The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Before lunchtime, the two hundred vegetable dumplings that Shen Cao brought were sold out.

Looking at the queue in front of me, I saw that several people hadn't been able to buy anything.

Shen Cao quickly comforted them, "Everyone, don't be sad. I will definitely prepare more tomorrow. Also, there will be new dishes tomorrow, which are delicious and inexpensive."

"It's just as good as vegetable dumplings, and there's a discount for the first day tomorrow."

Those people weren't so upset when they heard there would be new food and discounts tomorrow, since no one else knew about it except them.

I must come early tomorrow to queue up, I must eat the so-called food that tastes even better than vegetable dumplings.

Shen Cao packed up her stall and found Shen Yu'an there. "Young Master Shen, what brings you here? You didn't say so earlier. I would have saved some vegetable dumplings for you."

Shen Yu'an was a little sad. So he had been standing there for a long time, but Shen Cao hadn't seen him at all.

You're just being presumptuous!

"Miss Shen, the house matter is almost settled."

"Today I'll go to the government office to sign the documents and register. After that, I can get the keys and move in."

Shen Cao was overjoyed, not expecting it to happen so quickly. She looked at Shen Yu'an with some confusion.

"I am not very talented, but I know a few friends. I thought Miss Shen was in a hurry, so I urged her to hurry up."

"Thank you!" Shen Cao raised his hand and bowed to Shen Yu'an in a traditional martial arts greeting.

"You're welcome."

"Oh, right, I just heard you say that there will be new food tomorrow. Just save some for me then."

"no problem."

"Would it be convenient for your father to come with me to the yamen to sign the documents?"

Shen Cao had already told her father about this, and she knew where he worked. However, it was lunchtime now, and she wondered if public officials in ancient times had a lunch break.

"Is the government office still open during mealtimes?"

“Originally, we weren’t going to do it, but I thought it would be inconvenient for your father at other times, so I specially arranged for someone to wait.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Cao quickly placed the things with Uncle Li and took out three vegetable dumplings that she had saved for him from the cart, handing them to him.

Shen Yu'an looked at the vegetable dumplings that Shen Cao had specially saved for Uncle Li, as if he heard a sound.

Oh! That's the sound of a heart breaking.

Shen Cao was busy running around doing everything herself, but she didn't even leave herself a few vegetable dumplings.

The butcher helped her watch her cart, and she even remembered to save some vegetable dumplings for him.

Actually, it's not Shen Cao's fault for not leaving any for Shen Yu'an; it's just that Shen Yu'an gave Shen Cao such a high-class impression that she thought Shen Yu'an definitely wouldn't like to eat vegetable dumplings.

When she saw Shen Yu'an staring at the vegetable dumplings in Uncle Li's hand, she realized that Shen Yu'an also loved to eat them.

When she leaves the cold braised pork tomorrow, she should also prepare some vegetable dumplings for him.

Seeing him staring at the vegetable dumplings in Uncle Li's hand, his mouth practically watering, was quite a contrast to his elegant white-clad gentleman image.

"Let's go."

Shen Yu'an withdrew his gaze and followed Shen Cao to find his father.

Mr. Shen was resting at the time. Upon hearing their purpose, he washed up and went to the yamen with them.

With Shen Yu'an present, the process went very smoothly.

Shen Cao was still somewhat incredulous when she held the land deed.

She pinched her brother's cheek.

"Ouch! That hurts! Why did you pinch me, sister?"

"Let me see if I'm dreaming."

"Then why don't you pinch yourself?"

"I'm afraid of pain."

Shen Qing [...]

"With me, Shen Yu'an, here, there's nothing I can't accomplish. With me here, how could Miss Shen feel like she's dreaming?" Shen Yu'an fanned himself with a touch of narcissism, fanning himself with the jade-bone fan in his hand.

Shen Cao [Hehe...]

However, it was indeed thanks to Shen Yu'an himself that he was able to successfully buy this house at such a cheap price.

"Brother Shen, I know you lack nothing. I will personally cook a meal for you at your new home to express my gratitude."

Shen Yu'an's eyes lit up at the mention of food, "I want to eat the ones you mentioned last time."

"no problem."

Even though he had traveled all over the world, he had never heard of those foods before, and they all looked delicious.

"Alright, then I'll stay a few more days and wait for your thank-you banquet."

"Brother Shen is leaving?"

"Shen came here to deal with the Wan'an Hall matter. Now that the matter is settled, it is time for him to go back."

"However, since Miss Shen is inviting me to dinner, I can certainly wait."

"Okay." Shen Cao knew he was a very busy person and definitely wouldn't stay here long. She was sure they would meet again someday.

Shen's father went back to ask for leave and went home with Shen Cao and the others.

This land deed is a very important thing. He was worried about Shen Cao and the others, and since he wasn't busy in the afternoon, he went back with them.

The group didn't rush back. Instead, they went to their new home, took a good look around, and were very satisfied. Before, it was someone else's property, but now it felt like their own.

Mr. Shen also bought some cleaning tools so that he could come here to clean after work. The room was well-maintained and didn't need much repair; it just needed a quick cleaning before he could move in.

After they returned, they took out the land deed and showed it to Shen's mother and Shen Chen.

Shen Chen then realized that what his sister had said earlier wasn't just to coax him, but that she had actually bought a house in the county town.

He initially didn't believe that his younger sister could make money through food, but after eating her porridge for two days, he believed it.

If even someone as good a cook as my sister can't make money, then all the restaurants in the county should have closed down long ago.

If Shen Cao's porridge convinced Shen Chen that Shen Cao could open a restaurant...

That night, the taste of Shen Cao's braised meat convinced him that Shen Cao could definitely make money.

Shen Cao went to the kitchen as soon as she returned.

Her braised pork should be stewed by now.

I was delayed yesterday because of my older brother's matter.

She first blanched the cleaned pig intestines, heart, liver, and stomach, then washed them thoroughly and set them aside.

Then, I took out the old braising liquid that I had saved before, as well as some essential spices and seasonings for braising meat from the storage space.

She divided the braised meat into two pots.

Although braised pig intestines don't have much flavor, the braising process will impart their taste to other things in the pot.

She added the old braising liquid, star anise, scallions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, oyster sauce, fermented bean curd sauce, rock sugar, and so on to the two pots respectively.

Then she poured in the sweet fermented rice wine that Shen's mother had made herself. Sweet fermented rice wine can remove the fishy smell and also enhance the aroma, making it better than cooking wine.

After putting everything into the pot, Shen Cao slowly simmered it over low heat.

The preliminary preparations for this braised meat have been completed; the rest is up to time and heat.

Simmering over low heat fully brings out the flavors of the seasonings and ingredients, creating a synergistic effect.

Moreover, the proteins in the ingredients will be completely denatured under the stimulation of fire, turning into more delicious umami flavor.

The Shen family had already smelled the aroma of the braised meat.

Shen Chen, in particular, although he had delicious porridge to drink every day, would find it bland after eating too much.

The pungent aroma now roused his long-hidden cravings.

I never expected my younger sister to cook so well. No wonder she insisted on opening a restaurant.

It's a shame that this skill isn't used to open a restaurant.

He was now completely convinced that his younger sister's restaurant business would definitely be profitable.