The fifty taels of silver felt satisfyingly heavy in her bosom. As Shen Weiwan stepped out of Drunken Wind Pavilion, even her footsteps seemed lighter.
She knew that if she had taken those recipes to one of the city’s grand restaurants, they might have fetched more than a hundred taels. But with her current status, attracting too much attention would only invite trouble.
Fifty taels was enough to buy everything her brother needed for school and still leave plenty to support the family.
By the time the sun had climbed overhead, Shen Weiwan returned to Cold Village with a spring in her step.
As soon as she reached the gate, she saw Liu Shi standing on tiptoe, peering toward the entrance. Shen Mingxuan stood beside her, clutching his copy of The Analects so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
“Mother! Brother!” Shen Weiwan called out cheerfully, waving the food box in her hand.
Liu Shi spun around. The moment she saw her daughter, her eyes reddened. She hurried over, grabbed Shen Weiwan’s arm, and looked her up and down.
“Wan’er! Where have you been? You left at dawn and disappeared without a trace. Your brother and I have been waiting here for nearly two hours. My heart was in my throat the entire time!”
Shen Mingxuan also stepped forward, his voice filled with lingering fear.
“If you hadn’t come back soon, I was about to go out and look for you.”
Seeing her mother’s reddened eyes and her brother’s furrowed brows, Shen Weiwan felt a warm ache in her heart, mixed with guilt. She quickly placed the food box on the stone table.
“I’m sorry for making you worry. That’s my fault. Come inside first—I brought back something good.”
Once inside, Liu Shi was still muttering anxiously.
“You’re a young girl. The northern part of the city is so chaotic. What if you’d run into bad people…”
“Mother, sit down first.”
Shen Weiwan helped Liu Shi sit on the edge of the heated brick bed and gave Shen Mingxuan a meaningful glance before opening the food box.
The first layer held two exquisite pastries. One plate contained preserved plum cakes coated with sparkling sugar crystals, while the other held flaky pastries with layer upon layer of crisp crust.
The second layer contained two hot dishes: amber-colored braised duck that glistened with oil, and a plate of stir-fried seasonal vegetables, bright green and tender.
The delicious aroma instantly filled the room.
Liu Shi stopped talking, and Shen Mingxuan’s eyes widened.
“W-Where did all this come from?” Liu Shi asked in astonishment, pointing at the food box.
Only then did Shen Weiwan recount everything that had happened at Drunken Wind Pavilion—from bringing the recipes to Manager Zhou, to cooking in the kitchen, and finally earning fifty taels of silver. She told the entire story in detail.
At the end, she took out the heavy cloth pouch from her robes and placed it on the table. The crisp clinking of silver instantly silenced the room.
With trembling hands, Liu Shi opened the pouch.
Seeing the pile of gleaming silver, her lips quivered, and tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks.
“My Wan’er… T-this… you really earned all of this yourself?”
Shen Mingxuan also leaned over to look. His eyes widened like copper bells, and the copy of The Analects slipped from his hands and fell to the floor with a smack.
Picking it up, he looked at Shen Weiwan in disbelief.
“Sister… when did you learn all this? Those recipes…”
“I read about them in various notes and records while I was at the Marquis’ Manor and figured things out myself,” Shen Weiwan replied, half-truthfully.
“No matter where it came from, the silver is real, and the important thing is that you came back safely.” Liu Shi wiped away her tears and carefully wrapped the silver back up. “Now we have more than enough for Xuan’er’s school expenses, and there’ll even be enough left to make you two new sets of clothes.”
“Mother, try the food first.” Shen Weiwan placed a piece of braised duck into Liu Shi’s bowl and handed Shen Mingxuan a flaky pastry. “Manager Zhou gave these to us so we could have a taste.”
The moment the pastry entered his mouth, Shen Mingxuan let out a muffled sound of delight. The flaky crust melted instantly, carrying a faint milky aroma that was sweet but not cloying.
Liu Shi tasted the braised duck. The meat was firm and flavorful, rich with sauce.
“No wonder the restaurant’s cooking is so famous,” she said with a nod.
That evening, when Shen Jingzhi returned home and saw meat and pastries on the table, he was puzzled.
“What’s going on? How do we have food from a restaurant?”
Shen Weiwan retold the story of selling the recipes.
Shen Jingzhi frowned and sighed.
“Wan’er, we’ve wronged you. Ever since we were driven out of the Marquis’ Manor, you’ve been the one worrying about and managing this family. Your mother and I have failed you.”
“Father, why say that?” Shen Weiwan replied with a smile. “I think I’m very happy. Our whole family is together, and we no longer have to live as cautiously as we did in the Marquis’ Manor. Life is harder now, but it’s much happier.”
Shen Mingxuan immediately added, “That’s right, Father. Sister is right. Right now, she’s carrying the family on her shoulders. But in a few years, after I pass the examinations and earn an official position, I’ll let Mother and Sister stay home and enjoy a good life. We’ll all work hard together.”
“Ah, having you two as my children is truly a blessing for your mother and me.”
Shen Jingzhi nodded as he held Liu Shi’s hand.
Over the next few days, Shen Weiwan took Liu Shi to a cloth shop and bought fine gray-blue cotton fabric. They hired a familiar tailor to make two well-fitting scholar’s robes, then visited a stationery shop to purchase medium-grade wolf-hair brushes, pine-soot inksticks, and a thick stack of bamboo paper.
Looking at the neatly folded scholar’s robes and touching the smooth bamboo paper, Shen Mingxuan felt his throat tighten.
After a long while, he finally managed to say, “Wan’er, these things are too expensive.”
“They’re not expensive at all.” Shen Weiwan straightened his collar and smiled brightly. “Once my brother puts on these robes, he’ll surely be the most spirited scholar in Qingyun Academy.”
Moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating the brand-new writing materials on the desk and the light shining in the young man’s eyes.
Recently, the signboard of Drunken Wind Pavilion in the northern part of the city seemed brighter than ever. Before every mealtime, long lines would already form outside its doors.
Manager Zhou wore a broad smile every day and greeted everyone with extra warmth.
Ever since adopting Shen Weiwan’s two recipes, the restaurant’s roasted lamb and nourishing medicinal stew had become signature dishes, nearly doubling the inn’s daily earnings.
But the joy did not last long.
Manager Zhou soon realized that something was wrong.
The Gathering Fortune Inn across the street and the Old Tavern diagonally opposite had quietly introduced dishes called “Secret Roasted Lamb” and “Autumn-Winter Nourishing Soup.” Although the flavors couldn’t compare to Drunken Wind Pavilion’s originals, they still diverted a considerable number of customers.
“Someone in the kitchen must have leaked the recipes!” Manager Zhou cursed as he slapped the counter.
But there was no use dwelling on it now. He needed new recipes as quickly as possible.
Suddenly, he thought of the young girl who had brought him the recipes.
His eyes immediately lit up.
That girl might be young, but the ideas in her head surpassed those of even the old chefs.
A warm breeze drifted across the academy’s green-tiled roofs and stirred the pages of the books on Shen Mingxuan’s desk.
It had been two days since he entered the academy. The nervousness of being a newcomer had gradually faded, replaced by complete dedication to his studies.
The teacher stroked his beard as he looked at the young man before him, his eyes filled with approval.
After observing him for the past two days, he had been pleasantly surprised by Shen Mingxuan’s academic foundation. Not only did he answer questions fluently, but his understanding of the classics far surpassed that of his peers.
“Mingxuan,” the teacher said, his voice gentle yet weighty, “your foundation is excellent—solid and rare indeed. If you continue to work hard and devote yourself to your studies, then next year, when you sit for the county examination, your chances of becoming a tongsheng are very good.”