Zhang Huai’s gaze deepened as he watched Li Changyu. He had clearly seen Changyu dart a quick glance at Juhua just before his expression changed.

’What just went through his mind?’

’Though he had been wary of Changyu for a while, he couldn’t exactly stop him from getting close to Juhua. Besides, he didn’t believe he would lose to Changyu. It was good to have a rival—it would keep him on his toes and, more importantly, let Juhua see who liked her more.’

Hearing Qingmu’s question, Li Changyu quickly pushed his stray thoughts aside and smiled at him. "What do I have to be afraid of? With you two making things happen back in the village, I feel more confident out there. At the very least, our products are things no one else has, or they’re different from what others are selling. That makes the business much easier to run."

’He’s young,’ Juhua thought, ’and he’s only ever studied before. He might have a lot of unrealistic ideas.’ She decided to give him a little push.

She smiled. "Changyu, since you understand that, you should put your heart into this business. My brother says his teacher said that all great principles in the world are interconnected. You’ve read so many books, so now that you’ve left scholarship for business, you ought to do better than anyone else. Otherwise, wasn’t all that studying for nothing?"

Her words sent a rush of passion through Li Changyu. His expression turned solemn, his eyes shining with resolve. "Don’t worry, Juhua. If I don’t make a success of this business, then I’m not Li Changyu. You’re right. I spent all those years studying without helping my family at all, and I made my father spend so much on tuition. Now I have nothing to show for it. I can’t even compare to Huai Zi—he’s so savvy when negotiating business in Qinghui. I’m truly ashamed."

Juhua had only meant to spur him on, not to draw out such a speech, so she felt it was best not to say more. She just looked at Zhang Huai and smiled. "Huai Zi has a real knack for business! And if my brother were to manage the workshop, I’m sure he’d do a great job. Everyone has different strengths, right?"

Qingmu and Zhang Huai both laughed.

As he laughed, Qingmu gave his sister a strange look. ’When did I ever say that? She’s using me as a cover, and she even dragged the teacher into it in that roundabout way.’

Seeing Juhua fill Li Changyu with courage and confidence with just a few words, Zhang Huai felt a mix of admiration and bitterness. ’Li Changyu is getting closer and closer to Juhua.’

Li Changyu glanced at Zhang Huai, then at Juhua. ’If I can’t make something of myself,’ he thought, ’all that studying really will have been for nothing. Look at Chen Yu—he’s managing a business while still studying. In just one year, he’s turned the Qinghui restaurant into a roaring success, even befriending the wealthy merchant Fang Jingyu. He’s already established a firm foothold in Qinghui County.’

’Chen Yu started his business early, so it’s one thing not to measure up to him. But if I can’t even surpass Huai Zi, who’s never been outside the village before, I’ll truly have nowhere to hide my face in shame.’

As they were talking and laughing, Mrs. Yang came in. "Time to eat. Oh! Huai Zi and Changyu are here? I’ll cook some more noodles then. We’re having hot and sour noodles today."

Zhang Huai quickly stood up. "Auntie, please don’t trouble yourself. Changyu and I already ate before we came."

Li Changyu also hurriedly said they had indeed eaten and that they should go ahead. He then asked why they were having their midday meal so late.

Mrs. Yang smiled. "It’s because we fried some small fish this morning. They ate those and weren’t hungry at noon, so we pushed the meal back." She then offered to get them some of the small fish to try.

The fried fish had also been Juhua’s idea.

’Now that they’d finally earned some money,’ she thought, ’they deserved to eat well.’

So, she had taken the small fish they’d received from the fish pond, washed them, and marinated them in salt for an hour. Then she rinsed them again and drained them dry. She mixed flour and eggs to make a batter, sprinkled in some chopped scallions, coated the small fish in the batter, and deep-fried them in a wok until they were golden brown. They came out crispy, fragrant, and tender.

While eating, Mrs. Yang and Zheng Changhe said with a pained expression, "It’s delicious. It just uses so much oil."

They still weren’t used to such a wasteful lifestyle—using so much oil to fry food was something they wouldn’t have even dared to imagine before.

Hearing Mrs. Yang, Zhang Huai quickly waved his hands. "Auntie, please, go eat. Don’t mind us. Even if you have good things to share, we can wait until the New Year. It’s all the same."

Only then did Mrs. Yang stop standing on ceremony and bring her own food to the table.

Juhua and Qingmu each filled a bowl with hot and sour noodles, picked up some pickled vegetables, and instead of sitting at the table, sat on small stools to eat while listening to Zhang Huai and Changyu talk.

Juhua saw Zhang Huai watching her and her brother eat the noodles and swallow. She couldn’t help but find it funny and asked, "Huai Zi, do you want some noodles? My mom made a lot. Should I get you a bowl to try?"

Zhang Huai hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, I’m full." He turned his head away.

Li Changyu, however, lowered his head and started snickering.

Juhua and Qingmu exchanged a baffled look, not understanding what was going on.

When Li Changyu finished laughing, he looked up and saw their expressions. He explained, "Huai Zi is sick of them. During our time in Qinghui, we ate nothing but hot and sour noodles three meals a day."

Qingmu asked, puzzled, "Then why didn’t you eat something else? The noodles aren’t cheap, either."

Zhang Huai looked at the red broth of the hot and sour noodles in his bowl, swallowed involuntarily again, and said, "It was Changyu’s fault. He kept having people try to perfect the hot and sour noodles, so we all ended up eating them morning and night. Now, the mere smell of it makes my jaw ache."

It dawned on Juhua. "No wonder you were swallowing! I thought you were craving them. Goodness! The noodles aren’t that hard to make. Why did you have to keep experimenting?"

Li Changyu held back a laugh. "It’s not hard if you’re just making one meal for yourself. But in a shop, you have to serve many customers. To ensure every bowl tastes exactly the same, you have to standardize the amount of oil, salt, and all the other ingredients. You can’t just let the cook grab handfuls at random. Forget about some bowls having more or less than others—if one bowl is salty and the next is bland, or one is sour and another isn’t, wouldn’t we get cursed out by the customers?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)