Aunt He’s and Uncle Li’s homes were both in the village center, while the village chief’s house sat at the entrance. Walking from the foot of the mountain meant nearly circling the entire village. He Qiuhua and Yan Xiaoyue carried the tofu, constantly stopped along the way by people asking questions.

“Hey, Xiaoyu’s mom! Did your family really make tofu?”

“Sister Yue, where are you headed? Why are you carrying a bowl of tofu?”

“When will you start selling your tofu? How many wen per piece?”

“…”

He Qiuhua and Yan Xiaoyue answered every question with strict adherence to Yan Xiaoyu’s instructions.

By evening, every household in the village knew that the Yan Xingmao family had indeed made tofu and would begin selling it the next day.

The villagers buzzed with discussion.

“Yan Er’s family really made tofu! Looks pretty decent to me—properly made!”

“They gave big chunks to Aunt He, Uncle Li, and the village chief’s family. Buying one in town would cost at least five wen! Liu Pingshan was grinning from ear to ear!”

“Where did they even learn this craft?”

“He Qiuhua said her husband picked it up while doing labor outside the village, but he never managed to make it before. This time, with his leg injured and nothing to do at home, he studied it carefully for a while and finally succeeded.”

“Well, that’s turning misfortune into fortune!”

“I hear they’re selling their tofu for five wen a block, and you can even trade grain for it. Are you guys buying?”

“Let’s see. We just glanced at it today. It looks decent enough, but who knows how it tastes? Maybe we’ll wait until others buy some tomorrow and see how it goes…”

Most villagers were just curious onlookers, with no ill intent. But Old Master Yan and the Yan Xingsheng family couldn’t sit still upon hearing the news.

Old Master Yan’s face darkened. “How could the second son and his family make tofu? Could they have stolen the Qian family’s recipe?”

He spoke as if unaware, but while outsiders were clueless, they knew the truth.

The Qian family guarded their tofu recipe fiercely. Even after Yan Yongfang had been married into the family for years, she still had to avoid being present when Qian Hong and his father made tofu. Yan Xingmao and the others had only visited the Qian household once—how could they possibly have stolen the recipe?

“Father, everyone outside says Second Brother learned it while doing hard labor.” Tao Cuiqing’s tone was flat. ”He sure kept his cool. He learned such a money-making skill outside, yet never showed the slightest hint of it at home.“

Yan Xingsheng’s face fell. ”No wonder when Father said he wanted to divide the family, they agreed so readily. Turns out they had something to fall back on all along, afraid we’d get a piece of the pie?”

Yan Xiaobao seemed to recall something, his face flushing with anger. “No wonder Yan Xiaoyu said that day he could have as much bean curd pudding as he wanted! Second Uncle must have told him already, keeping it hidden from us!”

The others, unaware of this detail, hurriedly urged Yan Xiaobao to recount the day’s events in full.

After Yan Xiaobao finished, the others became even more certain that Yan Xingmao had deliberately kept them in the dark.

Yan Xingsheng’s expression was filled with indignation: “That second brother of ours really has no foresight! If he’d just handed over the tofu recipe, our family could have earned silver and then sponsored Yonghe. Wouldn’t his family have reaped the benefits, too? He’s Yonghe’s own uncle! Once Yonghe becomes an official, how could he treat him unfairly?!“

”So what do we do now?“ Old Master Yan looked equally exasperated. ”With ties severed, that tofu recipe is surely out of our reach.”

Yan Xingsheng pondered for a moment, still unwilling to accept defeat. “Father, even though we’ve severed ties, Second Brother and Yu-ger both share your blood. Go talk to Second Brother properly. Maybe he’ll change his mind.”

Old Master Yan found it beneath him: “What father begs his own son?”

Tao Cuiqing, however, remained composed: “We should wait a while longer. They may have perfected their tofu recipe, but whether it’s edible is another matter. Even if it is, whether they can sell it is yet another challenge. Second Brother’s family has never run a business before. Right now, they’ve just made their tofu and are full of pride. If Father goes now, he’ll likely get rebuffed. It’s better to wait until they’ve suffered a setback. Then, my husband can go and tell them Father still cares deeply for them and that we have ideas to help them sell the tofu. That way, they might be willing to reconcile with us.”

Old Master Yan was quite satisfied that he wouldn’t have to lower himself to beg his son to return. Yet, thinking of the silver he’d given away during the division of the family estate, he still felt a bit uneasy.

“If we let them come back, what about the fifteen taels of silver we gave them earlier? Are we just giving it away for free?”

A fleeting look of impatience flashed across Tao Cuiqing’s face.

If they could get the tofu recipe, how many fifteen taels could they earn? This old man was stingy and short-sighted. Even though he was on her side, she found him utterly tiresome.

The family of four argued over this for a while. Yan Xiaobao, like his grandfather, couldn’t stand seeing the second branch get any advantage. Tao Cuiqing couldn’t scold Old Master Yan, so she took her anger out on her son instead.

Yan Xiaobao was scolded by her with veiled criticism, and he ended up holding a grudge against Yan Xiaoyu and the others.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

Meanwhile, Yan Xiaoyu and his family was having dinner, also discussing tofu sales.

Today’s batch turned out exceptionally well. Yan Xiaoyu prepared stir-fried tofu with scallions and minced pork-stuffed tofu with shiitake mushrooms, both of which the family loved.

Yet Yan Xingmao and He Qiuhua still harbored lingering doubts about whether their tofu could actually sell.

Yan Xingmao carefully gauged his tone as he asked his son, “The villagers are used to buying from the Qian family. Will they be willing to buy our tofu?”

Yan Xiaoyu calmly swallowed his mouthful of rice before replying, “How does our tofu compare to Qian’s? Is it any worse?”

Yan Xingmao shook his head. “Not worse. Father thinks your tofu is even better than Qian’s. It seems smoother and more tender.”

“Then that’s settled,” Yan Xiaoyu declared matter-of-factly. “For the villagers to buy tofu, whether they go to town or to Beiling Village, it takes over half an hour on foot. With all that bumpy walking, many people’s tofu gets smashed on the way home. If we sell at the same price and they don’t have to walk, why wouldn’t they buy from us? It’s not just our village—even folks from neighboring Nanling Village find it closer to come here than to Beiling Village. Once our reputation grows, they’ll surely come to us too.”

Hearing this, Yan Xingmao, his wife, and Yan Xiaoyue found it reasonable. The family’s anxious hearts settled a little.

“Alright, then we’ll get up early tomorrow to make tofu,” Yan Xingmao said gently.

Though he couldn’t grind the beans, he could tend the fire and help out.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

They had agreed to make tofu together the next day, but when Yan Xiaoyu woke up early the following morning, Yan Xiaoyue had already finished grinding all the beans.

“Sister, why didn’t you wait for me? Grinding all these beans must have taken a while!”

Last night he’d soaked a pound and a half of beans—three times the usual amount. Yan Xiaoyue alone would’ve needed half an hour to grind them all.

“It didn’t take long. Mother and I took turns grinding,” Yan Xiaoyue said while washing the stone mill. “Mother said your life’s been too hard. You’ve barely had a moment’s rest since returning from the underworld, trying to support all three of us on your own. We should help lighten your load.”

“I agree. You’re the only one in this family with a sharp mind. We can’t let you wear yourself out.”

“…” Yan Xiaoyu felt both speechless and comforted. “Where’s Mother?”

“She’s in the main hall with Father, shelling peanuts.”

The peanuts in the field had ripened. Yesterday evening, Yan Xiaoyu and his sister dug up a portion to bring home. Since they’d pulled them up with the vines still attached, it took extra effort to detach the peanuts.

Though their family’s fields weren’t particularly productive, the farmwork was no less demanding. Fortunately, the whole family could share the burden.

As the siblings spoke, He Qiuhua arrived carrying Yan Xingmao.

“You… you’re making tofu, right? Ask your father to come stoke the fire.”

Yan Xiaoyu helped place Yan Xingmao in the chair in front of the stove. The family of four then set to work.

Yan Xingmao tended the fire while Yan Xiaoyu watched the pot. Today’s tofu was for sale, so they had to be careful—they couldn’t risk tarnishing their reputation on opening day.

The beans were already ground, and making tofu didn’t require many hands. Yan Xiaoyue went to the main room to shell peanuts, while He Qiuhua took the fabric bought the day before and sewed clothes in the kitchen.

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

About a quarter of an hour later, the tofu was ready.

Yan Xiaoyu carried the kitchen table out onto the front steps, spread a coarse cloth over it, arranged the tofu on top, and placed the bamboo leaves for wrapping beside it.

The courtyard gate stood wide open, awaiting customers to come in. Yan Xingmao and the others lost all interest in their work, each craning their necks to peer outside the courtyard.

Yan Xiaoyu waited a while but saw no one coming. He prepared to go help his father and elder sister shell peanuts, but before he could get close, Yan Xiaoyue nervously shooed him away.

“Don’t come near! You’ll get mud on your hands and dirty our tofu!” Their tofu was so white and tender, so beautiful—it absolutely couldn’t be soiled.

He Qiuhua nodded repeatedly, and Yan Xingmao chimed in, “Xiaoyu, just stay with the tofu. We’ll handle these chores.”

Yan Xiaoyu felt utterly helpless.

After waiting a full quarter of an hour with no buyers, He Qiuhua grew anxious. Her mind wandered while sewing, nearly pricking her finger. “Why… why hasn’t anyone come to buy our tofu yet?”

“Mother, it’s still early. The sky’s just breaking. It takes time for folks to walk over from the village.”

The villagers actually rose quite early, and Yan Xiaoyu was growing impatient too.

But he had confidence in the tofu he made. Even if no one in the village would buy it, he could go to town, walk the streets, and hawk it door-to-door. Selling it that way. Thinking this, his heart calmed a little.

After waiting a while longer, there was finally movement outside.

Hearing footsteps, Yan Xingmao and his wife’s faces lit up with hope. Together with Yan Xiaoyue, they eagerly looked out, only to find it was someone heading up the mountain to chop firewood, merely passing by.

Yan Xingmao sighed silently. He Qiuhua’s face also fell, but fearing her son’s distress, she stammered encouragement to her family: “Wait a little longer. Someone will come soon.”

No sooner had she spoken than someone truly arrived at the door—it was Nian-ger from Niu Fugui’s family.

“The tofu Sister Yue brought yesterday was truly excellent. My mother said it was smoother and more tender than what we buy in town. My brothers and sisters-in-law all loved it too. Don’t let my brothers’ bull-like appearances fool you—they all adore tender tofu! I need to buy extra today, or they’ll accuse me of being stingy.”

Nian-ger spoke with animated expressions and a cheerful tone, like a little parrot, making Yan Xiaoyu chuckle.

Niu Fugui had married into the family, so his children all took their mother Yu Chunying’s surname, Yu.

The Yu family was large. Nian-ger had three older brothers, two of whom were already married with children, yet they hadn’t split their household yet. He bought three blocks of tofu, and Yan Xiaoyu gave him an extra block of tofu and a bowl of bean curd pudding as a bonus.

The little ger was overjoyed. On his way home, he carried the tofu in one hand and the bean curd pudding in the other, humming happily all the way. Many villagers saw him along the path.