Zhou Yan rode off on his bike, leaving Zhao Minghui standing there, completely flustered.

Zhao Minghui wasn’t a bad person, just a bit too honest.

He was the first to sell braised food at the entrance of the textile factory. Back before private businesses were officially allowed, he would secretly push his bicycle over to set up a stall selling braised pig head and sweet-skinned duck. Later, when stalls were permitted, his business did quite well thanks to the reputation he had built up.

Afterward, two other braised food sellers showed up. They intentionally set up their stalls on either side of him and teamed up to sell braised pig head at a lower price. Just like that, they stole all the customers Zhao Minghui had accumulated for his braised pork.

Fortunately, he was also skilled at preparing duck, and he managed to maintain a firm foothold at the factory entrance with his sweet-skinned duck.

But his braised pig head and other items didn’t sell as well as they used to, so he naturally earned a bit less.

Still, the guy was content with his lot and quite cheerful. Before, whenever he had free time, he loved to run over to the entrance of Zhou Yan Restaurant to have a Dragon Gate Formation with him. Later, it seemed his wife had grounded him, so he hadn’t come by for a while, but he would always greet Zhou Yan enthusiastically whenever they ran into each other.

Zhou Yan was selling braised pig head and cold-dressed chicken, so he probably wouldn’t have that big of an impact on Zhao Minghui’s business. But the other two vendors were another story.

On his way, he also found Zhang the Third and Xu the Second to order two pig heads.

"Zhou Yan is going to sell braised food too?" Zhao Minghui’s wife, Zhang Xiuqin, had actually just woken up. She sat up now, a worried look on her face.

"Don’t worry, he said he’s not going to sell duck," Zhao Minghui said with a smile. "He even taught me how to sell braised peanuts. Zhou Yan is a good guy."

"You just think everyone in this world is a good person. Look at Yang the Third and Zhu Feng. Weren’t they all smiles with you every day when they first arrived? Then they turned around and ganged up on us. Haven’t you learned your lesson yet?" Zhang Xiuqin shot him a look, her tone tinged with exasperation.

"Come on, Zhou Yan isn’t like those two. He’s not that calculating," Zhao Minghui said softly. "Besides, the state supports private vendors. We’re benefiting from that policy. Just because we got here early doesn’t mean we can have a monopoly. There’s nothing wrong with them wanting to set up stalls here."

"If customers prefer their braised pig head and duck products, it just means our skills aren’t as good as theirs. As long as we focus on making our sweet-skinned duck well, we can still make money. And now we can sell braised peanuts, too."

Zhang Xiuqin stared at him for a moment, then broke into a laugh of pure exasperation.

What could she do? This was just his personality—mild-mannered, never one to fight or compete. When he had free time, he loved to stay at home and tinker with his recipes. He was good to her and their two daughters, gave her all the money he earned, didn’t play cards, and even did chores around the house. In their ten years of marriage, they had never once had a serious argument.

Her tone softened. "Fine," she said with a nod. "We’ll just focus on doing our own thing. If you want to sell braised peanuts, then sell them."

"Xiuqin, you’re the best!" Zhao Minghui’s face lit up with happiness. "Then on the way back later, let’s buy eleven pounds of peanuts."

...

The dinner banquet was simple.

There was braised pork with potatoes, a platter of Chinese sausage and cured meat, stir-fried pickled cowpeas with minced pork, cabbage with pork cracklings, a crispy pork soup, two other stir-fried vegetable dishes, and two small plates of pickles.

A large pot of sweet potato congee was simmering on the side, and steamed rice was also provided.

Big-pot cooking was Xiao Lei’s absolute specialty. He could feed the nearly three thousand employees of the textile factory without a hitch, so a mere three hundred people were naturally no problem at all.

The guests hadn’t had high expectations for the dinner, but in the end, they couldn’t help but have an extra two bowls of sweet potato congee each, only heading home leisurely after eating until their bellies were full.

"Master Xiao, Master Zheng, Zhou Yan, thank you for all your hard work today." Second Uncle Zhou Ze came over with Zhou Jie and Zhou Hao to thank the three of them as they were cleaning up the kitchenware.

"It was nothing. As long as everyone was satisfied and enjoyed the meal, we can rest easy," Xiao Lei said with a smile.

"More than satisfied! Everyone’s saying they’ve never had such a delicious rural banquet," Zhou Ze said, pulling out a stack of Great Unity banknotes and handing them to Xiao Lei. "This is ninety yuan for your labor fee. Master Xiao, please count it."

Xiao Lei didn’t take it. He looked at Zhou Ze and said, "Brother, have you deducted the fee for using the other village chef’s kitchenware? I don’t know him, so it would be more appropriate for you to settle with him directly."

Zhou Ze pushed the money forward again. "You don’t need to worry about that. I’ll settle with him separately. This money is your labor fee. Please, take it."

Today’s banquet had been absolutely fantastic. Zhou Ze even felt that ninety yuan was too little.

Xiao Lei was still hesitating.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Master, just take it. It’s a sign of the host’s approval."

Xiao Lei smiled and accepted the money. "Alright, then. Thanks."

"What’s there to thank us for? We should be the ones thanking you..."

Zhou Ze exchanged another round of pleasantries and compliments, even stuffing a pack of cigarettes into each of their hands before turning back to see off the other guests.

"This village chef gig is actually pretty interesting," Zheng Qiang said, chuckling as he held the cigarettes. It didn’t matter what brand they were; the host had shown them plenty of respect.

"Come on, let’s split the money." Xiao Lei counted the bills and pulled out three for each of them. "Thirty yuan each. We’ll split it evenly."

"I was just a helper, and I was helping my family. I can’t take any of this money. You and Senior Brother can split it, Master," Zhou Yan said, taking half a step back and shaking his head.

Hearing this, Zheng Qiang also took half a step back and chuckled. "Master, I was just helping my niece, so I don’t want the money either. You organized this whole banquet, so you should take it all."

"Tsk..." Xiao Lei frowned, about to say something more.

Zhou Yan cut in with a smile, "Master, aren’t you and he going to partner up to cater rural banquets? There’s still a lot of stuff to buy. Those huge steamers—you’ll need ten or twenty of them. And big spatulas, cutting boards... everything costs money. Keep this ninety yuan to purchase equipment. Think of it as start-up capital."

"Exactly!" Zheng Qiang immediately agreed. "We’ve already accepted the banquet job, so we need to get this stuff as soon as possible. Use this money for now, and if it’s not enough, we’ll chip in more."

After hearing this, Xiao Lei thought for a moment and nodded. "Alright, then. We’ll use it to buy kitchenware."

The two of them shouldered their bags, made plans to go into town together the next morning to buy kitchenware, said goodbye to Zhou Yan, and rode their bikes home.

You could tell both of them were buzzing with excitement.

Neither of them had drunk any alcohol today, and it wasn’t dark yet, so Zhou Yan didn’t need to worry.

When he turned around, he saw Zhou Momo standing behind him at some point. She was looking up at him with a wide grin. The moment he turned, she immediately threw up her hands and said in a tiny, sweet voice, "Brother! I want a horsey ride!"

"Come on, then." Zhou Yan chuckled, lifting her up and placing her on his shoulders.

"Whoa! It’s so high up!" Zhou Momo said, holding onto his head, happy as could be.

"Hold on tight, the horsey’s about to start running." Zhou Yan held her short little legs and broke into a trot, taking two steps at a time.

"GIGGLE GIGGLE GIGGLE..."

Zhou Momo’s laughter echoed like silver bells along the paths of Zhou Village.

The other children on the road cast envious glances their way.

Zhao Tieying walked arm-in-arm with Zhou Miao, following unhurriedly behind them, both with gentle smiles on their faces.

"That boy, Zhou Yan, has really changed so much. He’s so sensible and capable now, and he’s so good to Momo. We really are blessed," Zhao Tieying said with a sigh of emotion, her smile full of happiness.

Zhou Miao smiled and said, "It’s mainly because you, as his mother, set such a good example. You’re hardworking, resilient, cheerful, and optimistic. Zhou Yan is just following in your footsteps. The credit is all yours."

"Really?"

"Of course! I never lie, and I certainly would never lie to my wife."

Zhao Tieying held onto Zhou Miao’s arm even tighter. She felt so happy right now.

Zhou Yan carried Zhou Momo all the way home, only putting her down when they reached the main room.

"So fun! That was so much fun!" Zhou Momo clapped her little hands. "Brother, can we play horsey ride again next time?"

"And what will you give me in return?" Zhou Yan asked, looking at her with a smile.

"I..." Zhou Momo thought hard for a moment, then fished a hard fruit candy out of her pocket and stuffed it into Zhou Yan’s hand. "I’ll give you my favorite orange candy!"

"Okay, then we’ll play again next time," Zhou Yan said with a smiling nod.

After Comrade Zhou got back, he boiled a pot of water, filled two wooden buckets with it, and called Zhou Yan over to soak his feet. "You and your mom were on your feet all day, busy without a break. A good soak will help you sleep."

"Alright." Zhou Yan had actually already rinsed his feet with well water, but after spinning like a top all day, his feet were genuinely sore. Seeing the steaming buckets, he felt like he couldn’t take another step.

"Ah, that feels good..." Mrs. Zhao sighed in relief as she put her legs into the wooden bucket. Looking at Comrade Zhou standing to the side, she said, "You sit down and soak with me. The bucket’s big enough."

Zhou Miao shook his head with a smile. "It’s fine. I’ll wait for you to finish and then add some more hot water. The pot’s still on the stove. There will be hot water for your bath later, too."

"Hurry up! It’ll get cold," Mrs. Zhao’s voice rose.

"Alright." Comrade Zhou immediately sat down and put his feet in the bucket.

Zhou Yan watched from the side, amused. When it came to his low standing in the family, Comrade Zhou was nothing if not consistent.

"I wanna soak my feeties too!" Zhou Momo brought over a small stool herself and placed it next to Zhou Yan. She kicked off her tiger-head shoes, revealing a pair of small, fair feet. She bent over with some effort, pulled up her pant legs, and then placed her feet into the foot-soaking bucket.

"HSSS! So hot!"

The little one touched the water for a second and immediately pulled her feet back, looking at Zhou Yan in shock. "Brother, aren’t you scared of the heat?"

"It has to be a little hot to feel good when you soak your feet. Just wait a bit before putting them in. Your skin is too delicate." Zhou Yan smiled and helped her rest her feet on the edge of the wooden bucket, dipping them into the hot water. Her heels immediately turned red. It wasn’t a burn, but the temperature was still a bit too high for her.

"Mhm." Zhou Momo nodded obediently. She propped her elbows on her knees, rested her chin in her hands, and stared at the bucket. Soon, she exclaimed in shock again, "Brother! Your feet are so big! They’re like... like an elephant’s!"

"Brother, you have so much hair on your legs! Just like a little monkey."

"Brother..."

Zhou Yan wasn’t sure what animal he resembled anymore, but Zhou Momo was truly a little chatterbox. In the short time it took to soak their feet, she had the whole family roaring with laughter.

She was like a little ray of sunshine, making everyone smile without realizing it and join in her laughter and chatter.

’If it were just me, Mrs. Zhao, and Comrade Zhou sitting here soaking our feet, it would probably be much quieter,’ he thought.

"Time for bed! Your brother worked hard all day and he’s tired. You can play with him tomorrow!" Mrs. Zhao grabbed Zhou Momo, who was about to hop into Zhou Yan’s room.

Zhou Momo kicked her short legs helplessly, then had no choice but to look at Zhou Yan and offer her well-wishes. "Good night, Brother. I hope you have sweet dreams."

"Mhm, good night." Zhou Yan smiled, nodded, and closed the door.

He took off his jacket and lay down on the uncomfortably hard wooden bed. Zhou Yan stared at the cobweb-covered ceiling and the crack snaking down the mottled earthen wall of the empty room. As he smelled the musty odor coming from the quilt beneath him, a fierce desire to make money suddenly surged in his heart.

’I’m going to move my family into a beautiful, clean apartment building, sleep on a soft and comfortable big bed, and be covered by fluffy, fresh-smelling new cotton quilts!’

’Mrs. Zhao, Comrade Zhou, and Zhou Momo... they all deserve better.’

’I have to make money!’

’Make more money!’