"Ah, Ah Mian... Actually, I'm not very hungry right now."

Meng Jing glanced at the dishes on the wooden table, gave a dry laugh, and tried to slip away.

"This time it really doesn't taste bad, you can trust me. It just doesn't look very appetizing." After returning home, A-Mian racked her brains trying to figure out how to make "stinky tofu".

She first thought about combining tofu with some food that could emit a "stinky" smell.

So she bought half a pound of bitter melon, boiled it, mashed it into a paste, added water, boiled it again, and then added tofu. The tofu was tinged with a light green color, and when it was served on a plate, it looked quite authentic.

That evening at dinner, without any suspicion, everyone picked up a piece of tofu and put it in their mouths—

"Ugh, ugh..." Ah Mian's little face scrunched up. She tasted something bitter on her tongue, and her eyes immediately welled up with tears. "It tastes awful."

Xiao Jing was also in terrible pain. While coughing, she hurriedly went to the kitchen to scoop up some water to rinse her mouth.

However, that bitter feeling still lingered.

How much bitter melon did you put in?

“…five or six,” A-Mian said softly.

Meng Jing said, "It's so bitter, it doesn't taste good at all."

There was also a dish of stir-fried cabbage stalks with pork belly slices, a bowl of vegetable and bean sprout soup, and pickled radish on the table, so the two of them went to eat other dishes.

Amian buried herself in her rice, but after a while she noticed something and looked at Meng Chijian, feeling a little embarrassed and realizing she had caused trouble again. "Don't eat this, it tastes terrible."

She secretly suspected that this person might have a malfunctioning tongue, as he could swallow such a bitter thing without batting an eye.

Meng Chijian said, "It's alright. Bitter melon is like this, it even has a slightly sweet aftertaste." He didn't force himself to eat it, because he genuinely felt that the taste wasn't so bad that he couldn't eat it. Since no one else was eating this dish, he naturally ate more of it.

Amian was still skeptical, but she picked up another piece of bitter melon and tofu and put it in her bowl. This time she was prepared, and she swallowed the tofu and rice directly without even chewing them.

"What are you doing? Eat properly." Meng Chijian put a slice of meat in her bowl. "However, I think this can only be considered 'bitter tofu' at most, not the 'stinky tofu' you wanted to make."

A-Mian hummed in agreement and focused on her meal. Occasionally, she would glance at Meng Chijian's profile and feel a strange flush on her face.

Although he always seemed to be like that.

However, a very bold guess popped into A-Mian's mind.

Could it be that she actually already has feelings for him very much?

If this were said aloud, many people would find it utterly baffling. You've been married for three years, and even have a child, why are you bringing this up now?!

But in A-Mian's mind, getting married and having children is just a natural process, something that people have to do when they reach a certain age.

Just like the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, hunger pangs leading to food, and the village stray dogs taking a liking to each other.

She was a young woman, and it was quite normal for her to sleep together with a capable and handsome man after spending so much time together.

However, the feeling of joy is a strange, fleeting emotion that appears from time to time.

I can't help but want to see him, I don't want him to eat bad food, and I worry that picking so much firewood will cause the old injury on his shoulder to flare up.

It's over.

A-Mian's heart sank. After finishing her meal, she went back to her room and patted her head a few times, thinking that she might have gone crazy from eating too much bitter melon and tofu.

The production of stinky tofu is still not going smoothly.

A few days later, Wangwang came to play with Amian. After hearing her thoughts, she held back for a long time before finally bursting out laughing. Amian pinched her arm in annoyance, and Wangwang then tried to sound serious, saying, "You mean, because he didn't make a fuss like the two of you when he ate bitter melon, you think you've fallen for him?"

"...He ate more than half a plate by himself." The rest was given to Adou and the chicks.

Amian felt that Wangwang wouldn't understand at all and would only laugh at her, so she quickly added a few more instances where she had that feeling: "And he always carries the bat-shaped pouch I embroidered with him when he goes out, but he says he can't tell it's a bat, it looks more like two little chicks. And also..."

But these things are completely different from what's said in the storybooks.

"Like you and Constable Chen, um... it's like a hero saving a damsel in distress, and he arrives gracefully at the last minute. Hey, how are you two doing now?"

Wangwang took a bite of the grilled tofu and grinned mischievously, "I found a job."

"Great! Which one is it?"

"I found myself to be a cook at the county government office. I told them that I could read and write and cook, and that I could write down and post the dishes I made each day."

Wangwang rubbed Amian's face. "We learned in the academy, 'A man's infatuation can be explained, but a woman's infatuation cannot.' I envy you, though. Marrying the person you love is always a good thing. As for me and him... sigh, I don't know how it will end."

Wangwang went to work at the county government office for two reasons. Firstly, she was a cook employed by the government and received a fixed salary of one tael of silver per month. The money wasn't much, but if nothing unexpected happened, she could work there until she was old. Secondly, she could see Constable Chen frequently.

Amian looked around and whispered to her, "Weren't there some people fighting on the food street the other day? Tell him secretly that it was someone from that bean shop in town who did it. But you absolutely can't say that I told him."

"I know, I understand."

This is not a good matter. Officer Chen is new, while Doufang is a local strongman who has been rooted in the area for many years.

Now, only Ah Mian and the last remaining tofu rice stall in the food street sells tofu dishes. As far as Ah Mian knows, that stall also buys its tofu from a tofu shop every day, so only Ah Mian's family still makes their own tofu at home every day.

It's hard to say when we might be targeted.

After setting up her stall for two hours, A-Mian returned to the blacksmith's shop.

She furtively set up the screen, then hid in a corner, peering inside with a jar in her arms. The jar contained tofu she'd put in a few days ago, along with salt, vinegar, and sauce. Since the blacksmith's shop was hot, she'd hidden the two small jars there.

As soon as the lid was opened, a stench hit her. Ah Mian gagged a few times, covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief, and continued to peer inside with great interest.

The tofu has grown mold.

Why is it still covered in green fur?

But it really stinks. This thing... there's something weird about it.

Ah Mian thought that since it smelled so bad, it might taste extraordinary, so she put down the jar and went to get the spoon from the donkey cart.

Turning around, he saw Meng Chijian, whose face was as black as charcoal.

Meng Chijian, sleeves rolled up, looked on the verge of fainting from anger. This smelly fellow actually had the nerve to give him a dry smile. He had noticed these jars a while ago, but since they were covered, he hadn't paid them any attention.

Passersby in front of the shop covered their mouths and noses, spreading the word, "What happened? What happened? Did the latrine explode somewhere?"