Chapter 15: New Dishes

◎ Hot Topic ◎

Feeling a bit uneasy under Jiang Che’s gaze, Wei Xuan had no choice but to put down the dishes she was cleaning up. She plopped down on the chair and said, “If you have any questions, just ask.”

Jiang Che cleared his throat. “The surprise you mentioned, you’re not referring to this, are you?”

“Yeah. Are you upset that I didn’t discuss it with you beforehand?”

Jiang Che shook his head. How could he dare to be upset? In fact, deep down, he thought it was because of what he said yesterday that had influenced his wife, which made her come up with this idea to help him. This thought made him feel even less justified.

On the other hand, about what his wife had just said, he was actually quite conflicted. But then he thought, if his wife, a woman, could go all out for him, could he still be considered a man if he hesitated and second-guessed everything?

“Wife, starting tomorrow, I’ll help you with picking up and delivering the goods.”

Hmm, it’s better not to let his wife handle such things. If something were to happen, he, as a big man, would be able to handle it better than she could.

It must be said, this was a wonderful misunderstanding.

“Alright, then I’ll leave it to you.” Wei Xuan was quite satisfied with his understanding of the situation.

A family should be neat and tidy, after all!

The next day, when Wei Xuan came home from work, she saw two pig’s trotters and a pig’s tongue on the kitchen table, brought back by Jiang Che.

There wasn’t much, but it was enough for a start. Later, they could add some eggs to the mix and braise them together for sale.

She would soak the pig’s trotters and tongue in well water for now and deal with them later. Wei Xuan decided to prepare dinner first.

Everyone had been too focused on drinking yesterday, so there was quite a bit of leftover food. Wei Xuan considered it and decided that making egg fried rice should be enough to feed everyone.

She took three eggs from the jar and chopped some green onions. For egg fried rice, the egg yolks and whites should be separated. The yolks should be directly mixed with the rice, so that when it’s fried, the rice turns a beautiful golden yellow.

Seeing that it was about time, Wei Xuan turned on the stove and first fried the egg whites until cooked and set them aside. Then she added the rice to the pan, frying it until the grains were separated. She added salt and soy sauce in advance so that they would mix evenly.

She picked up a spoon and tasted it—it was perfectly salted. She sprinkled the pre-chopped green onions on top and gave it a quick stir before serving.

Just in time, Jiang Che came home.

“Wash your hands and get ready to eat. There’s more to do after dinner.”

After dinner, the two of them got busy.

Just like last time, Jiang Che handled the pig’s trotters, while she took care of washing the pig’s tongue.

The pig’s tongue was easier to handle. After washing it clean, she blanched it in hot water, and the pig’s tongue coating came off easily.

Jiang Che, on the other hand, had it rough. He plucked the hairs so long that his eyes were blurry.

Wei Xuan felt that this couldn’t go on. Doing this every day, how could they do anything else?

Finally, they came up with a solution. They put the pig’s trotters directly on the stove and used fire to scorch them. Then they brushed off the burnt parts with a brush.

Sure enough, this method was much faster and saved a lot of effort.

She started braising the meat, turning the stove to the lowest heat. By tomorrow morning, it would be perfectly flavorful and tender. The only problem was that she’d have to trouble Jiang Che to get up in the middle of the night to peel the boiled eggs and add them to the pot.

Before going to bed, Jiang Che and Wei Xuan sat cross-legged on the bed, discussing how much to sell the braised goods for.

The pig’s trotters were cheaper than the meat. Two pig’s trotters from Wu Yun only cost fifty cents, and the pig’s tongue cost sixty cents. Wei Xuan decided to double the price, but as for how much Wu Yun sold them for, that was none of her concern.

Doubling the price wasn’t too much, considering the cost of spices and charcoal.

The eggs were five cents each. Even if they were a bit more expensive on the black market, they wouldn’t cost much more. Wei Xuan planned to sell them for ten cents each. Selling ten a day would earn them fifty cents.

“So, we could make seventy to eighty a month. That’s more than our combined salaries.”

Yeah, the best part was that this money didn’t require much effort to earn.

Wei Xuan was happy, but not wanting Jiang Che to get too carried away, she gave him a gentle reminder: “Don’t get too ahead of yourself. If we can’t sell them, they’ll just sit here unsold.” It wouldn’t be fair to let Wu Yun bear the risk.

“How could it not sell?” Jiang Che wasn’t worried. “You make it so delicious. Even if it doesn’t sell, we can still eat it ourselves.”

“Alright, get some rest. We have to wake up early to deliver the goods tomorrow.”

What neither of them expected was that the braised goods were even more popular than they had imagined, and even Wu Yun was surprised.

That day, after Jiang Che finished delivering the goods and was about to leave, Wu Yun grabbed him by the arm. “Wait a minute, I need to talk to you.”

Jiang Che had made some money these past couple of days, and his mood was good. With a more sincere smile on his face, he said to Wu Yun, “Brother Wu, if you need anything, just let me know. I’ll do my best.”

“Go on, stop with the jokes.” Seeing Jiang Che in such high spirits, Wu Yun couldn’t help but envy the guy’s luck. He had practically married a goldmine.

“Go back and ask your wife if we can increase the quantity of the braised goods. Several of the regular customers have asked about it recently. As for the meat, don’t worry, I can get it for you.”

When Jiang Che heard about this, he was a bit troubled. He had been making braised dishes for almost a month now, and over this time, the number of pig’s trotters had increased from two to six. Even eggs were now at least thirty a day, not to mention all the other various meats. Together, it really added up.

His wife had said that the jar could only hold this much; any more and the flavor would be too weak.

But when Brother Wu spoke up, Jiang Che couldn’t bring himself to refuse outright.

He rubbed his chin, then said, “How about this, Brother Wu? I’ll go back and ask my wife, see what she thinks.”

With Jiang Che’s word, Wu Yun felt reassured: “Alright, be sure to ask. Don’t forget!”

“Don’t worry, Brother Wu, I won’t forget. I’ve got to get to work now; I’m running late.”

“Alright, go ahead.”

And so, Jiang Che, with his sweet burden, wandered off to the office.

When everyone in the office saw Jiang Che walk in with a smile on his face, they teased him, saying, “Jiang Che, what happened these past few days that has made you so happy? Tell us so we can be happy too. You’re not getting promoted, are you?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve seen you smile to yourself more than once.”

Faced with everyone’s teasing, Jiang Che quickly wiped the smile off his face. He knew they were probing him about the position of office director, and it made him a little unhappy. Who did they think Jiang Che was? Just any random person could easily fish for information from him?

He slowly adjusted his sleeves, and with practiced ease, he responded, “I’ve only been working for a few months. With my experience, it’s still too early for me. But Brother Wang is an old party member, so he has a good chance this time!”

Everyone knew Jiang Che had connections, so they usually didn’t dare to provoke him. But this time, with such an important matter related to work, some couldn’t help but try to talk to Jiang Che about it.

The person referred to as “Brother Wang” is one of them. However, don’t be fooled by Jiang Che’s polite words; in his heart, he looks down on him. At his age, he should have been promoted by now. To still be at his age and just an ordinary worker, it’s clear he doesn’t have much capability.

On the other hand, Brother Wang didn’t catch the sarcasm in Jiang Che’s words and thought that Jiang Che really had some inside information. He assumed the earlier comment was a compliment and laughed heartily.

For a moment, everyone in the office started discussing this topic. Seeing that everyone’s attention had shifted, Jiang Che silently reflected. Has he really been so emotionally obvious lately? How could even his quiet chuckles be noticed?

At lunchtime, Big Brother Jiang found Jiang Che.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, you’ve been living on your own for over a month now, enjoying yourself so much you forgot about home? Don’t you even think of coming back to visit Mom and Dad?”

Jiang Che felt a bit embarrassed after being reminded by Big Brother Jiang. He had been so focused on making money recently that he had completely forgotten about his parents.

“Bro, I got it. I’ll find a chance to go home and visit Mom and Dad and have a meal with them in the next couple of days.”

Seeing his good attitude, Big Brother Jiang didn’t say much more: “Remember, Mom and Dad have been talking about you constantly, especially Mom. She’s worried you’re struggling out there. When you go back, make sure to put their minds at ease.”

After work that evening, Jiang Che returned home and saw Wei Xuan standing motionless in the yard, staring at the newly planted vegetable garden.

“What are you staring at so intently?”

Wei Xuan pointed at the spinach and bok choy and said, “Look, these two are almost ready to eat.”

Jiang Che gave it a quick glance, genuinely puzzled about why his little wife was so obsessed with bok choy. Clearly, meat was the most delicious thing.

“I don’t want to continue discussing this topic,” Wei Xuan said, recalling Wu Yun’s instructions from this morning. She added, “By the way, this morning, Wu Yun specifically stopped me and asked if I could send more goods.”

Wei Xuan was well aware of how popular their marinated snacks had become lately, so it didn’t surprise her at all that Wu Yun would reach out to Jiang Che. It was only a matter of time. As she walked toward the kitchen, she asked, “So, what did you say?”

Jiang Che followed closely behind her. “What could I say? Of course, I told him what you asked me to.” Mid-sentence, Jiang Che walked up to Wei Xuan, leaned on the table, and asked, “I’m also curious. Why didn’t you agree to make more? If the stove isn’t enough, just buy another one.” To Jiang Che, it seemed like a non-issue—obviously just an excuse the little wife casually used to brush off others.

Wei Xuan glanced up at him and rolled her eyes. “Are you really that short on money? Have you thought about how much we’ve earned with this business just starting? It’s better to keep a low profile for now. What if word gets out and we end up being used as an example?”

“Heh, you really think things through, don’t you?” Jiang Che wasn’t upset by her glare. He casually complimented her, as if good words were as easy to give as nothing.

“Then I’ll go decline Wu Yun tomorrow.”

“Mm,” he replied, then thought of something and added, “But you can tell Wu Yun that I should have some new food to send over in a little while.”

“Didn’t you say we need to stay low-key?” Jiang Che asked in confusion.

Staying low-key was just Wei Xuan’s excuse. The real reason was that Wei Xuan believed that when something is abundant, it loses its value. Making money from one pot a day was just enough, and they weren’t overworking themselves. She wanted to make this business last long-term, so it was better to take it slow and steady, and as for expansion, it wasn’t the right time yet.

As for the new food she mentioned, there wouldn’t be much. It would only be available on specific days. They would also need to prepare for it at home, making a little extra to earn some additional pocket money.