Knowing this was the last day of leek pancake sales, customers couldn’t resist buying extra portions. For the first time, the leek pancakes sold out faster than the fruit drinks.

They’d been earning over a hundred wen daily lately. After four days, they’d saved five hundred wen. Combined with their original savings of seven taels and five hundred wen, they now had a full eight taels!

After packing up the stall, with time still early, Ji Rongxia began preparing pork skin jelly.

The fresh pork skin needed thorough cleaning—scraping off hair and trimming away the fatty layer.

The clean fatty layer could be rendered into lard.

The blackened pork skin was washed, sliced into strips, and rinsed again in saltwater.

Place the shredded skin into a pot, add water, scallions, ginger, star anise, and a pinch of Sichuan peppercorns.

Once the liquid reduces to half its original volume, remove the scallions, ginger, star anise, and peppercorns. Pour the rendered skin jelly into a bowl and set it in cold water to cool.

Ji Rongxia simmered the pork skin while Gu Tangjin kneaded dough nearby.

Add a small piece of starter dough to the flour, knead it into a dough ball with warm water, and set it aside.

In warm weather, the dough rises in about half an hour. Pour a small amount of clear water (settled from rice straw ash) into the dough and knead until smooth.

Meanwhile, Ji Rongxia minced the pork into a paste. He added water, rice wine, soy sauce, a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, a dash of sesame oil, minced scallions, and minced ginger. Finally, he incorporated small pieces of the slightly set pork skin jelly. He stirred the minced meat in one direction to develop its elasticity.

Divide the dough into small portions, roll each into a wrapper, place a small ball of filling in the center, and pinch the edges together like wrapping a bun, twisting and folding to seal the opening.

Add some soybean oil to the griddle, place the pan-fried buns seam-side down in a single layer, sprinkle a little water over them, then cover with a straw lid.

After a short fry, lift the lid, sprinkle more water and oil, cover again with the straw lid, and fry briefly before serving.

“No need to add more firewood. It’ll be ready soon,” Ji Rongxia patted Gu Tangjin, who sat beside him tending the fire.

“Got it,” Gu Tangjin replied.

After finishing his tasks, he paused and noticed his parents watching him cook the pan-fried buns from the kitchen.

“Father, Mother? When did you come in?” Ji Rongxia wiped the fine sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

Yao Tianlan replied, “Not long ago. We just wanted to see what delicious treat you were making.”

“Pan-fried buns—a southern dish. Tangjin read about them in a travelogue and mentioned it to me. I thought I’d try making them.” Ji Rongxia skillfully used Gu Tangjin as a shield.

Gu Tangjin chimed in, “The moment I mentioned it, Xia-ger-ger made them! Perfect timing for you two to taste them. If they’re good, we’ll sell them for tomorrow’s breakfast.”

“You talk a good game, but Xia-ger actually made it for you,” Yao Tianlan teased reproachfully.

“Oh dear, Mom and Dad, it’s hot in the kitchen. Why don’t you sit outside? The pan-fried buns will be ready soon.” Ji Rongxia lowered his head sheepishly.

“Alright, your father and I will wait outside.”

Once Gu Chuncai and Yao Tianlan had left, Ji Rongxia winked at Gu Tangjin: “I used Tangjin as my excuse—you took the blame for being a glutton.”

“Then I’ll have to eat extra to make up for it,” Gu Tangjin chuckled.

Ji Rongxia bent down to scoop the pan-fried buns onto a plate, finishing with a sprinkle of scallions and sesame seeds. The golden-brown crust released a rich aroma even before getting close.

Gu Tangjin brought out four small bowls, four pairs of chopsticks, and a little vinegar.

“All these days of eating such fine dishes, I’ve gotten plump,” Yao Tianlan remarked as she took the chopsticks, feeling a bit at a loss facing the plump, golden-brown ‘little buns’ on the table.

Gu Tangjin promptly picked up a pan-fried bun and placed it in Yao Tianlan’s bowl.

“Mother, these pan-fried buns have broth inside. They’re quite hot—take your time eating,” Ji Rongxia reminded her.

When making the buns, Ji Rongxia had reduced the amount of pork skin jelly, fearing it might be too rich for everyone or that the broth could spill onto their clothes. Still, he couldn’t predict exactly how much liquid each bun contained, so a word of caution was necessary.

“Alright.” Yao Tianlan picked up a bun and took a cautious, small bite.

This bite was too small, only reaching the crust. The crust, infused with pork aroma and pleasantly chewy, revealed a hint of broth enveloping the filling. She blew gently on it before taking another bite.

The savory pork and crispy crust exploded in her mouth.

“Mmm, these little buns are delicious. The crust is so crispy and fragrant,” Yao Tianlan said, pointing to the golden-brown dough beneath. She dipped it in vinegar and took another bite. The vinegar-drizzled pan-fried bun offered a whole new flavor.

“The filling has plenty of broth, making it very fragrant. Two bites per bun make for a satisfying snack.“ Gu Chuncai nodded, picked up another pan-fried bun, and asked, ”With all this pork and oil, how much do you plan to sell them for?“

”These pan-fried buns are a bit small. I was thinking three wen each, or five wen for two.“ Ji Rongxia pondered for a moment before saying, ”Make a small batch. They should sell well.”

Yao Tianlan encouraged, “They’re so delicious, they’ll definitely sell well.”

Ji Rongxia picked up a pan-fried bun and took a bite. The juices, meat filling, and crispy crust blended together—far tastier than he’d imagined!

After eating their fill, Ji Rongxia and Gu Tangjin got busy slicing meat and washing vegetables.

Gu Chuncai gathered mud bricks and clay to repair the worn-out baking oven.

Their shop’s oven sat beside the stove platform, resembling a stove itself. Inside was a circular ‘vat’ open at both ends. The ‘vat’ was embedded within the stove. Fires were lit beneath it, allowing flatbreads to be pressed against its walls. The heat rising from below would cook the bread attached to the walls. Once cooked, they could be lifted out using iron skewers.

For roasting meat, one could place a rack on top to hang the meat for grilling.

This oven had been unused for years and was somewhat worn, but with some repairs, it could still be functional.

“Why are you fixing this?” Yao Tianlan asked, seeing him fussing over the old oven instead of helping chop meat and vegetables.

“I thought I’d teach Xia-ger how to make pancakes with this oven. If they ever want to make grilled pancakes or roast meat later, this oven could come in handy. Just sitting here unused, it’s going to fall apart. Back in the day, this oven cost over two hundred wen,” Gu Chuncai said gloomily.

The two youngsters were eager to tinker with it, and his old contraptions might finally find a purpose.

“This is a roasting oven? I thought it was just for storing odds and ends,” Ji Rongxia remarked curiously, scanning it several times. Their family didn’t have such a clay oven.

“You know what? The last time we used this was probably during the New Year to roast some jerky, right? That was five or six years ago. It really has just been sitting here gathering dust,” Yao Tianlan said with a hint of nostalgia.

“I heard from my parents that before I was born, they also sold breakfast. They worked from dawn till dusk, selling baked cakes.” Seeing Ji Rongxia’s curiosity, Gu Tangjin explained, ”After I was born, my parents stopped the breakfast business, and this oven fell into disuse.”

Grandpa and Grandma Gu had fled famine from further north. It was a time of chaos, before the Great Yan Dynasty was established, with wars raging everywhere.

Qingchi County was surrounded by rivers and had fertile fields, so Gu Tangjin’s grandparents settled here after fleeing.

They had no land of their own. Though skilled in cooking, their health was poor, and they passed away within a few years. Gu Chuncai used the silver his grandparents had saved to set up a small stall. At that time, the Great Yan Dynasty had just been established and was still quite chaotic. And the streets were filled with ruffians. Though Gu Chuncai now appeared as an honest old farmer, in his youth, he had been quite fierce-looking. If anyone dared to rob his silver or smash his stall, he truly would fight to the death.

Through trial and error, he managed to keep the stall going. To put down roots in the county, Gu Chuncai married Yao Tianlan from a local village.

Yao Tianlan had two grown brothers and was cherished at home. During the farming off-season, Gu Tangjin’s maternal grandparents would come to the county to lend a hand. This arrangement caused resentment in Yao Tianlan’s maternal uncle, gradually straining his relationship with her. Within a few years, Gu Tangjin’s maternal grandparents passed away. Gu Tangjin’s parents toiled tirelessly for years, supporting their small stall. Working from dawn till dusk, they finally saved enough to buy a shop and open a restaurant.

Several years after the restaurant opened, Yao Tianlan finally conceived. She had always suffered from a cold constitution, and Gu Chuncai’s body had been severely weakened during his youth while fleeing famine. This pregnancy was extremely difficult to achieve; otherwise, they wouldn’t have waited so many years after marriage to have a child despite their hardships.

After the difficult birth, Yao Tianlan’s health was severely compromised. Unable to have more children, they poured extraordinary care into Gu Tangjin, fearing they might not be able to raise this child.

To have more time to care for Gu Tangjin, they closed the breakfast business and hired an assistant for the shop.

“And then? What about that assistant?” Ji Rongxia listened intently, unable to resist pressing for more details.

Yao Tianlan frowned slightly. “We hired a boy from my second brother’s family. He was sharp and eager to learn the trade. We thought that if he could work steadily for two years, we’d teach him the skills. But Tangjin was so frail back then—he didn’t seem cut out for kitchen work. We planned to send him to school instead, hoping he could find another path. We figured passing the cooking skills to my maternal family’s child wasn’t really sharing them outside the family—we’re all kin, after all. But then that boy snuck into Tangjin’s room at night and pulled back his blankets, making him fall ill. I sent him packing.”

You couldn’t blame her for neglecting her birth family. Ever since her parents died, her birth family wasn’t her home anymore.

Her eldest brother’s family still had some contact with them, but they’d completely cut ties with her second brother’s family.

“Huh?” Ji Rongxia hadn’t known about this. No wonder, in his memory, the Gu’s Restaurant never seemed to hire any staff—they always did everything themselves.

“He probably thought that once I died, the restaurant would be his,” Gu Tangjin said with a smile.

“You’re still smiling? Don’t talk about death—it’s bad luck.” Ji Rongxia nudged Gu Tangjin’s chest with his elbow.

Gu Tangjin’s eyes sparkled even brighter.

“Father and Mother are truly remarkable. I wonder if I could have built up this family business at all,” Ji Rongxia sighed. He had always thought himself quite capable, but never imagined his parents were this exceptional.

His family was certainly hardworking, but they’d always been rooted in Qingchi County. The turmoil of war never reached their corner—at worst, times were tough. As the eldest son, his father had to support his grandparents until they passed away. By then, Ji Rongxia was already seven or eight years old. His grandparents left this world surrounded by their grandchildren, passing peacefully. Compared to the Gu family, they’d been blessed with good fortune.

With parents this skilled, he knew he had to work even harder to hone his own culinary craft!

“Your father owes it all to his skills,” Yao Tianlan said with a smile. “Otherwise, no matter how hard we worked, we wouldn’t have saved much silver.”

Gu Chuncai nodded. “Culinary skill is crucial.”

No wonder he chased Gu Tangjin around, beating him after discovering the boy could burn through iron pots while cooking.

He truly valued this life-sustaining skill and didn’t want it to be ruined by his son.

“Hey, Dad, could we have a clay plate custom-made? We could insert it into the oven, allowing things to bake flat.” Ji Rongxia examined the oven and asked with a sudden idea.

“How would you insert this plate?” Gu Chuncai didn’t quite understand.

“Easy enough. Make the plate into a semicircle. That way, the semicircular plate can fit inside. Leave a few notches—two semicircles will lock together. You could even add some stops inside to keep the plate from sliding down.” Gu Tangjin studied it for a moment and explained.

Gu Chuncai pondered it for a moment. It actually made sense. He hadn’t thought of this approach before. While it would reduce the amount of items that could be roasted—less than what could be roasted against the barrel walls—there were always items better suited for flat roasting. This solution would work in a pinch.

Gu Chuncai: “That’s easy enough. I’ll tell Potter Qian to make one for us.”

“Tangjin really is clever. I never would have thought of that.” Ji Rongxia didn’t hold back his praise for Gu Tangjin.

Gu Tangjin nodded modestly: “As long as I don’t have to tend the stove, I’m pretty clever.”

Hearing this, a faint smile slipped onto Gu Chuncai’s stern, tense face.