Chapter 16: Meat Sauce

“◎Found the home◎

She explained this to Jiang Che: “The things are different, and no one will associate them together. Besides, we still have some time, and for now, it’s not a problem. It’s best to catch everyone in a generous mood before the New Year when everyone is willing to spend money. By then, we’ll be able to make a big profit. Nothing to worry about.”

Jiang Che thought about it and agreed with his wife, nodding in approval. Then he remembered something else: “Let’s find a time to go home and have a meal. My big brother came to see me today, said that Mom and Dad keep mentioning us every day.”

Wei Xuan felt that it wasn’t good to not visit for a long time since they lived so close. She agreed readily: “Sure, and the Winter Solstice is in a couple of days, so we can also celebrate the holiday when we go back.”

The date to go back was set, and the next day, Jiang Che went to the factory to find his big brother and told him about the plan.”

Over here, Wei Xuan was thinking about what she should bring when visiting her in-laws. It wouldn’t be good to go back home empty-handed for a meal, right?

After thinking for a while, she decided to make some meat sauce to bring along.

When Jiang Che received the task from Wei Xuan to buy the ingredients for the meat sauce, he was quite eager. After all, after eating his wife’s cooking for some time, the difference was noticeable when he had to eat at the canteen at noon. With the meat sauce ready, he could at least bring some for a decent meal.

With this thought in mind, he got a bit carried away and ended up buying too many jars for the sauce.

Wei Xuan stared at the twenty tiny jars in front of her without saying a word. Jiang Che, seeing this, let out a nervous laugh: “Hey, I was just worried the jars were too small and wouldn’t be enough, so I thought I’d buy a few more. I didn’t mean to buy too many, but it’s fine. If we don’t use them all, we can just leave them. These things won’t go bad.”

Wei Xuan gave him a glance and said, “Alright, stop standing there looking dumb. Hurry up and wash the jars to help out.” She was busy and didn’t have time to argue with him.

There are many types of sauces, but due to limited ingredients, Wei Xuan planned to make three kinds today. One is a pure meat sauce, the second includes shiitake mushrooms, and the last one is a chili sauce.

These three sauces can be used to mix with noodles or eat with steamed buns.

The ingredients had already been prepared in advance. As the oil heated, the spices were added, and the aroma immediately filled the air.

Especially when frying the chili peppers, it was nearly impossible to stay inside the house—it was so pungent.

After a flurry of activity, the three sauces were finally ready to be packed into jars.

After checking to make sure the jars were dry, Wei Xuan and Jiang Che divided the work—each filling one type of sauce. In no time, the ten jars were all filled.

The meat sauce only filled three jars because they weren’t packed to the top, so it was about three pounds in total.

The shiitake mushroom sauce filled four jars, and the chili sauce also filled three jars.

Jiang Che looked at all the sauces and thought that bringing one bottle of each type back home would be plenty. The rest, he and Wei Xuan wouldn’t be able to eat much of, but he could take it to Wu Yun and see if there was a market for it.

Wei Xuan had actually intended for this very outcome, though she hadn’t had the chance to bring it up. Seeing that Jiang Che had mentioned it first, she was happy to see that, under her subtle influence, he had already started to develop a business sense.

Hmm, this young man has a bright future ahead!

She encouraged him, saying, “Then you should take it to try. Just bring one bottle of each and don’t worry about money. Just tell him you want him to try it.”

“Okay, I’ll bring it to him when I deliver the goods tomorrow.”

Unfortunately, when Jiang Che went to deliver the goods the next day, Wu Yun wasn’t there.

“Our boss went out to the countryside to collect goods last night, he probably won’t be back until this afternoon.”

Jiang Che wasn’t in a hurry either. He handed the three jars of sauce to the gatekeeper and said, “When he comes back, please give this to him and tell him I sent it for him to try.”

“Don’t worry, Brother Che. As soon as the boss comes back, I’ll give it to him.”

The serious look on the gatekeeper’s face made Jiang Che laugh. He patted his shoulder and said, “Thanks, next time I’ll bring you some good food.”

The fact that Brother Che had a wife with excellent culinary skills had already spread among them. Who didn’t know that the most popular and profitable braised meat sold these days came from Brother Che’s wife?

So, when Jiang Che promised to bring him some tasty food, the gatekeeper was filled with anticipation. With a big grin, he saw Jiang Che off, saying, “Brother Che, take care.”

When Wu Yun returned in the afternoon, the gatekeeper immediately brought the three large jars to him, saying, “Boss, this is what Brother Che sent this morning.”

“Oh?” Wu Yun asked with interest while washing his hands, “Did he say what it is?”

The little brother scratched his head, recalling for a moment, and replied, “No, he just said it’s something for you to try.”

“Alright, let me see.”

The little brother placed the three jars on a table not far from Wu Yun. Wu Yun first sniffed the air, but couldn’t tell what it was, so he opened the closest jar to him.

Whoa, a strong, pungent spicy aroma hit him.

Wu Yun quickly turned his head and sneezed. It turned out the jar he opened was filled with chili sauce.

The little brother was startled by his reaction and nervously asked, “Boss, are you alright?”

Wu Yun waved his hand, signaling that he was fine.

At this moment, the little brother next to him also smelled the fragrance and curiously asked, “Boss, it smells so good. What is it?”

Wu Yun sneezed, feeling refreshed. He immediately opened the other two jars, and after seeing that they were filled with sauce, he didn’t bother to grab chopsticks. Instead, he used his hands to dip a little and tasted it.

It was a savory meat sauce with a slight hint of spiciness, and it immediately won over Wu Yun.

It just so happened that he hadn’t had lunch yet, and this was perfect. He instructed the little brother, who was eagerly stretching his neck to see what was in the jars: “Go to the kitchen and bring some steamed buns, and also grab a few more bowls.”

The little brother didn’t hesitate and quickly ran out. Less than a minute later, he returned with everything.

Wu Yun first spooned out a bit of each of the three sauces and put them in bowls, then dipped the steamed buns in them to eat.

The buns, about the size of a fist, were so big that he could finish one in just two or three bites. Out of the three sauces, Wu Yun’s favorite wasn’t the meat sauce, but the chili sauce. In this weather, he kept eating despite the sweat forming on his forehead from the heat, and he just kept going, one bite after another.

The little brother next to him couldn’t help but swallow his saliva, attracted by the fragrance. He finally couldn’t hold back and said, “Boss, can I try some too?”

Wu Yun swallowed the bun in his mouth and took a deep breath. “It’s great, you should try it. Little Che’s wife really knows how to cook.”

The little brother had been waiting impatiently, and now that the boss had given the go-ahead, he immediately grabbed a bun, scooped up a big dollop of sauce, and stuffed it into his mouth without a second thought. He didn’t mind that it was a bit overwhelming, and as he ate, he nodded enthusiastically. “So good, mmm, really good.”

Together, the two of them ate seven buns in one go before finally putting down their chopsticks.

After the little brother left, Wu Yun leaned back in his chair. The more he thought about it, the less he could sit still. If he didn’t know that Jiang Che and his wife were both working at this hour, he’d be itching to go to their house right away to find out—was this sauce meant to be sold or not?

Based on Wu Yun’s experience, he could already foresee the future popularity of this sauce. It would be no less popular than braised meat. Although braised meat mostly uses less valuable cuts like pig’s feet and pig tails, it’s still meat. While some people might enjoy it occasionally, most wouldn’t want to eat it every day.

But sauce was different. Forget whether it was expensive or not—just the fact that it offered a change of flavor during winter would make many people willing to buy it. Plus, one jar could be eaten slowly and stored for a long time.

Dipping steamed buns, mixing it with noodles—it’s delicious and convenient.

Finally, the workday at the factory ended, and Wu Yun couldn’t wait even a minute longer. He hopped on his bike and rushed toward Jiang Che’s house.

Jiang Che was walking home after work when he vaguely heard someone calling his name from behind. He turned around and saw it was Wu Yun. With a quick thought, he immediately understood what Wu Yun wanted.

Wu Yun, riding swiftly, stopped right in front of him. “I say, why don’t you buy a bike? It’ll be more convenient for delivering goods. If you want one, I can keep an eye out for tickets.”

The bicycle Jiang Che used to ride was bought by his family. Although he used it most of the time, it wasn’t his personal property, so he didn’t bring it when he moved.

However, his wife had discussed it with him some time ago. This time, when they went back, they would see if they could bring the bike back. They could either pay a little money to buy it outright or send something back in exchange. It would be cheaper than buying a new one.

Since it was just lying there, unused for a long time, it was prone to rust. It would be a waste, and it would be more convenient for him to use it for commuting and delivering goods.

Since Wei Xuan had said so, Jiang Che had no objections. In fact, in his opinion, forget about paying money—he didn’t even want to send anything back. He just wanted to take it and use it. After all, it had always been his. Why should he have to go through all this trouble just because he moved?

His young wife still had too little backbone. Without him watching over her, she’d easily get taken advantage of. But since the money and things were for his parents, not for outsiders, he didn’t say much to avoid making his wife unhappy.

Thinking about how every time his wife was upset, he’d be the one to suffer, Jiang Che frowned.

Wu Yun noticed the strange look on his face and waved his hand in front of him. “Hey, what are you thinking about? I’m talking to you!”

“Oh,” Jiang Che snapped out of it. “I’ll just bring that old bike home in a couple of days to use, no need to buy a new one for now. By the way, Brother Wu, did you come here for something?”

Wu Yun raised an eyebrow and sized him up. “Oh, so you’re putting on an act in front of me now, huh? You really don’t know why I’m looking for you?”

Jiang Che chuckled a couple of times, not at all embarrassed about being caught: “Brother Wu, it’s not that I’m intentionally trying to put on an act in front of you. It’s just that I’m not sure if you like the things I sent you?”

“Alright, cut the nonsense. If I didn’t think it was good, would I have rushed over here like this?”

Jiang Che grinned even wider. “Come on, let’s go inside and talk. My wife’s probably already home and has dinner ready. We can eat while we discuss.”

At this time, Wei Xuan had indeed returned and was in the kitchen making dumplings—pork and green onion filling. Tomorrow was the Winter Solstice, and since they were going to spend it at her in-laws’ place, she wouldn’t have time to cook at home. So she figured she’d make a big batch today to eat over time. With the cold weather, she could just leave them outside to freeze, and they’d keep just fine.

Hearing movement outside, she called out toward the door, “Jiang Che, is that you?”