Chen Yuping wanted to make five-spice tea eggs.

For a while, he had a strong craving and specifically searched for cooking videos. The first attempt was a failure, the second was mediocre, but by the third, he had gotten the hang of it, and soon he became quite skilled.

However, after a while, he lost interest.

It had been two or three years since he last made five-spice tea eggs.

Chen Yuping didn’t want to be overconfident, so he decided to start with just six eggs.

“Brother, are you planning to make marinated eggs?” Chen Yuanqiu’s eyes lit up. He knew about marinated eggs, which were sold in town for one wen each. He had tried them before, and they were good, but not as flavorful as what Third Brother made. “The town has marinated eggs for one wen each, once yours are done, we’ll sell them at that price.”

Chen Yuping added spices to the pot. “This isn’t the same as marinated eggs, the flavor is different. These are five-spice tea eggs.”

“No wonder! Father looks like his heart is being cut out.”

“Little brat, what are you talking about!” Father Chen stormed in with a fierce expression.

Chen Yuanqiu immediately leaned in, smiling: “I was praising Father. To support Third Brother’s business, he even took out his most treasured tea leaves.” He gave a thumbs up.

“Of course!” Father Chen leaned back against the wall and walked slowly to his third son, peering into the pot: “Did you add the tea leaves?”

“Yep, the tea leaves you made smell great.”

Father Chen felt a bit proud: “It’s an old skill. How much can we make from this pot?”

“If we sell them for one wen each, we can make six wen.”

“What!” Father Chen exclaimed, his face filled with disbelief. “Only six wen?” His expression was full of pity.

“Yes,” Chen Yuping nodded seriously.

Father Chen looked as if he might faint, utterly stunned.

“Father, the marinade can be reused,” Chen Yuping laughed heartily.

If this were the youngest son, Father Chen would have slapped him already, but this was his third son. “Where did you learn this? It must be the youngest teaching you.” He glared at the youngest son.

“Why are you blaming me!” Chen Yuanqiu, drooling over the pot, felt wronged. “Father, I didn’t say anything! I didn’t hear anything, and I definitely didn’t see anything.” His strong survival instinct kicked in.

Dad Chen walked in: “What’s going on? Did the youngest provoke you again?”

“Dad!” Chen Yuanqiu was on the verge of tears. “Why are both of you blaming me? What did I do?” He looked utterly confused.

The real troublemaker was standing by the stove, laughing until his stomach hurt.

When the five-spice tea eggs were done, Chen Yuanqiu rushed into the kitchen. “Third Brother, are they ready?”

“Yes, each person gets one.”

“One is fine, I just want to taste it.” Not caring that it was hot, Chen Yuanqiu picked up an egg and started peeling it, the shell cracking easily. The rich aroma combined with the steam hit him. “Wow, it smells so good and is so hot! Third Brother is amazing, I knew it would be better than the marinated eggs in town.” Even before tasting, he was already singing praises.

Chen Yuping had long since tuned out his youngest brother’s compliments. In his eyes, nothing was inedible, not even a simple egg fried rice, which he could turn into a colorful bouquet of praise.

“Dad, Father, taste my five-spice tea eggs,” Chen Yuping said, helping to peel the shell. He also held out a bowl with two eggs: “I’ll be right back.”

It was a rainy day, with light rain falling outside. The walk from the old house to Second Brother’s home was only a few steps, but he was lazy and dashed through the raindrops into Second Brother’s yard.

“Ping ger, you’re here!”

“Second Brother, I made five-spice tea eggs, just out of the pot. They’re still a bit hot, I brought some for you and Second Sister-in-law to try.”

“I smelled the aroma from the direction of the old house long ago. My wife and I were wondering if you were cooking something.”

“Just fiddling around.”

After returning from Second Brother’s house, Chen Yuping was suddenly bear-hugged by the youngest.

“Third Brother! Your marinated eggs are so fragrant and delicious!”

Chen Yuping pried apart his arms and ruthlessly pushed him away: “Delicious, but there’s only one.”

“I know! I’m just excited. Third Brother, you’re so amazing, you can make so many delicious dishes. I must have accumulated eight lifetimes of good fortune to be your brother.”

“Want half of an egg white?”

“My dear brother!” Chen Yuanqiu said, teary-eyed.

Chen Yuping ruffled his hair. “That’s enough.”

Chen Yuanqiu held the half egg white, grinning widely.

The five-spice tea eggs turned out wonderfully, even better than any he had made in modern times.

Chen Yuping had noticed that since he arrived in this ancient time, his cooking seemed almost magical, and everything he made tasted incredibly good. Perhaps this was his special talent.

On the 17th, market day, he sold shrimp paste buns, marinated pig trotters, marinated pig intestines, braised meat, and five-spice tea eggs.

As the food on his stall increased, braised meat and marinated pig trotters were not as popular as before. After all, at one wen for the marinated intestines, it was a better deal than the two wen for the braised meat.

Now, he had added five-spice tea eggs for one wen each.

Chen Yuping reduced the braised meat to twenty pounds, before, it had been thirty pounds. He only bought five pairs of pig trotters instead of eight.

He sold as many marinated pig intestines as possible, kept the shrimp paste buns at five hundred, and steadily prepared two hundred five-spice tea eggs as a new item.

With the addition of Cao ger, Dad Chen didn’t go to the market, allowing his third and fourth sons to go together.

Despite the youngest son’s usual silliness, he proved reliable when it came to business. During their last market trip, it was his first time selling, and he didn’t make any mistakes, while being sharp and quick-witted, clearly outshining his peers.

This time, Dad Chen felt confident allowing his two sons to handle the market.

Just as noon approached, the two brothers returned.

“Dad, Third Brother’s marinated eggs sold exceptionally well! The marinated eggs and intestines were the first to sell out. Today, the braised meat sold slower than the shrimp paste buns.” As soon as he entered, Chen Yuanqiu started chatting away.

Chen Yuping chimed in with a sentence or two.

Cao ger was awake, seeming to sense the excitement in the house, his round eyes fixed on his uncle as if he were listening intently. Chen Yuping’s heart softened, and he picked up Cao ger.

After returning from the market, the next day, he reduced the amount of braised meat to ten pounds, only marinated one pair of trotters, and focused on selling shrimp paste buns and five-spice tea eggs. The vegetables in the garden were growing well, and occasionally, he sold vegetarian skewers.

Soon, the eggs they had at home ran out. Relying solely on the hens laying nine or ten eggs a day was not enough. Fortunately, Second Brother raised quite a few chickens, yielding about ten eggs daily. With some from Elder Brother’s and a few from Uncle’s, they managed to keep up with demand.

The stall gained popularity, and after a month, news had spread to neighboring villages, with many coming to buy.

“We should get a few more hens before next year,” Father Chen suggested.

“A few won’t be enough.”

“Let’s get nine more, making it an even twenty hens,” Father Chen said, then looked at his second son: “Second’s family should raise a few more, and Eldest’s family should do the same.”

Aside from the eggs bought from Uncle, the rest were taken as shares from Elder Brother and Second Brother. Chen Yuping intended to help his brothers.

When it came to buying hens, it was better to purchase a dozen or twenty at once. In the village, this wasn’t feasible, so Father Chen specially went to the eastern part of town, where a village raised many chickens. Buying in bulk could be cheaper. He chose some hens that were currently laying eggs and also bought a hundred eggs, making a good deal.

With the addition of twenty hens, they no longer needed to buy eggs from Uncle, but Chen Yuping still went to buy daily, saving the extra eggs for market days, so they wouldn’t need to go back to the eastern village.