Good food is a source of comfort, and the sauerkraut fish meal left everyone in high spirits, including Li Genshou. After the meal, Li Genshou informed Lin Zezu that he could bring him the three finished packaging boxes for the Maojian tea the next morning so Lin Zezu could decide which was best. Lin Zezu was curious to see what kind of surprise this straight-laced engineer-minded man would bring him.
Lin Zezu then instructed Li Genshou to bring ten bamboo tubes with lids made from bamboo segments the following day. Aside from the requirements that the tubes be watertight and the lids fit tightly, there were no other special instructions. This was for a delicacy called "tube-fresh fish" that had occurred to Lin Zezu while he was eating the sauerkraut fish that evening. Once Li Genshou understood the instructions and the purpose of the tubes, he accepted the task and headed home.
There was another cause for celebration in the residence that day. Under Sister Jiang’s direction, Li Tieshuan and six laborers had cleaned the courtyard from inside out until it was spotless. All the items previously piled in the front courtyard had been moved into the rooms. Fugui chose the side room on the east side of the front courtyard, citing the need to be near the gate. Jiang Feng followed suit, moving into the room next to Fugui’s to look after the mule. Sister Jiang and Little Xin'er moved into the west side room of the main house in the front courtyard—a convenient location that was clos…
Chapter 38