Ch 17: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

Seeking Justice

Furong Alley was split in two: on one end, the sweet fragrance lingered in the air, enveloping people in a pleasant haze; on the other end, chaos reigned.

Word spread quickly that Qin Xia and Wei Chao had both gone to the Gao family to demand an explanation! Not only that, but they had also brought along the neighborhood elder!

In the Dayong dynasty, a neighborhood was made up of a hundred households, with a headman responsible for duties like overseeing public service, collecting taxes, and handling minor legal matters. In addition, there was one neighborhood elder, chosen for their high moral standing, whose responsibilities included guiding the community toward good behavior and resolving disputes.

When common people had disputes, they were required to seek the elder’s judgment first. Only if the elder couldn’t resolve the issue could it be taken to the county magistrate; otherwise, it would be considered “bypassing the system,” and the involved parties would be punished.

So, in the eyes of the people, asking the elder to step in was just shy of presenting a formal petition to the county court.

The fact that the elder was willing to get involved in this dispute between the three families meant that he believed the matter was serious enough to warrant his attention.

The onlookers couldn’t help but marvel, saying that they always knew Qin Xia was a tough character.

He had just spent a few taels of silver to bring home a husband, and in just a few days, before the excitement had even worn off, he was already protecting him like a precious treasure.

It seemed Gao Lu had really picked the wrong fight this time.

With the elder present, Gao Lu could no longer hide and avoid the issue.

Old man Gao, with a gloomy face, opened the door and shoved Gao Lu out.

“You made this mess; you clean it up!”

Gao Lu’s face was as bitter as a gourd, and he stood there nervously, all his former arrogance gone.

The elder instructed Qin Xia and Wei Chao to recount the experiences of Yu Jiuque and Cao A’shuang. Gao Lu’s two sisters-in-law, who were the quickest to cave, promptly admitted that everything the two men said was true.

Indeed, it was Gao Lu who first provoked them, which led to Cao A’shuang talking back, and then Yu Jiuque took action.

“He didn’t hurt anyone, just… just broke a basin.”

One of the sisters-in-law finished speaking and quickly retreated into the crowd, no longer wanting anything to do with Gao Lu.

The reason the elder agreed to get involved was due to the issue of “reputation.”

For a Ge’er, reputation was everything. Someone like Gao Lu, who spoke so recklessly and slandered others, could have driven someone with a fiercer temperament, from a stricter family, to actually hang themselves.

Moreover, Yu Jiuque fainting and Cao A’shuang crying in despair had been witnessed by many neighbors in the alley.

Even though Qin Xia and Wei Chao knew that the two of them were now fine, they still made the situation sound worse when speaking to the elder.

The facts were clear, and the elder nodded as he stroked his beard.

“This matter is indeed Gao Lu’s fault.”

He then asked Qin Xia and Wei Chao what compensation they wanted.

The elder had originally thought of having the Gao family pay for the Qin family’s medical expenses and perhaps give a chicken to Cao A’shuang to help her recover, and then the matter would be settled. But to his surprise, Qin Xia spoke clearly and asked for additional “lost wages.”

“Mother, what is ‘lost wages’?” asked a child who had been brought along to watch the commotion, his innocent curiosity getting the better of him.

His mother quickly covered his mouth.

The child might not have understood, but the elder certainly did.

Qin Xia’s point was that because Yu Jiuque had been “angered into illness” by Gao Lu, they couldn’t set up their stall, losing out on the money they would have earned that day. Now, they hadn’t made a single coin.

“This matter does have a precedent, though it’s not called by that name.”

Only now did the elder learn that Qin Xia, after getting married, had indeed established a business, setting up a stall on Liubao Street to sell food.

In his view, both Qin Xia and Gao Lu had been “troublesome characters” in Furong Alley, but now, one had turned over a new leaf and taken the right path, while the other seemed to grow more foolish with age.

It was clear to the elder which way the scales of justice leaned.

To gain the crowd’s trust, the elder recounted a past dispute he had judged.

Two men had quarreled after their carts collided in the alley, and one of them ended up physically assaulting the other, causing serious injury. The injured man was bedridden for five or six days, unable to work, even though he had a young child at home to care for. The elder had ordered the assailant to compensate the injured man with five days’ worth of lost wages.

“The dispute between your three families follows the same logic. So let’s calculate how much compensation is owed, settle it, and then everyone can go home. No need to gather here any longer.”

With the elder’s verdict, the Gao family elders were left feeling utterly defeated.

In the face of the elder’s decision, no one dared to argue. If anyone objected, the next step would be to go to the magistrate’s office, something ordinary people feared the most, including the Gao family.

In the end, the elder calculated that the Gao family had to pay the Qin family seven qian for medical expenses and medicine, plus three qian for “lost wages,” totaling one tael of silver, and they also had to give the Wei family an old hen.

Old man Gao glared at Gao Lu, unwillingly handed over the money, and then called his son to go to the backyard to catch the chicken.

An old hen could sell for about 150-160 wen, so altogether, the Gao family lost more than a tael of silver because of Gao Lu’s loose tongue.

The Gao family would undoubtedly have a big argument behind closed doors, but that was no longer Qin Xia’s concern.

He and Wei Chao respectfully bid farewell to the elder, one carrying money, the other holding a chicken, both walking home feeling lighthearted.

On the way, Wei Chao seemed to have warmed up to Qin Xia again.

“You’ve really got a sharp mind! When I get home, I’ll have my mother stew this chicken into soup, and I’ll make sure to send a bowl over to Jiu Ge’er.”

In Wei Chao’s view, the silver Qin Xia received as compensation was well-deserved. After all, he had indeed spent a lot at the clinic, and missing a day of setting up his stall was a real financial loss.

As for the old hen he received, that was purely a windfall.

He knew his wife well enough—after crying, she wiped away her tears and went back to her routine, not taking it to heart at all.

But at least she had suffered some unwarranted grief, and now they had seen Gao Lu get his comeuppance, which was satisfying!

In the past, he had looked down on Qin Xia as a lazy troublemaker, someone who never seemed to take anything seriously.

But now, he had to admit that Qin Xia was smart!

Qin Xia glanced at the hen, whose wings were tied, and smiled, saying, “Brother Wei, no need to be so formal. Ah Jiu and Madam Cao are close, and our two families will likely visit each other often in the future. Why bother with such formalities?”

Wei Chao laughed heartily.

“You’re too generous, but no matter what, I must send over some of this chicken soup!”

True to his word, during lunch, Wei Chao brought a pot of chicken soup along with Cao A’shuang.

Cao A’shuang visited Yu Jiuque for a bit, chatting briefly before leaving with her husband.

Qin Xia used the chicken soup to cook a pot of noodles specifically for Yu Jiuque, along with two quick and simple home-cooked dishes, while he himself ate mantou with the side dishes.

At Yu Jiuque’s insistence, Qin Xia also had a few spoonfuls of the chicken soup.

In their distraction, they ended up using the same spoon.

Although they were married in name, they had only held hands at most, so this act, by the standards of current etiquette, was considered bold and intimate.

Yu Jiuque blushed, silently lowering his head to drink the soup, while Qin Xia raised his large mantou to cover half his face.

The light clinking of dishes on the table eventually masked the emotions they both felt.

…

Lately, Xing Yiming had been feeling particularly frustrated.

After trying nearly every type of food, both expensive and cheap, in Qinan County and growing tired of them, he finally found a small food stall that suited his taste. But this stall had the habit of being open “three days of fishing, two days of drying the net.”

After missing out for a day, when Xing Yiming finally saw Qin Xia again, he refused to leave the stall.

His purpose was clear—he wanted to open a restaurant and wanted to hire Qin Xia as the chef.

“Name your price, and I’ll pay whatever you ask.”

Qin Xia, without sparing a thought for the turmoil in Shopkeeper Xing’s heart, flatly refused, “Sorry, Shopkeeper Xing, but I’m used to my freedom and not suited to working for others.”

In his previous life, Qin Xia had reached the position of head chef at a five-star hotel, a role that came with considerable status and income, yet he still felt constrained.

Later, he quit his job and opened a private restaurant, working only when he wanted to. If he didn’t feel like it, he would cancel reservations and stay home to experiment with new dishes or travel to explore local cuisines. It was only then that he felt truly alive.

So working for someone else was out of the question—wasn’t possible in his past life, and definitely not in this one.

When Xing Yiming asked again, Qin Xia simply smiled and remained silent.

After a few rounds of this, Xing Yiming finally caught on.

He leaned in closer, smiling, “I see now, Boss Qin must already be planning to open his own restaurant in the future, right?”

Qin Xia sliced a starch sausage into pieces with his spatula, raising an eyebrow slightly.

“Can’t hide anything from you, Shopkeeper Xing.”

Xing Yiming gave Qin Xia a meaningful look, his eyes filled with admiration.

With such skill, ambition, and intelligence…

It was easy to imagine that one day, among the restaurants and eateries in Qinan County, the Qin family would have a place of their own.

Suddenly, everything made sense.

“Alright then, I’ll be the first to support Boss Qin when your restaurant opens.”

Even though the plans were still in their infancy, Xing Yiming had already expressed his support, and Qin Xia was deeply grateful.

Moreover, he had figured out that the best way to repay this loyal customer was simply to keep making new and interesting dishes for him.

Xing Yiming was generous with his payments and often provided more professional feedback than the average customer.

Qin Xia quickly prepared Xing Yiming’s extra-large serving of grilled cold noodles and iron plate tofu, letting Yu Jiuque pack it up. As he handed it over, Qin Xia casually mentioned, “When the new pan I ordered from the blacksmith is ready in a couple of days, you’ll be able to try my ‘egg bun.’”

This “egg bun” was essentially the modern breakfast dish known as the “egg burger.”

Bringing such food to the Dayong era, Qin Xia couldn’t really explain what the word “burger” meant, so just like with the starch sausage, he shortened the name to “egg bun.”

This mysterious “egg bun” kept Xing Yiming intrigued for two more days.

Since it wasn’t easy to make, even with a rush order, the blacksmith took an extra day and a half to finish the pan.

When Qin Xia closed his stall that day, he hurried to the blacksmith shop to pick up the pan. The pan was a round iron plate with five recessed round holes, each slightly smaller than the round biscuits commonly sold.

At a glance, it looked just like the ones Qin Xia had seen before.

The blacksmith wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“There’s another round iron plate you ordered, but it will take a few more days.”

Besides the egg burger mold, Qin Xia had also ordered an iron plate for making jianbing (Chinese crepes).

He planned to sell only these two items for breakfast in the future, moving iron plate tofu and grilled cold noodles to lunchtime.

This decision was driven by feedback from many customers who said that while the iron plate tofu and grilled cold noodles were delicious, they weren’t filling enough for breakfast.

Selling everything together, even with two more people, would be too much to handle.

But this meant that the amount of tofu he ordered from the Liu family might need to be reduced.

And to be honest, once the new items were added, the iron plate tofu, with its thin profit margin, would become somewhat of a burden, especially since it required extra effort to prevent it from sticking to the pan.

If the tofu wasn’t sourced from the Liu family, Qin Xia would have likely cut this dish from the menu altogether.

These thoughts weighed on his mind, so much so that while preparing the batter to test the new pan at home, he almost added sugar instead of salt.

Fortunately, Yu Jiuque, with his sharp eyes, stopped him in time.

“Husband, is something bothering you?”

Yu Jiuque swapped the sugar jar for the salt jar and handed it to Qin Xia.

Qin Xia added the right amount of salt to the batter and stirred it with a wooden spatula, voicing his concerns as he did so.

Yu Jiuque, who was chopping scallions nearby, had significantly improved his knife skills, especially when it came to slicing scallions quickly and evenly.

Amid the rhythmic sound of chopping, Yu Jiuque thought for a moment before offering his suggestion.

“Husband, if you’re inclined to continue supporting the Liu family’s business, and if you don’t mind teaching someone else how to make iron plate tofu… why not let Brother Liu take over making that dish?”