Chapter 148: Business Opportunity

Hearing that his family had come to see him, Tang Yichen closed his book and stood up, walking with long strides toward the academy gate.

When he arrived at the entrance, he saw Third Grandpa Tang chatting leisurely with Uncle Zong. The two old men were of a similar age—one kept watch at the academy gate, while the other drove carts for farm households; one possessed an air of scholarly refinement, the other was rough and rugged, yet they were chatting away most amicably. Had Tang Yichen not appeared just then, the two would likely have moved past calling each other sworn brothers and straight on to kowtowing in a blood oath.

Tang Yichen called out, "Third Grandpa," then swept his gaze to the other side, spotting Tang Luwu and his younger brother, Tang Yixiao.

"Eldest Brother..." The siblings greeted him excitedly.

Tang Yichen reached out to pat Tang Yixiao's head. "You've grown taller."

"Not only taller, but he's put on some meat too," Tang Luwu chimed in from the side. "Yinyin's cooking is simply too delicious; Little Brother eats a huge portion every single time."

"Where is Yinyin?" Tang Yichen asked with a faint smile. "Did she go to the dam again?"

"Not this time," Tang Yixiao replied. "Song Ruize went back to the village yesterday, driving the cart to bring Brother Erzhu back, and bright and early this morning he drove us into town. We've already handed over his batch of seasoning sauce."

"Song Ruize even has a cart now?" Tang Yichen asked.

"He's in charge of several hundred people now, and he frequently has to go out to purchase supplies. The cart belongs to the official yamen," Tang Yixiao answered honestly.

"An official cart must feel quite different!"

"Of course it is! It's extremely spacious, and riding in it isn't bumpy at all like an oxcart," Tang Yixiao said, his face full of yearning. "If our family could ever buy a cart of our own, how wonderful that would be."

"Where did Aunt Li and Yinyin go?" Tang Yichen asked. "Since they didn't go to the dam, could they be busy with something else?"

"Indeed they are," Tang Yixiao said. "They went off to watch the excitement. Eldest Brother, you have no idea—Mother went behind our backs and did something huge."

In front of Tang Yichen, Tang Yixiao was an endless chatterbox. He recounted how Li Tanhua had sneaked behind their backs to gather information, then stirred up trouble in the village, and how Li Ernü had hidden inside the oxcart to follow them into town.

Tang Luwu added from the side, "Yinyin said this is called killing with a borrowed knife without leaving a trace. Mother is so smart, and Yinyin is so smart, too."

Tang Yichen: "..."

Never mind, as long as they didn't get the short end of the stick, it was fine.

Besides, these two silly younger siblings lacked cunning; being guided by people as resourceful and smooth as Aunt Li and Yinyin might help them grow a bit wiser.

"Don't bring any more next time; these seasoning sauces should last me until the imperial examinations," Tang Yichen said. "I'm not at home and cannot help with family matters, so you must help Yinyin more often."

"Brother, don't you worry. We get along wonderfully with Second Sister," Tang Yixiao said.

Third Grandpa Tang walked over, looked at Tang Yichen, and said, "Why have you gotten even thinner, boy? Good thing Yinyin isn't here, or she'd be lecturing you again."

"That's right, Brother, are you putting too much pressure on yourself?" Tang Luwu said with a heart ache in her voice. "Yinyin made so many delicious seasoning sauces and brought them specifically to nourish you, but we can't see any effect at all."

"No, it's just that the clothes I'm wearing today are a bit too large," Tang Yichen said. "Don't go back and tell Yinyin this."

"The time is almost up, we must be getting back," Third Grandpa Tang said. "Yinyin is waiting for us at the roast duck restaurant."

...

Returning to the academy, Tang Yichen took the jars out of the basket and arranged them on his desk.

A fellow student passing by saw Tang Yichen unpacking his books and said, "Jinzhi, it's mealtime, let's go together!"

"I'm not hungry yet, I'll go a bit later. You go ahead!" Tang Yichen smiled.

"Jinzhi, aren't you pushing yourself a bit too hard lately?" the fellow student asked. "All the instructors praise you, wishing you were already a full scholar of our academy. Your talent is already so extraordinary, why do you still study as if your life depended on it?"

"Brother Wang, I am the eldest son of my family. My three younger siblings work outside doing small business just to support my studies, laboring bitterly every day without a single word of complaint, yet they still worry whether I might be exhausted. Every market day they send provisions here. The only thing I can do is not to fail their expectations, so whenever I can give ten parts of effort, I will never stop at nine. In this world, how many people are truly blessed with peerless talent? It is merely that practice makes perfect."

"I am deeply impressed." The fellow student cupped his hands in respect. "Then shall I bring a meal back for you?"

"Thank you, Brother Wang."

"Hehe, no need to thank me, just share a bit of that seasoning sauce with me when the time comes."

"Of course, Brother Wang, as you please. If my sister knew how much you appreciate her craft, she would certainly be delighted."

After the fellow student left, Tang Yichen resumed his coursework. He had already worked through all the past exam papers collected by the academy and knew that political commentary was his weakest area, so he had continuously focused his studies in that direction.

When Third Grandpa Tang and the others arrived at the roast duck restaurant, Qin Huiyin and Li Tanhua had already ordered the dishes. Li Tanhua had ordered a portion sent to the apothecary, instructing the shop assistant to tell Tang Dafu that she would come see him shortly and that he should eat first.

"How is Eldest Brother?" Qin Huiyin asked as Tang Luwu and her brother entered.

"Eldest Brother is..." Tang Yixiao wanted to say "Eldest Brother has lost weight," but Tang Luwu cut him off.

"Eldest Brother is doing very well," Tang Luwu said, giving Tang Yixiao a swift kick on the toe under the table to signal him not to speak carelessly.

From the adjacent private room came a woman's voice: "Shop assistant, your sauce is quite good, how much is it?"

The assistant replied with a smile, "One portion of sauce per roast duck. If guests wish to order an extra portion, it is twenty wen."

"Go call your boss out, I'd like to discuss a business venture with him."

Qin Huiyin pricked up her ears to listen to the commotion next door.

The others also sensed a business opportunity and tacitly fell silent, wanting to hear what kind of business the female customer wanted to discuss.

Boss Ning and Gong Qi quickly hurried over.

"I wondered who it could be, so it's Miss Xia," Boss Ning said with a hearty smile. "You haven't been back for a couple of years, have you?"

"I've been traveling outside for the past two years, and only recently returned," Xia Ruwan said with a smile. "Uncle Ning, your business is getting better and better; I'm almost feeling envious."

"Miss Xia is joking. Your Xia family runs the largest restaurant in our town, raking in gold every single day, whereas my establishment is just a humble little business," Boss Ning chuckled. "Miss Xia, the assistant said you wanted to discuss business with me. I wonder what kind of business could bring Miss Xia here in person?"

"Your roast duck tastes much the same as it always did, but what has made your business skyrocket is clearly this sauce. I would like to buy the recipe for your sauce, and I wonder what Boss Ning thinks of the idea?"

"This..." Boss Ning glanced toward the adjoining room. "Xiao Qi, go across the street to the noodle shop and bring over a jar of each kind of sauce."

"Understood." Gong Qi immediately went across to fetch the jars of sauce.

"To be honest with you, Miss Xia, this sauce of ours is also purchased from elsewhere," Boss Ning said. "That young proprietress is a remarkably ingenious person who has concocted several kinds of sauces. My wife's noodle shop has seen its business thrive precisely because of the sauces she prepared. Since Miss Xia is interested in the roast duck sauce, I imagine you would also be interested in those other varieties."