Chapter 14: Hosting a Dinner

“◎ Can this business be done? ◎

Jiang Che saw that Wei Xuan wasn’t joking and was really about to grab him, so he quickly begged for mercy: “Alright, grandma, I’m scared of you, I’ll say it, I’ll say it, is that good enough?” The temperature was so cold at night, if he went out to sleep, he’d definitely have a runny nose tomorrow.

Wei Xuan sat down nearby: “Say it.”

Jiang Che thought that since there was no one else to discuss this with, and it didn’t seem shameful to talk to his wife about it, so he imitated Wei Xuan’s posture, sat up cross-legged, and blurted out everything he had seen today and the thoughts in his mind.

After finishing, he felt a bit embarrassed: “I told you there was nothing, but you insisted that I say it.”

Wei Xuan, however, felt that this was a pleasant surprise. She remembered that she had once tested Jiang Che’s attitude towards Wu Yun secretly doing business to make money, and at that time, he had still seemed indifferent. Now, things were different. She didn’t even have to figure out how to persuade him.”

“She couldn’t just tell him directly that in a few years, going into business would be the mainstream, right? She didn’t expect this guy to make a complete 180-degree turn in his attitude now.

Well, back then, he didn’t know that Wu Yun could make so much money.

It turns out it wasn’t that he wasn’t interested, it was just that the benefits hadn’t been clear yet. In this light, it seemed like her plan to get into business could be put on the agenda.

Jiang Che saw that Wei Xuan hadn’t said anything for a while and got anxious: “I’ve told you everything, you should at least say something!”

“What’s there to say? It’s late, go to sleep,” Wei Xuan ignored him. Pressing him wasn’t business, so she had to make him anxious for a couple of days. Besides, if she said it directly now, wouldn’t that make it seem like she had it all planned out? There had to be an opportunity. And tomorrow was a perfect one.

Wu Yun was coming, what a great chance!

Thinking of this, she told Jiang Che: “Get up early tomorrow and go to Wu Yun’s place to buy some pig’s feet, pig’s tails, and so on. If you can get a pig’s head, that’d be even better.”

“Why didn’t you say this yesterday? We don’t have enough food for today, why do we need more?” Jiang Che grumbled when he heard she wanted him to wake up early, clearly unhappy.”

“‘I told you to go, so go. If you buy it back, I’ll make you something delicious. Maybe there will even be a surprise.’”

After today’s events, Jiang Che definitely didn’t want to go to Wu Yun’s place again in the short term, but once he heard there might be a surprise, he thought maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go once more.

Early the next morning, Jiang Che got up and headed out. Wei Xuan didn’t laze around either. She got up, made breakfast, and since there were still a few buns left from last night, all she needed to do was cook some porridge. Very convenient.

After that, she took out the large jar she had bought earlier, which was perfect for marinating meat.

That’s right, Wei Xuan had asked Jiang Che to buy pig’s feet and pig’s head because she wanted to make braised meat. In her past life, the dean’s braised meat was truly a masterpiece. Although she had never made it herself, she had watched enough times that the ingredients were already etched in her mind. Even if it wasn’t perfect, she believed it couldn’t be too far off.

She took the jar outside to wash it, and while she was at it, she brushed her teeth and washed her face.

She tied up her hair, then went back to the kitchen to prepare the spices, wrapping them tightly in cheesecloth. Next, she just had to wait for Jiang Che to bring the meat.

By the time Wei Xuan finished her breakfast, Jiang Che came back with the meat.

“This meat was so hard to get, and there’s only this much left.”

Wei Xuan took the meat and looked it over—one pig’s ear, two pig’s feet, and a pig’s large intestine.

“Alright, this is enough. You go eat first; I’ll take care of this.”

She grabbed a basin to wash off the dirt from the surface of the meat, then used the boiling hot water she had just prepared to blanch it and remove the hair.

When it’s for their own family, it had to be as clean as possible. After Jiang Che finished breakfast, Wei Xuan grabbed him to help: “You scrape the hair off the pig’s feet and pig’s ears, and I’ll go wash the large intestine.”

Jiang Che reluctantly crouched down: “Why make it so complicated? Braised pork is fine just like that.”

“Then I’ll finish it and you don’t get to eat.”

“Why shouldn’t I eat? I put in the work too.”

Wei Xuan didn’t have time to argue with him. The pig’s large intestine smelled so bad that she was worried she’d vomit if she said anything.

She rinsed it a few times with well water, then took some vinegar from the kitchen and added a few drops to soak it.

She had planned to wash it with salt, but now even salt was precious.

After soaking it for a few minutes, she rinsed it and scrubbed it clean, then turned it inside out, removing the fat inside. She rinsed it a few more times until the smell wasn’t as overpowering.

Over on the pig’s feet and ears, they were almost done. Wei Xuan checked them, and surprisingly, Jiang Che had done quite a careful job. Aside from some small fuzz, most of the hair had been removed. The little fuzz would just need one more blanching with hot water to come off.

“Alright, it’s almost ready. I’ll handle the rest.”

She took the pig ears and feet to the kitchen, rinsed them, and since there would be more people eating tonight, she decided to cut the pig’s feet into pieces before putting them in the jar to marinate.

She put all the spices and the pig ears and feet into the jar, then added a little more than half a jar of water. The most important thing was to add rice wine, but rice wine was too expensive and required a ticket, something Wei Xuan couldn’t afford. So, she substituted it with some cheap beer sold by the bottle—just a few cents per pound and no limits on quantity.

As for the taste, to someone like Wei Xuan who had never drunk alcohol, it all tasted the same anyway.

Finally, she put the lid on the jar and placed it on the stove to simmer.

As for the large intestine, she could secretly come back later in the afternoon and add it in.

She turned the fire to the lowest setting, locked the door, and went off to work, leaving the food to slowly cook.

In the afternoon, after finishing work, Wei Xuan hurried home. As soon as she stepped through the door, she could smell the familiar fragrance coming from the kitchen.

She walked in and lifted the lid—wow, the smell was even stronger. She poked at it with a chopstick. Nice, everything had softened and become tender.

Even the pig’s large intestine, white radishes, and lotus root slices she had added in the afternoon were all fully cooked.

She carefully moved the jar off the stove, opened the ventilation, and replaced the kettle to keep boiling water.

Wei Xuan fished out the pig’s ears from the jar and set them aside to cool. She planned to cut them into pieces for a separate dish later.

With the marinated meat ready, Wei Xuan decided not to make braised pork. She sliced the pork belly into thin pieces, planned to stir-fry some cabbage, and also make stir-fried bamboo shoots in oil. That would add enough oil to the meal.

There was still a pound of tenderloin left. Initially, Wei Xuan had wanted to make the sweet-and-sour pork she had made before, since everyone had liked it, but looking at the limited oil left at home, she decided to change it to sweet-and-sour tenderloin, which also had a sweet and tangy flavor.

That was all the meat dishes. Wei Xuan took a look and decided to add one more dish: stir-fried chili with carrots. That made six dishes in total. Finally, she planned to make a simple egg drop soup to round it off.

Jiang Che had already returned by this time and was currently hosting the guests he had invited in the living room.

Wei Xuan stuck her head out and called out.

She handed the marinated meat to Jiang Che, who had come running upon hearing the commotion.

She also carried a plate of sliced pig ears and followed him to the living room.

“Sorry for making you wait so long. The food’s ready. Please, sit down and help yourselves.”

Jiang Che put down the plate in his hand and grabbed the wine bottle to pour for the guests. “Finally, it’s time to eat. Come on, sit down, let’s drink first.”

The three guests were all good friends of Jiang Che, so they didn’t stand on ceremony and took their seats.

“Sis-in-law, we’ll start eating then.”

Wei Xuan waved her hand. “Go ahead, see if my cooking suits your taste.”

“We’ve been smelling it for a while, couldn’t wait to dig in.” One of them immediately picked up a slice of pig’s ear and put it in their mouth.

As soon as one person started, the other two followed suit.

Wu Yun swallowed the food in his mouth and said, “Xiao Che wasn’t lying this time. Sis-in-law’s cooking is just as good as a professional chef’s.”

“Now you believe me, huh!” Jiang Che said proudly.

The other two friends laughed, “We believe, we believe. Looks like we have a place to mooch food from next time.”

“Get lost, you’re trying to freeload off me now?” Jiang Che joked.

Seeing them laughing and joking, Wei Xuan didn’t stay long. She returned to the kitchen to bring out the rest of the dishes.

Wei Xuan also sat down next to Jiang Che and began eating.

The meal was an absolute success, with everyone enjoying themselves.

Afterward, the other two friends left. Seeing the timing was right, Wei Xuan decided to ask the question she had been preparing.

“Brother Wu, what do you think of my marinated dishes?”

“The flavor is really good. I’d say it’s definitely in the top few of what I’ve tried, if not the best.”

Wu Yun, being in business with a wide network, had tasted a lot of food.

Wei Xuan felt relieved to hear such high praise and smiled, asking, “Brother Wu, do you think anyone would buy my marinated food if I sold it?”

“This…” Wu Yun didn’t expect Jiang Che’s wife to have such an idea. He was momentarily taken aback. He glanced at Jiang Che, who also looked surprised, and realized that Jiang Che didn’t know about this plan either. It was entirely Wei Xuan’s idea.

“If you want to sell it, there’s definitely a market for it. With this weather, marinated food can be stored well, but are you sure you want to get involved in this kind of business?” Both of them had respectable jobs, and especially since she knew how Jiang Che was—she was worried they might end up arguing over this later.

Wei Xuan understood what he meant. In the past, she definitely wouldn’t have made such a decision on her own, but after what happened yesterday, she figured Jiang Che probably wouldn’t oppose it now.

“Brother Wu, since I’ve brought it up, I won’t put you in a tough spot. But if I’m going to do this, I’ll need your help with the ingredients.”

“Heh, I knew this meal wouldn’t be for nothing,” Wu Yun said, slapping his thigh. “Alright, since you’re so straightforward, I won’t drag it out. I’ll take on this business. As for the ingredients, just have Xiao Che tell me how much you need each day, and I’ll set it aside for you. As for the price, I’ll give it to you at the same rate I pay.”

Wei Xuan didn’t want to take advantage of anyone; she was looking for a long-term partnership. She immediately said, “Brother Wu, business is business. Just give me the same price you sell to others.” After all, he had subordinates, and she didn’t want to make things difficult for him.

Wei Xuan was straightforward, and Wu Yun couldn’t help but regard her more highly. The two of them chatted a bit more about the daily market demand, which helped Wei Xuan get a good sense of things. After that, Wu Yun said his goodbyes.

Before leaving, Wu Yun slapped Jiang Che on the shoulder. “You’re one lucky guy. You’ve got yourself a good wife!”

Jiang Che had already been drinking a bit too much, and Wei Xuan’s unexpected words left him even more dizzy. It wasn’t until everyone had left that he groggily realized:

So, his wife just made a business deal with Brother Wu, right?