Shen Ji Restaurant came to collect a batch of red fermented bean curd every ten days, usually sent by the shop’s assistant driving an ox cart.

In mid-November, it was Manager Shen himself who came, perhaps knowing something, as he arrived only in the evening, while the shop’s assistants had come early in the morning.

Manager Shen brought two kinds of premium pastries, just like last time. After entering the room and taking a seat, the two began to engage in light business banter. 

As the atmosphere warmed up, they gradually got to the main topic.

“I heard Ping ger isn’t selling red-braised pork lately? That’s a bit of a pity. Have you thought about selling it again?”

He suspected there was something going on. Chen Yuping didn’t show it on his face, but he found it somewhat amusing: “I wonder how Manager Shen wants to buy it?”

“How about three hundred taels of silver?”

Three hundred taels. That was quite generous. Chen Yuping felt a bit tempted but steadied himself: “It seems your restaurant has been doing quite well lately.”

“The fermented bean curd that Ping ger provides for steaming meat has become famous. It’s all thanks to Ping ger,” Manager Shen said humbly, his face beaming with smiles. “How about three hundred and fifty taels for the red-braised pork recipe? Can this deal be done?”

“Nine hundred taels for both the red-braised pork and the sauce pig trotters?” Chen Yuping had only briefly sold the sauce pig trotters, and after he started selling marinated trotters, he hadn’t bothered anymore. Since he was selling the recipe, he might as well include the sauce pig trotters.

Manager Shen laughed: “How about we make it a thousand taels, with a discount on the shrimp paste, supplying the restaurant with five jars every ten days? How does that sound?”

“I think I’m at a disadvantage here, Manager Shen. The shrimp paste has high costs and offers little profit. That’s only an additional hundred taels for five jars every ten days, and shrimp paste is much more labor-intensive than fermented bean curd,” Chen Yuping raised an eyebrow, his tone teasing. “Just the Shen family in town probably can’t consume so much shrimp paste and fermented bean curd. Are you planning to send some to the county?”

“One hundred taels a year, with shrimp paste at thirty wen per jar. This time, you’re not at a loss, right, Ping ger?”

“Manager Shen is indeed efficient, let’s finalize this deal!”

They signed the contract, exchanged the recipes, and the payment was made.

In just half an hour, a transaction worth a thousand taels was completed.

Manager Shen left satisfied, saying he would send someone over tomorrow afternoon to learn how to make sauce pig trotters and red-braised pork.

Chen Yuping felt delighted counting the money. A thousand taels! He was truly getting rich!

“Is this stack of light paper really a thousand taels?” Chen Yuanqiu held the banknotes, his hands trembling with excitement, hardly daring to breathe. “A thousand taels, how much would that be in wen? Could my room hold it all? One tael can be exchanged for a thousand wen, how many wen for a thousand taels?”

With that thought, his usually agile mind felt muddled, as if his feet were lifting off the ground, floating toward the sky.

Father Chen and his wife were completely stunned, speechless, unable to process what had happened.

Was this a dream?

Had they dreamt before night? A dream of becoming rich with a thousand taels?

Chen Yuping took the thousand taels from his younger brother and tucked it into his pocket, then smiled mischievously as he waved it in front of his father, dad and brother: “Wake up, wake up! It’s time to start preparing dinner, no more dreaming.”

After a few shakes, still feeling playful, he gently pushed them: “Wake up already, time to get moving.”

“Yes, it’s time for dinner,” Father Chen murmured, still in a daze.

Dad Chen said hesitantly, “Is this really just a dream?” He glanced at his youngest son, who was empty-handed. In that moment, he couldn’t quite express what he felt: “Yes, we need to prepare dinner.” He leaned on the table, still dazed, and went to the kitchen.

“My money! My thousand taels!” Chen Yuanqiu suddenly realized the banknotes were gone and panicked: “Where’s the money? Third brother, where are the banknotes?” He was so anxious his eyes turned red, looking around as if he might cry at any moment.

How could it just disappear? Where did it go?

“Alright, alright.” This was getting a bit excessive. Chen Yuping rubbed his nose sheepishly and quickly pulled out the thousand taels: “It’s right here, not lost. A real man shouldn’t cry easily.” He patted his younger brother’s shoulder: “The money is safe, a full thousand taels.”

Dad Chen turned his head: “This isn’t a dream?”

“Of course not. Look for yourself, Dad, this is a thousand taels in banknotes, and we have a contract. It’s real, not a dream.”

“This little rascal is getting worse, full of tricks,” Father Chen finally understood, feeling both amused and exasperated. “Alright, put the money away, don’t keep showing it off. What do you plan to do with this money?”

This wasn’t just a few dozen taels, this was a full thousand, enough to buy houses, shops, and fields. In the entire Kuzhu Village, even the village chief probably couldn’t come up with a thousand taels in cash.

Father Chen sat down next to his youngest son, lowering his voice: “You need to think about this money. If you’re not spending it right now, it’s fine to stash it away. You can also deposit it in Shen Village’s bank. You need to have a plan, keeping it at home makes it hard to sleep at night.”

“Let’s deposit it in the bank for now, I can’t think of what to do with it at the moment.” Building a courtyard would have to wait until next year, the shop had just opened and couldn’t close. As for buying a shop, house, or fields, Chen Yuping thought it over—he didn’t need the first two right now, but fields might be worth considering.

“We’ll go to the bank tomorrow,” Father Chen said, heading to the kitchen to brew a strong cup of tea to calm his nerves. “It’s nothing serious, just get dinner ready. Let’s keep this matter quiet, so no one hears about it.”

Dad Chen nodded: “That makes sense.”

Despite their efforts to keep it quiet, the news still got out.

Manager Shen sent a chef to learn how to make red-braised pork and sauce pig trotters, and once he mastered it, Shen Ji Restaurant’s business boomed.

In just a few days, word spread throughout the surrounding villages that the Chen family had sold the red-braised pork and sauce pig trotters recipes to Shen Ji Restaurant, with the shrimp paste and fermented bean curd also supplied by the Chen family. That was a lot of money!

Some speculated that just the fermented bean curd steamed meat alone was enough for the Chen family to buy a shop, and the red-braised pork and sauce pig trotters must have sold for several hundred taels.

Villagers who came to buy food occasionally asked if the rumors were true. Was the Chen family really getting rich?

Dad Chen and Liu Guixiang had no response other than to smile modestly.

In the shop, things were alright, only occasionally would someone ask questions, and Chen Yuanqiu was too busy to pay attention.

“Who’s so gossipy? They’re really lacking decency,” Dad Chen was very angry.

Father Chen, however, thought it was normal: “Let them talk if they want. In the countryside, people love to gossip. It’ll pass soon enough, once something else happens, the novelty will fade and they won’t talk about us anymore.”

“Dad, Father is right. Don’t get angry, it’s not worth it,” Chen Yuping reassured him with a smile. “They’re just curious, no malice, let’s not bother with them.”

Dad Chen glanced at the two of them: “You both are quite relaxed. I’m worried if they talk too much, it might attract thieves.”

“That’s true, we should be vigilant at night,” Father Chen nodded. “I’ll see if I can find a good dog to keep.”

While the thieves didn’t come, the Chen family received two groups of visitors.

They didn’t come on the same day. The first was the manager from Manxiang Garden, and the second was something more significant—people from the county.

The Manxiang Garden manager offered a hundred taels for a meat recipe, asking if Chen Yuping was interested.

He knew the fermented bean curd steamed meat sold for eighty taels, enough for the Chen family to buy a shop.

He felt that offering a hundred taels was twenty taels more than Shen Ji, and the Chen family had no reason to refuse.

Unfortunately, the Manxiang Garden manager was mistaken, Chen Yuping turned down the offer.

With the shop doing well and a thousand taels in hand, he didn’t want to sell recipes anymore. This money had come too easily and was too eye-catching.

After dealing with the Manxiang Garden manager, the next afternoon, another group arrived, clearly different from the previous one. They came in a horse-drawn carriage and were dressed quite luxuriously.

This manager wasn’t very friendly, exuding an air of arrogance and a hint of condescension in his tone.

Chen Yuping was a person who reciprocated respect, he could patiently negotiate with the Manxiang Garden manager yesterday, but today, he was cold and direct, and ruthlessly refused without hesitation.

This made Dad Chen uneasy: “Ping ger, are you sure it’s okay to offend him?”

“It’s fine, we’re not relying on him for food. Besides, he’s from the county far away. We’re not looking to expand there, and if we do later, we can still get in touch with the Shen family.” This was also why Chen Yuping was willing to do business with the Shen family.

The Shen family had a good reputation in the surrounding area, and maintaining a good relationship with them was beneficial.

As time passed quickly, they soon approached the twelfth month.

The weather grew colder each day, making it especially difficult to get out of bed.

Every morning, Dad Chen would knock on his son’s door at the right time: “Ping ger, get up.” After knocking a few times, he entered the room.

Cao ger was already awake, his little face flushed, obediently lying under the covers. Upon seeing his grandfather, he smiled broadly, stretching out his little arms for a hug.

“Cao ger is up, and you’re still sleeping?” Dad Chen nudged his groggy third son and quickly dressed his little grandson.

Breakfast was steamed buns, filled with pork and scallions.

Chen Yuping had given his dad a couple of tips before, and now the buns were getting better and more fragrant each time they were made.

After filling their stomachs and tidying up a bit, the Chen family set out with their ox cart to the town.

Cao ger had grown plumper, now too big to sit in the basket, so they placed him on a bamboo bed where he could sit steadily without crawling around, proving to be a well-behaved child who was particularly easy to care for.

Since it was still early, the stall wasn’t set up yet. Dad Chen took advantage of the free time to handle some chores inside and outside.

Liu Guixiang came over to take a look: “Dad, I’ll take Cao ger to play with Qiaoniu.”

Although Cao ger was very obedient, she still wanted to keep an eye on him, as he could sometimes get in the way, making it hard to focus on work.

“Alright, you can take him over.”

Once in town, they opened the shop door. Father Chen first kindled the stove, then fiddled with the roasting oven. After the pot heated up, he added the marinated meat, and soon it began to simmer, the rich aroma wafting throughout the shop, blending with the morning breeze.

Chen Yuping was busy making pancakes while Chen Yuanqiu carried wood, moved the stove, and prepared various items like five-spice tea eggs and marinated pig trotters. He handled all the miscellaneous tasks.

“It’s warm in our shop this winter,” Chen Yuping remarked, able to take a short break now that not many customers were around. He made a batch of pancakes and helped his younger brother.

Chen Yuanqiu checked the stock of shrimp paste and fermented bean curd: “We need to bring over two jars tomorrow, we’re running low.”

“I’ll remember,” Father Chen replied.

While chatting, a customer arrived.

“Good morning,” the man said, hands tucked into his sleeves, appearing relaxed. “I’d like two marinated roujiamo.”

Chen Yuanqiu quickly took out a hot piece of marinated meat, deftly chopped it up, and while doing so, turned back to smile at the customer, warmly saying, “You’re early today! It’s rare to see you this early, were you thinking about it last night?”

“That’s exactly right!” The old customer laughed at the teasing: “I was waiting for dawn all night.”

As business picked up, the daylight brightened, and the quiet South Street became lively, with people coming and going in the shop, forming a long line without anyone noticing.

Now, things were getting busy, and the three in the shop didn’t have time to chat.

While the shop was busy, the family stall at home started bustling as well.

Dad Chen worked efficiently, tidying things up inside and out. He brought Cao ger and Qiaoniu over, keeping an eye on the children while watching the stall. Soon, Liu Guixiang, having finished her chores at home, arrived to help her dad-in-law.

Chen Yuandong checked the fields and the vegetable garden, keeping busy all morning without a moment’s rest.

As noon approached, with few customers at the stall, Dad Chen and Liu Guixiang played with Cao ger and Qiaoniu. The two kids had recently started to babble clearly, learning to say a few words, though they only called out names.

When Cui Yuanjiu arrived at the Chen family’s door with various packages, he just happened to hear Cao ger calling out: “Grandpa!”

The soft little voice melted his heart, stirring unexpected feelings of sadness. If only master were still here, he would have been so happy.