Crossing Over to Yamada Love

“There are all sorts of shops and stores in town. Our surname is Mo, so how about we call it Mo Ji Baozi Shop?” Mo Changhe thought for a moment and suggested the name first.

“I like it. It’s easy to remember. People will immediately know we sell steamed buns.” Mo Quan took a puff of his pipe, which was a sign of his approval of his son.

“Grandpa, Dad, it’s good to call it Mo Ji, but what if the mistress comes along and says that Mo Ji has a share, and that these are buns made with a recipe passed down from the Mo family? What should we do?” Mo Lan asked her grandfather and father.

"What? We've already separated, how can you still come here causing trouble? Besides, we don't have any of the ancestral recipes anymore." Mo Changhe glared and said angrily.

“It’s not impossible. With my second aunt and sister-in-law’s tempers, it’s really hard to say…” Mo Changhai didn’t finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.

"Let me think about it some more," Mo Changhe murmured.

"How about we call it Quanji Home-Style Food Shop? We'll sell steamed buns, porridge, and gradually add dumplings and other things. The other shop can be called Quanji Specialty Snack Shop, selling new foods. That way we can differentiate ourselves. What do you think?" Mo Lan pondered for a while before offering her opinion.

Everyone began to ponder.

“Okay, Lan’s name is good, easy to remember, and no one will have anything to say about it.” Mo Quan was the first to agree.

Everyone agreed, thinking it was a good idea.

It was completely dark inside the house, and there were no oil lamps lit because oil was expensive and not something ordinary families could afford. Farmers usually finished their dinner early in the evening, chatted for a while, and then went to bed.

"Everyone, go back to your rooms and rest first. We can't finish discussing everything in a short time. Tomorrow, Changhe will go and see who owns those lands and ask if they're willing to sell. We'll buy the land first and then talk about the rest," Wang said, urging everyone to go back inside. There were too many things to discuss, and they couldn't finish in a short time.

Mo Lan watched as her grandfather's pipe flickered with sparks, making the room somewhat eerie due to the bright light. Everyone got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and groped their way back to their rooms in the dark.

The next day, Mo Quan and Mo Changhe went out to inquire about who owned that piece of land, but no one seemed interested in selling it. Qiu Shi and Liu Shi were busy with household affairs, Erlang and Xiao San'er were learning to read with their uncle, and Mo Lan was talking with Wang Shi.

"Grandma, do you have any vermicelli here?" Mo Lan asked as she helped her grandmother crumple the hemp rope with her little hands.

"Vermicelli? What's that?" Wang Shi had obviously never heard of it.

"It's made with sweet potatoes or potatoes, and it's delicious. Whether you're stewing chicken or fish, it tastes great in it. You can also make vegetable soup, fried meatballs, braised meat, steamed buns, and vegetarian dumplings with vermicelli in them." Mo Lan had a whole repertoire of food to share.

"Wow, these noodles have so many uses! We have potatoes at home, let's try making them tomorrow." Wang Shi's curiosity about the vermicelli that Mo Lan mentioned was piqued.

"I'd like to too, but the last step in making vermicelli is to freeze it overnight, which isn't possible now; it has to be done before winter." Mo Lan said helplessly. She wanted to come up with new ideas quickly to create something interesting, but even if she was in a hurry, she still had to be able to make them.

"You little rascal, you've been talking for so long, but you can't do it. Are you just craving milk?" Madam Wang gave Mo Lan a playful glare.

"Hehe." Mo Lan chuckled, then continued, "I've been thinking about our steamed buns. Right now, we can make these fillings: beef and onion, beef and radish, pork and scallion, pork and aralia shoots, pork and leafy greens, and vegetarian options like chives and eggs, chives and tofu, and bell peppers and pickled cabbage. Later, when we have cabbage, we can also make lamb and cabbage, pork and sauerkraut, and when the cabbage season comes, we can also make pork and green beans, pork and celery, pork and zucchini, zucchini and eggs, sauerkraut and glass noodles, and pickled cabbage and glass noodles." As Mo Lan spoke, she felt her mouth watering; she really wanted to eat them.

"You silly girl, look at you, you're drooling. Wipe it off, or you'll flood my house." While sewing the soles of her shoes, Madam Wang raised her chin, gesturing for Mo Lan to wipe it off.

Mo Lan hurriedly wiped her mouth with her hand. Drooling was so embarrassing! But when she wiped, it was dry. Huh, where did it go? She looked up at her grandmother in confusion, only to find that her grandmother's eyes were filled with a glistening smile.

Mo Lan pouted and said indignantly, "Grandma, you can't lie to people like that. There's no saliva, there's no saliva. You're teasing me. I won't stand for it, I won't stand for it." As she spoke, she shook Wang Shi's arm.

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore, is that alright? If you shake me any more, I'll fall apart." Mrs. Wang said with a smile. It was rare for her granddaughter to show this cute and coquettish side; she was usually too mature for her age, and she didn't want her granddaughter to live such a tiring life. The grandmother and granddaughter joked around for a while longer before getting down to business.

"Grandma, it would be best if we could dig a well in the yard. Although there are many small rivers in our mountains, they are all quite far apart, and fetching water every day is a hassle. It would be much more convenient if we could dig a well. Also, the vegetable cellar must be large so that we can store more vegetables. If we run out of vegetables when it's time to grow vegetables, we won't be able to continue growing them." Mo Lan said what was on her mind.

“The well might not yield water; it depends on luck. Digging a larger cellar would be fine, but these are all laborious tasks. Considering the construction of the house, it won't be finished in a month.” Wang frowned upon hearing Mo Lan’s words.

"It's alright, Grandma. I've thought about it. A month definitely won't be enough time. Let's build a kitchen there first, steam some buns, put them in a wooden box, sew a small cotton quilt on top, and then push it to the place where the Xue family is building their villa to sell them. First, we can make some money, and second, we can tell the craftsmen there that we're building a shop, so they can come and eat there. That way, everyone will know we have a shop and have tasted our buns. Once we open, we won't have to worry about not having business." Mo Lan had thought of everything and now she directly voiced her opinion.

“That works too. Your father and the others can take care of repairing the house, and your mother and I can take care of steaming the buns. Do a good job, I don’t believe we can’t do it well.” Madam Wang was very supportive of Mo Lan’s idea.

The two agreed that as for how to prepare the fillings for the buns and what to sell, they would have to wait and see. After thinking for a while, Mo Lan raised an important question: "Grandma, after we finish transplanting the rice seedlings, let my brother and Xiao San go to school. We don't need them to run the shop; going to school is the real priority."

"Let Erlang go when he's done with his work, but Xiao San'er is still too young. Is it necessary for him to go now?" Madam Wang had always hoped that her grandson would go to a private school, and Mo Lan had the same idea as her. However, she disagreed with letting Xiao San'er go as well, as he was still too young and it was a bit too early for him to go now.

Mo Lan thought for a moment. Xiao San'er was only 5 years old. It was a bit early to go now, especially in the village. It wouldn't be too late to go when he was 7. After thinking it through, she nodded to Wang Shi, indicating that she would listen to her opinion.

*********************

Before they knew it, it was dinnertime. The family sat down at the table, and Mo Changhe began to report on their day's achievements while eating.

Mo Lan listened carefully. They negotiated down to six mu out of ten mu. The half mu by the roadside was abandoned land in the village, which could be bought for one tael of silver. Two and a half mu were planted with vegetables, belonging to Liu Dagou and Chen Er's families, which could be bought for three taels of silver per mu.

The other three mu are medium-sized fields, costing six taels of silver per mu. There are still four mu that haven't been negotiated. Three of these four mu are in the middle and belong to Liu Si from the village. He refuses to sell because he thinks the price is too low and wants eight taels of silver per mu, or he won't sell at all.

Finally, there's one mu left, belonging to Chen Dafa in the village. He owns a total of four mu of land, and he wants to sell it all. He's asking for ten taels per mu, and he won't sell it for less.

After listening, Mo Lan pondered to herself that the land in that area usually cost about six taels per mu, and there was no high-quality land. Now that her family wanted to buy it, they were trying to raise the price on the spot.

"He'er, tomorrow is rice planting season. For those families who agreed to sell, go to the clan head and the village head and local official first thing tomorrow morning and ask them to help you complete the formalities. Afterwards, we'll buy some gifts to thank them. As for those who don't want to sell, let them wait a couple of days. If they still refuse to lower the price after the rice planting, give them eight taels. As for the ten taels, forget it; it's not like we're short of their one acre of land." After finishing her porridge, Wang put down her bowl and made the decision.

Mo Lan nodded inwardly. The Xue family had already delivered the silver today, and their arrival had attracted a crowd. Fortunately, the Xue family's messengers did not explain their purpose. If they had given the silver in front of everyone, they probably would have had to pay an even higher price for the land.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Mother. I'll go find Uncle Liu and the others to help me with the paperwork first thing tomorrow morning," Mo Changhe replied.

The night passed as usual. When Mo Lan got up early in the morning, she found that her grandfather and father had already gone to the fields. Even Qiu Shi and Liu Shi had gone to plant rice seedlings. Before long, Qiu Shi arrived with his two sons and eldest grandson. The group did not stand on ceremony. Seeing that everyone was already in the fields, they did not linger and went to work in the fields as well.

Mo Lan went into the kitchen. Her mother and aunt had gone to the fields, so she, her grandmother, and Mo Mei would have to prepare lunch. What should they cook? Transplanting rice seedlings was very tiring, so they needed to make something delicious to nourish themselves.

She looked into the basket and saw that her grandfather had brought two more pounds of meat, along with bean sprouts, lettuce, chives, and twenty eggs.

Looking at the mostly fatty meat, Mo Lan had an idea. She decided to make braised pork. Although it used up a lot of meat, it was incredibly satisfying. The glistening, fragrant braised pork served with white rice was absolutely delicious.

Mo Lan told Wang Shi about her idea. Wang Shi was taken aback at first. Two catties of meat could feed many meals. She wanted to refuse, but seeing her granddaughter's excited little face, she swallowed her words. Well, it's all about eating anyway. Since her granddaughter wanted to make braised pork, then let's make it. The men in the family should eat something good.

With a heavy heart, I started cooking rice in the pot over there, while boiling water to blanch the meat in preparation for braised pork.

Two-grain rice is a specialty of Northeast China. It's made by cooking millet and rice together. When the rice becomes sandy and mushy, it's scooped out and steamed again. The rice water left in the pot is then drunk; it's fragrant, refreshing, and has a slightly sweet taste. It's not only thirst-quenching but also nourishing. It's quite a local specialty.