The carriage took the couple to Heavenly Residence. Xia Chunyu alighted long enough to request Manager Zhao to get a banknote for 80 thousand taels and tell Song Qi to bring Yaoyao back home before dinner. He then said a quick goodbye to her before speeding off.
Ye Jiayao did not know where he was going, but she figured it has something to do with the military situation that Little Jing mentioned this morning. That was out of her reach.
However, even though she couldn’t help with national affairs, she could manage a small restaurant.
Zhong Xiang was the only chef in Heavenly Residence participating in the cooking competition. Heavenly Residence has placed great hopes on him and was in full support of him, providing him the ingredients that he needed. The restaurant business was currently being handled by Deng Haichuan and Wang Mingde.
“How is Zhong Xiang’s preparation going?” Ye Jiayao asked Deng Haichuan.
Deng Haichuan answered, “Brother Xiang is very distressed. He doesn’t know what to do. You want him to create something new but he is almost out of ideas.”
Ye Jiayao went to the kitchen to take a look at what was going on. There, she saw Zhong Xiang and Wang Mingde bustling by the stove.
She also noticed a strong scent that was similar to how ‘Buddha Jumps Over the Wall’ smells.
“What are you doing?”
Zhong Xiang saw Ye Jinxuan and got really excited. “Second Young Mistress, I just made a bowl of cats’ ear. Wang Mingde cooked the soup. Would you like to have a taste?”
Cats’ ear was a popular noodle in Shang Xi. It was called given its name because its shape looked exactly like cat ears. It was considered as a main dish in the northern area while southern people treat it as desert or street food.
Ye Jiayao took a bite, finding the noodle a bit too hard. It tasted quite good, but she was certain that Wang Mingde took a part of the recipe from her Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. He mixed it with seafood and some other delicacies. It was strong, but not rich, and the smell was mouthwatering without being too overpowering.
Wang Mingde did a good job! “You made it with Avena nuda?”
“Yes! Avena nuda is flexible enough to knead into shape.”
“Forming it into the right shape is not a problem with your skill. Just change it to flour. The flour in Yang Zhou is very delicate and sweet.”
“But flour is not chewy enough.”
“That’s because you need to add a few eggs in.”
Zhong Xiang smacked his head in realization. “That’s what I’ve been missing! Why didn’t I think of it? I will try again another time.”
“What do you think about the soup?” Zhong Xiang followed up.
Wang Mingde looked at her expectantly.
Ye Jiayao smiled at him and said, “Wang Mingde has made great progress! The soup is perfect.”
Wang Mingde smiled awkwardly. “Second Young Mistress, I took inspiration from your Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and modified some bits.”
“What did you change?” Ye Jiayao asked. The only thing she could tell that was missing from the soup was lamb.
“I used sea cucumbers, scallops, beef tendon, beef tenderloin, chicken gizzards, shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, yams, pork belly, chicken, duck, and gizzard. If these guts were added, they would be too strong and will overpower the taste of cats’ ears,” Wang Mingde explained.
“You have thought this through really well. Wang Mingde, if you work hard enough, you just might be the first king of soups,” Ye Jiayao praised happily.
Wang Mingde blushed and said shyly, “I will work hard for that, Second Young Mistress.”
“I am concerned about dumpling shapes,” Zhong Xiang told her. “Our Four Happiness dumplings are famous but I believe that there are plenty of people who can do that.”
Ye Jiayao suggested, “Since the soup is your bright spot, why don’t you just make soup buns? Also, for pastry use your ‘pea yellow’ since that is one of the best in Jin Ling. I also have one more idea, but I still need to plan on how to execute it.”
She wanted to make a cake, but since she didn’t have an oven, she had to figure out how and where to bake it.
“Well, Wang Mingde and I will study soup buns together tonight,” Zhong Xiang said in agreement. He was always going to listen to Second Young Mistress’ suggestions because she was the best chef he knew.
Ye Jiayao came out of the kitchen just as Manager Zhao was returning from the bank.
When he handed her the banknote, she asked him to get the account book. When she saw the data, her mouth dropped open in shock.
In the two weeks that she left, Heavenly Residence’s business rose steadily. The autumn haze was already over and there were no more celebrations for scholars, but every compartment was filled.
They were earning nearly 200,000 in profit a month!
She continued to read through the log when she noticed a tally of an unpaid table under Chunyu’s name. She turned to the other pages and there were more of it. She estimated it to total to about 2800 silvers.
“Manager Zhao, what are these? Has the Heir-son Lord been treating people here?” Ye Jiayao asked.
Manager Zhao answered, “It wasn’t the Heir-son Lord, Second Young Mistress, it was Master Xia Chunli. He would come here with his friends from time to time and order the most expensive dishes and best wines without paying. He would ask me to write it under the name of the Heir-son Lord. He would run into some of his friends at times and he would ask me to take their bill and write it under the Heir-son Lord’s name too. We couldn’t say anything because we’re just servants. Third Young Master would come here too at times but he would always pay even when we tell him not to.”
“Does the Heir-son Lord know about this?”
“I told him about it but he didn’t know what to do either.”
Ye Jiayao annoyance flared. What kind of person would do such a thing? It was one thing to eat for free when he was alone, but to treat people with his brother’s money?
“Tell the staff that when he comes, let him know that we are fully booked,” Ye Jiayao ordered.
“The Young Master always sends people to book a seat early. I am afraid that will not work,” Manager Zhao told her gloomily.
What the hell? “Alright. I’ll think about this matter more.”
After she left Heavenly Residence, she asked Song Qi what kind of person Xia Chunli was.
“The Young Master had a fake position in the Imperial Academy, arranged for him by Madame. The Young Master likes strange stones and spends a lot of money on it. However, he would often ask money from the Heir-son Lord. He would ‘borrow’ a few thousand, or a few hundred, but he would never return it. The month before last, he borrowed 10,000 from the Heir-son Lord because the First Young Mistress needed more money to open an embroidery business.”
It seemed that this Xia Chunli had a lot of similarities with the Third Uncle she has yet to meet!
“Second Young Mistress, you have to talk to the Heir-son Lord about this. He is just like his father. They both appear tough on the outside, but they both have a blind spot when it comes to their brothers. The Heir-son Lord isn’t as good in saying no as the Third Young Master is.
She realized that Song Qi was right. Chunyu was even willing to give Third Uncle the money for the renovation. Like father, like son.
Chunyu didn’t come back to the house for dinner. The Old Lord wasn’t present either as he was invited out by some general. Ye Jiayao suspected that this has something to do with the war that was currently happening.
Ye Jiayao and Qiao were forced to sit there and listen to Xia You’s orders to Housekeeper Zhong.
“Have the Fourth Young Master moved to the West Side House and renovate it. Two yards will open up, and then the wall of the backyard will be demolished. A wall is going to be built to enclose the moon study.”
Housekeeper Zhong said, “Madamed, half of the back garden will be included? Embrace moon study is the Heir-son Lord’s…”
Xia You interrupted him, “Just do what I say. My son doesn’t have a choice. This way is best for everyone.”
“I will ask the carpenter and plasterer to do it tomorrow,” Housekeeper Zhong said dutifully.
“Well, all the entrances and exits will be set at the east gate so that the other yards are not disturbed.”
“Yes, Madame.”
“I have already drafted the list of the goods that needed to be purchased and I had Lin Kun settle it out as soon as possible. That needs to be checked.”
“Yes, Madame.”
“Have Lin Kun’s family pick a few careful and smart servant girls to show me.”
“Yes, Madame.”
“That is it for now!”
“Mother, didn’t you have to build a small kitchen?” Qiao quickly reminded her.
Xia You paused for a beat before nodding. “Yes, build it.”
She wouldn’t put it past the Empress Dowager to hire a royal chef here for her beloved granddaughter.
Ye Jiayao wondered if she could also build a small kitchen in her yard. She would like to experiment with various dishes, and it would be a bad idea to go to a large kitchen for that. Plus, it’d be easier to make deserts if she gets hungry at night.
However, that wasn’t her priority at the moment since Xia You was already obviously very stressed and very busy already.
“All of you can leave now except Jinxuan,” Xia You ordered.
Qiao flashed a suspicious look at Ye Jinxuan as she got up.
Once everyone was gone, Xia You started, “I heard that Chunyu bought Heavenly Residence?”
Ye Jiayao calmly replied, “Yes.”
“He is really rich,” she deadpanned.
Ye Jiayao gave her a patient smile. “It took a lot of money, but I am confident that he wouldn’t regret this purchase. Heavenly Residence yields great profits.”
Xia You doesn’t approve of his son being so generous with a woman, but she had to admit that it was a smart business move. Heavenly Residence was currently the busiest and best restaurant in Jin Ling. If they could continue to manage it well, they would earn a lot from it.
“Since the restaurant is your own now, I want you to cater to Chunfeng’s wedding,” Xia You told her casually.
