As the saying goes, the more something is kept secret, the more it arouses people's curiosity.
Aunt Meng's eyes lit up; Meng Qingluan's secret to making a fortune must be in the kitchen.
Otherwise, she would be nothing but a good-for-nothing who just loafs around and waits to die; even a pig could get as thin as a rat with her.
How could one possibly earn fifteen taels of silver in just a few days?
The fact that she agreed so readily means she must have earned more than fifteen taels.
She didn't believe that Shen Yan, a brothel girl, would pawn her jade pendant to pay off her debts for Meng Qingluan.
Aunt Meng was itching to go, so she kept an eye on the activity inside the house and started to move closer to the kitchen.
"Here's your money back."
As soon as Aunt Meng placed her hand on the kitchen door, Meng Qingluan took out fifteen taels of silver from the house.
Aunt Meng was startled and quickly withdrew her hand, pretending nothing had happened.
Aunt Meng was extremely nervous and stepped forward to snatch the silver.
"Where's the IOU?"
Aunt Meng impatiently took it out and casually tossed it to her.
The IOU fluttered to the ground. Meng Qingluan glanced at her but didn't move.
Aunt Meng was stared at by her direct gaze for a while, and she was the first to give in, reluctantly picking it up and handing it to Meng Qingluan.
"Here you go, hurry up and take it!" Aunt Meng said irritably.
Meng Qingluan reached out and took it, then tore it into pieces right in front of her.
Meng Qingluan didn't ask any more questions about what had just happened, and urged him on.
"Take the money and leave quickly, my husband and I have things to do."
Aunt Meng cursed inwardly, but pretended to agree and turned to walk to the door.
Aunt Meng opened the door and then closed it again, but she pressed herself tightly against the corner of the wall by the doorway.
Only after hearing Meng Qingluan close the kitchen door did she cautiously peek out like a thief.
"You little slut, you think you can get rich behind my back? No way!"
Aunt Meng cursed under her breath, tiptoed quietly to the kitchen door.
The kitchen door wasn't closed properly; there was just a crack, enough for someone outside to see clearly the figure at the stove inside.
Meng Qingluan chopped up rotten vegetable leaves and threw them into the pot, speaking loudly as if no one else was around.
"To make it really good, you have to add some unwashed, rotten vegetable leaves and some brown rice. That way, they'll taste their original flavor and be more delicious."
Chen Yan stirred the pot with a spatula, her eyes twitching slightly as her gaze inadvertently swept across the doorway, her brows furrowing gently.
Aunt Meng leaned against the door frame, her brows furrowed as she watched.
Do the people in town really like eating this? It tastes like pig feed.
Meng Qingluan picked up the pot and placed it aside, clapped her hands, and said, "Okay, let it cool down a bit."
After Meng Qingluan finished speaking, she was about to walk out.
Seeing this, Aunt Meng didn't dare to delay and hurriedly ran outside, only to find that the front door was directly opposite the kitchen door.
If I run out through the main gate, Meng Qingluan will definitely catch me red-handed.
Meng Qingluan was already about to push the door open and come out.
In her haste, Aunt Meng climbed up the low wall beside her, but because she was too fat, she only climbed halfway up before Meng Qingluan's surprised voice came from behind her.
"Oh, Auntie! What are you doing?"
Aunt Meng turned around awkwardly and gave a stiff explanation.
"I've been exercising lately, and I was thinking of climbing over the wall to get out, but I ended up choking because I've been eating too much lately."
"Oh, I see."
Meng Qingluan looked at her meaningfully, then clapped her hands and walked to the wall.
"Then I'll help you out."
"..."
Before Aunt Meng could refuse, Meng Qingluan had already grabbed her buttocks with both hands and pushed her away with force.
Aunt Meng was thrown out unexpectedly, landing on the ground in a kneeling position.
Before she could get up and start cursing, Meng Qingluan was already leaning against the wall, cupping her cheeks in her hands and smiling at her.
"Don't thank me, Aunt. It's what I should do. We're family, after all."
Aunt Meng glared at Meng Qingluan and gave her a fierce look.
On second thought, since he already had the precious recipe, he decided to go to town tomorrow to see what Meng Qingluan was selling.
When the time comes, I'll just follow her secret recipe, and Meng Qingluan will be nothing to me.
Then I'll have to beg her to lend me money again, and this old house will be hers sooner or later.
Aunt Meng propped herself up and stood up, patting the dirt off her hands.
"Go ahead and laugh. Laugh more, so you won't be unable to laugh later."
"..."
Seeing Meng Qingluan with her hand to her lips, Aunt Meng assumed she had been humiliated and turned away triumphantly.
"Hahaha—hahaha—"
Aunt Meng had only taken a couple of steps after turning around when Meng Qingluan burst into laughter again behind her.
This is insane!
Aunt Meng quickened her pace; Meng Qingluan must have been followed by a ghost.
Meng Qingluan watched her aunt's dejected figure leave, feeling quite satisfied.
Just as he turned to jump down, he realized that she had climbed too high when she was trying to do something naughty.
Indeed, you only don't feel tired when you're doing bad things.
Meng Qingluan was having second thoughts.
The wall is at least a meter high and quite a distance from the ground. If I lose my footing, I'm sure I'll fall and hurt myself.
Just as Meng Qingluan was debating whether or not to jump, Shen Yan came out after feeding the pigs.
She had only taken two steps when Chen Yan stopped and looked up at her.
Meng Qingluan was hanging on the wall, her eyes staring at him pitifully.
"..."
Shen Yan was speechless for a moment. How did she climb up such a high wall?
Meng Qingluan pouted and tremblingly stretched out a hand towards Chen Yan.
"Chen Yan, can you carry me downstairs?"
"..."
Chen Yan was speechless, but she couldn't just leave her hanging on the wall all night.
If you catch a cold then, it will be another troublesome matter.
What he fears most is trouble.
Shen Yan found a stool. Fortunately, he was tall and had long legs, so he could just stand on the stool and hug Meng Qingluan.
Shen Yan grasped Meng Qingluan's waist with one hand and gently lifted her into his arms.
Holding her in my arms, I realized how thin Meng Qingluan was; her waist was so slender it could be encircled with one hand, and it was even a little rough to the touch.
It seems all the money was used to support Young Master Yue of Nanfeng Pavilion.
Shen Yan thought coldly to himself, and even the force with which he put her down became a bit rougher.
Meng Qingluan felt much more at ease after returning to the ground.
Thank you.
Meng Qingluan smiled and thanked Shen Yan, then went into the bedroom without turning her head to continue doing her accounts.
Shen Yan raised his dark eyes and swept them across the roof, where only a few weeds swayed gently.
"Pshaw, you idiot."
"..."
Meng Qingluan and Shen Yan went to town to set up their stall as usual, while a furtive figure was secretly watching them from the alley behind them.
Aunt Meng frowned as she looked at the offal in the diners' bowls.
A few days ago, she heard that Meng Qingluan had bought a lot of pig offal, and she had laughed at her for a while at home. She never expected that Meng Qingluan would actually put it up for sale.
What was even more unexpected was that someone actually came to buy it.
No wonder Butcher Zhou's pig offal, which used to rot and no one would buy, is now selling for five coins a piece.
In no time, the offal soup sold at Meng Qingluan's stall was sold out, and many people even made reservations with her for tomorrow.
Aunt Meng covered her mouth, her eyes gleaming.
They still have the pig from the New Year's feast that hasn't been slaughtered yet, and she'll go back and butcher it tonight.
Then we won't have to buy offal from Butcher Zhou, and we can sell it in town for a good price.
Meng Qingluan sells a bowl for four coins, so she sells it for three coins.
Same recipe, same taste, but cheaper price—she refused to believe that Meng Qingluan could compete with her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com