Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ye Dafu looked at the meager number of dishes and, gritting his teeth, climbed up the beam to untie a piece of cured meat. Yin Ge had also returned from buying carp outside.

Ye Zhan re-hung the cured meat and placed the bag of carp in clean water to be kept for the next meal. "Our family is not well-off. How can I feel at ease if you spend so much money on my account?"

She saw some salted melon beans in the ceramic jar. "With two meat dishes and some pickles to accompany the meal, it's more than enough."

The salted melon beans were finely chopped and mixed with rice vinegar, then poured over steamed eggplant.

She sprinkled garlic paste ground into powder and served it all in a rough ceramic dish.

Jin Ge returned from who knows where, and from inside his jacket pulled out an oil-paper package containing two raw quail.

Ye Zhan plucked and gutted the quail, wrapped them in mud, and buried them in the stove to make a firewood-roasted quail.

The air was filled with the mouth-watering aroma of pork stewed with wind-dried fish, making people swallow involuntarily.

One dish was wind-dried fish with pork belly, another stir-fried cabbage with pork lard, and a side of salted melon beans with garlic eggplant. This was the dinner for eight people.

The table was lively with dishes, and the family sat together to welcome their daughter back.

After exchanging some pleasantries, Ye Dafu felt a pang of sadness and waved his hand, covering his face to signal everyone to eat.

Everyone felt a little emotional, but after a few bites of the food, they were greatly surprised:

The wind-dried fish with pork belly had been stewed for a long time, and it was so tender it fell apart with a chopstick.

The unique flavor of the dried fish combined with the rich taste of pork belly. It was simply unparalleled.

The dried vegetables and cabbage inside were all stewed soft, and when eaten, filled the mouth with the flavors of fish and meat. It must have been because they had absorbed the soup over a long time.

It left a fragrant aftertaste without any greasiness after swallowing.

Bean paste was simply boiled into the broth as seasoning, and the vermicelli soaked in it were soft and fluffy.

Each bite was bursting with the rich aroma of pork belly, rich and fragrant.

"Slurp," Ye Dafu said with a laugh. "This vermicelli is more fragrant than meat! I'll have more of this."

He hee-hee laughed and served himself a large portion of vermicelli.

Ye Yu shook her head. "There's plenty of meat, so don't try to save for us."

Ye Yin quietly served his father a chopstick of meat.

The stir-fried cabbage with pork lard was also special.

Stir-fried cabbage was a common dish, but adding pork lard made it exceptional.

The pork lard was crispy and delicious, paired with the slightly sweet tender cabbage leaves to cut the grease, making people unable to stop eating one bite after another.

The salted melon beans with garlic eggplant had an attractive color. The slightly pink salted melon beans gave the cold-tossed eggplant a light pink hue, making it visually appealing and perfect for a hot summer day.

The garlic-covered eggplant, paired with the slightly sour salted melon beans, made everyone’s mouths water.

The quail was also dripping with oil, its skin honey-colored and tender. Tearing off the skin revealed the rich and juicy meat inside. Taking a bite, your mouth filled with rich, oily goodness.

The family ate to their heart's content.

With her belly full, Ye Li lounged by the door and sighed, "This is better than any New Year celebration we've had."

Ye Zhan paused while clearing the dishes, noticing the simple fare. Ordinary dishes like pork stewed with vermicelli were treated as New Year’s feast, hinting at the family’s struggles.

But now that she was back, she knew she had to help the Ye family prosper.

When it came to her career, everyone in the Ye family had their own ideas.

Ye Dafu advised his daughter to join him in the trade of "bomai."

What exactly is "bomai"?

Ye Dafu ran a stall selling combs, boots, shoes, and jewelry. Beside the stall, a bamboo pole held a round pearwood disc.

Anyone who shot an arrow and hit the animals on the disc could claim a prize from the stall.

The biggest target, a large yellow dog, won you a black pottery bowl, while the smallest, a tiny beetle, earned the finest comb on display.

The comb, made of gilded phoenix-patterned yellow willow wood, featured intricately carved phoenixes and was worth at least five strings of cash.

The exquisite comb lured passersby into stopping for a chance to win.

However, no one could hit the bullseye, and even when someone did, the arrow would just slip off, resulting in continuous sighs.

Ye Dafu couldn't help but show off to his daughter, "They've smeared oil on that bullseye and reinforced it. Regular arrows just bounce right off."

Seeing his daughter frown, he immediately straightened up to defend himself, "The whole city operates like this!"

As he spoke, he tidied up the stall. The stall was basically a cloth spread out with ropes tied at each corner.

Ye Zhan soon understood what the ropes were for.

"Street officers! The market supervisors are coming!"

Someone yelled, and instantly, the street vendors scattered like startled animals.

Unfazed, Ye Dafu yanked the ropes, bundling everything into a makeshift sack.

He swiftly bundled it up and took off running.

After a few strides, he doubled back, grabbing her arm. "Come on! Move!"

Still in shock, Ye Zhan stumbled after her father.

Once they lost the officers, Ye Dafu panted heavily, "Blocking the streets gets you seventy lashes!"

Ye Zhan had some understanding, "Didn't they set up those boundary markers?"

The government put up posts along the streets to mark where vendors could set up shop.

"The stalls inside the designated markers have to pay money to the guild, but I'm not stupid enough to do that." Ye Dafu said proudly.

Oh man,

"So… this is operating as an unlicensed street vendor beyond the boundary?"

Ye Zhan, a law-abiding citizen in this life and the last, was wide-eyed with surprise.

"There's more," Ye Dafu said with a smug look, "Selling through gambling is also against the law."

Turns out, the government only permits gambling sales on specific days:

It started after the Winter Solstice and continued until after the New Year. Additionally, during major festivals like the Cold Food Festival and Qingming, the government would relax the restrictions.

On all other days, gambling sales were against the law.

According to Ye Dafu, the "Song Criminal Code" states: "Those who gamble for money shall each be beaten with a hundred strokes, and if the amount involved is large, they shall be punished as thieves."

Using her limited knowledge of classical Chinese, Ye Zhan translated it as: Gambling sales are a serious offense.

A hundred lashes! For severe cases, it’s treated like theft.

Even though they escaped today,

what if one day they didn't manage to run from the street officers?

Seventy strokes for illegal street occupation,

and a hundred strokes for illegal gambling sales,

At nearly fifty, Ye Dafu wouldn’t survive 170 lashes, right?

Ye Zhan rubbed her forehead, realizing reforming her dad would be an uphill battle.

After patiently persuading him for a long time, Ye Dafu finally decided to change his ways: no more gambling sales, just selling goods plainly.

That afternoon, he laid out a bunch of antiques.

"Take a look, have a glance, all fine items!" Ye Dafu shouted, "Bronze ware from the Western Zhou Dynasty, Han Dynasty pottery figurines!"

Where did we even get all these antiques? Ye Zhan wondered.

Ye Dafu quickly explained to his daughter in a low voice, "That one is a pottery figurine from the time of Emperor Xiaowen, made by crushing bricks from the outskirts of Shengle City and refiring them! Even the most distinguished Tuoba Xianbei from the Wei dynasty couldn’t tell them apart!"

"This one is a replica bronze ware from the Tianbao period, crafted in the official workshop in Jurong and engraved with official seals in the old workshop in Chang'an. Even a top expert couldn’t spot the difference!"

So even ancient people made fake artifacts? Ye Zhan was once again wide-eyed with surprise.

Sure enough, a customer was intrigued but still hesitant, whispering to his friend, "Can a small street vendor like this really have genuine goods?"

"Sir, you don't know this. Big antique dealers get their goods from us small vendors! Don't be fooled by the grandeur of those big antique shops; isn't it all coming out of customers' pockets?" Ye Dafu immediately played on the customer's emotions, looking deeply sorrowful.

The customer was visibly moved.

Seeing it worked, Ye Dafu glanced around nervously,

then leaned closer to the customer and whispered, "If you don't believe me, how about you follow me to the loot site and get the goods yourself?"

Ye Zhan shook her head helplessly and bent down to prepare to pack up the stall.

She had already heard from her father that the "current stock" taken from the site was actually fake goods that had been pre-buried in a tomb raider's pit.

Meanwhile, Ye Dafu was still energetically persuading the customer, "This is a bronze ding from Zhenxun, truly ancient and rustic!"

Mi Fengniang, who was helping out, quietly muttered, "What Zhenxun? It’s more like early in the month."

"I watched your father pour dirty dishwater into that ding for over ten days, claiming it was to give it an aged look."

Ye Zhan felt a sudden rush of frustration.

She sped up her packing and pulled her father aside, "Dad, let's not sell this."

But to her surprise, when she said they weren’t selling, the potential customer grew even more intrigued, "Is this really from the Xia dynasty?"

He took several more glances at the bronze ding.

Seeing this, Ye Dafu realized his daughter was in on the act.

He gave his daughter a sly wink when no one was looking.

Was I here to help you pull off this con?

Ye Zhan was frustrated and pulled her father aside, pointing out to the customer, "He's a fraud, and this is a fake."

She then frantically tried to get Ye Dafu to close up shop.

The customer was puzzled, "Usually vendors are eager to sell, but you don't want to?"

Unless… unless the bronze ding is real!

His eyes were glued to it. "Please wrap it up—I’ll pay extra."

Ye Zhan ignored him and ordered Ye Dafu to pack up and go home.

Back home, she grabbed the fake antiques and was ready to toss them.

"Don't throw them away! Stop! Oh dear, you can't throw them away!" Ye Dafu blocked her from all sides,

"Bury them with me in the grave, and after soaking in corpse water for ten years, they’ll be even more convincing!"

"When you kids are struggling in the future, you can dig up my grave and sell the antiques!"

Amid their noisy argument, someone knocked on the door.

As soon as the door was opened, the customer was standing there eagerly waiting,

tipping his toes and stretching his neck like a cormorant to peer inside. "Boss, the bronze ding! I'll pay more!"

Ye Zhan:……