Chapter 54

Qian Jianing’s restaurant almost never had leftovers. Whether à la carte or set meals, every diner would invariably clean their plate, scraping even the remaining sauce with their spoons if they could.

At Li Zhenhai’s previous birthday banquets, guests would usually eat a dish or two and then go over to toast him. But this time, the atmosphere was unusually quiet—everyone had their heads down, eating intently, barely saying a word. One of Li Zhenhai’s old subordinates, known for his strong self-control, used the lull between dishes to raise his glass and toast Li Zhenhai. But Li Zhenhai, happily eating steamed crab with orange sauce, waved him off without mercy. “Drinking takes up stomach space. Go back and eat.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two waiters brought out another tray of Wuxi-style ribs. The old subordinate didn’t hesitate—he turned right back, glass still in hand, picked up his chopsticks, and got ready to strike, aiming to grab the biggest rib of them all.

From noon to 1:30, over the course of an hour and a half, all fifteen tables had completely cleaned their plates. Even the post-meal fruit platters were entirely devoured.

Li Zhenhai, rubbing his round belly, tried to take a deep breath. “Hoo… hoo… someone help me up, I can’t move.”

Li Yujun, sitting at the table behind him, immediately got up to support his arm and helped him to his feet.

Qian Jianing came out with two servers carrying several pots of beverages. She raised an eyebrow in surprise upon seeing that half the guests were already on their feet. “I prepared some digestion-aiding drinks—no one wants any?”

The old man instantly plopped back into his seat. “Give me a pot first.”

Li Yujun looked at his now-empty hands helplessly, glancing at Li Zhenhai: Do you know how much effort it took me to get you up just now? And now you just sit back down like it’s nothing!

Li Zhenhai didn’t even spare his grandson a glance. He was too busy sipping the digestion-aiding drink Qian Jianing brought over. The drink had a sweet-sour taste, perfectly balanced so it wasn’t cloying or overly tart. It had a slight cooling sensation, like a catalyst that made it easy to gulp down a whole glass without even realizing it.

Li Zhenhai had thought his stomach was already full to the neck, but somehow he managed to drink a full cup. After a satisfied burp, he rubbed his belly. Maybe it was just psychological, but he felt less bloated than before.

“You should’ve brought this stuff out before the meal. I could’ve eaten two more dishes.”

Qian Jianing smiled, her eyes curving. “Eating too much can cause indigestion. Today’s meal was already a bit over the top.” She paused, not finishing the thought. Because of the cultural belief in abundance, she had prepared more than enough—enough for ten people to leave a little of everything. But to her surprise, they had finished it all.

Also surprised was Wang Chenchen. She had actually brought a bunch of containers from her grandfather’s house, ready to pack leftovers. But now there was nothing left—not even cake. As for the 81-tier peach-shaped birthday buns, the old man had already declared he was taking all of them home to freeze and eat slowly. He never intended to share.

After sipping her drink, Wang Chenchen smelled the lingering aroma from the clay pot and felt she could eat a little more. Staring at the now-empty Buddha Jumps Over the Wall jar, she made a solemn decision. “Big brother, I think I don’t need my New Year’s money doubled. Can I trade it for a jar of Jianing’s Buddha Jumps Over the Wall?”

Li Yujun glanced sideways at her, holding his glass. “Even if I doubled your money, you couldn’t buy a jar of Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.” Seeing her little face fall instantly, he couldn’t help teasing her for once. “Well, I suppose it’s not impossible. I could give you two bowls, tops.”

“You’re so stingy,” Wang Chenchen grumbled. “You ate the most today! I served you a full bowl earlier, and when there was just one spoonful of soup left, you couldn’t even give me half. No sibling love at all!”

Li Yujun tapped the table twice with his left index finger and offered a suggestion. “If you don’t like that deal, maybe you can ask your second brother to treat you.”

Wang Chenchen’s eyes lit up instantly as she turned toward Li Yujing with a sycophantic smile. “Second Brother!”

Li Yujing took a sip of the drink and smiled sincerely at her. “With my rank and salary, I really can’t afford Buddha Jumps Over the Wall. Maybe ask your third brother instead.”

Third brother Li Yufeng stroked his chin. “Why should I treat you? What’s in it for me? How about you work at my company during winter break?”

While the older brothers took turns teasing Wang Chenchen, over on the other side, Zhang Renze was marveling at the digestion-aiding drink.

“It’s got dried tangerine peel, hawthorn, malt, sprouted barley…” Zhang Renze tried hard to identify the ingredients, but even after a long while, could only name a few.

Qian Jianing smiled. “Though this drink aids digestion, it’s still a beverage, so taste matters. I added a few types of fruit juice that also help digestion. This way, it not only aids in breaking down food, relieving stagnation, and warming the stomach, but it also tastes great.”

Li Zhenhai gave Qian Jianing a surprised glance, suddenly recalling that Zhang Renze had mentioned consulting her about medicine. He couldn’t help asking, “Mr. Zhang, you said this young lady is quite skilled in medicine—is that true?”

Zhang Renze smiled. “Her master was exceptional, and her training was thorough. I only realized how shallow my own knowledge was after reading her notes.” He paused and looked at Qian Jianing with curiosity. “But I don’t know the full extent of her abilities. She’s never treated anyone.”

Qian Jianing flashed a charming smile with her dimples showing. “I charge a lot. No one’s ever paid enough for me to make a move.”

Everyone laughed warmly. No one took her seriously—after all, in traditional Chinese medicine, theory alone isn’t enough. It takes years of hands-on experience. Even if she had studied hard, her ability to diagnose might not be reliable.

After drinking the digestion-aiding tea, Li Zhenhai felt less bloated and stood up, leaning on the table. Li Yujun helped him into the car, then he and his brothers saw all the guests off before returning to settle the bill with Qian Jianing.

After deducting the deposit, there was still over ten thousand yuan to pay. But thinking of the exceptional dishes and unforgettable Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, Li Yujun felt it was money well spent.

Qian Jianing took the thick wad of cash, counted it once, and placed it in the cash box behind her. “Do you need a receipt?”

Li Yujun paused—this was the first time a restaurant had asked him that.

Seeing he wasn’t planning on getting one, Qian Jianing smiled. “Then we look forward to your next visit.”

Li Yujun nodded. After a few steps, he suddenly turned around. “If I want to eat here again, can I reserve in advance?”

“Sorry—” Qian Jianing had only said a few words when Li Yujun pulled out another wad of cash. “I can leave a deposit.”

Qian Jianing immediately lit up with a radiant smile. She grabbed a notebook from the kitchen window, wrote a receipt and a phone number. “This is my number. Best time to call is between 9 and 10 p.m. Too early and I might still be working out front; too late and it’ll disturb my rest.”

“Alright, thank you.” Li Yujun glanced at the number on the paper, nodded politely. “See you next time, Miss Qian.” He folded the paper neatly and slipped it into his pocket before heading out.

Li Xiaoyu walked into the kitchen carrying a tall stack of bowls. Watching Li Yujun disappear through the gate, she couldn’t help but sigh, “That man’s really handsome, though he looks so cold it’s scary to even glance at him.”

Qian Jianing didn’t care in the slightest about whether men were handsome or not. To her, no man was more reliable than Chairman Mao. Earning more renminbi was the real deal.

Li Xiaoyu and Wang Yahan stacked the bowls in the kitchen, ready to wash them. But Qian Jianing waved them off. “You won’t get them clean enough. Just stack them here.”

“We can clean them properly,” Li Xiaoyu said, feeling a little sorry for her. “Jianing-jie, you’ve already worked for hours. Let us wash them—I promise we’ll get them sparkling clean.”

Qian Jianing forced a stiff smile. Glancing at the mountain of dishes, she quickly shook her head.

How much does it cost in water bills to wash hundreds of dishes? And doesn’t dishwashing liquid cost money too? If there’s a free dishwasher that doesn’t use water or electricity, anyone who still spends money must be a fool.

Without giving them a chance to argue, Qian Jianing pushed the two of them out. “I’m a clean freak and obsessive-compulsive. Don’t mess with me. Hurry up, clean yourselves up and go home. You have to come back to work this afternoon.”

Li Xiaoyu and Wang Yahan exchanged helpless glances, quickly gathered the dishes from the private room, said goodbye to Qian Jianing, and thoughtfully closed the main door for her on their way out.

Once everything was put away in the dishwashing cabinet, the front courtyard was instantly restored to its clean and tidy state. Both Qian Jianing and the Treasure Bowl sighed in unison, “Think how much water we’re saving—this thing is amazing!”

After hosting a birthday banquet, Qian Jianing’s home-style cuisine restaurant suddenly exploded in popularity. The name of “Qian Xiaomi’s Private Kitchen” became a highly sought-after dining destination for high society in the Imperial Capital, known for its exorbitant prices and unforgettable flavors. Especially the noblewomen, who always brought up which dish at Qian Xiaomi’s Private Kitchen was the tastiest, or which one was good for beauty and complexion. In their eyes, dining there was proof of their wealth and status.

Wang Chenchen’s father held a high position and regularly interacted with powerful people. After overhearing a few such conversations, Wang Chenchen excitedly told Qian Jianing, “Sis, you’ve made it! I heard someone came with a stack of cash trying to buy Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from you, but you refused because they didn’t book in advance? Jianing, you’re amazing! That dish costs hundreds, and you just turned them down like that!”

Qian Jianing looked frustrated as she replied, “Of course! Where was I supposed to pull a Buddha Jumps Over the Wall from without a reservation? That dish takes three days to stew! I could tell he wasn’t serious about buying.”

Regardless, Qian Jianing’s home-style cuisine restaurant had become one of the trendiest spots in the capital. She thoughtfully rubbed her chin, considering whether to launch a few more premium specialty dishes. She figured her customers weren’t scared off by high prices—they were actually afraid the prices weren’t high enough to match their status.
—

Time flew by, and Qian Jianing was soon facing her first university final exam. Since the school’s textbooks didn’t quite align with what the Daoist Master of Medicine had taught her—and because she’d skipped most classes—she spent an hour the night before skimming through all the textbooks. Then she packed her exam supplies and went to bed.

Traditional Chinese Medicine had a lot of required courses, so the exams were packed one after another. When she received the test paper, she quickly wrote her name and dove right in. To her, the content was as easy as kindergarten math—simple enough not to even think about. Even the long-answer questions at the end were finished within half an hour.

The exams were so easy and quick for her that she didn’t even bother closing her restaurant. As soon as she turned in her paper, she rode her bike home and opened the shop just in time for lunch.

She juggled both for four straight days, and after the last exam, she called Li Wanzhen and invited the family to spend Chinese New Year in the Imperial Capital.

Ever since Old Lady Qian moved in with her third son Qian Guocheng, she had been living a miserable life. Not only did she have to do all the housework and laundry for herself, but also for Qian Guocheng. Li Jie, on the other hand, completely ignored Qian Guocheng and wouldn’t even let the old lady into her room. In Li Jie’s eyes, Qian Guocheng was just a tool she used to break free from her vampiric parents. She felt that bearing him a son was repayment enough—anything more was out of the question.

Li Jie had zero respect for the narrow-minded Old Lady Qian. Seeing her only reminded Li Jie of her own parents, who doted on her brother and treated the sisters like livestock. So if the old lady dared to scold her, Li Jie would curse her out tenfold; if she so much as laid a hand on her, Li Jie would scratch her face up. The only reason she fed her three meals a day was for the fifty yuan pension the old woman brought in. There was no way she’d live like they did in Qian Guomao’s house with lavish meals.

Even so, the old lady never suggested going back to her eldest son’s home. She figured if she left, no one would take care of her youngest son—too pitiful. Her life was hard, and Qian Guocheng did nothing but ask her for money. Within just a few years, she aged dramatically, her back permanently hunched. Yet she still clung to her victim act with Qian Guosheng, pestering him every time they met to help out and look after his younger brother.

Luckily, before heading to college, Qian Jianing had warned Qian Guosheng repeatedly, and Li Wanzhen tightly controlled the finances. That’s the only reason the old lady’s schemes didn’t succeed. Qian Guosheng was already sick of the old lady’s antics. Besides giving her the monthly pension, he avoided going home, always saying he was too busy with business.

With Chinese New Year about a month away, Qian Guosheng was already dreading the thought of going home for just three days. Right then, Qian Jianing called Li Wanzhen, telling her she’d bought a house and opened a home-style cuisine restaurant, and invited them to come celebrate in the Imperial Capital.

To Qian Guosheng and Li Wanzhen, the Imperial Capital was like a holy land. Even when Qian Jianing got into college there, they didn’t dare visit. It felt like a place out of reach for ordinary folk.

“Can we really go to the Imperial Capital?” Li Wanzhen asked nervously, both excited and unsure. “We’re just regular people…”

“Mom!” Qian Jianing said with a helpless smile. “Who says regular folks can’t go to the capital? Once you’re here, I’ll even take you to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. Pack your bags and come quickly!”

In the Qian family, whatever Qian Jianing said was law. As soon as the call ended, Li Wanzhen told Qian Guosheng to buy train tickets. Qian Jiafeng hugged his now-slimmer round face, nearly in tears with excitement. “I’m finally going to see my sister!”

Qian Jianing estimated their arrival based on the ticket date—about a week. As she eagerly waited, a well-dressed middle-aged man arrived at the restaurant after closing, walked into the main hall, and politely extended his hand. “Excuse me, are you Miss Qian Jianing?”

Qian Jianing raised an eyebrow, picked up a towel from the prep station and wiped her hands, not returning the handshake. “Sorry, my hands are greasy. What do you want?”

“I heard Miss Qian can cure cancer?”

Qian Jianing gave a slight smile and tossed the towel back on the counter. “You’re overthinking. I’m just a college freshman—I haven’t even learned the four diagnostic methods yet.”

“One million! If you can cure it, I’ll pay one million!”

Qian Jianing was stunned. So treating illnesses was more lucrative than running a restaurant?

Seeing her hesitation, the man clenched his teeth. “One and a half million. I’ll pay five hundred thousand up front, whether it works or not—it’s yours.”

Half a million as a deposit—added to her savings, it would be enough to buy a Life Extension Talisman.

But remembering the promise she made to the Daoist Master of Medicine when she started learning, Qian Jianing forced herself to calm her racing heart. She looked coldly at the suited man. “I need to see the patient first. If they’ve done evil or committed serious crimes, I won’t treat them—no matter how much you pay.”

The man looked at her, stunned. “My father’s always been a good man—never done anything wrong. But how do you tell? Are you going to send someone to investigate? He doesn’t have much time left!”

Qian Jianing gave him a look as if he were naive. “Of course I’ll judge by their facial features. It’s part of the four diagnostic methods. I’m only talking to you this long because you seem kind-hearted—otherwise, I’d have kicked you out already.”

The man scratched the back of his head in confusion. “You can tell all that just by looking at someone’s face?”