Zhou Ning walked over carrying a basket, fished a copper coin from his waistband, and handed it over. Zhang Xiaoyi chimed in from behind with a sarcastic remark, “You don’t have any coins, so you have to get Ning-ger to pay for you.”

“Ning-ger, look at Zhang Xiaoyi—he’s being so sharp again,” Shen Linchuan immediately tattled.

“Don’t say that about him.”

Zhou Ning defended him, earning another eye-roll from Zhang Xiaoyi.

“Doctor Zhang, do you have any medicine for kidney deficiency? Please prepare two doses for me.”

“Linchuan needs it? Kidney deficiency at such a young age?” Doctor Zhang glanced at Shen Linchuan, who coughed so hard he nearly choked. “I don’t! I don’t!”

Zhang Xiaoyi doubled over laughing beside them. “Shen Linchuan, so you’re not just frail-looking—you’re actually suffering from kidney deficiency!”

Shen Linchuan was filled with regret. It had been nothing more than playful banter in the bedroom. How could he have known his Fulang would take it so seriously? And now he wanted to get medicine for himself! Clearly, he was desperate to have a child soon!

Doctor Zhang reached out to take Shen Linchuan’s pulse, but Shen Linchuan flinched away. Zhou Ning grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward. “Don’t be afraid to face your illness.”

Shen Linchuan rolled his eyes inwardly. Great, he’d even learned to use idioms now. What progress!

Zhang Xiaoyi stood nearby, wearing an expression that screamed, “I can’t wait to see this play out.” Shen Linchuan was speechless. So many people wanted to see him humiliated!

Doctor Zhang took his pulse. “This is perfectly fine. Where’s the kidney deficiency? You’re young and in excellent health. No worries, just rest for a couple of days and you’ll be fine.”

Doctor Zhang was being tactful, but Shen Linchuan understood perfectly—he was telling him to take it easy.

Shen Linchuan, utterly humiliated, grabbed Zhou Ning’s hand and bolted out. “Thanks! We’re outta here!”

Once they were outside the doctor’s door, Shen Linchuan was so embarrassed that a thin layer of sweat broke out on his forehead. He tugged at Zhou Ning’s sleeve, his voice tinged with gritted teeth. “How could you just blurt things out like that? Don’t you care about your husband’s dignity?”

Zhou Ning blinked. “But you said you had a kidney deficiency. If you have an illness, you should get it checked early. Don’t delay having children.”

Shen Linchuan was flabbergasted. His Fulang was single-minded about having children!

“From now on, whatever we say in bed stays between us. Those are private matters. Only we need to know. Don’t tell anyone else.”

Though Zhou Ning didn’t understand why—he hadn’t told anyone—he nodded anyway. “Got it.”

Shen Linchuan straightened his back. “Now you know. I’m perfectly fine. You actually believed my lies? How gullible can you be?”

Zhou Ning grew flustered. “Why did you lie to me?”

“Because I didn’t want you to suffer.” Shen Linchuan tugged him along. “I’ve never seen anyone so dense. You didn’t even say you were in pain. You haven’t come these past few days. Rest up. We’ll talk once you’re better.”

“My constitution is much stronger than yours. I don’t need rest.”

Shen Linchuan felt like poking Fulang’s forehead. How could he be so stubborn? “Does your butt not hurt anymore?”

Zhou Ning fell silent, his face flushing slightly. Clutching the basket, he hurried off. Shen Linchuan chuckled inwardly. He always had to spell things out for him to understand. Usually sharp as a tack, he only seemed to turn into a blockhead when it came to matters in bed.

Back home, they sat together in the courtyard sorting elm seeds, picking off every last twig. The fresh seeds gave off a pleasant, woodsy fragrance. Bright sunlight spilled into the yard while the plump yellow dog rolled around at their feet, belly exposed.

At noon, Shen Linchuan steamed elm seeds mixed with cornmeal and prepared stir-fried wild onions with pork. Just as the meal was nearly ready, Zhou Da returned, leading a pig.

That afternoon, they helped slaughter the pig together. The three of them bustled about, cleaning the numerous offal that came with the pig. Not only did these parts fetch little value, but they were also a pain to handle. Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning scrubbed and washed them thoroughly at the courtyard gate.

Shen Linchuan had already made up his mind: since offal and pig heads wouldn’t fetch much, better to braise them and earn a little extra. “Father, Ning-ger, that braised pig head meat we made before—wasn’t it pretty good?”

At the mention of pig head meat, Zhou Ning’s eyes lit up. “Delicious.”

Zhou Da, busy butchering the pig nearby, chimed in with a smile, “Old Wang from the pancake stall next door said it was delicious too.”

“Then why not sell pig heads and offal at the meat stall from now on? It’d add another income stream for the family. These aren’t valuable items anyway, but this way we can make a little extra.”

“Sounds good. I just worry you’ll be too busy.”

“It won’t be busy, Dad. I’ll have plenty of free time studying at home.”

After washing the pig’s head and offal, they were placed together in a large iron pot to boil. Adding some leftover brine from the last time they cooked a pig’s head enhanced the flavor.

There was also a large basin of pig’s blood. Shen Linchuan planned to turn it into pig’s blood tofu sausages. Once he had enough, he could take them to town to sell.

Zhou Ning tended the fire while Shen Linchuan prepared the pig’s blood tofu sausages. Neither of them had a moment to spare. They worked all afternoon, the aroma of simmering pork head meat wafting far and wide.

Someone with time on their hands wandered over, drawn by the scent. “What’s cooking over there? Smells amazing.”

“Pig heads and offal,” Zhou Da replied. “Ning-ger and his wife are starting a little business.”

“Selling it? Then give me some now!”

The visitor was a villager drawn by the aroma. Just as Zhou Da was about to dismiss him, saying it wasn’t anything special and he could just help himself, Shen Linchuan interjected, “Uncle, this is our family’s secret recipe for pork head and offal stew. Let me slice you a taste first. If you like it, grab a bowl—it’s cheap!”

“Alright then, I could smell that from a mile away!”

The pork head and offal in the pot were nearly done cooking, kept warm by the lingering embers beneath the stove. Shen Linchuan lifted the lid, and the aroma grew even more intense up close.

The man exclaimed, “This pot looks absolutely delicious!”

Shen Linchuan sliced some pork head meat and pig intestines for the man to sample. He caught a whiff of alcohol on the uncle’s breath—clearly a drinker. Pig head and intestines were perfect with liquor.

The man took a bite, savoring it with a satisfying smack of his lips. “This tastes great! I wouldn’t have guessed it was offal without you telling me. How much for these?”

“Pig head meat is pricier—twenty copper coins per pound. Offal is cheaper, ten coins per pound.”

“Pig head meat is that expensive? It’s almost as costly as regular meat.”

Shen Linchuan chuckled, “Rarity makes it valuable. Each pig only has one head.”

After tasting it, the man was hooked. He fished some coins from his waistband and bought a bit of each. Shen Linchuan enthusiastically added, “The pork head meat is ready to eat right away. The offal is good as is too, but stir-frying it with oil and garlic shoots brings out the flavor even more.”

“Deal, deal.”

The man hurried off with his purchases, eager to get home and enjoy them with his drinks. As he reached the doorway, he tossed a parting remark to Zhou Da: “Your son-in-law sure knows how to do business.”

Shen Linchuan hadn’t expected his business to take off so quickly. He wondered how tomorrow’s market trip to town would go. Having collected twenty-five copper coins, he handed them to Zhou Ning. “Here you go.”

Zhou Ning hadn’t expected pig offal to fetch such a high price. A pig’s head usually sold for fifty or sixty copper coins, and pig intestines were practically unwanted—stinky and foul-smelling. Every time his father slaughtered a pig, he’d scrub them clean, yet they still barely sold. All those intestines were worth maybe twenty or thirty copper coins at most.

“Shen Linchuan, aren’t you being a bit greedy?”

Shen Linchuan gave Zhou Ning a sharp flick on the head. “What are you saying about your man? Greedy? Sure, this offal isn’t worth much silver, but we washed and boiled it. Labor and firewood cost money, too. How am I being greedy?”

Zhou Ning pressed her hand to her forehead and hummed in agreement. “Well, you are making quite a profit.”

Shen Linchuan squeezed Zhou Ning onto the small stool. “We need to earn more silver. Someday, we can buy our father a mule. Look, he’s still young and strong now, but slaughtering pigs is backbreaking work. If he keeps at it for another three or five years, what if he wears himself out and falls ill?”

Zhou Ning felt a warm surge in his heart. “Shen Linchuan, you’re a good kid.”

“Of course! We’re family. If I don’t look out for you, who else would I look out for?”

Just then, Zhou Da entered, pig on his shoulder. Zhou Ning jumped in surprise and pushed Shen Linchuan away. They’d been squeezed onto the small stool—Shen Linchuan barely had room—and Zhou Ning’s shove sent him tumbling to the floor. Flustered, Zhou Ning scrambled to pull him up. “Sit down, sit down.”

Zhou Da saw the two playfully bickering and chuckled twice, making Zhou Ning even more reluctant to meet anyone’s gaze.

“Linchuan, how’s your business going?”

Shen Linchuan straightened his short brown robe and began explaining with a smile. Zhou Da exclaimed, “That’s no small feat!”

“Father, tomorrow Ning-ger and I will help you with the business. We’ll sell pork head meat and offal. I just saved some pig’s blood and blanched some blood sausages. Tonight we’ll make pickled cabbage stewed with pig’s blood sausage.”

“Alright.”

Zhou Da noticed some pig casings hanging in the courtyard, wrapped around something unidentifiable. These were the pig’s blood tofu sausages Shen Linchuan had stuffed. He planned to sell them once he’d saved up enough.

That evening, Shen Linchuan stewed the pickled cabbage with pig’s blood sausage. The aroma was truly irresistible. During dinner, Zhou Da couldn’t resist and pulled out his wine to have a few sips. He never imagined pig’s blood could be made so delicious.

Zhou Ning was quite fond of pig’s blood sausage. He’d watched Shen Linchuan prepare it that afternoon. What they ate tonight was different from the ones hanging in the yard. Who would’ve thought boiling pig’s blood stuffed into casings could taste so good? It was even smoother and more tender than tofu.

Zhou Da ate with satisfaction. “Linchuan, you say this blood sausage is the same as the ones hanging in the yard?”

“No, Father. The ones hanging in the yard are tofu-stuffed pig’s blood sausages—they contain tofu, pig’s blood, and meat. These are just pure pig’s blood. They’re different. Those are for selling in town later.”

“Oh my! I never knew you had such skill in making food, Linchuan.”

Shen Linchuan simply replied that he’d seen how it was done in books, prompting Zhou Da to praise his son’s scholarly pursuits once more.

Shen Linchuan smiled. He didn’t plan to sell too many different items right away. Tomorrow he’d follow his father to town to sell braised pig heads and offal. The tofu blood sausage would come later; for now, they’d just make it for their own meals.

He noticed that in this era, people weren’t adept at using spices when cooking meat. Spices were essential in dishes like pig offal, pig blood, and tofu sausage. Even if he started selling them, others wouldn’t easily be able to replicate his recipes.

With everyone gathered now, Shen Linchuan set his prices: twenty wen per pound for pork head meat, ten wen per pound for offal. Compared to regular cuts, it wasn’t expensive, but these were once unwanted scraps—hardly cheap by any measure.

Zhou Da nodded. “Very good, very good. But isn’t this a bit pricey?”

“Father, how is it pricey? Cleaning these offal parts is labor-intensive, and stewing them burns a lot of firewood. Firewood costs copper coins to buy in town! If we sell them cheap, we won’t break even.”

Zhou Ning nodded in agreement. “Shen Linchuan is right.”

Shen Linchuan felt a surge of satisfaction. His Fulang had once complained about his prices being too high, but now that he knew they needed to save copper coins to buy livestock, he no longer thought them expensive. He had a knack for business—excellent, excellent.

Zhou Da also stated that he wouldn’t take any of the silver earned from selling the offal—it all belonged to the young couple. He’d give them half of the silver he earned from selling pork, too. After all, they were running a household together; they couldn’t go without some silver in hand.

Shen Linchuan didn’t refuse, smiling as he agreed, “Thanks, Dad. Don’t worry—Ning-ger manages all our copper coins.”

By now, night had fallen. With business in town awaiting them the next morning, all three retired to their respective rooms early to rest.