Chapter 14

Li Hehua’s culinary skills brought great honor to the Cao family, who showered her with gratitude and treated her with even greater respect.

The next morning, Li Hehua and the Cao family rose even earlier than before. Today’s banquet required preparing fourteen tables—more than double yesterday’s—so they had to start early.

Guests began arriving not long after, creating a lively atmosphere even more bustling than the day before. The front courtyard buzzed with activity. Li Hehua, unfamiliar with ancient wedding customs, was curious to witness the ceremony firsthand. However, her battlefield today was the kitchen, so she reluctantly gave up the idea for now.

As noon approached, Madam Cao rushed in, exclaiming, “Quick, quick! You can start cooking now. The bride has arrived, and the Zhang family’s relatives are here. We’re about to begin the feast!”

Li Hehua nodded reassuringly. “Don’t worry, Madam Cao. I’ll start cooking right away. The dishes will be ready in no time.”

Madam Cao smiled. “I trust you completely. Thank you for all your hard work.”

Li Hehua was always polite and never complained. She treated the kitchen helpers with kindness and respect, her tone warm and pleasant. This left the Cao family with an excellent impression of her, and they couldn’t help but recall Old Zhou, the most well-known banquet chef in the surrounding villages.

Old Zhou’s attitude was a stark contrast. Since he was the only one who could handle elaborate feasts, people had to beg him to come. He acted like a noble lord, demanding repeated invitations, flattery, and gifts of fine wine and delicacies along with his fee.

Despite all this, he was short-tempered, barking at kitchen staff as if they were his servants. But what could anyone do? His cooking skills were unmatched. Without him, no banquet could be held, so people endured his arrogance with forced smiles.

The Cao family had originally planned to hire Old Zhou for the wedding. They approached him half a month earlier, and he agreed. But when they followed up a few days ago, his attitude changed. He claimed he was overwhelmed with invitations and too busy to accept.

Everyone could see he was just trying to extort more money and goods. The Cao family was furious and cursed him at home for hours, but they still had no alternatives. No banquet could go without a chef.

They reluctantly decided to swallow their anger and try again, planning to bring several bottles of fine wine as a peace offering.

Just then, Cao Simei returned. When she heard what happened, she was furious too. She proposed replacing the chef and recommended Li Hehua.

Initially, the Cao family was skeptical. Li Hehua was just a young woman, lacking Old Zhou’s decades of experience. They had never heard of her, so they assumed she lacked skill and reputation. Hiring an unknown cook seemed too risky.

Seeing their hesitation, Cao Simei described Li Hehua’s performance at Old Wang’s house in Lianhua Village. She vividly recounted the scene—the irresistible aroma of the suan cai yu (pickled fish in sour broth) and the Wang Family’s ravenous expressions as they devoured it. Slowly, the Cao family began to waver. Finally, they decided to take a chance and hired Li Hehua.

That brought them to the present.

Yesterday, they had been uneasy, unsure if the young woman could handle the banquet. But to their surprise, her cooking far surpassed Old Zhou’s. After tasting her dishes, they realized his food was nothing special. How had he dared to act so high and mighty?

With Li Hehua in charge, Old Zhou’s days of arrogance were over. They could finally deflate his oversized ego.

Li Hehua, unaware of all this, focused on the kitchen.

Today’s menu also had eight main dishes and eight sides, using the same ingredients as yesterday. The Cao family originally planned to repeat the exact menu, following tradition. But Li Hehua disagreed. In her view, repeating dishes back-to-back was something only a mediocre cook would do. She proposed creating a brand-new menu using the same ingredients.

The Cao family was thrilled when they heard she could do that and agreed enthusiastically. Their confidence in her grew even stronger.

Once she had approval, Li Hehua rearranged the ingredients and started cooking.

She finished preparing the fourteen-table feast at her usual brisk pace, despite the increased workload. Though more fatigued than the previous day, the thought of finishing her task kept her going. Eager to return home, she promptly bid farewell once it was done.

Madam Cao came into the kitchen to thank her, slipping a hundred copper coins into her hand. She also filled a large bag with melon seeds and candies, then packed a basket of leftover dishes for her. Li Hehua tried to refuse, but Madam Cao insisted.

“Take it, please! If I’d hired someone else, this wouldn’t even cover the cost. You helped us so much—it’s only right to give you some food. Don’t refuse.”

Seeing no way out, Li Hehua accepted. She left the Cao family’s house and hurried home, arriving at the Zhang household just as dusk settled.

The Zhang family had already eaten. Only Zhang Linshi came out to fetch water, her eyes widening slightly at the sight of Li Hehua, whom she hadn’t seen for days.

Li Hehua forced a smile. “Mother, I’m back from preparing the banquet.”

Zhang Linshi ignored her and continued fetching water.

Li Hehua placed the basket on the table and lifted the white cloth. “Mother, the host gave me this. I can’t eat it all, and it’d be a waste if it spoils. Why don’t you all have it? Just warm it up—it’ll save you the trouble of cooking.”

The basket was full: chicken, duck, fish, pork—enough to surprise anyone. Zhang Linshi was astonished by her generosity.

Li Hehua, determined to lose weight, wouldn’t eat such greasy dishes. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t finish it all. Rather than waste it, she chose to give it away. Maybe this would soften the Zhang family’s attitude toward her. It was a win-win.

She also pulled out a bag of melon seeds and candies. “The host gave me these too. Let’s save them for Shulin. I don’t need them.”

Zhang Linshi hesitated. “I don’t…” She didn’t want anything from her.

Li Hehua quickly said, “Mother, there’s just too much. If you don’t take it, it’ll go to waste. You’d be doing me a favor by helping me finish it.”

Zhang Linshi paused, then softened a bit.

“Alright, Mother, let’s leave it at that. I’m exhausted. I’ll head to bed.” With that, Li Hehua returned to the firewood shed.

Zhang Linshi stared at the basket for a while, then covered it again and put it away in the kitchen.

…..

Li Hehua collapsed onto her bed, her feet aching terribly after the long walk. Cooking wasn’t the hard part—it was all the travel. Without a cart, she had to walk everywhere, and her legs were starting to give out.

Nearby banquets like those in Lianhua Village were fine, but far-off places like Caozhuang Village were too much. The journey alone ate up an entire day.

Her pricing needed to change.

In the future, she would keep it at five wen per table for nearby villages, but for distant ones, she’d raise it to eight wen. Her reputation was solid enough now. If people in distant villages didn’t want to pay that much, they could find someone else. She would focus on closer clients.

Glancing outside, she realized it was too late to bake pastries. She decided to take the next day off and resume sales the day after.

Without the need to wake up early, she slept deeply. By the time she woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

The house was quiet. Even Zhang Linshi had gone out, likely doing laundry.

Li Hehua’s eyes darted around before she quietly went to the kitchen, eager to see Shulin.

As expected, Shulin was there, sitting exactly as before.

“Bao Bei, you’re up early,” she greeted him gently, slowly walking behind the stove to close the distance between them.

“Have you eaten yet? Is your little tummy full?” she asked, stopping about half a meter away.

Though he didn’t respond, she kept talking. “Bao Bei, haven’t you missed me? I’ve been cooking wedding feasts these past few days. Do you know what a wedding feast is? It’s a special meal served when someone gets married. I’ll tell you all about it…”

She poured her heart out, recounting everything she’d done these past few days, talking like beans spilling from a bamboo tube. When she finally ran out of things to say, Shulin still hadn’t responded.

She sighed. “Bao Bei, why won’t you acknowledge me? Was I too harsh before? Are you afraid of me? Don’t be. I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m not the same person as before. I’d never hurt you. I really like you and want to treat you well. Please believe me, okay?”

It was a secret she wouldn’t share with anyone else, but she desperately wanted Shulin to understand that she wasn’t the original Li Hehua.

But the child remained frozen in place, showing no sign he’d heard her.

She reminded herself not to rush things and stood up. “You’re looking even thinner than before. That’s not good. You need to eat to gain weight. Let me make something delicious for you—how about a grilled meat rice bowl? You’ve probably never had one, right? Let’s try it today.”

There was no barbecue setup, but she had plenty of meat left from the banquet. It wouldn’t take much effort. She started cooking rice, then heated oil in the pan to fry the meat. In less than thirty minutes, the grilled meat rice bowl was ready. As a finishing touch, she fried an egg and placed it on top.

She placed the bowl beautifully on a small stool and set it in front of him. “Baby, your grilled meat rice bowl is ready. Try it—it’s really delicious!”

She didn’t expect a reaction. She figured Zhang Linshi would coax him to eat when she got back. Turning away, she served herself the other bowl for lunch.

After washing the dishes, she picked up her bowl to return to her room—only to freeze when she saw Shulin, who had been completely still just moments before, holding a spoon and eating the meal she had prepared .