"Are you the manager here?"
"Yes. Is there something I can help you with?"
"My surname is Yu."
Zhao Ger remembered—Feng momo had mentioned him once. The Yu family apparently had a son who'd fallen off a horse a few years ago and ended up bedridden. But "bedridden" didn't quite fit—he couldn't speak or move. Fang Zichen had been there at the time and said it was a vegetative state.
Zhao Ger had no idea what a "vegetative state" meant until Fang Zichen explained it.
Old Master Yu had only two sons, and the one now paralyzed was his favorite. He'd tried everything for him. Last time he'd come to the shop, he said a fortune-teller told him he needed a girl with an auspicious face to bring good fortune through marriage, and that would cure his son. Who did he have in mind? Yao Yatou.
[丫頭 (yātou): lit. fork-head (referring to the twin-bun hairstyle of young unmarried girls in ancient China); fig. a casual, affectionate term for a young girl, daughter, or maidservant.]
Yao Yatou was pretty enough. She worked in the kitchen and wanted nothing more than to settle down peacefully in the Fang household, so she had willingly signed herself over to Zhao Ger. Since she was now one of the family, Feng momo had taught her all about the spice blends and everything else that went into their cooking.
But she'd been too busy—after mornings in the kitchen, she'd help out front. Somehow, Old Master Yu had noticed her, even brought a Taoist priest along to say her face was auspicious enough to bring luck to his son—and he wanted to marry her off to his son.
Now he'd brought it up again. That evening, Zhao Ger told Fang Zichen: "Old Master Yu said if we agree, he'll give us fifty taels of silver. He also has three properties on West Street and has connections with influential people. If we agree, he'll look out for us and treat Yao Yatou well. She'd be the young mistress of the household, with twenty taels a month for spending money."
Zhao Ger let out a snort. Fang Zichen looked at him. "Something wrong with that?"
"Old Master Yu probably doesn't know who I really am." Since coming to Hezhou, Zhao Ger had stayed mostly in the village, where everyone knew him—but the townsfolk in Hezhou City had rarely seen him.
When Fang Zichen first arrived, he hadn't made a name for himself yet, and Xie Xiaoyu's shop had stayed "low-key." Customers just assumed he was an outsider, and the family was careful not to let anyone know they were connected to the prefect—they'd sneak back to the residence at night, hoods over their heads and faces covered, and nobody really paid them much attention anyway. After a year, no one outside had any idea who really stood behind the braised-meat shop.
"The servant who came with Old Master Yu today smelled of braised meat, and there were grease stains on his sleeves and chest."
The smell was different from their shop's recipe—Zhao Ger could tell.
And as for where the stains were—when wearing an apron and chopping meat, grease sometimes splatters up around the collar. The aprons other people wore were similar to the ones Zhao Ger had made under Fang Zichen's guidance, but theirs only covered to the chest, leaving the neck and sleeves exposed. Occasionally, grease would get on those spots too.
Zhao Ger knew something was off at once.
Twenty taels a month for pocket money—in the capital, that was nothing, not even enough for a box of rouge. But in Hezhou City, even the Wang family wasn't that lavish.
When Old Master Yu said it, he spoke loudly, clearly intending for Yao Yatou to hear. And he'd promised fifty taels on top. If Zhao Ger were a real businessman, selling a maid for that price would have made him jump at the deal on the spot.
But Zhao Ger didn't agree. He saw Old Master Yu out, then asked Yao Yatou what she thought. She said she didn't want to marry—she wanted to stay. She belonged to the Zhujun for life and wouldn't leave.
So Zhao Ger made up his mind. He sent someone to look into it, and found out that Old Master Yu's family was in the food business too—they ran two inns and, right across the street from their roast duck shop, a cooked-food store as well.
Business was good at first, but later on, they just couldn't compete with that roast duck shop.
Yao Yatou was always busy in the kitchen, so she naturally smelled strongly of braised meat. Old Master Yu must have heard something and, since he couldn't figure out the braised meat recipe himself, decided to make a move on Yao Yatou. But early on, he'd noticed that Xie Xiaoyu and Feng momo treated them well—sometimes when lunch was busy, Xie Xiaoyu and the others would just take their bowls outside to eat, with a plate of braised meat on the counter for anyone to grab from. Eating from the same plate like that—that meant they treated them as family.
Old Master Yu naturally didn't dare to treat them lightly after that, so he came bearing what he called "sincerity." Sure, it was under the guise of a marriage to ward off bad luck, but he made it clear—once she crossed the threshold, she'd be the young mistress of the house, with twenty taels a month to spend however she liked. They could rest assured.
Zhao Ger wasn't foolish. He'd more or less guessed Old Master Yu's scheme the moment he saw the grease stains on his servant's clothes.
If Yao Yatou really went over as a bride to ward off bad luck, she'd become part of the Yu family. Even if she refused to tell them how to make the braised meat, the Yu family would pressure her, and they didn't believe she could stay tight-lipped.
"Then turn him down," Fang Zichen said.
Old Master Yu's face turned ashen after being rejected. He even asked Zhao Ger if he thought the silver offered was too little, or if he was afraid they'd treat Yao Yatou badly—that it could all be negotiated.
Zhao Ger made up an excuse.
Seeing that the other side absolutely wouldn't budge and truly didn't seem willing to marry Yao Yatou off, Old Master Yu turned to look at her. This shop treated its servants well—if the girl herself was willing, they probably wouldn't stop her. But Yao Yatou's face was expressionless. When Zhao Ger turned down the offer, she didn't show a trace of anxiety or disappointment. Old Master Yu realized she didn't want to be the young mistress either. Hah, just a servant girl, and she looked down on the position of mistress of the Yu family? Quite arrogant, wasn't she!
Old Master Yu stormed off in a huff.
Yao Yatou slowly unclenched her fists, which she'd been gripping tight the whole time. Only after Old Master Yu disappeared through the door did she walk up to Zhao Ger and bow deeply: "Thank you, Zhujun."
Zhao Ger helped her up: "No need to thank family."
Yao Yatou's face showed a hint of struggle. After deliberating for a long while, she finally said slowly: "Old Master Yu offered money."
Fifty taels!
Who wouldn't be tempted by that?
Zhao Ger patted her shoulder: "If he were a decent man and you were willing, I'd even chip in silver myself and let you go. But if he's got ulterior motives and you're not willing, then even if he offered me a chest of gold, I still wouldn't agree."
Yao Yatou felt her eyes sting and burn. She stared at him fixedly, then lowered her gaze, forcing back the tears threatening to spill: "Zhujun and the young master are just the same!"
Just as good.
Always making her heart feel warm.
She thought that would be the end of it, but over the next few days, the shop suddenly had no customers at all.
Business plummeted. The weather was warming up now, and any food made the day before would go sour overnight—they lost a good amount. It happened so suddenly. That morning when they opened, Feng momo and the others braised several pots of large intestines, duck necks, and duck feet as usual, and made over ten roast ducks too. But the whole day, only a handful of customers trickled in. Wasn't that strange? After all, the shop offered a wide variety of foods and had always attracted crowds—before this, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was packed to the brim.
But now there was barely anyone, and it stayed that way for several days straight.
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