Chapter 29

There were eight dishes and one soup in total. The final dish was a sour and spicy soup made with shredded winter bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, shredded lean meat, and eggs. It was tangy, appetizing, and very warming.

Zhu Zi, who was announcing the dish names, was almost drooling. Once he finished, he didn’t have to disturb the Master and the guest anymore. When his Master waved his hand, Zhu Zi immediately stepped back.

Xia Yuanzhi and Officer Xu ate. Previously, when they dined at Donglai Restaurant, they would talk while eating. This time, Officer Xu didn’t discuss the case; he focused on eating. Officer Xu wasn’t someone who cared much about food; as long as it filled his stomach, it was enough. He used to think the food at Donglai Restaurant was decent, better than what his cook made at home. But today, tasting this meal, he realized what true gourmet food was. He decided to enjoy the meal first and discuss the case later. They didn’t drink much wine today, just one cup each, focusing on the food.

Xia Yuanzhi was equally impressed. He never expected Young Lady Xu to excel not only in making fish and pork intestines but also in other dishes.

Many dishes had similar versions at Donglai Restaurant, like stir-fried lotus root slices, soybean braised pig trotters, steamed pork ribs with rice flour, winter bamboo shoots braised chicken, and sour and spicy soup. However, the flavors of these dishes made by Young Lady Xu were incomparable to those at Donglai Restaurant.

The remaining dishes were unique to Young Lady Xu. Especially the pork intestine fish and stir-fried pork with mountain mushrooms—one was spicy and fragrant, the other fresh and delicious. They were unforgettable and left them wanting more.

The two of them nearly finished all the dishes, feeling quite full. Zhu Zi then brought a pot of tea, and they discussed the case while drinking tea.

Xia Yuanzhi recalled that night. It was too dark, and he only saw a vague silhouette. He couldn’t remember much, only describing the height and build of the figure, which seemed familiar. But such an ordinary figure could be anyone on the street. The shopkeeper’s injuries and panic urged him to chase the thief and report to the authorities. There was nothing more.

They discussed the case for a long time until nightfall. Officer Xu finally asking Xia Yuanzhi, “Where does this young lady who makes the food live? You mentioned she sells breakfast and fish. I might send my servant to buy some in the future.”

The food was indeed good, and he wanted his family to try it. His household was quite large, with his wife, a son, and a daughter. His son was already married with children, and his daughter was fifteen and not yet engaged. With a busy household, he didn’t want his wife to be too tired, so he had bought a servant boy and a maid years ago. The maid cooked and helped with household chores while the servant boy did various tasks, including washing the men’s clothes.

Xia Yuanzhi immediately told Officer Xu Young Lady Xu’s address, “That young lady’s surname is also Xu, but it’s the Xu with the ‘言’ character.”

Officer Xu nodded and then went home.

After Officer Xu left, Madam Wu and Xiao Cui came to clean up the hall. Seeing her husband smiling, Madam Wu immediately asked, “Master, how was it?”

Xia Yuanzhi smiled and said, “Young Lady Xu’s cooking is indeed exceptional. Even Officer Xu praised it highly and inquired about her address. He probably plans to buy food from her in the future.”

This connection was definitely established. Officer Xu is a righteous person, and if Young Lady Xu ever has trouble at home, Officer Xu can indeed help.

Madam Wu felt relieved and handed Shao Ge’er to Xia Yuanzhi, “Master, you take care of Shao Ge’er. I’ll go tell Young Lady Xu.”

“It’s already dark. Why not go tomorrow?” Xia Yuanzhi saw that it was dark and snowing.

“No, I must go now,” Madam Wu said. “Young Lady Xu must be anxious too. I’ll go and tell her quickly and come back soon. Master, you wash Shao Ge’er’s face and feet and put him to bed.”

With that, Madam Wu and Xiao Cui excitedly went to inform Xu Qinyu.

When they arrived at the Pei family’s courtyard, the door opened before they even knocked. Madam Wu didn’t ask much, thinking Young Lady Xu was also anxious and waiting.

In fact, Xu Qinyu was still in the kitchen when Pei Weixuan, who was helping her fetch water, said, “Someone from the Xia family is here.”

She got up and went out, opening the courtyard door to see Madam Wu and Xiao Cui. Seeing Madam Wu’s smiling face, she knew it had worked out.

Madam Wu had previously told her that Officer Xu was a righteous person. If there were ever troublemakers, Officer Xu would intervene if they reported it to the yamen. Now that he had tasted her food, the two families could slowly build a deeper connection, which would be even better.

Xu Qinyu led them to the kitchen and brought over two small stools for them to sit on.

Madam Wu sat down and smiled, “Your cooking is truly exceptional. My husband has known Officer Xu for years and says he doesn’t care much about food. Even he praised your cooking. They didn’t drink much wine; he even asked for your address so he could buy food from you.”

Xu Qinyu felt relieved and smiled, “Thank you, Sister Xia. I pickled some winter bamboo shoots. Take some home to eat.”

The winter bamboo shoots were bought from Old Man He, who lived in a nearby village. People here didn’t eat wild mushrooms, but they did eat winter and spring bamboo shoots. Xu Qinyu wanted to eat winter bamboo shoots, so she had Old Man He’s son dig up a lot. With plenty of bamboo shoots at home, she pickled some.

Pickling winter bamboo shoots is simple: cut the bamboo shoots in half, blanch them, let them cool, put them in a container, add cooled boiled water and some salt, seal it, and they are ready to eat in ten days. Even with this simple method, her pickled bamboo shoots were crisp and refreshing.

She took out a lot of winter bamboo shoots from the clay pot and put them in a basin. “Just slice them when you eat, and for better flavor, add a few drops of sesame oil and mix.”

Madam Wu took the basin and handed it to Xiao Cui. She didn’t rush to leave but sat in the kitchen chatting with Young Lady Xu.

Xu Qinyu was still braising pork intestines and wasn’t in a hurry to do anything else. They chatted for a while and eventually talked about the case Officer Xu was investigating. “I heard from my husband that the stolen jewelry was very valuable, worth two or three hundred taels of silver. The owner was heartbroken but couldn’t blame the shopkeeper, who was also injured. They just hope Officer Xu catches the thief soon.”

Xu Qinyu was curious, “Since the thief suddenly broke into the shop, did the shopkeeper see what the thief looked like?”

Madam Wu said, “It seems the thief ran out when the shopkeeper was extinguishing the lamp. The thief hit the shopkeeper on the back of the head, knocked him down, and hit him twice more on the forehead. Then the thief took some jewelry and ran away. The shopkeeper was in a hurry and told my husband to chase the thief.”

Xu Qinyu found it too coincidental.

Madam Wu continued, “My husband said the thief’s silhouette looked familiar, but it was just an ordinary height and build, like many people on the street. He couldn’t figure out who it was.”

Pei Weixuan, who was helping select mushrooms, nodded slightly.

These were the last wild mushrooms of the season. Knowing Xu Qinyu loved them, he had saved some for her. He had gone up the mountain twice and found this many.

The southwest region had many wild mushrooms but also many poisonous ones. Being knowledgeable about medicine, he could distinguish them. However, wild mushrooms were almost gone in winter. This was because people in the southwest didn’t eat mushrooms, so they could be preserved in late autumn, covered by snow. But by deep winter, they were almost gone. In spring, wild mushrooms would gradually reappear.

Hearing about the case, Pei Weixuan said softly, “Officer Xu should investigate the people around the shopkeeper. The thief might be connected to the shopkeeper. They should carefully question Shopkeeper Ma.”

Madam Wu was puzzled, “Connected to the shopkeeper? Shopkeeper Ma’s family is simple, just his wife and daughter. The thief was a man. But Shopkeeper Ma has a nephew…”

She was doubtful and continued chatting with Young Lady Xu before leaving with Xiao Cui.

After they left, Xu Qinyu asked in surprise, “Fourth Brother, how did you know the thief was connected to the shopkeeper?”

Pei Weixuan slowly said, “The shopkeeper’s reaction was off. The situation was too coincidental. An inside job is more likely. But Madam Wu said the shopkeeper is a good person, so there might be hidden reasons.”

He hadn’t seen the shopkeeper but could deduce some details from expressions.

Xu Qinyu hadn’t noticed the connection but found it odd that the thief took the most valuable jewelry right after the shopkeeper extinguished the lamp.

Young Lady Xu’s husband also mentioned that it might be related to someone close to Shopkeeper Ma, but he didn’t specifically say it was Shopkeeper Ma’s nephew. They just knew Shopkeeper Ma had a nephew. Xia Yuanzhi thought about it carefully and realized that the thief’s silhouette did resemble Shopkeeper Ma’s nephew. He wasn’t sure, but he decided to tell Xu Kongmu the next day.

Early the next morning, Xia Yuanzhi went to the yamen and found Officer Xu. He told him what he knew and mentioned that it was Young Lady Xu’s husband who noticed the connection.

Officer Xu nodded and secretly ordered an investigation into the people around Shopkeeper Ma.

They did find something. Shopkeeper Ma had a nephew who was a compulsive gambler. Recently, he had been gambling heavily at a casino on East Street and had incurred a large debt. The casino had beaten him up and given him half a month to repay the debt, which was about two hundred taels of silver.

Officer Xu’s expression darkened when he learned this. He immediately sent officers to arrest Shopkeeper Ma and his nephew for questioning. When they went to arrest Ma Jinbao, the Ma family caused a commotion, especially Grandmother Ma, who threw a tantrum and demanded to know why they were arresting her grandson. Officer Xu ignored her and brought them in. After taking them to the yamen, Officer Xu stayed and began searching Ma Jinbao’s and Shopkeeper Ma’s homes.

Shopkeeper Ma was Ma Jinbao’s uncle, but they had already separated the household. Shopkeeper Ma didn’t live with the Ma family. When they divided the family, Grandmother Ma was biased and gave nothing to the eldest son’s family.

Shopkeeper Ma had endured the hardest times and eventually bought his own house. He still had to give his mother one or two taels of silver every month, which she used to support her grandson.

Officer Xu thought that since the jewelry had just been stolen, the thief wouldn’t dare to pawn it openly in Yuanbao Town. With the recent heavy snow, it would be difficult to go to other towns or Raozhou City. The jewelry was likely still hidden.

When they searched Ma Jinbao’s home, they found the stolen jewelry under his bed. With the stolen goods recovered, Ma Jinbao confessed everything. He said that after incurring the gambling debt, he was scared and asked his uncle for help. His uncle couldn’t come up with two or three hundred taels of silver, so he suggested stealing from his own shop. He claimed his uncle encouraged him to steal more so they could repay the debt and split the remaining money.

Shopkeeper Ma’s version was different. With red eyes, he told Officer Xu that his nephew had incurred a lot of gambling debt and came to him for help. He couldn’t come up with the money, and his mother pressured him to sell his house to repay the debt. He had a wife and daughter and naturally didn’t want to do that. He said he only had about ten taels of silver at home and gave that to his nephew. His nephew took the ten taels and lost it all at the casino again.

As the deadline to repay the gambling debt approached, his nephew suggested stealing from the shop, promising to take more jewelry and split the remaining money after repaying the debt. He refused, leading to a heated argument. Two days later, after extinguishing the lamp, he was attacked from behind. In the dim moonlight, he vaguely recognized his nephew, Ma Jinbao, before being struck on the forehead and having several pieces of jewelry stolen. After the incident, he suspected Ma Jinbao but was too afraid to tell the shop owner or the authorities, fearing they would think he was in on it and lose his job.

With tears streaming down his face, he explained how he had helped his nephew repay gambling debts many times, pressured by his mother. She would roll on the ground and accuse him of being unfilial if he didn’t give money. She claimed his nephew was the family’s future and would perform the funeral rites for him. Despite earning three taels of silver a month as a shopkeeper, he had saved nothing due to constantly helping his nephew.

Officer Xu investigated further and found that Ma Jinbao had indeed visited the shopkeeper that evening, and neighbors confirmed their argument.

When questioned, Ma Jinbao couldn’t provide a coherent answer and eventually confessed after being whipped. He admitted to attacking his uncle and stealing the jewelry.

The case was solved, and the jewelry was recovered.

According to the Great Sheng Dynasty laws, stealing more than ten taels of silver was a serious crime, punishable by fifty lashes and five years in prison, which could be redeemed with money. Fifty lashes could be avoided with fifty taels of silver, and five years in prison could be redeemed with five hundred taels.

The shopkeeper, who knew about the crime but did not report it, was also to be punished with ten lashes, which could be redeemed. However, the shopkeeper had no money saved because he constantly helped his nephew and had strained relationships with his wife and daughter. He didn’t want to sell his house for the ten lashes, as his family would have nowhere to live.

Shopkeeper Ma thought he was destined to receive the ten lashes, but his wife and daughter unexpectedly arrived at the yamen with ten taels of silver, sparing him from the punishment. It turned out that although his wife disapproved of him helping his nephew, she had secretly saved the extra money he gave her for household expenses.

Feeling deeply guilty, Shopkeeper Ma hugged his wife and cried. From then on, he decided to give his mother only five hundred wen per month and no more.

Even if his mother went to the yamen to accuse him, five hundred wen per month was the maximum alimony he would provide. Moreover, he wasn’t sure if the shop owner would continue to employ him after he concealed the incident. He feared he had lost his job due to his grave mistake.

Meanwhile, Ma Jinbao was punished with lashes. Grandmother Ma, parents, and siblings all came to demand that Shopkeeper Ma pay the fifty taels of silver for Ma Jinbao’s redemption. Shopkeeper Ma was furious and refused, as he didn’t have fifty taels of silver.

Grandmother Ma demanded that he sell his house to raise the money.

Enraged, Shopkeeper Ma turned and left.

Grandmother Ma began to cry and roll on the ground, a tactic that had always worked on her eldest son. But this time, Shopkeeper Ma ignored her and walked away.

Stunned, Grandmother Ma quickly got up and chased after him, continuing to curse him. The onlookers, aware of the case details, were ready to scold her to death, but she didn’t care and even argued back.

Before Grandmother Ma could catch up to Shopkeeper Ma, the yamen officers had already started the punishment.

With the first lash, Ma Jinbao screamed in pain, his face turning pale. Panicked, Grandmother Ma ran over, shouting, “Stop, stop hitting my grandson! We have the money for redemption.”

She pulled out a package of silver from her bosom, containing fifty taels. It was clear the family had the money but still demanded it from Ma the shopkeeper.

The onlookers were even more outraged, finding the family’s behavior unreasonable. They had the money but still wanted to extort it from Shopkeeper Ma. Even though they were relatives, it was absurd to treat him this way.

Ma Jinbao’s redemption money was only for the lashes. Five years in prison would require five hundred taels of silver, an amount the Ma family couldn’t possibly ga her. Grandmother Ma cried even more bitterly, knowing her eldest son couldn’t raise that much money even by selling his house.

The yamen officers didn’t care. Without the money, they dragged Ma Jinbao back to prison.

…

Xu Qinyu learned about this a few days later when Madam Wu from the Xia family came to chat with her.

Although the town was large and thefts and robberies were not uncommon, this case was unique and spread throughout the town. Everyone felt sorry for Shopkeeper Ma, though he was also at fault for not reporting the incident.

Xu Qinyu couldn’t help but ask, “Did the owner of Jin Yin Zai fire Shopkeeper Ma?”

Madam Wu smiled, “No, the owner is kind-hearted. He said Shopkeeper Ma had worked for him for over ten years without any mistakes. Although this theft was related to him, he was also a victim. So, the owner gave him another chance. Shopkeeper Ma cried and promised to work diligently and never let such a thing happen again.”

Madam Wu then mentioned that the jewelry at Jin Yin Zai was beautiful and suggested they visit together when the weather warmed up.

Xu Qinyu immediately agreed, touching her hairpin. She didn’t have any jewelry, just a wooden hairpin. She looked forward to earning enough money to buy one. After all, who doesn’t love to look good?

She indeed didn’t have much extra money now, as all her earnings had been reinvested. Just yesterday, she had the large iron pot delivered, and Fourth Brother had moved the firewood under the wooden shed to another side. The large stove was also set up, so she could cook more fish, fish balls, and fish head tofu stew starting tomorrow.

Now that she had a connection with Officer Xu, Xu Qinyu decided not to sell dinner on East and West Streets for the time being, as it was too exhausting. It was better to focus on her home business first. Once she earned more money, opening a food shop there would be more convenient.

Hearing their conversation, Pei Weixuan paused and slightly lowered his eyes.

Thinking about being able to cook more fish tomorrow, Xu Qinyu told Madam Wu, “Sister, I can cook more fish tomorrow, along with fish balls and fish head tofu stew. The fish balls are also ready-to-eat; you can heat them up or braise them with some oil for better flavor. You can also tell the neighbors in the alley who want to buy fish that they can come and buy it.”

Madam Wu immediately said, “Don’t worry, Young Lady Xu, leave it to me.”