The portions of braised pork and braised pig’s trotters weren’t large, but those who lined up and didn’t get any today felt no disappointment.

Because the vegetarian skewers were just as delicious as the braised pork and trotters. Despite being made only of vegetables, their texture was remarkably rich, and they tasted so good it hardly felt like eating greens.

Someone joked, “Ping ger, it seems you’ve discovered your conscience, you’ve noticed our thinning wallets.”

“With these vegetarian skewers, I can finally come here every day to satisfy my cravings.”

“Ping ger’s food is great. In the future, think of more affordable and delicious dishes like this.”

Chen Yuping nodded and smiled in agreement.

There were still plenty of skewers left, and for a while, they didn’t sell out.

Chen Yuping asked his sister-in-law to help watch the stall while he went to the kitchen to prepare lunch.

Lunch was simple. The duck used to make the broth had been stewed until very tender, fragrant and flavorful but very light. It was divided into two bowls: one with a little broth and just some chopped green onions, meant for his sister-in-law, which could be steamed warm later. The other bowl had the meat hand-shredded, drizzled with scallion oil, and mixed with cilantro and spicy sauce, making a delicious cold dish that was very appetizing.

He set aside a bit of broth to blanch some greens, cooked spicy stir-fried meat with peppers, sour and spicy shredded potatoes, and bitter melon scrambled with eggs.

When Dad Chen and the others returned from the fields, there were still people at the stall, and Liu Guixiang was busy with customers.

“Is Ping ger cooking inside?”

“Yes.”

As he spoke, Chen Yuping came out of the kitchen: “Father, Dad, Second Brother, and Youngest, you’re back. It’s time to eat.” He approached the stall: “Sister-in-law, let me take over, you can take Qiaoniu inside. It’s a bit sunny now.”

At noon, even the shade of the trees wasn’t cool.

During lunch, Father Chen asked, “Are you setting up again in the afternoon, Ping ger?”

“If we don’t, it would waste the broth, it has to be simmered daily.”

“I’ll help move the stall inside with Yuanqiu later,” Chen Yuandong said.

Dad Chen replied, “After eating, let’s string up some more skewers, there aren’t many left.”

“I’ll peel the bamboo sticks,” Chen Yuanqiu laughed. “I can do it really fast now.”

The whole family skipped their afternoon nap and Chen Yuandong and his wife didn’t go back. After Qiaoniu fell asleep, they laid her on a bamboo bed.

Peeling bamboo sticks, threading vegetables, washing, slicing, and chopping—all kinds of small tasks piled up, but thankfully they had enough family members. They quickly got through it in about half an hour.

After a flurry of activity, everyone returned to their rooms to rest briefly, then hurried off to the fields.

In the morning, while selling skewers, Chen Yuping had mentioned that he would be selling them again in the afternoon, inviting anyone interested to come back.

He also cooked a pot of mung bean soup, a bit thin with some sugar, chilling it in the well. Anyone who bought over ten skewers would get a bowl of chilled mung bean soup, of course, most of it was for the family.

“Ping ger, why didn’t you have any mung bean soup this morning? Not very fair!”

“It wasn’t hot this morning like it is in the afternoon.”

“Then I’ll come in the afternoon from now on.”

“Anytime is welcome.”

In the afternoon, Liu Guixiang asked her third brother to keep an eye on Qiaoniu while she took the mung bean soup to the fields.

Business was slow in the afternoon. Perhaps because it was too hot or people were busy in the fields. It wasn’t until late evening that customers started to arrive one after another.

In less than a day, everyone around the village knew about the vegetarian skewers.

Chen Yuping noticed several unfamiliar faces from neighboring villages, including members of the Shen family, who were quite wealthy, buying twenty skewers at a time, making them major customers.

“All my worries in the afternoon were for nothing,” Liu Guixiang sighed in relief.

“Now the days are longer and the nights shorter, it gets dark later, so we can keep the stall open longer until we sell out. If there are any leftovers, we can eat them ourselves.”

That day, the vegetarian skewers sold very well. They looked inexpensive, but the profit was substantial.

The earnings were divided into four portions: Chen Yuping and Dad Chen each received 40%, while Chen Yuandong and his brother each got 10%.

“Running a business is really the way to go,” Liu Guixiang remarked. “In such a short time, just sitting at home, we’ve saved up two or three hundred coins. Thanks to Ping ger, making money feels really easy.”

Dad Chen chuckled, “Ping ger’s skills are great. If it were us, we couldn’t earn this much.”

Father Chen leisurely sipped his strong tea, remaining silent, though his eyes gleamed with pride.

Chen Yuanqiu and Chen Yuandong each returned carrying a bamboo pole and a large bundle of firewood, taking advantage of the good weather and some free time to prepare more bamboo sticks.

These things were used up quickly.

Dad Chen stood up to organize the firewood, cutting it into small pieces to stack in the shed.

Chen Yuchun came over as twilight fell, he was the eldest son of the Chen family, married to the Zhang family in the village south.

“Father.”

“You’re here.” Father Chen took a puff of his dry tobacco: “Where’s the child?”

“Zhiwei is watching him, I didn’t bring him.”

Hearing the conversation from behind the house, Dad Chen came over: “Chun, you’re here.”

The three of them chatted for a bit, and Chen Yuchun asked, “Where’s Ping ger?”

“He’s taking a bath, it’ll be a while.”

“I’ve heard a lot of chatter in the village, I’ve been wanting to come see but couldn’t find the time.”

Father Chen glanced at his eldest son: “Everyone at home is doing well, Ping ger seems to have opened up a bit. Your father and I are planning to help out in the fields here before visiting the Zhang family.”

“I left Dazhuang at the old house, it wasn’t hot in the morning, so I took Anguo to the fields to help. Zhiwei is capable, we won’t need your help in the fields this year.”

“Leaving Dazhuang at the old house isn’t okay! What if he gets scalded again?” Father Chen became a bit anxious, raising his voice: “Chun, how can you be so careless!”

Dad Chen frowned: “We’ve said we’d go help, you just need to watch the two kids.”

“If I can manage my brother’s kids, why can’t I take care of my own? They’re both his grandchildren anyway. Your father and I are exhausted, but you don’t care, they’re enjoying themselves at home.”

Chen Yuping came over from behind the house, overhearing: “Eldest brother.”

“If I’d let you build the new house here, it would have been better for us to look after each other,” Father Chen said with a slightly harsh tone.

Chen Yuchun lowered his voice, clearly irritated: “The Zhang family wouldn’t agree, what could we do?” After a pause, he continued, “Dad, let’s not talk about these trivial matters, they’re all in the past.”

“Ping ger, I just came to check on you, it’s been a while since I saw you when you were sick,” Chen Yuchun said, looking at his younger brother carefully. “You seem to have gained some weight and look more spirited.” He patted his shoulder: “I’ve heard many people say that your cooking is exceptionally good. You’ve always enjoyed tinkering with food, now it seems you’ve found success.”

Chen Yuping smiled slightly, looking a bit shy: “Eldest brother, since you’re here, you must try my cooking tomorrow morning.”

“No, there’s too much to do at home. If I stayed a night, who knows how chaotic it would be?” Chen Yuchun had only come to take a look. Seeing everything was fine, he didn’t stay long. With nightfall approaching and needing to wash and do laundry, he couldn’t stay overnight since there was work to do in the fields the next day.

Chen Yuchun hurriedly came and hurriedly left.

Father Chen and Dad Chen sat under the eaves, both frowning deeply, remaining silent for a while.

“What’s wrong with Dad and Father?”

“Your elder brother left Dazhuang at the Zhang family’s old house, it makes me uneasy.”

Father Chen looked at his spouse: “You should go pick up Dazhuang tomorrow. Chun is being stubborn and wants to work in the fields, just go with him. There’s enough work in the fields for me and Yuanqiu. We’ve got plenty to do at home, so you should stay.”

“That’s a good idea.”