Chapter 117: Stirring Trouble

When Ye Xin Ran walked out of the room, Xiao Huai’an was in the kitchen starting the fire.

He was holding a scoop of washed rice, seeming to hesitate about how much water to add.

“What’s wrong?” Ye Xin Ran asked.

Xiao Huai’an looked a bit embarrassed. “I’m trying to figure out how much water to add.”

“I’ll do it,” Ye Xin Ran said, knowing that Xiao Huai’an wasn’t good at cooking. She took the scoop of rice from him.

Xiao Huai’an didn’t let go immediately and said, “How about you teach me? You’ve been doing all the housework lately, and I feel like I’m just eating off you.”

Before, he had thought of himself as the economic provider of the family. But now, Ye Xin Ran could earn hundreds of taels of silver a day, and his contribution seemed small in comparison. He realized he had to take more initiative.

“You want to learn to cook? Fine, that way, if I’m busy later, you’ll be able to cook for us,” Ye Xin Ran said. She took the scoop from his hand, poured the water out of the pot, added more, and then put the rice in.

“Use your finger to measure the water level. Remember how deep your finger goes into the rice, and use the same height for the water. As long as the levels match, it’s good,” she explained.

“Oh, so that’s how it’s done,” Xiao Huai’an said, following her instructions. He put his finger into the rice.

If there was too little water, he added more. If there was too much, he took some out. Once the levels were the same, he asked, “What’s next?”

“Now, cover the pot. Keep the fire low. Once the water boils, wait a bit and then reduce the fire by removing some wood,” Ye Xin Ran said.

“Got it,” Xiao Huai’an replied, feeling confident. Cooking was simpler than he had thought. Why hadn’t anyone explained it to him like this before?

Once the rice was taken care of, Ye Xin Ran decided to let Xiao Huai’an cook the dinner too.

“You don’t cook often, so don’t make anything too complicated. Let’s just make some scrambled eggs with tomatoes and stir-fried potatoes,” she said.

“Okay, teach me,” Xiao Huai’an said eagerly.

He followed Ye Xin Ran’s guidance step by step.

Ye Xin Ran kept an eye on him as he worked.

“Don’t use too much oil!”

“Add a bit more sugar.”

“Stir quickly, or it’ll burn!”

After the meal, Ye Xin Ran felt a hundred times more nervous than when she cooked herself.

The scene was a mess, but fortunately, both dishes had been safely finished.

“It seems a bit difficult,” Xiao Huai’an said, picking up a piece of scrambled egg and putting it in his mouth. A smile appeared on his face unconsciously. “But it tastes good!”

He picked up another bite and offered it to Ye Xin Ran.

Ye Xin Ran also tasted a bite. “It’s not bad.”

Dinner was served.

The three children, as usual, picked up their bowls and began to eat.

But after the first bite, they all looked at each other at the same time, silently nodding in agreement.

“What’s wrong?” Xiao Huai’an asked, nervously looking at the three of them.

“Nothing!” Chang Sheng tried to cover it up.

But Chang Ping had already spoken up: “The food seems a bit salty today, but it’s still really good.”

He added, “I also think it’s delicious. And you know, this dish was made by your second uncle!”

Ye Xin Ran took a bite and said, “Second uncle?”

The three children looked at the dishes in disbelief.

Did their second uncle really make this? No burning! It’s cooked! And it tastes pretty good!

“This is all thanks to your aunt teaching me!” Xiao Huai’an was nervous in front of the three children, as if he were a student about to be tested.

“Although it’s not as good as what your aunt cooks, it really tastes good!”

Chang An eagerly took a big bite.

“Second uncle is really amazing!” Chang Sheng added, praising him.

Chang Ping, looking serious, said, “Although second uncle is great, the most amazing person is aunt. Have you all forgotten what second uncle’s cooking was like before? For second uncle to cook this well, aunt must have put in a lot of effort. So, the most amazing one is aunt!”

It was rare for Chang Ping to say something so reasonable. The two brothers nodded in agreement.

In the end, the meal was eaten cleanly, as usual.

Xiao Huai’an never expected that he would find satisfaction from something like this.

Perhaps it was because he had been in the mountains for so long.

Maybe it was time to reconnect with the outside world.

Ten days quickly passed.

During these ten days, Ye Xin Ran had delivered a total of 200 jars of Snow Beauty Ointment to Yong Le Hall.

The ointments were quickly bought up.

The purchasing power in Yun Tong County was limited, so such a large quantity of ointment had either been stored away or sold elsewhere, Ye Xin Ran thought.

Things seemed to be getting more interesting.

On the other hand, because there was an inquiry from the capital about the prescription, Manager Cai decided not to wait any longer and planned to take action ahead of time.

One day, when Yong Le Hall had just opened for business and there were only a few customers, two women suddenly walked in.

The women both had black veils covering their faces and immediately asked to see the shopkeeper.

“You are looking for me? Have you two visited our Yong Le Hall before?” Li Qiao examined the women, but neither of them looked familiar.

“You are the shopkeeper here? You may not recognize us, but you surely recognize this!” one of the women said, pulling out two red jars.

Li Qiao immediately recognized the jars. They were the Snow Beauty Ointment jars.

“This is our best-selling ointment. Are you two interested in buying it?” Li Qiao asked enthusiastically.

“Buy? Do you know how badly your ointment has harmed us!” The taller woman slammed the jar onto the counter with a loud noise.

“Harmed you? That’s impossible! You two can come to the inner hall with me and explain the situation in detail,” Li Qiao said, feeling uneasy. He feared they had come to cause trouble.

As he led the women to the back hall, he signaled to the shop assistants to go quickly to the back yard and inform the boss.

The women clearly had prepared for this confrontation, and Li Qiao doubted that he could handle it alone.

Seeing that Li Qiao appeared to be afraid, the women became bolder.

“We are just women, how can we follow the shopkeeper into the inner hall? Besides, there aren’t many customers here, so let’s just talk right here,” one of the women said. Her voice was clear, and everyone in the shop immediately realized something was wrong.

Some curious onlookers even hurried outside to call their family members to come and watch the commotion.

“What are you going to say?” Li Qiao asked, realizing they weren’t leaving.

“Shopkeeper, I’m here to ask you,” one of the women said.

“We believed what your store said and spent a lot of money buying your ointment. But now, not only has it not healed the scars on our faces, it has made our faces worse. What are you going to do to compensate us?”