Synopsis
Chef He Mingyu transmigrated all of a sudden. The Song Dynasty was full of talented people, and the country was rich and its people were strong, but she was not very lucky—
Her father had died early, her mother was sick, and her young brother and weak sister were thin and bony. Her black-hearted eldest uncle actually wanted to tie her up and marry her to the landlord’s foolish son in three days, all for a fifty-tael betrothal gift!
Looking at her conscienceless eldest uncle, and the broken house with wind leaking from all four sides…
He Mingyu’s eyes went dark:
Move! Move immediately!! Move overnight!!!
The young and old of the family exhausted everything they had, and finally squeezed into a small courtyard in a shabby alley of Bianjing City, gaining a brief moment of stability.
To pay the rent for the second half of the year, He Mingyu rolled up her sleeves and set up a food stall.
In spring, she picked elm money to steam cicada-wing buns; in summer, she mixed plum soup to pair with iced fish lotus root noodles; in autumn, she roasted “cold rabbit” and drank burnt jujube black tea; in winter, she cured fish and simmered delicious mutton soup. Throughout the four seasons, the He family’s small stall offered endless flavors.
Seeing the business flourishing day by day, her black-hearted eldest uncle actually rushed over after hearing the news, attempting to smash the pots and overturn the stall?
Anger rose from her heart, and she used a strategy to drive away the bizarre relatives. From a small stall to an eatery, and then to a world-famous chain restaurant, she was determined to carve out a way to survive in this world!
Xiao Huaiyuan had lived under someone else’s roof since childhood. He studied hard at the cold window and finally achieved fame. However, after returning to Bianjing, he was shocked to find that the father who was once “deeply attached and unable to forget” his late mother already had a charming wife in the hall and children surrounding his knees. In the huge Xiao Mansion, there was no longer a place for him to stand.
Departing in anger, his blood and qi rushed to his heart, and he collapsed to the ground with severe injuries. When he opened his eyes again, he saw only a humble room, and a young girl was carefully wiping the corner of his forehead.
This was a person he had never seen before, and a scene he had never seen before:
The young and old of the family depended on each other for life. A single tangerine was shared among four people, yet they ate it with great relish, contentment, and harmony.
Amidst the curling smoke of cooking, the steam billowed in the coarse pottery bowl, which actually made the stagnation in Xiao Huaiyuan’s heart suddenly clear up. Only then did he realize that what he sought in this life was nothing more than a bowl of hot soup kept for him.
【Little Theater】
It was rumored throughout the Court of Judicial Review that the newly appointed Reviewer Xiao was young but cold-faced and taciturn, deciding cases like a god, making people look at him with awe.
Until one rest day, a colleague was shocked to see Lord Xiao, who was known as the “Cold-Faced Yama”, at the fragrant Tonghe Restaurant on Yiqiao Street, actually rolling up his sleeves and…
Deftly peeling garlic?!
What was even more shocking was that the young mistress He casually moved a basket of taro over and chided, “So slow, come and peel these after you finish!”
Yet the Reviewer Xiao, who was rigid and unsmiling in their eyes, actually had gentle eyes and a smile at the corner of his lips: “Alright, you rest first, I will handle these.”
Colleague: !!! Who am I, where am I, what did I see?!!
【Reading Tips】
Alternate history Song Dynasty, a bunch of private settings, do not scrutinize~
Gourmet business, the warm life of ordinary folks, there is an emotional line, slight ensemble cast;
Marketplace shopkeeper × eighth-rank minor official, clever and optimistic “wonderful-handed chef” × outwardly cold and inwardly warm “Cold-Faced Yama”
