Chapter 32: Unexpected Fortune

Early in the morning, Butcher Wang had just brought out a pig but hadn’t yet had time to slaughter it when a knock came at his door.

“Who’s buying meat this early?” Butcher Wang opened the door to find Manager Zhou standing outside with a wooden bucket.

“Why are you here yourself today?” Butcher Wang asked, letting him in.

Normally, the town’s restaurants ordered meat from him, but their apprentices usually came to collect it. It was rare for a manager to visit personally.

“Old Wang, how many pigs are you slaughtering today?” Manager Zhou wondered whether to buy them all or just some.

Though he had purchased the recipe yesterday, he hesitated to buy too much at once, fearing he might ruin it if his experiments failed.

Butcher Wang rubbed his hands together and chuckled. With the Lunar New Year approaching, demand for pork had surged. Even slaughtering two pigs a day wasn’t enough to meet the demand.

“Save me some offal today, and extra pig intestines,” Manager Zhou said, setting his wooden bucket on the ground. As he spoke, another knock came from the gate.

“Butcher Wang, are you home?”

Manager Li from the South End Lane eatery was instantly recognizable by his voice.

Butcher Wang opened the gate to find Manager Li standing there with his own wooden bucket, immediately asking for pig intestines.

“What’s with everyone today? Why are you all buying offal?” Butcher Wang left the gate ajar, anticipating more customers.

Manager Li entered the courtyard and spotted Manager Zhou. They exchanged knowing smiles, no words needed to understand why they had both gathered here today.

Before the pig could even be slaughtered, its intestines had already been claimed. Butcher Wang brewed tea for the two managers before hurrying to the backyard to begin butchering.

“Brother, did you buy that girl’s recipe?” Manager Li asked.

“Same here,” Manager Zhou replied, tapping his fingers lightly on the table. “The dish is indeed delicious, and it only cost an ounce of silver.”

Manager Li shared this sentiment. If the sausage recipe proved successful, he could easily recoup that ounce of silver by adding it to his menu.

As Butcher Wang worked, he couldn’t help wondering what everyone was doing with so many pig intestines. First the girl, then the staff from Bright Moon Pavilion, and now several restaurant managers—it was unusual.

Butcher Wang finished slaughtering the pig and set aside a small bucket of intestines before carrying the rest to the front yard.

To his surprise, five managers had gathered in the yard during his brief absence, all eager to buy the intestines.

With only two buckets of intestines available, Butcher Wang was unsure how to divide them fairly. After all, these were his longtime customers, and offending any of them would be unwise.

“Old Wang,” Manager Zhou, who had arrived first, clapped the shoulder of the man beside him and chuckled, “we’ve already agreed—we’ll take all the intestines you have from now on. We five will split them.”

Butcher Wang breathed a sigh of relief. This way, he wouldn’t have to offend anyone.

Chef Li from Bright Moon Pavilion had spent the entire day trying to make sausages without success. Realizing he was running low on casings, he rushed to the market early to buy more intestines.

To his dismay, all the intestines were already sold out.

He initially assumed the sausage-making girl had bought them all, but upon inquiring, he learned it was the restaurant managers from town.

A dark premonition arose in his heart, and he hurried back to the pavilion.

The noodle stall was set up in its usual spot. Su Yi’an had just arrived and hadn’t even lit the stove yet when the owner of the neighboring wonton stall approached with a bowl and chopsticks.

“Miss, to be honest, your noodles aren’t particularly special, but this meat is truly delicious.”

Su Yi’an smiled and accepted the bowl and chopsticks. In a competitive market, a business needed a unique selling point to thrive, and their homemade sausages were exactly that.

“If you don’t mind me asking, did you make these sausages yourself?” The wonton stall owner was particularly fond of them and wondered if he could buy some separately to enjoy at home.

Su Yi’an nodded. “They take a lot of time to make, but we’ll have more to sell in a few days.”

The wonton stall owner didn’t understand what she meant by “more to sell in a few days.” Did she plan to bring a large batch later?

Seeing that Su Yi’an and her companion were already busy rolling out noodles, the wonton stall owner suppressed further questions.

Only two sausages remained, and Su Yi’an steamed them both.

If they sold out today, it would be a while before the next batch was ready. In the meantime, she needed to brainstorm new food items to offer. They couldn’t rely solely on sausages for income.

Besides, now that she had sold the recipe, more people would start making sausages. Her stall’s popularity wouldn’t last forever.

With the noodles prepared, Su Yi’an had nothing left to do but sit on her small stool and wait for customers.

Seizing the opportunity while no one was around, He Yunhuai slung his satchel over his shoulder and hurried to the study.

The book he had brought home the other day had been completely copied. It was a thick volume, but only the first few pages were his own work; the rest had been meticulously transcribed by He Songyuan.

Since waking up, He Songyuan had been copying the book non-stop, pausing only for meals and sleep. He had even stayed up late last night, finally finishing before dawn so He Yunhuai could deliver it.

Originally, all the copying work had been He Yunhuai’s responsibility, but since they were a family and all their earnings went into the same pot, it didn’t really matter.

Manager Zhou at the study was surprised by how quickly He Yunhuai had finished. He carefully inspected the manuscript, relieved to find the handwriting as clear and neat as before. As a reward, he allowed He Yunhuai to take two books back this time, still priced at sixty wen each.

Having completed his errand, He Yunhuai hurried back.

Not long after he left, a customer approached the stall.

A child about the same age as He Ningwen stepped up and asked Su Yi’an if she had ever set up a stall by the river.

In the briefest of moments, Su Yi’an’s mind raced through the faces she had seen in recent days. She couldn’t recall ever seeing this child before.

“We did set up a stall by the river a few days ago,” Su Yi’an confirmed, then asked, “Is there something you need?”

The child’s eyes lit up as he pointed at the noodles in her pot. “Does the meat noodles use those sliced pieces of meat?”

Relieved that the child had come for the sausage noodles, Su Yi’an breathed a sigh of relief.

She lifted the lid and pointed to the sausages inside, which hadn’t yet been sliced. “We use these.”

The child grinned in satisfaction. “I’ll take both of them!” he declared, reaching for his silver.

“Those are the only two pieces left at our stall today,” He Ningwen said reluctantly, shaking her head. “If you buy them all, we won’t have any left to sell.” Most customers came specifically for the sausage noodles.

“Why don’t you try a taste first?” Su Yi’an suggested. “If you like it, you can buy them.”

Since that was the case, he decided to try it first.

Young Master Qiu of the silk merchant’s family sat on a stone bench, holding a bowl of noodles for the first time. His dark blue brocade robe, embroidered with subtle patterns, stood out sharply against the surroundings.

His classmates at the academy had raved about the sausage noodles, and he had instructed his steward to find them for days, without success. Now that he finally had a bowl, the five meager slices of sausage vanished almost instantly. He felt he had barely tasted the novelty before the bowl was empty.

“Wrap that up for me. I’ll take it with me.” He pulled some loose silver from his purse and handed it to He Ningwen.

Seeing this, Su Yi’an went to the steamed bun stall across the way and bought several sheets of oiled paper for a copper coin.

“This is too much. You’ve overpaid,” He Ningwen said, unsure of the exact amount, but certain it was more than twenty coins.

Young Master Qiu waved dismissively. This small amount of silver wouldn’t even buy him a single inkstone. “Just keep it. If you have any more sausages tomorrow, save some for me.”

“Sister Su, here.” Once the young master had left, He Ningwen quickly sidled up to Su Yi’an and discreetly pressed the silver into her hand under the cover of his sleeve.

Su Yi’an weighed the silver in her palm. It was at least two taels.

The wonton stall owner, seeing that the sausages could be bought separately, approached them again. “Miss Su, do you sell the sausages individually?”

Su Yi’an gestured toward the steamer basket. “There’s only one piece left. We’re not selling any more.”

The wonton stall owner looked disappointed but understood. He ended up buying two bowls of meat noodles instead.

In return, Su Yi’an bought two bowls of their small wontons. Since both stalls charged the same price, neither paid the other.

As soon as He Yunhuai returned, he pulled out the sixty copper coins he had earned. He intended to put them in the earthenware jar, but Su Yi’an stopped him.

“You earned this money yourself. You don’t need to put it in here.”

Since Su Yi’an insisted, He Yunhuai put the coins back into his pouch.

Today, they had only one section of sausage, which sold out by noon.

When later customers saw there was no more sausage noodle soup, fewer people bought anything, and the stall became eerily quiet.

Nearby, Aunt Yu and her daughter-in-law from the Yu family lurked in the shadows, watching the stall.

“They really did set up a stall in town,” Aunt Yu’s daughter-in-law remarked, eyeing the deserted stall. “But business doesn’t seem very good.”

Yesterday, Aunt Yu had returned home full of stories about how the He family had turned their fortunes around and were now able to set up a stall in town. But seeing the empty stall today, it was questionable whether they could even make a profit.

“There were still some customers yesterday,” Aunt Yu insisted stubbornly, pulling her daughter-in-law to stay and watch longer.

They waited for a long time, but no more customers came, even after Su Yi’an and He Yunhuai packed up their stall.

Aunt Yu clicked her tongue twice, sighing, “Looks like it really won’t work.”

Having closed her stall early, Su Yi’an hurried to the market to buy some meat for home.

Unexpectedly, she ran into Yun Niang, whom she hadn’t seen in several days, at Butcher Wang’s stall.

Before Su Yi’an could ask where she had been, Yun Niang spoke first: “You go ahead and buy what you need. We’ll walk back together later. I’ll wait for you outside.”

Seeing this, Su Yi’an finally told Butcher Wang what she wanted, four pounds of pork belly, two pig trotters, and six pork bones.

Noticing she was buying more meat than usual but no pig intestines, Butcher Wang couldn’t help but ask, “Why haven’t you been buying pig intestines lately, miss?”

“I still have some at home,” Su Yi’an replied, sensing his hesitation. “Did you have a lot of customers for intestines today?”

“You bet! Before I even left the house this morning, they were all reserved,” Butcher Wang said, tying up her meat with grass rope. He leaned in and whispered, “I saved a small bucket for you, miss. Do you want it?”

“Here you go. Thank you, Manager,” Su Yi’an said, paying Butcher Wang but lingering instead of leaving, waiting for him to ask his question.

“I’m curious, Miss. What kind of dish are you making? If you make it again, would you sell me some to try?” Butcher Wang asked, his curiosity piqued. Earlier, when he’d asked the other managers, they’d only told him to wait and see.

Having bought meat from Butcher Wang for a long time, Su Yi’an readily agreed to his small request.

Outside the crowd, Yun Niang was talking to He Ningwen, asking how his embroidery work was progressing.

He Ningwen lowered his head, fidgeting with his hands. “Yun Niang, I haven’t actually done any embroidery in quite a while,” he confessed shyly.

“Why not?” Yun Niang remembered how much he enjoyed it.

He Ningwen then told her everything that had happened in recent days.

Only then did Yun Niang realize they had already set up a stall in town and were coming every day.

No wonder all three of them were carrying such large baskets, even that sickly one.

“Are you He Yunhuai?” Yun Niang asked.