Chapter 62 - Two-in-One: I'll give my wife more money, my wife...

I've tried making it at home several times, but I still can't get it to taste like that. And when you've tasted something delicious, and you want to eat that flavor but can't make it, you feel like it's not worth the price when you go to buy it, and you become more and more unwilling to give up.

I decided to try again. I went to the soy sauce shop and bought some sauce directly from the owner. Aren't they both selling sauce anyway? Whose money isn't money?

When customers kept asking what kind of sauce Lin Ji's rice noodle soup used, the owner was also confused. He explained to the customers, "Our best sauce is this one, it should be this one?"

The man shook his head immediately, "No, it didn't taste the same when I cooked it."

When the customer rejected the offer, the shopkeeper's eyebrows furrowed. He took some money and gave it to the waiter: "Go to Lin's Rice Noodles and buy two bowls for me to try. I want to see what it tastes like. Also, see if the customer looks familiar. Have you bought sauce from us before?"

The waiter took the money, grabbed the bowl and food box, and ran off.

He didn't return until quite some time later. The customers were still waiting in the sauce shop, and the shopkeeper was also getting impatient. He thought to himself that this waiter was probably wandering around outside.

Seeing the shopkeeper's expression, the customer smiled and said, "Don't worry, shopkeeper. At this hour, the noodle soup stall is probably doing very well. Sometimes there are twenty or thirty people in line."

The shopkeeper was somewhat surprised: "Business is so booming?"

The customer nodded and said, "It's just a very simple little stall, but it has squeezed out all the mutton rice noodle shops."

The shopkeeper frowned upon hearing this. That mutton rice noodle shop had been open for many years; how could it be squeezed out by a small stall? The customer, noticing the shopkeeper's expression, said, "The noodles are made with pork and cost ten coins a bowl. Everyone thinks that the price is not as good as eating a bowl of mutton rice noodles, but the taste is so tempting. After eating a bowl, you feel completely refreshed!"

"That's right. We asked that woman, and she said she used her own secret sauce. Nobody believed her. The best sauce is in your sauce shop. She must have bought it and kept it a secret from everyone."

Hearing such praise, the shopkeeper was naturally delighted. He only needed to wait for the waiter to buy some and taste it to know what kind of sauce it contained. With the reputation of this small stall, the sauce shop's business would surely flourish even more.

Just as the waiter from the soy sauce shop took away the two bowls of noodles, Helan walked over to Lin Chuntao and whispered, "The person who just left was the waiter from the soy sauce shop."

Lin Chuntao looked up at the young man jogging away, her brows furrowing slightly.

Helan said, "I heard that quite a few people went to the sauce shop to ask you which sauce you use to make the noodles. They probably bought it to try."

He Lan's reminder made Lin Chuntao's heart skip a beat. She hadn't even started selling the sauce yet, so surely she wouldn't do something like stealing her recipe?

Helan said softly, "Be careful that the soy sauce shop doesn't use you for advertising."

Lin Chuntao paused for a moment when she heard Helan's idea. "They can taste the sauce in the noodles I make? And then make one?"

Helan nodded slightly. "Very likely. Their sauce shop has been around for over a hundred years, so they must have a very sharp tongue."

Helan then told Lin Chuntao about a time when a soy sauce shop snatched a recipe from a small soy sauce store. The small store was doing well, and the soy sauce shop wanted to buy the recipe from the owner at a low price, but the owner refused to sell. So they bought the owner's soy sauce, took it back, and made a similar-tasting one. Actually, it wasn't as good as the small store's, but the soy sauce shop had a large business, so they squeezed the small store out of business by offering low prices.

Helan said, "Actually, losing the shop was a minor matter. What happened later was that the house caught fire, and the entire family of four perished in the flames."

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuntao's expression gradually darkened.

"Thank you for the reminder, Manager He. I understand now."

The shopkeeper of the soy sauce shop had been waiting anxiously for a while, and finally the waiter came running back. He quickly took the food box and asked the waiter to bring a pair of chopsticks.

After walking a short distance, the noodles cooled down a bit, making them just right for eating.

The shopkeeper had just picked up a spoonful of sauce and put it in his mouth when the people waiting to buy it started sniffing and swallowing.

His slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, he licked his lips and took another bite, and before he could say anything, he picked up the large bowl and drank a mouthful of soup, letting out a long sigh.

"Shopkeeper? How was it? Did you figure out what kind of sauce it was?"

The shopkeeper waved his hand. He had already figured out that it wasn't the sauce from their shop, but he didn't want to tell the customer that. So he made up an excuse and said, "It's not from the shop. I'll go back tonight and ask the owner if they've made a new sauce. I'll see when it'll be available for sale, and then we'll put up a sign."

The customer who bought the sauce left disappointed, but the shopkeeper didn't care at all. He buried his head in his noodles and quickly slurped the bowl clean, leaving not a drop of soup. He turned to the waiter and said, "Bring out that bowl too." As he spoke, he took another hundred coins from his purse and tossed them to the waiter: "Go buy three more bowls and send them to the old master and the young master. Tell the lady there to add two extra spoonfuls of meat sauce."

The waiter swallowed hard, nodded, and took the money away.

Lin Chuntao saw the waiter return after leaving, and asked for three more bowls.

"Wife, add two extra spoonfuls of meat sauce to each of the three bowls."

Lin Chuntao said with a smile, "Okay, adding a spoonful of meat sauce costs four coins."

The waiter nodded and counted out fifty-four coins for Lin Chuntao. While waiting for the noodles to be cooked, he put them in his bowl. Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Are you still on duty, sir? I've never seen you before. You can come and have a bowl before you go on duty tomorrow. We cook it fresh. A bowl of hot soup noodles before you go on duty will surely put you in a good mood all day."

The waiter asked, "What time do you start making things in the morning?"

"Come at 2:45 AM, and we will be there."

The waiter nodded, picked up the food box, and left.

At the Chai residence, the old steward noticed that a waiter from the shop had brought over two food boxes and asked, "What are these?"

The waiter replied, "The shopkeeper sent me to deliver this. It's a newly opened braised pork noodle soup shop in the market. It's been very popular lately. Many people outside think it's from our sauce shop and come to the shop to ask the shopkeeper if they want to buy this sauce."

As soon as the waiter finished speaking, the old steward immediately understood, took the food box, and told the waiter to return to the shop.

Chai Songchuan and his wife Guo Jixiang were discussing their son's wedding in the hall when the old steward came in with a food box. After asking him what was going on, the old steward relayed what the waiter had said. The old couple said, "Bring it up and have a taste."

The old steward carefully carried the two bowls of noodles up, then personally fetched chopsticks before saying to the two men, "Manager Chai also bought some for the young master; I'll take them to him now."

Upon hearing about her son, Guo Jixiang's expression changed slightly. "I'm afraid he won't eat it."

The old steward said, "What if? What if the young master eats..." The old steward's voice trailed off as he spoke. Their young master, originally a handsome man, fell off a horse after it spooked him and was injured. Although he was rescued and survived, the scars on his body could not be removed. He could not accept his monstrous appearance and insisted on breaking off his engagement with his fiancée. He locked himself in his room all day, refusing to eat or drink.

The elderly couple's only son had survived, and they were already thankful that he had been spared. How could they let him die like this? They often had to ask someone to hold him down and feed him directly when he refused to eat.

The old housekeeper had watched him grow up, and this was extremely painful for him.

Chai Songchuan glanced at the old steward's expression and said calmly, "Send it over."

The old steward then hurriedly carried the food box towards the courtyard where Chai Xingyu lived. All the maids serving in the courtyard were at the gate. The courtyard was quiet, and the doors and windows of the house were tightly closed. The old steward stepped forward and knocked on the door. "Young master, I'm coming in."

There was no response from inside, but no objection either, which was normal. The old butler gently opened the door and went in. The room was dimly lit. The old butler took out the powder from the food box and placed it on the table. Then he walked to the canopy bed, which was completely covered by curtains, so it was impossible to see whether the person inside was awake or asleep.

"Young master, there's a new dish at the market today called braised pork soup noodles. It's very popular. Would you like to get up and try some?"

The old butler's voice faded away like a breeze leaving no trace; he said nothing and offered no response.

"I heard from Manager Chai that the lady told the customers that it was her own homemade sauce, but the customers didn't believe her. They all thought that the sauce in the soup noodles came from our sauce shop, and they all came to ask. If you are interested, you can try it and see if this sauce is better than ours?"

There was still no sound from inside the bed curtains. The old butler sighed softly and left the room.

Hearing the door close, Chai Xingyu sat up. With his hair disheveled, he pulled back the mosquito net. The aroma of soup noodles wafted into his nostrils. His expression was numb, and his nose and face were contorted in a grotesque manner. If someone outside saw him, he might frighten a child to tears.

He hadn't smelled such a different aroma in a long time. He walked to the table and sat down, looking at the bright red soup in the bowl. The off-white noodles were paired with bright green chives, and small pieces of minced meat were scattered in the soup. He picked up his chopsticks and stirred it gently, even stirring out tomato slices.

He scoffed, "What kind of way is this? Tomatoes, meat, and chives all mixed together!"

The soup looked delicious, so he picked up the bowl and took a sip. It was spicy with a hint of sourness, but not the kind of sourness from vinegar. It must be the sourness from tomatoes. After taking a sip, he naturally took another sip. Once he had had enough, he put down the bowl and tasted a piece of rice noodle. The rice noodle was cooked very soft, and every strand was soaked in the soup. Chai Xingyu thought that the meat filling had no gamey smell, which must be thanks to the sauce.

Old Chai is really something. Knowing that the sauce wasn't from his own soy sauce shop, he still brought it to his parents so they could try it.

Should we try to make it taste the same? Or should we go buy it or even fight for it?

He thought these ingredients didn't seem right together, but the person who made this noodle not only made it, but also made it taste so good. They must be a food lover.

He's that kind of person; he's willing to try anything.

The Chai family was wealthy enough for him to live a carefree life, so he ate out every day. But now, his face is neither human nor ghost. Even the maids and servants who have served him for many years dare not look him in the eye, which shows how terrifying he is.

He was afraid that if he went out and came back, he would jump straight into the well.

After all this commotion, he didn't actually want to die. In fact, he wanted to live a good life. He had never left Yizhou, never seen the scenery outside, and never tasted the flavors of other places. He couldn't bear to die.

But what good is it to be reluctant to leave now? He still doesn't have the courage to step out of the gate of this small courtyard.

Chai Xingyu ate every last piece of meat, and after finishing, he returned to his bed, utterly bored.

In the main hall, Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang had also finished their two bowls of noodles. They smacked their lips, savoring the taste. When the old steward returned, they didn't ask Chai Xingyu if he had eaten. Seeing the old steward's expression, they knew the result.

"Master, Madam, how is this powder?"

Guo Jixiang said, "This sauce is good. It has this flavor when added to soup, and it must be very fragrant when eaten alone. It's not greasy at all. It must have been made by a master chef. His skills are remarkable."

Chai Songchuan nodded slightly in agreement, saying, "Go and find out if anyone has opened a soy sauce shop recently. We've been so focused on the boat trip that we've neglected things outside."

The old butler responded and left.

When it was lunchtime, Guo Jixiang led her servants to deliver food to Chai Xingyu. As soon as she pushed open the door, she saw the empty bowl on the table. Overjoyed, she almost burst into tears. Her hands trembled slightly, and the old nanny next to her quickly supported her hands. The old nanny looked at her and nodded slightly. This was a good thing!

Guo Jixiang composed herself before walking to her son's bedside. "Xingyu, get up and eat."

I'm not hungry.

Guo Jixiang paused for a moment. At least Chai Xingyu had replied, so she quickly asked, "Do you still want to eat those noodles? Mother will have someone go and buy another bowl."

Chai Xingyu thought about the taste of the powder and mumbled an "Mmm," which delighted Guo Jixiang.

"Yes, Mother will send someone right away." Then she added, "Mother will go herself."

Guo had her servants carry the food box and hurriedly led her people out of the Chai residence.

She went straight to the market, asked someone at random for directions, and when she arrived, Lin Chuntao and the others were packing up their stall. Realizing something was wrong, she hurriedly asked, "Wife, do you still have any noodles?"

Lin Chuntao turned around and saw the elegantly dressed woman. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry, Madam, we're sold out for today. Please come again tomorrow."

Thinking of her son, Guo Jixiang smiled and said to Lin Chuntao, "I'll give you a little extra money, could you please cook me two bowls now?"

Most people would just eat it tomorrow if they can't finish it, so why do they have to pay extra to cook it?

"Madam, I'm so sorry, we've run out of sauces and can't cook today." Lin Chuntao said apologetically. After all, many people would come back tomorrow if they heard they were out of sauces, so the fact that this person even offered to pay extra must mean there was a special reason.

As expected, the woman's expression changed after she finished speaking. After a moment of silence, she asked again, "Where does your home lie, madam? Is it far? Could you please go home and fetch some sauce?"

Lin Chuntao: "..."

Guo Jixiang quickly said, "This is a reward for your hard work, my wife."

As he spoke, he took out a money pouch from his long sleeves, took out a piece of silver and handed it to Lin Chuntao. Lin Chuntao glanced at it and estimated that it was about two taels.

Just as she was about to accept it, Helan came out of the house and greeted Guo Jixiang with a smile.

"Mrs. Guo, it's been a long time! How have you been?"

Upon seeing He Lan, Guo Jixiang gave a bitter smile. "Manager He is in the shop, just like always. He's just been tied up with family matters lately and hasn't come out. How about you? How's business?"

Helan smiled and said, "I'm still the same as always." Helan then smiled and said, "It's been a long time. Come on, let's go to my house and sit for a while."

Guo Jixiang hurriedly said, "I can't go today, I'll go next time."

“My rascal hasn’t been feeling well lately. He can’t eat anything, which is really worrying me. He just said he wanted to eat braised pork soup noodles, so I came to buy it myself.”

When the child was mentioned, Helan glanced at Pei Ying. Speaking of which, Pei Ying had saved Chai Xingyu, but the Chai family never mentioned looking for their savior afterward, so Helan said nothing.

Actually, that's not all. Chai Xingyu was the only son of the eldest branch of the Chai family and was to inherit the soy sauce shop in the future. However, he was dragged by a horse in the street and almost lost his life. This matter was known to all the prominent families in the county, but the Chai family wanted to suppress the matter and pretend that nothing had happened. When they called the doctor, they only said that Chai Xingyu was unwell.

The eldest son's branch of the Chai family is currently in charge. Guo Jixiang has given birth to two daughters and two sons, but the eldest son died young, leaving only Chai Xingyu. This young master Chai Xingyu is quite an unusual person. While Chai Songchuan and Guo Jixiang are both ruthless, Chai Xingyu is kind-hearted. Aside from spending his days eating and drinking in the county town, he hasn't done anything to harm or bully others. He's playful, doesn't study, and doesn't care much about the family business of the soy sauce shop. The other branches of the Chai family are undoubtedly eyeing the family business covetously.

If Chai Xingyu is gone, the other families will be the ones to take over the sauce shop in the future.

He Lan looked at Guo Jixiang carefully; she was much thinner than the last time she saw her.

"Is Xingyu feeling better?"

Guo Jixiang said, "I'm much better. I should be fully recovered soon."

Helan patted her chest gently, "That's good. Now that he's better, you can relax a bit. As mothers, we can't bear to see our children suffer."

Guo Jixiang nodded slightly and smiled, "Well, I was just discussing with this lady whether we could buy him two more bowls of noodles to take home."

As she spoke, Guo Jixiang looked over at Lin Chuntao.

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Madam, it takes more than an hour to get here and back from my home. Is it alright here? If so, we can go home now and bring it back to you in a bit."

Guo Jixiang frowned slightly: "Is my wife going back to make the sauce fresh?"

Lin Chuntao replied, "Yes."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jixiang realized that it would take even longer. All she wanted to do now was get the soup noodles back as soon as possible, since Chai Xingyu had an appetite and wanted to eat.

"That's fine, I'll arrange a carriage and have the nanny go with you. After you've finished cooking, bring it back to her, so you won't have to trouble your wife to go."

Lin Chuntao had no objections, accepted the silver given to her by Guo, and told them to go back and get two pots or earthenware jars.

She bought two more pounds of meat from the butcher shop and some rice noodles from the noodle shop. With everything ready, the carriage arranged by Guo Jixiang arrived, and the butcher shop finished its work, so they all rode back together in the carriage.

The old nanny who went with them didn't say much. After arriving home, Lin Chuntao asked Chunhe to get stools for her and the coachman. They sat in the courtyard. Lin Chuntao quickly washed and chopped the meat, while Lin Chunxing lit the fire and heated the oil. There was still some bone broth left from yesterday, which could be used directly.

Although only two bowls were requested, they all came along, and since they were given a lot of money, she cooked half a pot.

They brought earthenware pots, one for storing rice noodles and the other for Lin Chuntao, who poured some soup into it. She said to the old woman, "Grandma, if your family wants to eat this again tonight, just cook it in this soup, add some rice noodles, chives, and tomatoes."

The old nanny looked at Lin Chuntao with a kind and gentle expression. She was Chai Xingyu's wet nurse, and she had watched the child grow up from a baby. Like Guo Jixiang, she was heartbroken to see him like this. Now that he had something he wanted to eat, she was very happy. Seeing that Lin Chuntao was not only skilled but also thoughtful, she liked her even more.

"Thank you, madam."

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's my pleasure."

The old woman carried the earthenware pot onto the carriage and was about to leave when Lin Chuntao didn't say anything polite about inviting her to stay for a meal.

After seeing the person off, Lin Chuntao weighed the piece of silver on the scale; it weighed three taels.

Lin Chunxing exclaimed with delight, "Sister, we made a profit!"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "It's a profit." If someone else had given her this money, Lin Chuntao could have cooked a bowl of meat sauce for them. But thinking of Helan's reminder and the fact that this family had come to buy it twice in a row, they might really be studying her recipe.

If the other party really wants to do this, there's no way to avoid it, but she doesn't want to give them a favor.

Lin Chuntao didn't tell Lin Chunxing and the others about this. Even if they studied her recipe, making the sauce would take time, so they decided to wait and see.

After putting away the silver, Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "We've made money today, what would you like to eat?"

The sisters' eyes darted around, trying to recall all the delicious food Lin Chuntao had made before. They couldn't eat the pork kidneys and other dishes since they hadn't bought them. Lin Chuntao looked at them for a while, unable to come up with a solution, and then smiled and said, "How about I make some savory pancakes for you to share?"

Seeing that they had never heard of this before, the sisters all widened their eyes in unison and readily agreed, "Okay, okay! Sister, how do you make this pancake?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "I'll sit here and you can watch from the side."

As she spoke, she got up and fetched a clay pot, scooped out a few spoonfuls of flour, added an appropriate amount of salt, asked Lin Chunxing to boil some warm water, added the warm water, stirred the flour until it became flocculent, and handed the rest to Pei Ying: "Just like the previous steamed buns, knead it into a smooth dough."

Pei Ying smiled, took the earthenware basin, and stood up to knead it on the table.

Pei Ying was given the dough, and Lin Chuntao went to make the sauce. Lin Chuntao didn't like sweet flavors, so she only prepared a few spices such as minced garlic and chili sauce. She chopped two tomatoes to neutralize the flavor, and after that, she chopped some finely ground meat and mixed it with scallions for later use.

Everything is ready, heat the oil in the pan.

She used a lot of lard, and after it melted in the pan, she scooped some out and set it aside. After that, she added minced garlic and stir-fried it until golden brown. Then she added sauce and spices, stir-fried until fragrant, and then added tomatoes and continued to stir-fry. Once the tomatoes and sauce had blended together, Lin Chuntao added some water and reduced the sauce over high heat.

After she finished her work, she checked the dough and found it was ready. Lin Chuntao then prepared a new bowl, scooped in some more flour, added salt, and stirred it. Finally, she poured in some of the oil that had been heated earlier to make the oil paste.

After the oil pastry was prepared, Lin Chuntao took a knife and divided the dough that Pei Ying had kneaded into several pieces. She then had Pei Ying roll each piece into a round cake, brush it with oil pastry, spread meat filling on it, and then draw a circle in the middle. She then divided the cake into several pieces along the lines, folding and wrapping it layer by layer to form a dough.

The younger sisters standing beside her stared wide-eyed. "Sister, is this all there is to it?"

Lin Chuntao smiled and said, "Not yet."

After saying that, she picked up the rolling pin and shoved it down onto the dough again, but she had a technique, and not a single bit of the meat filling that she had just wrapped in leaked out.

She placed the finished product aside and handed the rolling pin to Pei Ying, intending to check if the sauce had reduced properly. Before Pei Ying could take it, Lin Chunhe ran over: "Sister, let me try."