Gu Tangjin was reading by the light of an oil lamp.

But, unusually, his mind wasn’t on the book; he seemed somewhat distracted.

His gaze fell on the oil lamp.

Ever since Ji Rongxia started selling pot-roasted pork and sweet-and-sour carp, their household had never been short on lamp oil.

This oil, repurposed as lamp oil, had a slight odor at first, but once he got used to it, it wasn’t a problem.

Today, before going to bed, Ji Rongxia had specifically reminded him to wait for him until he woke up.

Gu Tangjin guessed that the task Xia-ger had been working on all along must be finished.

He was about to receive his reward.

Gu Tangjin didn’t call him out on it and waited quietly.

Suddenly, the person in bed opened his eyes.

Ji Rongxia deftly rolled over and sat up.

“I’m back,” Ji Rongxia said, sliding over to sit next to Gu Tangjin.

Gu Tangjin had long since replaced the wooden chairs in the room with a long bench so the two of them could sit side by side.

This time, before Gu Tangjin could even get up to check on Xia-ger, Xia-ger came over on his own.

“You made me wait just for this—do you have something good to show me?” Gu Tangjin asked, feigning curiosity.

Ji Rongxia smiled like a fox that had successfully caught its prey. He tilted his chin slightly upward: “Of course. I got my hands on a lot of good stuff today.”

Gu Tangjin played along perfectly, clearing everything off the desk.

“I wonder if this desk will be big enough to hold it all,” Gu Tangjin said with a hint of worry in his voice.

Ji Rongxia grew even happier: “It’s a bit cramped, but I suppose it’ll be just about fit.”

Gu Tangjin smiled, assuming Xia-ger was just joking with him.

“Little Master, hurry up and give Tangjin a little surprise,” Ji Rongxia quickly said to the system in his mind.

The Cooking God System, unusually still awake at night instead of in semi-sleep mode, had been waiting for this very moment.

Hehehe, it was also a little eager to see its host’s partner’s surprised reaction and hear them praise both the host and itself.

“Okay, Host,” the Cooking God System replied in a clear, crisp voice.

In the next instant, twenty small, porcelain-white plates appeared on the table.

The Cooking God System even provided twenty dainty little spoons to go with them.

Don’t think it doesn’t know—the Host will definitely have their partner try a little of everything!

“Twenty plates?” Gu Tangjin couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise. “I thought you said you could draw out ten kinds of seasonings?”

How did there suddenly become so many more?!

The table was actually almost too small to hold them all.

“Because I’m so awesome! I did such a great job that I got a bonus for drawing sauces, so I drew ten more kinds.”

Ji Rongxia cleared his throat: “Ahem. I can use these rewards whenever I want from now on—no need to keep track of the weight.”

Gu Tangjin praised him, “Xia-ger, all your hard work these past few days certainly paid off. The young master is truly generous—he gave you so many rewards all at once.”

Hearing the praise, both the Cooking God System and Ji Rongxia were delighted.

Ji Rongxia said with great composure, “Tangjin, let me tell you what all these are.”

“These sauces, in order, are satay sauce, custard sauce, peanut butter, vanilla sauce, tomato sauce, pistachio paste, chili bean paste, mustard sauce, matcha sauce, and blueberry sauce.”

“These seasonings are, respectively, MSG, cooking wine, fermented black beans, Thirteen Spices, Sichuan pepper powder, fermented bean curd, white sugar, salt, star anise, and mint powder.”

Cooking God System:“……”

It feels like the Host is just reciting a menu right now.

Gu Tangjin almost burst out laughing, but seeing how serious Xia-ger was, he held back his laughter and said, “Xia-ger, you recited that so smoothly. You’ve managed to remember so much—you’re making rapid progress, and your memory is getting better and better.”

“Right? I think so too. Studying does have a tiny bit of use after all. By the way, do you want to try some of these sauces?” As soon as Ji Rongxia finished speaking, he quickly pushed the mustard sauce aside. “Don’t try this one.”

He’d only taken the risk for the sake of cooking.

Tangjin didn’t need to try it.

Gu Tangjin asked curiously, “What kind of sauce is this? What does it taste like?”

Ji Rongxia replied earnestly, “It’s really spicy—spicier than chili sauce. The flavor is very pungent. It’s fine for seasoning, but you definitely can’t eat it straight.”

Tangjin could barely handle the heat from a single piece of beef jerky—eating this would surely kill him.

No, no, absolutely not!!!

Just the thought of it made Ji Rongxia shake his head repeatedly.

Although this mustard sauce looked smooth and cute, with a harmless appearance, that didn’t change the fact that it could deliver a punch straight to your eyes and nose.

If it weren’t for the fact that red oil doubanjiang was mainly aromatic and spicy—not that kind of intense heat—he wouldn’t even let Gu Tangjin try that.

Gu Tangjin was someone who took advice well, especially from Xia-ger. He decisively stopped asking and said, “Then I’ll try the other sauces.”

“Sure. These sauces are all sweet, and these are salty.” Ji Rongxia roughly divided the sauces into these two categories.

Ji Rongxia: “Wait a moment before you eat.”

“Little chef, bring me a glass of milk. If I eat anything too salty or too sweet, my throat will hurt tomorrow. It’s fine when I eat inside the system space, but it’s different out here—I still need to take care of my body,” Ji Rongxia told the Cooking God System.

The Cooking God System realized, “Oh, right—that’s true.”

How come this system hadn’t thought of that earlier?

“Okay, Host.”

Gu Tangjin noticed that a full glass of milk had appeared beside him.

Ji Rongxia: “You can taste them now.”

Gu Tangjin picked up a spoon and tasted each of the nine sauces one by one.

After tasting them all, Gu Tangjin said, “Except for this satay sauce, vanilla sauce, and matcha sauce—which I’m not quite used to—the rest are all delicious.”

“The little chef said this vanilla sauce tastes best when added to desserts,” Ji Rongxia said, then suddenly realized, “You’ve memorized the names of all these sauces, haven’t you?”

Otherwise, how could he have immediately pointed out which sauces he wasn’t used to?

Gu Tangjin:“……”

Ji Rongxia snorted. “Fine, I get it. You’re smarter than me.”

Gu Tangjin said sincerely, “I wasn’t wrong to compliment you. I can remember them because I’ve read so much—I’ve trained my memory. And you, Xia-ger, have really made great progress, too.”

Ji Rongxia couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Hehe, surprised, huh? Is it so strange that someone as smart as you can remember things?” Ji Rongxia shook his head smugly.

Gu Tangjin:“……”

He really was taken aback.

Gu Tangjin smiled helplessly as he picked up a clean spoon, scooped a tiny bit of vanilla sauce into the custard, stirred it until smooth, and then held the mixture up to Ji Rongxia’s lips.

“Give it a taste,” Gu Tangjin said.

Ji Rongxia instinctively opened his mouth and took a bite. His eyes immediately lit up. “It seems to have a richer flavor now—the milky aroma is stronger, and it’s even sweeter! This custard used to have just a hint of that eggy smell, but now it’s gone.”

How amazing.

It clearly wasn’t like this just a moment ago.

Just adding the vanilla sauce to another sauce made such a huge difference?

“Tangjin, you have to try it—am I tasting this wrong?” For the first time, Ji Rongxia began to doubt his own sense of taste.

Gu Tangjin took a bite and said, “You’re right—it really is sweeter.”

As for the more subtle flavors, even with Gu Tangjin’s refined palate, he really couldn’t quite detect them.

“Little chef, this sauce is amazing,” Ji Rongxia exclaimed in surprise.

The Cooking God System explained, “Vanilla serves to remove fishy odors, enhance aroma, mask bitterness, and bring out sweetness.”

It had assumed the host wouldn’t discover this until he made some ice cream or another dessert.

Who would’ve thought the host’s partner would pull off the magical move of mixing the two sauces together!

“Anyway, it’s delicious. I’ve really got an amazing streak going!” Ji Rongxia began to praise herself.

Gu Tangjin nodded in agreement from the side: “Of course.”

Ji Rongxia said without batting an eye, “I don’t need to taste these seasonings—I can’t exactly just bite into a star anise.”

Cooking God System:“……”

Unfortunately, the host’s partner couldn’t hear it speak; otherwise, it really would have said, “Host, you just bit into a star anise raw a moment ago! And you bit into every single seasoning raw!”

“Tangjin, you’ve got to take a look at these two.” Ji Rongxia held out the small dishes containing salt and sugar to Gu Tangjin.

As he spoke, Ji Rongxia held out his hand and said, “This is salt and sugar. I’ve even got the recipes for them.”

The dutiful Cooking God System immediately placed the recipes into Ji Rongxia’s hands.

Gu Tangjin took the papers and skimmed through them at a glance; his expression gradually grew serious.

“Put them away for now. These don’t really concern us at the moment.” Gu Tangjin said nothing else, but handed the recipes back to Ji Rongxia.

Ji Rongxia had been thinking the same thing; he’d just wanted to let Gu Tangjin know so he’d be in the loop.

He put the recipe away again.

As soon as Ji Rongxia put the recipe away, he put the matter out of his mind. “Oh, right,” he said. “One more thing—about this mint. I was thinking of mentioning it to Brother Diao tomorrow and asking him what he thinks about adding mint to the scented soap. It should work out well.”

Gu Tangjin: “That’s a good idea. Let’s talk to him about it tomorrow.”

“There’s one more thing—it’s strange, really. So many days have passed, yet we still haven’t heard a word from Mother.” Gu Tangjin handed the saucer in his hand to Ji Rongxia.

Ji Rongxia took it without hesitation, scooped up a spoonful of the remaining vanilla custard, and took a bite.

Sweet and rich—it was truly delicious!

“I don’t know. Logically speaking, whether she’s coming to work or not, she should at least send a message. It’s pretty strange that we haven’t heard anything after all these days,” Ji Rongxia said, puzzled.

However, he’d been preoccupied with completing the seasoning task these past few days and hadn’t given it much thought; it wasn’t until Gu Tangjin brought it up that he remembered it again.

Gu Tangjin said, “If we still haven’t heard anything in a few more days, let’s go ask Mom and Dad.”

Ji Rongxia munched on the sweet sauce, his voice a bit muffled: “Sure. Whether they show up to work or not is secondary—as long as nothing bad happens to them. Anyway, when we hire help, they get to pick and choose the jobs too. It’s not unusual for them not to show up. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll just find someone else.”

Gu Tangjin stared intently at him, and Ji Rongxia felt a little too embarrassed to keep eating.

“What’s wrong?” Ji Rongxia asked.

Gu Tangjin suddenly felt a tickle in his throat. He picked up his glass of milk, took a sip, and said, “Nothing.”

The fact that Xia-ger, with such a valuable asset as his little chef, had earned some silver and still thought this way truly moved him.

“Oh, you’re just embarrassed to say how much I’m eating, aren’t you?” Ji Rongxia felt he’d seen right through Gu Tangjin’s thoughts, and he casually set the sauce aside.

Gu Tangjin nearly choked. He quickly set down his glass of milk and, suppressing a smile, said, “Then I won’t eat any more. Let’s wash up and get some rest.”

Ji Rongxia was a bit tired as well. He stretched and said to the Cooking God System, “Little Chef, please put everything away. I’m going to sleep, so you should go into hibernation too. Goodbye.”

The Cooking God System cleared away the remaining items on the table and said, “Host, see you tomorrow.”

As soon as it finished speaking, it went silent.

The two went to wash up, and after they were done, Ji Rongxia couldn’t help but start yawning.

He hadn’t felt it a moment ago, but now he was so sleepy.

He was so sleepy that his steps were a bit unsteady.

Gu Tangjin bent down slightly, slipped his arm under Ji Rongxia’s knees, and picked him up horizontally.

Ji Rongxia, half-asleep, grabbed Gu Tangjin’s shoulders: “Huh?!”

When he realized Gu Tangjin could walk while holding him securely, his curiosity was piqued, and he perked up: “I never would’ve guessed, Tangjin—it seems you’ve gotten even stronger. Is chopping wood really that effective? How come you’re better at it than I am at flipping a wok? Maybe I’ll try chopping some wood tomorrow, too?”

As he spoke, he couldn’t resist giving Gu Tangjin’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.

“I knew it. Just flipping a wok isn’t enough. If you want to get stronger, you’ve got to practice something else,” Ji Rongxia said with a serious expression.

Gu Tangjin:“……”

Gu Tangjin picked him up and carried him to the bedside, saying, “Then let’s practice something else tonight.”

Ji Rongxia:“?!”

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

The next day, Diao Kaipeng didn’t arrive at the Gu residence until around the third quarter of the Si hour.

Over the past few days, he had figured out exactly when Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia were free each day.

This way, he could be sure that when he came to see them, he wouldn’t run into them when they were busy.

In fact, Diao Kaipeng hadn’t been idle these past few days either; not only did he have to sell the goods he’d brought back from the Northern Frontier, but he also had to tend to the scented soap business.

But Diao Kaipeng actually enjoyed this kind of busyness; life is only worth living when you have something to look forward to.

When he stopped by that day, Yao Tianlan and Gu Chuncai merely smiled at him—they didn’t even exchange pleasantries, acting as if they were used to seeing him there.

“You’re here?” Ji Rongxia was splitting firewood under Gu Tangjin’s guidance.

Although he was trying his best to learn, the firewood he split was lopsided and uneven in size—not at all neat.

The moment he spotted Diao Kaipeng, he acted as if he’d seen a savior; he quickly abandoned the firewood and happily rushed forward to greet him.

Sigh, he’ll never say he wants to practice something else again.

Sure enough, chopping wood just isn’t his thing!!!

He’d be better off sticking to flipping a wok.

Gu Tangjin picked up the axe and brought it down on the chopping block; the blade sank firmly into the wood.

“Brother Diao, you’re here! This scented soap should be ready to use now—have you tried it at home yet?” Gu Tangjin clapped his hands and walked over.

Diao Kaipeng couldn’t help but feel that Xia-ger seemed even more friendly today, but figuring that their business was about to take off—and that he had every reason to be happy—Diao Kaipeng shook that slight sense of strangeness out of his mind.

“Of course I’ve tried it. My parents and little sister used this scented soap to wash clothes—it got them really clean. And when they washed their hands with it, their hands didn’t get dry at all. It’s way better than the soap we sell at our general store.”

When it came to this scented soap, Diao Kaipeng couldn’t stop gushing about it.

Today, as soon as he mentioned that the scented soap was ready to use, his parents and little sister all scrambled to try it.

They used the scented soap to wash their clothes, dishes, and even their hands and faces.

It worked well for everything, and it even had a pleasant scent.

If they could make the scented soap look a little nicer, selling it for a hundred or two hundred wen would be absolutely no problem.

Ji Rongxia didn’t forget to mention the idea she’d come up with yesterday: “Last night, I discussed it with my husband. Brother Diao, you could try adding some mint to it. It would give a cool, refreshing feeling when washing your hands—it should sell well.”

Diao Kaipeng slapped his forehead and said, “Oh? Why didn’t I think of adding mint? I was only thinking about adding some fragrances, and even if I were to add medicinal herbs, I’d have thought of ones that improve the skin. If we can add mint to it, then adding mugwort to the scented soap should work well too!”

“That’s right, mugwort would work too,” Ji Rongxia said, thinking this idea was just as good as adding mint.

Gu Tangjin smiled and said, “Brother Diao, you really are quick to draw conclusions from a single example. I think both ideas are good—take your time experimenting. We’ve saved up quite a bit of oil these past few days, so feel free to use as much as you need. There should be plenty for you to experiment with.”

“That’s great.” Diao Kaipeng had actually been worried there wouldn’t be enough materials for him to experiment with, but with Tangjin’s assurance, he felt at ease.

Gu Tangjin got straight to the point: “In that case, let’s sign the contract right now. I’ll give you the waste oil and wood ash we’ve saved up today.”

“Great!” Diao Kaipeng came over today specifically for this.

“Tangjin has already drafted the contract; I’ll go get it right away.” Before they could even react, Ji Rongxia had already gone into the house.

When he returned, he was holding cinnabar, two copies of the contract, the recipe for fragrant soap, an inkstone, and a brush.

“Take a look first to see if there’s anything that needs changing; we still have time to make adjustments now.” Ji Rongxia handed one of the deeds to Diao Kaipeng.

He placed the rest of the items on the table in the courtyard.

Diao Kaipeng took the contract and examined it carefully.

It clearly specified the daily quantities of waste oil and wood ash the restaurant would provide, as well as the restaurant’s entitlement to 50 percent of the profits and the scented soap.

The contract also stated that the restaurant could make a one-time delivery of its current stockpile of waste oil and wood ash to him.

It even stated that Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia had the right to offer suggestions regarding the trade in fragrant soap, but the specific details were to be decided by Diao Kaipeng.

He read it through twice from top to bottom and found nothing that needed to be changed.

In fact, to him, this contract was already incredibly lenient.

If only he encountered clients and partners like this whenever he traveled on business, how much easier things would be.

He now had only one question: “Isn’t the amount of oil this restaurant provides each day a bit too much?”

It wasn’t that he minded having plenty of ingredients.

It’s just—could the restaurant really use that much oil?

Just think of how much silver that must cost every day!

“At our restaurant, we only use the oil for one day and replace it with fresh oil the next. Food fried in oil that’s been used for too long just doesn’t taste the same as when it’s fresh. Our Pan-Fried Pork and Sweet and Sour Carp are so expensive—we can’t afford to skimp on that. Besides, once the oil is turned into scented soap, it’s put to good use, so it’s not really a waste.”

“That makes sense.” Although Diao Kaipeng didn’t see anything wrong with reusing oil, when he thought about the restaurant’s menu prices, he immediately understood.

Diao Kaipeng changed the subject and said, “That’s perfect. I was worried we wouldn’t have enough oil each day, but now I don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

“I think this contract is perfect in every way.”

With that, Diao Kaipeng signed his name and pressed his thumbprint onto the document.

Seeing this, Gu Tangjin and Ji Rongxia wasted no time; they quickly pressed their fingerprints on the documents and wrote their names.

They each received a copy of the contract.

Ji Rongxia picked up a piece of dried tangerine peel-scented soap that had been left out to air-dry and said, “I haven’t tried this scented soap yet—I might as well use it to wash my hands.”

As he spoke, he actually used the scented soap to wash his hands.

The ink marks on his hands weren’t easy to wash off, but using this scented soap seemed to clean them a little better. His hands felt soft and moisturized, not at all dry, and after washing, they still carried a faint scent of dried tangerine peel.

“Smell this—doesn’t it smell wonderful?” Ji Rongxia held his hand up to Gu Tangjin’s nose.

Gu Tangjin tilted his head slightly and took a sniff; there was indeed a hint of dried tangerine peel. Clinging to his warm hands, the faint scent seemed to become exceptionally rich.

Gu Tangjin said, “It smells wonderful.”

“Then you should wash with this too!” Ji Rongxia didn’t forget to turn to Diao Kaipeng and add, “Brother Diao, just grab any scented bar of soap to wash your hands.”

Diao Kaipeng replied, “Sure thing.”

Then he watched as Ji Rongxia took Gu Tangjin by the hand and led him over to wash their hands with the dried tangerine peel soap.

Diao Kaipeng: “……”

Sigh. Watching that made him want to find a wife even sooner.