A Good Country Wife
Chapter 330 - 324 Dizzy_1

Chapter 330: Chapter 324 Dizzy_1

Lin Yue was well aware of the intruder in her heart, yet she made no fuss about it, and in fact, she had intentionally allowed the trespass to occur. If not, why would she wait until now to check the kitchen? Upon entering the kitchen, she noted that everything seemed as it was, but signs of rummaging were still visible. Lin Yue opened the drawer of the bowl cupboard, and indeed, the papers were gone. Her lips curled into a hook; it appeared someone had taken the bait. On the paper was Lin Yue’s specially concocted ’Secret Recipe,’ a parting gift to the person who had repeatedly attempted to scheme against her family.

Li Chang’an had just stolen the ’Secret Recipe’ from Zhao Erhu’s kitchen. Although he narrowly escaped a frightful encounter with Dongjia’s wife, he was now exhilarated and agitated. Having no other choice, he thought it was worth a try to search the kitchen. Luckily, his fortune favored him, and he actually found the Secret Recipe that Dongjia had placed there. There were several pages, and although he was illiterate, he surmised it important since Dongjia kept it under lock and key. Perhaps it was a momentary oversight that it wasn’t locked; otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained it so easily.

Getting his hands on the ’Secret Recipe,’ Li Chang’an lost any desire to work, fearing that Zhao Erhu would discover the theft and search for it. Now that Zhao Dahuo was in charge of their area, Li Chang’an reported his absence to Zhao Dahuo and then left the village with the recipe in hand. Despite believing it to be a ’Secret Recipe,’ he wanted to be certain and headed to the town. He inquired at a scribe’s stall, and after being informed of the contents, he was elated to confirm it was indeed a Secret Recipe.

"Thank you, thank you, sir," Li Chang’an said, overwhelmed with happiness. He cautiously concealed the recipe close to his body before returning to the village and hurriedly sought out the Wei Family. Although he had the recipe, he needed to convert it into silver coins to be at ease.

The Wei Family was also anxious. Since the family had been divided, life had not been easy living with her eldest son. Her son was in control of the family’s finances, with the Jin Family and even she herself, as the mother, not allowed to meddle, receiving only the silver needed for the household expenses each month. Fortunately, she still had some private silver stashed away, or indeed, she would be in tight straits.

The Wei Family actually harbored regrets. If she had known her eldest son was such a capable and efficient man, she would never have favored him, believing he would prove successful. To her dismay, he treated his own mother this way. Her younger son was unreliable, enchanted and led astray by that vixen from the Chen Family. How could he remember his mother? If only she had sided with her middle son, Erhu, who had always been the most obedient towards her. However, due to her favoritism towards the eldest and youngest, Erhu had also grown distant from her now.

Now, the Wei Family’s thoughts were preoccupied with Zhao Lingxiang, who was at Wei Residence. If she wanted to live a better life in the future, she would need to rely on her daughter. Thus, she took the task she had entrusted Lingxiang with even more seriously.

It had been a while since Li Chang’an showed any signs of movement, and Wei Family had sought him out a few days ago. Unexpectedly, Li Chang’an had managed to secure the goods so quickly. Having managed the family’s finances for years, Wei Family could recognize a few words and identified this as the recipe Master Wei had desired.

Li Chang’an had his moments of shrewdness. After showing the recipe to Wei Family just briefly, he swiftly took it back, not even allowing her to touch it. "Payment first, goods second, as we agreed. You wouldn’t forget that, aunty?"

"Of course not, wait here while I get the silver," replied Wei Family, eager to secure the recipe and deliver it to her daughter. Once her daughter secured Master Wei’s favor and established her position firmly, she wouldn’t have to worry about lacking silver. Thus, departing from her usual stinginess, Wei Family handed over a sum of thirty taels of silver without any reservation, a gesture that inspired different thoughts in Li Chang’an’s mind.

"Here are thirty taels of silver, as we agreed, so you can give me the secret recipe now, right?" When Wei Family put the silver in front of Li Chang’an, and he saw how readily she handed it over, he suddenly became dissatisfied. Her generosity meant the recipe must be very important to her, and he thought if he haggled, he might be able to get even more silver out of her.

Seeing Li Chang’an not hand over the secret recipe after looking at the silver, Wei Family’s expression soured. "Nephew, what does this mean? We had an agreement. Are you going back on your word now?"

"Auntie, let me tell you this, you know how shrewd the Dongjia and his wife are. The house is heavily guarded, and these days, I’ve really put in a lot of effort for this secret recipe. It was not easy for me to get my hands on it, and I almost got caught by Dongjia. Shouldn’t you raise the price a bit?"

"Li Chang’an, you can’t be someone who doesn’t keep their word. After all, we’re distant relatives, and thirty taels is no small sum. One must not be too greedy." Wei Family was genuinely angry. Thirty taels was already a significant price; she wouldn’t have offered so much if it wasn’t crucial for her daughter. Greedy Li Chang’an wasn’t satisfied, seemingly without fear that biting off more than he could chew might choke him. But no matter how angry Wei Family was, for the sake of the secret recipe, she couldn’t fall out with him, though her tone was clearly very dissatisfied.

Li Chang’an was a man who wanted money over face, not caring about distant relatives. Even blood brothers would turn against each other for profit. "Auntie, what you’re saying... If you weren’t greedy, you wouldn’t ask me to steal the secret recipe from Zhao Erhu’s house. Zhao Erhu’s family has prospered because of it, amassing so much property. You’ve also set your sights on it, haven’t you? This secret recipe is very valuable. Add another twenty taels of silver, and I’ll sell the recipe to you. How about that?"

At that, Wei Family’s reaction was fierce. "Li Chang’an, you’re asking for the moon! Fifty taels of silver? That’s more than what our village families earn in a whole year. You might as well go rob someone."

"Calm down, Auntie. I’m not forcing you to take the recipe. But if you don’t want it, I can surely find another buyer. You’ll regret it when that happens."

However angry Wei Family was, she eventually had no choice but to spend fifty taels of silver to buy the secret recipe from Li Chang’an. Fortunately, Zhao Lingxiang had given her enough Silver Coin to handle this matter. Having acquired the secret recipe, Wei Family dared not delay and was keen to deliver it to her daughter as soon as possible to find peace of mind.

Let’s not dwell on Wei Family’s meeting with Zhao Lingxiang at the Wei Residence; Lin Yue had prepared a special lunch. In addition to pickled cabbage fish, game from the mountains, and ingredients available at home, there was a novel dish that no one had ever tried before—a creation Lin Yue had been experimenting with over the past few days using freshly-dug sweet potatoes. She made sweet potato vermicelli and sweet potato skins. Since it was just a trial, the portion wasn’t large. Lin Yue soaked a third of it in water and got ready to put it into the hotpot for everyone to enjoy. With the weather getting cooler, having such a warm dish was the most comforting. Moreover, compared to dishes made with wheat flour, the sweet potato vermicelli and skins added a bit of chewiness and resilience, offering a pleasantly smooth and tasty bite.

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