Chapter 24

Old Madam Tang’s eyebrows shot up as she gripped her cane tightly. “No problem. This old lady can sleep on the floor.”

She had to move to the county seat. That way, she could keep watch over her precious heart’s delight, Chu Lingyue, keep an eye on her hopelessly unreliable granddaughter, and enjoy delicious meals every day without all the tiresome back-and-forth travel. It was nothing short of multiple wins in one.

If that unlucky granddaughter dared object, she’d bring down the family law!

Tang Jin finally got it— no wonder they said the people took food as heaven. The old madam was going all out for the sake of good eats.

“Grandmother, how could I let you sleep on the floor? I’ll take the floor myself.”

Seeing that the old madam was dead set on it, Tang Jin had a flash of inspiration and agreed on the spot. This would let her split the bed right away.

It wouldn’t look suspicious at all. Everything would be for the sake of filial piety toward the old madam. What a good granddaughter she was.

Old Madam Tang was satisfied. “Then that’s settled.”

“What’s settled, Grandmother Tang? You’re here awfully early.” Tang Laidi yawned as she shuffled into the hall, having caught only the tail end of the conversation.

Old Madam Tang completely ignored Tang Laidi in the lead and fixed her gaze on Chu Lingyue behind her. “Lingyue, you’re up. This old lady’s going to be living with you all from now on.”

After sampling Chu Lingyue’s cooking a few times, she’d made up her mind never to lift a hand in the kitchen again.

Compared to Chu Lingyue, her own handiwork left her utterly without appetite.

Hearing the old madam say that, Chu Lingyue instinctively glanced at Tang Jin.

The old madam was moving to the county seat too?

And this person wasn’t refusing? So which of them would end up on the floor?

She couldn’t help thinking of Tang Jin’s increasingly restless sleeping habits and the way Tang Jin tiptoed around every morning so as not to disturb her. Vaguely, she understood something.

“Mm. Grandmother can stay with us from now on. I’ll sleep on the floor.” Tang Jin hurriedly made her position clear. This bed absolutely had to be divided.

Old Madam Tang turned to look at Tang Jin and smiled. “You’ve been able to rough it ever since you were little. You’re a filial child.”

With Chu Shaoyang eyeing Chu Lingyue so predatorily, the old madam rarely praised her unlucky granddaughter with a couple of kind words.

[Ding, reward: a plate of osmanthus glutinous rice lotus root.]

Tang Jin: “…”

A reward right now…

Which of the old madam’s statements had been a fib? Thinking she couldn’t rough it? Or that she wasn’t filial?

Recalling the original host’s temperament, Tang Jin figured it was the former.

The original host might have been lazy and unambitious, but she’d always listened obediently to the old madam.

Mainly because disobedience wasn’t an option— that cane could swing into action at any moment.

Tang Jin silently glanced at the goods shelf hanging in the void. It was now stocked with a full row, dazzling in variety and quite the sight.

One plate of Crispy Fried Fresh Milk, two pots of Garlic Honey Glazed Chicken Wings, one pot of Abalone Chicken Wing Stew, one steamer of Custard Buns, one plate of Black Pepper Beef Cubes, and one plate of Osmanthus Glutinous Rice Lotus Root.

With this much on hand, if she kept at it, she figured she could fill all five layers of the shelf in no time.

Today’s menu was no longer a worry.

At that thought, Tang Jin quietly lifted the corner of her mouth.

Just then, Old Madam Tang spoke up again. “Everyone’s awake? Then let’s have breakfast. Lingyue, I hate to trouble you.”

Chu Lingyue gave a faint smile. “No trouble at all.”

But Tang Jin couldn’t muster a smile. The dishes had piled up a little, sure, but if the old madam moved into the restaurant, there’d be three meals a day to dodge. These wouldn’t last long.

She sighed to herself and turned to Chu Lingyue. “Wife, let’s head to the kitchen.”

Chu Lingyue nodded and had just taken a step when the old madam declared in a voice full of vigor, “Lingyue can handle it. Tang Jin, you stay put.”

Her unlucky granddaughter really had no sense. That was an ancestral family craft— could she just tag along to watch?

The Tang family had to stay in their lane and know their limits.

Tang Jin went numb. Chu Lingyue to the kitchen? And her stuck behind?

No way that would fly.

But the excuse she’d fed the old madam earlier was already out there. How was she supposed to walk it back now?

Luckily, Chu Lingyue was quick on the uptake. With perfect poise, she said, “It’s no issue, Grandmother. With A-Jin helping out, it’ll go even faster.”

Old Madam Tang peered closely at Chu Lingyue for a moment. Seeing that she genuinely didn’t mind Tang Jin coming along, she let it drop.

Once Tang Jin and Chu Lingyue had gone off to the kitchen arm in arm, the old madam couldn’t help sighing to herself. Lingyue really was a good child. That unlucky granddaughter was blessed beyond measure and didn’t even know it…

She hadn’t even finished her sigh when Tang Laidi piped up. “Grandmother Tang, isn’t all the food made by Tang Jin?”

At those words, a sense of something off dawned on her too.

Why send Chu Lingyue to the kitchen while holding Tang Jin back?

Was the real cook not her little sister after all? Was it Chu Lingyue?

That didn’t fit. Chu Lingyue had always been busy out in the hall before, and Tang Jin was the one with the kitchen keys, going in and out.

Not to mention, the two of them had never been seen buying ingredients. Were they deliberately keeping it from her? Sneaking off to shop while she was out getting rice and wine?

It kind of made sense.

Tang Laidi was still puzzled, but Old Madam Tang’s heart skipped a beat. She’d been careless, forgetting there was an outsider present. That had been close.

“Ahem, well, while this old lady taught Tang Jin some of the Tang family ancestral recipes, the truly important secret formulas were passed only to Lingyue. You know how Tang Jin can be a bit scatterbrained. Lingyue’s the reliable one.”

Tang Laidi bought it completely and nodded with fervent agreement. “Grandmother Tang is so wise. This way, Tang Jin won’t be able to wrong Lingyue.”

As expected of the old madam, always thinking ahead. Her little sister was mooning over Chu Shaoyang all day— definitely scatterbrained.

Handing the key recipes to Chu Lingyue was a smart way to keep Tang Jin in line.

Old Madam Tang nodded calmly. Mm, exactly. She was always wise.

Betraying nothing on her face, she quietly breathed a sigh of relief deep down.

Goodness, after living this long, this was her first time spinning such a yarn to fool someone. Thank heavens Laidi was as straightforward as they came.

Otherwise, she would have been in a real pickle.

In the kitchen out back, Tang Jin plopped down on a stool the moment she walked in and opted for silence.

She had just one thought: as long as she didn’t pull dishes from the shelf right in front of Chu Lingyue— keeping that final veil of secrecy intact— no matter how shrewd Chu Lingyue was, she’d never figure out how the food materialized.

After all, who would ever guess at transmigration and a System? Even if she spelled it out, they’d be hard-pressed to believe it.

Especially since this woman didn’t buy a word of her wild stories anyway. Tang Jin simply gave up on damage control— no sense talking herself into more holes.

After a moment of mutual silence, Chu Lingyue eyed Tang Jin, who was steady as a rock, and said with thoughtful consideration, “Shouldn’t A-Jin get started on the cooking? I’ll go wait in the hall.”

Tang Jin arched a brow, a twinge of discomfort stirring inside her.

If Chu Lingyue acted suspicious, she’d worry. If Chu Lingyue was too accommodating, she worried even more.

“Wife, is there nothing you want to ask me?”

Like how she hadn’t bought any ingredients that morning at all, leaving the kitchen as empty as ever— so where was all this food coming from?

Wasn’t this woman the least bit curious?

Chu Lingyue was plenty curious, of course, her mind brimming with suspicions. But she’d promised not to pry or speak of it, and to play along…

“If I did ask, would A-Jin tell me the truth?”

Tang Jin: “…” Of course she wouldn’t.

She regretted letting that question slip. Talk about awkward.

“Wife, go keep Grandmother company in the hall. I’ll have the food ready and out in no time.”

Chu Lingyue lowered her gaze. Not asking was indeed the best course.

There was no foundation of trust between them anyway. This person’s words really were naively ridiculous…

Once Chu Lingyue had gone, Tang Jin looked over the dishes on the shelf, pulled out a pot of Garlic Honey Glazed Chicken Wings, paused thoughtfully for a moment, and headed back out.

This one pot counted as three servings. Food? This was fifteen taels of silver right here.

With the old madam living at the restaurant from now on, Tang Jin’s hands trembled as she carried the dish.

No good. Accumulating stock was easy enough, but it couldn’t withstand this rate of consumption.

She needed to find a way to make it back.

Meanwhile, the moment Chu Lingyue returned to the hall, she slipped out and bought back some porridge and steamed buns.

She had Tang Jin’s playbook down pat by now.

The chicken wings were succulent and tender, the honey glaze carrying a mild sweetness laced with a subtle garlic aroma— fragrant without being cloying.

For the moment, all four of them forgot to talk, focused only on shoveling in more bites.

Once Tang Jin was mostly full, she set down her chopsticks. “Grandmother, Laidi, Wife— I have a question for you all.”

The three of them looked up at her in unison.