After leaving the butcher shop, Shen Wenhe went to a general store—not an ordinary retail one, but one that also handled wholesale.
He embarked on another major shopping spree, purchasing salt, soy sauce, soybean paste, various seasonings, needles and threads, oilcloth, and other daily necessities.
Then he headed to the money exchange to cash silver notes.
Shen Wenhe had over a hundred thousand taels in silver notes. Cashing them all at once wasn’t feasible, so he needed to visit several money exchanges.
Fortunately, the Shen family was a prominent household in the city, and the money exchange staff recognized him.
After visiting three money exchanges, he finally managed to cash fifty thousand taels of silver.
This was the limit for the money exchanges; the remainder would have to wait until the next day.
With such a large amount of silver, Shen Wenhe couldn’t possibly carry it all himself. The money exchange guards would deliver it to his home later.
Shen Wenhe also placed an order for steamed buns, stuffed buns, and clay oven rolls, arranging for them to be delivered to his home once ready.
He visited the blacksmith shop to buy a wok, kitchen knives, cleavers, and various farming tools.
Finally, he returned to the butcher shop, collected the prepared pig offal, and headed home.
At home, Bai Nianqing had just returned. The kang was piled with fabrics, cotton, and two large bundles.
Bai Nianqing was sitting and drinking water. Seeing Shen Wenhe enter, she looked up and said, “You’re back? Did you get everything done?”
“Mm, about half. I’ve ordered pork, salt, buns, and steamed buns. They’ll deliver them when ready. I’ve cashed half of the silver notes; the rest will have to wait for tomorrow or the day after,” Shen Wenhe briefly explained as he poured himself a cup of water.
“I bought quite a bit of fabric today too, but I feel it’s still not enough. I’ll check out another fabric shop this afternoon. We need to be careful with our purchases to avoid causing panic,” Bai Nianqing remarked.
“Mm, I know. Besides cashing silver notes, I’ll visit two more general stores this afternoon to buy more salt. I only bought fifty catties this morning—any more might draw attention,” Shen Wenhe said.
“I’ve ordered over a hundred and twenty pigs and asked the butcher to slaughter and deliver them. I also arranged for the pig offal to be cleaned and sent over. By the way, the pig offal you wanted is outside. I had the butcher clean it thoroughly,” Shen Wenhe added.
“You brought it back? I’ll make something delicious for you. How about helping me tend the fire?” Bai Nianqing stood up.
“Me… tend the fire?” Shen Wenhe pointed at himself in disbelief.
He never expected his wife to ask him to tend the fire.
“Yes, you. It’s just the two of us at home. If you won’t help, should I do everything myself?” Bai Nianqing had no intention of doing all the work while her husband enjoyed the results.
She considered it an achievement if she didn’t end up doing all the chores herself.
Shen Wenhe thought about it and realized she was right. With Xiaochun and Chang’an not around, if he didn’t tend the fire, who would? His wife?
“Alright, but I’ve never tended a fire before. Do you know how?” Shen Wenhe asked somewhat uncertainly.
Although Bai Nianqing wasn’t exactly a lady from a wealthy family, they had servants at home, so she probably never needed to cook or tend fires.
“Of course, I do. I used to cook for myself often,” Bai Nianqing said with a hint of pride.
She enjoyed cooking and experimenting with food. Though she never formally learned, she loved watching videos from various food bloggers.
She had also learned to cook by following videos, so she was quite skilled in the kitchen and had some knowledge of various regional cuisines from all over.
However, Shen Wenhe interpreted her words differently.
After all, although the Bai family wasn’t extremely wealthy, they were still moderately well-off.
They had servants and a cook at home, so there was no need for Bai Nianqing, the young lady of the house, to cook herself.
If Bai Nianqing had done so, it could only mean one thing: she hadn’t been treated well at home.
“My dear, you’ve suffered. Don’t worry, I will always treat you well from now on,” Shen Wenhe said tenderly, pulling Bai Nianqing into his embrace.
Bai Nianqing had no idea what had gotten into Shen Wenhe this time.
They were just talking about whether she could cook, so why did he have that expression as if she had endured hardships, looking at her with such heartache?
Still, having a man care for her like this was a good thing, and she wasn’t about to question why.
“Hmph, you’d better keep your word, or I won’t let you off easy,” Bai Nianqing said proudly in a coquettish tone.
“How won’t you let me off easy? Hmm?” Shen Wenhe leaned his forehead against hers.
His intimate tone made Bai Nianqing’s face flush instantly. She pushed him away abruptly, “I’m not talking to you anymore. I’m going to cook.”
With that, Bai Nianqing ran off.
Shen Wenhe wasn’t upset at being pushed away and followed her leisurely, “My dear, slow down. I’ll help you tend the fire.”
“Right, first light the fire, then add pine leaves. Once the fire catches, add the branches. Make sure the branches are loosely arranged, not packed tightly, or the fire won’t burn properly,” Bai Nianqing instructed Shen Wenhe on how to build the fire.
Then, she rinsed the pig offal two more times.
She placed it in a pot of cold water, added scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, and blanched the offal.
Once the water boiled, she skimmed off the scum, removed the offal, and rinsed it thoroughly with hot water.
After discarding the dirty water from the pot, she added fresh water, the blanched pig offal, along with soy sauce, salt, rock sugar, scallions, ginger, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, black cardamom, fennel, and chili peppers.
“Alright, bring it to a boil over high heat, then let it simmer over low heat,” Bai Nianqing said after adding the seasonings, adjusting the firewood in the fire pit for Shen Wenhe.
“Just having braised food isn’t enough. Let’s also stir-fry some garlic greens.” Mentioning greens reminded Bai Nianqing that they needed to stock up on more vegetables.
If a drought occurred, having only grains without vegetables would be unbearable for anyone.
She decided to act on the thought immediately. “By the way, we need to prepare more vegetables. If a drought happens, we can’t do without them.”
“Alright, I understand. That’s easy to handle. The farmers all have vegetable plots. I’ll have Chang’an go to the village to buy some,” Shen Wenhe agreed.
“Mm, there’s plenty of space in my Dimension anyway, so we might as well stock up as much as we can. Especially cucumbers and tomatoes—they can be used in dishes and eaten as fruits. Also, make sure they pick the chives for us,” Bai Nianqing added.
“Okay, I’ll remember that,” Shen Wenhe readily agreed to her small requests.
“I’ll make some rice too. Braised meat tastes best with rice,” Bai Nianqing said.
“Mm, I’ll tend the fire for you,” Shen Wenhe replied promptly.
Having mastered the skill of fire-tending, Shen Wenhe was eager to show off.
For lunch, the two enjoyed rice with a platter of braised meat and garlic greens.
“I never expected pig offal to be so delicious. This pig ear is crispy, and this pork head meat is tender and flavorful. Darling, your cooking skills are truly exceptional. If I had known earlier how delicious pig offal could be, I would have had someone prepare it long ago.”