Great Tang Idyll Volume 02 Chapter 15
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Chapter 15: Thirteen Spices Mix in Winter and Summer
Liu’er’s train of thought was disrupted by Housekeeper Zhang’s voice. She smiled shyly while saying, “I don’t want anything. It’s enough that my parents and Xiao’man have food and clothes. Right now, we don’t have a place to go to so we'll live here for the time being, but when we have money, we will build our own house. I was distracted by this Bagaunaudier just now; I didn’t mean to not answer you."
When Housekeeper Zhang heard what Liu’er said, he felt that he had begun to like this little girl. She always thought of others before herself. She didn’t know that the one the Young Master and the Young Miss were after was her. If it weren’t for her, they would not treat her family this well.
Thinking of what his Young Master told him to say when he came here, he then asked, "Liu’er, when you look at the Bagaunaudier, are you thinking that in order to remove the handle, you need an odd number of rings off, and an even number of rings on?
"Yes, that's it. In fact, it can be said that if you want to put the rings on, then you must first take it off; if you want it taken off then it needs to be put on first. Put it on then on, on then off, off then off, off then on. There are odd rings on, and even off. Even on and odd off. To take nine rings off, start with taking one ring off. To put on nine rings, start with putting two rings on. Each ring is linked from one to nine."
Liu’er nodded seriously. She also saw the housekeeper in a new light since she felt that he was able to come up with the same idea as her.
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Housekeeper Zhang was unable to resonate with her. At this moment, he had the same thoughts as the waiter. He felt that his two little masters were always capable of coming up with a well-conceived plan since they were able to predict what Liu’er was going to say. Although there were some discrepancies, the general idea was the same.
"Uncle, I really don't want anything. Are you angry at me?" After she had finished speaking, the housekeeper didn't say anything, so she asked worriedly with tears in her eyes.
"I’m not angry, I’m not angry. Liu'er is such a good child, how can I be angry? I’m happy. When Liu’er finishes these competitions, other teachers will come to teach Liu’er in the future. Some specialize in teaching mathematical calculations, calligraphy, and something called natural science.The master household will provide you with books to look at.
Don't worry about the house, Liu'er. My master has already said that as long as Liu’er studies hard, he will build a beautiful house for Liu’er’s family and make winter clothes before winter comes. "
The housekeeper didn't dare to let Liu’er cry. His two little masters had told him several times that Liu'er must be happy.
"Why are you so good to us?" Liu'er was a little surprised that the master of the Zhang family had taken care of her family. She kept feeling that it was unbelievable.
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"Because you’re a good child. I like good children a lot. You can go have a look at the school on the Manor when you have time. If you want to learn there, then join the class. If you think the teacher teaches too slowly, then we will find a private teacher for you."
Because Housekeeper Zhang couldn't tell her that this was his Young Master’s arrangement, he could only come up with a random excuse.
Liu'er's high IQ does not mean that her EQ was also high. She only thought that the Zhang Manor helped her family because they were good people, and she didn’t think that she herself was the actual reason.
She nodded her head urgently and said, "Uncle, don't worry, Liu'er will definitely study hard and repay the Zhang Manor. Xiao’man, why are you peeing again? Look, you have soiled the little vehicle."
Liu’er didn't forget to take care of her younger brother when she was talking. As soon as the younger brother peed, she picked him up, smiled at the Housekeeper Zhang and the waiter, and walked into the house.
Housekeeper Zhang knew what to do, and he looked back at the waiter, "Ga’zi, remember, take good care of her family, especially her. This is the Young Master’s orders."
"I know, I know. Whenever I have time, I’ll come here to have a look." The waiter didn't expect that their Young Master would be this good to them. He agreed and followed the housekeeper out. At the same time, he was wondering in his mind, Liu'er was indeed different from ordinary people.
In addition to the Rubik’s Cube, Liu’er seemed to know how to solve the Bagaunaudier just after a glance. He also had one at home too that he usually played around with it. He either ended up accidentally undoing the steps he just made or the pieces were stuck. He didn't understand what she meant by ‘odd off even on’. Was she actually a six year old child? No wonder his Young Master thinks highly of her.
*
"Her IQ is actually so high, she’s about to catch up with me, Xiao’bao, what is your IQ?" Wang Juan was watching Shi’liu make vermicelli, then she looked at Zhang Xiao’bao, who was reading a book next to her.
"Isn’t that good? We will have another person to help us do things in the future. I think it’s a waste for her to be just an ordinary talented girl; she should at least be a female CEO that manages several Divisions---sort of like a general officer. However, a general officer would be responsible for military and politics, and a CEO deals with business.
I know you have a high IQ. You had your masters degree when you were fourteen years old--that’s something I can’t achieve. I can’t even compare to you. I have a low IQ. How would a person with a high IQ end up in jail? I'm an honest person. I just wanted to have food to eat. The food in the prison doesn't cost money; at most, I would just have to do some manual labor. Sometimes, you just want to work to earn food to eat, but you simply can’t find a place to do that. "
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Zhang Xiao’bao put together a lot of spice powders to make thirteen spices mix1. He had learned this thing before. He didn’t learn it when he was in prison; he learned it from a man who sold thirteen spices mix. He had just left the orphanage at that time, which was after the flood. He felt that the thirteen spices seller had a nice singing voice so he followed behind him.
The man felt that Zhang Xiao’bao was pitiful, so he took him with him. Later, the man was hit by a car and died, but the driver fled. Zhang Xiao’bao reported this to the police, however they ignored him after they learned about what happened. From that, he knew that the driver had a strong background, so the poor Zhang Xiao’bao had to continue wandering on his own.
As for what happened later on, it was of course simple. That driver later died after getting hit by a car. The car was the same model and it even had the same license plate, and it happened at the same place. This was how Zhang Xiao’bao was. He will definitely seek revenge. After being wronged as an orphan for some many years, what kind of ethics and laws can he possibly think of? Who has ever shown him the justice of the law?
Wang Juan didn’t know what Zhang Xiao’bao was thinking at this time. She nodded and said, “Oh, yes, there are plenty of people with even lower IQs. The IQs of those that you have deceived are not very high. Among them is a 26-year-old doctoral student, and a deputy minister. How did you do it? He was highly praised by the media at the beginning."
"Yeah. It must be due to the tragedy within the education system. I firmly believe this, otherwise why would that fool build a primary school in a mudslide-prone area just to attain political achievements? The location was so far away from where the children live. It takes more than an hour to drive there and a new road had to be built. If I don’t con him, who should I con then? He had just grafted more than nine million yuan from building the school, the highway and the school bus. Why would a person with a high IQ go after this little amount of money?"
Zhang Xiao’bao pursed his mouth in disdain. He smelled the thirteen spice mix he just made, and he suddenly turned his head and sneezed with an ‘achoo’.
Wang Juan looked at Zhang Xiaobao and suddenly laughed, "I now believe what you said. What kind of a person with a high IQ would directly smell the thirteen spices mix? The ingredients you have here seems to be a bit lacking."
"You don't understand this. A sneeze can ease the tension in the body. Who said that thirteen spices mix only have 13 kinds of spices? The one that I helped sell had 16 kinds of spices. Later, he taught me that there were two more, but it’s not easy to buy. Depending on what you cook, you can prepare it according to different recipes."
As soon as Zhang Xiao’bao talked about the thirteen spices mix, his hand movements were different. He took a piece of paper and the small spoon that was used for mixing the spices. He spreaded the paper open in his hand and added different spices onto the paper. He shook the small spoon steadily so that the spices were sprinkled evenly.
Wang Juan was stunned when she saw this action since it was something she had never seen before. Zhang Xiao’bao not only worked with his hands, but he also started talking,
"It’s hot in summer and cold in winter. You need to drink some soup while you eat flatbread. Put green onions first, then ginger, but it’s better to put my thirteen spices mix than putting ginger. Winter days are short and summer days are long. If you want to eat vegetables and get sweaty, remember to add some fennel. You have pulled out two yuan, but I don’t want two, I only want one. Don’t say that there’s not a lot of ingredients. Eating too much sichuan peppercorn will hurt your stomach and intestines~... ...."
Zhang Xiao’bao seemed to have returned to the times when he was helping the man sell thirteen spices mix. His little hands fiddled faster and faster, and his little mouth sang more and more smoothly.
Shi’liu was busy making noodles over there, and suddenly, she heard the little boy sing something she had never heard before. She stopped and turned around to look. Seeing her Young Master’s appearance, she felt that he was even more cute now. It seemed like he was selling seasonings while singing very nicely.
Wang Juan's eyes were wide open. It was the first time she heard someone else sing like this. She had heard a person singing in a sketch made nearly a hundred years ago, and she felt that the person was not as good as Zhang Xiao’bao. As long as Zhang Xiao’bao sees that you have made a small move or changed your expression, he will change what he sings so that the listener will be able to relate to the lyrics.
She never knew that international con men could be like this. If this was back then, who would believe that he could sing so beautifully about thirteen spices mix?
As she listened, Wang Juan’s eyes turned red. She thought of what it was like at the time. Other children followed their parents and acted cutesy while Zhang Xiao’bao had to sit in a place surrounded by cloth with opened cloth bags in front of him.
He had to observe the various expressions of the people around him to distinguish who wants to buy and who is just watching the excitement. He would have to come up with ways to get buyers to buy more, and to convince those who don't want to buy to buy.
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"You won’t lose out if you buy it for one yuan. WIth that money, you can buy ginger, but you won’t be able to buy garlic afterwards. Look at my thirteen spices mix. For two yuan, you can get a whole jar of spices. If you think it’s still too little, I will give you some more free of charge."
While Zhang Xiao’bao was singing, his hand folded the paper into a funnel shape. It was already full, but he still added more in. It was obvious that not a lot of profit could be made. A big pouch like this was different from the boxes that can be bought from supermarkets. He could probably earn a tenth of a yuan.
How did he even live through those days back then? She noticed that Zhang Xiao’bao had become engrossed into this. Whenever he added in a few particular spices, he frowned a little bit every time. Wang Juan knew that the cost of those particular spices were expensive. It took so much effort just to make that amount of money. It must have been really hard for him.
Wang Juan's tears finally flowed down uncontrollably, and she shouted: "Don't sing anymore, I’ll buy it, I’ll buy all of it."
Translators Notes
Thirteen spice mix 十三香
This is a spice mix made of thirteen different spices: orange peel, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, angelica, sichuan peppercorn, star anise, nutmeg, galangal, white pepper, cloves, liquorice, and cardamon.
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Haha, the end is sad and funny !
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