Afu placed the pig’s feet and marinated vegetables on the table, swallowing his saliva. Meng Zuheng saw his eager expression and handed him a skewer of vegetables.

“Thank you, young master,” Afu said, taking the skewer and walking out, eating as he went.

“Why are you looking at me? Come on, let’s eat.” Before he finished speaking, Meng Zuheng reached for half of a pig’s foot and started gnawing on it.

The others were stunned. The young master of the county magistrate’s family was actually eating pig’s feet bought from a roadside stall with his bare hands in a teahouse?

“What are you staring at? If you’re not going to eat, don’t blame me for finishing it all!” Meng Zuheng said, seeing their surprised expressions.

Li Jinyu, already holding a piece, widened his eyes and took a big bite. “Mmm, delicious!” he said, quickly devouring it.

Qi Hengxuan and the others stopped being picky and started eating too, all of them enjoying it just as much as Li Jinyu. It was really good.

After finishing his pig’s foot, Meng Zuheng wiped his mouth, looking somewhat unsatisfied. If he had known, he would have waited before calling them so he could eat more. Seeing there was still a plate of marinated vegetables, he picked up a skewer and began eating it.

When Afu brought in the noodles, he heard Meng Zuheng shouting, “Jin Zi, this skewer is mine! Hey, hey! Don’t take mine!” The others, seeing Afu with the noodles, rushed over, grabbed a bowl, sat down, and began eating. Within a moment, the table was cleared.

The group left the teahouse, full and content, burping and saying they would come back tomorrow.

Business was good lately, so Gu Linchen went to Uncle Liu and reserved a few tables. Since those young masters came to eat, they had been visiting every day, and after bringing some students along, the teahouse owner came over to make friends with him. These bowls and tables could stay in the teahouse, so Gu Linchen didn’t need to keep moving them.

When he saw that Uncle Liu’s front door was piled with potatoes, he told his mother that if they were short on vegetables, they could buy some from the villagers at market prices. His mother agreed, since the vegetables at home were running out. With his father now staying home instead of going to work, he spent his days collecting bamboo shoots, but they didn’t grow fast enough, so they needed to buy more.

“Dad, this is so fun!” Xige’er said as he run up to Gu Linchen, He touch the child’s soft cheek. Recently, with good food, his little face had become rounder, and it felt nice to touch.

“If you like it, I’ll buy you more in the future.”

“Mm, thank you, Dad,” the child said.

Feng Ge’er walked over. “Don’t block your father, go play somewhere else.”

Gu Linchen looked at Feng Ge’er. “It’s fine, you rest. You’ve had a long day. I’ll take care of this.”

“I’m fine,” Feng Ge’er said. He felt that being able to eat well and wear warm clothes made the fatigue worth it.

Just as they were setting up the stall, someone came over looking for trouble. “Get out of the way! All of you, get out! You come to my turf and don’t even greet me, Old^[1]Old or Lao in chinese attached to someone’s name, it’s a slang that means he is more expert in his own field. But not actually old. Chen?”

The man walked arrogantly toward Gu Linchen’s stall, a cocky attitude written all over his face.

“Lao Gong,” Feng Ge’er said nervously, grabbing Gu Linchen’s hand.

“It’s fine,” Gu Linchen reassured him, patting his hand.

Chen Mazi walked in with his people, acting tough at first. But when he saw Gu Linchen, his attitude immediately changed, and he wanted to turn around and leave.

“Since you brought your little followers, why not help me with my business before you leave?” Gu Linchen stepped forward and blocked his way.

Chen Mazi felt a chill run down his spine, his eyes shifting nervously. “B-Brother^[2]Not actually biological brother but a show of respect…”

The other customers, seeing their usually friendly boss was actually the leader of the local gang, began to wonder if they had inadvertently offended him in some way.

Gu Linchen paid no attention to what others were thinking. He fixed his sharp gaze on Chen Mazi and said, “Don’t call me ‘big brother,’ I don’t have a little brother like you. This is your turf? You think you’re more important than the county magistrate now?”

Chen Mazi instinctively stepped back, his hands waving frantically. “No, no, I just came to see if there was trouble. Big brother—uh, no, Brother Gu, I came here to support your business, yes, support!” He turned to his two underlings for confirmation.

Today, one of his subordinates had reported that a new food stall had opened on West Street, doing great business, and suggested they might want to collect protection fees. Since the last time Gu Linchen had beaten him, Chen Mazi had been more cautious. For a while, things had been peaceful. But today, acting on impulse, he brought his men along and ended up running into this troublemaker again.

Seeing their leader backpedaling, the two underlings quickly followed suit, nodding in agreement. “Yes, yes, yes.”

Gu Linchen gave them another glance and continued, “I told you last time, if I catch you causing trouble again, you know what will happen.” He then glanced at the two men behind Chen Mazi and added, “Still want to eat?”

“Eat, hehe, Brother Gu, we’ll eat!” Chen Mazi said, trying to ingratiate himself.

“Then go to the back and get in line. Don’t block the other customers,” Gu Linchen replied, then turned back to his stall, busying himself again with a friendly smile. “Brother Li, should we stick to the usual today?”

“…” The man looked at him, seeming harmless. Was this really the same person who had scared Chen Mazi earlier? “Ah! Yes, the usual, please.”

“Then please wait a moment,” Gu Linchen responded.

Everyone saw that, despite his strange gaze, Gu Linchen was still the same as usual, which relieved him.

Feng Ge’er didn’t expect his husband to be so impressive. With just a few words, he made those tough guys who were looking for trouble behave. His husband suddenly seemed even more admirable in his eyes.

The next day, Gu Linchen heard people talking about him. They said he was so powerful that even the street bullies had to back down in front of him. Some people who knew him from before mentioned that he used to be a thug, though no one knew why he was in business now. Those who had been jealous or had some ill intentions also gave up, realizing that he was not someone they could mess with.

The regular customers, who had spent more time with him, knew that he wasn’t a bad person. He treated them with respect and kindness, and none of the gossip affected them. They continued to show up on time every day.

Today, the academy was on break, and Meng Zuheng and the others went straight to Gu Linchen’s stall to eat. Now that they were familiar with each other, they didn’t mind being casual.

“Brother Gu, I wish you could let us take this with us. I’d love to bring some back for my mother to try,” Li Jinyu said, looking at the bowl of braised noodles. It was fine to take it home if it was nearby, but his house was far, and if he took it back, not only would it get cold, but the noodles would definitely stick together.

“I was thinking, Brother Gu, could you make more of these pig’s feet? Every time we only get half. We want to eat more, but there’s never enough, and we can’t take any home,” Meng Zuheng said, looking disappointed.

“I really can’t do much about it right now, but it shouldn’t be long before you can have all you want,” Gu Linchen thought to himself. The weather was getting colder, and standing outside to sell with Feng Ge’er was becoming hard for them. Customers also weren’t keen on eating outside in the cold, and the number of people buying braised food was gradually decreasing. It was about time to set up a proper shop; in winter, it’s best to eat hot food.