Chapter 40 – Stood Up

“Has your husband’s younger brother gotten married yet?” Yao Sao continued to ask Xia Tian.

“He probably hasn’t,” Xia Tian replied uncertainly.

Yao Sao glared at her. “You’re really something—how can you be such an unqualified sister-in-law? You don’t even know whether your husband’s younger brother is married or not!”

“I just feel embarrassed to ask about it!” she defended herself.

“You don’t know, huh? Your brother-in-law’s been fetching water from the well every day lately—there are already a few young girls in the village eyeing him.”

“Saozi, don’t talk nonsense! Why haven’t I heard about this?” Xia Tian quickly denied it. This kind of rumor couldn’t be spread—what if it ruined a girl’s reputation?

“I’m not talking nonsense. Someone even asked me about him!”

“Really?”

“Of course! Haven’t you noticed a few young girls wandering around near your house these past few days?”

“I did see some, but I thought they were just passing by.”

“You! You’re so careless. Your brother-in-law looks good, is diligent, and even knows how to hunt. That wild boar from last time—I heard he was the one who killed it! There are plenty of girls who’d love to marry him!” Yao Sao gave her a look of exasperation.

Xia Tian scratched her head a little sheepishly. It was true—she had been busy lately and had neglected the two at home.

Not far away, Shen Nian, who overheard their conversation, glanced at Mu Feng with a meaningful look.

Mu Feng kept his head down while whittling bamboo, sneaking glances every now and then—but his ears had turned completely red.

The two gossiping women remained unaware and kept chatting for a while longer before Yao Sao finally left.

That night, Xia Tian made braised rabbit for dinner. When they sat down to eat, Mu Feng didn’t say a word. His head was practically buried in his bowl.

She found it odd and looked up at Shen Nian, questioning him with her eyes—what’s going on?

Shen Nian chuckled and shook his head, silently replying with his eyes, He’s just hungry.

Oh, okay. As long as nothing’s wrong.

She still didn’t realize it was their afternoon gossiping with Yao Sao that had embarrassed Mu Feng.

She even thoughtfully picked a bite of food and placed it in Mu Feng’s bowl, telling him to eat more.

Shen Nian could barely hide the smile tugging at his lips.

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The next morning when she arrived in town, Xia Yang told her that Manager Guo had come by again yesterday, saying he wanted to order another fifty catties of braised meat.

Xia Tian was surprised. Could a restaurant really use that much braised meat? Sure, business was good, but the amount seemed excessive.

What she didn’t know was that Manager Guo wasn’t only selling to the restaurant—he had also taken on some catering orders for wealthy families.

Some of the gentry who tried the food wanted to take some home. Manager Guo wasn’t about to say no, which is why he placed a follow-up order.

Chasing more orders wasn’t an issue, but neither of the two usual butchers could supply that much pork belly. Xia Yang had to find a third butcher shop early that morning to secure the supply.

Xia Tian nodded in approval. Her brother had finally grown—he’d learned how to adapt to the situation. Not bad at all!

The restaurant’s order had now risen to a total of 350 catties.

And it wasn’t over yet—while she was setting up her stall, several stewards from wealthy families came over and bought up all thirty catties of pig head meat as soon as she put it out.

Some regular customers who arrived later and couldn’t buy any pig head meat refused to leave. Xia Tian had to patiently explain and persuade them until they reluctantly bought some pork intestines instead. To appease them, she gave everyone two extra pieces for free before they were willing to leave.

After returning home, Xia Tian had Xia Yang go around to all three butcher shops and buy up every pig head they had. She also bought five pairs of pig trotters.

By the time the orders were loaded up, they had already pre-sold over twenty catties of pig head meat for the next day.

That should be enough for tomorrow.

But the next day, everything sold out in less than half an hour. If she hadn’t told her sister-in-law in advance to set aside fifty catties of pig head meat, those loyal customers would’ve started a fuss again.

She honestly hadn’t expected it—the business had suddenly exploded.

Still, she wasn’t planning to increase production any further. They were just a small workshop and couldn’t handle more. She didn’t plan to hire additional help either—after all, it wasn’t a high-skill trade. Who knew when copycats would start popping up?

Xia Tian shared her thoughts with Xia Yang and the others, and everyone agreed. They were already making good money every day—better to be content.

Besides, this was just a small town. Demand was limited. But she did plan to develop a few new products.

Sure enough, two days later, another restaurant approached her. It was one of the larger restaurants in town—Shengshi Restaurant. They even tried to buy her secret recipe, but she refused.

They settled for the next best thing – placing regular orders like Yunlai Restaurant.

Xia Tian explained that she could supply them, but not with pork belly.

Seeing that she wasn’t budging, Manager Lin from Shengshi Restaurant ordered her new product instead—braised chicken. Xia Tian promised to supply them exclusively, just like Yunlai Restaurant, and even offered to design a couple of custom menus for them free of charge. Only then did Manager Lin agree.

The next day, after tasting the braised chicken, Manager Lin was convinced Xia Tian hadn’t cheated him—it was just as flavorful as the pork belly. The two signed a contract, agreeing to start with thirty chickens a day, with room to increase depending on demand.

Her small workshop was finally on the right track. Her father, Xia Zheng’an, had recovered well from his back injury and was even able to work in the fields again. The whole family was happy.

Still, Xia Tian wasn’t fully at ease. She continued to come to town every morning to keep an eye on things.

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Time flew by, and soon it was the day of Chun Shen’s eldest grandson’s wedding.

She’d already told Xia Yang the day before that she wouldn’t be going into town today.

Early in the morning, Yao Sao came by to pick her up, and the two of them went to Chun Shen’s house to help.

Chun Shen was dressed in new clothes and had her hair neatly done. When she saw them arrive, she grinned from ear to ear. “Girl, I didn’t expect you to come all the way here! I heard you’ve been so busy with your stall lately.”

“I have been busy, but this is a happy occasion for you, Chun Shen! With our relationship, no matter how busy I am, I must come!” Xia Tian said with a laugh, offering her congratulations.

Chun Shen’s smile grew even wider. She quickly ushered them into the house. They didn’t tease her much and headed straight to the kitchen to help with prepping vegetables.

“Chun Shen is really blessed—her grandson’s marrying a scholar’s daughter.”

“I heard she’s the daughter of Master Shi!”

Shi Tou was Chun Shen’s eldest grandson. He studied in town and, from what people said, was doing well and was highly regarded by his teacher.

“We’d better stop calling him Shi Tou. His formal name now is Liu Zhiyuan.”

“Right, right, I forgot. It’s just habit!”

The women helping—older ladies and aunts—whispered among themselves while Xia Tian eagerly eavesdropped, even joining in with questions.

From their chatter, she learned that Chun Shen’s grandson, Liu Zhiyuan, was eighteen and had been studying in town. He was said to be quite talented, and he was even planning to take the imperial exam in the fall.

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“Did you hear? The head chef today was hired from one of the town’s restaurants.”

“Yup, I heard he’s from Yunlai Restaurant, the best one in town!”

“Really? Then we’re in for a treat!”

“Yeah, I’ve never tasted food made by a restaurant chef before.”

“Chun Shen really went all out.”

“Who wouldn’t? Her grandson’s doing so well!”

Hearing all the gossip, Xia Tian and Yao Sao exchanged amused smiles and went back to their work.

Once they finished picking vegetables, they started chopping and prepping.

When it came to banquet food, some dishes needed to be prepared in advance—like chopping chilies or frying meatballs—so that the chef could cook quickly once he arrived. Otherwise, it’d be too hectic to do it all on the spot.

The menu had been finalized ahead of time by the chef, and the household was told what to prepare.

In the end, all the ingredients were ready—but the chef hadn’t arrived. And there was only half an hour left before the banquet was supposed to start.

Xia Tian quietly asked Yao Sao, “What’s going on?”

Where was the chef?

Yao Sao shook her head. “No idea.”

After waiting a bit longer, they saw Chun Shen with a dark face calling someone over to go fetch the village’s cook instead.

Only then did they find out—the restaurant chef had been snatched up last-minute by a wealthy family in town. He’d bailed on Chun Shen.

So now they had to send someone to get the local village chef. The banquet was about to begin—they couldn’t wait any longer.