Although the war news came from the capital, a thousand miles away from Xizhou, it was the talk of the taverns and teahouses.

In Jiang Yanyi’s shop, the old scholar stopped discussing “Dream of the Red Chamber” and instead told the diners how Fan Wei revolted and how he made his way to Yingdu, overcoming various obstacles along the way.

As the story spread, it deviated greatly from the actual events, but as long as the outcome was correct, people were still willing to listen, regardless of how exaggerated the details became.

Meanwhile, these past few days, Feng Shuo’s aides often arrived at the manor early in the morning and didn’t leave until it was dark.

Due to the frequent discussions running late, the kitchen at the Feng Manor couldn’t accurately gauge when the masters would be ready to eat.

More often than not, they prepared the meals well in advance, only to find the dishes cold by the time the aides finished their meetings.

Eventually, the steward of the Wang family came to Jiang Yanyi’s shop to buy meals for the aides, resolving the issue.

Jiang Yanyi continued to prepare medicinal dishes for Feng Shuo every day.

However, he was busy in the study all day long, so she couldn’t find any opportunity to see him; the medicinal meals were mostly delivered by Xing Yao.

Chu Changping also participated in the discussions with Feng Shuo’s aides.

When he occasionally came to see Jiang Yanyi, he would often leave in a hurry, barely finishing his meal.

One day, when he came over for lunch, it was already late afternoon, and the shop had quieted down after the lunch rush.

Jiang Yanyi wanted to prepare a soup pot for him, but Chu Changping insisted there was no time and that he only needed something quick to fill his stomach.

Coincidentally, the medicinal dish she prepared for Feng Shuo that day was steamed lamb, which, from a medicinal perspective, was beneficial for strengthening the spleen and building muscle, especially for those who were weak and sensitive to cold.

Wanting to make the lamb soup pot special, Jiang Yanyi had cooked a large pot.

Wealthy families often placed great importance on health, and this medicinal dish sold even better than Jiang Yanyi had anticipated.

Originally, she planned to sell it throughout the day, but by now, there was hardly any left in the pot.

She decided to serve the remaining steamed lamb to Chu Changping.

Upon seeing the steamed lamb placed on the table, Chu Changping recalled the medicinal dishes he had smelled in Feng Shuo’s study.

He paused for a moment while holding his chopsticks, remembering the news Yang Xi had reported to him.

He looked at Jiang Yanyi and hesitantly spoke, “Ayi, this lamb…”

Jiang Yanyi ladled a bowl of soup for him and placed it in front of him. “What’s wrong?”

Chu Changping swallowed the words he was about to say, simply replying, “This lamb is well steamed.”

He wanted to ask her about the situation with the King of Liaonan, but as her uncle, he didn’t know how to bring it up.

After much thought, he decided it would be better to wait until Madam Jiang arrived in Xizhou and let her ask.

As an uncle, the only thing he could do was to strengthen his own power.

Only then could he support Jiang Yanyi if something happened.

He had been busy these past few days, helping Feng Shuo accomplish several impressive tasks, and he had proven to Feng Shuo’s generals that he was not just a figurehead.

By demonstrating his capabilities, he could command respect once Feng Shuo provided him with troops.

With a heavy heart, Chu Changping ate his meal quickly.

Jiang Yanyi noticed he hardly chewed before swallowing and worriedly said, “If time is tight, you don’t have to make this trip. Just have someone send me a message if there’s anything.”

After finishing a couple of bites, Chu Changping accepted the cloak Yang Xi handed him and took out a bundle of silver notes and land deeds from his pocket, handing them to Jiang Yanyi.

“This is a thousand taels in silver and the land deeds of the Hu family. Keep it safe. After the Hu family was confiscated, I bought that property. Ayi, when you have time, take someone over to tidy it up. You can use these silver notes for whatever you need, and if you want to buy anything for the house, just do it.”

Zheng Zhizhou had colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country, allowing the Turkic prince to enter Xizhou City.

The one who protected the Turkic prince was the Hu family’s merchant caravan.

After Zheng Zhizhou was imprisoned, the Hu family also couldn’t escape the blame, and now all their properties were seized by the government.

The Hu family’s residence was quite large, consisting of three courtyards and a prime location, so it wasn’t cheap.

Jiang Yanyi was stunned. “Why did Uncle suddenly buy a house?”

Chu Changping replied, “I had planned to buy it long ago. Now that Fan Wei has revolted and chaos reigns in the capital, the Prince of Yuzhou and the Prince of Xinyang have also raised their banners…”

Seeing Jiang Yanyi not understanding these court affairs, Chu Changping paused and concluded, “The gentry in the capital are all fleeing with their families. This is a good opportunity for me to go back and bring your mother and grandmother to Xizhou.”

If the Chu family moved over, they would indeed need a big house to accommodate everyone.

Jiang Yanyi hurriedly asked, “When will you leave, Uncle?”

Chu Changping said, “I’ve already sent a message back to the Chu family in the capital. Once I get everything in order in Xizhou, I’ll leave, which should be in the next couple of days.”

His trusted aides outside were urging him, and Chu Changping reminded her once more, “Just treat this shop as a way to pass the time; don’t overexert yourself and make things hard on yourself.”

Jiang Yanyi knew he was probably concerned about her previous conflict with Laifu Restaurant, not wanting her to struggle.

She reassured him, “I’ll be fine; you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll go to the house to tidy it up as soon as I have time. Once my mother arrives, they’ll be able to move in directly.”

After sending Chu Changping off, she noticed that there weren’t many customers at this time, so she asked Aunt Guo and Qiu Kui to watch the shop while she took Yang Xi and Bing Shao to the street to buy some meat to make jerky for Chu Changping to take on his journey.

Yang Xiu and Bing Shao had followed Chu Changping through life-and-death situations for many years.

They knew that when traveling, it meant daily rations of dry food.

When they were out, they were always cautious about unexpected incidents; as long as they still had dry food, they rarely touched the offerings at the inn.

The butcher’s meat shop had a good business, and often by the afternoon, all the good meat was sold out.

Jiang Yanyi wanted to make jerky, but she looked down on the leftover trimmings and could only check out other meat shops.

On her way, she passed a shop that specialized in dried meat and casually asked for the price.

“Hey, Manager Jiang, you won’t find better-tasting jerky in all of Xizhou City than here! It’s all made from lamb hind leg meat. Since you’re a rare customer, I’ll sell it to you at two taels for a qian; usually, I sell it for one tael and five qian!”

Ten qian were worth one tael of silver, so this meant his air-dried lamb jerky was selling for fifty wen a pound.

Jiang Yanyi bought several sheep every day for her shop and knew the price of fresh lamb well.

The premium lamb at the butcher’s place was only twenty wen per pound, and turning it into jerky more than doubled the price.

The owner wasn’t actually cheating her.

Jiang Yanyi said, “I want to taste it first before deciding whether to buy.”

“Please, go ahead and taste! I guarantee you won’t find anything wrong with my lamb!” The owner was full of confidence and cut off a small piece from a foot-long piece of meat, handing it to Jiang Yanyi.

Because the meat was naturally air-dried and only seasoned with salt, it was tough and required good teeth to chew, but it preserved the original flavor of the lamb, providing a unique taste.

The owner was very enthusiastic, and since Jiang Yanyi had tasted his wares, she didn’t want to leave empty-handed.

After thinking for a moment, she said, “I’ll take two pounds.”

“Done!” The owner quickly weighed the jerky and packed it into oiled paper. He even added an extra piece the size of a finger, smiling as he said, “This is a gift for you.”

“Thank you.” Jiang Yanyi paid.

After the owner packed it up, Yang Xiu stepped forward to take it.

Suddenly, a dispute broke out from the nearby dried goods shop.

“This sea cucumber is spoiled, and it smells earthy! Who would eat this if I take it back for cooking? How can I buy it?”

“In the past, the shop also sold this kind of sea cucumber, Chef Yao! If you’re angry, take it up with the owner when you go back. Don’t vent your frustration on me. The money the owner gives is only enough to buy inferior sea cucumbers. If you want to buy premium sea cucumbers, you’ll have to pay out of your own pocket!”

“What the hell! Do you think I can’t make a living without working in your restaurant? Using this kind of inferior stuff to cook will ruin my reputation!”

The argument was between Chef Yao and a young servant who was unfamiliar to Jiang Yanyi.

Jiang Yanyi frowned, “Is that Chef Yao?”

There were only a few famous chefs in Xizhou City, and the owner of the dried meat shop recognized Chef Yao.

Upon hearing Jiang Yanyi’s words, he said, “Yes, that’s Chef Yao, who used to work at Laifuh Restaurant. For some reason, he’s no longer there and recently went to Taihe Restaurant. Originally, many of his fans followed him to try the new dishes at Taihe, but after eating, they all said his cooking wasn’t as good as before.”

Chef Yao had always refused to come to Jiang Yanyi’s shop.

To avoid creating any bad feelings, Jiang Yanyi had refrained from sending anyone to him.

Recently, she had been busy and hadn’t known he was now working at Taihe Restaurant.

Chef Yao, angered by the servant at Taihe Restaurant, angrily swished his sleeve and turned around to see Jiang Yanyi standing across the street.

He looked a bit awkward but greeted her, “Manager Jiang.”

---

The two found a tea house on the street and sat down with a cup of tea.

Jiang Yanyi noticed Chef Yao’s awkwardness and took the initiative to say, “I heard Chef Yao is now working at Taihe Restaurant.”

Chef Yao sighed and said, “It feels like I’ve stepped into a dung pit with my eyes wide open.”

Previously, to invite him to her restaurant, Jiang Yanyi had sent Li Chef to be an intermediary and had given him many gifts.

Chef Yao had been afraid of gossip from Laifuh Restaurant and had never agreed to come.

Now that he had gone to another restaurant and encountered Jiang Yanyi on the street, he couldn’t help but feel awkward and guilty.

Jiang Yanyi, however, acted very graciously, seeming not to hold any resentment against him for not coming to the Antique Soup shop.

She asked, “What do you mean by that?”

Chef Yao replied, “The owner of Taihe Restaurant wants to use my signature dishes as the restaurant’s specialties, but the ingredients they buy are all subpar.

Dishes made with inferior ingredients will never satisfy the discerning palates of those high officials and wealthy merchants. I don’t want you to think I’m boasting, but ever since I started at Taihe, many familiar patrons have come to support me.

However, the dishes made with the ingredients they provide make me feel embarrassed! I might as well not work. After all these years of cooking, I can’t ruin my reputation at this age.”

After hearing about his situation, Jiang Yanyi said, “Chef Yao, I’ll say it again: if you’re willing to come help out at my little shop, I’ll pay you double what you earned at Laifu Restaurant.”

Since leaving Laifu Restaurant, Chef Yao had received many offers, but he had carefully considered his options and decided to go to Taihe Lou, which had a reputation just below Laifu Restaurant.

However, to his surprise, while the exterior looked impressive, the back kitchen was chaotic.

Other restaurants didn’t even have a decent exterior, so one could only imagine how disorganized their kitchens were.

Jiang Yanyi, who also worked as a chef, had no intention of being as opportunistic as businessmen were.

She insisted on using genuine ingredients in her dishes, ensuring that her kitchen wouldn’t be plagued by such troublesome matters.

She had said this before, and her sincerity was unmistakable.

Chef Yao felt grateful but hesitated, fearing that returning to Laifu Restaurant might lead to gossip.

He replied, “Thank you, Manager Jiang, for your kindness. I’ll think it over and get back to you.”

After having turned him down several times before, Jiang Yanyi sensed there was hope this time.

She smiled and said, “I’ll be waiting for your news.”

---

When Chef Yao returned home, he immediately heard the heartbreaking cries of children from inside the courtyard.

Pushing the door open, he saw the manager from Laifu Restaurant sitting in the main room, his wife sitting stiffly beside him.

The manager crossed his legs and looked around the shabby room with contempt.

Upon seeing her husband, Yao’s wife stood up and said, “I’ll go attend to Mother and help her with her medicine. Dazhang, you can sit down and talk with the manager.”

Chef Yao nodded.

As soon as his wife left the room, the Laifu manager spoke, “Chef Yao, I’ve heard about your situation at Taihe Lou. Do you really think any restaurant can match Laifu’s standards? With the war in the south, everyone is holding on to their money tightly, and business isn’t as good as it used to be. But the owner is a sentimental man, and he asked me to come and invite you back.”

Though his tone seemed respectful, there was a clear disdain in his eyes, and he carried an air of superiority. “You have a family to support—an elderly mother and young children. If you don’t return to the restaurant, how will you provide for them?”

He patted Chef Yao on the shoulder, stood up with a smile, and added, “I’ve delivered the message. Chef Yao, think it over.”

Once the manager left, Chef Yao slammed his hand on the table in frustration.

Yao’s wife emerged from the inner room, holding their son, who had just been calmed down.

Seeing her husband’s anger, she said coldly, “The doctor’s medicine will run out today. The rice jar is nearly empty. I’ve spent all day embroidering, and even with my fingers worn down to the bone, I hardly earn anything!”

Over the years, most of Chef Yao’s wages at Laifu Restaurant had gone towards his mother’s medical bills, leaving just enough to support the family with careful budgeting.

Now, disaster had struck as his mother’s illness worsened, and the expenses for doctors and medicine had almost emptied their savings.

Faced with his wife’s harsh words, Chef Yao felt guilt-ridden.

Remembering the manager’s contempt, he grew even more frustrated and said, “Just focus on taking care of the children and stop with the embroidery. I’ll find a way to handle the finances.”