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

After finishing a whole stuffed chili pepper, Shen's father noticed that the village chief had already finished half a bowl of rice, but was too embarrassed to take any more food. So he used his chopsticks to put a large spoonful of stir-fried chili pepper and meat into the village chief's bowl.

"That's enough, that's enough. I'll help myself to eat later. Brother Shen, you go ahead and eat."

"Okay, Brother Shi, you have to pick up some food."

Watching the interaction between the two, Shen Cao smiled and went to the kitchen to get a spoon.

I scooped a big spoonful of eggplant and chili peppers into my bowl, and then picked up a piece of stir-fried pork with chili peppers and stir-fried eggs with chili peppers.

The dishes filled her bowl. She liked the feeling of this rice bowl, then bent down and shoveled the rice and dishes into her mouth. The mixed flavors of the dishes were sour and spicy.

Take a bite, and the various flavors blend together, creating an effect that is definitely greater than the sum of its parts.

Shen Wan, who was standing next to her sister, also mixed several kinds of dishes together and took a big bite.

Her eyes lit up when she took the first bite, and she happily shook her head as she ate.

Sure enough, there are good things to eat when you're with your sister.

On her second bite, she took a big mouthful of chili peppers, and the spiciness made her gasp for breath.

"Sigh, sigh, my tongue hurts so much."

Shen Wan was so shocked by the spiciness that she didn't know how to describe it.

Shen Cao reminded her, "It's spicy, isn't it?"

She pointed to the spicy eggplant dish with her chopsticks and said, "I added a little bit of spicy chili to this one, so it's a little bit spicy."

Shen Wan stuck out her tongue, and Shen Cao quickly poured her a glass of water.

After she finished drinking, she said, "Sister, this dish is a bit spicy, but it's so delicious, sour and fragrant."

"Wan'er likes this dish too. It is indeed very delicious."

Listening to the two men's conversation, the village chief was also eager to try. He scooped out a small amount for himself with a spoon and ate a bite with his rice.

It's sour and spicy, and goes perfectly with rice. It's really delicious.

"These chili peppers come in spicy and non-spicy varieties?" This was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.

No wonder the chili peppers I just ate weren't spicy; they were actually non-spicy chili peppers.

Shen Cao smiled and explained to the village chief, "Yes, some are spicy and some are not. I'll teach you how to tell them apart after we finish eating."

"I used non-spicy chili peppers for tonight's dishes because I was worried you might find them too spicy. It's just this chili pepper. If it weren't spicy, it wouldn't taste good, so I used a little spicy chili pepper to add some flavor."

She recommended it to Mr. and Mrs. Shen, "Father, Mother, you should try it too, and see if you can eat it."

Seeing their daughter's strong recommendation of the dish, Mr. and Mrs. Shen each scooped a spoonful into their own bowls.

After finishing his meal, Shen's father also started slurping.

However, Shen's mother didn't find it spicy after eating it; on the contrary, she felt that she had tasted her favorite food.

Then he scooped a big spoonful into her bowl, saying, "It's delicious, sour and spicy, so appetizing!"

It seems her mother can eat spicy food. She can cook some spicy dishes and eat with her mother in the future.

Shen Qing was originally planning to try eating like his eldest sister after seeing his second sister imitate her, but he hesitated when he saw his second sister slurping and making noises from the spiciness.

Seeing her mother eating with great relish, she was happy.

He first scooped a small amount into his bowl, then added a lot of other non-spicy dishes.

Following the example of her older sisters, she shoveled the food into her mouth.

He started shaking his head and swaying, especially his legs, which looked like they wanted to stomp on the ground, but unfortunately, his legs were too short, so he could only swing in mid-air.

"Delicious, so delicious."

Seeing that he seemed to be able to handle spicy food, Shen Cao scooped a spoonful of spicy tomato sauce for him to try on his own.

Shen Qing took a bite of the spicy eggplant. It was sour, and his tongue felt only slightly uncomfortable, but he could tolerate it. The deliciousness outweighed the discomfort.

Seeing this, Shen Cao knew that her younger brother could also eat spicy food, so she could start cooking some spicy dishes at home from now on.

In her past life, she loved spicy food, but now she hasn't eaten chili peppers for several months.

The village chief's chili peppers are planted, and she can finally have her fill again.

A meal was enjoyed by both host and guest.

After dinner, Shen Qing and Shen Wan habitually went into the kitchen to wash the dishes and tidy up.

Looking at the two sensible children, the village chief sighed again at how the Shen family had raised them. All the children were so well-behaved, while his own two children would do nothing unless he gave them a kick.

At home, I'm as lazy as a pig.

Shen Cao took out different kinds of chili peppers and taught the village chief which ones were spicy and which ones were not.

Especially the small red chili peppers, which are the spiciest of all the chili peppers.

Before leaving, Shen Cao said to the village chief, "Uncle Village Chief, you carried about 30 catties of chili peppers this time. I will charge you 3 coins per catty, so the total is 100 coins."

"Consider the ten coins as your travel expenses. I should have sent someone to collect them."

"By the way, Uncle Village Chief, these peppers are still green now. They won't keep well after you pick them. So, you can bring them to us every two weeks, about thirty pounds each time."

"After a large quantity of them ripen, you just wait for them to turn red, then dry them in the sun. I'll buy the dried peppers for ten coins per pound."

The village chief was initially worried that too many peppers had been planted in the field, but he didn't expect that they could be dried. Moreover, dried peppers are more expensive, so he immediately made a decision.

He accepted the hundred coins Shen Cao handed over. At the frequency of delivering them twice a month, he could earn an extra two hundred coins this month. Moreover, with so many chilies in the field, if they were all dried later, he could earn even more per pound. In the end, those two acres of chilies could make a lot of money.

Moreover, chili peppers are more robust than crops, require less effort than growing crops, and generate more profit.

He happily took the hundred coins home, and on the way he bought each of his two sons a candied hawthorn.

Those two boys have been talking about trying candied hawthorn for ages.

On his way home, he calculated that he had earned almost two taels of silver from dried bamboo shoots and chili peppers today.

It's only been less than three months. In the past, their family could only earn two taels of silver a year.

The key is that this doesn't interfere with his farming; he earns the money during his less busy time. By this calculation, he can save enough for his son's dowry when he reaches marriageable age, and with a little more effort, he might even be able to renovate the house.

The more he thought about it, the happier he became. He couldn't wait to fly home and share the good news with his wife.

As soon as the village chief entered the house, he saw that his wife and son were both looking sullen.

"what happened?"

The village chief's wife gave her son a look, signaling him to come by himself, and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Ate."

"Did you sell the chili peppers?" The village chief's wife looked at him expectantly.

"Sold out. Three coins per pound. Thirty pounds in total, sold for one hundred coins."

"Really?" The village chief's wife looked at the village chief in disbelief. She hadn't expected that a pound could sell for three coins.

The village chief took out the money from the sale and then mentioned that Shen Cao had said earlier that dried chilies cost ten coins per pound.

"This stuff is so profitable!" She was also surprised; it matures in less than three months, much faster than growing crops.

Thinking of what her son had discovered before, she said to her husband with a worried look, "Today, when our son went to water the fields, he found Aunt Li stealing peppers from the fields."