Chapter Sixty-Two: Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs and Twice-Cooked Pork

If they couldn’t give a proper explanation, they were sure to get a good scolding!

At that moment, Liao Shuxia spotted them as well.

“Well, well, you two. Looking for trouble, are you?” she asked in a chilling tone.

In truth, she was more worried than anything. She knew her husband was formidable, but no one was invincible. It was their first day in town—if anything happened to her husband or daughter, how could she go on living?

Lin Wenyan had searched all over and found nothing. Only when he saw them return safe and sound did his heart finally settle.

What followed, naturally, was a surge of anger.

“Mother, I can explain!” Lin Sangqian immediately pulled Zhao Lan’er forward. “There’s a reason why we came back late today!”

“Hey, isn’t this that little girl…” Liao Shuxia paused, recognizing Zhao Lan’er as the one who’d first bought her meat pies.

“Hello,” Zhao Lan’er greeted shyly.

Lin Hongda and Lin Sangqian recounted the day’s events, and quickly stopped Liao Shuxia from grabbing a rolling pin to avenge Zhao Lan’er.

“Girl, you can rest easy staying with us!” Liao Shuxia hugged Zhao Lan’er, her tone full of tenderness. “Don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you from now on. We won’t let those two scoundrels bully you again!”

Hearing these words, Zhao Lan’er’s eyes grew moist once more.

This family was so kind, she truly didn’t know how to thank them.

“Mother, I still haven’t found…” Lin Wenyan came running back, out of breath.

Seeing Lin Hongda and Lin Sangqian, he finally sighed in relief.

“Thank goodness, Father, Little Sister, you’re finally back!” He had searched nearly the entire town that afternoon, but hadn’t found the father and daughter, and his worry had reached its peak. If he still couldn’t find them, he’d been ready to ask Manager Lu from Fortune Inn for help.

“Though you had your reasons today, if anything like this happens again, you must come tell me first, understand?” Liao Shuxia scolded, fixing them with a glare.

“Yes, ma’am!” Father and daughter nodded vigorously, like pecking chicks.

“All right! Go rest in your rooms. We haven’t bought what we need yet. I’ll hurry to the shops before they close, and buy some groceries too.”

“Wife, I’ll come with you…” Lin Hongda eagerly followed after her.

Lin Sangqian and Lin Wenyan led Zhao Lan’er into the house.

“From now on, you’ll sleep with me. My bed is big enough—there’s plenty of room for us to roll around,” Lin Sangqian said with a smile.

“Mm-hmm,” Zhao Lan’er nodded quickly. “If you need help with anything, just let me know.”

“There’s nothing much right now, just helping with the cooking. Later, when my little factory is up and running, I might need to trouble you,” Lin Sangqian said.

“Don’t call it trouble,” Zhao Lan’er replied. “You’re opening a factory? That’s amazing! Sangqian, you’re so young and already so capable.”

“It’s nothing, really,” Lin Sangqian replied bashfully.

Every time someone praised her, she always felt a little embarrassed. After all, her soul was hardly that of a child…

Lin Wenyan went to the yard to chop firewood. Zhao Lan’er asked, “Was that young gentleman your brother?”

“Yes, he’s my eldest brother. My second and third brothers are at school now; they’ll be home at the end of the month.”

“I see.”

Zhao Lan’er was not one to sit idle. Since she was staying here for free, she felt she must help out, so she immediately went to clean the kitchen.

Lin Sangqian couldn’t dissuade her, so she let her be.

A while later, Lin Hongda and Liao Shuxia returned with an armful of bedding, daily necessities, meat, vegetables, and fruit. There was so much they had to hire a carriage to bring it all back.

“We spent over three taels again,” Liao Shuxia whispered to Lin Sangqian. “How much do we have left?”

“Less than forty taels,” Lin Sangqian replied. “Don’t worry, I still get a share from Fortune Inn. We won’t have trouble making ends meet.”

What she was really thinking about was the chicken feet factory. Renting another courtyard might be difficult for now. Fortunately, their current courtyard was fairly spacious; she decided to start the business there, at least temporarily.

Once she’d planned it out, she went to the kitchen to cook. With the help of Liao Shuxia and Zhao Lan’er, things went much more smoothly.

Lin Sangqian washed and blanched some spare ribs, simmered them, then marinated them with cooking wine, soy sauce, and aged vinegar. She fried them until they turned golden, then set them aside.

She added water and the ribs to the pot, sprinkled in sugar, brought it to a boil, and added salt to taste. After simmering on low heat and then reducing the sauce over high heat, she finished with a splash of aged vinegar and a handful of scallions. The sweet and sour spare ribs were crisp outside, tender inside, and perfectly balanced between sweet and tangy.

She also made twice-cooked pork: cleaning and slicing pork belly, boiling it with scallion, ginger, and star anise, then slicing and frying it. She stir-fried aromatics in the remaining oil, added bean paste, then tossed in the pork and chilies, seasoning it with wine, a bit of soy sauce, and sugar until it was fragrant and done.

Zhao Lan’er watched in awe. She hadn’t expected Lin Sangqian to be such a skilled cook.

Only now did she realize that the meat pies she’d bought from the Lin family had not been made by Liao Shuxia, but by Lin Sangqian herself…

Lin Sangqian also prepared a plate of hot-and-sour shredded potatoes, garlic-seasoned crown daisy greens, and a big pot of tomato and egg soup.

The five of them gathered around the dining table, filling the house with delicious aromas.

“Today, let’s just warm the pot with a family meal,” Lin Hongda said. “When Second and Third come home at the end of the month, we’ll invite Manager Lu and Yang Shi and the others for a proper celebration.”

“All right,” Lin Sangqian nodded.

“We should also invite Mr. Qin,” Liao Shuxia added. “He helped you when that unscrupulous manager at Wanhua Restaurant tried to make trouble, didn’t he?”

“Yes. I’ll find out where his shop is and invite him over.”

Lin Sangqian noticed that Zhao Lan’er kept her head down and ate very little.

Just as she was about to ask if she didn’t like the food, it dawned on her: Zhao Lan’er must still be mourning her mother. Her mother had only just passed away, after all. No matter how good the food was, who could truly enjoy it now?

She didn’t say more, but quietly ladled a bowl of soup for her.

After dinner, Zhao Lan’er went to wash the dishes. Lin Wenyan wanted to help but, thinking it might not be proper since she was a young lady, decided against it and went to practice martial arts in the courtyard with Lin Hongda.

Just then, there was a sudden knock at the gate.