Chef Yao noticed the weight on her mind and, thinking of the unglamorous aspects of life in a big household, intentionally said something humorous to steer the conversation towards the shop, hoping to cheer her up.

“Shopkeeper, if you had come back a few days later, I’m afraid this shop would have been ruined by me, Old Yao! The soup recipe you gave me uses those same ingredients, but the customers in the shop just aren’t buying it; they insist it doesn’t taste like it did before!”

Jiang Yanyi was peeling lotus root and smiled as she replied, “Chef Yao, don’t joke about such things. I owe a lot to you and Aunt Guo these days.”

Seeing her mood brighten a little, Chef Yao continued, “To be honest, I really can’t make those pastries you taught me. Quite a few customers have complained, asking why we don’t sell pastries in our shop anymore.”

Jiang Yanyi said, “I can’t get away from the Chu family for now. I have to deal with matters over there before I can focus on the shop.”

Chef Yao nodded, “Filial piety comes first. The shopkeeper is a dutiful person.”

Jiang Yanyi merely smiled without replying.

She changed the subject and asked, “By the way, where is the old scholar staying now?”

After the last incident, the old scholar didn’t dare to stay near the south of the city anymore and had rented a house elsewhere.

Jiang Yanyi had initially planned to bring Jiang Yan Gui to live with her, but since her shop was so noisy during the day, it would be better for him to recuperate in a quieter place.

Although he was living in the Chu family, his heart was still heavy.

However, if they moved out, it would probably take some effort to explain things to Old Madam.

After all, if they left, Old Madam would likely feel she hadn’t taken good care of them, leading to their grievances in the Chu family.

Just thinking about these complications made Jiang Yanyi’s head spin.

When Chef Yao heard her question, he stirred the big pot and said, “The old scholar has rented a house near my place. Our location isn’t great, so it didn’t cost much. If you want to see the house, you might as well ask the landlord.”

The old scholar had worked with Chef Yao before, so they were familiar with each other.

Now, the old scholar went home with him every day, saving both Yang Xiu and Bing Shao a lot of trouble.

Jiang Yan Yi nodded, “I’ll ask someone to inquire about it later.”

The old shop’s space was indeed feeling small now, and Jiang Yan Yi was considering looking for a larger one, keeping this place for living arrangements would be quite nice.

She washed the peeled lotus root clean and cut it into pieces to put into the clay pot to boil.

As she lifted the lid, the fragrant aroma of bone broth wafted out, quite enticing.

While the soup simmered, after finishing the second storytelling session for the day, the old scholar took a break, and Jiang Yan Yi shared some stories from “Dream of the Red Chamber” and “Romance of the Three Kingdoms” with him.

The old scholar would then polish and edit them himself.

After nearly two hours of simmering, the pot of soup was ready.

The pig bones Jiang Yan Yi bought included shank bones, and the marrow inside had likely melted away, resulting in a thick, white, and fragrant broth.

The lean meat on the bones fell apart with just a gentle touch of chopsticks, and it was delicate and tender, not at all dry.

The lotus root had also been boiled soft; it could easily be split in half with a wooden chopstick, and due to its high starch content, it had a rich and creamy texture.

She added a spoonful of salt, which was the final step before serving the lotus root bone soup into the soup bowls.

Salt should be added just before the soup is finished to ensure the meat remains tender; adding it too early would cause the meat to lose moisture too quickly, resulting in a tougher texture and a dry mouthfeel.

After simmering, the full pot of bone soup only filled two bowls, which Jiang Yan Yi thought was just enough to send one to Jiang Yan Gui and one to Old Madam.

---

Jiang Yangui usually had a poor appetite, but tonight he finished the entire bowl of bone soup.

Seeing him eat well made Jiang Yanyi happy, and she asked, “What do you want to eat tomorrow? I’ll make it for you.”

The rich and flavorful bone soup warmed Jiang Yan Gui’s stomach, and as he ate, a thin layer of sweat formed on his forehead.

His beautiful eyes gazed at Jiang Yan Yi’s hand holding the spoon.

Her hands had once been fair and delicate, but now, due to her frequent kitchen work, they didn’t look as soft as before.

As she held the spoon, her fingers were relaxed.

However, Jiang Yangui remembered his sister’s habit of holding a spoon, where her pinky always slightly raised.

A feeling of cold swept over him, and he asked hoarsely, “Sister, when did you learn to make soup?”

The way he addressed her subtly changed from “A Jie” to “Sister.”

Jiang Yanyi didn’t notice the shift.

When Chu Changping had previously asked about her culinary skills, she explained, “After I arrived at the military camp, I worked as a helper in the cooking unit for a while and apprenticed under a chef. I owe it to him that I was able to open my antique soup shop.”

Jiang Yanguo was lost in thought as he gazed into Jiang Yanyi’s calm and clear eyes. “Sister, you seem different from before.”

His sister had a personality like their mother’s: willful, impatient, and stubborn. Sometimes she did many foolish things.

Now, standing before him, she still looked like his sister, yet he felt a deep sense of unfamiliarity from the core of his being.

His sister wasn’t usually this calm; clearly, she was the elder sister, but he found himself taking care of her more often.

After their mother passed away, the only thing that kept him going all the way to Xizhou was his sister.

But after spending these past two days together, he couldn’t find a trace of his sister in the person before him.

It was as if… a different person had taken over this body.

The moment Jiang Yanguo thought of that possibility, he felt a chill run through him.

When Jiang Yanyi heard his question, she became cautious but didn’t show it on her face.

Instead, she spoke with a hint of sadness: “Yanguo, if I were to live like I did before, you might not see me now.”

This statement shattered Jiang Yanguo’s doubts, and he almost instantly felt tears welling up.

Jiang Yanyi said, “Everyone has to grow up; sometimes we have to smooth out our rough edges to live better.”

Jiang Yanguo slowly raised his head.

His features resembled Jiang Yanyi’s, and his eyes, filled with tears, glowed red; in a man, such a delicate appearance seemed almost sinister. “Sister, one day, I will let you live as freely as before, without fearing anyone.”

Jiang Yanyi stroked his head gently. “Alright, I’ll wait for that day.”

Having finally comforted this sensitive and fragile boy, Jiang Yanyi left Jiang Yanguo’s courtyard with a soft sigh.

---

The next day, when she went to greet the old lady Chu, the old lady took Jiang Yanyi’s hand and praised her for the delicious bone soup she made last night.

Liu, along with her two daughters, stood nearby, feeling quite uncomfortable.

When Jiang Yanyi had someone send the bone soup over yesterday, she was serving the old lady, so she had seen the fragrant lotus root bone soup.

She felt resentful; Jiang Yanyi used to be spoiled and rarely stepped into the kitchen.

How could she make such a fragrant soup after only being in Xizhou for a short time? Liu refused to believe it.

When she was a girl, she hardly entered the kitchen herself, and after getting married, she learned to cook to please her in-laws and win her husband’s favor.

Liu couldn’t even claim to make soup as good as that.

Liu thought that Jiang Yanyi’s shop was opened thanks to Chu Changping; after all, the staff there were originally people around Chu Changping.

Jiang Yanyi returned to the shop yesterday and brought back two bowls of bone soup, obviously made by the shop’s cook.

To curry favor with the old lady, she shamelessly claimed it was her own!

Liu glanced at her two daughters: the elder daughter was daydreaming, while the younger daughter, hearing the old lady rave about the soup, was swallowing her saliva repeatedly.

Liu felt increasingly stifled; her two silly daughters really didn’t understand how to gain favor!

Thinking about how the old lady always favored Jiang Yanyi and her brother, while showing little interest in her own daughters, her heart grew more discontent.

Her mouth moved faster than her mind. With a smile on her face, she said, “I heard Ayi opened an antique soup shop. Did she specifically go to the shop to make that bone soup yesterday? Back in the capital, I wanted Shubao to learn how to make pastries, and the chef at the stove taught her for quite some time. Unfortunately, Shubao is rather dull. If only she had one-tenth of Ayi’s talent, I would be content.”

Though Liu’s words sounded like praise for Jiang Yanyi, they were filled with daggers.

She mentioned how long it took for Chu Shubao to learn pastry making and pointed out that Jiang Yanyi had brought the soup from the antique soup shop, implying that the soup likely wasn’t made by Jiang Yanyi at all.

Although the old lady loved Jiang Yanyi, if she knew that Jiang Yanyi claimed credit for someone else’s soup just to gain favor, it would break her heart.

She didn’t want the child to go down the wrong path over such trivial matters.

As expected, the old lady’s smile was not as bright as before, but she still didn’t say anything against Jiang Yanyi.

Instead, she told Liu, “Shubao showed me her embroidery yesterday; you’ve taught her well.”

Receiving the old lady’s praise for Chu Shubao, Liu’s heart bloomed with joy.

However, she didn’t want to let Jiang Yanyi off easily.

She smiled and said, “That soup yesterday really was delicious. Since Ayi has such great skills, she should teach my sister-in-law. It would be good for her to make soup for Mother to show filial piety.”

Liu thought she was being clever, but her thoughts were all over her face.

Jiang Yanyi didn’t expect that making a soup would draw Liu’s attention.

Her intention was to show filial piety to the old lady, but Liu’s words caused the old lady to misunderstand, making Jiang Yanyi uncomfortable.

Jiang Yanyi replied straightforwardly, “My skills aren’t that good, but if my sister-in-law wants to learn, we can make bone soup together at noon.”

The old lady knew what Liu’s words meant, but upon hearing Jiang Yanyi’s agreeable response, she felt that the soup must indeed have been made by her granddaughter.

Even if the soup from last night wasn’t made by Jiang Yanyi, she wouldn’t blame her granddaughter.

After all, Jiang Yanyi and her brother were alone in the world.

It was understandable for them to curry favor with her; she felt pity for them and wished for them to have support.

She glanced at Liu before smiling at Jiang Yanyi, saying, “Looks like I’ll have another treat at noon!”

The way the old lady looked at Liu made her face turn slightly awkward.

Suddenly feeling uncertain, Liu thought, could it be that Jiang Yanyi really made that soup herself?