Chapter 4

Granny Liu told me that in a few days, she would be leaving for the county.

Her daughter, Xiang, had opened a large rouge shop in the county and wanted to bring her mother to enjoy a better life.

I nodded, genuinely happy for her from the bottom of my heart.

Granny Liu was a widow.

Xiang lost her father when she was only five.

Granny Liu’s family wanted to marry her off to another widower-rumor had it, he was a drunkard.

She would rather die than agree. Taking all her possessions, she rented this little shop and raised her daughter alone.

In the blink of an eye, twenty years passed. With her own two hands, Granny Liu bought quite a bit of good farmland, and even acquired a spacious courtyard house in the county, with two courtyards and two entrances.

Her daughter Xiang opened a rouge shop, and even married Teacher Zhang from the academy.

It looked as if their days would only get better and better. But then Teacher Zhang’s affair of ransoming an opera singer caused a scandal throughout town.

Everyone waited to see the mother and daughter’s misfortune.

But to their surprise, Xiang was just like Granny Liu-she would rather live alone than compromise herself.

That’s how our town got its first ever letter of divorce issued by a wife.

Aunt Xiang left for the county, taking almost all of the Zhang family’s possessions with her.

The Zhangs could not bear this.

Aunt Xiang pointed right at Teacher Zhang’s nose and cursed, “How much money do you think he can earn? If you’re not satisfied, let’s go speak to My Lord Magistrate!”

These past years, it was thanks to Aunt Xiang that the Zhang family lived so respectably. Of course, they couldn’t afford this shame.

After the divorce, Aunt Xiang’s life only grew more prosperous.

She opened the largest rouge shop in the county.

As for the Zhang family, Teacher Zhang fell into gambling, and the singer he’d ransomed was no less trouble.

In the end, they had to sell their house in town, and the whole family vanished without a trace.

Now that Granny Liu was moving to the county, it was an immense blessing.

But as I smiled, my smile faded.

All these years, I had helped in Granny Liu’s kitchen. She taught me many cooking skills by hand.

With her leaving, I couldn’t help but feel reluctant to part, and I inevitably worried about my own future.

“Li, it’s a pity to leave my shop empty. Rather than rent it to someone else, why not rent it to you?”

Granny Liu’s shop was in the West Market, with two rooms in the back courtyard.

One was hers, and the other was kept for Aunt Xiang.

West Market was different from the East Market-here, there were mostly food stalls.

From breakfast to late night snacks, opening an eatery here would be excellent.

But-

“However, if you want to rent my shop, I have conditions,” Granny Liu said.

“If you can earn me five taels of silver within this month, I’ll rent the shop to you.”

“After a month, I’ll come back for my nephew’s wedding.”

A month. Five taels of silver…

A bowl of ordinary wontons costs five copper coins, seafood wontons ten. A small plate of drunken shrimp is twenty coins, but few people order it.

If the dishes are any more expensive, no one will eat them…

Isn’t this just wishful thinking?

But I have no other options now. If I can earn those five taels, I’ll have something to hope for in the future.

If not, it’s the same as now-I’ll just find another way.

I nodded and agreed.

Early the next morning, Granny Liu slung her bundle over her shoulder and took the ox cart to the county.

Before leaving, she told me that for this whole month, the shop would be mine.

As long as I could make money, I could do things however I wished.

She patted my head: “Li, remember, a rough start is the best start.”

“You have to go and do it first; only by doing it will you know if it’s possible.”

…