New update schedule: Wednesday and Thursday

Amt of chapters to be published this week: Four

Thanks for your patience!

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Zhou Da asked Shen Da to help him drive the mule cart, and Shen Da agreed without hesitation. Zhou Da had brought the money with him today, and after a round of back-and-forth haggling—during which Zhou Da put on a stern face no matter how much he pleaded—Shen Da finally accepted the job.

The courtyard was bustling with activity. The four teenage apprentices Zhou Da had brought along were clanging away as they worked, while the two little ones sat on the mule, laughing uncontrollably. The three adults were haggling over the money, and the Shen family’s courtyard was a scene of utter chaos.

Shen Dasao lifted the two little ones off the mule. “That’s enough. Don’t let your Grandpa Zhou see you two sitting on the mule. Come on, let’s all go inside.”

The two little ones weren’t quite ready to give up the fun yet, so they reluctantly climbed down from the mule.

Shen Dasao took a string of coins and called over a young apprentice from the household. “Go buy some wine and meat. Get plenty of meat—everyone’s having meat today.”

“Aye!” Hearing that they’d get to eat meat today too, the young apprentice was overjoyed. He grabbed the copper coins and headed out to buy the wine and meat.

The three adults sat in the main hall chatting. Shen Da asked how the young couple over there was doing. Zhou Da laughed heartily and said they were doing just fine; he’d only made the trip today because he didn’t want to disrupt Shen Linchuan’s studies.

The three then turned to the Shen family’s carpentry business. Business was exceptionally good these days; many rural families wanted to have a cart built for farm work, and orders were already booked two months in advance—yet people still came looking for work every single day.

Shen Da certainly couldn’t handle it all by himself, so he’d subcontracted the cart-building work piece by piece and even taken on four apprentices. Shen Dage wasn’t the stingy type; he was now earning twenty or thirty taels of silver a month, and he even gave the young apprentices at home a few copper coins each month.

Zhou Da was delighted to hear this. “Good, good indeed. Life is getting better for everyone.”

Shen Dasao smiled and said, “You’re absolutely right. Once the wheat is harvested, we’ll be able to buy some livestock for the family.”

“Mom, we’re going to buy livestock?!” Shen Huzi shouted.

“Yes, yes. We’ll let your father decide whether to get a mule or a cow.”

“Oh~ We’re going to have a beast of burden too!”

Shen Huzi cheered, making the adults all laugh.

Zhou Da stayed for a meal at the Shen household, where he was treated to fine wine and meat. The four apprentices also ate well today; the boys sat in the shade holding their bowls, overjoyed.

After eating and resting for a while, Zhou Da led his mule away. In his good mood, he’d had a few extra sips of wine, and by the time he was on his way back, he was feeling a bit tipsy. Halfway there, he simply climbed onto his own mule, and the beast trotted off.

Shen Linchuan and his two companions had all had a pleasant day, but Wu Xing, who was in town, was not nearly as happy. He’d been cursed at quite a bit whenever he went out over the past couple of days. Early that morning, he’d come to the meat stall again to discuss buying the recipe, only to find that the vendor hadn’t even set up shop that day.

He came back the next day, but the stall was still closed. Wu Xing was furious. He refused to believe it—could it really be that he, the head manager of the prestigious Wangye Tower, couldn’t even handle something as simple as buying a recipe?

Wu Xing cursed under his breath. The Zhou family was clearly determined to go head-to-head with him—they were practically asking for trouble. Never mind if they prevented him from running a measly food stall; if they refused to sell him the recipe, his meat stall wouldn’t last a day. He had plenty of ways to make them pay!

Shen Linchuan and Zhou Da really hadn’t meant to skip the town for two days in a row. They’d gone to Xinghua Village to buy a mule and build a mule cart, which took a day’s rest, and then another day was spent collecting pigs—that’s why they hadn’t been to town for two days.

Once everything was settled, the family went to town as usual. They set up the meat stall, and regular customers who often bought meat from them came over one after another.

Business was booming at the meat stall during the morning market, and Shen Linchuan pitched in to help slice meat for the customers.

From time to time, people would stop by to ask if he was still selling pork belly—it would be such a shame not to be able to eat it. Upon learning that he might not be able to set up his stall anymore, those who asked began to sigh, lamenting that they wouldn’t be able to enjoy such delicious food in the future.

They couldn’t help but curse Wangye a few more times for bullying people with their power.

After the morning market rush had died down, a scruffy young man walked over carrying a piece of meat, followed by a few accomplices. He tossed the meat onto the stall and shouted, “What kind of meat are you selling? Smell it yourself—it’s rotten!”

It was clear from the start that they’d come to cause trouble. Having been in business for so many years, Zhou Da had seen it all. He slammed his butcher’s knife down on the counter. “This pig was slaughtered just yesterday. How could the meat be rotten?”

“How should I know? Anyway, I bought rotten meat from you. Give me my money back!”

The others who had come with him started making a commotion too. “Selling rotten meat! Give us our money back! Give us our money back!”

Shen Linchuan snorted coldly. There was no doubt this was connected to Wu Xing—they were trying to force his hand. He wondered how things were going with Li Zhong.

Zhou Da came out from behind the stall to shoo them away, and Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning joined him. The few thugs didn’t dare to confront Zhou Da head-on—his fists weren’t for show. As soon as the three of them stepped out, the troublemakers were so scared they scurried off.

“That Wangye Pavilion resorting to such underhanded tactics!” Zhou Da spat.

But before long, those punks were back. They stood nearby, shouting that they’d bought rotten meat. Whenever someone came to buy meat, they’d shoo them away, making it impossible for the stall to do business.

Zhou Da went to shoo them away, but they kept coming back. Even reporting it to the Market Bureau was useless; the patrol officers would make a round, but as soon as they left, these thugs would come back, like pesky flies that just wouldn’t go away.

Zhou Ning rolled up his sleeves. “I’m going to beat up that ringleader!”

Shen Linchuan grabbed him. “If you hit them, you’ll be playing right into their trap. Just hold off for a couple of days.”

Zhou Ning knew that, but he just couldn’t stand it. If he hit someone and Wu Xing pressed charges, then they’d really be at their mercy.

Zhou Da understood the logic, too. He held back his anger and didn’t act. “Linchuan, Ning-ger, pack up. We’re not selling here anymore.”

The pigs were already slaughtered—they couldn’t sell them. He’d move to a spot in the countryside and sell them there. He wouldn’t stand for it.

Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning helped pack up the stall. Those in the know couldn’t help but curse, “That Wangye Tower really is bullying people!”

As the three were leaving, they ran into Wu Xing. Wu Xing was grinning smugly. “Mr. Shen, do you have a moment? Let’s step aside and talk business.”

“No time.” Shen Linchuan replied with just two words.

“Fine, I’ll be waiting for you to come begging me!”

After the three left, Zhou Ning turned back and glared angrily at Wu Xing. He picked up a small pebble from the ground and hurled it at his shins. Wu Xing let out a cry of “Ouch!” and fell flat on his face. “Who just hit me?!”

By the time he scrambled to his feet, he could only see the three members of the Zhou family walking away with their chins held high. Wu Xing cursed under his breath—it was probably Zhou Da who’d hit him from behind!

Once they were out of the market, Shen Linchuan turned to Zhou Ning and whispered, “Well done!”

Zhou Ning chuckled. Serves him right. Hmph.

Zhou Da sent the two of them home. He took the handcart and went to sell the remaining meat in the surrounding villages. Though few people bought it, it was better than not selling anything at all.

Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning headed home.

The next day, when they went to town for the morning market, those thugs were at it again. They’d become even more aggressive, clearly itching to start a fight, yet too afraid to—after all, Zhou Da was a butcher; they knew they couldn’t beat him.

Shen Linchuan received a message from Li Zhong. He gathered the ingredients, found a small restaurant to cook the meal, and had someone carry it over to Li Zhong.

Wu Xing showed up again today, threatening Shen Linchuan that if he didn’t sell him the recipe, he’d come back tomorrow and smash his stall. Zhou Da wasn’t intimidated: “Then go ahead and try!”

Old Wang, who sold flatbreads nearby, advised, “Why not just sell him the recipe? Hey, he’s got power and influence; we common folk can’t stand up to them.”

Though he meant well, Shen Linchuan and his two companions still packed up their things and headed home.

When they returned to the market the next day, those thugs plucked up the courage to come smash their goods. Before they could even get close, Zhou Da knocked them to the ground. Zhou Ning nudged Shen Linchuan toward the back, “Don’t come out. I’ll handle this so you don’t get hurt.”

“You’ve forgotten—I’ve trained with my father too.”

It was the perfect chance to test just how hard his fists were!

Since the other side had already made the first move, there was no need for them to hold back. Zhou Da, a butcher by trade, was naturally strong, and Zhou Ning wasn’t far behind. He grabbed the thug by the collar and threw him to the ground. As Shen Linchuan had said, they couldn’t injure him—they’d have to pay compensation—but throwing him to the ground was fine.

Shen Linchuan joined the melee, landing an elbow strike right on the guy’s shoulder. The pain made him yelp, and the ringleader was already sprawled on the ground. “No way,” he thought. “This job’s too tough. They’ll have to pay me more!”

All the thugs were now sprawled on the ground. The onlookers cheered, but one of the thugs kept shouting, “You’re beating us up! I’m going to report you to the authorities! I’m reporting you!”

Shen Linchuan clapped his hands, thoroughly satisfied with this unexpected workout. “Go ahead and report us. You tripped over your own feet—how can you blame us?”

“Exactly. Look at yourselves—you’re perfectly fine. How can you blame anyone else? Hahaha.”

The crowd burst into laughter. The thugs were humiliated, but since they’d completed the task Manager Wu had assigned them, they were determined to make the Zhou family pay dearly!

“Butcher Zhou, Boss Shen.” Li Zhong pushed through the crowd. “What’s going on here?”

“Just some troublemakers causing a ruckus.”

Li Zhong saw several people lying on the ground, including two familiar faces. “Wangcai, Zhang San! What are you two doing here?”

“Do you know them, Manager Li?”

Li Zhong bowed his hands in a gesture of respect. “They’re the kitchen helpers from the Wangye Pavilion. I didn’t expect them to get involved in this. Speak up! Who sent you here?”

The two men scrambled to their feet but dared not speak. Li Zhong walked over and kicked each of them. “Was it Wu Xing? You’d better tell the truth. Let me tell you, Wu Xing has already been kicked out of the Wangye Pavilion. The boss said Wu Xing has tarnished the pavilion’s reputation—you two shouldn’t be following him around!”

The moment they heard that Manager Wu had fallen from grace, the two men panicked. “Manager Li, it was Wu Xing who told us to come and cause trouble—it’s not our fault!”

“Get out of here!”

The two men hurriedly fled.

Li Zhong bowed slightly to the three men. “My apologies. I’ll deal with those two myself. I wonder if Mr. Shen has a moment? I’d like to invite you for a cup of tea to calm your nerves.”

“Of course.”

Li Zhong led Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning to a teahouse. He explained that Wu Xing had already been fired from the Wangye Pavilion. He knew the deal to buy the formula had gone through; he’d confided the bottom line to Li Zhong, though he wasn’t sure how much Li Zhong could negotiate for him.

Now that the matter was settled, there was no rush. Li Zhong found a decent tea house and reserved a private room. He ordered four plates of the shop’s specialties—chestnut pastries, candied dates, hazelnuts, and dried apricots—along with a pot of top-quality Longjing tea. He also ordered a bowl of almond ice cream specifically for Zhou Ning.

True to his reputation as the manager of the Wangye Pavilion, he handled everything with great care. Shen Linchuan held Li Zhong in high regard; Wu Xing’s downfall was due to his arrogance, relying on the prestige of the Wangye Pavilion to act with utter disregard for others.

Li Zhong personally poured Shen Linchuan a cup of tea. “Thank you very much, Boss Shen.”

“Manager Li, you’re too kind. Wu Xing really was being too overbearing.”

Regardless, Li Zhong was deeply grateful to Shen Linchuan for coming to his aid. He had succeeded in ousting Wu Xing; he was now the head manager of the Wangye Pavilion, while Wu Xing had been thrown out.

As head manager of the Wangye Pavilion, his monthly salary alone was ten taels of silver—not to mention the holiday bonuses. Having been under Wu Xing’s thumb for so many years, Li Zhong could finally hold his head high.

It was only thanks to Shen Linchuan’s recipe for Baota Pork that he was able to pull this off so smoothly.

After the owner tasted the Baota pork, he couldn’t stop praising it. Li Zhong then explained to the owner all the benefits of purchasing the recipe, mentioned how Wu Xing had angered the townspeople, and even hinted that Wu Xing had secretly skimmed off the silver the owner had intended to pay for the recipe.

The owner of the Wangye Pavilion knew that if he obtained the recipe for Baota Pork, it would bring untold wealth to his establishment, so he decided on the spot to purchase it.

Li Zhong produced the silver he had prepared. “Here are one hundred and fifty taels. Please count them, Mr. Shen.”

Zhou Ning was quietly eating his almond sorbet when he heard the amount, and his eyes widened slightly. One hundred and fifty taels!

Shen Linchuan had told him that his bottom line was 100 taels for an outright purchase.

“Thank you.”

Shen Linchuan took the money and pulled out the recipe he’d already written and kept tucked in his robe. Li Zhong smiled as he accepted it. “I wonder if you two have time now? Why not come to our Wangye Pavilion to give us some guidance?”

“Of course.”

Shen Linchuan took a silver ingot from his money pouch and handed it to Li Zhong. “Thank you, Manager Li, for your help in securing such a high price.”

Li Zhong was even more delighted. Shen Linchuan knew how to handle himself—five taels of silver! That was half his monthly salary.

The two exchanged a few more casual words. Shen Linchuan waited until Zhou Ning had finished his bowl of almond ice cream before standing up. “Manager Li, please wait a moment. It’s inconvenient to carry this much silver on me; I’ll have my father hold onto it.”

Li Zhong stood up as well. Zhou Ning looked at the four plates of tea snacks on the table, barely touched, and felt a pang of regret. Even though he wasn’t the one paying, it still hurt to see them go to waste—they were all such fine treats.

Shen Linchuan naturally noticed one of the plates, labeled “Hu Zhenzi,” which was pistachio. He hadn’t expected to find pistachios in this part of town; he knew without a doubt that they wouldn’t be cheap.

“Mr. Li, would you mind if I took these home? I have young children who’ve never tasted them before.”

Li Zhong paused for a moment before laughing. “Mr. Shen, you truly are a man of a straightforward nature.”

His easygoing manner was far more endearing than that of those scholars who put on airs.

Shen Linchuan asked the waiter to pack up the plates of tea snacks, then went downstairs with Zhou Ning to hand the silver and the snacks over to his father.

Shen Linchuan summarized the key points and whispered them to him. Zhou Da was startled—they’d actually sold that much!

“Father, Ning-ger, and I are going out on a trip. It’ll take at least an hour.”

“Alright, alright, go on then.”

Even after they’d walked far away, Zhou Da was still in a daze. Good heavens, it was as if silver had fallen from the sky and landed right on the Zhou family!

How could Shen Da and Dasao have ever said Shen Linchuan was a lazy, good-for-nothing scholar? This was clearly a golden boy sent to their family!

Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning headed to the Wangye Pavilion to teach them how to cook. When slicing the pagoda-shaped pork, the slices mustn’t break apart—without his fulang, this task simply couldn’t be done; he was the one who had to do the slicing.

When the three arrived at the Wangye Pavilion, there was a commotion at the entrance. Wu Xing was shouting to be let in, while the staff inside were shoving him back, refusing entry.

Wu Xing couldn’t believe he’d been kicked out of the Wangye Pavilion just like that. “Is that bastard Li Zhong trying to screw me over? I’m going to tell the boss!”

“What kind of spectacle is this? Hurry up and drag him away! If he keeps causing trouble, don’t hold back—what are the guards here for?”

Two men in blue robes hurriedly shoved Wu Xing aside. As soon as he saw Li Zhong returning, Wu Xing began cursing even more fiercely. “So that’s it! I was wondering how you managed to push me out—you were off stealing the recipe! No wonder you, Shen Linchuan, were so brazen! Ugh! So you two have been in cahoots all along!”

Li Zhong waved his hand, and Wu Xing was dragged off to the side. “My apologies for the spectacle. Please, come in.”

Shen Linchuan and the other man followed Li Zhong into the kitchen. Shen Linchuan didn’t think Wu Xing deserved any pity. If he didn’t have any other recipes, Wu Xing would have essentially stolen his family’s livelihood and was trying to drive his father’s business out of business as well.

If an ordinary rural family had been treated this way by Wu Xing, they would have lost their livelihood long ago.

The two went to the kitchen to teach the staff how to make Baoda Pork, leaving the head chef in awe—he’d never seen anyone prepare a piece of meat so beautifully and so fragrant!

It was nearly noon by the time they finished. Li Zhong saw them out of the Wangye Pavilion and handed Shen Linchuan a paper package. “Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Shen and Shen Fulang. The Wangye Pavilion’s ‘Carmine Goose’ is quite excellent; please take some for your parents to try.”

“Thank you.”

Shen Linchuan bowed slightly to Li Zhong in gratitude before leaving with Zhou Ning.

Only after the two had walked a good distance away did Li Zhong return inside to tend to his duties. He turned to his nephew, who was following behind him, and said, “Uncle Zhong, they’re just country folk—they can’t even afford a single dish at our Wangye Pavilion. Why go out of our way to be so polite to them?”

“Shut up! It seems you’ve forgotten everything I’ve taught you! Your uncle here has welcomed and seen off countless people in this tower—I’ve seen it all. This Shen Linchuan is likely no ordinary man, and he’s still just a Tongsheng. I don’t believe he’ll remain a Tongsheng forever.”

“From now on, talk less and work more. Out of all your brothers, I brought only you here from the countryside. You’ve only been out of the countryside for a few years, yet you already look down on country folk. Remember: it’s better to be kind to others than to be cruel. You still have a lot to learn.”

“I understand, Uncle Zhong.”

Li Zhong went back to his work, though he felt a bit disappointed in this nephew he’d always kept by his side. Back then, he’d brought the boy to the Wangye Pavilion precisely because he’d seen he was sharp—but now, before the mud from his legs had even dried, he was already looking down on country folk.

Perhaps when he returned to his hometown, he’d bring over the other children from his older brother’s family; surely one of them would amount to something.

Li Zhong recalled how he’d come out to make his fortune all on his own when he was young. What kind of work hadn’t he done? Later, he’d started at the Wangye Pavilion as a lowly dishwasher, then learned to read and keep accounts under his master. He’d endured so much hardship to reach his current position.

Over the years, he’d settled down in town and bought a house and courtyard. Now he was the head manager of the Wangye Pavilion, earning ten taels of silver a month—who knows how long it would take to earn that much back in the countryside?

Li Zhong never dared to look down on anyone; he was convinced that Shen Linchuan would one day walk through the doors of the Wangye Pavilion.

Shen Linchuan and Zhou Ning walked back together. With those troublesome matters finally behind them, Zhou Ning was overjoyed; his steps felt a bit lighter.

“Do you like almond ice cream?”

Zhou Ning nodded. “I do.”

It was his first time eating something icy in the summer. Before this, he’d been perfectly content with just sipping chilled perilla tea or osmanthus ice syrup. That bowl of almond ice cream, made with milk, almond ice shavings, and osmanthus honey, was exactly to his liking.

“Come on, let’s go try some other things.”

Zhou Ning grabbed Shen Linchuan’s arm. “No, I’m not going. I just had a bowl.”

“What are you afraid of? We’ve got our own pocket money now. We can even bring a bowl back for Dad when we leave.”

Zhou Ning really wanted to try it, but he also thought it was expensive—that bowl of almond ice cream cost dozens of wen, which was far more expensive than meat. With Shen Linchuan’s persuasion, he hesitantly followed along.

A small wooden sign hung outside the drink stall. It was just the end of May, not yet the hottest time of the year—June and July would be the real heat. For now, there weren’t many people buying iced drinks.

Zhou Ning had already learned to read quite a few characters. Looking at the sign, everything looked delicious to him. “Then I’ll have the Iced Cold Yuanzi.”

“And another serving of Papaya Mountain,” Shen Linchuan teased. “We’ll take turns eating them.”

Zhou Ning didn’t refuse. Although sharing in public made him feel a bit self-conscious, he wanted to try everything.

Their iced treats were brought out quickly: one serving of Ice-Cold Yuanzi, a pale green dessert with ice cubes, and another of shaved ice topped with milk and papaya puree.

Both drinks looked stunning. Shen Linchuan simply thought they were pretty; in modern times, every household had a refrigerator, so ice cubes and ice cream were plentiful in summer, and he didn’t find them particularly rare.

But this was the ancient Da Feng Dynasty—ice cubes were a rarity. Zhou Ning had never eaten anything with ice on a summer day until today, even though he’d grown up.

Zhou Ning scooped up a spoonful of the dumplings and chewed a couple of times. “So these are mung bean dumplings.”

Shen Linchuan pushed his papaya sorbet over to him. “Try this.”

Zhou Ning scooped up a spoonful. “I think yours tastes better.”

Shen Linchuan didn’t mention that he’d already given both servings to his Fulang. Zhou Ning had just finished a bowl of almond ice cream, and since summer had only just begun, Shen Linchuan was worried that eating too much cold food might give him a stomachache. So the two of them polished off both bowls of icy treats together.

Shen Linchuan felt it was a bit early in the season for iced drinks; the cold made his teeth ache, but his Fulang seemed to enjoy it quite a bit.

As they left, they picked up a serving of mint tea. Shen Linchuan figured his father would prefer tea over ice.

The meat at the stall sold out quickly today. Since many people knew that Zhou Da had been bullied by the Wangye Pavilion, they rushed to buy some meat to show their support. By the time Shen Linchuan and his husband returned, the meat stall had already been packed up.

The three of them headed home early that day. Zhou Da couldn’t help but ask Shen Linchuan, “Did we really earn 150 taels? I feel like I’m dreaming.”

“It’s true, Father. Let’s count it when we get home. Tomorrow, our family’s pork business can start up again.”