Master chef **He Mingyu** suddenly finds herself transported back in time.
The Song Dynasty is flourishing—full of talented people, a strong economy, and prosperity everywhere. Unfortunately, her own circumstances are far from fortunate.
Her father is dead, her mother is ill, her younger brother is frail, and her little sister is little more than skin and bones. Worst of all, her heartless uncle has accepted a bride price of fifty taels and plans to bundle her off in three days to marry a wealthy landowner’s simple-minded son.
Looking at her shameless uncle and their drafty, crumbling house, He Mingyu sees darkness before her eyes:
**Move.
Immediately.
Move overnight!**
Pooling together everything the family owns, they finally squeeze into a tiny courtyard house in a poor alley of Bianjing, gaining a brief moment of peace.
To pay the rent due in six months, He Mingyu rolls up her sleeves and sets up a street food stall.
In spring, she steams delicate elm-seed buns.
In summer, she serves chilled plum juice with icy fish-and-lotus-root noodles.
In autumn, she grills spicy cold rabbit and pairs it with roasted jujube black tea.
In winter, she cures preserved fish and simmers rich lamb soup.
Through all four seasons, the He family’s little stall overflows with irresistible flavors.
Just as business begins to thrive, her black-hearted uncle hears the news and comes to smash up the stall and ruin everything.
Furious, He Mingyu drives away her troublesome relatives through clever schemes. From a humble food stall to a restaurant, and eventually to a famous chain of eateries known across the land, she is determined to carve out her own path in this world.
Xiao Huaiyuan spent his childhood living under others’ roofs. After years of hard study, he finally earns official honors and returns to Bianjing.
There, he discovers that the father who once claimed to be eternally devoted to his late mother now lives happily with a new wife and children. In the vast Xiao residence, there is no place left for him.
Leaving in anger, he collapses from injury and emotional turmoil.
When he awakens, he finds himself in a humble room. A young woman is carefully wiping the blood from his forehead.
It is a person he has never met, and a scene he has never witnessed:
A family relying on one another for survival. Four people sharing a single honey orange yet savoring it with contentment and joy.
Amid the smoke of daily life, with steam rising from rough pottery bowls, the bitterness in Xiao Huaiyuan’s heart slowly melts away.
Only then does he realize that all he truly desires in life is a bowl of hot soup waiting for him when he returns home.
### Mini-Theater
Everyone in the Court of Judicial Review knows the newly appointed Judge Xiao.
Young, stern, and taciturn, he is renowned for solving cases with uncanny skill. His cold demeanor earns him the nickname “The Cold-Faced Yama.”
Until one day, during a holiday, his colleagues spot him on Yiqiao Street.
At the bustling, fragrant Tonghe Restaurant, the fearsome Judge Xiao is—
Rolling up his sleeves and peeling garlic.
Even more shocking, Miss He casually dumps a basket of taro in front of him and complains:
“You’re so slow. Once you’re done peeling garlic, hurry up and peel these too!”
And the supposedly emotionless Judge Xiao merely smiles gently and replies:
“All right. You take a rest first—I’ll handle these.”
His colleagues:!!! Who am I? Where am I? What exactly am I looking at?!
