"Alright!" Although the old man’s request was peculiar, Mu Shuangshuang still followed through.
She had a good mory and strong observational skills. When the old man made the first batch of popcorn, she morized each step. By the second ti, she was almost in a simulation training.
Adding rice, adding sugar, twisting the lid, lighting the fire, every action Mu Shuangshuang followed the old man’s steps.
The old man watched from the side, occasionally stroking his long beard and sotis giving Mu Shuangshuang a pointer or two.
At the final crucial mont, knocking the can, fearing Mu Shuangshuang might run into trouble, he deliberately stood by her side.
With a loud "bang," white rice popped out from the can, spraying into the large sack. Each piece of popcorn was plump and enticingly aromatic.
"So, Grandpa, how much would you rate my skills on your scale?" Mu Shuangshuang leaned in expectantly.
"Huh? Rating?" The old man was surprised, but his eyes couldn’t hide his curiosity.
"On a scale of one to ten, one being the worst, ten being the best, score it like that!" Mu Shuangshuang explained.
The old man nodded: "Five points, then!"
"Oh!" Mu Shuangshuang lowered her head in disappointnt, wondering if she had made so mistake to get such a low score.
"You silly child, my five points are full marks. I’m giving you a five today, not worried it might make you cocky!"
"Ah? Grandpa, you’re really sothing, teasing a little kid like !" Mu Shuangshuang squealed in excitent but felt a bit miffed at the old man’s jest.
"Haha, you, girl, are really sothing, how amusing!" the old man said with laughter.
Mu Shuangshuang watched the ti and got straight to the point.
"Grandpa, you haven’t told yet, how much does this thing sell for when you take it to town?"
"Let think. This thing, you don’t often find in town. Mine was bought from the previous popcorn maker for two silver taels. It’s been fifty years, and it’s never broken."
"So, I can’t buy it then." Mu Shuangshuang felt a bit down, thinking without this big iron can, she wouldn’t be able to make popcorn anymore.
Wouldn’t that close off another avenue to make money?
"I haven’t finished talking. Why are you in such a hurry? I can sell it to you, but I have one condition!" The old man said with a mysterious air.
"Tell then, as long as I can do it..."
"You can definitely do it. At my age, it’s not about needing money anymore, but the feeling that if I died, there’ll be one less person in the popcorn trade. Kids would lose so of their fun too."
Everywhere the old man went, he was greeted by blissfully smiling children.
Being with them made him feel young as well, to a large extent, these children’s satisfied smiles were what kept him going all these fifty years.
"You’re not asking to take over your job of making popcorn, are you?"
Mu Shuangshuang was startled, and the thought of having to push a cart around just to make popcorn made her head ache.
That’s sothing she simply couldn’t do!
She didn’t even know how many tis she could sell popcorn, and she certainly didn’t need to waste her ti on a popcorn machine, did she?
Otherwise, she’d rather use her family’s clay pot on the stove. Although the flavor was weaker and the quantity smaller, at least she’d have plenty of ti.
"That’s exactly what I an, but if your family has a relative, you could have them do it too. Basically, I want soone to replace ."
Mu Shuangshuang twitched her mouth, taking quite a while to respond.
But in her heart, she already had soone in mind.
"Alright then, I promise to find soone for you, but it definitely won’t be now, at least not until after August, maybe even September."
After August, there would surely be a significant upheaval in the Old Mu Family. Whether or not her uncle passed the imperial exams, soone would suffer.
And that person was most likely to be her fourth uncle’s family.
The second branch of the Old Mu Family was clever, and her fifth uncle was shaless, leaving only the fourth branch. If things ca to being kicked out, at least she could find him a job to keep him from starving.
"After August..." The old man hesitated but felt it was feasible.
"Alright then, give five hundred cash, and this will be yours."
"What? Five hundred cash, wasn’t it two taels?" Mu Shuangshuang exclaid in shock.
"Yes, over the years I’ve made quite a bit, and my wife doesn’t want traveling around anymore. Selling it to you for five hundred cash isn’t a loss. I can go ho to be with my wife, and the craft will be passed down."
In fact, the latter point was what the old man cared about most.
After doing the sa thing for fifty years, it wasn’t just about making money with it. Making popcorn had almost beco a faith in his life. Rather than let the skill die with him, he preferred to pass it on.
Just knowing soone would continue his work made the old man feel no regrets even after death.
Mu Shuangshuang suddenly had the feeling that this thing she saw as a money-making skill was considered a cultural heritage by the old man.
Like the street vendors she saw in ancient tis, making candy figures and candied fruits. To others, maybe it was just so food. If available, they’d eat it, if not, they’d get it eventually. It was just a matter of ti.
But a thousand years later, those crafts had vanished.
Machine production replaced handcrafting, increasing efficiency, but the products never tasted the sa.
"Grandpa, don’t worry, I’ll find soone reliable for you. Wait for a mont, I’ll go get the money."
Mu Shuangshuang left a scoop of her popcorn for the old man and carried the rest back ho.
At ho, Lu Yuanfeng had already finished breakfast and was helping Yu Si Niang chop firewood in the yard.
Most of the firewood at ho was delivered by Lu Yuanfeng every other day. Mu Shuangshuang had tried to stop him, but he continued anyway.
"Fengzi, can you do a favor and help carry sothing back?"
"Sure!" Lu Yuanfeng put down the axe and walked over. As he approached Mu Shuangshuang, she grabbed a handful of white popcorn, and Lu Yuanfeng noticed the pop’s shape was completely different from what he’d seen before.
Before he could ask, Shuangshuang spoke up.
"Bend down, open your mouth!"
Lu Yuanfeng followed her instructions, and the white popcorn was stuffed into his mouth by Shuangshuang.
The sweet and crispy taste lted in his mouth, sweet but not cloying.
The girl’s tender hand was still by his lips, the soft touch sent a shiver through him, a current of electricity ran from his lips to his whole body.
That tingling sensation ca, his body shivered, and in his heart, a sweet taste gradually spread...
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