Chapter Bonanza (7/10)

━━ 🐈‍⬛ ━━

“Why has Master Wang stayed at an inn? We have a guest room at home.” Tang Xianling suggested they stay in the guest room next to the west wing.

Sanniang could stay with Mother. If that really didn’t work out, they could clear out the living room in the middle. The east wing gets plenty of sunlight, and it would be the perfect place to store Old Master Tang’s spirit tablet.

Most importantly, they’ll need to go burn paper offerings at the grave tomorrow, so it’ll be more convenient for Master Wang to stay here.

Tang Xianling: …

He wasn’t keen on going, but such are the customs these days. Since Sanniang has returned for the funeral, it’s only right and proper to make the trip. The neighbors all know Old Master Tang is buried in Sunjia Village—it’s not far, so we can go and return the same day.

Now Tang Xianling thought to himself: If only I’d known, I would’ve buried Old Tang in the deep mountains and dense forests.

Now that it’s come up, he’s still considered a model son.

He let out a sob.

Jiang Yun listened to Wu-ger’s instructions and said, “It happens to be hot out. There’s a straw mat here—I’ll wipe it down, let it dry, and lay it out.”

Master Wang hurriedly interjected from the side, “No need for the old lady to lift a finger—let me handle it, let me handle it.”

Jiang Yun handed the straw mat to Master Wang to tidy up and personally led him to the western room next door. Master Wang took one look and saw that the western room was quite spacious and had been tidied up—large bricks and white walls. Though the bed was old, it was clean, and naturally, it was better than staying at an inn.

At the inn, he hadn’t stayed in a nice private room either; most of the time, several people shared a room. It was hot and smelly inside—nothing like the comfort he had now.

“Third Sister, this is my husband, Tieniu.” Tang Xianling suddenly remembered he hadn’t introduced him to his sister yet.

Tang Nuan had noticed the new son-in-law standing beside Wu-ger the moment he walked in. Her mother had said he was “perfect in every way,” but she hadn’t really believed it—mainly because she didn’t trust her mother’s judgment of character. When her mother had chosen husbands for her eldest and second sisters, she’d simply followed and listened to her father’s advice, saying that as long as a man looked honest, that was enough; she didn’t look for anything else.

But to her surprise, her Wu-ger’s new husband was truly beyond reproach in appearance.

Her family dealt in cloth, and among all the men and women, young lads and grooms she’d seen in the shop, she’d truly never encountered anyone as handsome as Wu-ger’s new husband.

And he was so thoughtful and considerate toward Wu-ger.

“Third Sister,” Huangfu Tieniu called out.

Tang Nuan smiled and nodded, saying, “Alright, you two really are a perfect match.”

Tang Xianling: “I was passing through the West Market earlier and thought Second Sister and Third Sister must be coming soon, so I bought some tooth powder and toothbrushes.”

Huangfu Tieniu fetched a basin of water, and Tang Xianling went to wash up first. He’d been sweating all morning, and as he washed, he said, “Third Sister, I’ll cook dinner. Mother must have bought takeout for lunch.”

In Tang Nuan’s mind, since Father had passed away, Mother had become a bit bolder. Buying takeout was to treat her and Xiangxiang, who had come from afar—it was a splurge. The meals they cooked at home were simple, everyday fare, but now, judging by Wu-ger’s tone, it seemed that home-cooked meals were actually the best.

She thought about it and realized he was right; the warmth of a home-cooked meal was something no takeout could match.

“Right, right, let’s have Wu-ger cook.” Jiang Yun nodded with a smile and asked, “What ingredients should we buy?”

Tang Xianling wiped his face with a towel—it felt much cooler now—and said, “Mom, buy some spare ribs and pork shoulder. The shoulder is lean, so I’ll make sweet and sour spare ribs and meatballs. Also, get some winter melon, and if you see bitter melon, I’ll stir-fry it with eggs.”

His husband Tieniu seemed to have a bit of a heat buildup lately—his throat was dry, and he had a burning sensation in his mouth. It wasn’t serious; a couple of meals with bitter melon and some cooling tea would clear it up.

“Okay, I’ll go right now.” Jiang Yun gathered her shopping basket.

Tang Nuan knew which shop to go to. She hadn’t been back in a while and was bored at home, so she offered to accompany her mother to the market and invited Xiangxiang along too. Zhao Xiangxiang had been playing with Lu Sanniang for a while; upon hearing her mother’s call, she handed the bamboo dragonfly to Lu Sanniang.

Lu Sanniang: “Go ahead. It’s almost dinnertime, and I need to go home to cook.”

“Okay,” Zhao Xiangxiang replied, then went home to join her mother and grandmother on their way to the market. As they walked out of the shop onto the main street, Zhao Xiangxiang was amazed. She tugged at her mother’s hand and said, “Mother, it’s so lively here.”

They left the shop and headed toward the butcher’s shop at the end of the street.

“It is bustling. I haven’t been back in years, but I don’t see much has changed,” Tang Nuan said.

Jiang Yun: “There have been some changes. The family that ran that shop—grandparents, parents, and children—returned to their hometown to retire. The new tenants opened a small restaurant, selling vegetable and grain-based dishes. Wu-ger bought some to eat once, but never touched it again. It closed down a few days ago.”

“Wait a minute, Mother, the door’s open,” Tang Nuan pointed out.

Jiang Yun stepped forward to take a closer look. The sign above the door had been replaced; she couldn’t read, but there was also a hanging banner. Every shop had both a sign and a banner hanging at the entrance, with the banner featuring illustrations of what the shop sold. She looked at the banner—it showed bowls of food, things like rice porridge and rice cakes.

“Li’s Sweet What?” Tang Nuan had started learning to read after marrying into her husband’s family, but she still couldn’t handle anything too complicated.

Someone chimed in: “Sweet Laozao—those two characters are pronounced ‘Laozao.’”

Tang Nuan thanked the person who had told her, said she’d made a note of it, and repeated it to her daughter. Zhao Xiangxiang also looked at the characters on the signboard and asked her mother, “What is laozao? Is it sweet water?”

“I suppose so,” Tang Nuan said. She wanted to go buy a bowl for her daughter to try, so she turned to ask her mother if she’d like some too. But when she looked at her mother’s face, she saw something was wrong. “What’s wrong, Mother?”

Jiang Yun: “This is the Li family—the ones who used to rent half our courtyard. Wu-ger mentioned before that they had their eyes on our shop—” She paused, then continued, “I told you we should’ve made them move out back then. The day before they left, they were complaining loudly that we were being stingy with them, but by the third day, they were secretly delighted. Turns out they’d found a shop.”

“Then I won’t have any,” Tang Nuan said, taking her daughter’s hand. “There’s nothing much worth tasting anyway.”

Zhao Xiangxiang always listened to her mother and grandmother.

At Li’s Shop, Mrs. Li spotted Jiang Yun from a distance and deliberately took a few steps forward to greet her. “Oh, isn’t this Auntie Tang? Out shopping for vegetables? We just opened our shop today—would you like to try some sweet rice wine soup?”

“I’ll try it if it’s free,” Jiang Yun said.

Auntie Li’s smile faded. Her shop had just opened today, and this woman wanted a free sample—how dare she?

“If it were a neighbor giving the shop owner a bowl to taste, that would be appropriate. But this isn’t the case—your family just chased us away.”

“Enough of this.” Jiang Yun took her daughter’s hand and walked away, refusing to speak further with the Li family.

Tang Nuan found it quite amusing to hear her mother speak so bluntly and rebuke someone like that; her mother hadn’t had the nerve to do this before. Jiang Yun muttered, “I did that on purpose just now. I didn’t really want to drink anything from her place; I just wanted to shut her up after she tried to shut me up.”

“That family is all talk. Wu-ger said so. They say all sorts of nice-sounding things, but really, they’re just playing with words—don’t take them seriously. I used to think she was kind-hearted, but when Wu-ger terminated their lease and even paid them compensation, her whole family started complaining that Wu-ger and I were being stingy with them.”

Jiang Yun sounded a bit annoyed as she spoke, “What I just said—I was just copying Wu-ger.”

“You’re right, Mother.” Tang Nuan was pleased to hear this and said, “Wu-ger has really changed a lot.”

Jiang Yun’s heart skipped a beat, but she covered it up with a smile and said, “He’s been through a lot; it’s only natural he’s changed so much.”

“That’s true.” Tang Nuan nodded; she thought the same.

Jiang Yun breathed a sigh of relief. After that, she stopped talking about the Li family and focused on buying groceries. When she arrived at the butcher shop and asked Zhou Xiangping for meat, Zhou Xiangping didn’t quite recognize Tang Nuan at first, but then she remembered and chatted with her at length.

As they chatted, the conversation turned to Li’s Sweet Laozao.

“…I heard from someone that the original restaurant wasn’t doing well and was thinking of closing down. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have made much money all year round—they couldn’t even pay the shop tax. Shops around here are in high demand. At first, the family just asked around among their acquaintances to see who wanted to rent it. When the Li family got wind of it, they paid twenty percent more than the going rate just to secure it.” Zhou Xiangping said.

The Li family has money, after all.

Hearing this, her husband replied, “Of course they have money. They lived rent-free at the Tang family’s place for over half a year and even received more than ten taels of silver in compensation. That’s a huge stroke of luck.”

“Our little pork stall wouldn’t make that much in half a year of sales.”

“The Tang family really are decent people.”

As soon as Zhou Xiangping heard this, she immediately said, “Well, they deserved to pay 20% more.” Having recently picked up a few tricks from Aunt Jiang, she wanted to make her happy too, so she continued: “Originally, the Zhao shop wasn’t short on money at all. They weren’t selling the shop—just renting it out—and they dragged their feet for ages when it came to vacating the premises. The Li family was afraid someone else would snap it up, so they agreed to whatever the owners asked. Later, after some haggling, they even rented half of the back kitchen, which cost a bit more.”

“That’s why the Li family didn’t appreciate your family’s kindness back then. Now that they’ve rented the grain shop, they’re in for a rough time.”

Jiang Yun was pleased to hear this.

At home, Tang Xianling put the rice on to steam and, while he was at it, turned over the dried mustard greens that had been sun-dried today, planning to steam a second batch tomorrow morning. After waiting a while, he heard a noise from the front—the person who’d gone to buy vegetables had returned.

Huangfu Tieniu went to open the door, took the vegetables with one hand, and headed for the kitchen, saying, “Mother, you keep Third Sister company. Xianling and I will handle things in the kitchen.”

“…Alright.” Jiang Yun replied.

Tang Nuan watched in surprise. After Tieniu had left, she asked her mother, “Does Wu-ger’s husband usually cook in the kitchen as well?”

“Of course. He can do anything—except cook. His food just doesn’t taste right; he can only make sure it’s cooked through. But he loves going into the kitchen to help Wu-ger. When he can’t cook, he’ll wash vegetables or tend the fire—he’s good at everything,” Jiang Yun praised.

Tang Nuan said, “Well, that’s good—he’s a hardworking man. It’s just that I’ve never seen a man go into the kitchen before.” Back when her father ran the business, it was a different story—for breakfast and lunch, the family ate their own meals, and they let the women do all the cooking.

Father would say: “I’m supposed to cook for you? And wait on you while you eat?”

The implication was that cooking was a skill used to make money when done for business; cooking for a household full of women and ger was a man serving others.

It was a disgrace.

Not even her own husband ever went into the kitchen. Her family claimed their business was thriving, but it wasn’t a high-end fabric shop; they didn’t sell silk or brocade, just ordinary coarse and fine cloth. A few years ago, they’d started making and selling ready-to-wear clothes, but after taking a loss, they went back to selling only fabric.

Jiang Yun sat for a while, then told her daughter and Xiangxiang to rest in her room before heading to the kitchen.

“Mother, why are you here? Does my third sister want something? Or is she hungry?” Tang Xianling was chopping meat for the filling with a thud-thud-thud rhythm; after a while, he switched places with Tieniu.

Jiang Yun stood in the doorway. “Do you remember the rice shop you mentioned closing down earlier?”

“Did it close?” Tang Xianling guessed.

Jiang Yun nodded. “The Li family took over their shop—the same Li family that used to rent our courtyard.” There’s also a Li’s Mutton Offal Soup shop on the street.

Tang Xianling hadn’t expected Jiang Yun to come here just to share “gossip.” It didn’t take him long to realize that the Li family must have lost out on something in this deal, so he perked up and asked, “Is their business not doing well?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see it up close—just caught a few glimpses as I walked by.” Hearing Wu-ger ask this, Jiang Yun recounted everything she’d just heard from Zhou Xiangping.

Tang Xianling: “They’re selling sweet rice wine. That’s easy to make—you just need some rice malt.”

“Wu-ger, you know how?!” Jiang Yun was surprised.

Tang Xianling: “It’s not that hard, but I’ve never tried theirs. Maybe they have a secret recipe. But if I made it, it’d taste even better.” He was that confident.

He thought for a moment, then finally said, “Never mind. They’re not connected to us. As long as they don’t mess with our family in the future, I won’t meddle in their business.”

Jiang Yun: ???

Her mind hadn’t quite caught up yet, but she blurted out, “Right, right. In business, we should always get along to make a profit. Your father always said we can’t be fighting with the neighbors every day.”

“…Mom, when you say that, I just want to deliberately go against you and pick fights with the mean neighbors every day.”

Huangfu Tieniu was amused and teased his mother, “Mom, Xianling doesn’t like listening to what Dad says.”

Jiang Yun finally caught on. She didn’t blame her Wu-ger, though; a hint of resignation flashed in her eyes as she said, “Alright then, you two go ahead and get to work.”

People say the dead are to be respected; once someone passes away, everything is forgiven, and grudges are forgotten. But her Wu-ger—even when Old Tang was alive, he didn’t like listening to him, and now that Old Tang is dead, it’s still the same.

“Mother, take this and let Third Sister and the child have a taste. Just a little something to tide them over.” Tang Xianling handed her a pear gourd that had been washed and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Lu Sanniang had just brought over a few more, so he returned some pastries.

Jiang Yun carried a plate of pear melon back into the house.

In the kitchen.

Tang Xianling snorted and nudged Tieniu’s arm. “You sure do call him ‘Dad’ with such earnestness and ease.”

“Anyway, dad isn’t exactly a saint,” Huangfu Tieniu replied.

Tang Xianling: … Hahahahahaha.

He saw it now: while he sometimes acted up openly, Tieniu did his mischief behind the scenes—the two of them were a pair of “villainous husbands”!

And so, the villainous husbands went about their work in the kitchen, clanging and clattering away.

Tang Xianling blanched the pork ribs, started caramelizing the sugar, then added the ribs to the pot with vinegar to simmer. Meanwhile, the meat for the lion’s head meatballs was also prepared. The meat can’t be too finely ground; it needs a bit of texture to taste good.

When I was a kid watching TV dramas, whenever they made lion’s head meatballs, the main character would rave about how delicious they were, and that stuck with me all my life. Later, when I went to college, I tried them out of curiosity and asked the ultimate question: Is that it?

They were like clear-simmered meatballs—the meat was a bit crumbly, and the broth was watery.

Sometimes the texture was even a bit greasy.

He’s been thinking about the menu these past few days. He’s opening a small restaurant on Main Street to serve dinner, and he can’t price his food the same as the restaurants in West Market—he has to cut costs. So he’s sticking with the cheapest pork currently available in Fengyuan City, whether it’s sweet and sour spare ribs, clear-broth meatballs, or braised dishes.

Two meat dishes and two vegetable dishes each day, with the menu determined by the season.

Since sweet and sour spare ribs were on the menu today, Tang Xianling decided to make clear soup meatballs. He’d already minced the meat for the filling, but since he didn’t have water chestnuts or bamboo shoots at home, he looked around and decided to substitute daikon radish and winter melon—he was just testing the recipe, so it didn’t matter if it turned out badly; after all, it was just for his family.

He added ginger water to the freshly minced meat in three batches, stirring in one direction each time. After adding all three batches, he tossed in the finely chopped daikon radish and the peeled, seeded, and diced pear melon, then began kneading the mixture vigorously.

Finally came the most crucial step. Since this was a clear broth dish, he didn’t deep-fry the meatballs in oil—unlike in braised versions, where frying sets the surface. Instead, he formed large meatballs and dropped them into the water in the clay pot. Dipping his hands in a slurry of water and starch, he began shaping the meatballs and gently placing them along the pot’s inner wall. As soon as they hit the water, they floated to the surface without sinking.

Tang Xianling smiled. It was a success.

He’d seen a video where a chef said that if the meatballs float and don’t sink when placed in water, they’re perfect lion’s head meatballs.

For the final step, skim off the scum, cover the lion’s head meatballs with washed Chinese cabbage, put the lid on, and let them simmer. The cabbage absorbs the fat, keeping the broth clear and preventing it from becoming greasy.

Since the two pots were cooking separately, Tang Xianling used the time to prep ingredients. Speaking of bitter melon, he asked, “You should eat a few more of these later. You’ve had sores in my mouth lately—does it hurt?”

Huangfu Tieniu glanced over.

“Why are you looking at me? It’s just been so hot lately—I’m feeling the heat too. I’ll eat the bitter melon later; I won’t let you have it all to yourself.” Tang Xianling felt he was the perfect partner—he was even willing to “share the hardship” with Tieniu by eating bitter melon.

Seeing the innocent look on Xianling’s face, Tieniu knew deep down that his mouth sores couldn’t possibly be caused by the heat alone.

The courtyard had been repaired, and their room was bigger now, but at night, Xianling still liked to sleep pressed up against him. Before bed, he’d giggle and “tease” him—they’d kiss, and Xianling loved to tease him. When Tieniu stiffened and blushed, Xianling sensed something, his own face flushing too. He’d pull the blanket over his head and mutter, “Let’s go to sleep, let’s go to sleep.”

……Xianling knew exactly what couples were supposed to do.

Yet he was still shy—and even while being shy, he still teased him.

Huangfu Tieniu, however, relished it; he felt that Xianling was like a clever, mischievous little kitten.

The kitten was slicing bitter melon and stirring egg batter when it suddenly had a belated epiphany: the reason Tieniu was “running hot” had nothing to do with the heat. Recently, the family had been making mung bean soup and cooling teas every day for the workers to help them cool down—and he’d been drinking them too.

He thought back to last night—he hadn’t kept his mouth shut, and he’d gone out to drive his old clunker again. In the end, Tieniu’s “stick” had been pressing against his lower back—

Tang Xianling’s face flushed red. “Have a little more bitter melon and a little less egg,” he said.

The aroma wafted out from the kitchen first. Zhao Xiangxiang, sitting in the east room, couldn’t sit still; the little girl ran to the kitchen and asked Uncle, “What are you making? It smells so good!”

“Are you hungry? Dinner’s almost ready.” Tang Xianling lifted the lid to take a peek.

Zhao Xiangxiang caught the intoxicating scent. “It smells so good,” she exclaimed again.

In the large pot, the sweet and sour spare ribs had reduced to a thick, sticky sauce. Each piece was coated in a beautiful caramelized glaze—rich, dark, and glossy, almost shimmering.

Tang Xianling served it in a large bowl.

“It’s not dark yet, so let’s eat in the courtyard. It’s too dim inside,” Tang Xianling said to Tieniu.

It was now summer; it was a little past six, almost seven in the evening, and the sky was still bright—at least they could eat by the light of day. Inside, the light was dim enough to require candles, so it was better to eat in the courtyard, where it was cool and pleasant.

Huangfu Tieniu: “I’ll go get the table.”

“I’ll go too, Uncle! I’ll go too!” Zhao Xiangxiang swallowed hard, eager to eat.

The breakfast Uncle made this morning was especially delicious, and now the evening meal smelled just as fragrant—she’d never smelled food this good before.

“Xiangxiang, stay here and help Uncle taste it to see if it’s good.” Tang Xianling called the child over. It wasn’t the child’s job to do the heavy lifting; instead, he smiled as he picked up a piece of spare rib with his chopsticks, placed it in a bowl, and handed it to Xiangxiang.

Zhao Xiangxiang: “Uncle, everyone hasn’t eaten yet—Grandma hasn’t eaten yet.”

The elders must eat first before they can.

“It’s not even set out yet—it’s still in the kitchen. Uncle’s asking you to help taste it. If it’s too salty or too bland, we can still add some seasoning.” Tang Xianling made up a story to fool the little girl.

The little girl was practically drooling.

How adorable.

Zhao Xiangxiang swallowed hard. Uncle was right, so she hugged the bowl, picked up her chopsticks, and began to eat—she would savor every bite to help Uncle out.

“Blow on it, be careful, it’s hot—it just came out of the pot.” Tang Xianling started stir-frying the vegetables.

Zhao Xiangxiang puffed out her cheeks and blew on the spare ribs. After two puffs, she couldn’t hold back any longer and drooled. Her cheeks flushed red, and she quickly glanced over. Seeing that Uncle was busy stir-frying and hadn’t noticed her drool, she breathed a sigh of relief.

How embarrassing! If Grandma found out she was drooling because she was so hungry, she’d scold her.

Thank goodness, thank goodness.

Zhao Xiangxiang finished her thoughts and couldn’t wait to take a bite. As her tongue touched the sauce, her eyes widened instantly. She ate a little faster, huffing and puffing, and the meat fell right off the bone with just a bite. The meat in her mouth tasted sweet and sour.

“It’s so delicious.”

“Ah-ha.” Huffing and puffing, chewing and chewing.

“Uncle, it’s so good, hmm.”

“You don’t need to worry about anything.”

Tang Xianling listened as the little girl reported her “homework” to him earnestly while huffing and puffing, stifling a smile. He said, “Thank you for your help, Xiangxiang. I’ll call Uncle to serve the dishes.”

Zhao Xiangxiang had originally wanted to say she could serve the food, but she was afraid she might spill it—and then those delicious spare ribs would be gone—so she immediately said, “I’ll go ask Mother to serve the food. Uncle, you go set the table.”

“Alright.”

The vegetable dish was ready. Some served the rice, others set out the bowls and chopsticks. Tang Xianling washed his hands and face, took his seat, and dug in!

“Mother, Third Sister, and Mr. Wang, please eat.” Tang Xianling invited his guests to begin.

Sitting next to Tieniu, a thought struck him, and he scooped a large spoonful of bitter melon and scrambled eggs onto Tieniu’s plate first.

Huangfu Tieniu: …

Xianling wanted to tease him again; with so many people around, he wasn’t shy anymore.

Immediately after, a piece of spare rib appeared in his bowl.

Huangfu Tieniu looked over. Tang Xianling said, “After sharing the bitter melons, let’s have something sweet. Why are you staring at me? Eat the meat!”

That was just how Xianling was—teasing him, loving him, and protecting him.

Actually, it was precisely because he loved him that he teased him playfully.

Huangfu Tieniu felt nothing but sweetness; he ate the pork ribs and finished the bitter melon scrambled eggs.

“Mom, Mom, Uncle’s pork ribs are so delicious. I’ve never had anything this good before.” Zhao Xiangxiang spoke only after seeing the adults start to eat.

Tang Nuan immediately picked up a piece for her daughter. Xiangxiang urged her to eat some too, saying, “Come on, try some!” She was even acting all cute about it.

“All right, all right. Mother will try the spare ribs your uncle made.”

Tang Nuan knew pork prices were low—not just in Fengyuan City, but in Shijing Prefecture as well. However, Shijing Prefecture wasn’t as wealthy as Fengyuan City; the common folk couldn’t afford lamb and ate more pork, so pork prices there were slightly higher than in Fengyuan City.

Today, Wu-ger had asked Mother to go shopping, specifically requesting pork. At the time, Tang Nuan thought to herself: Wu-ger really knows how to manage a household; his words and actions have changed significantly, but deep down, he’s still the same—thrifty as ever.

Now she held a piece of pork bone, glazed with a rich, glossy, reddish-brown sauce. Even before it reached her mouth, a tangy-sweet aroma wafted up—no wonder Xiangxiang loved it so much.

Tang Nuan took a bite, tasted the flavor, and her expression immediately changed, filled with astonishment.

How could it be this delicious?

According to her mother-in-law, pork these days is better than it used to be—it doesn’t have that strong gamey smell anymore. They buy pork to eat at home from time to time, but no matter how she cooked it herself, Tang Nuan could still detect a hint of that gamey odor, though it wasn’t so bad she couldn’t swallow it.

But the spare ribs Wu-ger had cooked were nothing but fragrant; after finishing them, there was absolutely no trace of that gamey smell.

The meat was stewed until tender and falling off the bone. You could taste the pork, but it was only the aroma of pork—

“Oh my, this dish—I’ve never had pork this delicious before.” Master Wang exclaimed in wonder. He’d just thought it was no big deal for the Tang family to serve pork to their daughter, so he took a chance and picked up a piece himself—after all, it was just pork. If it had been lamb, he wouldn’t have eaten it; lamb is, after all, expensive.

He wasn’t exactly a distinguished guest, just a coachman.

But the moment he tasted it, he was blown away.

It was even better than that lamb.

“It’s my Wu-ger’s cooking—whatever he makes is delicious,” Jiang Yun said. Seeing that Master Wang hadn’t touched his chopsticks, she warmly urged him to have a few more pieces.

Master Wang wasn’t one to indulge his appetite. As a cart driver, a bag of dried bread and a flask of water were usually enough for him on a daily basis. Being too greedy wasn’t a good thing, and people like him simply couldn’t afford to be greedy.

But today, putting his pride aside, he picked up another piece.

Tang Xianling lifted the lid of the clay pot, and the aroma of the clear broth wafted over. He scooped out half a meatball with the serving spoon. “Third Sister, why don’t you try this? Xiangxiang, would you like some too?”

“Uncle, I want some.” Zhao Xiangxiang held out her bowl to him.

Tang Xianling scooped the other half of the lion’s head meatball into Xiangxiang’s bowl. He and Tieniu shared one; he’d made these meatballs large—after all, a lion’s head should be big; anything smaller would just be meatballs.

Mother and Master Wang shared one.

He’d only made four in total.

Let’s eat. 

Tang Xianling couldn’t wait. Since the dish had made him substitute water chestnuts with radishes and winter melon, he wasn’t sure how it would taste. The lion’s head meatballs were stewed until tender and falling apart. He mixed them with rice, mashed them up, and popped a mouthful into his mouth—

“It’s so delicious, Uncle!” Zhao Xiangxiang said.

“Everything Uncle makes is so delicious.”

Tang Xianling smiled.

He didn’t know what the legendary lion’s head meatballs from TV dramas tasted like, but these, blessed by his “golden touch,” truly gave him the sensation of being “unparalleled in heaven or on earth,” just as the protagonists in TV shows described.

Lightly braised, neither greasy nor heavy, the meat retained a slight chewiness and texture. The winter melon added a subtle, delicate sweetness, offering a crisp, crunchy bite. When stewed with the meat, even the clear broth carried a nourishing, restorative flavor.

Absolutely amazing!