TTTQF Chapter 54

Kicking the Head Like a Ball

“Daniu, have you thought it through? Are you going to sell me that recipe or take a trip to the authorities with me? Honestly, you don’t make much money working outside in the sun and rain. If you are willing to sell me the recipe, I will speak to the owner and let you work at Yingke Lai. Maybe you could even learn some skills from the head chef…”

On this day, the manager Sun of Yingke Lai comes to Daniu’s house again to persuade him, with an ugly and hypocritical look on his face that makes people feel uncomfortable. 

In fact, the manager hadn’t taken the successful business of the pan-fried buns seriously before. No matter how popular a roadside stall is, it can’t compare to their restaurant. 

However, one of the picky chefs at the restaurant had tasted the pan-fried buns bought by a waiter. Besides the dried shrimp, he also tasted some unique flavors. He told the manager that the seasoning in the buns was special and that it was what changed the taste of the buns. He couldn’t make this taste even with dried shrimp in an ordinary radish-filled bun. If they could get that seasoning, their restaurant business might improve.

Manager Sun was skeptical. Seeing his disbelief, the chef made a few buns for him to taste. After tasting them, the manager had to admit that the buns from Daniu’s stall were indeed better.

With this idea in mind, he comes to persuade Daniu. Daniu’s firm refusal only heightens his interest and makes him think that there might indeed be something special about the seasoning in the buns.

After multiple visits, just as his patience is about to run out, Daniu, who has always been resolute, suddenly shows hesitation.

“Manager Sun, I need to discuss it with my grandma,” Daniu’s voice trembles, showing his inner struggle.

Manager Sun thinks there is hope and generously tells them to take their time discussing. But as soon as Daniu and Aunt Zhang enter the main room and close the door, he sneaks to the wall to eavesdrop.

“…Daniu, sell the recipe! Your grandpa lost someone’s goods, and the owner wants us to pay a lot of money!” Aunt Zhang is very anxious.

When Manager Sun hears this, he feels the recipe is almost in his hands, but the price can’t be the same as previously discussed.

“But Grandma, the recipe belongs to Brother Jiang… it’s not right for us to sell it ourselves, is it?” Daniu is a bit uneasy.

“What’s wrong with that? They run a restaurant business, and we run a roadside business. There’s no connection!” Aunt Zhang insists.

“I’m afraid Brother Jiang will be angry if he finds out, and besides, he hasn’t even told me the most important ingredient in the recipe,” Daniu says dejectedly. 

Manager Sun’s ears perk up instantly. So, there really is a special ingredient!

“Isn’t that perfect? We’ll sell the recipe to Manager Sun. How would he know if it’s missing something? Without that key ingredient, the recipe isn’t complete, so we’re not really wronging Little Jiang,” Aunt Zhang thinks it’s a brilliant idea.

Upon hearing this, Manager Sun’s eyes flash with malice. What a cunning old woman, planning to deceive both sides! Before he can figure out how to respond, he hears footsteps from inside. Manager Sun quickly returns to his previous position and watches as Daniu comes out.

“Manager Sun, we’ll sell the recipe!”

Manager Sun sneers, “Oh, really? You were so stubborn before, why are you suddenly willing to sell it now?”

“Uh… I just hadn’t made up my mind before,” Daniu stammers, clearly lying.

“I think it’s not that you hadn’t made up your mind, but that you don’t dare to. Like, maybe because your skill in making pan-fried buns was learned from someone else?” Manager Sun says sarcastically.

Daniu looks shocked, his guilty expression revealing that he has been seen through. Manager Sun doesn’t say more, just gives a cold snort and walks out.

After he left, Aunt Zhang comes out and says, “I wonder if he believed it? Daniu, does Little Jiang really have a way to deal with them?”

Daniu shakes his head blankly, “I don’t know either, but that’s what Brother Jiang said.” He is worried too.

After leaving, Manager Sun starts asking around and finally finds out who Brother Jiang is and where he lives. But he feels the name Bai family from Tianshui Alley sounds very familiar.

As he is muttering to himself, a waiter passing by casually said, “Doesn’t Xiao Wu live there?”

“Wait a minute!” Manager Sun grabs him, “You said Xiao Wu lives there, which Xiao Wu?

“Manager, it’s the store’s assistant Wu Youde. Doesn’t everyone call him Xiao Wu?” The waiter looks confused.

“Go and fetch Wu Youde for me, I have something to discuss with him!”

“Oh, I’ll go right away.”

After Wu Youde comes over, Manager Sun talks to him for a long time. At first, Wu Youde looks reluctant, but as Manager Sun’s offers become more generous, he eventually agrees.

That day, Wu Youde, who usually leaves early and returns late, is allowed to go back to the courtyard early. He lives on the same side as Aunt Liu, but the two do not have much friendship.

In Aunt Liu’s opinion, this young man is unattractive, not sweet-talking, and always nitpicking. They rarely exchange friendly looks when they meet. Because of this, Jiang Miao and Xiao Wu have had no interaction. Despite living in the same courtyard for so long, they have barely spoken.

While Wu Youde is pondering how to get close to Jiang Miao, he notices Jiang Miao heading out to fetch water. Acting on impulse, he quickly follows. When Jiang Miao looks at him with a surprised look, Wu Youde comes back to his senses.

“Brother Jiang, are you here to fetch water? Do you want me to help you?”

Jiang Miao politely declines, “No, I can carry this bit of water.” He has never interacted with this person before but recognizes him. He wonders why Wu Youde has become so friendly all of a sudden.

“No need to be polite. I’ll help you carry it in!” Wu Youde grabs the water bucket from the ground and heads towards Jiang Miao’s room. As he enters the main room, a handsome young man suddenly walks out of Jiang Miao’s room.

“Who are you?” Pei Che asks with a slight frown when he sees him holding Jiang Miao’s water bucket and staring blankly at him.

“I… I’m Brother Jiang’s neighbor, helping him carry water in.”

Hearing this, Pei Che immediately walks past him towards Jiang Miao. Pei Che looks down and checks on Jiang Miao, making sure he is fine before feeling relieved.

“In the future, if you need to carry water, just call me. No need to trouble outsiders,” Pei Che says. Having practiced martial arts for many years, carrying water is no problem for him.

Jiang Miao, looking innocent, whispers, “I didn’t ask him to help. He just snatched it away.”

Pei Che glances unfavorably at Wu Youde, then leans close to Jiang Miao’s ear and says in a low voice, “He who is overly attentive without cause is either a traitor or a thief!”

“I know.” Jiang Miao slightly turns his head. The warm breath on his ear makes him feel a bit strange. 

Wu Youde stands there awkwardly, watching the two whispering to each other not far away.

“Brother Jiang, where should I put this water bucket?” he can’t help but interrupt, feeling that the way these two are interacting is a little strange.

Jiang Miao replies, “Just put it inside. Thank you, Brother Wu.” Despite finding Wu Youde’s behavior strange, Jiang Miao still politely thanks him.

“It’s no trouble, it’s no trouble at all. We’re neighbors; helping to carry water is nothing,” Wu Youde cheerfully carries the water bucket to the kitchen, his eyes scanning the room, especially the jars on the kitchen wall. He can’t resist the urge to peek inside them.

“Brother Wu, are you looking for something?” Jiang Miao asks.

Wu Youde is startled and quickly replies, “No, just looking around. My place is a bit different from yours, so I wanted to see what’s different.”

“Oh, the kitchens are all the same. I just have an extra bedroom and a main room here. Would you like to see the main room?”

Since Jiang Miao has said so, he can’t refuse to go out. He has no choice but to follow Jiang Miao to the main room, engaging in conversation from time to time, with a hint of probing in his questions. It’s clear that Jiang Miao is somewhat uninterested in the conversation but maintains his politeness.

Pei Che sits aside and listens for a long time, feeling very impatient with this person who keeps bothering Jiang Miao. He scrutinizes Wu Youde critically: too short, eyes too small, skin too dark, and looking somewhat sleazy. He can’t understand why Jiang Miao even bothers to talk to this Wu Youde, especially since Jiang Miao was initially so cold towards him, Pei Che, in the beginning.

“I’m a little hungry,” Pei Che suddenly says. Jiang Miao, hearing this, looks apologetically at Wu Youde and says, “Brother Wu, I need to start cooking now. Is that okay?”

“Oh! Sorry, Brother Jiang, I was so happy talking to you that I lost track of time. Actually, I came over to borrow some salt from you. We ran out at home, and we can’t cook dinner tonight without it.” Wu Youde understands the implied message of being asked to leave and is anxious. Suddenly, he comes up with a good idea.

“Oh, I see. Let me get it for you,” Jiang Miao offers.

“No need! When I brought the water in, I saw it already. You sit, I’ll get it myself.” Without waiting for a response, Wu Youde rushes to the kitchen and swiftly opens the jars to check their contents. In a small white jar, he finds some gray-brown powder and is overjoyed. He quickly pours a bit out and wraps it in a piece of paper he had prepared.

Jiang Miao enters just then and sees Wu Youde staring at the small white jar. “The salt is in this jar. That one contains my homemade thirteen-spice seasoning.”

Wu Youde’s heart skips a beat. “I thought it smelled different. So, it’s not salt. Brother Jiang, I just remembered that I have to return to the restaurant tonight, so I won’t need to cook. I don’t need the salt anymore.” With that, he hurriedly leaves.

“What is he here for, exactly?” Pei Che approaches the kitchen, his tall figure making the room suddenly feel cramped to Jiang Miao.

“If I’m not mistaken, he’s probably here to steal my seasoning,” Jiang Miao replies, eyeing the white jar that has been tampered with.

“Is this person sent by the manager of Yingke Lai?” Jiang Miao couldn’t keep it to himself and has already told Pei Che everything. However, he cautions Pei Che not to do anything until he asks for help himself.

Remembering the tea house manager who hired thugs to trouble him last time, Jiang Miao can’t help but shed a tear of sympathy for him. Before, he thought he couldn’t punish him, but since that incident, the tea house has been subjected to frequent official inspections. One moment, the year’s tax records are examined, another time, tea sources are claimed to be illicit. In just a few short days, they’ve faced five waves of authorities.

It’s also because the tea house manager himself is dishonest, and that’s how they discovered he had bought private tea. Salt, iron, and tea are all state-controlled commodities, crucially important to Dalian, and they never tolerate any smuggling or private transactions. The tea house was shut down, and many of its staff and storytellers were recruited by his rivals. When old man Meng, the storyteller, talked about the issue, he was quite emotional, saying that he did not expect that the tea house manager looked honest, but was such a bad character in private.

“It’s probably him. I didn’t realize it before, but later he kept asking about the steamed bun shop. That reminded me of what Uncle Zhang said before—that our neighbor Xiao Wu used to work alongside Daniu. Isn’t he the one who used to greet customers?”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll steal the seasonings and replicate them?”

“What a joke,” Jiang Miao says smugly, “If he could create a recipe just from those few spices, then it’s not an exaggeration to call him a cooking god. Besides, I haven’t even used some of the expensive ingredients in what I eat. If they can figure those out, I’ll gladly let them use my head as a ball.”

Pei Che has never liked such arrogant people, but seeing Jiang Miao behave this way, he finds it quite adorable.

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