Chapter 20: An Xiyan — The Queen of Empty Promises

An Xiyan got the answer she wanted and broke into a smile.

She gave He Lianrong a thumbs up and said, “Meng Auntie, nicely done! I see the rise of womanhood in you. I just know you’re going to grow our business into something huge.”

“In the future, you’ll be able to lead more women into business. I can already foresee it—you’ll become the pioneer of this era, guiding women out of the inner courtyard and into the world.”

He Lianrong quickly waved her hands, laughing bashfully. “Miss, I really can’t accept such high praise. After all, I haven’t done anything concrete yet.”

“When we’ve truly built something great, then I’ll be able to stand tall. Honestly, my mindset of being a strong woman is all thanks to the Madam’s influence.”

An Xiyan smiled. “My mother really is a remarkable woman. I love freedom and hate being bound by rules—must be in the genes.”

He Lianrong laughed along with her. “Miss, you’re not wrong. You’re exactly like the Madam in that way. If someone said you weren’t her daughter, even a blind man wouldn’t believe it.”

Blind man: “???” Excuse me, was that necessary?

Suddenly, An Xiyan asked, “What kind of person is my mother really?”

“This…” He Lianrong was instantly at a loss for words, awkwardly looking at An Xiyan. “Miss, that’s not something I can explain in a few words. Once you meet her someday, you’ll understand.”

An Xiyan pouted. “Alright, just say you don’t want to talk about it. Who knows when I’ll actually get to meet her again—could be a lifetime.”

“Hehe…” He Lianrong laughed awkwardly. “Miss, I don’t know either. We were left behind by the Master and Madam too.”

An Xiyan’s eyes lit up instantly, as though she had just found a kindred spirit. She patted He Lianrong’s shoulder.

With a bold and generous air, she said, “Meng Auntie, my mother abandoning you all was her loss. From now on, you’re with me—we’ll live the good life together! Whatever goals you have, I’ll support you 100%.”

“Once we build a huge enterprise, we’ll show them—guaranteed to leave my parents stunned!”

An Xiyan wasn’t the least bit shy about making bold promises, because… she was the queen of empty promises.

Haha! She’d mastered the art of painting a big, delicious picture.

As for whether or not they’d actually build a grand empire—well, she’d take it one step at a time. The first step was setting ambitious goals and injecting Meng Auntie and the others with enthusiasm and drive.

Sure enough, He Lianrong…

He Lianrong and Tangyuan both stared at An Xiyan with sparkling eyes, their backs straight and spirits high.

In that moment, they were filled with motivation, eager to rush straight into the capital and start building a great enterprise.

Two hours later, the carriage came to a stop. The horses had been running nonstop and needed rest and food. An Xiyan’s group also needed something to eat.

She checked the time—around 3 p.m. (shen hour). In their rush to flee the town, they had only managed to eat a little bit of dry rations. By now, their stomachs were growling.

An Xiyan got off the carriage carrying An Xixuan. She glanced around and, seeing no one nearby—just their own carriage—picked a secluded spot.

From her spatial storage, she took out cooking equipment, some ingredients, and drinking water. She also brought out a foldable square table and a black moisture-proof mat.

“Miss, what delicious meal are we making today?” Tangyuan looked at An Xiyan expectantly, her fair little face flushed pink with excitement.

An Xiyan smiled and pointed at the ingredients. “Tomato scrambled eggs, pork meatball soup, and vinegar cabbage. For the staple food, we’ll have some of the meat buns and steamed bread I made a few days ago.”

Tangyuan’s eyes lit up. “Wow! Miss, I love tomato scrambled eggs the most!”

She knew that sweet and sour tomatoes only existed in Miss’s space. In their current era, you simply couldn’t find them in the market, no matter how hard you looked.

“Sis, since you love tomatoes so much, I’ll give you a few later—you can eat them like fruit. My space might lack a lot of things, but tomatoes are not one of them.”

“If you ever want to eat them, just let me know. Eat as many as you want—as long as you don’t get tired of them.”

Tangyuan nodded enthusiastically. “Miss, they’re so delicious, I’ll never get tired of them!”

…She didn’t know yet that she’d soon be eating those words. In the near future, the mere sight of a tomato would have her turning around and running away.

An Xiyan had been racking her brains about what to do with the tomato surplus in her space. She couldn’t bear to throw them out, so she just let them grow unchecked in the fields.

She had a full two acres of nothing but tomatoes. There was no way she could finish eating them all—she was already getting sick of the taste.

And it didn’t help that the tomatoes in her space grew like they’d taken some immortality elixir. The vines never died and kept bearing fruit, unlike the tomatoes in the outside world that had to be replanted each year.

If she had known her space would…
(to be continued)

If she had known her spatial farmland worked like that, she would’ve just planted a tenth of an acre of tomatoes from the start.

She could’ve used the rest of the land to grow other fruits and vegetables—switching them up regularly so she wouldn’t get tired of eating the same thing.

Meanwhile, He Lianrong was stacking stones to build a makeshift stove. Once the base was set, she placed a large pot on top. There was no choice—they were a big group with big appetites. If they didn’t use a large pot to cook, none of them would be full.

Whether it was Miss and the young master, or her own family, every one of them could eat like a horse. If they didn’t have at least two bowls of rice per meal, their stomachs simply wouldn’t be satisfied.

Qingzhu gathered a bundle of firewood and placed it next to the stove. She took out a fire striker, sparked a flame, and squatted down to tend the fire.

Seeing this, He Lianrong called out to An Xiyan, who was chopping vegetables not far away. “Miss, the fire’s ready—you can start cooking.”

An Xiyan nodded and motioned for Tangyuan to help carry over the prepped vegetables, while she carried a bowl of well-beaten eggs.

When she reached the stove, she scooped a spoonful of lard from the oil jar and added it to the hot pan. With a loud sizzle, the oil met the heated surface, sending up a fragrant plume of smoke.

Once the lard had fully melted, she poured in the egg mixture—which had been seasoned with a bit of salt—and let it cook for a while before scooping the fluffy eggs out and setting them aside.

Next, using the leftover oil in the pan, she tossed in sliced tomatoes and stir-fried them until fragrant, adding salt and sugar to taste. After a few quick stirs, she returned the scrambled eggs to the pan, gave it all a final toss, and plated the dish.

Just like that, a simple yet classic dish—tomato scrambled eggs—was complete.

Tangyuan quickly took the dish from An Xiyan’s hands and brought it close to her nose, taking a deep breath of the aroma. Smiling contentedly, she exclaimed, “Mmm, that’s the smell I love!”

He Lianrong glanced at her daughter and then at An Xixuan, who was quietly sitting on a mat nearby. “Alright, bring it to the table,” she said. “The young master’s probably starving. Let him eat first.”

Tangyuan nodded, “Got it, Mom.” Carefully, she carried the dish to the low table and placed it down with steady hands.

Then she took a small bowl and a pair of chopsticks and set them in front of An Xixuan. With a warm smile, she said, “Young Master, you must be hungry. Here, have some vegetables first—Miss will have the rest of the dishes ready soon.”

An Xixuan stared at the colorful dish in front of him. He sniffed at the delicious scent and swallowed hard, but still shook his head. In a soft baby voice, he replied, “I want to wait for Sister. We’ll eat together.”

Tangyuan’s heart melted. Her young master was just too well-mannered and thoughtful.

With a chuckle, she said, “Well then, your little belly will just have to suffer a little longer. Hang in there—dinner’s coming soon!”