Chapter 5

The candlelight flickered in the room.

I had been sketching on paper the whole night, and finally, I smiled at the numbers on the last sheet.

Five taels of silver-it really was five taels of silver.

The next day, I hired a craftsman to start renovating the two rooms in the courtyard.

The solid kang bed was covered with cheap but clean bedding.

The two rooms could easily sleep ten people.

Although Changning was just a small town, it was situated at a key transportation hub.

Traveling merchants, scholars on their way to exams, and people visiting friends or family all needed to rest here.

Those who weren’t short of money stayed in the most elegant inn in the East Market, but there were still many who just wanted a simple place for the night.

There were more of these people.

I also pasted a piece of red paper at the door, on which I wrote-

Fifteen wen for unlimited wontons and vegetarian noodles.

Thirty wen for seafood wontons, with a complimentary small plate of drunken shrimp.

Fifty wen for a selection of dishes, eat as much as you like.

Lodging available, fifteen wen per night.

My handwriting wasn’t pretty, but at least it was readable.

The next morning when I opened for business, I prepared plenty of wontons and vegetarian noodles.

As expected, quite a few people were drawn in.

Especially in the morning, when the dock workers hadn’t started yet-they naturally wanted a big meal.

It wasn’t easy to eat one’s fill for fifteen wen elsewhere.

Plump white wontons tumbled in boiling water; once fully cooked, they were scooped out.

A bowl was filled with freshly simmered chicken broth, topped with chopped green onions and celery.

So fresh and delicious, you’d want to swallow your tongue.

As for the hot vegetarian noodles, a splash of lard and a few drops of soy sauce, mix it all together-the aroma was indescribable.

Old Zhang next door ate two wontons in one bite, scalding his mouth and baring his teeth.

“Girl, you’ve got skill and a clever mind. If you don’t earn this silver, who will?”

A fifteen-wen breakfast could last them until evening after work.

If they earned a bit more, they’d get the thirty-wen meal, sometimes adding a couple of jars of wine.

If they earned less, they’d stick to the fifteen-wen option-after all, people need to eat.

Besides them, there were also out-of-towners lodging at the shop.

What I made was authentic, and they liked it too.

They came and went in waves, letting me earn a little.

But since I gave both rooms to the guests, I made do sleeping out front in the shop.

A few days later, Second Brother He the butcher’s birthday was coming up.

He had originally wanted to invite me to help cook two tables of dishes for him.

I was just about to agree when a thought flashed through my mind.

“Second Brother He, if you want two tables of good dishes, that’ll cost at least a tael of silver. But if you have everyone come eat at my place, it’s only fifty wen per person, with dishes of their choice.”

“We’re old acquaintances, so I’ll charge you forty-five wen per person; thirty wen for children under ten.”

“I’ll buy and cook everything myself. If you’re not satisfied, you don’t have to pay!”

Second Brother He only hesitated for a moment before readily agreeing.

He knew what I was capable of.

Back then, when his sick mother couldn’t eat, it was Madam He who came to learn lean pork congee from me to bring home.

Once she started eating well, her health improved too.

Since then, Second Brother He and I have become much closer.