Chapter Fifty-Three: Secret Language

The matter of establishing godparent relations didn't require approval from the clan, nor did it need the old patriarch to intervene; the task was handled entirely by the eldest uncle and his wife.

As soon as Su Lu entered, the aunt produced the prepared gifts for the brothers to present to their godmother.

The offerings included cloth shoes, fabric, and a slab of cured pork with skin and bone, called "heart's meat"; a jar of local white liquor, symbolizing longevity; and a packet of brown sugar, signifying sweet days ahead.

A small gift was also prepared for little Tian Tian. Su Lu gave her an exquisite horn hairpin; Su Tai presented a beautiful horn comb. In truth, both were crafted by Su Tai from a single horn.

The main hall was arranged with incense, fruit, pastries, and wine. The godmother was seated in the place of honor, with the family as witnesses.

Led by their father, the brothers performed three formal bows to their godmother: the first to thank her for accepting them, the second to acknowledge the bond, and the third to seek her protection.

The godmother rose to lift the children, joyfully gripping their hands and declaring, "Let’s see who dares to bully your mother now!"

It was hard to say who was protecting whom.

She then presented her own gifts for the godsons. Generous as always, she had ordered a robe of Luotian cloth for Su Lu, superior in both cut and material to what the academy provided.

Su Lu stroked the densely woven, supple, indigo fabric with deep emotion. Just before the New Year, he had never worn new clothes. Now, he suddenly had three sets—life was indeed improving.

The godmother had previously made a set of clothes for Su Tai, but this time she bought him a mulberry wood hunting bow, complete with ten iron-tipped bamboo arrows. Xia, the boy, was so delighted he couldn't stop smiling, hugging the bow and arrows.

Ever since he broke the ancestral horn bow two years ago, he had been dreaming of another.

~~~

No matter the ceremony in China, it always ends with a feast.

Today was no different—a banquet to celebrate the godparent bond and the "renaming toast." The scale was modest, reserved for close kin. Considering the circumstances of both families, no others were invited—just Su Lu’s entire family and the godmother and her daughter.

The aunt prepared firepit stews as tradition demanded. Suspended over the hearth was a clay pot, filled with assorted ingredients and stewed together. Everyone helped themselves from the same pot, symbolizing unity as one family.

This was a common practice among the Han and Yi communities in the southwest, as was frequent in Su Lu’s home. But today’s stew was particularly rich: the aunt layered bitter greens and radish at the bottom, golden bamboo shoots and slices of ham in the middle, and topped it with meatballs and mushrooms.

She had started simmering it over charcoal two hours earlier, periodically ladling the broth from top to bottom to infuse the flavors.

Everyone ate in silence; even the godmother and little Tian Tian, usually reserved, couldn't help but focus on their meal.

The aunt’s culinary skills were as high as her emotional intelligence was low; in Erlang Beach, no one cooked better.

Once their cravings were satisfied, they remembered the ritual toast. Su Lu and Su Tai each offered their godmother a cup of wine, formally changing how they addressed her.

The godmother, in turn, gave each good son a meatball, symbolizing reunion, and urged them to "visit often."

Su Youcai added, "Your godmother should visit often too."

"Certainly, certainly." Two cups of sorghum wine down, the godmother’s cheeks glowed like peach blossoms. "From now on, I’ll be sure to visit my sons."

The old patriarch frowned and said, "I’m off for a walk. Your godmother can take her time."

He rose, seemingly propelled by flames, and headed downstairs.

The godmother was momentarily bewildered, unsure what she might have said wrong.

---

"Don't mind him," the aunt said nonchalantly. "The old man just can't sit still."

"I’ll fetch some greens. We can eat slowly."

"No need, sister-in-law. My daughter and I are already full," the godmother replied, feeling it was time to take her leave.

"Don’t be so formal. This is your home now," the uncle waved her back to her seat.

Sensing he had something to say, she sat again.

As expected, he asked, "So, have you thought about that matter? If you’ve decided, I need to reply to Ma, the Commandant."

"What does second brother think?" The godmother turned to Su Youcai.

"A big decision like this is yours to make," Su Youcai quickly replied. "My life’s been full of pitfalls—I wouldn’t dare give you advice."

Seeing his resolve, the godmother glanced at the Su brothers. "What do my sons think?"

Su Tai, knowing he wasn’t the one being asked, kept his head down and ate.

"I agree with my father..." Su Lu didn’t wish to elaborate. "And I’m a student now; my studies must come first. I can’t be distracted."

The godmother pressed gently, "Good son, please help your godmother. Just this once, I promise not to trouble you again."

"From now on, whenever your godmother speaks, it’s as if I’m speaking. You must listen," Su Youcai said, unusually talkative—perhaps excited by the godparent ceremony.

"Alright," Su Lu relented, having just become her godson. He spoke his mind:

"I was there that day. Ma, the Commandant, is a true smiling tiger."

"That’s right," the uncle agreed. "We all call him that behind his back."

"So, if we don’t agree, forget about selling sweet water—at least not in Taiping Town."

"We have to keep the business going. I still owe seventy percent of my debts," the godmother said. If she wasn’t determined to continue, she could have paid off another twenty percent by tightening her belt.

But where else could she find such a lucrative business?

"And it can only be done in Taiping Town. Here, we can reach the Commandant; if we moved to Hejiang or Lincity, we’d never get near the government office," the uncle continued. "Without protection, the local sharks would eat us alive."

Despite pushing for this arrangement, the uncle spoke truthfully. The godmother nodded, "Exactly."

She sighed, "My late husband refused to believe this, and that’s why he suffered."

"Ah?" The Su family was shocked—was the He brothers’ shipwreck not an accident?

"I’m just speculating wildly—let’s not talk about it," the godmother quickly changed the subject. "I’ve decided. I’ll continue the business here in Taiping Town."

"Then you must agree to his terms," Su Lu analyzed. "It’s a mixed blessing—the downside is being under his control, and possibly becoming the ‘lady who sells oil and combs her hair.’"

"It won’t be worse than last year," the godmother said firmly. "Tell me the upside."

"Well, the upside is leveraging the Commandant’s influence to grow the business. The town’s foot traffic is considerable, and there are plenty of restaurants and inns—a stable source of income. With the Commandant’s backing, it’s not hard to dominate the market."

---

Su Lu paused, then said gravely, "And at least in Taiping Town, there won’t be any competitors."

"That’s certain. Who’d dare compete with Ma, the Commandant?" The uncle laughed. "What did Confucius say standing by the river?"

"‘Time flows like this.’" Su Lu replied instantly.

"Exactly—let anyone foolish enough try," the uncle nodded vigorously.

"Don’t talk nonsense," Su Youcai said, embarrassed.

The godmother’s mouth hung open in surprise, wondering how her godson managed to get into the academy.

"In any case," Su Lu cleared his throat, bringing the conversation back. "The key is to make him realize that godmother’s skills are unique, and this business isn’t something just anyone can run. Only then will he refrain from interfering and simply await his share of the profits… That’s the best outcome for all."

"Yes, but how do we make him see that?" The godmother was of the same mind. Her hesitation stemmed from the fear of being replaced.

"There are two strategies. One is ‘Zheng overcomes Duan’—the most thorough, but it’s costly and takes time," Su Lu said confidently.

"Is there a quicker way?" Su Youcai asked.

"There is: packaging our business in a way he can’t understand," Su Lu replied. "Make him believe there’s specialized expertise, so he won’t dare meddle."

"But our business is really straightforward—two sentences explain it," the elders protested. "Ma, the Commandant, is sharp; how could he be confused?"

"Sharpness aids judgment, but it doesn’t cure ignorance," Su Lu said with confidence. "For example, we can use terms he’s never heard to package our business!"

"There’s some logic to that," the family said, half understanding. "But how do we package it?"

"That’s easy. For example, like this…" Su Lu organized his thoughts and spoke smoothly:

"Our core market is anchoring Taiping Town’s flavored liquid consumption track. Using ‘sour-sweet base,’ ‘pre-fermentation alcohols,’ and ‘natural life source’ as the first-generation composite flavor matrix, we build an all-scenario user network, aiming to secure the absolute positioning of the regional ecological barrier.

Our vision for the near future is to launch double growth engines: first, iterate flavor sub-matrices to form a tiered lineup of ‘basic volume products’ and ‘premium high-value products’; second, tackle sealed freshness technology to extend optimal taste periods, leveraging local traffic advantages to open cross-regional distribution channels, and create a second growth curve!"

Everyone in the room stared, their eyes glazed. They understood each word individually, but together, none made sense.

"Mother, I don’t understand a word," little Tian Tian whispered in defeat.

"Don’t worry, neither do I," the godmother replied, hugging her daughter with a wry smile.

"Second brother, what did Qiu say? It’s harder to decipher than classical prose," the uncle muttered, looking to Su Youcai.

"Don’t look at me. I didn’t understand either," Su Youcai said in astonishment. "Son, is our business really this profound?"

"It just sounds mysterious. The meaning is simple," Su Lu laughed.

"What I just said is—our business aims to dominate Taiping Town’s sweet water market. Using a drink blended from oranges, sweet mash, and water, we’ll comprehensively occupy daily consumer demand and restaurants, striving for absolute monopoly.

As for future plans, first, we’ll keep launching new flavors to build a product range from basic to premium; second, we’ll develop methods to keep the drinks fresh longer so, with local transport advantages, we can sell to other regions and create new sources of profit!"