Ch 37: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

When it came to the matter of the chicken racks, Wei Chao felt somewhat guilty towards Qin Xia. Initially, he feared losing the benefits offered by Yu Shun and pushed the supply of chicken racks to Qin Xia, which eventually led to their current business arrangement. However, when Yu Shun saw that Qin Xia was making money from it, he became envious and started to control the supply.

Wei Chao knew that Yu Shun was a bit cunning but also greedy. So, he didn’t outright refuse Yu Shun and, after discussing it with Qin Xia, they decided to turn the tables on Yu Shun.

Did Yu Shun want to buy the recipe? Of course. To Qin Xia, these recipes weren’t particularly valuable. For example, he originally planned to sell the grilled chicken racks recipe for a dozen or so taels of silver, but since Yu Shun acted dishonorably, he couldn’t blame Qin Xia for being merciless.

The two decided to put on an act in front of Yu Shun, working together to drive up the price of the recipe, so that this steward would have to pay dearly.

After their plan succeeded, Wei Chao received a three-tael silver bonus from Yu Shun. Qin Xia wanted to share some of the silver extorted from Yu Shun with Wei Chao, but Wei Chao adamantly refused.

“If I take your money, how could I face you in the future?”

Seeing that Wei Chao was serious, Qin Xia had to give up on the idea.

Halfway through, the two parted ways, as Wei Chao had plans to meet others for drinks at a tavern that evening. Qin Xia continued walking toward Furong Alley. Judging by the time, there was still more than half an hour before his evening stall would open, so he could go home and have a simple dinner first.

Since he had earned a considerable amount of silver from selling the recipes, he couldn’t help but glance at the shops along the street, thinking about what to buy for his husband.

As he was thinking this, a waft of fragrant scent hit him. Qin Xia wrinkled his nose and turned his head to see a perfume shop. An idea crossed his mind, and he walked over.

“Do you have any face or hand cream? Please give me a jar.”

As soon as Qin Xia entered, he was overwhelmed by the myriad of scents in the shop, causing him to sneeze. He could handle all sorts of spices in the kitchen without flinching, but the layers of floral fragrances here made him feel particularly choked.

The female shopkeeper greeted him with a smile, quickly sizing him up. “Are you buying this for your sweetheart?”

Qin Xia rubbed his nose and replied, “It’s for my husband at home.”

In his previous life, he had been single for over twenty years. In this life, he woke up to find himself with a husband, so Qin Xia felt that there were many things he hadn’t fully considered.

For instance, he had only recently noticed that whenever Yu Jiuque was exposed to cold wind, his cheeks would turn red, and the skin on the back of his hands felt a bit rough—likely from frequently working and handling cold water.

The shopkeeper, hearing this, raised her delicate hand and selected two jars of cream from the counter.

“You might want to consider these two: one for the face and one for the hands. I guarantee that after using them, your skin will be as smooth as jade, with a radiant glow.”

Qin Xia wasn’t familiar with such things, so he just went along with whatever the shopkeeper recommended.

“Do these have a fragrance?”

The shopkeeper smiled. “All creams have a fragrance. These two are peach blossom scented, which is the best-selling scent in our shop.”

Qin Xia opened the jars and took a sniff but found the scent too strong.

“Do you have anything milder?”

The shopkeeper raised an eyebrow, thinking to herself that this man really knew his husband’s preferences and feelings well.

And since Qin Xia had a good appearance, her patience only grew. After a moment, she retrieved several bottles and jars from another cabinet a few steps away and placed them in front of him.

“These are all milder. Please take your time to choose.”

Qin Xia sniffed each one, feeling like his nose was about to give out, but finally, he made a choice.

“I’ll take this one.”

The shopkeeper smiled. “You have a good eye, sir. This is our shop’s newly arrived orchid-scented cream. However… it is fifty wen more expensive than the peach blossom scent.”

With that, she smiled and waited for Qin Xia to pay.

Qin Xia didn’t mind the extra cost, knowing that Yu Jiuque liked orchids—a detail mentioned several times in the book. This was something that happened later when Yu Jiuque held a powerful position in the Directorate of Ceremonies, and his influence grew.

Officials, eager to gain his favor, would go out of their way to present gifts, including rare orchids they had gathered from various places, knowing his preference. It was said that one such orchid, called “Suguanheding,” was priceless and even the imperial palace had never possessed one.

The more upright officials in court scoffed at this, believing that Yu Jiuque was unworthy of the “noble among flowers.” But they couldn’t deny that wherever Yu Jiuque went, there was always a faint scent of orchids in the air.

However, this unique fragrance was often accompanied by the cold, metallic scent of blood, symbolizing the life-and-death power held by the all-powerful Yu Jiuque.

…

The words from the book, like faded, curling pages, gradually receded to the corners of Qin Xia’s memory. The young man in front of him had just set down the silver note and was now holding the delicate porcelain jar.

He opened the lid and brought it close to his nose for a sniff.

“Is it orchid?”

Qin Xia nodded. Yu Jiuque held the porcelain jar, his smile radiant.

“Why did you suddenly think of buying this?”

He wasn’t the type to care about such things as appearance or grooming. For him, as long as he felt fresh and clean, that was enough. He had never paid attention to items like rouge or scented cream.

Only when Qin Xia reminded him did he realize that his cheeks and the back of his hands had recently felt less smooth than before.

How did the person next to him notice something he hadn’t even realized?

This question was best not thought about too deeply, as it made his face warm.

“It’s not expensive. Remember to use it often, several times a day if you like. There’s medicine in it that can help prevent chilblains.”

After Qin Xia spoke, he motioned for Yu Jiuque to try it out.

Yu Jiuque opened the porcelain jar, scooped out a bit of cream with his finger, rubbed it between his palms, and gently applied it to his face and the back of his hands. The faint orchid scent quickly filled the air.

Qin Xia suddenly realized that he didn’t dislike floral scents; it all depended on where the scent came from.

The young man’s face, after applying the cream, looked soft and white. Qin Xia couldn’t resist leaning in to give it a gentle kiss.

Yu Jiuque turned to face him, placing his hands on Qin Xia’s shoulders. In the bright daylight, the two of them stayed close, wrapped in the delicate fragrance, sharing a tender moment.

Until…

Bang!

A noise came from the courtyard. The two quickly separated, despite being in their own home. They weren’t sure why they were so flustered. Watching Yu Jiuque turn away to rub his face, Qin Xia couldn’t help but laugh.

“I’ll go check.”

Stepping outside, Qin Xia saw that Zheng Xinghua had accidentally knocked over a couple of items while loading things onto a cart. Seeing him, she quickly explained.

The fallen items were made of wood and weren’t damaged. Qin Xia told her not to worry, then bent down to stack the wooden boxes back in place. As he did so, he heard Zheng Xinghua mention that she had been startled by a stray cat that had suddenly darted across the yard.

“A stray cat?”

Qin Xia looked around the courtyard in surprise but didn’t see any sign of a cat.

Zheng Xinghua pointed to one side of the courtyard wall.

“It seems like it ran up there.”

This wasn’t the first time she had seen a stray cat in the Qin family’s courtyard. She had even helped the couple set up some bowls of food and water in the backyard for the cats on several occasions.

The Qin family’s kitchen and woodshed were filled with various food supplies, and even in winter, there was always the chance of mice showing up. Zheng Xinghua knew the master of the house was kind-hearted, and she thought it was a good idea to feed the stray cats. With them around, any mice that dared to show up would be quickly dealt with.

Qin Xia didn’t think much of it, assuming it was just a small incident.

However, that night, after returning from setting up their food stall, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque received a “thank you gift” from the stray cats.

From a few steps away, Yu Jiuque, who had stopped Da Fu from getting too close out of curiosity, asked nervously, “Husband, is it really a dead rat?”

Qin Xia poked the “black ball” in the moonlight with a stick, feeling rather speechless.

“It is, and not just one.”

It seemed that one of the cats they had been feeding was particularly grateful, leaving behind three dead rats: one whole and two with only the tails remaining.

As he described the scene, Yu Jiuque felt goosebumps rising all over his body.

Coming from a modern background, Qin Xia knew all too well how many germs a rat could carry, so he immediately decided to take the rats to the backyard and bury them.

Unexpectedly, from that day on, similar gifts frequently appeared in the Qin family’s courtyard.

Sometimes it was a rat, sometimes half a fish tail, or a fish head.

The cats that left these offerings came and went without a trace, more cautious than the neutered stray cats Qin Xia had seen in his previous life. The couple couldn’t figure out if it was the work of just one cat or if other cats had started copying the behavior.

Each time they received a gift, they would bury it, leaving the backyard with several small patches of freshly dug earth.

Come spring, if they planted some seeds there, the crops might grow particularly well.

Yu Jiuque still thought about the calico cat that seemed to be pregnant before the new year.

“I wonder if it gave birth to the kittens safely.”

If fate allowed, he would love to see the kittens. If possible, he would even like to adopt a couple and raise them at home.

With thoughts of the kittens and anticipation for the new storefront, time quickly passed, and soon it was the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival.

According to the traditions of Qinan County, there would be a lantern festival tonight after dark, and it was sure to make Banqiao Street even more lively than usual.

Qin Xia got up early, planning to add fried glutinous rice balls to the night market stall and make a batch of milk tea with the purchased milk, hoping to make a hefty profit. For this reason, he and Yu Jiuque decided not to go to Liubao Street at noon.

As he thought about how they would have to return the stall to the roast meat vendor the following night, Qin Xia suddenly craved the roasted pork.

Once the thought crossed his mind, he couldn’t suppress it. He promptly opened the kitchen door and called Yu Jiuque back from tending the chicken coop in the backyard, smiling as he asked, “Do you feel like eating crispy pork belly?”

A moment later, after hearing Qin Xia’s description, Yu Jiuque swallowed his saliva and quickly set out with some coins to buy the meat.

Qin Xia continued mixing lard into the large basin of black sesame filling. They were running low on the lard they had previously rendered, so he made a note to buy another slab of suet when they went to the butcher’s stall.

“Is anyone home?”

Not long after Yu Jiuque had left, there was a knock on the courtyard gate.

“Quack! Quack!”

Da Fu was the first to rush over from the direction of the backyard. Qin Xia let him squawk at his legs while he called out, “I’m here. Who’s there?”

“Boss Qin, it’s me, Xing Yiming.”

“Shopkeeper Xing?”

Qin Xia opened the gate, revealing a look of surprise on his face.

Caught off guard, the ever-diligent guard goose, Da Fu, promptly bit down on the hem of Xing Yiming’s servant’s trousers.

“Ouch!”

The servant was nearly pulled off balance by its strength and almost fell.

Qin Xia quickly scolded, “Da Fu, let go! This is our guest!”

Da Fu understood the word “guest.” Even if it didn’t fully comprehend it the first time, after hearing it a couple of times, it would obediently let go.

The servant finally regained his footing and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. It was his first time seeing someone in town use a goose as a guard, and such an aggressive one at that!

Xing Yiming had never been to Qin Xia’s home before, but he had seen Da Fu at the stall when it was still a fluffy little gosling. Now, he was surprised to find that the once small goose had grown so large.

“Is this the same goose that Yuan Yuan played with back then?”

“Yes, that’s the one. It was a sickly gosling when we bought it, but we managed to nurse it back to health. So, Ah Jiu and I named it Da Fu, and now it helps keep watch over the house.”

Qin Xia pushed open the gate and invited Xing Yiming inside.

“What brings you here today, Shopkeeper Xing?”

Qin Xia had mentioned before that he lived in Furong Alley, so he wasn’t surprised that Xing Yiming had found his way here.

Xing Yiming curiously looked around the small courtyard of the Qin family, then his nose twitched, and he immediately turned his gaze toward the kitchen.

“I think I smell sesame. Are you making pork belly for tomorrow’s festival?”

Qin Xia smiled.

“As expected of you; your nose is really sharp.”

While most places were selling boiled pork belly, Qin Xia planned to take a different approach by selling fried ones.

After marveling at Qin Xia’s cleverness and promising to bring his wife and daughter to support the stall tomorrow night, Xing Yiming finally got to the reason for his visit.

“First, the steward from the estate brought in some fresh river shrimp this morning, still alive. I kept some for the household cook to prepare, and I thought I’d bring the rest over for you to try. Second… well, yesterday, Old Zhao came to see me. It seems there’s been a bit of a hiccup with the shop on Banqiao Street.”

…

Xing Yiming was just passing by and stopped to clarify the situation. After leaving the river shrimp and a bag of dried mushrooms, he quickly departed without even staying for tea.

Shortly after, Yu Jiuque returned with the pork and heard the unpleasant news— the tea stall owner who was supposed to retire to the countryside had decided to renew the lease, and Master Zhao had returned the deposit they had paid. He also promised that if another suitable shop became available, they could get a 10% discount on the first year’s rent.

But regardless of how things were framed, the fact remained: they couldn’t rent the shop on Banqiao Street, and they would need to find another location.

Yu Jiuque felt quite helpless.

“Master Zhao was so sure when he took the deposit, but now he’s backing out so quickly.”

They had even made a special trip afterward to pay the deposit to ensure the shop wouldn’t have any issues later, knowing how hard it was to find a good location.

But now, even though they had saved enough money and the days had passed, the owner’s sudden decision to renew the lease had left them high and dry.

Qin Xia also felt frustrated. “If it weren’t for the fact that the intermediary was Shopkeeper Xing, we would definitely be taking this up with them.”

Yu Jiuque shook his head as he put the pork away in the kitchen and noticed two new items on the floor.

“What are these?”

He looked at one of them, which seemed to be a fish basket. Could it be that someone had just delivered fish to them?

“Those aren’t fish, they’re river shrimp, sent by Shopkeeper Xing, along with the dried mushrooms beside them. I figured Shopkeeper Xing probably felt a bit bad about what happened, so he brought these over as a sort of compensation on behalf of Master Zhao.”

So, this matter could only be settled in this way, Qin Xia consoled himself. Renting a house or a shop is rarely smooth sailing; good things take time. Who knows, missing out on this one might lead to finding something even better next.

After giving himself a bit of a mental pep talk, he perked up and showed Yu Jiuque the still lively shrimp.

“At this time of year, shrimp usually burrow into the river mud, so it’s not easy to gather so many. And these mushrooms, they could fetch up to a couple of silver taels in a dried goods store.”

“That expensive?” Yu Jiuque didn’t know much about mushrooms, and at first glance, they all looked rather unremarkable to him, without anything particularly special.

Qin Xia smiled. “Shopkeeper Xing knows his food, and he knows I can appreciate good things, which is why he sent these over. If it were anyone else, he probably wouldn’t have been so generous.”

Qin Xia had already taken a quick look; these were common mushrooms found in the mountains near Qinan County in the fall, such as pine mushrooms, chanterelles, boletus, and a large bunch of dried oyster mushrooms. They were clean, without any dirt or stones, and the flesh was plump, far better quality than what could be found in stores.

Having your own farm really is an advantage. In his previous life, when Qin Xia ran a private kitchen, he also had a long-term partnership with an organic farm.

But it’s different in Dayong. Once they open the eatery and start making money, he could easily buy a piece of land on the outskirts of town to grow crops and raise chickens and pigs.

“The shrimp won’t stay fresh for long; once they’re dead, the meat starts to fall apart. We might as well boil them up for lunch. I’ll pick out some of the mushrooms and make a pot of rice with them, along with the sausages we stuffed during the New Year, and we’ll cook the pork belly to put together a proper meal to celebrate the holiday.”

“Chirp chirp!”

As they were talking, Da Fu came running in from outside the kitchen, rubbing affectionately against Yu Jiuque’s leg.

Yu Jiuque, belatedly realizing, bent down to pet it and laughed. “We’ve been chatting so much we forgot about you.”

He quickly picked out a handful of shrimp to feed Da Fu, who happily gobbled them up one by one.

Cooking the river shrimp would be quick, but before that, the mushrooms needed to be soaked, and the pork needed to be marinated.

Qin Xia set aside a few pine mushrooms and boletes to soak, saving the pine mushrooms for the next time they cooked chicken, as oyster mushrooms were better suited for stir-fries.

The freshly bought pork suet was rendered into a pot of lard, and Qin Xia scooped out a spoonful to mix into the black sesame filling, continuing the work he’d left unfinished when Shopkeeper Xing arrived.

Yu Jiuque joined in, rolling up his sleeves and using a wooden spatula to stir the mixture evenly.

When it looked just right, Qin Xia called a stop and, with a smile, used chopsticks to pick up a still-warm piece of pork crackling to give Yu Jiuque as a snack.

Every time Qin Xia rendered lard, he ended up with a large bowl of pork cracklings. Fresh out of the pot, sprinkled with salt, they were deliciously crispy. After a while, they would soften, and adding a handful to simmering cabbage made for one of the most common and tasty winter dishes.

With a piece of pork crackling in his mouth, Qin Xia chewed it down in a few bites and then pulled out a bag of glutinous rice flour from the nearby cupboard.

In modern times, the commonly seen “tangyuan” are made by wrapping filling in dough, but Qin Xia was planning to make traditional “shaken yuanxiao.”

“First, roll the black sesame filling into balls, like this…”

Qin Xia taught Yu Jiuque how to roll the filling for the yuanxiao, and soon, the cutting board and bamboo trays were piled with black sesame balls.

Next, they dipped the black sesame balls in water, placed them into a basin filled with glutinous rice flour, and shook vigorously.

The yuanxiao that came out of this process weren’t as perfectly round and smooth as wrapped tangyuan, but Qin Xia preferred the texture of yuanxiao. They weren’t as soft and mushy when cooked and were better suited for deep-frying.

After shaking their arms sore, the two finally managed to make about a hundred yuanxiao.

They planned to have some for lunch, then pack some to send to the Wei family and the Liu family.

The rest would be made in the afternoon when Zheng Xinghua came to help. Qin Xia estimated that the remaining filling could make about five hundred more yuanxiao.

Each portion would have five yuanxiao, and they were not small, yielding about a hundred portions, which he planned to sell for ten copper coins each.

On an ordinary day, such a small snack that could be eaten in a few bites would definitely be considered overpriced at ten copper coins, but during a festive occasion, prices were always different.

Together with Qin Xia, Yu Jiuque poured the yuanxiao into a basket, sprinkling a few layers of glutinous rice flour to keep them from sticking. Feeling a slight itch on his cheek, Yu Jiuque instinctively reached up to scratch it. As soon as his hand dropped, he heard Qin Xia chuckle softly.

He suddenly realized something, and hurried over to a basin of clear water to take a look. Sure enough, there was a white streak of glutinous rice flour across his face.

Upon closer inspection, they both noticed that even their eyelashes were dusted with white.

“I’ll go grab a cloth to wipe it off; it wouldn’t be good if it gets into our eyes.”

Yu Jiuque quickly wiped his hands on his apron and fetched a damp cloth after a short while.

Having already cleaned his face in front of the bronze mirror in the room, Yu Jiuque now stood on tiptoe, wiping Qin Xia’s face.

“Close your eyes, dear.”

Qin Xia complied, feeling the warm cloth brush over his eyelids. When he opened his eyes again, he noticed that Yu Jiuque’s ears had turned a shade of pink.

Qin Xia was puzzled.

It’s just wiping a face—how did he end up making himself blush?

Only Yu Jiuque knew it was because he had been captivated by Qin Xia’s appearance when his eyes were closed.

Half an hour later, the mushrooms had soaked sufficiently.

They were placed on the cutting board, chopped into fine pieces, and stir-fried with diced sausages. Then, a large bowl of uncooked rice was added.

After being sautéed and colored, the mixture was transferred to a clay pot, hot water was poured in, and it was left to simmer. Before long, the unique, fresh aroma of the mushrooms wafted out from the pot’s seams.

Pulling out a few logs from the small stove to keep the fire low, Yu Jiuque then went to prepare the river shrimp.

The shrimp weren’t large, and patience was required to trim off the sharp tips of their heads and whiskers before cooking.

Da Fu, the goose, kept causing mischief nearby. Every time Yu Jiuque trimmed a batch, Da Fu would eat one, making Qin Xia worry that at this rate, there wouldn’t be enough shrimp left for them. Reluctantly, Qin Xia shooed Da Fu out of the kitchen and shut the door.

Da Fu, frustrated at being unable to get back in, squawked loudly outside.

Qin Xia rubbed his ears, thinking that if there was one downside to raising a goose, it was that their honking was indeed loud.

Ignoring Da Fu for the time being, he returned to the stove to prepare the next dish: crispy pork belly.

This dish would be more authentic if cooked over a grill, but due to time constraints, Qin Xia decided to make a “simplified version.”

The pork belly, already tender from being simmered, was marinated until it had a beautiful brown color. The sauce on the skin side was patted dry, and a thin layer of vinegar was brushed on—this was the key to achieving the “crispy skin” effect—before the pork was directly pan-fried.

As the oil heated up, the pork skin puffed up with small bubbles, signaling that it was ready.

Using chopsticks to lift the pork out of the oil, they let it cool slightly to become even crispier. When sliced, the chopping board was littered with crunchy bits.

Sprinkling on some of their homemade dry seasoning, Qin Xia handed a piece to Yu Jiuque and took one for himself. The satisfaction from that first bite was indescribable, leaving no lingering thoughts of the grilled meat sold at the night market.

The final dish was the simply prepared boiled river shrimp.

Salt and ginger were added to the water, which was brought to a boil before the shrimp were cooked for the time it took to burn half an incense stick. Then, they were scooped out.

The shrimp, with a delicate pink hue and a vibrant red like coral, filled the porcelain plate.

The aroma of the food wafted over the neighboring courtyards. Thankfully, since it was a holiday and every household was eating well, no children got scolded for being too greedy.

When the last clay pot, filled with mushroom rice, was placed on the dining table, Qin Xia’s Yuanxiao Festival “family feast” was finally ready to begin.