Guan Xiyue quickly recognized him as well.
Wasn’t this the young master she had argued with the other day?
Curling her lips, she turned to leave and said as she walked,
“I’m here to help everyone achieve prosperity together. Since you’re the young master of the establishment, I’ll spare you an argument today.”
The manager looked puzzled.
“Young Master, is there some misunderstanding between you and this young lady? I just purchased a new recipe from Miss Guan.”
He Ziming picked up the contract and glanced through it. When he saw the signature, his teeth almost ground together.
“So it’s Guan Xiyue. What ‘Miss Guan’? She’s a concubine. I wonder what kind of family would take such a concubine into their household.”
The manager’s jaw dropped.
This Miss Guan was actually a concubine?
But why would a concubine be out in public selling recipes?
Meanwhile, He Ziming finished off the remaining braised pork one bite after another. Much as he disliked admitting it, it really was delicious.
At that moment, Guan Xiyue was still in the kitchen, personally teaching the head chef how to prepare the dish. Since it was a secret recipe, and since the chef was eager to recreate such mouthwatering braised pork, he listened with great enthusiasm.
When the agreed time arrived, Xiaoyun came looking for Guan Xiyue.
To her astonishment, everyone in Dongkang Restaurant—from the manager down to the kitchen helpers—treated her mistress with exceptional courtesy.
She even saw Young Master He, the very same man who had argued with Guan Xiyue before.
His expression was strange.
It was certainly not anger.
Rather, it was the awkwardness that came after a reconciliation neither side wanted to admit.
Guan Xiyue led Xiaoyun back toward the Zhou residence.
Ignoring the girl’s endless questions, she responded only with vague hums and half-hearted answers.
Passing a snack shop along the way, Guan Xiyue bought a large assortment of preserved fruits, melon seeds, and other treats.
That effectively kept Xiaoyun’s mouth occupied.
After quietly returning to her small courtyard within the Zhou residence, Guan Xiyue let out a long sigh of relief.
She had money again.
A full twenty-two taels of silver.
She returned ten taels to the little spirit and stored the remaining twelve taels in her dimensional space.
Her mood instantly improved.
The little spirit seemed equally pleased and showered her with praise.
“Master is amazing!”
Guan Xiyue was already planning her next move.
“My adorable little spirit, I’ve found a path to riches. Star anise is incredibly scarce here. I can buy it from you and sell it to Dongkang Restaurant. I’ll make a fortune in no time!”
The little spirit immediately wilted.
“Master, Master… why do you always come up with such unrealistic ideas? If making money were that easy, where would the challenge and fun be? There’s no more star anise here. I already sold all of it to you last time. And by the way, there aren’t any other spices either.”
Guan Xiyue’s good mood instantly faded.
Had she known, she would have sold that half-jin of star anise for an even higher price.
Dongkang Restaurant would definitely have bought it anyway.
Realizing she seemed to possess a natural talent for becoming a profiteer, she quickly stopped herself from thinking further.
At least she had finally repaid her debt to the little spirit.
Now what she wanted most was freedom.
What she didn’t know was that the contract she had signed—the first business deal of her life—would soon cause quite a stir.
He Ziming invited several classmates to a gathering and instructed the manager of his family’s restaurant to prepare an impressive banquet.
Among the guests was Zhou Zhengye.
The other dishes were excellent, but everyone had tasted such delicacies before.
Then the braised pork arrived.
The glistening, tender, beautifully colored meat instantly conquered even the most discerning appetites.
It received unanimous praise.
The He family and the Zhou family had always been rivals.
The fathers competed in business.
The sons competed in academics.
They had grown up studying together while maintaining a superficial facade of friendship.
The necessary courtesies were observed.
The opportunities to undermine each other were never missed.
With obvious satisfaction, He Ziming said,
“Brother Zhou, I heard your health wasn’t very good recently. You seem fully recovered now. Still, no matter how delicious this braised pork is, someone recovering from a serious illness might not be able to enjoy it.”
In one sentence, he praised the braised pork and mocked Zhou Zhengye’s health.
Zhou Zhengye had indeed recovered completely and was no different from before his illness.
He picked up a piece of braised pork without hesitation.
His original plan was to taste it and then criticize it from a professional standpoint.
After all, Fulin Restaurant’s head chef had also been recruited from the prefectural capital.
What dish couldn’t they make?
As the young master of a renowned restaurant who had sampled countless delicacies, surely he could find flaws to exploit.
Yet after swallowing the first piece, he immediately wanted a second.
All their classmates were praising the dish.
If he alone contradicted them, he would appear petty and jealous.
In the end, he could only say reluctantly,
“The flavor is indeed quite good. Though it’s perhaps a bit too rich and fatty.”
He Ziming immediately seized the opportunity.
“Perhaps Brother Zhou’s stomach is still weak from his recent illness.”
Another jab.
Illness here, recovery there.
Zhou Zhengye was furious, yet could not openly lose his temper.
This fellow looked refined and cultured, yet specialized in delivering hidden stabs.
Then He Ziming continued boasting.
“To be honest, dear friends, this is a brand-new dish from our restaurant. Don’t you all agree it’s excellent? Running a restaurant requires innovation. One cannot remain rigid and stand still forever.”
In their county, He Ziming and Zhou Zhengye had always been evenly matched.
Both were wealthy and generous, giving them considerable influence among their peers.
Because their families were competitors, the two naturally disliked each other.
Whenever an opportunity arose, they exchanged sarcastic remarks.
Hearing He Ziming imply that Fulin Restaurant was “standing still,” Zhou Zhengye struggled to find an effective comeback.
Finally he said weakly,
“So your head chef spent ten years lying dormant before suddenly becoming enlightened enough to invent a new dish.”
After all, craftsmen typically learned directly from their masters.
Most were fortunate if they could faithfully reproduce what they had been taught.
Very few could innovate and create something entirely new.
Thus, Zhou Zhengye could only mock the chef for supposedly needing ten years to develop a single original dish.
He Ziming had drunk enough wine to become slightly intoxicated.
Focused solely on gaining the upper hand, he accidentally revealed the truth.
“Not at all. Our chef cooks well enough, but innovation isn’t his strength. The recipe was sold to us by a young woman. Bet you didn’t expect that. Apparently she’s even a concubine. I have no idea whose concubine she is. Her life must be difficult if she’s been forced to show her face in public selling recipes.”
That very night, Guan Xiyue was summoned to the main hall.
Waiting for her there was the collective anger of the Zhou family.
When Zhou Zhengye saw the round figure wrapped in an orange-red jacket approaching, he found it hard to believe.
This foolish, plump concubine—the one who had once practically pounced on him like a hungry tiger—actually possessed a valuable recipe?
But after hearing his son’s description of the braised pork, Master Zhou immediately reached a conclusion.
“It must have been her. I already asked Old Wang in the kitchen about it. I’ve been too busy these past few days to deal with the matter, and she took advantage of the opportunity.”
Madam Zhou, née Wan, launched the first attack.
“Did you sell the braised pork recipe to Dongkang Restaurant?”
Guan Xiyue looked confused for a moment before nodding.
“Yes, I did.”
Master Zhou clutched his chest in pain.
“If you had such a recipe, why didn’t you give it to me?”
Guan Xiyue frowned slightly.
“You never asked for it.”
Really.
At least Dongkang Restaurant had paid twenty taels of silver for the recipe.
Master Zhou’s first reaction was simply, Why didn’t you give it to me?
He wanted it for free.
Zhou Zhengye saw that Guan Xiyue was actually talking back and immediately scolded her coldly.
“Not only did you fail to offer it to my father voluntarily, but you expected him to personally inquire about it?”
What arrogance.
A wave of disgust rose in Guan Xiyue’s heart.
This entire family wanted to seize her property by force, yet still acted as though they were above her.
Utterly unreasonable.