The portly officer quickly let them through. He Zifeng also said some kind words, which pleased the officer. Mining was dangerous, and there was a monthly death quota; getting someone out wasn't difficult.

Although the fat officer did not know He Changfeng's identity, seeing how much Zhu the constable valued him, he also intended to befriend him.

He Changfeng took Sanshun away. Sanshun said she wanted to say something to someone from the same village. When she came out, her eyes were red.

Seeing that the soles of his shoes were worn out and that there was still a long way to go, He Changfeng simply found a horse-drawn carriage and personally took him to Lingshan Village.

On the way, He Zifeng asked him what he had said to those people.

San Shun said, "Tell them to wait for me." He couldn't go out alone. He would earn more money to rescue the person.

He had worked in the mines before and knew how dangerous it was there; he couldn't let everyone down.

He Zifeng escorted him to the village entrance, but he didn't get off. Instead, he asked the carriage to turn around and take him back to Chishui Village.

After arriving at his destination, he paid the fare and went home, where he smelled a delicious aroma.

After washing his hands, He Zifeng noticed that Qiu Yu had set up a large iron pot in the yard. He Zifeng asked, "What's this?"

Qiu Yu said, "Crispy pork." These days, fatty meat is hard to come by, but lean meat is relatively more common. He bought ten catties of lean meat at the village entrance, cut it into strips about the thickness of a finger, coated it with batter, and fried it in a pot.

He fried it twice to get the meat golden and crispy.

He Zifeng washed his hands, not afraid of getting burned, and picked up the crispy pork from the plate to taste it.

Qiu Yu then opened his eyes wide and asked, "Is it delicious?" He seemed somewhat expectant.

He Zifeng took a bite; it was a very substantial piece of meat. The meat had probably been marinated beforehand, and it tasted delicious. These days, people who can eat large chunks of meat are still a minority; crispy pork is a snack that adults like.

He Zifeng had just taken a bite when he licked his fingers, wanting more. If he were to eat it, half a pound wouldn't be enough: "Delicious."

Qiu Yu had already tasted it. Since she had made a little money, she could use more oil and seasoning without anyone saying anything. However, Qiu Yu still cared about He Zifeng's opinion. Seeing that he also said it was delicious, she was a little happy.

Then he remembered that He Zifeng had been called away by his men halfway through, and asked, "Are you alright?"

He Zifeng said, "It's nothing." He didn't want to tell Qiu Yu about the factional struggles in the yamen, lest he worry her.

Seeing that the oil in the pan was too hot, and noticing that there were still some left on the plate, He Zifeng said, "Do we have to cook all of these? I'll do it." If any oil splattered on him, he could get a blood blister.

Qiu Yu smiled, her eyes crinkling. She was used to hard work, and these tasks were not tiring for her at all. But the thought that He Zifeng was willing to help her still made her quite happy.

While He Zifeng helped him deep-fry the crispy pork, Qiu Yu watched the heat and quickly put the pork into the pot, where it was immediately covered in oil bubbles.

The aroma will soon fill the air. You have to use long chopsticks to carefully turn them over. Once they turn golden brown, you have to take them out, otherwise the outside will burn while the inside is still raw.

He Zifeng asked, "You plan to sell this?" The pork supply to them has been cut off, which has had a significant impact on them.

Qiu Yu said, "It probably won't work." He was somewhat dejected. He had bought these things intending to give it a try, but the cost was too high after all. He wouldn't make much money, and the most troublesome thing was this pot of hot oil. It wasn't safe to carry it back and forth.

He Zifeng asked, "Do you still have any braising liquid at home?" He was referring to the old braising liquid they used to make each time, which they would add extra ingredients to each batch, something others couldn't replicate. Moreover, the old braising liquid gets more fragrant with use, and he had heard that many long-established shops had braising liquid that had been aging for even longer.

Qiu Yu said, "That's true..." He still hadn't recovered from that blow. Seeing this, He Zifeng truly loathed those butchers. They were trying to sell bones for the price of meat, and the pig offal that they used to beg to buy was now more expensive than meat.

They're treating them like pigs to be slaughtered.

"These butchers are so dishonest; don't expect to make a single penny out of him in the future," He Zifeng said. "If there's no meat, we'll just make braised vegetables." They have connections in the mountains; there are several kinds of mushrooms and wild wood ear fungus on the mountain. They can also buy old-fashioned dried tofu from the tofu shop, potato slices, and dried green bean strips. After soaking and stir-frying, they're crunchy and delicious—all readily available in the village.

Since we're not letting them take away the meat dishes, it's perfectly fine to serve some vegetarian food.

Upon hearing He Zifeng's suggestion, Qiu Yu's eyes lit up: "Okay." She then pocketed a bag of millet and a handful of copper coins. In the countryside, barter was still the norm; people were generally embarrassed to accept money.

Qiu Yu had told Fang Shi that although Fang Shi returned to the village late, she had been making great strides in basket weaving recently, and with the help of Sister Liu and the others, she quickly became familiar with the aunties in the village.

Everyone was happy to support her, after all, He Zifeng had become successful, and they might need his help someday. Upon hearing this, Madam Fang immediately entrusted her with the task.

Soon, Fang's family arranged for a basket to be brought over.

Dried mushrooms and dried green beans need to be soaked and blanched. Older dried tofu also needs to be soaked in the braising liquid beforehand to enhance the meat flavor.

I cooked a big pot of braising liquid, put the vegetables in it, and soaked them in the red oil made from fried chili peppers. It wasn't spicy, but it was very fragrant.

Soak it overnight, and it will taste even better.

Qiu Yu is now full of energy again. At night, lying in bed, his mind is still full of business ideas: "Tomorrow I need to buy some dried tofu." It's more tender than regular tofu. "Braising some eggs should also work." He used to be confined by meat dishes and offal.

After He Zifeng's suggestion, he realized that everything could be braised, and he wanted to expand his menu, feeling quite frustrated. He was selling his skills; even without meat, he could still make money. He didn't want to be ripped off by butchers.

Qiu Yu has many money-making plans in her head.

He was getting more and more energetic, even sitting up in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. He Zifeng pulled him tightly into his arms.

He Zifeng couldn't resist gently biting his neck with his teeth.

When Qiu Yu's sensitive spot was touched, her hair stood on end, and she came to her senses only to find herself already being embraced.

Then He Zifeng said, "Little money-grubber, I was originally planning to take this opportunity to let you have a good rest."

Qiu Yu said, "I can't stand sitting still; I like to do some work."

He Zifeng said, "Since we can't stay here, let's do something else."

Qiu Yu didn't quite understand at first and asked He Zifeng what he was doing.

He Zifeng responded with a kiss. The night was long, and if one couldn't sleep, what else was there to do?

By the time Qiu Yu realized it, it was too late.

...

The next morning, Qiu Yu didn't dare open her eyes to look at He Zifeng. She couldn't understand how he had so much energy after a busy day.

He Zifeng, however, seemed oblivious, constantly circling around Qiu Yu, doing this or that.

Then he secretly snuggled up to Qiuyu.

Qiu Yu wanted to hit He Zifeng, but she was too embarrassed to do so because Fang Shi was there, so she could only give him a reproachful look. However, the two were in love, and even that glance was filled with affection.

Then they went out and set up a stall.

Although He Zifeng told the inn and the security escort agency the bad news yesterday that he was no longer making braised food, ordinary individual customers didn't know. They were still waiting to buy some.

"Give me half a jin."

"I'll take a pound."

He Zifeng quickly said, "Don't rush to buy, we're not buying braised pork offal anymore. We'll have vegetarian dishes instead."

Then, the lid was opened, and a wonderful aroma wafted out. A large pot of everything was soaking in a spicy braising sauce, and it looked incredibly appetizing. There were a total of seven or eight kinds of vegetables, and about ten peeled hard-boiled eggs were also added to the braising sauce.

When the regular customer heard that there were no meat dishes left, he didn't rush to leave and asked, "How much is this?"

"Ten coins for half a pound, all the same price, no matter what it is!" He Zifeng said.

The people around him were all regulars who ate meat, so they didn't care about the small amount of money. They said, "Give me half a pound." Then they added, "Get some mushrooms, dried tofu, wood ear fungus, and eggs, a little of everything."

Qiu Yu scooped the braising liquid out of them, drained the liquid, weighed them, and then poured two spoonfuls of red oil braising liquid over them.

After taking the bowl, the man turned it upside down into the basin he had prepared; they did the same when buying pork offal. Not in a hurry to leave, some impatient individuals simply scooped up a piece of mushroom and ate it.

The mushrooms, having soaked up the broth, are tender and juicy, with a hint of meaty flavor. For such a low price, they're just as good as meat.

Moreover, the juice has a slight spiciness, making it spicy and crispy, and you'll want more after just one bite.

People around them started buying too. The first person to buy, seeing how popular it was, said, "Give me another pound. Yes, extra mushrooms too. And a few more pieces of dried tofu, a little extra is fine, I'll pay."

The innkeeper's waiter was still looking around when he saw that Qiu Yu and the others had arrived, so he came over to join in the fun.

The butchers who sold meat yesterday raised their prices to refuse to sell to He Zifeng and his group, just waiting for them to beg for mercy. Pig offal and pork bones weren't as popular as they'd imagined; half were still left after a day's sales. These things don't keep well. They went back and tried to cook it themselves, but they didn't know which seasoning they'd forgotten, as it tasted very fishy and gamey.

I really don't understand why anyone would still want to spend so much money to buy it?

Today, we even sent out a scout to check on them. After a while, the scout returned and said, "They've started selling again."

One of the butchers said, "Impossible. If we don't sell to them, where will they buy from?" As soon as he finished speaking, the men began to suspect each other. Could there be a traitor among them, pretending to raise the price while secretly selling to them?

The scout said, "No, they're selling vegetarian dishes, ten coins for half a pound."

Upon hearing this, the butcher felt relieved and said, "Hey, I thought it was something else. What's so delicious about that? They're just trying to challenge us. Just wait and see, they won't be able to stand it for more than three days. Ten coins for half a pound of vegetables? Are they crazy?"

The scout was too embarrassed to say that Qiu Yu and her group's stall was surrounded, and judging from the situation, they couldn't even sell one pot.

Author's Note: Sorry, there will only be one update today. To make up for it, I will give away 100 red envelopes in the comments section below this chapter.

Double updates as usual tomorrow.