Ch 43: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

At this hour, it was still too early for lunch, and the kitchen in the shop only had newly bought seasonings, without any other supplies.

Qin Xia handed a handful of copper coins to Zheng Xinghua, asking her to go to the street and buy some ready-to-eat food.

His intention was for the siblings to sit here and rest for a while, but before long, Qiu Chuan couldn’t sit still.

“Master, Madam, please assign us some work. I’m strong and can chop wood and carry water, and my little sister can start a fire and mend clothes. Even if there are things we don’t know how to do, we can learn.”

They looked completely worried that if they didn’t do something, they would be kicked out.

Qin Xia was about to offer some reassurance, but Yu Jiuque stopped him with a glance.

His husband seemed to understand the feelings of these two children better.

Yu Jiuque stood up and said, “If that’s the case, come with me to the backyard. As it happens, there are some things that need your help.”

After the three of them got up, Qin Xia followed, curious to see what Yu Jiuque planned to assign to the siblings.

“From now on, you’ll be working here. It feels too formal to call you by your full names, so how about I call you Xiaochuan and Xiaoyao?”

After Yu Jiuque spoke, the two children nodded in unison.

“We will follow whatever Master and Madam arrange.”

Being able to keep their given names was enough to be grateful for; even if the master of the house wanted to call them “cat” or “dog,” it wouldn’t matter.

Yu Jiuque glanced at Qin Xia, who was standing to the side, and smiled, “You don’t need to call us that. You can follow Sister Zheng’s lead and just call us ‘boss.’”

Qin Xia pointed to himself, “I’m the boss.”

Then he pointed to Yu Jiuque, “And he’s the little boss.”

He finished by winking at the two children, “Isn’t that easy to remember?”

Thanks to these titles, Qiu Chuan and Qiu Yao seemed to relax a bit.

Yu Jiuque quickly assigned them their tasks.

There was a well in the backyard, and Qiu Chuan was responsible for filling a water tank. Qiu Yao was given a broom to clean the floor of the back room.

When Qiu Yao learned that the back room she was cleaning would be where she and her brother would be staying, Qiu Chuan couldn’t help but look back several times.

Their family originally wasn’t from the county. After their father passed away, their old house and farmland were seized by relatives, forcing them to follow their mother to the city to make a living.

Now, the tiled house for the shop’s workers seemed even nicer than their old home in the village.

No wonder their mother had repeatedly warned them before she passed away: no matter how difficult it was, the siblings had to find a way to stay in the city and never return to the village.

In the village, the two half-grown children would only be chewed to the bone by those clan relatives. Even though he was the eldest son, he didn’t have enough strength to protect his sister.

Fortunately, Heaven had eyes, and now they finally had a way out.

With his emotions fluctuating, Qiu Chuan scrubbed the wooden bucket with increasing vigor, while Qiu Yao, holding a broom almost as tall as herself, swiftly swept the dust off the ground.

However, as she swept, she couldn’t help but feel puzzled—wasn’t the floor already quite clean?

Not far away, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque appeared to be “supervising,” but they were actually conversing quietly.

“You deliberately kept those two children busy,” Qin Xia remarked, not as a question but as a statement.

Yu Jiuque nodded slightly.

“If they don’t have something to do at a time like this, they’ll only continue to feel uneasy.”

Though he had not fully recovered his past memories, he was certain that he had experienced something very similar to what these two children were going through.

However, the person who had once offered him a helping hand…

Yu Jiuque narrowed his eyes slightly; the fragments of his memory hadn’t fully come together yet, but the sharp edges caused a faint pain in his head.

At that moment, someone took his hand.

“They seem like well-behaved children. When they grow up, they could be worth nurturing.”

Yu Jiuque looked at Qin Xia’s profile.

He hesitated before finally speaking.

“Husband, I’ve always thought… do you really like children?”

Qin Xia: ?

Upon hearing this, Qin Xia quickly reflected on his own actions and didn’t recall having shown any particular preference for “children” as a group.

Somehow, though, he had left that impression on his husband.

“It’s not that I like them, but I don’t dislike them either.”

He thought about it and gave this response, adding carefully, “This is in regard to other people’s children.”

The implication being that if they were his own children, he would definitely like them.

He wasn’t sure if this was the answer Yu Jiuque wanted, but Qin Xia clearly noticed a change in his husband’s expression.

Their fingers intertwined more tightly.

“Are you thinking about Dr. Xu’s advice?”

Yu Jiuque’s ears reddened slightly, but he didn’t deny it.

He simply felt regretful, realizing that even though he had nursed his body back to health, he still couldn’t give Qin Xia a child.

Qin Xia didn’t know how to comfort the person beside him.

In truth, even if Dr. Xu hadn’t added that bit of medical advice, Qin Xia would still have taken care to be cautious.

Otherwise, if Yu Jiuque were to return to the palace and soon after, his belly began to swell…

There’d be no explaining it, even with a hundred mouths.

Moreover, and most importantly, he wasn’t actually the “Qin Xia” of the Dayong Dynasty and had absolutely no attachment to the concept of carrying on the family line.

Considering the potential risks of childbirth in this era with its inadequate medical conditions, he would much prefer to live a life with just the two of them forever.

But these thoughts were even more blasphemous than “wanting to cut his hair.”

For now, he could only express his thoughts in a more subtle way.

“None of that matters; I just want you to be safe and healthy.”

Qin Xia looked into Yu Jiuque’s eyes and said very earnestly.

“We’re still young, and there will be plenty of opportunities in the future.”

Yu Jiuque nodded slightly.

He leaned sideways against Qin Xia’s shoulder for a while, his eyelids lowering gently.

Whether it was the “contract of sale” he was unwilling to use or the child that seemed forever out of reach…

He knew very well that these were all due to his own obsessions.

There were plenty of healthy young Ge’ers who had been married for years without having children; his anxiety was futile.

Perhaps what he was really anxious about wasn’t the child itself, but the bond he shared with Qin Xia.

…

Zheng Xinghua returned with steaming hot lamb soup and fried flatbread.

She didn’t notice that as she came in through the back door, the two bosses had just separated in a bit of a fluster.

Since she had made the decision on what to buy, she explained as she put the food down, “I thought lamb soup would ward off the cold, and the fried flatbread would be more filling than something like wontons.”

Qin Xia naturally had no objections.

Yu Jiuque also promptly called Qiu Chuan and Qiu Yao to wash their hands and sit down for the meal.

The lamb soup had been simmered to a milky white, with pieces of lamb, offal, and chopped scallions floating in it.

The fried flatbread was golden yellow, exuding the aroma of oil and wheat, each piece as large as a palm.

As a chef, Qin Xia’s gaze swept over the food, and he thought both items looked delicious.

The siblings, who hadn’t eaten properly for who knows how long, began to salivate the moment they smelled the food.

Especially Qiu Yao, who, being younger, couldn’t hide her eagerness as well.

The little girl was clearly waiting for her brother to take the lead, and until then, she kept her head down, silently biting her lip.

All the adults noticed these small actions, and their eyes couldn’t help but soften with pity.

“Go ahead and sit down to eat.”

When Qin Xia, the boss, spoke, Qiu Chuan finally pulled his sister along to express their thanks and carefully sat down at the table. He even cautiously asked, “boss, is all of this for us?”

At home, they rarely had meals as good as this.

Lamb was expensive, and fried flatbread used up both oil and flour. Their mother had struggled to raise the two of them alone, and their days were hard, often stretching one bowl of rice into three meals of porridge.

“It’s all for you, just remember to chew slowly and eat carefully. Overeating could harm your stomach. Watch over your sister so she doesn’t burn her mouth.”

Worried that staying might make the two children feel even more restrained, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque left after saying this, with Qin Xia giving Zheng Xinghua a look, signaling her to keep an eye on them.

Zheng Xinghua was old enough to be the siblings’ mother, and with such a kind woman around, they clearly felt more at ease.

Especially Qiu Yao, who hardly dared to speak to Qin Xia or look directly at Yu Jiuque. But after Zheng Xinghua gave her two pieces of fried flatbread, she managed to call her “Sister Zheng.”

Compared to his little sister, Qiu Chuan was a bit more shrewd and took the opportunity to ask Zheng Xinghua about working conditions here.

Zheng Xinghua replied with a smile, “Now that you’re here, rest assured. Both bosses are exceptionally kind-hearted. In all my years of working, this is the first time I’ve encountered such good employers.”

After hearing Zheng Xinghua’s words, Qiu Chuan felt even more settled in his heart.

After the meal, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque temporarily went their separate ways.

One kept his promise by taking the two children to handle the funeral arrangements for Mother Qiu, while the other stayed at the shop with Zheng Xinghua, waiting for their return.

On the way, Qiu Chuan told Qin Xia about their family’s misfortunes, finishing with, “The day after Mother passed away, we were evicted by the landlord. We did owe rent… but in the end, the landlord wasn’t really a bad person. We had no choice but to send Mother to the charity mortuary, but even the cheapest coffin there costs three taels of silver, and we didn’t have that much money. The mortuary staff said if we couldn’t afford a coffin, we could only buy a straw mat for a few coins and bury her in a shallow grave at the mass grave site…”

No child would be willing to see their mother end up that way.

Qiu Chuan didn’t cry as he spoke, the young boy having seemingly grown accustomed to wearing a mask of strength in front of his little sister after experiencing such a great upheaval.

Throughout the whole ordeal, only Qiu Yao sobbed quietly.

Qin Xia sighed repeatedly as he listened.

The charity mortuary was located on the outskirts of the city, a place Qin Xia had never been to before.

He had to admit, even from a distance, the place seemed filled with an eerie, chilling aura.

But since they were already there, Qin Xia decided to see his good deed through to the end.

Not only did he spend silver on a decent coffin, but he also bought a large bundle of incense, yellow paper, and gold ingots.

Qiu Chuan almost knelt down with his sister to kowtow to Qin Xia again, but this time Qin Xia managed to stop them in time.

“I’ve said before, I don’t like people kneeling to me.”

Qiu Chuan wiped away his tears and nodded firmly.

The staff at the charity mortuary were efficient, and soon they had the coffin carrying Mother Qiu transported to a graveyard on the outskirts of the city for burial.

After burning paper, kowtowing, and memorizing the location, the Qiu siblings reluctantly followed Qin Xia away, turning back every few steps.

By the time they returned to the restaurant, it was nearly dusk.

In the afternoon, Yu Jiuque and Zheng Xinghua had gone to the market to buy bedding for the siblings and had also found some old clothes at home.

“I found two sets of your old clothes for Xiaochuan, and Sister Zheng brought two sets from her sister-in-law for Xiaoyao. The weather is warm now, so they don’t need winter clothes yet. We can make new ones for them when winter comes.”

They didn’t interfere any further after that.

Providing food, shelter, and wages, as long as the siblings were willing to work hard, their future wouldn’t be bad.

On the way home, Qin Xia felt so hungry that his stomach seemed to stick to his back.

Even though he had eaten a good amount in the morning, spending the entire afternoon at the charity mortuary, busy for hours, had left his stomach empty.

Even he didn’t have the energy to go home and prepare something complicated. As he walked down the street, his nose was caught by a delicious aroma.

Following the scent, Qin Xia found that it came from a large, freshly baked fried flatbread.

His stomach growled subtly, urging him to buy that flatbread.

And that’s exactly what Qin Xia did.

When he arrived, a quarter of the hot flatbread had just been sold.

He gestured to the vendor, “No need to cut it; I’ll take the whole thing.”

The fried flatbread was wrapped in oiled paper and tied with a straw rope, feeling heavy in his hands.

Because of his big purchase, the latecomers had to wait for the next batch to be cooked.

Qin Xia then stopped at a vegetable stall, buying a large cabbage, a few carrots, and a string of fresh pork.

He planned to make a quick dish he had been craving for a while—stir-fried flatbread strips.

Carrying the vegetables and meat back to Furong Alley, Qin Xia hadn’t even pulled out the key before he heard the commotion of the big goose behind the door.

Just as they were about to enter, their neighbor, Ge Xiuhong, happened to open her door and came face to face with them.

Seeing the head of Da Fu, the goose, Ge Xiuhong reminded them, “Your goose has been calling out all afternoon. I’m not sure if someone was lurking around your door, but it’s better to be cautious.”

Hearing this unexpected news, Qin Xia and Yu Jiuque exchanged a glance and politely thanked Ge Xiuhong for her concern.

After closing the door, they both instinctively looked at Da Fu.

“Da Fu rarely keeps honking like that. Could it be that someone really came to the door today?” Yu Jiuque muttered, stroking the goose’s head.

Although the original purpose of keeping a goose was for guarding the house, Furong Alley had always been peaceful, with hardly any rumors of petty theft.

Qin Xia carefully inspected the courtyard.

“No matter what, even if someone was here, they definitely didn’t come inside.”

Otherwise, given Da Fu’s fighting prowess, the ground wouldn’t be so clean.

The hens in the backyard were still there, and there were no signs that anything in the house had been disturbed.

“It’s possible that someone just happened to stand at our door chatting idly.”

Yu Jiuque also doubted that a thief would be so bold. His hand continued to stroke the long, smooth neck of the goose down to its wings.

“Gah, gah!”

Da Fu spread its wings, strutted around proudly in circles, clearly pleased with itself for some reason.

In the kitchen, Qin Xia rolled up his sleeves and began preparing the vegetables.

Crystal-clear droplets of water rolled off the freshly washed cabbage, and under Qin Xia’s knife, they quickly became even slices, joined in the same fate by a few carrots.

“Husband, do you think these bean sprouts are enough?”

Earlier, they had sprouted some mung bean and soybean sprouts at home, stored in an earthen jar in the woodshed.

Yu Jiuque had just brought in a large handful. Qin Xia glanced over and thought it looked about right.

“It’s best to remove the roots, and could you also peel a head of garlic?”

The young man nodded and soon focused on his task.

This was the time they both enjoyed the most.

Selling food from a stall had never been easy, and now, with the preparations for their soon-to-open restaurant, there wasn’t much free time either.

After all, the risk of investing in a restaurant was far greater than running a small food stall.

Lately, they had often eaten simple and quick breakfasts, as if rushing through a battle, making their evening meals feel more relaxed in comparison.

They had the time to leisurely wash and prepare the vegetables while chatting.

“Although Xiaochuan is young, he seems steady enough to handle being a waiter. But, husband, how do you plan to arrange things for Xiaoyao?”

The little girl was clearly younger and quieter.

Yu Jiuque brought up the sibling pair from earlier, and the “thud, thud” of Qin Xia’s chopping paused briefly.

“For now, she can help with odd jobs in the backyard and assist with serving dishes. After some time, you could try teaching her to read and do the accounts.”

If Qiu Yao showed promise, Qin Xia certainly wouldn’t treat her poorly in the future.

With just a few words, the matter was settled.

Qin Xia had finished cutting the vegetables and the flatbread.

“Are you planning to stir-fry the flatbread with the vegetables?”

Yu Jiuque placed the washed bean sprouts and peeled garlic cloves on the stove, only then noticing the mountain of shredded flatbread that Qin Xia had prepared.

Qin Xia explained the recipe for stir-fried flatbread, and after listening, Yu Jiuque hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can I give it a try?”

Qin Xia instinctively responded with a “Hmm?” and then heard his husband say, “Occasionally, I should learn to cook a few dishes too, so you can take a break.”

Stir-frying at the stove is definitely a physically demanding task.

Right now, the weather is still cool, so it’s not too bad, but when the scorching summer comes…

It certainly won’t be an easy job.

As the husband of a cook, he couldn’t just stick to peeling garlic.

Facing Yu Jiuque’s eager expression, Qin Xia had no reason to refuse.

“Stir-fried flatbread is actually a good dish for beginners to learn; practicing won’t hurt.”

He decisively gave up his spot in front of the stove to Yu Jiuque.

“Just do as I say, and I’ll help you tend the fire.”

This was Yu Jiuque’s first time “taking charge of the stove.”

Although he had assisted Qin Xia before, it was always after the ingredients were in the pan, mainly watching the heat and occasionally stirring to prevent sticking.

There was only one time when he was responsible for adding the seasoning, and despite feeling like he had added enough salt, the dish turned out under-seasoned, and Qin Xia had to step in to fix it.

Since then, Yu Jiuque hadn’t been very confident in his cooking skills.

But truth be told, only by practicing more can one become skilled.

“Remember, when stir-frying, the ingredients that take longer to cook should go in first, and the quicker-cooking ones should go in later.”

Qin Xia added two dry sticks of wood to the fire and signaled Yu Jiuque to wait until the pan was hot before adding the oil.

Yu Jiuque looked around at the prepared ingredients on the cutting board.

“So, for this dish, the meat goes in first, followed by the vegetables, and finally the shredded flatbread?”

Qin Xia nodded in satisfaction.

This is why smart people learn things quickly.

The iron pan soon became scorching hot, and Yu Jiuque poured the oil with a serious expression.

To any kitchen novice, a hot oiled pan is clearly something intimidating.

The rest of the process went smoothly.

As Qin Xia had mentioned, this dish wasn’t particularly difficult.

Start by sautéing the garlic and scallions; this step needs to be quick to avoid burning.

Although the scallions and garlic cloves were slightly over-browned, it wasn’t a big issue.

Next, add the meat strips and stir-fry until they change color, then toss in the shredded vegetables and bean sprouts.

As the vegetables start to soften and change color, it’s time to add the seasoning.

Soy sauce, salt, and a pinch of sugar for flavor—all of this relies on intuition, but beginners can always use the “clumsy method” of tasting a bite with chopsticks.

Once the vegetables release their juices, it’s time to add the shredded flatbread.

Since there was a substantial amount of both vegetables and flatbread, Yu Jiuque vigorously stirred the ingredients in the pan, trying to mix them evenly.

It had to be said, the resulting stir-fried flatbread looked incredibly appetizing.

The fried flatbread was already cooked, so it didn’t need to stay in the pan for long.

After Qin Xia declared the dish ready to be served, Yu Jiuque raised his hand to wipe the light sweat from the tip of his nose.

He placed a large bowl and a plate nearby, filling them with the fried flatbread, creating two heaping portions.

After Yu Jiuque carried the fried flatbread to the dining room, Qin Xia quickly prepared a soup, thinking that eating the flatbread alone might be a bit dry.

The soup was a mushroom soup, to which he added a bit of pepper and a final sprinkle of chopped scallions.

It didn’t take long to make, and soon the two of them were sitting face-to-face at the table.

“It smells delicious.”

Yu Jiuque always had an honest reaction when faced with tasty food.

This, combined with the towering “mountain of fried flatbread” in front of him, reminded Qin Xia of some of the mukbang videos he had occasionally come across in his past life.

He wasn’t sure how many of those hosts were true “big eaters,” but Yu Jiuque certainly was.

And ever since he had stopped taking the bitter medicinal soup, his appetite had only grown.

After dinner, he often wanted a little snack before bed.

Qin Xia had prepared plenty of small snacks for him, like sesame balls, with very little sugar—just enough to fill his stomach without being too heavy.

A few bites of fried flatbread, followed by a big gulp of mushroom soup.

The vegetables in the fried flatbread retained the perfect crispness, something Yu Jiuque managed even as a beginner under Qin Xia’s guidance.

The only flaw was that the meat strips were a bit overcooked.

The texture of the fried flatbread was something Yu Jiuque had never tasted before.

It was both a dish and a staple food.

The flatbread, transformed and mixed with the stir-fried vegetables, soaked up the vegetable broth, making it taste like a completely new dish.

As Qin Xia watched out of the corner of his eye, Yu Jiuque soon started picking out the fried flatbread strips and meat strips to eat.

Qin Xia smiled, recalling how he had the same habit as a child.

Kids are all the same—they love meat and staple foods but aren’t too fond of vegetables.

Of course, overall, both he and Yu Jiuque were now adults who wouldn’t be picky eaters.

In the end, the plate and the large bowl were spotless, not even a single scallion left.

Under the table, Da Fu had already finished the vegetable strips prepared for it and had gone off to entertain itself.

The sound of clucking from the backyard suggested that the hens had likely fallen victim to its mischief.

As per the rules, the one who cooks doesn’t do the dishes, so Qin Xia took the dishes and chopsticks and signaled Yu Jiuque to go to the backyard and deal with the overly bold goose.

However, it turned out they had misunderstood Da Fu.

“When I got there, I found Da Fu far from the chicken coop. When I looked closer, it turns out the hen had laid another egg,” Yu Jiuque said, showing the egg he held in his palm.

These two hens that were bought have been very productive. Since the weather warmed up, they’ve been laying eggs almost every day without fail.

Two hens, two eggs a day—just right for breakfast each morning.

“Should we get more chicks? I asked Sister Zheng, and she said they’re already available now.”

Qin Xia, scrubbing the dishes with a loofah sponge, shook his head.

“No, we won’t. Once the restaurant opens, you and I will hardly have time to take care of them.”

Besides, the restaurant will require a large supply of eggs, and even if we raised them at home, it wouldn’t save much money. There’s no need to expend extra effort just to save a few coins.

After discussing it, they both agreed that while they wouldn’t raise spring chicks, they should quickly plant the seedlings they had prepared in the backyard before the restaurant’s opening.

And so, several more busy days passed.

The carpenter’s shop delivered the remaining tables and chairs, a small tank of goldfish was placed on the counter, and a golden brass bell was hung outside the private rooms for guests to call the waitstaff.

Additionally, clusters of green bamboo and some well-shaped artificial rockeries were transplanted into pre-selected spots, with the ground beneath them paved with pebbles gathered from the riverbank.

The restaurant was gradually filled with details, taking on the appearance that Qin Xia had described to Yu Jiuque while pointing at the blueprints.

At first glance, it didn’t seem much different from most of the other restaurants in the county. But upon closer inspection, one could see that every corner was filled with thoughtful touches.

In the backyard, besides the Qiu siblings, there was now a recently weaned wolfdog puppy.

The dog vendor confidently assured them that this pup would grow into a mighty and imposing dog, capable of biting a few petty thieves. But for now, the little puppy could only sleep on its back with all four legs in the air, and the only thing it might be able to bite through was the hem of an adult’s trousers.

In the blink of an eye, it was already the second day of the second lunar month, known as “Dragon Raising Its Head.”

It’s an auspicious day to start a business and break ground, with yang energy rising and the Dipper pointing directly east.

Under the moist soil in the Qin family’s backyard stood rows of tender seedlings, recently transplanted and gently swaying in the breeze.

And on a corner of Helin Street, after the loud crackling of a string of firecrackers, Qin Family Eatery officially opened its doors.