Transmigrating into the Genius Cannon Fodder’s Aunt

Chapter 35.2 – To Start a New Life, A Courtyard House is Indispensable (II)

Not long after Ning Shaoyun left, Xia Wenyue entered, looking worried. “Mianmian, the Huo family doesn’t seem like reasonable people. How about I go with you to see them?”

“Don’t worry, Second Aunt,” Xia Mian replied. “The old lady is just a paper tiger.” To reassure Xia Wenyue, Xia Mian briefly explained the old lady’s background, though she didn’t mention her plan to cause a scene. “She’s just an elderly. If you humor her, it’ll be fine. If she holds a grudge, it could be troublesome later on.”

Xia Wenyue furrowed her brows, thinking it over. “It’s fine to let small things go, but we shouldn’t give in on big matters. If the old lady does hold a grudge, we can always go back to our hometown.”

Xia Mian nodded. “It won’t come to that. Don’t we have Sister Ning and Dr. Ning on our side? The Ning family is much more powerful than the Huo family.”

Xia Wenyue sighed. “It seems that whether you’re rich or poor, people are the same. There are always those who can’t live peacefully.” She couldn’t understand why Old Lady Huo would trouble her son and daughter-in-law. The couple was having a good life, and there was also a smart and lovely grandson like Chenchen—what did she feel dissatisfied about?

“Whether or not she can live peacefully is none of our business,” Xia Mian stated. She didn’t intend to involve Xia Wenyue in this matter. Their family was better suited to a simple, straightforward life.

“By the way, Aunt, have you thought about work yet? Are you thinking of starting a small business or finding a job?” Xia Mian shifted the topic.

“I think it’s better to do business,” Xia Wenyue said. Since work was the foundation of their life here, she had already given it a lot of thought. “Working for someone else would make it hard to take care of you all. Running my own business would give me more freedom.” She still remembered that she was here to help Xia Mian, not to become a burden to her.

“This morning, I went out with Sister Wei and noticed quite a few people selling breakfast,” she continued. “Your second aunt is pretty good at making flatbreads, so I thought, why not set up a grill and sell them?”

“That way, I can also take care of you all, and I’ll have time to pick up and drop off Xiao Feng and Huizhu from school.”

“I have the same opinion,” Xia Mian said, pulling out a notebook from her bag. “But my idea is even simpler. This is a recipe I copied from a book. Second Aunt, take a look.”

The recipe Xia Mian had written down was for skewered hot pot, a street food that remained popular in the future, having stood the test of time in the market. Setting up two or three stands at a night market could easily turn a nice profit.

Xia Mian loved eating it, and her two equally foodie brothers did too. There was a time when the three siblings were obsessed with skewered hot pot. Unfortunately, after only a couple of meals, their aunt, who was a doctor, came to visit, throwing the siblings into the valley of suffering. Takeout, night markets, restaurants—everything deemed unhealthy was banned, and they were stuck eating vegetables and tofu every day, turning their faces green with frustration.

In the end, unable to bear it any longer, Xia Mian decided to make the food of their dream herself. Luckily, she had a talent for cooking, and during the age of the internet, countless recipes could be found with just a simple click. After some trial and error, she perfected a recipe that suited their tastes. Her two silly brothers, under their aunt’s watchful eye, washed the vegetables four or five times and thoroughly disinfected all the meats and ingredients before they could finally enjoy the skewered hot pot that Xia Mian made.

After that, they no longer liked the street food skewered hot pot, even after their aunt left, and only wanted the version Xia Mian made, turning it into the family recipe.

In the future, this recipe would be easy to find online, but in this era where access to information was still far limited, it wasn’t something you could just buy with money, so Xia Mian was very confident in it. The initial expenses required were low, and it was also efficient in terms of time and labor.

“The key is in the soup base. Once the soup is ready, other ingredients are easy to prepare,” Xia Mian explained to Xia Wenyue, detailing how to skewer the ingredients and what they would need. “We’ll need to build a four-wheeled cart with a proper pot holder and a gas stove underneath. Here’s the design. You can discuss the exact measurements with the blacksmith.”

“I checked earlier, and the intersection at the end of our alley is on the way to Yan University’s affiliated high school, the kindergarten, and the elementary school. There’s plenty of foot traffic, and our food won’t compete with anyone else’s. All you’ll need to do is make the soup, wash the vegetables, and skewer the ingredients. My cousins can help when they have free time.”

Xia Mian had thought of everything, leaving Xia Wenyue with nothing to say. Being a pragmatic woman, she took the recipe and frankly said, “This is your recipe, so if we go ahead with this, we’ll split the profits 50-50.”

Xia Mian didn’t reject Xia Wenyue’s offer. There’s a saying: “Give someone a bowl of rice, and they’re grateful; give them too much, and they may resent you.” Whether helping others or receiving help, it’s important to have principles and boundaries. If you rely too much on favors, it can lead to resentment, and the best outcome is that you part ways.

However…

“Fifty-fifty is too much; I’ll take only 20%,” Xia Mian said. Seeing that Xia Wenyue was about to protest, she continued, “Hear me out. I’m not just making the number randomly—there are generally accepted standards for this kind of partnership.”

“I’m investing the recipe as my share, but I won’t be involved in the business operations, so this split is fair,” Xia Mian explained. “If this venture grows and we want to explore other models, we can hire a lawyer to draft a contract.”

With that explanation, Xia Wenyue’s concerns disappeared. “Alright, let’s get started. After a year, if we’re in a good position, we can consult a lawyer and write up a formal contract.”

Xia Wenyue was a decisive person. After confirming the recipe, she immediately took Huimei and Huilan out to buy the necessary ingredients. Unlike Xia Mian, who came from the future and knew this business idea was a sure thing, Xia Wenyue wanted to play it safe. She needed to taste-test the product first to ensure it was good before investing in the tools needed to start the business.

When Aunt Wei heard about their plan, she was concerned that Xia Wenyue was unfamiliar with the area, so she decided to accompany them. Being more experienced and knowledgeable, she advised, “You shouldn’t buy all the seasonings from the same place. If your business takes off, others might copy your recipe.”

So, the group had to visit several places to gather all the necessary ingredients, some of which needed to be sourced from herbal shops. They also had to prepare things like bone broth, so the final product wouldn’t be ready quickly.

The reason Xia Mian didn’t join them was that she and Ning Shaoyun were taking Xiao Feng, Chenchen, and Huizhu to the kindergarten. While the house and other preparations could be done gradually, starting kindergarten was something that needed to happen right away.