I'll never stay in a guesthouse again.

A head peeked out from under the quilt, Ah Mian's eyes showing. "What time is it?"

"It'll be about noon in about half an hour." Meng Chijian fastened his belt, turned around and kissed her cheek, saying lazily, "I've ordered food."

"You big liar." Ah Mian's back ached.

The swindler took the wooden tray from the door. He thought that this time when he didn't have to bother boiling water or taking care of the baby was precious, and he would try to stay at the inn more often in the future.

On the tray were a steamed fish with perilla leaves, a stir-fried loofah, a large bowl of clear soup noodles, and a small bowl of pork rib noodles.

Meng Chijian set out the bowls and chopsticks, placing the pork rib noodles aside. "Go wash up quickly."

Ah Mian was so hungry that she finally got up from bed.

"I'll go to the shop later, otherwise there will probably be too many people blocking the entrance."

"Hmm." Meng Chijian was also going to the blacksmith's shop, and at this moment his conscience finally woke up a little. "I wonder how the baby is doing. I'll go back early today."

Ah Yue—of course she's angry.

She had never been separated from her parents for so long before, and about two hours after returning home, she sensed that something was very wrong.

Dinner consisted of millet porridge and steamed egg custard, which A-Yue ate messily with a spoon. Usually, she ate by herself, and after she finished, her father would take her to take a bath and get her clean.

She ran around in the yard, but couldn't find her father and mother anywhere, and the fish bladders that were drying in the sun were also gone.

Meng Jing wasn't very good at bathing children, and after a lot of effort, she finally managed to wipe A Yue down with water. She thought that the reward of a peach blossom pastry was far too little!

We must make him buy another half roast chicken.

"You'll see your father and mother tomorrow!" Meng Jing coaxed and coaxed, and finally used her trump card, reading a storybook to little A Yue. She finally managed to lull the baby to sleep.

When A-Yue opened her eyes the next day, she immediately searched everywhere in the house again. This time, she was really heartbroken when she couldn't find it.

It wasn't the kind of loud wailing, but rather burying her head in her arms and crying softly.

Is this what separation feels like?

Little Ayue decided to never speak to her father and mother again.

As the sun set, Meng Chijian pushed open his door, accompanied by a series of "thump-thump-thump, thump-thump-thump" sounds. Little Ayue, a very temperamental child, refused to look at what the sound was and instead started drawing randomly on the muddy ground under the tree with a stick.

“Who’s back? Father is back,” Meng Chijian said.

When A-Yue heard his voice, she could no longer hold on, dropped the branch, and ran over.

Meng Chijian held a rattle drum and two hair ornaments in one hand and picked up Xiao Ayue with the other. "Look what good things I brought back for you! We queued up all night to get these for you!"

Where is Mother?

"We'll be back soon. Little Yue, do you miss us?"

Little Ayue nodded. After being asked that question, she cried for a while, feeling wronged, before forgiving her father and mother.

When A-Mian got home, Xiao A-Yue had completely forgotten about the unhappiness of last night and today. She was spinning the rattle around and making noise, making a lot of noise!

"Hmm..." While serving rice, A-Mian nudged Meng Chijian with her elbow and whispered, "Why did we buy a rattle drum? There probably won't be a quiet moment at home from now on."

“I don’t think I can soothe the others; the baby hasn’t been separated from us for that long before,” Meng Chijian said. “Just bear with it; she’ll get tired of it after a while.”

Thump, thump, thump, the weather is getting colder every day;

Knock knock knock, knock knock knock, Ah Mian's shop is doing very well.

Amidst these voices, the tofu shop has been open for over a month without anyone noticing.

The tofu shop was doing well, and A-Mian hired another kitchen helper who was good at arithmetic. He could sell sizzling tofu and call out to customers at the shop entrance on weekdays.

For some reason, this trick is very effective at attracting customers to the shop, making it significantly better than the surrounding businesses.

Ordering "a plate of sizzling tofu and a bowl of tea!" has become a way for people around to relax after a busy day.

Ah Mian's shop never sells alcohol.

She had already found a way to get through life that was far better than alcohol.

"Boss, come and try the new broth!" the cook called out. "At this hour, we can't afford to run out of tofu hot pot!"

Unlike tofu rice, which is cooked before serving, this tofu hot pot uses chicken and pork bones to make a rich broth. It's served in an earthenware pot placed over charcoal, where it's constantly simmered. Firm tofu must be used so it doesn't fall apart during long cooking and absorbs the flavors more easily.

There are also many side dishes that can be served on the table according to the guests' preferences, allowing them to add them themselves.

“I understand,” A-Mian replied. “I ordered ten earthenware pots, and they should be ready and delivered tomorrow.”

"Oh dear, busy?" Wangwang walked into the shop. "Give me a plate of sizzling tofu, sprinkled with lots of dogwood. I love your food!"

Seeing her beaming with joy, Ah Mian brought over two bowls of broth from the kitchen. "Try it, it's delicious. What good thing happened?"

"Hmm. Ah, really, it feels so good. Everything I eat here feels so comforting," Wangwang first picked up two slices of tofu and ate them, then said mysteriously, "I'm getting married, to Constable Chen."

Congratulations!

“His family is pressuring us, and I said that's perfect, my family is too. Why don't we have a fake marriage first to appease our families?”

While A-Mian was still pondering what the "fake marriage" was all about, Wang-Wang said, "Officer Chen's family doesn't live here, and it's not appropriate to hold the wedding banquet at the bride's home. I was thinking of holding it here with you."

“But, but my place isn’t very grand…” A-Mian scratched her head. She felt that the wedding banquet should be held in one of those restaurants with two-story buildings in front, since getting married is a big deal.

Wangwang chuckled, "Nonsense, I think your place is great. When the time comes, set up seven or eight tables and I'll come help. I'm sure it will be a great success."

In reality, Constable Chen was dirt poor and had never thought of saving money for a wife over the years. After arriving here, he finally managed to save more than 800 coins by farming in the backyard of the yamen, selling vegetables on the side, and looking for cats.

He wrote another letter to Zhoucheng, saying he wanted to get married, and his family was overjoyed and sent him three taels of silver.

Although it wasn't a real wedding, Constable Chen felt very sorry for Wangwang, so he handed over all the loose silver and copper coins to her and asked her to help him make some arrangements.

Half a month later, his family came in a large group to make up for the various formalities.

If you were to arrange a wedding banquet at a restaurant with eight tables, it would definitely cost at least five taels of silver!

After thinking for a moment, A-Mian had an idea. "Okay, I'll decorate it up a bit, and I guarantee your wedding banquet will be both festive and lively, and the guests will eat to their hearts' content!"