Chapter 9

Chapter 9

As the sun set, the Ye family finished work and gathered around Ye Zhan's stall.

The enticing aroma of Ye Zhan’s fried noodles drew in hungry diners once more.

Yin Ge'er quickly washed his hands and jumped in to help his sister with the dishes.

Jade Sister casually chatted up the nearby customers.

The family was busy until the evening lights came on.

Ye Zhan planned to keep selling late-night snacks; after all, the State Bridge night market was the liveliest spot in town after dark.

But after a full day of work, her body ached, and she decided to hire some help once she saved up enough.

Back at home, Ye Zhan was so tired that she lay on the bed like a salted fish.

Back when she was an executive chef before being transported here, there were purchasers for buying ingredients, assistants for washing vegetables, apprentices for preparing dishes, waitstaff for serving, and cashiers for handling accounts.

She’d never had to juggle all these tasks alone, plus constantly watch for any dine-and-dash attempts.

By the end of the day, she was exhausted both physically and mentally.

Fantasy: As a time-traveling heroine, she imagined conquering every challenge.

Reality: One day on the job left her aching all over.

Without a word, Jin Ge'er brought over a basin of water for his sister to soak her feet, while Mi Fengniang tied on her apron and offered, "I'll take care of the leftover ingredients from the food stall. You rest, Zhan'er."

"Mom, I'll do it," Jade Sister said, noticing her mother was about to enter the kitchen and quickly stepping in.

"You’ve really grown up, learning to take care of your mom," Ye Dafu praised his elder daughter with satisfaction.

The younger sister, Ye Li, smiled with her lips pressed together. "Big sis must be worried Mom’s cooking will mess up Second Sister’s recipes!"

"No, that’s not it," Jade Sister insisted, despite the fib. Earlier, while helping at the stall, she had been eyeing the dishes: her sister had prepared braised fish fillet fried noodles for the family, but she hadn’t tried the braised pork fried noodles or the vegetarian fried noodles. They looked so delicious.

"Don't gossip with your red mouth and white teeth," Mi Fengniang retorted. "Besides, cooking some noodles can’t go that wrong." The toppings were still leftovers from earlier; just boil the noodles and pour the toppings over.

The whole family opposed in unison, "No." The last time Mi Fengniang cooked gourd noodle soup, she burned the pot, turning the gourd into charcoal.

Mi Fengniang huffed and twisted her waist to pour some wine.

The allure of good food was powerful enough to calm even the usually short-tempered Jade Sister, who eagerly pitched in with tonight’s meal prep.

The family sat together in the yard, noisily eating their dinner, each with a full belly.

Ye Li, hugging her stomach, repented again, "Master said if you get fat, you won’t be able to communicate with spirits." But she still couldn’t help but eye the kitchen greedily: What will we cook tomorrow?

After finishing her meal, Ye Zhan regained some strength and sat under the tree to do the accounts.

Seeing that her daughter appeared normal after finishing the calculations and not showing any signs of distress, Mi Fengniang, worried that her daughter might be discouraged if she lost money on her first day of business, coughed and spoke first, "It's normal in business to have losses and gains."

"Your mother is right," Ye Dafu, a loyal supporter of his wife, chimed in, "Victory and defeat are common in business."

Jin Ge'er looked left and right in front of the only small copper mirror at home, picked a red hibiscus flower from a bowl, and tucked it behind his ear to see the effect. He casually said, "Tomorrow, I'll find some buddies to help out. No need to worry, sis."

"Who said I'm worried?" Ye Zhan said with a helpless smile, quickly sharing the accounting results. "We turned a profit today."

"We turned a profit?"

"We sold twenty bowls of fish with sauce, twenty bowls of braised pork, and twenty-five bowls of vegetarian toppings today."

The fish dish cost eight wen per bowl, braised pork was seven wen, and vegetarian noodles were five wen.

That brought their total to 423 wen. After subtracting the cost of ingredients, the net profit for the day was 200 wen.

"200 wen a day!" Mi Fengniang calculated.

"That's 6 guan a month! And 72 guan a year! We're going to get rich!"

"Mom, you can't just add it up like that." Ye Zhan said with a helpless smile. "The dried goods like mushrooms and daylilies were taken from the Du family without spending money, so they can't be counted as costs. When they're used up and we buy new ones, those will need to be included in the costs."

"Also, don't forget about the friends my brother brought today. Their money shouldn't be counted either. Each of them had one or two bowls and paid a total of 100 wen."

"So, after all that, I only made 100 wen today."

"100 wen isn’t too shabby; that’s 36 guan a year." Mi Fengniang said with a smile, counting on her fingers.

Ye Zhan shook her head, unsatisfied.

Working in Bianjing could roughly earn this amount, and those who sold their labor for 100 wen still allowed their boss to make a profit. Clearly, the value these people generated was more than 100 wen.

To build a lasting business, she needed to think of ways to bring in more customers.

As Ye Zhan pondered, she counted out 100 wen and handed it over. "Those people came because of my brother’s connections. This money should go to him."

"You keep it," her elder brother said without looking at the money. "It's only right that you earn money from selling noodles."

"That won't do," Ye Zhan said with a smile. "They helped you make connections today, and next time you'll owe them one. Won't you need to pay out of your own pocket then?"

She insisted on stuffing the money into her brother's pouch. "Big brother must keep this."

"You two siblings don't need to play the 'letting the pear' game. I'll take it on behalf of your elder brother." Seeing the shiny copper coins, Mi Fengniang's eyes lit up and reached out to grab them. "This way, you won't have to argue."

"Mom!" Jin Ge'er, not bothering with the flower, tossed the hibiscus aside and caught the pouch, chuckling awkwardly. "Second sister is right. I need to treat them to show my gratitude. With just one word from them tomorrow, my sister's food stall might become famous throughout the capital."

"What kind of people are your brother's friends?" Ye Zhan asked curiously. "How can they have such influence?"

"These companions of my brother work as attendants in taverns. Whenever young masters dine out, they go over to pour tea and wine for them, recommending various delicacies from around the city. They know exactly which tavern has specialty dishes and where the best wine is." Ye Li explained confidently beside them.

Oh, so they’re basically luxury food bloggers from the Song Dynasty.

"To hype something up, they are indeed professionals," Jade Sister added by way of explanation.

"No wonder my brother is so particular about his attire. His profession requires him to dress brightly; otherwise, he wouldn’t attract the young masters." Ye Zhan realized suddenly.

Which young master would let a shabbily dressed attendant get close?

A ragged attendant recommending to a young master, "Sir, the crystal meat at that tavern is delicious!" The young master might not believe him. He might think that poor people find anything delicious.

People won’t believe you’ve tried the best unless you’re dressed to impress.

"When we make more money in the future, I'm going to buy big brother a nice set of clothes." Ye Zhan said.

Jin Ge'er was on the verge of tears. "Sis, after I'm gone, bury one of Dad's antiques with me. Let my body fluids help age the antique for you. When you can't make ends meet, come dig up my grave!"

He didn't forget about the others. "All my brothers and sisters can come and dig!"

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Furious, Mi Fengniang turned and twisted her son's ear. "You little rascal, is this something to joke about?"

Ye Dafu clasped his hands together and knelt, praying to the myriad gods. "Please don't take him seriously."

As the family was causing a commotion, they heard someone timidly call out at the door, "Is anyone home?"

"It's me, Zhao Xiaoqi."

Zhao Xiaoqi?

Ye Zhan was startled.

At fifteen, he was a handsome and well-kept young man. His mother stood behind him, looking on approvingly.

Jin Ge'er lightly coughed and, amidst the chaos, gave his sister a meaningful look, repeatedly glancing towards Zhao Xiaoqi's backside to signal her to look.

Mi Fengniang noticed and, under the cover of her sleeve, pinched her son hard.

Jin Ge'er winced in pain.

Ye Zhan: ...

Zhao Xiaoqi, holding a wooden tray, was polite. "My mother heard about the happy occasion at your house, so she sent me with a basket of bi tao (green peaches) and a plate of bamboo shoot meat buns to celebrate."

His mother, in contrast, had a more earthy presence:

She wore a cherry blossom-colored rose patterned corset, a blue jacket, a grass-green six-panel skirt, and stone-blue fitted trousers, creating a vibrant ensemble.

Her round face resembled a full moon, and her snow-white skin was accompanied by thoughtful speech. "We came to celebrate when we heard your daughter had come back."

"You too heard about it?" Mi Fengniang, beaming with joy, said, "My second daughter has returned! I wasn’t ready, but if I had been, I’d have thrown a party for your family. However, I will send red eggs over tomorrow."

She also praised Zhao Xiaoqi. "Such a polite boy. School really does make a difference."

As they exchanged pleasantries, Ye Zhan took a while to understand why her mother was so courteous to Zhao Xiaoqi. It turned out the Zhao family owned the property they were renting from.

Hadn't it been said that their house relied on one wall of the Zhao family's tiled house to form a shed?

The Zhao family had a siheyuan (traditional courtyard house) and, with great economic savvy, divided the courtyard in half. They lived in one half and rented out the other half as a tenement.

They even rented out a makeshift shed to the Ye family.

Although the Ye family's house was dilapidated, they had a dead-end alley to themselves, allowing them to use the space for a small shed kitchen, forming a small courtyard of their own, occupying the best location.

It was different for others. In the Zhao family's tenement, many households shared a single communal kitchen. It was said that even seasonings were locked in cabinets, leading to inconvenience and frequent quarrels over stolen items.

The Zhao family, with their many properties, lived comfortably and could even afford to send their son to school. Thus, in Bianjing, people called rent "fool's money" because even a fool could make it.

Mi Fengniang ushered the Zhao mother and son to sit on benches under the tree and served them homemade purple perilla drink, being very attentive.

Madam Zhao took the tea but set it aside without drinking. She instead examined Ye Zhan. "This child is so well-groomed, like a person of ice and jade. I have finally seen one."

"Where, where, she is just a child, how can she deserve such praise?" Mi Fengniang said modestly, but her face was beaming with joy.

The smile hadn't even faded when Madam Zhao said, "It's such a pity she was abducted and ended up as a servant. The child must have suffered greatly."

"I don't think so," Mi Fengniang immediately denied. "She was fortunate to be sold to a wealthy family. It's said that the master is a prominent figure in the court, one of the most important ministers close to the emperor. Ordinary people like us would never get to see such a family."

She exaggerated the position of a fourth-rank official in charge of sacrificial rituals into a key minister of the emperor.

Ye Zhan was stunned, her eyes wide open (O.O).

"Besides, Second Sister is a maid to the third lady of the Du family. Did you know that? A senior maid in a wealthy family is practically treated like a junior lady." Mi Fengniang showed off her newfound knowledge. "My Ye Zhan has two little maids serving her as well. One is responsible for pouring tea and water, and the other runs errands for her."

Madam Zhao listened with great interest. Although her family was wealthy, they were not yet part of a true scholarly and noble family, so she was quite curious.

Mi Fengniang became even more boastful, exaggerating wildly, "There are maids for heavy cleaning, specialized needlework rooms for embroidery, and outer courtyard lads for purchasing. There's even a dedicated kitchen for meals. Senior maids just play and have fun with the young ladies..."

Ye Zhan: ...

Her mother really knew how to exaggerate, promoting her errand girl to a senior maid.

She coughed, intending to stop her, but Ye Dafu pulled her aside, "Good girl, come help dad stoke the fire in the kitchen." He gave her a meaningful look.

In the kitchen, he quietly warned her, "Your mother is doing this for your own good. If the fact that you were a servant gets exaggerated, people might spread rumors and smear you."

Ye Zhan recalled how Wang Yuanwai had mentioned the ugly possibility of "a servant in a wealthy household being pulled in for entertainment," and she immediately understood her parents' concerns.

Outside, Mi Fengniang had already taken control of the conversation and was extracting information from Madam Zhao about the origin of the rumors, "Who is the gossiping troublemaker? Who has been slandering my Second Sister outside?"

Madam Zhao, being soft-hearted and without much guile, was easily led to spill the beans.

Mi Fengniang slammed her wine cup down with a bang, "He Lan Cui! That nosy, troublemaking gossip!"

No surprise, this was her mother's longtime rival.

Madam Zhao was startled and quickly changed the subject, "Lately, there have been dangerous criminals roaming around. It's said that several people have been killed between Baolu Palace and Acacia Gate. Make sure your family stays safe and avoids wandering."

Mi Fengniang was startled as well; Acacia Gate was not far from their home in Tan Chang Lane.