Chapter 4: The Profiteering Mother Who Sells Her Daughters (3)

“I’m sorry, I’m not interested in an interview! Thank you very much!” The woman hung up the phone impatiently and leaned against a table in the middle of the restaurant. As the afternoon sun made her feel lazy and tired, a small fan cast a gentle breeze above her head.

Though the restaurant was small, its decor was rather specific. Neatly displayed in the center of the eatery were 6 round wooden tables carved from their original stumps, giving it an eclectic aesthetic. There was also a small courtyard and a functioning well just outside the restaurant. On the side was a lush plot of unknown green plants and vegetables. A wind chime was hung just above the door entrance, making a clear and crisp sound with the slightest breeze.

Although it was the middle of the afternoon, the stone construction material ensured that the building did not feel scorching hot. A dark fan hung on the ceiling, churning a light breeze. An air conditioning unit sat against the side, with a cover placed over it. It seemed hardly used. The tableware consisted of a set of neatly arranged blue and white porcelain and a pair of wooden chopsticks, giving each table a simple and clean look.

From the outside, the restaurant was hardly noticeable. It required one to push through the doors just to find the restaurant’s sign on the entrance, which, printed in clear writing: Golden Autumn Eatery.

That’s right! She was currently the legendary boss lady “Auntie Autumn,” whose local eatery churned out a storm in everyone’s social media thanks to a certain food critic. Of course, Dan Jingqiu was completely ignorant of that particular nickname, or she would have grabbed her sharp meat cleaver and demanded blood from those bastards who dared call her AUNTIE!

When she had arrived in this world, Dan Jingqiu had spent half the month recovering from her sickness. During that time, she carefully went over the previous host’s dying wishes, which was also her main mission’s objective: The original host wished for her daughters to be happy and for them to know that their mother deeply loves all of them. So this was not a short-term mission.

After carefully combing through the host’s limited memories, she realized that the Jin family started out with an exceptionally harmonious relationship. In the end, a large part of the tragedy that befell the Jin family’s three sisters originated from the passing of her husband, which led to their financial downfall, as well as the meddling of the twisted Female Lead.

To avoid deviating from the requests set by the original host while dealing with the impending tragedy of the original storyline, she had to give up any long-term plans and find the quickest solution.

Unfortunately, before reincarnating in this world, Dan Jingqiu was only an ordinary white-collar worker, so she did not have many powerful abilities to turn things around.

Fortunately for her, before the garbage System faked its death and pre-deducted points from her, she was able to obtain her novice points, which she used in the System’s shop to buy the cheapest skills.

Thinking back on the purchasable skills that were listed in ascending order still renders her speechless.

Stuff like ‘Calligraphy.Beginner Level,’ or ‘Drawing.Beginner Level,’ or ‘Chess.Beginner Level’… Heaven only knows what ‘Drive. Beginner Level’ does.

While browsing through the endless list of skills, she just Couldn’t.See.Straight.Anymore! (TL wants to just use this emoji (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻)

However, she knew which skills could alleviate one from poverty. As they say, hunger breeds discontentment, and so she chose the skill, ‘Cooking.Beginner Level.’ Worse comes to worst; she could always push a food cart and sell snacks to help contribute to the family’s living costs.

Perhaps this was the so-called ‘light at the end of the tunnel,’ or maybe it was the garbage System’s final act of goodwill, but the ‘Cooking.Beginner Level’ skill was so much more impressive than she had initially thought.

All the skills in the System’s shop were divided into 3 levels: High, Mid, and Beginner. There were obviously skills that sounded powerful based on their names alone, and those skills would be further subdivided into lower-tier skills.

According to Dan Jingqiu’s experimentation and speculation, her ‘Cooking.Beginner Level’ skill would be considered as a “Specialization in Home Cooking.” At higher levels, this skill would likely allow her to master high-end delicacies.

Even so, every time she tasted her own home-cooked meal, she could automatically hear the BGM of the anime, ‘Chinese Cooking Master Boy’ playing in her head, as if she were chasing after the unlimited flavors of the world that leaves one addicted and wanting more.

So when her body recovered, she and her daughter, Lingzhu, bought over a restaurant previously called the “Golden Maiden Eatery,” which later became the “Golden Autumn Eatery.” Luckily, the previous host’s husband, Jin Youchen, had decent cooking skills. He was the one who prepared all of the family’s meals, and after she fell ill, it was Lingzhu who was in charge of the meals at home and for their hospital meals. So when Dan Jingqiu exhibited exceptional cooking skills, the three daughters just assumed that it was one of their mother’s talents that no one had previously discovered.

Back then, they were an army of four ladies, and no one anticipated that the small eatery would later progress to this stage.

“Mom, all 6 tables are booked again tonight. President Wang will be bringing people over to the private VIP room.” Jin Lingzhu walked out from behind the kitchen counter and adjusted her apron. She leaned against her mother, who was sitting lazily, daydreaming on the side. Though she knew that her mother did not want to listen to this update, she still mercilessly revealed it.

Yup, upon hearing this news, it was as if Dan Jingqiu grew a pair of puppy ears on the top of her head. Her whole being exuded an aura of frustration. Though she heard what Lingzhu said, she did not acknowledge it, as if she could escape the busy night had she just pretended it did not exist.

Upon seeing her mother, Jin Lingzhu’s gentle face unconsciously grinned.

Her mother seemed younger these days, always acting wilful and cute. They say as people age, the more childish they become, but her mother was not even old, and she was already acting like a spoiled child.

But she did not find it annoying.

After her father passed away, Lingzhu was overwhelmed. Back then, even her father’s partner and main chef that started out the business with him also left. Her own cooking skills did not match up to the regulars’ expectations, and it became a struggle to make ends meet.

With unmarried sisters who recently entered college, Lingzhu had once felt the burden to be unbearable. Before her father passed away, her mother often nagged for her to find a capable man with a car and house. And hopefully help her younger sisters financially… because even she was unconsciously led to believe this was the way things should be, that it would be nice if there were such a person around to help her.

There was once a time when Jin Lingzhu thought she had such a person in her life, and that was Wang Qimeng.

However, that unrealistic dream long ended when her father laid on his deathbed.

Not long after her father passed, Lingzhu heard that Wang Qimeng had undergone many matchmaking sessions under his mother’s orders, and while she was busy taking care of her mother, she heard that he had gotten married. It was impossible for her to be ignorant. After all, Madam Wang wanted everyone to know how smart she was, and her decision to not let her precious son get mixed up with that loser Lingzhu girl was announced far and wide.

Lychee Street was a small alley.

The soundproofing between the old buildings was poor.

All sounds coming from the Wang family next door were loud and clear, and every time she dragged her exhausted body back home, she could hear these words passing through their doors.

“Hehe, Old Man Wang, see how brilliant I am for finding that new daughter-in-law? Her parents intend to give our son a down payment for a house. Other people can’t even dream about saving for a down payment in their lifetime!”

“Look here; our daughter-in-law is such a rare find. Our son can save himself at least 20 years of hard work!”

“Our precious daughter-in-law doesn’t even need us to help her with living expenses, and in the future, all her inheritance will belong to our grandchildren!”

…

Lingzhu knew that every single sentence was a jab at her.

She was really upset back then. There was even a point where she wished she could find a rich man to marry so that she could walk proudly down their street, and face Madam Wang and say, ‘Look. I, Lingzhu, am a caring and devoted person that could not be bothered with your useless son.’

And she almost walked down the wrong path.

But her mother, who raised her with these beliefs, suddenly changed.

She would drag Lingzhu and station her in the restaurant. Then, she would go to the wholesale market early in the morning to brave the crowds and buy the cheapest and freshest vegetables. Not even a radish would change hands without careful consideration. The previously vain and proud mother, who used to be arrogant because they had a small business, would even run out of their restaurant to offer samples, wipe down tables, and do dishes. Over time, she lost her chubby frame and became as skinny as Lingzhu.

But this daily bustle gradually put Lingzhu’s overwhelmed and wavering heart at ease, grounding her bit by bit.

Lingzhu remembered how they would bust their butts every day until 8-9 PM. When her younger sister got out of class, the four of them would clear the place up until it was close to 10 PM. When Madam Wang began spreading her slew of unkind words, her mother would march up to their house. With one hand supporting her hip, and another flapping her fan, she would holler against the tightly shut door:

“Say, is it just me or our society is failing our youngsters. To think there are so many men who are afraid of hard work and enjoy being sugar babies~ All these man children~”

“Even thieves know that they will be imprisoned if they get caught stealing, so why do today’s men find it so glorious when they leech off another family’s wealth?”

“Hehe, if this were ancient times, men who look for a wife to provide for a house and car are doing the opposite of what tradition dictates! Somehow, modern times redefined this behavior, so now men were getting praised if they know how to scam money! The way I see, they all lack a spine!”

She even took a line from the lyrics of >*: “I’d say he’s quite vicious, to take advantage of another’s kindness and cheat them of their money! Feeling so proud that he found a wife who hands him money to buy a house~” Her song was out of tune, but she sang it louder and louder, without a shred of shame.

If Madam Wang showed herself, her mother would scoff in a higher octave: “What? Why are you getting all mad when I am just talking about men who are sugar babies? Are you saying your Ah Meng is a sugar baby?! Oh no! I never thought your Ah Meng was THAT kind of person!”

Those unkind words that used to stress out Jin Lingzhu’s heart were slowly soothed over by her mother’s rebukes, and eventually, she could not help but laugh at her mother’s singing.

When the restaurant’s business improved, her mother’s lazy attitude returned, and she did everything in her power to reduce the long line of customers. At first, she repeatedly raised the price, but it did not deter the customers, and later, the Golden Autumn Eatery came up with these strange rules——

(1) The restaurant opens at 5:30 every evening, (2) only 6 tables and 1 private room will be serviced (must be reserved), and (3) menu items are on the blackboard (no personal requests accepted).

Despite the 3 demanding rules, business was still booming, so much so that when a public account wrote a headline, the reservation waitlist had reached 4 months.

The income generated by a restaurant with expensive fare and limited-seating exceeded many people’s expectations. While managing the family’s accounts, Lingzhu was surprised to find that they were even able to recover the savings spent on their late father’s medical fees and had accumulated a hefty deposit.

That day, she happily took the ledger over and told her mother. Her mother was slowly gathering up the ingredients needed for that night and replied without turning her head.

“At first, I took your father’s death really hard. He left without warning and without leaving anything behind. What’s the point of love? The four of us need to be fed, and all of you need to continue school, marry, have weddings. Will love pay for any of that? We lacked nothing but money in our lives, but this little bit of money was enough to ruin this family!”

“I was also foolish. I thought this could all be fixed if I just find rich men for all of you! Now I’m not trying to be biased because I am your mother, but Wang Yuhong really pissed me off that time. My daughter is amazing! What gave her the right to criticize you? Even if she wanted to complain, she is not allowed to criticize you. And this was all because our family lacked money!”

“But what do we do when we don’t have money? Do I sell the three of you off for money? I really thought it was a good idea back then. Won’t it be nice to find rich men for all three of you?”

“But thanks to Wang Yuhong, I refuse to let it go. My daughters are all so good. Why should they be bullied by the likes of her? I want to save lots of money for the three of you so that you can all have a grand wedding. Just find yourself a guy you like, proudly bring him in front of me, and tell me that you fancy him! As long as they are sincere towards you, I will take care of the money. I don’t need to sell my daughters for money!”

“Find someone like your father. Back then, I blamed him for not growing old with me, but we cared for each other deeply and never fought a day in our marriage. So I thought to myself: What if my daughters settled for a man they were not satisfied with for the sake of money? I only hope the three of you will find someone you like and not be bullied. If, at any point, you feel unhappy with your lives, just come back to my side! In this world, your mother will always support you! My daughters are the best, and that’s the truth!”

…

That day, Dan Jingqiu spoke a lot, and every word was carved deeply into Lingzhu’s heart.

From that moment on, all her negative thoughts had disappeared without a trace.

See, I have a mother who loves me the most. She is a profiteer, but she only wanted her daughters to find a man they like the most.

No matter right or wrong, she would stand protectively by my side.

“For tonight’s reservations, there is a new customer among those 6 tables, a Miss Fang. The rest are regulars. Mom, here’s the reservation book, look over it later. I already asked ahead, and there are no restrictions in flavors. What menu items do you want?”

“Mm, pick between the Mushroom Duck Soup and Lotus Root Pig Tripe Soup, then add Stir Fry Pork, Braised Meats, Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs… Let’s start with those. Pick a few dishes from the expensive menu, in case they just want to eat the expensive stuff…”

Dan Jingqiu, who, until just now, pretended that she was deaf to the idea of work, quickly picked up the menu and then swiftly disappeared into the kitchen to make the preparations.

Seeing her mother’s instant recovery, Lingzhu grinned.

Just like how every dish in this restaurant has its own unique characteristic that shines like fireworks, as long as her mother continues to stand strong, she is at peace, and her days are filled with excitement.

As she watched her mother’s busy shadow inside the restaurant, many thoughts ran through her head.

The three daughters only have one regret: In order to make money for the family, their mother had lost a lot of weight to keep up with the business. If possible, they wished to slowly fatten up their mother back to her previous happy chubby self.

Dan Jingqiu, who had spent a lot of effort and successfully lost weight: ????

*TL Notes:

> is a hip hop song with rap elements. For those are interested, please search for > by 陳小春