Under the deep night sky, Shen Zhihe maintained the same posture from when Wang Niangzi had left, resting her head on one hand. She thought to herself that she would observe for a period of time. If this mother and son from the Wang family proved reliable, she could then teach them the method of making tofu brain. If they were unreliable, she would have to find another business partner. Finding a partner wasn’t difficult, but being neighbors, any fallout would likely make things awkward between the two families.
Considering this, Shen Zhihe raised her hand to rub her temples. If it were just herself having a conflict with them, she could handle it with her methods, confident that the mother and son wouldn’t gain much advantage over her. But now she had Shen Zhian with her. Human hearts could be treacherous, and if conflicts arose, she didn’t know what underhanded tactics they might employ.
“Sister, why are you frowning?” Shen Zhian’s soft voice came from nearby. Hearing Wang Niangzi leave, he had waited in the room for a long time without seeing Shen Zhihe return, so he threw on his small coat and ran out.
Hearing this, Shen Zhihe bent down and gathered Shen Zhian into her arms. Her gaze fell on his worn, gray clothes, which seemed to have become slightly short. Probably because he hadn’t been starving these days and had gotten some proper nourishment, he had actually grown taller.
Thinking of this, Shen Zhihe, who was raising a child for the first time, felt amazed. She set Shen Zhian down on the ground and adjusted his clothes. Under Shen Zhian’s surprised gaze, Shen Zhihe’s eyes suddenly reddened, and she crouched down to hug him tightly. She vividly remembered the day she and her young brother first arrived here—Shen Zhian had a high fever, and she didn’t have enough money to hire a doctor.
Although she had made Ginger Soup that day, she still felt uncertain. Fortunately, Shen Zhian had persevered on his own, and now he had even grown taller. His health seemed much better too; at least since they had been living in the old residence, he hadn’t fallen ill again.
“Did that lady bully you, sister? When Zhi An grows up, I won’t let anyone mistreat you anymore.” Held in Shen Zhihe’s embrace, Shen Zhian couldn’t see her expression, but he had clearly seen his sister’s reddened eyes. A sense of frustration rose in the young boy’s heart, and he clenched his fists.
“No, your sister is happy—happy that Zhi An has grown so much. With the New Year approaching, I’ll take you to buy some new clothes tomorrow.” Listening to her young brother’s sweet, childish words, warmth spread through Shen Zhihe’s heart. In her previous life, she had also been an orphan. Due to her exceptional abilities, she signed with an agency that molded her into an all-around influencer promoting traditional culture. Everyone around her had ulterior motives, devoid of sincerity. Never did she imagine that after coming to this Da Yuan Dynasty, although life was harder, she had gained an adorable, soft-spoken younger brother.
After speaking, Shen Zhihe stood up, took Shen Zhian’s hand, and walked toward the bedroom. Her eyes swept around the room before she securely fastened all the doors and windows. Then, she dragged a chair over to the cabinet, stood on it on her tiptoes, and reached for the clay jar on top of the cabinet.
Holding the jar, she jumped down from the chair and quickly walked to the table. She poured out the money from the jar and, by the dim light of the oil lamp, set aside the two taels of broken silver that were originally in the jar. Carefully counting the remaining copper coins, she found there were still eight hundred wen. Adding the four hundred wen left from previous days, Shen Zhihe now had a full one thousand two hundred wen in hand.
Shen Zhian, who was leaning against the table, stared wide-eyed. He had never seen so much silver coins before. Cautiously, he looked up at Shen Zhihe and said, “Elder sister, so much money.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll take Zhi An to buy new clothes,” Shen Zhihe murmured, head bowed as she divided the copper coins into three piles. She took one portion and wrapped it in a handkerchief, then stuffed the rest back into the earthen jar. Picking up the brush and paper on the table, she began sketching and jotting notes, her mind occupied with the thought that the most time-consuming and laborious task—grinding beans—had now been entrusted to the Wang family. This freed up time for her to develop new dishes.
Absentmindedly, Shen Zhihe ran her hand over Shen Zhian’s head, tousling his originally smooth hair. Annoyed, Shen Zhian puffed out his cheeks and glared at his sister, yet he didn’t move away, allowing her hand to wreak havoc on his head.
If Wang Niangzi worked quickly, in a few days she could scout a better location to set up a stall and sell other snacks. Although tofu brain was profitable, it was time-consuming and labor-intensive. Relying solely on it to build a fortune seemed challenging.
Just as she was about to turn Shen Zhian’s hair into a bird’s nest, Shen Zhihe finally snapped out of her thoughts. Under his resentful gaze, she awkwardly withdrew her hand, chagrined by her habit of fidgeting with things when deep in thought—a trait that seemed to have followed her from her previous life to this one.
Outside, the cold wind howled. Lost in thought, Shen Zhihe suddenly recalled the huoguo from her past life. How heavenly it would be to gather around a bronze pot, cooking slices of meat in this freezing weather! The memory of various huoguo styles made her unconsciously swallow saliva.
Given her current financial situation, enjoying a bronze pot meal would likely take years of hard work. Besides, bronze pots didn’t exist here yet, pork still had its gamey smell, and beef and lamb were exorbitantly expensive—not to mention the spices and beef tallow needed for the broth. The thought made her sigh wistfully. Poverty was the root of all evil, yet huoguo had taken root in her heart.
Suddenly, she remembered that when Wang Niangzi visited earlier, she seemed to be carrying a suancai (Chinese cabbage). Why not pickle it into suancai? Decisive as ever, Shen Zhihe hurried out of the bedroom, her brisk movements startling Shen Zhian. He tumbled off the bed and scurried after her.
In the kitchen, she filled a basin with clean water and meticulously washed the suancai leaf by leaf, roots included. She instructed Shen Zhian to boil water while she stepped outside to fetch a large stone, rinsing it with well water. Once the water boiled, she ladled several scoops and poured them over the stone.
Satisfied with the preparations, Shen Zhihe blanched the suancai in the hot water, removed it to cool, then sprinkled coarse salt over the cabbage in the basin. She poured the cooled water over it and placed the large stone on top to weigh it down.
Just then, knocking echoed from outside. Shen Zhihe straightened up and peered out. Under the moonlight, she saw Wang Niangzi had returned, standing at the courtyard gate with Wang Dalan behind her. He carried a wooden barrel nearly as tall as Shen Zhian.
“Lady of the Shen Family, my son has ground the beans and brought them for you,” Wang Niangzi called through the wooden gate.
Seeing this, Shen Zhihe quickly walked toward the outside, pulled open the courtyard gate, and noticed Wang Dalan about to step into the yard with extreme nonchalance. Immediately, she raised her hand to block his movement. “Big Brother Wang, just leave it at the door.”
“Madam, this wooden bucket is very heavy. My son is strong; let him help you carry it inside,” Wang Niangzi said with a laugh, stepping forward and raising her hand to press down Shen Zhihe’s arm blocking Wang Dalan.
Unexpectedly, Shen Zhihe sidestepped to avoid Wang Niangzi’s gesture, a smile on her face but her body still firmly preventing Wang Dalan from entering. “Thank you for your kindness, madam. Although I have reached the age of capping, I am still an unmarried woman. It is naturally improper to allow an unmarried man to come and go freely from my home. Leaving it here is fine.”
The mother and son pair from the Wang family saw that although Shen Zhihe wore a smile, it did not reach her eyes, and her stance was resolute. She was right; although the customs of Dayuan were relatively open, it was indeed inappropriate for an unmarried man to enter and exit the home of an unmarried woman.
The mother and son, who had originally hoped to use this opportunity to enter her home, had no choice but to give up. Wang Dalan set down the wooden bucket from his shoulder with an awkward laugh. “All the beans ground today are in here. I wonder what time the young lady plans to go to the Ji Shi to set up her stall tomorrow?”
Hearing this, Shen Zhihe lifted her gaze to Wang Dalan, a flicker of disbelief crossing her mind. Could it be that Old Lady Wang intended to have Wang Dalan accompany her to the Ji Shi to set up the stall tomorrow? If that were truly the case, was this woman out of her mind? Although the Northern Border had open customs, what would people think if an unmarried man and woman went to the Ji Shi together to run a stall?
“Why won’t Madam Wang be going with me tomorrow?” Shen Zhihe crossed her arms and leaned against the doorframe, her expression calm yet unintentionally exuding a slight pressure as she looked at the mother and son outside the gate.
Wang Niangzi, gazing at the smiling young girl before her, found herself unable to utter the words “Dalan will go with you” that had been on the tip of her tongue. She had a premonition that if she said those words, their Wang family would no longer have a share in the tofu brain business.
After weighing her options for a moment, Wang Niangzi piled on a smile, quickly walked to Shen Zhihe’s side, and raised her hand to link arms with her. However, upon meeting Shen Zhihe’s gaze, she awkwardly halted the motion. “How could that be? What my son meant was that he will come early tomorrow morning to help you load the tofu brain onto the cart. After he escorts us to the Ji Shi, he will go to work for his employer.”
Hearing this, Shen Zhihe said nothing more and simply told the mother and son, “Tomorrow at Yin hour.”
With that, Shen Zhihe bowed slightly to the two, then closed the courtyard gate. She bent down and strained to lift the bucket filled with soybean milk. This bucket was much larger than the ones she usually used. Fortunately, she had been eating more nutritious food lately, and her health had improved compared to before. It seemed she had even grown a bit taller. So, although it was strenuous, she could still manage to move it, albeit with difficulty.
Outside, the mother and son watched through the gate as Shen Zhihe’s staggering figure disappeared into the house before turning to leave.
Once back home, as soon as Wang Niangzi closed the door, Wang Dalan questioned her, “Mother, didn’t you agree earlier that I would go to the Ji Shi with Shen Family’s young lady tomorrow to set up the stall, so that others would misunderstand our relationship? Why did you change your mind at the last moment?”
“If I hadn’t said that, that young lady might not have included our Wang family in the tofu brain business tomorrow,” Wang Niangzi shot her son a glare, feeling both annoyed and alarmed. The aura that girl had exuded earlier was startling—nothing like an orphaned girl. It was just her foolish son who hadn’t noticed it at all.
The plan to have the eldest son frequently approach her was clearly no longer feasible. Wang Niangzi gritted her teeth in silent frustration, but took comfort in the fact that the girl still lived next door—a lone young woman with a younger brother under five years old. She refused to believe Shen Zhihe would remain so vigilant at all times.
While the Wang family schemed against Shen Zhihe, she had already prepared the tofu brain for the next day. Standing in the kitchen, she pondered the mother and son’s actions earlier that day. Their behavior seemed rather unreliable, and she knew she needed to stay alert.
Her gaze fell upon the chilies hanging by the window, reminding her of her earlier intention to make chili oil. At the time, she had abandoned the idea due to missing ingredients, but now that everything was ready, she glanced at the full moon outside—it still seemed early. Decisive as ever, she resolved to begin immediately.
She shooed Shen Zhian, who had been clinging to her side, back to the bedroom, instructing him to close the door. Then, she started frying the chili oil. Heart aching a little, Shen Zhihe scooped a large spoonful of lard into the wok, noting with concern how their supply was dwindling.
Once the oil was hot, she added the prepared guipi and onions, stir-frying until the aroma filled the air. Then, she poured the sizzling oil over the chili powder, meticulously measured in advance. A sharp “sizzle” erupted, and the kitchen was instantly enveloped in a rich, fragrant scent.
Had Shen Zhian been there, the pungent aroma would likely have knocked him off his feet. The thought of her younger brother’s comical reaction brought a soft chuckle to her lips.
During the Yin hour, the night watchman’s calls echoed outside. Within half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, a rooster crowed, soon followed by a cacophony of others, as if a pot had burst open. Stirring from sleep, Shen Zhihe frowned at the persistent darkness outside. Since arriving here, she had been rising exceptionally early every day. She supposed that being constantly occupied with earning a living in this era of scarce entertainment made the early hours feel less tedious.
She lingered in bed for a while, staring at the yellowish ceiling. If she could sell out the tofu brain early today, she planned to take Zhi An to the clothing shop to buy two sets of cotton clothes. After that, she would purchase some pork offal. This would also be a good opportunity to scout for a reliable butcher, hoping to find a way to eliminate the gamey taste of pork at its source.
Just as she was lost in thought, another rooster crowed outside. Shen Zhihe knew she could no longer delay. Reluctantly, she crawled out of the warm bedding. In that moment, she wondered if she should visit a labor broker to hire help. But she quickly dismissed the idea—without the means to protect herself, bringing in help might alert the Wang family to her financial gains. If they harbored no ill intentions, it would be fine, but if they did, she would be inviting danger.
After washing up, Shen Zhihe efficiently prepared everything needed for the stall. Then, she returned to the bedroom to wake Shen Zhian. The siblings had breakfast together before loading the wooden barrels wrapped in worn cotton quilts onto the handcart in the yard.
As she began pulling the cart, Shen Zhihe noticed Wang Niangzi and her son stepping out. The moment they saw her, their faces lit up with exaggerated cheer. “Did you sleep well last night, Miss Shen?”
“Extremely well, thank you.”
Soon, they arrived at Shen Zhihe’s usual vending spot. From a distance, she spotted several regular customers already waiting by the stall. But upon noticing Wang Niangzi, they paused in surprise.
“Same as usual, young lady. Business must be booming—have you hired help to manage the workload?”
An early patron familiar with Shen Zhihe accepted the bowl of tofu brain handed to him by Shen, yet his eyes kept appraising Wang Niangzi standing to the side.
“Of course, Wu Ye. I’ve brought a new seasoning today—would you like to try it?” Shen Zhihe replied with a smile, then produced a jar of chili paste, opened it, and offered it to the patron.
A peculiar scent immediately assailed the man’s nostrils, making him sneeze involuntarily. He chuckled and said, “Since it’s a new seasoning, of course I’ll give it a try. But let me be clear—if it doesn’t taste good, I won’t be paying for today’s meal.”
“Naturally, if Wu Ye isn’t satisfied, I wouldn’t accept payment even if you offered,” Shen Zhihe replied with a grin. He scooped a bit of chili oil from the jar and drizzled it over the tofu brain—the vibrant red hue looked strikingly appealing.