Chapter 41: Chapter 41: "Miss, the Old Lady Next Door Actually Paid for Her Meal!

Xiao Chun explained patiently, "The Crispy-Fat and Honey-Glazed Pork is made with fresh meat that we won’t be buying until tomorrow. We get it fresh and cook it right away. And as for the braised pork, it’s true we haven’t sold a single portion yet. My mistress says it has to be braised overnight to be at its most fragrant. So, Mr. Du, if you’d like to try it, please come back tomorrow."

Du Xuan: "..."

’That feeling of steeling yourself to go all-in on a meal, only to find that nothing you wanted was available... it was just the worst.’

"Alas, how could this be!" Du Xuan lamented, heartbroken. For the first time in his life, he felt the anguish of not being able to spend his silver. "Well, what else do you have on the menu for tonight?"

Xiao Chun flung a hand toward a wooden plaque on the wall. "Tonight’s special is noodles! Golden Jiji Qiong Ban!"

Du Xuan sighed when he heard it was noodles. ’What’s so great about noodles? Nothing special or exciting there!’

But he was here already. Besides, the name Golden Jiji Qiong Ban sounded just as elegant and poetic as their other dishes, like the Jade Plum Shocking Snow Cake or that "Melon with a Touch of Crimson." After a moment’s thought, he said, "Fine, I’ll have a bowl of noodles."

Xiao Chun: "You got it!"

With that, she cheerfully headed into the back kitchen.

Du Xuan was still feeling dejected, mourning the meat he couldn’t have tonight. A bowl of noodles would save him money, sure, but the fact that he couldn’t spend the silver he’d set aside was pure torment.

He casually picked up a book from a small bookshelf in Ming’s Restaurant, hoping it would serve as a distraction. Otherwise, his mind, which seemed to have a will of its own, would inevitably wander back to the large pot of braised pork in Miss Ming’s kitchen.

Soon, however, Du Xuan found he couldn’t focus at all.

Not five minutes after he’d ordered the Golden Jiji Qiong Ban noodles, a rich, fragrant aroma wafted out from the back kitchen.

’A scent he’d never encountered before!’

Even against the domineering aroma of the braised pork, this new scent—which seemed to carry the fragrance of flash-fried scallions and garlic—refused to be outdone. It battled the braised pork’s aroma for supremacy, and it was impossible to tell which was winning.

But Du Xuan was certain it wasn’t just the simple smell of scallions and garlic. If it were, he could have made it at home himself. The aroma he was smelling now was far more complex and rich; it was impossible to discern all its components by scent alone.

’Forget it,’ he thought. ’So much for reading!’

Just as Du Xuan closed his book, he saw Xiao Chun emerge from the kitchen, carrying a bowl of noodles and walking steadily toward him.

Du Xuan’s gaze followed Xiao Chun... or more specifically, the bowl in her hands.

It followed until the bowl was finally placed on the table right in front of him.

"Ahhh~"

Du Xuan let out a soft, ungraceful moan of pure bliss.

Xiao Chun: "..."

’Was it really necessary to react like that? It’s not *that* serious.’

"This smells incredible!" Du Xuan’s eyes flew open. He stared in delighted surprise at the bowl of noodles before him, every strand perfectly coated in a rich sesame paste. He swallowed hard, and without waiting for a single word of introduction from Xiao Chun, he snatched up his chopsticks, lifted the bowl, and began to slurp them down. SLURP, SLURP, SLURP.

Xiao Chun: "..."

’She knew this feeling all too well!’

When her mistress had first made these sesame paste noodles, Xiao Chun hadn’t been able to see what she herself looked like while eating. But she had a feeling that this Mr. Du was a perfect mirror image of her own reaction back then.

Just as Du Xuan was lost in the bowl of sesame paste noodles—a dish he had initially scorned but now couldn’t put down—another customer entered the restaurant.

Xiao Chun tensed when she saw the newcomer and hurried over to greet her.

"Granny Wang!" Xiao Chun asked. "What brings you to our shop? Is there something you need?"

This Granny Wang was from the tailor shop next door to Ming’s Restaurant. When Ming Lingyi and Xiao Chun had first bought the shop and its backyard to prepare for their opening, Granny Wang had asked them what kind of business they planned to run.

Upon learning that Ming Lingyi was planning to open a restaurant, Granny Wang’s expression had immediately soured.

"Can you imagine the smell, all day long?!"

"This used to be a bookshop. Why can’t you just open a bookshop? Do you have to open a restaurant? All that clanging and banging from dawn till dusk... I’m an old woman and a light sleeper! I’ll never get any rest!"

"A young woman can do so many things. Why must you choose a life of serving others!"

Ming Lingyi knew that running a business might disturb her neighbors.

But she couldn’t let that stop her from making a living. Besides, with no silver to her name, she had to earn it with her own two hands. This was the only decent skill she possessed, and she needed it to survive.

So, lately, whenever Ming Lingyi cooked anything, she would have Xiao Chun take a portion over to their neighbor in the morning and evening.

"Miss, you’re just too kind, too soft-hearted. That old woman is clearly just looking for trouble. She doesn’t even like us, so why do you insist on sending her food?"

Xiao Chun had been very reluctant at first.

Ming Lingyi simply smiled. "She’s not wrong, though. The elderly are often light sleepers. Just imagine: if you couldn’t sleep all night and were finally, finally drifting off, wouldn’t you be angry if someone suddenly woke you?"

"I would!"

"Exactly. Our business is bound to affect our neighbors. If they have complaints and we act all high and mighty as if we’re blameless, we’ll just make the conflict worse. Giving them a bowl of food doesn’t cost much silver, and we can think of it as building goodwill," Ming Lingyi said. "Besides, look at Granny Wang. She complains, but she’s never actually insulted us. So just let her words wash over you. Don’t take them to heart."

Xiao Chun slapped her forehead. Looking at Granny Wang, she thought, ’Oh no, did I forget to send her noodles earlier?’

Just as Xiao Chun was about to ask Granny Wang to wait a moment, she saw the old woman had already taken a seat across from Mr. Du.

"What’s he eating?" Granny Wang asked.

Xiao Chun blinked. "...Golden Jiji Qiong Ban. It’s the same kind of noodles I brought to your home before the New Year."

Granny Wang: "Then I’ll have a bowl of that, too."

Xiao Chun beamed. "Right away! I was actually about to bring a portion over for you. It’s just, well, the shop’s been a little busy today and it slipped my mind..."

Before Xiao Chun could finish, Granny Wang pulled a string of copper coins from her pocket and slammed it on the table with a loud THWACK.

"It’s not like I don’t have money! Why would I need a little slip of a girl like you to bring me food?! I can pay! How much!?"

The wrinkled old woman wore a fierce expression. Seeing the chubby girl staring blankly like a stunned goose, she snorted. "Cat got your tongue?"

Xiao Chun: "..."

She pointed to the wooden plaque on the wall. "One bowl of Golden Jiji Qiong Ban is clearly priced. Thirty-five copper coins."

The words were barely out of her mouth before Granny Wang had counted out thirty-five copper coins and pushed them toward her.

"Hurry up with it. I’m hungry."

Xiao Chun: "..."

She scurried into the back kitchen. "Miss!" Xiao Chun cried. "That old woman from next door is here! And she’s actually paying to eat!"