Ch 72: Guide to Feeding a Villainous Husband

After the “Mangzhong” festival, the weather noticeably became hotter.

The caravan from the Yue Trading Company was about to leave Qinan County. Two days before their departure, they came to Qin Ji Eatery to collect their pre-ordered travel food.

They had originally wanted to order dry provisions from Qin’s as well, requesting five hundred pieces of baked flatbread. Qin Xia declined, suggesting they find another bakery instead.

Five hundred pieces of bread wouldn’t make him much money, and it wasn’t worth the strain on his workers.

It wasn’t just Wei Xi who came to pick up the goods—there were also two other men, accompanied by a donkey-drawn cart.

Seeing the customers arrive, Qin Xia sent Qiu Chuan to fetch a few bowls of sour plum drink.

“The sun’s high today. Have a drink to refresh yourselves.”

One sip of the sour plum drink, and everyone felt invigorated.

Wei Xi led the group, checking the order against the list.

The largest quantity they had ordered was of eggplant and cucumber paste, both of which could be used to fill buns or wrap in flatbread, or even mixed with noodles. They had ordered ten jars in total.

Though these dishes might seem simple, they required a lot of meat and oil. Qin Xia priced each jar at two taels of silver.

Next on the list were fish sauce and shredded meat.

The fish sauce was made mainly from carp, and all the bones had been removed.

Other restaurants also offered similar dishes, but none could match the finesse and rich flavor of Qin’s.

This dish was also available at the restaurant, with some customers packing it up to take home when they didn’t feel like cooking—just pair it with a staple food, and it made for an easy meal.

As for the shredded meat, there were two types: fish and pork. The fish version was cheaper than the pork and also packed into jars.

One pound of meat would yield about two ounces of shredded meat. Manager Yue ordered five pounds of each. Making shredded meat used up a lot of firewood, and fortunately, Da Kui came by regularly to help out wherever he could, saving time and effort.

Qin Xia felt he should start paying Da Kui for his help.

There were also the soup ingredient packets he had originally prepared for Ah Jiu. When in a hurry, these packets didn’t even require cooking—just pour hot water over them, and you had soup.

Each packet could make one pot of soup, and they had prepared fifty packets in total.

The dried seaweed that the Yue Trading Company had previously sold to Qin Ji ended up being resold back to them.

Manager Yue wasn’t thrilled, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Seeing an opportunity to make more money, Qin Xia also introduced hunter Yan Wei, who supplied a batch of wind-dried pheasants and rabbits, along with various dried wild vegetables from the village, selling all of it to the caravan.

At first, the Yue Trading Company didn’t want to take them, and Wei Xi and the other young men weren’t keen on eating them.

“They’re too tough and bitter,” they complained.

Qin Xia showed them how to first blanch the wild vegetables in hot water, then mix them with chili oil and vinegar. One bite, and they found it appetizing and refreshing.

“You’ve also bought dried tofu, right? You can mix it all together. And don’t forget those soup packets—you can throw a handful of the dried vegetables into the soup while you’re on the road. Without vegetables, you’ll end up with mouth sores.”

To go along with the wild vegetable dish, Qin Xia sold two extra small jars of homemade chili oil.

In the end, this single order of travel food earned him over thirty taels of silver.

Qin Xia called the staff together and gave each of them a bonus of five hundred copper coins.

Travel food orders were extra work beyond their usual duties at the restaurant, and since the staff had put in the effort, he couldn’t let them work for nothing—it would only demoralize them.

“Boss Qin, out walking your goose again?”

One day, Qin Xia was leading Da Fu, walking along the road from the school canteen back to the restaurant.

Running a food business was more worrisome in the summer than in the winter.

Ingredients could spoil quickly in the heat, and if customers got food poisoning, it would be disastrous.

This was especially true for the school canteen, which catered to scholars and students. If one pot of food went bad, it could knock out a whole group.

Qin Xia visited the Qin Ji food hall every day to remind them about this.

“If the ingredients aren’t good, throw them away. Don’t try to save my money. And don’t take the leftovers home to eat, thinking you’re saving a few coppers—it won’t be enough to pay for the doctor if you get sick.”

He also instructed them to hang the daily deliveries of pork and chicken in the well to keep cool, while rice, flour, and other staples should be stored in a cool place. Every day, before washing the rice and flour, they needed to check for bugs.

After giving these instructions, he left, with Da Fu loyally following by his side. The sight of a man and his goose had become a familiar scene on the streets.

Nowadays, if Qin Xia left Da Fu at home during the day, the goose would honk incessantly, annoying the neighbors to the point of complaint.

Qin Xia suspected it was some form of “separation anxiety,” so he simply started taking the goose out with him. Perhaps once Da Fu realized that even outside the house, it couldn’t find Yu Jiuque anywhere, it would stop this behavior.

To prevent the goose from getting lost or being taken and cooked by someone, Qin Xia had a small silver lock made by a silversmith. He used the collar that Yu Jiuque had braided for it and hung the lock around its neck.

The silver lock had the character “Fu” engraved on the front, with “Qin Ji” on the back, and a small bell attached underneath.

Once Da Fu donned it, it became the most distinguished goose in all of Qinan County.

Familiar customers passing by would stop and grin when they saw it, stepping forward to tease the goose.

But Da Fu was picky about whom it let touch it. It only allowed young Ge’ers and women to pet it, and any man other than Qin Xia would risk getting pecked if they weren’t careful—even the restaurant staff weren’t safe.

Seeing a customer about to reach out, Qin Xia quickly intervened.

After hearing the reason, a few passersby sheepishly withdrew their hands, though they still found it fascinating.

“That goose of yours is smart. I heard it even caught a thief once.”

“Raising such a creature is a good thing—it’s got spirit and lives a long time.”

Some people asked where such an intelligent goose came from.

“I just bought it from the poultry market. It was sickly at the time, almost didn’t make it.”

The onlookers clicked their tongues in amazement.

“Must be fate. Maybe in its past life it was a person, and this life, it’s here to repay a debt.”

Qin Xia just smiled.

Whether it was to repay a debt or seek revenge, in his eyes, Da Fu was a member of the family. As long as it had good food and company to keep him entertained, that was enough.

While they were talking, Da Fu spotted a young Ge’er passing by and locked its eyes on him.

Da Fu waddled up to the young Ge’er, startling him at first. But when he saw the silver lock hanging around the goose’s neck, he smiled and pulled his companion down to squat and play with it. He even plucked some tender grass from between the cracks in the roadside stones to feed it.

Da Fu was friendly at first, but quickly lost interest, abandoning the grass and turning back to look for Qin Xia.

Qin Xia whistled to call the goose back, and once the young Ge’er had left, he lowered his head and whispered, “You keep mistaking people, those little beady eyes of yours aren’t much good.”

Da Fu honked twice in protest, clearly not impressed, and didn’t bother to acknowledge him.

After finishing up the lunch rush, a messenger from Ganyuan Zhai arrived, saying the shopkeeper had invited Qin Xia over.

“Our young mistress wants to see Da Fu. If it’s convenient for you, could you bring the goose along?”

Qin Xia agreed without hesitation.

When they arrived at Ganyuan Zhai, Xing Yuan took Da Fu to play.

Cui Rao wasn’t around, leaving only an elderly woman and a maid to keep an eye on Xing Yuan, making sure she didn’t get her dress dirty.

“Da Fu, come here! I bought some little fish and shrimp for you!”

Da Fu recognized the little girl and, as if understanding her words, flapped its wings and dashed toward the large wooden basin, jumping in to feast on the treats like it was a buffet.

“Come sit over here in the shade.”

It was a quiet time for the dessert shop, so Xing Yiming had set up a small tea table in the shaded veranda of the backyard.

“Try this—it’s genuine Jin Jun Mei tea. I swiped it from my old man.”

Qin Xia tasted it, finding it smooth and refreshing.

“I don’t know much about tea, but I can tell this is good.”

Xing Yiming laughed. “Tea doesn’t need to be complicated. As long as it tastes good, that’s all that matters.”

After a few sips, they got down to business.

The commotion surrounding Ah Jiu’s departure had settled, and Qin Xia had already struck a deal with Xing Yiming for the milk candy business.

Qin Xia didn’t have the time to focus on making candy himself, nor did he want to dedicate space or hire workers just for that purpose. So, he handed the recipe to Xing Yiming and took a 30% share of the profits.

By now, the milk candies had been selling in Ganyuan Zhai for a while, and every day, the batch they made sold out by evening.

Xing Yiming had followed Qin Xia’s advice and wrapped the milk candies in colorful wrappers, making them visually appealing.

“People have started buying boxes of the candy to give as gifts, and they’re beginning to feel that just one type of candy isn’t enough.”

Qin Xia understood immediately, reading between the lines. “You want to sell more types of candy?”

With their close relationship, there was no need to beat around the bush.

Xing Yiming pointed toward the shop. “There’s no room in Ganyuan Zhai to sell more candy. Mixing multiple types would make the place look cluttered. I’m thinking of opening a new shop dedicated solely to selling a variety of sweets.”

He looked at Qin Xia. “What do you think? Interested in partnering up?”

It was an invitation to collaborate.

Qin Xia grabbed a handful of melon seeds from the table, cracked a few, and asked, “Where do you plan on opening the shop?”

Qinan County already had several candy shops, but the variety of sweets on the market was limited. Most were variations of maltose, simply molded into different shapes.

There were also sugar gourds, sesame brittle, pine nut brittle, and peanut brittle, but only a handful of options—all essentially the same thing.

As a result, most candy shops also sold various candied and preserved fruits on the side.

Qin Xia thought it over. Besides milk candy, he could make peppermint candy, sour plum candy, and nougat.

Aside from those, if used correctly with cornstarch, it should be possible to make various types of fruit jelly candies.

The other candies were straightforward, but jelly candies were something Qin Xia hadn’t tried before. He suspected the process would be more complicated than the rest.

Xing Yiming was an experienced businessman, so the fact that he approached Qin Xia meant he had already thought it through.

“We’ll set up the shop on Banqiao Street. I’ve found a small storefront along the main street. It’s tiny, but once we set up a window, we can sell directly to passersby. If you can come up with seven or eight types of candies and pair them with a few kinds of candied fruits, we can open the shop. We’ll also order two types of gift boxes—one with five assortments and one with eight.”

Qin Xia thought about it carefully and agreed it was a solid plan.

The type of storefront Xing Yiming described was common in street markets—long and narrow, with the counter as long as the shop. There was just enough space for a person to turn around. Shelves would be stacked high with goods, and as long as it wasn’t the dead of winter, the shop’s three windows would be wide open, showcasing what they sold.

The rent was cheap, too. Even on Banqiao Street, it would only cost a few taels of silver per month.

Qin Xia went over the candy varieties he could make, and Xing Yiming couldn’t contain his excitement.

“I knew you’d have plenty of ideas.”

At this point, it seemed like there wasn’t anything food-related that Qin Xia didn’t know how to make.

Xing Yiming half-joked that even if someone caught a dragon from the heavens, Qin Xia would be able to whip up a gourmet dish and tell a story behind it.

They agreed for now that Xing Yiming would provide the manpower, while Qin Xia would supply the recipes. They would split the rent equally, and the profits would be divided 50-50.

Xing Yiming was especially interested in the jelly candies.

Other than twisted sugar candies, most candies, including milk candies, would harden after a while. The chewy texture of the candies Qin Xia described was something Xing Yiming could hardly imagine.

“Little brother, if you can make this work, our business won’t be limited to just this county.”

They could mass-produce and sell to trading companies, distributing them north and south…

Xing Yiming rubbed his hands together in excitement, feeling as though silver was lining up to jump into their pockets.

Qin Xia urged him to calm down.

“I’ll go home and make samples of each candy first. Once I’ve perfected them, we can talk more.”

Xing Yiming nodded.

“There’s no rush. Oh, by the way, you mentioned that selling candy in summer causes it to melt easily. The other day, I learned a trick from a trading company manager while having tea.”

It turned out that caravans often faced the issue of candy melting during hot summers or prolonged rainy weather.

“They wrap the candy in wax paper and cover it with lime powder. This way, no matter when it’s taken out, the candy stays intact and is also protected from bugs.”

Qin Xia thought for a moment and said, “Then we can display a few samples outside, and store the rest sealed up. When customers buy them, we’ll take them out fresh.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking.”

The number of hot days in Qinan County wasn’t long enough to ruin their business. Once they got through the summer, they’d have plenty of time to do business as usual.

“Looks like we’ll both be making a fortune this year.”

Xing Yiming lifted the teapot and poured Qin Xia another cup of tea.

Qin Xia then asked if the new shop would still use the Ganyuan Zhai name, but Xing Yiming shook his head. “No, I plan to come up with a new name.”

Qin Xia understood.

He guessed that Xing Yiming wanted to make a name for himself outside of the family business.

“I haven’t come up with a name yet. If you have any ideas, be sure to let me know.”

Qin Xia shook his head. “I’m really not good at naming things.”

At that moment, a thought popped into his mind—if only Yu Jiuque were here.

Ah Jiu would probably come up with seven or eight names in one night, all lined up for him to choose from.

Seeing Qin Xia suddenly fall silent, Xing Yiming grabbed two salted broad beans and popped them into his mouth.

The shop attendants were all busy inside, and Xing Yuan was playing with the goose far enough away that she couldn’t hear anything. After swallowing the beans, Xing Yiming decided to address the elephant in the room, despite the awkwardness.

“Still no word from Ah Jiu?”

A couple may have their arguments, but after two or three days, things usually settle down.

He couldn’t believe that Ah Jiu would just walk away like that, leaving his husband behind. Even if it was a matter of pride, no one stays angry for this long.

Xing Yiming couldn’t help but add a few more words.

“You must know where his family is. It wouldn’t hurt to ask around, get an address, and send a letter to smooth things over. If that doesn’t work, go fetch him yourself! When you get there, just bow your head to your in-laws—it’s not humiliating, and it won’t take a piece of your pride.”

Qin Xia felt a bitterness rise in his heart, and the somber expression on his face wasn’t feigned in the slightest.

“I do know.”

He took a sip of tea and uttered two words: “Shengjing.”

Xing Yiming drew in a sharp breath.

“Ah Jiu is from Shengjing?”

That complicated things.

With the way Ah Jiu carried himself, his family must be of considerable standing!

Could he really come back after going there?

But Xing Yiming only dared think these things to himself. Saying them aloud would be like rubbing salt in Qin Xia’s wound.

So instead, he offered reassurance. “Ah Jiu cares about you. If there’s no news, it’s probably because his family has kept him busy. Once he’s settled things, he’ll surely send you a letter.”

Qin Xia accepted his friend’s comforting words and left with a small package of pastries.

A well-fed Da Fu shook off the water from its feathers and eagerly followed its owner, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind.