Zhou Village.

The wedding procession had already departed.

The women sat in a circle washing dishes, laying out a Dragon Gate Formation as they talked.

Zhao Tieying was dressed plainly today, wearing a long, navy-blue work smock over a thin sweater. She also had waterproof oversleeves on her arms—the standard attire for getting work done.

But the new leather shoes on her feet were simply too eye-catching. The morning sun had just risen, and the light glinted off the metal buckles, making them sparkle.

"I heard them talking. Zhou Yan bought those for you, right? Over twenty yuan a pair! He’s really willing to spend money on his old ma."

"I saw Fourth Brother wearing a pair of leather shoes this morning, too. He looked so sharp, he practically had a spring in his step!"

"Zhou Yan is so filial. He paid off all his debts yesterday, and then he bought leather shoes for his mom and dad. He’s really turned into someone you don’t have to worry about."

"Hey, Tie Ying, my cousin’s youngest daughter is eighteen this year. She has a thick waist and wide hips—great for working and bearing children. I think she’d be a perfect match for Zhou Yan. Why don’t we arrange for them to meet sometime?"

"Well, I have a niece who’s also just turned eighteen..."

The aunties’ tones were tinged with envy, and some had already started scouting for a wife for Zhou Yan.

A month ago, Zhou Yan was the prodigal son of Zhou Village that everyone shook their heads at. Now, he was the village’s number one filial son.

In just one day, the tables had completely turned.

The aunties were now scrambling to introduce him to potential wives. Any girl who married into the Zhou Family would be truly blessed.

Mrs. Zhao was delighted. ’Zhou Yan really knows how to pick his moments,’ she thought. ’If he’d paid the money back even one day later, it wouldn’t have had this kind of effect.’

"Zhou Yan is still young. Finding a wife can wait until the end of the year, there’s no rush. He said he wants to focus on his career first," Mrs. Zhao replied with a beaming smile.

She was still thinking about that girl, Xia Yao. She was pretty, had a great personality, and carried herself with a natural grace. The only question was whether a city-dwelling university student would even consider a country boy like Zhou Yan.

She didn’t completely shut down the idea, though. If there was no definite news by the end of the year, she would still have Zhou Yan go on blind dates.

She wasn’t in a hurry. After all, Zhou Momo was only three and a half. She was in no rush to become a grandmother.

Raising a child wasn’t easy; it was a tale of bitter tears.

Now that Zhou Yan had become more mature and the restaurant’s business was booming, finding a wife wouldn’t be difficult. That meant they could afford to be selective.

A good wife could bring prosperity to the family. When a husband and wife were of one mind, their lives would only get better and more prosperous.

But if he brought home a troublesome woman who stirred up chaos, life would be unbearable.

...

Zheng Qiang had been woken up early by Xiao Lei to start work. Yesterday, he had been knocked out by a single ounce of liquor and went to bed early, so today he was full of vim and vigor. Right now, he was acting as Master Xiao’s prep cook, slicing through the preserved vegetables with a rapid SWISH, SWISH.

Working as Xiao Lei’s assistant yesterday had given him a much deeper understanding of what it meant to be a rural chef.

Before returning from Rongcheng, he had thought, ’It’s just a rural banquet. What kind of good food could these country folk possibly have eaten? All I have to do is show off a little, stir-fry a few dishes, braise a few more, and I’ll blow their minds.’

But when eight temporary stoves were lined up in a row, with thirty tables and over three hundred dishes needing to be served within half an hour, he was a little stunned.

’This isn’t quite what I imagined!’

Master Xiao, who was also managing a rural banquet for the first time, seemed completely at ease.

In front of him, Zheng Qiang felt like a total rookie.

Moreover, Master Xiao was incredibly selfless. He answered every question and was so enthusiastic that Zheng Qiang felt a little embarrassed.

After all, the culinary arts were passed down through master-disciple lineages.

It’s often said that people in the same trade are rivals; it would be considered impolite for an outsider to ask too many questions.

But yesterday, while making the "Three Steams and Nine Buckles," Master Xiao had explained the process to him step-by-step, not holding anything back.

He had learned many of these things from his own master, but applying them to a rural banquet was another matter entirely. It required flexibility and adaptation.

"Master Xiao, please don’t teach me anymore. I feel too embarrassed to keep learning from you," Zheng Qiang said, feeling awkward as he watched Xiao Lei prepare to teach him how to cook the core broth for the "Three Steams and Nine Buckles."

When he first arrived yesterday, he had suspected this Master Xiao wanted to learn some techniques from him, a chef from a big-city hotel.

Now, that idea seemed utterly ridiculous.

"Go on and learn! If I’m not afraid to teach, why should you be afraid to learn?" Xiao Lei laughed heartily. "If you want to cook rural banquets, you won’t get anywhere if you don’t master the ’Three Steams and Nine Buckles.’ From what I’ve seen, Master Zheng, your technique is still lacking a bit of Fire Control."

"Alright..." Zheng Qiang nodded, his face flushing red. He felt as if his own master had just called him out for criticism. Yes, even Xiao Lei’s expression and tone were eighty percent similar.

"Then what are you standing around for? Get over here and chop vegetables!"

"Yes!"

...

The braised meat was soaking in the master stock pot.

Zhou Yan put another pot of water on to boil for the chicken.

He added ginger, scallions, and Sichuan peppercorns to the pot, along with some cooking wine and a little salt to build a base flavor, then brought it to a boil over high heat.

With her hands behind her back, the old lady stood to the side and said, "For cold-tossed dishes, the seasoning is added during the tossing. This boiling step is mainly about removing any gamey taste and about Fire Control. The same principle applies to cold-tossed pig ears and cold-tossed walnut meat. The flavor profiles are all quite similar—once you understand one, you understand them all. The water’s boiling, so go ahead and start cooking the chicken."

Zhou Yan picked up a prepared rooster by the feet, submerged it in the hot water to scald the skin, then quickly lifted it out and plunged it into a bucket of cool water he had ready.

The well water, drawn this morning, was ice-cold to the touch.

He repeated this three times. This process of alternating between hot and cold—three scalds and three shocks—would make the chicken skin more elastic and prevent it from breaking during cooking.

"What’s the most important part of a cold-tossed chicken? It’s the skin. If the skin is crispy after tossing, the dish is already more than halfway to success. This step is absolutely essential," the old lady said.

"Understood," Zhou Yan nodded in acknowledgment.

He processed all four chickens using the same method before placing them whole into the pot to simmer over low heat.

"Next, we’ll make the red chili oil. Red chili oil is the soul of spicy chicken. Once you’ve mastered it, you can use it on any cold-tossed dish," the old lady continued.