Great Tang Idyll Volume 01 Chapter 107
Shout out to Dan for commissioning chapters 99-108!
Chapter 107: In The End, Puffed Grains Was Obtained
After the apprentice left, Housekeeper Zhang still had a lot of unanswered questions in his mind. Why did the Young Master spend so much money when getting people to do things? And why did he have to make sure that it was kept confidential? Could it be that this thing is related to some major matter?
After thinking for a while, Housekeeper Zhang couldn’t come up with an answer, so he gave up. He remembered that his two little masters wanted a few rabbits, so he arranged people to go buy rabbits. He had no idea what the rabbits were going to be used for.
When the rabbits arrived, Zhang Xiao’bao called Wang Juan to the place where the rabbits were placed, and he said to Wang Juan, “Weren’t you always wondering why I can avoid the sniping of snipers? There are actually only two reasons. For one, I’m really passionate about living. I need to live so that I can fulfill the Orphanage Director Grandfather's last wish. So my natural evasion instincts kick in when I’m encountering danger.
The other reason was because of a trick I learned from an old man in prison. He told me to watch rabbits. When a rabbit changes direction while running, it will make fake movements to deceive the chaser. In the process of changing directions, there are several movements that can be observed. Shifting left and right, sudden acceleration, sudden pause, and the last one is to turn over. "
"Turn over? That rabbit is stupid. Usually when a rabbit encounters danger, it will run. Why would it turn over and wait to be caught?" Wang Juan listened intently and nodded her head when he started explaining, but near the end of the explanation, she felt that something was wrong.
Zhang Xiao’bao smiled and said: "The rabbit is not waiting to be caught when it turns over. When that happens, it is a fight to the death. The outcome--- whether it lives or dies--- is determined in that moment. The rabbit would kick the eagle. If it manages to kick the eagle, then the eagle will instantly die. Usually there are three possible cases. The first one is that the rabbit misses, and the rabbit dies. The other case is that the eagle has grabbed the rabbit already, and both the rabbit and eagle will die. The remaining case is that the eagle is kicked away by the rabbit.
As for whether the eagle dies or not, it depends on the health of the eagle. Basically, the eagle that is kicked by the rabbit will not die immediately, but it will not live for long. What I managed to learn is not only how to avoid snipers, but also how to deal with the enemy and paralyze the enemy. "
Wang Juan did not refute this time. She also knew about this matter. Even though it rarely happens, it still does occur. The eagle would definitely not survive. It was a hit that was made with its life on the line, so regardless of how weak and small the prey was, it can kill a powerful enemy. This can also be called asymmetric warfare. As long as I have a few atomic bombs that were well hidden, then the enemy will not dare to do anything to me. The smaller the country, the stronger the effect of the deterrence.
"Xiao’bao, who was that teacher of yours? Why did he get you to observe these things?" Wang Juan was now curious about Zhang Xiao’bao's inmates.
"He’s a nobody. He was over 120 years old. He used to be a little monk on the mountain. After he encountered that incident, he left the mountain. He was also an orphan, so he could only wander around. He was content as long as he had a meal to eat. Later, he became a fortune-teller."
"Oh, so his fortune-telling was inaccurate, and he was exposed by others." Wang Juan said.
"Nope. His fortune-telling was accurate--that was why he was imprisoned. If he was inaccurate, then at most he would be fined. He was reading the future of a deputy mayor of a provincial capital. At the end, he said that ‘calamities made by the heavens can be avoided, but one’s own sins cannot be escaped from’." Zhang Xiaobao explained.
"So he said something that was not nice sounding, and he was imprisoned? If I was the deputy mayor, I would send him to jail too." Wang Juan also disliked this kind of thing.
Zhang Xiao’bao looked at Wang Juan and shook his head. "No, the deputy mayor was taken away because he was suspected of corruption, and was interrogated1. It was later found out that the deputy mayor was not fighting alone; he had a small notable family backing him up. Someone in the family heard about this, and the person complained that my teacher knew about the danger but did not help him deflect it. And that was why my teacher was sent to prison."
"Oh, so that was what happened. Whatever, let's watch the rabbit instead." Wang Juan could not do anything about this matter. If she was still a police officer when she heard about this, she would probably intervene. At most, she would try to get the person out of prison, but she would not attack that notable family.
If she did, her family would also try to stop her. After all, she won't get any practical benefits from attacking others and it was not worthwhile to make enemies for no reason. She understood that this was the reality of society. Whether it was during ancient times or present times, whether it was her country or other countries, this was an unchanging reality. When the presidential election can be controlled by others, is there still democracy?
Wang Juan was observing the rabbit and Zhang Xiao’bao was standing next to her while ordering people to find coal. Coal was discovered a long time ago, but it was unknown where it could be found, so it was not that commonly used. However, Zhang Xiao’bao needed it for its heat. It’s usage was crucial in times of happiness and disaster..
"Xiao’bao, is this rabbit sick? Why doesn't it like to move? I have been staring at it for an hour, and it has hardly moved." Wang Juan turned to look at Zhang Xiao’bao and asked.
"I’m not a doctor, so I don’t know if it’s sick or not. There are so many rabbits, what do you have to stare at one? I bought you rabbits so that you can observe how it shifts its weight when it's running, not for you to use them to study medicine."
After hearing Wang Juan's words, Zhang Xiao'bao felt a little helpless, and at the same time he felt disappointed in the housekeeper. What did he bring a sick rabbit?
"Fine, I won’t look at that one anymore; I’ll look at the other rabbits. Get the veterinarian on the Manor to check on it. I don’t want to see it die under my watch. Poor bunny. If it doesn’t make it, remember to save the fur pelt for me. I want to make a small cushion with it." Wang Juan said while pitying the rabbit.
Zhang Xiao’bao and Shi’liu heard what she said, and they didn't know what to say in response. . If they had to use one line to describe this, then it was ‘kindness dripping with blood’. Shi’liu was was already desensitized, but Zhang Xiao’bao still felt a little scared. They have slept next to each other for so long already---it was a miracle that he is still alive right now.
"Xiao’bao, what’s that look in your eyes? I pity it because it is still alive, but if it’s dead, would you still show pity towards it? Then you shouldn’t sleep next to me at night anymore. Be careful." Wang Juan glanced at Zhang Xiao’bao. She knew what he was thinking of, and she felt that he didn’t understand her, so she spoke angrily.
Of course Zhang Xiao’bao understood this principle, and he quickly explained, "Don’t misunderstand me. I agree that your approach is correct. I was actually thinking that if this rabbit meat does not transmit any disease, we can cook it together with other meats and eat it. When you cook rabbit meat with other meats, the taste will change."
*
Another morning arrived. That apprentice delivered the item that was made according to the drafting. Once again, he promised that he would keep the matter confidential and immediately forget about the matter, and then he left with a sigh of relief.
After Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan learned about this, they ate their breakfast in a hurry, and they came to the place where the item was placed. They both looked at it and were satisfied.
"It's a pity that there is no corn, otherwise it would be better to use that." Wang Juan touched this thing with her hand, and said regretfully.
"But we have rice and soybeans; these two things can also be puffed. We can keep the puffed soybeans to eat at home, and we can sell the puffed rice to people. We can sell a large bag of puffed rice for one coin-- cheap, right?" Zhang Xiao’bao was also excited. Wang Juan insisted on making popcorn, so he suggested puffed rice instead.
A large bag of puffed rice does not need a lot of rice. But when it’s sold to others, it looks like there is a lot. No one will think that selling one bag for a coin would be expensive. In fact, most people will think that it is cheap. If they want to make more money, then they can mix the puffed rice with sugar syrup, and then cut into squares. Two squares can be sold for a coin. It would be sweet and crispy.
Wang Juan did not object to the price that Zhang Xiao’bao had set. Puffed grains was not an essential item like salt and grain. In order to convince people to buy it, it had to be cheap. A person can spend a coin to buy a bag, and it would take them half a day to finish it, so it was not expensive at all.
"Since you agree, we can start making puffed rice now. I don't know how resistant this thing is against pressure. Let’s get a person to test it while keeping a safe distance. Safety is the top priority." Just by looking at Wang Juan, Zhang Xiao’bao knew that she agreed to selling the puffed rice for one coin a bag. A bag contains a lot. They couldn’t possibly sell a bag for half a coin, could they?
After the item was made, they had to find someone to test it. They found a long bamboo pole and inserted it into the hand crank on the back of the popcorn machine2, and used the pole to rotate it. Every once in a while, a person wearing thick clothing would go over there and open it up to see how the grains were like. If it was not ready yet, then in the next trial, they would increase the time. If it was perfect, then they would record the time down, and wait for the same amount of time in the future.
After several trials, the right time was finally found, and no one was injured in the process. Both Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan felt extremely happy.
After a dozen or so batches were made, there was enough puffed grains to fill up to two sacks. Some was reserved for the two Master Households to eat, and the rest was given to the residents to taste. Only a few catties of rice were used in total and it was not expensive, so they didn’t care about how much they gave away.
The person in charge of making the puffed grains already knew that he had to keep this a secret without being ordered to do so. The machine was stored at the place he live at so that it would not be easily seen by others.
The residents did not know that the cost of this thing was low. When they ate the sweet and crisp puffed rice, they thought that the Manor spent a lot of money on them again, and they treated the puff rice as an expensive item.
In front of Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan was a large box containing puffed rice. When they started eating, they could not stop. It was not because it was delicious, but it was mainly because of the nostalgic taste.
"Xiao’hong and the others have been away for a long time already. I wonder if they have encountered any troubles. So far, they haven’t sent any message back. There’s no message from Magistrate Cheng too. This feeling of losing connection with them is really uncomfortable." Zhang Xiao’bao stretched his head into the box, ate a mouthful of puffed rice, then he raised his head and spoke helplessly.
"Yeah. These messages are just like collecting intelligence. Whoever can collect the most in a timely matter will be able to come up with more plans to resolve the issue. What was that saying again? Oh, it’s ‘What I want to know the most is what’s on that mountain’.” Wang Juan also understood Zhang Xiao’bao's mood.
"What can deliver information quickly? I'm asking about this current world." Zhang Xiao’bao muttered to himself.
"Carrier pigeons. Unfortunately, I don't know how to raise them. I didn't learn about this stuff back then." Wang Juan responded.
Translator’s Notes
Suspected of corruption and was interrogated 规定时间，规定地点交代问题
The literal meaning of what is mentioned in the original novel is appointed time, appointed area to answer questions’. This refers to an internal disciplinary process called “Shuanggui'' that is used by the CCP’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. It is usually used on government officials that are suspected of corruption.
Popcorn machine
This is a traditional Chinese puffed-grain maker that uses high pressure and steam to puff up the grain. Sometimes it is called a “popcorn cannon” or a “popcorn hammer”. Whole grains are added inside a teardrop-shaped metal container, and then sealed tight. The container is heated up in a rotisserie-style by rotating it with ahand crank, and then when the container’s seal is suddenly broken, the internal pressure immediately drops causing the moisture inside to instantly vaporize and cause the grain to expand. It’s called a “cannon” because when the seal is broken, a loud boom can be heard.
Seeing WJ, i suddenly remember about that girl from Food War that behead the poor turtle, poor bunny.
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