over again. Rolling the wrappers required skill, so he handled that while Jiang Ji wrapped the buns.
Working together, the two husbands made rapid progress. By the time Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya returned carrying bundles of pig fodder, the first batch of buns was already steaming in the pot.
The two children were delighted.
Jiang Ya even washed his small hands and wanted to help.
Ye Li laughed. “Alright. Put a mark on the buns you make. When they’re done, you can eat your own.”
“Ge Li will eat them too,” Jiang Ya said instinctively.
The remark made Ye Li want to pinch his little cheeks.
“Alright, alright. Then make a lot of them—later I’ll only eat the ones you made!”
“Mm!”
Jiang Ya’s face became serious.
He had to make many buns so Ge Li would have enough to eat.
He sat on a small stool, picked up a bun wrapper larger than his hand, and used a spoon to scoop filling onto it.
“Yage’er, put it on the board to wrap,” Jiang Ji suggested, seeing his tiny hands struggling to hold it.
“Okay,” Jiang Ya answered softly.
The filling was still raw, but it smelled wonderful. If he dropped any on the floor, he would feel terrible.
He carefully moved the wrapper onto the board.
Although it was his first time making buns and he did not know how to pinch the folds, he had his own idea.
He gathered the edges toward the middle like tying a bundle, then squeezed the top tightly with his small hands.
Thus a bun was born.
But the top now had too much dough—thick and bulky.
Frowning thoughtfully, he pressed the thick lump flat with his palm to make another small wrapper.
Then he scooped more filling onto it.
Ye Li burst out laughing.
“Yage’er is amazing—you’ve made a gourd-shaped bun!”
Hearing the praise, Jiang Ya became shy.
Actually, the bun was rather ugly—crooked and uneven.
Ugly enough that he had already decided to eat it himself later.
“Ge Li, I’ll make a pretty one for you,” he said, tilting his face up.
“Alright. I’ll wait for it.”
Ye Li gently tapped the tip of his nose.
The little boy actually had lovely features. Recently he had been eating better, and his cheeks had filled out slightly.
Watching him earnestly promise to make a pretty bun, Ye Li almost wanted to grab his face and plant several kisses on it—if only his hands weren’t covered in flour.
Jiang Ji watched this scene and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
Soon the first batch of buns came out of the steamer.
Ye Li placed them in a wicker basket and added tofu to the bone broth before steaming the second batch.
Freshly steamed buns—even made with mixed flour—were soft and fluffy.
One bite and the meat filling revealed itself immediately.
Juices glistened on the inner dough, making it look glossy and rich, while the filling held together in a fragrant mound.
None of them could wait for it to cool.
They bit into them again immediately.
Delicious!
Jiang Ya held the large bun in both hands and jumped around Ye Li happily.
“So good! Ge Li, so good!”
“Save some room,” Ye Li said with a laugh. “There’s bone soup later.”
Jiang Ya gasped and looked down at his stomach.
His stomach was too small.
It could not hold everything.
What a tragedy.
Ye Li flicked his little belly twice, making him squeal and hide behind Jiang Ji.
Soon Ye Li finished his bun, but since they had not finished wrapping the rest, he and Jiang Ji returned to work.
In the end the dough ran out while half a bowl of filling remained.
Ye Li immediately rolled up his sleeves and began mixing more dough.
He had planned to fry pastries anyway, so making the dough now would save time later.
After kneading the new dough, he rolled out a piece, wrapped the remaining filling into dumpling shapes, and steamed them with the second batch of buns.
During this time villagers came to buy tofu.
Seeing their meal, they clicked their tongues in amazement—meat buns and bone soup, like a New Year feast!
Soon Ye Liang arrived.
Seeing the spread, he could not help muttering a few words.
Spending nearly a hundred coins on meat every few days—at this rate, his third brother might not actually be able to support Jiang Ji’s schooling.
Moreover, after returning home yesterday, they had discussed the tuition matter again.
In the end they decided to wait until next year.
This year’s three liang of tuition had already been paid in the first month. The next payment would not be due for more than half a year.
They would see how things looked then.
After hearing this, Ye Li did not object.
By this time next year, he would certainly have built up some savings. Otherwise it would be embarrassing for someone who had transmigrated.
When the time came, he would convince the Ye family with solid results.
After lunch, he began frying pastries.
The snack he planned to make was called mian guo, a traditional fried dough treat from his hometown.
In appearance, mian guo resembled two doughnuts stuck together—plump, cute, and eye-catching.
As for the taste, it spoke for itself.
The pastry had two layers.
The inner dough was made with malt syrup and soybean oil.
To keep it soft and airy, he also added alkaline ash water so the dough could ferment slightly.
The outer layer used ordinary white flour.
While kneading it, Ye Li cracked several eggs into the dough.
With sugar, oil, and protein all included, these pastries were basically ancient energy bars—perfect for quick nourishment.
They could also keep for a week without spoiling.
Ideal for Jiang Ji to eat between classes.
Aside from snacks, Ye Li also wanted Ye Liang to try selling them at his pancake stall.
The preserved eggs would take half a month to sell. Too long.
Since Ye Li already fried tofu puffs every day, he had spent the previous day thinking it over and decided to fry mian guo at the same time.
The pastries required only a small amount of sugar, so they were mildly sweet and inexpensive to produce.
Baxian Town, located at the start of the Nantong Canal, had heavy foot traffic. As long as the taste was good and the price reasonable, there would certainly be buyers.
As he kneaded the dough, Ye Li explained his plan.
Both Jiang Ji and Ye Liang agreed enthusiastically.
After preparing both doughs, Ye Li spread the oily dough over the plain dough, folded it, rolled it flat with a rolling pin, then cut it into finger-thick strips.
The strips were shaped into rings and dropped into hot oil.
The resulting pastries were soft inside, crispy outside, and lightly sweet.
In truth, the method resembled snacks like cat’s-ear pastries and mi san dao—both fried layered doughs.
But mi san dao was too sweet.
Cat’s-ear pastries were too hard and crunchy.
So Ye Li chose mian guo.
Soon the pastries were finished frying.
They had the reddish-brown color typical of fried dough and their plump shapes made them very attractive.
Jiang Ji, Jiang Mai, Jiang Ya, and Ye Liang split one pastry.
After just one bite, all four began praising it repeatedly.
Their compliments filled Ye Li with confidence for tomorrow’s trial sale—and put him in an excellent mood.
After all, the whole point of his efforts was to let his cheap husband eat well.
Hearing Jiang Ji praise the food so enthusiastically made all the work worthwhile.
He had fried twenty pastries in total—mainly because the flour had run out. Otherwise he would have made more.
Five were given to Ye Liang to test sell.
Two were left for Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya.
One had been eaten during tasting.
That left twelve.
Ye Li wrapped them in cloth and placed them with the buns.
He had made many buns today—twenty for Jiang Ji alone.
In this weather they could be eaten cold, or reheated in the academy kitchen.
Pickles were naturally included.
They were mustard greens pickled by Second Aunt Liang Erxiang. Half a jar remained. Ye Li took two jin and stir-fried them in soybean oil to add a bit of richness.
Ideally there would also be salted duck eggs.
Unfortunately there were none.
So Ye Li did the same as Liang Erxiang and prepared several boiled eggs instead.
These four foods filled half the basket.
It felt heavy when lifted.
Carrying it, Ye Li walked from the kitchen into the main hall.
Jiang Ji was packing clothes in the east room. Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya had not gone out to gather firewood today—they followed Jiang Ji closely whenever he prepared to leave.
Standing at the doorway, Ye Li signaled Jiang Ji to look inside the basket.
Jiang Ji set it on the wooden table beneath the window and checked the contents.
Then he turned to Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya.
“Take a few buns to Second Uncle’s house and tell them I’m returning to the academy.”
They had been too busy earlier to send buns over.
“Brother, wait until Yage’er and I come back before you leave,” Jiang Mai said immediately.
“Yes! Big brother, wait for us,” Jiang Ya added.
Jiang Ji smiled and rubbed their heads.
“Of course. You two have to see me off.”
The words made both boys beam.
Jiang Mai grabbed Jiang Ya’s hand and ran out of the hall.
Jiang Ji watched them leave before turning to Ye Li beside him.
“You made these pastries yourself, yet you didn’t eat any—you’re letting me take them all?”
“I can make more,” Ye Li replied casually.
He was not lacking in food.
Though Ye Li spoke lightly, Jiang Ji’s emotions surged again.
Lowering his gaze, Jiang Ji took Ye Li’s hand.
“Thank you,” he said quietly.
“That’s it? Just a thank you?” Ye Li raised an eyebrow.
“I will do my best to pass the exam and become a xiucai.”
Jiang Ji looked so serious it sounded like an oath.
Ye Li was speechless.
He shook off Jiang Ji’s hand, rose onto his toes, and kissed his lips.
“Idiot.”
Jiang Ji’s eyes curved with laughter.
He wasn’t an idiot.
He had deliberately sent Xiaomai and Yage’er away so he could do exactly this with Ye Li.
He simply hadn’t gotten the chance yet.
Bending down, he wrapped one arm around Ye Li’s back and lifted him by the hips.
With a startled cry from Ye Li, he hoisted him up, pushed the hall door shut with his foot, and pressed him gently against it.
Ye Li’s face still carried traces of surprise.
Jiang Ji studied him for a moment—then lowered his head and kissed him again.
“Like this.”
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