The villagers had already heard the news that Lu Yanzhao was returning to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors. They waited anxiously at the crossroads early in the morning.

Li's face turned ashen, her heart burning with jealousy, but she was scolded by Lu Lao Er: "This is a matter of bringing honor to our ancestors, so don't get any funny ideas. Instead, go find Yanping's whereabouts."

Since Lu Yanping left the village, his whereabouts have been unknown. However, he receives a sum of money and a letter every month.

The letter stated that he was safe and sound, but remained silent about anything else.

Li gave a perfunctory "I understand" and hurriedly turned and left.

She didn't care about Wang's (Lu's mother) smug face. Her son was earning money too, and he sent money every month. Given time, he would definitely be no worse off than Lu Yanzhao.

During the ancestral worship ceremony, Lu Lao Er stepped forward with a hint of flattery. Suddenly remembering that he was Lu Yanzhao's elder, he put on airs and tried to pat Lu Yanzhao on the shoulder, but Lu Yanzhao dodged him.

Lu Lao Er awkwardly withdrew his hand: "Yan Zhao, you're an official now. You've truly brought honor to our ancestors; our Lu family's ancestral graves are emitting auspicious smoke. When are you going to invite your uncle to the capital for a visit?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yanzhao scoffed coldly, "Not bad!"

Lu Lao Er was stunned, seemingly not expecting Lu Yanzhao to be so easy to talk to. Happiness came too suddenly, and he felt like he was dreaming. He was about to ask Lu Yanzhao if it was true, but then he heard him say, "But Uncle, you must take good care of yourself. The capital is not like the countryside. You can lose your life if you are not careful."

Lu Yanzhao wasn't trying to scare Lu Lao Er; their journey to the capital was fraught with peril, with a slim chance of survival. A single misstep could cost them their lives.

Lu Lao Er felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him from head to toe. Judging from Lu Yanzhao's tone, it was as if he would lose his life if he went to the capital.

He had indeed treated Lu Yanzhao's family badly before, and who knows, he might punish him, his uncle, when they get to the capital.

However, since he's such a high-ranking official, at least leave him some money.

In front of all the villagers, he didn't believe that Lu Yanzhao had no shame.

"Yanzhao, your uncle is unwell, your aunt is sick, and your brother Yanping is missing. Sigh, we've spent all our money. Look..." Lu Lao Er glanced at the villagers and shamelessly asked Lu Yanzhao for money.

He refused to believe that he would put on airs like a top scholar in front of his fellow villagers.

Seeing Lu Yanzhao's face darken slightly, the village chief quickly scolded Lu Lao Er: "You are shameless! You occupied other people's land and houses before, and now that they have become successful, you want money from them."

The villagers were eager to impress Lu Yanzhao and accused him, saying, "That's right, people have to save face, trees have to keep their bark. You're shameless, you're invincible. If you keep being so shameless, get out of our village."

Lu Lao Er thought the villagers would side with him, and that Lu Yanzhao would at least give him some money for the sake of everyone's face.

Unexpectedly, these people rushed to curry favor with him, and one by one they began to criticize him.

Lu Lao Er retorted, "His father is gone, and I'm the only elder in the Lu family. What's wrong with him giving me some money as a sign of respect?"

At that moment, someone in the crowd shouted, "Isn't the money your son earned from selling his body enough to support you? Why are you relying on your nephew?"

The crowd burst into laughter.

Lu Lao Er was confused, but when he realized what was going on, he was furious: "You dare to slander my son? Yanping is away on business. If you keep talking nonsense, I won't be polite."

A voice came from the crowd again: "He did go to do business, but it's the business of selling his ass. A couple of days ago, I went to the county town and passed by the entrance of Nanfeng Pavilion and saw your son soliciting business. He was dressed more provocatively than a woman."

These words caused a huge uproar in the crowd. Lu Lao Er couldn't take the blow and fainted.

His proud son! He's ruined.

Lu Yanzhao curled his lips, not even glancing at Lu Lao Er.

That's the benefit of power; you don't need to ask anyone to do things for you, someone will naturally handle everything perfectly for you.

After the ancestral worship ceremony, the village chief had already prepared a banquet, with the money coming from everyone, and he had hired the best chef in the county.

The villagers' gazes toward Lu Yanzhao changed, and their tone of voice became obsequious.

This was a high-ranking official, someone they, as commoners, could never compare to. Many families with daughters deeply regretted not marrying them to him.

Gu Nanjiao is really shameless; she went out of her way to get into his bed, and now she's an official's wife.

Sometimes being shameless is a good thing.

Faced with the villagers' flattery, Lu Yanzhao behaved as usual, without any airs of an official, and did not look down on others because of his status.

After the banquet, Lu Yanzhao took out one hundred taels of silver and handed it to the village chief: "Thank you all for welcoming me. I am very grateful. I have been fortunate to receive your help over the years. How can I use your money to hold a banquet? Today's banquet is like a farewell banquet. My family will be moving to the capital and will not be coming back. If you have any difficulties and need any help, you can ask the village chief to write to me."

Upon hearing this, everyone praised Lu Yanzhao.

Look at them, even after passing the imperial examination with top honors, they are not arrogant or complacent. Even after moving to the capital, they still think about benefiting the village.

...

These past few days, Gu Nanjiao has been busy inventing delicious food, while Lu's mother and Sister Wang have been covering their noses and running away.

Today we're making stinky mandarin fish, using the freshest mandarin fish, marinated with salt, and then pressed down in a wooden bucket.

The weather was just right, neither too hot nor too cold. Marinate for about six days until the fish ferments and starts to smell.

The marinated stinky mandarin fish is deep-fried in oil, then stewed with pork, bamboo shoots, and wild chili peppers until the aroma is slowly released.

Although stinky mandarin fish smells pungent, the meat tastes incredibly delicious. The cooked fish meat is shaped like garlic cloves, coated in a rich, dark sauce, and has a savory and delicious flavor that makes it a perfect accompaniment to rice.

At first, the staff at Meiweizhai were disgusted, especially Sister Wang, who covered her nose and ran far away.

Seeing everyone holding their noses and eating with gusto, she couldn't resist trying it herself. To her surprise, it tasted so good that she immediately fell in love with the flavor.

Seeing that everyone's reaction was good, Gu Nanjiao added stinky mandarin fish to the menu.

He sent a few more to Yingniang and told her not to eat too many.

Yingniang loved anything smelly, and her mouth watered at the sight of stinky mandarin fish.

Lin Ji bought some pig offal and asked Gu Nanjiao how to cook it.

For a time, the Lin family's courtyard was filled with a foul odor.

Yingniang closed her eyes in enjoyment, inhaling the intoxicating scent.

Gu Nanjiao taught Lin Ji a few dishes suitable for pregnant women, and specifically instructed her that pregnant women should eat these foods in moderation, as pig intestines are high in cholesterol, and eating too much is not good for the pregnant woman and the fetus.

Gu Nanjiao has recently become addicted to researching smelly foods. When she returned home that night, Lu Yanzhao looked at her with a resentful expression.

"What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into today?"

Gu Nanjiao mysteriously pulled out a food box: "Guess?"

"I can't guess." Lu Yanzhao wasn't interested, and he was too lazy to guess.

"They're live pearls!" Gu Nanjiao brought them out. "Lu Yanzhao, help me taste them and see if they're delicious!"

Lu Yanzhao felt disgusted: "I won't try it. I would rather die than eat something so stinky."

"Tch, didn't you enjoy those snail rice noodles, stinky mandarin fish, stinky tofu, and pig offal the other day?"

Lu Yanzhao's face was full of disgust: "You forced me to eat it."

To be honest, he both loved and hated these things, and he didn't know how Gu Nanjiao could have such strange ideas in her head.

"If you're not going to eat it, I will!" Gu Nanjiao swallowed, she was a little impatient.

"Mmm!" Lu Yanzhao responded softly, and after a while said to Gu Nanjiao, "Remember to wash your mouth after you finish eating."

He can accept other smelly foods, but he would absolutely not eat this live pearl.

I would rather die than eat it.