Although Hua Jie’s cooking skills couldn’t match her mother’s, they were still superior to those of most housewives of her era.
In the millennium years, there were no smartphone apps to teach cooking or online recipes to look up, so housewives usually learned their skills from older family members.
If a family lacked a skilled cook among the elders and there was no extra money to dine out frequently, a young bride’s culinary abilities might not advance much in her lifetime.
Hua Jie, however, was different. With memories from her previous life, she not only cooked several famous dishes from Northeastern China but also made classic Sichuan Mapo Tofu, a classic Hangzhou dish of steamed fresh fish, a classic Xinjiang dish called Big Plate Chicken, and a classic Hunan dish of preserved eggs pounded with hot peppers.
The local housekeeper from Jinsong City couldn’t dream of preparing such a variety of dishes.
Zhao Xiaolei and Shen Mo, having traveled little, were pleasantly surprised by these new dishes.
Shen Mo was more reserved, merely glancing at Hua Jie with eyes full of admiration, while Zhao Xiaolei was much more laid-back, peppering her with questions:
“Where did you learn all these? You’re really good at cooking.”
Hua Jie just smiled and said she had read these recipes in a library.
Shen Jiaru, who had seen and tasted much, couldn’t help but praise her.
“For someone who has never eaten these dishes before, only read about them, to cook them so authentically and deliciously, you must be a culinary genius.”
Hua Jie felt a bit embarrassed by the praise. She had not only eaten these favorite dishes in her previous life but often made them herself or went out to satisfy her cravings.
The taste for good food was imprinted in her soul; how could a food lover ever forget?
Using her modest skills from a past life to gain such high praise from her teacher made her blush.
However, seeing how much Shen Jiaru and Shen Mo enjoyed the food, she felt truly satisfied.
She wished she could conjure up more new dishes daily for these people who had helped her so much.
After everyone had their fill of food and drink, Hua Jie wrote down the recipes for the new dishes she had cooked that day and placed them on the kitchen fridge, securing them with a magnet for the housekeeper.
If Shen Jiaru and the others ever craved these dishes, the housekeeper could make them.
After the meal, Hua Jie planned to take her sketchpad to the bus station to continue drawing, working on quick sketches and watercolor sketches, conditions permitting.
But when she was organizing her drawing materials and sketchpad, she discovered that two of her paintings, left by Teacher Shen, were missing.
She searched the studio for a long time without finding them. At first, she suspected Qian Chong had taken them, but then thought that even if the boy was unreliable, he wouldn’t just take her paintings without saying anything.
Later, when she mentioned it to Shen Jiaru, Zhao Xiaolei suddenly realized he might have mailed them in a kraft paper bag.
Shen Jiaru was quite unconcerned and simply said, “No worries, they won’t get lost. I’ll make a call to the competition organizers to have them keep the paintings safe. When the rankings are out and we need to go to Beijing for the awards ceremony, we’ll get them back then.”
With her sketchpad on her back, Hua Jie left.
At the bus station, she saw all walks of life. She observed not only the diverse people and their poses but also their expressions, trying to imagine the stories hidden beneath their emotions.
Some people, after seeing her draw, came to sit beside her and asked her to sketch them.
Hua Jie would ask them questions, leading them to share their lives, talk about their pride, and their embarrassments.
Her afternoon of quick sketches captured not just many people’s images on paper but also their stories.
Every wrinkle contained a history, and each portrait sketched out the mundane yet profound stories of life.
These people were mothers, farmers, workers, sons, students… each narrating a story that might seem ordinary to others but was full of ups and downs to them.
Hua Jie observed attentively, savored the details, and patiently outlined them, aiming to empathize with the characters in her drawings.
Beyond their physical structures and features, she captured each person’s unique traits and qualities.
Some were simple, others frivolous, some diligent, some timid.
She consciously educated herself, enhancing her understanding of painting, improving her expressiveness and ability to capture essential details.
Realizing she was starting to feel hungry, she was startled by how much time had passed.
Hua Jie hurriedly packed up her things and rushed home—it was time for dinner.
…
At the dinner table, Hua Jie’s parents also shared their day’s proceedings.
In the furniture city at the top of the Fuyun Building, only the last two stores remained unleased; one was the largest and located right at the entrance.
The other was the smallest and located at the far end.
After discussing it, the couple decided to go all in and took a lease on the largest store for two years.
After dinner, Hua Jie received her father’s contract, which included the floor plan of the store. Based on the size and shape of the floor plan, she began to draw a layout design.
She revised her initial simple ideas and applied them to the store layout.
Although it was the largest store in the furniture city, it was tiny compared to something like IKEA.
Thus, Hua Jie made some trade-offs in her final design, opting to install more glass windows to allow customers to see the products from outside.
The design included two glass walls for customers; one glass wall would display a fully furnished room, complete with furniture and interior decor.
One room would be a bedroom designed to offer the utmost comfort, and the other, a living room built for impressive displays.
The master bedroom would adopt a Nordic style, appealing to those with a penchant for Western aesthetics. It would be marketed as something only the wealthiest families in Shanghai might own, with a stylish European charm.
Custom floral curtains would grace both sides of the glass windows, with a large white iron-framed bed taking center stage.
Additionally, there would be high-end wooden wardrobes, bedside tables, small storage cabinets, and bookshelves.
The interior could be enhanced with chandeliers, candlesticks, a bedside table cover matching the curtains, a three-piece bed set, and, for a richer touch, a warm and beautiful color-coordinated carpet and small potted plants on the windowsill.
The living room would feature a Chinese style, easier to promote in northern cities, with dark, heavy wooden flooring, rustic solid wood sofas, an antique-like curio cabinet, a luxurious wood-carved TV cabinet, and a dining set fit for an emperor or noble.
Scroll paintings of rich peonies or majestic landscapes of the motherland would hang on the walls, with recesses on either side of the TV wall featuring paintings of plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
Large potted plants with auspicious meanings would be placed in the corners.
The goal was for visitors to step inside and immediately feel the powerful and wealthy aura of the homeowner, evoking a humble emotion akin to paying a debt to a landlord—excellent if achieved.
Further inside, there would be a Chinese-style stately study, a child’s bedroom with a bed and desk, and a kitchen designed to evoke feelings of happiness and modernity for the homemaker or househusband.
This way, while it appeared to be a furniture store, stepping inside would feel like entering a future filled with happiness—
An instant desire to possess.
This was Hua Jie’s vision.
After designing, she stared at the blueprints intently for a long time, then pulled her father aside and earnestly said:
“Dad, let’s also take the smallest shop at the back of the Fuyun Furniture, to establish a sub-brand that sells low-end, fast-moving products.”
Just as Miu Miu serves as a supplement to Prada’s luxury and youth market.
Her father could then sell high-priced custom and designer pieces on one hand, and on the other, simplify her designs for mass production in collaboration with factories.
This strategy would essentially capture a large portion of consumer spending.
Father and daughter then sat down at the table to discuss further. Her mother, the accountant, would chime in occasionally with the abacus in hand.
The family’s financial meeting lasted nearly two hours, stretching close to midnight, before they finalized many of the details—
The meeting was highly efficient. They managed everything from renovation details and scheduling to product pricing, budgeting, and profit forecasts.
Hua Jie’s mother also played a crucial role in the process.
After the meeting, Hua Jie’s father lay in bed unable to sleep for a long time, chatting with his wife deep into the night, enriching various details and discussing the next steps and strategies to overcome difficulties.
Hua Jie didn’t go to sleep right away either; her mind was still buzzing with excitement. She decided to study her textbooks instead.
Before she knew it, it was past 2 a.m.
Fortunately, the next day was Sunday, so there was no need to wake up early for morning self-study.
After breakfast, the family discussed the day’s plans and then split up; one went to learn painting, and two went to manage their shops.
They were truly a busy family.
After studying all morning at Teacher Shen’s house, as soon as class ended, Shen Mo pushed open the door, scanned over the faces looking his way, and his gaze finally settled on Hua Jie.
Without a word, he just gestured for her to come over.
Hua Jie put down her sketchpad, greeted Teacher Shen, and followed Shen Mo out with a smile.
The moment the door was about to close, Fang Shaojun, peeking through the narrow gap, saw Hua Jie laughingly look up and try to touch Shen Mo’s head.
The boy abruptly grabbed her wrist, restraining it behind her back with no courtesy, like a cop handcuffing a criminal in a Hong Kong movie.
Then, Hua Jie’s protesting voice was shut outside the door.
Fang Shaojun’s gaze fell, and she frowned, realizing she could never be as cheerful and carefree as Hua Jie, who seemed unbothered by Shen Mo’s dominance, cold demeanor, and aggressiveness, always bouncing around joyfully.
She thought of a phrase, ‘extremely high emotional value’.
Clenching the pen in her hand tightly, Fang Shaojun felt annoyed and glared fiercely at the painting in front of her.
For a moment, a thought crossed her mind: What’s so hard about being more enthusiastic? It’s just about being shameless, smiling more, and talking more—saying things that may not be substantial but could please others.
If she acted that way, she could easily ignore Shen Mo’s cold stares and greet him every Saturday and Sunday. Persisting for a while, he might be moved by her efforts, get to know her, and even become friends like Hua Jie and Shen Mo, right?
As she was loosening up internally, Qian Chong suddenly stood up as he passed by her painting and glanced down, immediately showing a disapproving expression.
Fang Shaojun looked up to meet Qian Chong’s face and his annoying expression, instinctively wanting to snap at him.
Then her gaze accidentally swept to Lu Yunfei, who was slowly packing up his painting materials as if he had just woken up. His slow demeanor was really trying her patience.
“…”
Closing her eyes tightly, Fang Shaojun instantly realized that she could never become like Hua Jie.
Even if she were more extroverted, any extra words she might add would only be sarcasm and criticism towards others.
In this world, the people she liked were far too few, and those she disliked far too many.
When Fang Shaojun stepped out of the room after gathering her things, she glanced around and saw Shen Mo, who had already walked with Hua Jie to the villa’s front gate.
If only she were warmer, more enthusiastic…
…
Like Saturday, the housekeeper was off on Sunday afternoon.
Hua Jie cooked several new dishes; with Zhao Xiaolei absent, there were two fewer dishes than usual.
But the Shen family father and son still enjoyed their meal immensely.
After lunch, Shen Mo took Hua Jie by the collar of her shirt up to the third floor to his study.
While muttering about the last rib going to his father, he had Hua Jie sit at the desk where he laid out several sets of papers for her to work on as he supervised.
Hua Jie then took out her already packed schoolbag, pulled out pencils, an eraser, and a fountain pen, and began working on the papers earnestly.
Translator’s Note:
Sorry for the late updates—just dropped 13 chapters today! 🎉
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