Chapter 717: Ethan Hawthorne in a Bad Mood

Making sweet fermented rice wasn’t complex, but many people failed because the temperature and timing were hard to control. Raina, however, was a master at it, and she could make a fragrant and mellow batch every time.

When left to age, the sweet fermented rice became glutinous rice wine. Raina brewed a large jar of it every year. The wine was sweet and refreshing, and even Tang Xiaonan liked to drink it. However, the rice wine had a strong kick and a fairly high alcohol content, so she could only have a tiny sip at most before getting drunk.

After Lana Steiner gave birth, Raina was once again making sweet fermented rice. This batch was for return gifts. Local custom dictated that after a child was born, the family would make sweet fermented rice and distribute it to every household to announce the new arrival. More formal families would also make zongzi to give away—not the ordinary kind, but massive ones weighing seven or eight pounds, made specifically to celebrate a birth. In recent years, however, food had been scarce, so most people skipped the zongzi.

Raina didn’t make zongzi, as it would use too much glutinous rice. Instead, she boiled red eggs and sent some to the families in their village and to relatives in other villages, having Frederick Thorne deliver them door-to-door with a shoulder pole.

The Thorne family’s New Year was especially festive. They celebrated the joyous birth of a new baby, a bountiful harvest, and had earned a good deal of money. Howard Thorne and his two brothers had also improved their grades, and the eldest grandson was now engaged. Every one of these was a major blessing, overshadowed only by Phoebe Thorne’s divorce and Goldie Thorne’s bachelor status.

But not everything could be perfect. All in all, the past year had been smooth sailing. The Thornes were very satisfied and hoped the coming year would be even better.

The Hawthorne family’s New Year was also quite festive. Unlike the quiet holidays of years past, this year many guests came to visit. Adrian Hawthorne paid his respects to several important families and also sent a gift to Frederick Thorne to celebrate the new baby. The once grim and aloof Adrian now had more of a human touch to him and seemed much easier to get along with.

A new year, a fresh start. Every household was full of festive cheer. But for Ethan Hawthorne in Tristone, the holiday was anything but pleasant. He’d spent it with Bernice and Jacqueline Spann. After being brought over, Jacqueline had also been staying at Ethan’s place—the very villa where Adrian Hawthorne was born.

Bernice had told Ethan about Jacqueline Spann’s ’tragic’ backstory, though she didn’t give a specific address, saying only that Jacqueline was from a mountain village in Vessaria. Ethan didn’t give the girl much thought and quietly permitted her to stay. It was just one more mouth to feed; he wasn’t that stingy.

But business troubles had put Ethan in a terrible mood. Over the past two months, several of his regular clients had defected, claiming they’d found a cheaper supplier with a wider selection. This new competitor had poached many of his long-standing customers.

At first, Ethan refused to believe anyone could undersell him. He sent someone to buy a few of the rival’s products, which only worsened his mood. The materials were high quality, and the prices were indeed lower than his. He had to admit, he’d switch suppliers too if he were in their shoes. But he sourced his goods directly from Madman Feng; theoretically, no one in the East China market could compete with him. ’Where on earth did this person with the surname Tang come from?’

He tried asking Madman Feng about it, but the man just said he was only in charge of selling goods and didn’t care about his customers’ identities. Ethan was helpless. He couldn’t afford to get on Madman Feng’s bad side, at least not until he found another supply channel.

But Madman Feng was the largest supplier; all the smaller distributors bought their stock from him. Unless he could source goods directly from Port Krol, he had to rely on Madman Feng. Ethan hated the feeling of being constrained, but there was nothing he could do about it.