Chapter 53: The Grudge of That Day

Tian Mi recalled that the people in this area loved spicy food and fish, so she decided to go down the mountain and catch some fish to prepare a few signature dishes.

Xu Feiyan, who adored her two little treasures, heard Tian Mi mention she was going to catch fish and immediately handed Xiao Tian Mi over to Chen Miaomiao. Chen Miaomiao then passed the child to her mother before grabbing a wooden bucket and following Tian Mi and Xu Feiyan.

Tian Mi carried an axe while Xu Feiyan carried the bucket.

First, Tian Mi went to chop some bamboo to make fish traps. These traps were special—she had learned how to make them from an elderly fisherman during her travels. The traps were large and long, with a wide opening. The bamboo strips were woven in such a way that fish could swim in easily but couldn’t escape once inside. The traps had handles made of bamboo strips, so once they were filled with fish, they could be lifted out easily.

Next, she dug up a bunch of worms, soaked them in a bit of spiritual spring water, and carefully attached them to the bamboo strips inside the trap. Each trap was filled with dozens of worms. Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao couldn’t hide their excitement.

Xu Feiyan admired Tian Mi and said, “Tian Mi Jie, you’re amazing, you can do everything!”

Chen Miaomiao nodded enthusiastically, “Yes, even fish traps!”

Tian Mi felt a great sense of pride.

The river at the foot of the mountain was deep, and the current was not fast. Tian Mi carefully selected a spot to place the traps, weighting them down with stones so they would sink to the bottom. Then, they waited quietly.

As she sat there, Tian Mi thought about the days after the city opened. Tian Dabiao and Aunt Feng wouldn’t be able to go into the city yet. She recalled the day she had met Bai Mucheng and the others. Bai Mucheng likely hadn’t seen anyone else, as he had been unconscious at the time. When he woke up, all he saw were the chief and Aunt Feng.

Thinking back to that day, Tian Mi couldn’t help but smile.

When the chief found Bai Mucheng, he was bound and gagged, lying in a corner in a fainted state. To others, he looked like a sleeping fairy. The chief quickly called everyone over to see.

“Bai Mucheng is handsome, take a look!”

The chief’s eyes were practically popping out of his head, practically drooling.

Tian Dabiao immediately said, “Let him be your husband!”

Everyone nodded in agreement. It seemed like a good idea.

Aunt Feng chimed in, “Our young lady is so beautiful, she should have a handsome husband.”

The chief shyly smiled like a child.

At that time, Tian Dabiao had just been chosen as the leader, and the chief had just been promoted to the young lady.

They decided to let everyone rest, while Tian Dabiao, the chief, and Aunt Feng prepared to announce the news to Bai Mucheng when he woke up.

Not long after, Bai Mucheng woke up and was startled by the strange-looking people in front of him.

They had been scattered after fleeing the disaster, and their situation was rather grim—everyone looked disheveled and filthy.

Tian Dabiao said, “Young man, you’re lucky. The bandits have been killed by us, and you’re safe now. As of now, I’m the leader here. You’re in for double joy, you’re about to get married!”

Bai Mucheng’s eyes widened, and he shook his head violently.

But Tian Dabiao, now in his newly appointed position, didn’t care whether Bai Mucheng agreed or not. He pointed to the chief and said, “This is my daughter. You’re going to be her husband.”

Bai Mucheng glanced at the chief and shook his head even faster.

The chief immediately became upset, pouting her lips angrily.

Aunt Feng, feeling sorry for her, quickly took out her secret “pig-breeding medicine.” To get more piglets, she said, one needed to eat this medicine!

She said, “Leader, don’t waste time with him. I have medicine for breeding pigs. Let him drink a bit, and everything will be fine.”

Tian Dabiao nodded, agreeing.

Bai Mucheng nearly went mad. Who were these crazy people? Didn’t they understand human speech? He could clearly feel how he had fallen from grace.

Soon, Aunt Feng returned with the medicine.

Tian Dabiao untied the cloth from Bai Mucheng’s mouth and took out the cloth.

Bai Mucheng cursed, “You barbarian… Do you know who I am?”

Before he could finish speaking, Tian Dabiao punched him in the forehead.

“Who’s the boss here now?” he snapped.

Already dizzy, Bai Mucheng became even more disoriented.

Tian Dabiao grabbed the bowl from Aunt Feng’s hands and forced the medicine down Bai Mucheng’s throat.

Tian Mi could hardly bring herself to think about it!

She prayed that Bai Mucheng would never find out about this encounter with Tian Dabiao and Aunt Feng. It was likely not something that would go down easily.

Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao, the two girls, kept their eyes glued to the trap in the water, both excited and nervous.

Chen Miaomiao asked, “Cousin, did you see a fish go in?”

Her little face was flushed with excitement, her eyes sparkling with joy.

Xu Feiyan was just as thrilled, as everything was fun when she was with Tian Mi.

After about half an hour, Tian Mi felt it was time. She pulled up the trap, which was filled to the brim with fish. Xu Feiyan and Chen Miaomiao were stunned—were fish really that easy to catch?

The trap was so full that they had to carefully lift it out of the water, worried that it might break.

Tian Mi quickly carried the trap to shore and emptied it onto the ground. The two girls were so excited they hurried to put the fish in the bucket, acting as if they were collecting gold.

They had struck it rich!

While they were distracted, Tian Mi secretly stored some of the fish in her space.

The girls each filled a bucket, and with the heavy buckets in tow, the three of them joyfully headed back. They were exhausted from the weight but thrilled beyond measure.

When they returned and everyone saw the massive amount of fish, they couldn’t believe their eyes. My goodness, are the fish really that easy to catch here? This is such a good place!

Tian Mi carefully cut off the heads of the bighead fish, preparing to make chopped chili fish heads. She cut the fish bodies into chunks for braised fish. The grass carp was sliced thin for sour cabbage fish, while the crucian carp was pan-fried, and the carp was braised.

There were just so many fish! The group worked together to process them all according to Tian Mi’s instructions. Even the fish scraps were enough to make a flavorful fish stew.

These days, it was rare to find fish cooked in such delicious ways, so fish was not usually the main dish.

With so many fish, Tian Mi couldn’t store them all, so she made some fish balls to add to soup.

At noon, a grand fish banquet was ready, and Tian Mi sent many dishes to Fengqiu Village as well.

Everyone who ate praised the dishes. They had never tasted such delicious fish before and were amazed at how many different ways it could be prepared.

Xu Ershu was especially excited. He said, “Mi’er, with these dishes, the restaurant will definitely be a hit!”

When he first heard that Tian Mi wanted him to manage the restaurant, he had been anxious. Although he had some experience managing a guard agency with his father, he had never run a restaurant and feared he might cause Tian Mi’s business to fail.

Tian Mi smiled, “Uncle Xu, don’t worry. Our menu will be more than just these dishes.”

Aunt Bai laughed, “You don’t know, he was worried about doing a bad job and losing your money. He’s been thinking about ways to make money every day!”

Everyone laughed together.

Xu Ershu asked Tian Mi in detail about the restaurant’s size, how many people were needed, and together they chose a few of the younger generation to work as waitstaff. Liu Bo would handle the accounts.

In the kitchen, a few of the aunties and sisters-in-law were selected to help.

Tian Mi had already started teaching Aunt Feng, Cui, and Meng Bo to cook. The three of them were excellent cooks.

As for the restaurant’s profits, Tian Mi and Xu Ershu discussed splitting the earnings three ways: one part for the management and bonuses, one part for the chefs, and one part for the other staff.

Xu Ershu had never heard of such an arrangement, where the manager and staff would share 30% of the profits.

He strongly objected, but Tian Mi explained, “I won’t have much time or energy to manage it. This restaurant will be a shared family business.”

She added, “The manager has to oversee everything and deal with all kinds of issues. You’ll take one part, the chefs will take one part, and the rest will be for the other staff. We’re all family, so we should work together to make it successful.”

Xu Ershu, a man of integrity and generosity, was deeply moved by Tian Mi’s broad-mindedness and vision.

He remembered what his father had told him before he passed: “When you get to the south, you must start a business again. Don’t let everyone suffer after following me for so many years.”

Now, Xu Ershu felt that his father’s concerns were unnecessary. They would all have a prosperous future.