23. When significant matters arise, he is indeed consulted.

Huang Chunlan returned to her parents' home overnight again. Over the past few days, her brothers had been busy working in the fields, so they hadn't been out carrying poles to sell apples, leaving them with over four hundred catties of apples.

Learning that Qin Jin wanted to buy all of them, the Huang family was overjoyed. They were not fruit farmers; selling apples was merely a sideline, as their primary focus was on their agricultural labor. When Qin Jin bought two hundred and fifty catties all at once last time, it had given them some breathing room, so they decided to focus on field work first and wait a few days before going out to peddle the rest. Furthermore, they figured that if the fruit leather Qin Jin was making became popular, he would surely come back to buy more from them. Holding onto this thought, they had left the apples untouched. As it turned out, their waiting for Qin Jin had paid off!

With over four hundred catties of apples, they kept a small portion for themselves and loaded the rest onto a mule cart to transport to the Yan household. In the end, Qin Jin purchased four hundred catties of apples, spending two thousand wen. The Huang family was happy, and Qin Jin himself was satisfied; it was a win-win for everyone.

This transaction naturally could not be hidden from the villagers. Moreover, since Qin Jin had been seen borrowing tables from Qin Wen and Qin Li earlier, the villagers knew he had started making a new snack. That evening, as soon as Qin An returned home, Zhu Erhong, with a dark face, began to interrogate him about the fruit leather. Qin An, as stoic and taciturn as ever, said he didn't know much because Qin Jin and Ye Miao only made the fruit leather in the afternoons, while he had been busy working in the fields lately.

This explanation did not satisfy Zhu Erhong. Qin An was working at Qin Jin’s house, yet she had to hear about the new snack from the villagers; it was obvious to her that the lad was not putting in any effort. As she cursed endlessly, Qin An spoke back for the first time: "I don't want to do this kind of sneaky business. You forced me into it. If you aren't satisfied, then I won't go tomorrow; you can go yourself."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Erhong flew into a rage. If she hadn't heard from the villagers that Qin Jin was helping Qin An grind flour, she never would have recommended him for the job. She had wanted to go herself to uncover the secret, but Qin Jin would never agree to it. She grabbed a broom, intending to beat Qin An. Just then, the door to the main room creaked open, and Qin Shuli walked out looking impatient: "Mother, it’s rare for me to come back for a visit. Didn't you say you were going to stew a chicken?"

At these words, the fierce-looking Zhu Erhong instantly changed her expression, smiling immediately: "I'll have An-ge go stew it right now." She then glared at Qin An: "Hurry up and go to the backyard to catch a chicken!" Qin An, who had been about to run, turned and headed toward the backyard.

So, it was Qin Shuli who had returned. Zhu Erhong looked at him and scolded with dissatisfaction: "Did you not see your older brother? Have you gone mute?"

"Big brother," he muttered, then quickened his pace toward the backyard.

Just as Zhu Erhong was about to continue her scolding, Qin Shuli stopped her, signaling for her to go inside to talk. "Mother, treat An-ge better in the future. He’s grown up now and has his own thoughts; don't make him turn against our family. You don't know this, but the fruit leather Qin Jin makes sells incredibly well. Even my young master is buying it."

"What?" Zhu Erhong frowned. Qin Shuli’s young master was the son of a brickyard owner, a person of great wealth who lived in luxury. Could he actually be interested in something Qin Jin had cooked up?

"This fruit leather costs fifty-five wen a catty, and that’s only because apples are cheap this year; the price will only go up next year. Coax An-ge a bit more and get him to pay attention. If he can really learn the method, our family will be set for the future."

Zhu Erhong was stunned. She had known Qin Jin made a new snack but hadn't known the price. Good heavens, fifty-five wen a catty! Even top-quality pork fat only cost twenty-five wen a catty! She no longer cared about anything else; she asked for details and began to form a plan in her mind.

That night at the dinner table, she did something unprecedented: she picked up a piece of chicken carcass and put it in Qin An's bowl, smiling and telling him to eat more. Eat he did; although there was almost no meat on the carcass, it was still better than just eating winter melon.

While Zhu Erhong changed her strategy to win over Qin An, Qin Jin grew increasingly busy because the sales of the fruit leather were booming. In this era, transportation was inconvenient and productivity was low. Even though merchant caravans often passed through Dongyang County bringing new items not found locally, such "novelties" were strictly limited by the constraints of the time. Life was always unchanging, like a stagnant pool. When ripples disturbed that water—whether it was a handcart or a tasty new snack—those with extra money were willing to spend it to try something new.

Although Dongyang County wasn't a large city, it had a population of several tens of thousands. With the addition of traveling merchant caravans, it was truly effortless to consume thirty or forty catties of fruit leather. Moreover, those thirty or forty catties weren't even a single day's consumption; it took Qin Jin two days just to produce that much. Every time Shopkeeper Niu saw him, he would either urge him to work harder or sigh heavily, saying that this snack was seasonal and if they didn't push harder, the apple season would be over!

The market was larger than Qin Jin had anticipated, but he was truly powerless to do more, and it pained him as well. That night, after washing up and entering their room, he saw that Ye Miao was already lying in bed. He went to the bedside, but before he could even lie down, Ye Miao rolled over to his side and reached out to hug his waist.

"Don't be in such a hurry, I have something to discuss with you," he said.

Ye Miao’s face immediately flushed. Who was in a hurry?

"What is it?" he asked, loosening his grip slightly, as if to say he truly wasn't in a hurry.

Qin Jin found it amusing and reached out to poke Ye Miao's cheek lightly: "I’m thinking of letting my three older brothers make fruit leather too. What do you think?"

"Hmm?" Ye Miao sat up, his eyes widening slightly: "Why?"

"The amount of fruit leather we make each day is limited, but the apple season won't wait. Instead of letting the opportunity go to waste, it's better to let our own family earn that money. I suspect the three snack shops in the county have already started trying to figure out the method."

Hearing this, Ye Miao was startled. He suddenly remembered that back at the Ye household, his father would occasionally have him try to embroider new patterns. Merchants were like that; if something was selling well at someone else's place, they would surely imitate it. And the method for making fruit leather was really not technical at all—according to his Jin-ge, it was similar to making hawthorn cake, which involved turning fruit into a puree. The only difference was the thickness of the spread and the drying time. With such a simple process, how could they keep the veteran pastry masters from finding out?

As for whether Qin Bing and the others would steal their business, that could be agreed upon in advance, letting the three of them only produce a fixed amount, say ten catties each. That way, the three of them combined would only produce thirty catties, which wouldn't impact his own business. He had always been grateful to Qin Bing and the other two; when they were married, the three of them hadn't hesitated to provide three taels of silver, never worrying about whether his Jin-ge could pay them back. If it weren't for them, the wedding couldn't have taken place. Furthermore... cough, his family was small, and with the autumn harvest approaching, his Jin-ge and father couldn't manage all the fields alone; they would definitely need the three brothers' help.

Various thoughts raced through his mind, and he nodded: "I'll listen to you."

"You don't object?" Qin Jin was surprised by his little spouse's readiness.

"I don't object. If it weren't for the three brothers providing the silver, you surely wouldn't have been able to marry me so soon. And besides, we will need the three brothers' help in many things in the future."

Qin Jin raised an eyebrow, staring at his earnest little spouse for a few seconds before leaning in to plant a kiss on his lips. His little spouse was quick-witted, clear-headed, and knew how to show gratitude; after his sharp-tongued display last time, he had surprised him once again. A couple, two people meant to spend a lifetime together—if their values didn't align, there would inevitably be many conflicts and sorrows. Luckily, his little spouse’s way of thinking was just like his! Although this marriage had been forced, this spouse truly gave him surprises.

He was genuinely happy. As soon as his lips parted from his spouse's, he kissed him again: "Miao-ge, you really are my virtuous helper."

Sensing Qin Jin’s unreserved joy, Ye Miao couldn't help but curve his lips. He followed his instinct and wrapped his arms around Qin Jin’s neck, twisting his body until he was sitting on Qin Jin’s lap. When Qin Jin’s kiss fell again, he opened his mouth. He was happy, too. When they were first married, his Jin-ge had said he would discuss all major family matters with him, and his Jin-ge had kept his word. This feeling of being valued was truly wonderful—so wonderful that his head felt dizzy. Even while being kissed, he couldn't help but wiggle his body; he just wanted to be closer to his Jin-ge.

As he wiggled, Qin Jin was no saint. Besides, Qin Jin was indeed... well, he just wanted to respond to his little spouse's joy and make him even happier. He took the initiative to undo Ye Miao’s buttons; their wedding night had been too rushed, and he hadn't made use of much of the experience he had read about. After many days of practice, he had become quite skilled at kissing. Cough, today he would properly serve his little spouse.