Compared to the arrogance of the Head Shopkeeper, the Master Chef was quite affable.
Jiang Sheng's footsteps faltered slightly, and she spoke kindly to him, "My auntie uses them to stew pork ribs and chicken. Sometimes she'll make steamed buns to go with it. It's really delicious."
Come to think of it, it had been a while since she'd eaten that.
The young girl's mouth watered at the thought.
Beside her, the Head Shopkeeper grew increasingly impatient and disdainful, "What crude manners of eating. The elegant You Ran House would never ruin its reputation with such lowly ingredients."
In agreement, Xiao Erge brought over a plate of exquisitely presented food, arranged skillfully enough to astonish. And the taste was not lacking either.
But it did not have that tempting aroma of the meat stewed by her auntie.
Jiang Sheng shook her head and said no more, only looking sincerely at the Master Chef, "I've sold all the dried snap beans, if you want more you'll have to wait until next year. Master Chef, if you're interested, you're welcome to try it when my auntie makes it."
With that, she waved farewell and left.
The Head Shopkeeper was still scoffing about something in the background, but it no longer concerned her.
Stepping out of You Ran House, the overly clever Xiao Erge from before now stood at the door, bowing and calling out, "Honored guest, please come again."
Jiang Sheng glanced back and their eyes met.
One admired the flexibility of Xiao Erge, while the other gazed thoughtfully at the girl's brows and eyes.
Not knowing much in the way of martial arts, Wang Xiaosong drove up with the carriage and Jiang Sheng obediently got on, leaving lightly.
The skies were already growing dark.
All the pastries at Jiuzhen Store had been sold out, so Zhang Xianglian had returned early to the courtyard and was chopping vegetables and cooking rice, calling for Jiang San, Jiang Si, and Chang Yan to help from time to time.
The three half-grown children were busy with their tasks, one tending the fire, one washing pots, and one peeling garlic, making the scene rather lively.
When Jiang Sheng finally returned, Chang Yan put down the peeled garlic cloves and smiled brightly, "Did you sell all the dried snap beans?"
Jiang Sheng shook her head.
Not only did You Ran House not want them, she had visited three other dried goods shops, but no one was buying.
"It's their loss if they don't want them," Chang Yan consoled her. "They just don't know how delicious dried snap beans are yet. When they find out, they'll be scrambling to buy them and it'll be too late!"
Jiang Sheng made a slight noise of agreement, looking rather downcast.
She hadn't felt wronged being accidentally locked up in You Ran House, or when the Head Shopkeeper had spoken condescendingly to her, or even when no one wanted to buy the beans, but with her brother comforting her like this, she felt wronged.
This was probably what it meant to have someone who cared for you - it allowed you to act pitiful and seek comfort.
The old Jiang Sheng would never have even dreamed of it.
Chang Yan reached out a hand to pat his sister on the shoulder in comfort, when the sound of the front gate opening made him pause. It turned out to be Wen Zhiyun returning from the clinic with Wang Xiaozhu.
The constant activity these days had exhausted poor Wen Zhiyun, so he had closed up early to give the Wang siblings time to catch up.
But when he got home, the first thing he saw was his sister with red-rimmed eyes, and his younger brother with his arm stretched out.
"Jiang Sheng!" Wen Zhiyun rushed over, having abandoned his heavy medicine box on the ground without a second thought. "What happened? Did Xiao Wu bully you?"
Beside him, Chang Yan had an innocent look on his face, weakly grasping at the air as if to plead his innocence.
"No, Fourth Brother. No one bullied me." Jiang Sheng smiled through her tears.
Only then did Wen Zhiyun breathe a sigh of relief, though he still looked around seriously, "No matter who bullies you, you have to tell Fourth Brother, understand?"
After opening his clinic and becoming a doctor, Fourth Brother was increasingly spirited, even his tone of voice more confident.
Jiang Sheng happily nodded her head, happy to have a brother who doted on her, and to see Fourth Brother so invigorated.
"I'm going to tell Auntie that I want braised chicken with snap beans for dinner tonight." Like a little butterfly, she fluttered off towards the kitchen.
Only then did Wen Zhiyun remember the precious medicine box he had abandoned on the ground, and hurriedly picked it up with heartache.
Unexpectedly, Chang Yan clutched at his clothes with an aggrieved look, "Fourth Brother, you wrongfully accused me just now..."
The two elder brothers were locked in a battle of wits.
Meanwhile, as soon as Jiang Sheng had made her request, Zhang Xianglian readily agreed. She changed the chicken from stir-fry to stew, and also soaked a large handful of dried snap beans, adding plenty of mung bean noodles.
The dough for the flatbreads had to be prepared in advance and soaked in cold water to be thin yet chewy.
With Jiang San and Jiang Si helping out, although the end result was the two rascals emerging dust-covered, at least dinner made it to the table.
Zhang Xianglian lifted her voice, one hand tucked under a basin and the other holding a ladle, "Kids, dinner!"
She went back in to dish out the flatbreads and stewed chicken.
Before long, the Wang siblings came over red-eyed from crying but taking the initiative to serve rice and dishes, tidying up the table and chairs.
Jiang Sheng also fluttered over like a little butterfly, nimble as ever.
The last to arrive were the two brothers, Wen Zhiyun and Chang Yan.
Chang Yan still had a wronged look on his face, while Wen Zhiyun's expression was guilty yet helpless. On their way over, he had repeatedly assured, "Xiao Wu, Fourth Brother was wrong. I'll never wrongly accuse you again, I believe you'd never bully your sister."
Chang Yan nodded aggrievedly.
Only then did Wen Zhiyun breathe a sigh of relief. When they got to the table, he still helped his younger brother pull out his chair, and thus failed to notice the victorious smile on his face.
"Ah, Fifth Brother, you're not actually upset, you're just pretending to be..." Jiang Sheng saw it happening and was about to speak up when a piece of chicken was stuffed into her mouth.
She chewed it thoughtfully. Wow, delicious!
What was she about to say just now? She had suddenly forgotten.
The tender chicken was stewed into a rich savory broth, the hearty dried beans were stewed just right to chew, the translucent mung bean noodles absorbed the flavorful soup, and the thin yet chewy flatbreads were half soaked in broth and half crisped to a char over high heat.
Auntie Zhang's stewed dishes were always piping hot and tasty.
Jiang Sheng eagerly grabbed her bowl and chopsticks, picking up some noodles and snap beans, then laying a piece of the soaked flatbread on top and taking a big bite. Mm, that flavor, that satisfaction.
At that moment, a middle-aged man with a full face, slightly rounded belly, and an ordinary bearing that nevertheless carried a sense of down-to-earth warmth walked up to the alley entrance. He asked around as he struggled to ascertain the location.
"Do you know which courtyard is being rented out? Yes, rented to a few children, the oldest looks fourteen or fifteen, the youngest is a girl around ten years old."
After finally getting directions, he breathed a long sigh of relief, though not without some helplessness in his heart.
The young girl had only invited him to try the dried snap beans, yet neglected to leave a specific address. His head ached from all the asking around required to find this place.
But he had found it in the end.
The middle-aged man stood outside the entrance to the courtyard, gave one final confirmation that he had the right residence, and was just about to raise his hand and knock when an alluring aroma drifted into his nose.
It was like braised chicken - richly aromatic, with abundant broth.
The heat control was handled very nicely, reducing the soup at just the right consistency. He didn't know if the saltiness was right, or what other seasonings were added, or whether there were the steamed buns the little girl had mentioned.
The more the Master Chef's mouth watered, the less he could resist. Finally he couldn't refrain from raising his hand and forcefully knocking on the door ring three times.
