She Came to Heal, Stayed to Conquer

The next day was New Year’s Eve.

In the afternoon, small flakes began to fall from the sky, delicately descending and draping the ancient Qingshui County with a layer of snow-white gauze.

The streets and alleys were decorated with lanterns and streamers by every household, with red lanterns gently swaying in the cold wind, showcasing a rich festive atmosphere.

At this time, there were fewer customers in Tongfu Building, as diners were busy heading home to reunite with their families and celebrate the New Year. Meanwhile, the waiters and chefs at Tongfu Building were bustling about, eagerly preparing for the festive evening.

By night, the workers from the wasteland were all to return here and dine together to reunite.

Thus, they were currently busy preparing meals for over 400 people and arranging a sufficiently large venue.

The County Magistrate had said that everyone had worked hard during this period, and this marked their first New Year away from home and spent here.

Therefore, during the evening meals, no outside guests would be entertained; it would be an exclusive celebration for their own people. Everyone should eat and drink well, ensuring the reunion banquet was lively and festive.

Since Tongfu Building opened on the twenty-sixth of the twelfth lunar month until now—four and a half days—business was booming every day. All the main dishes were made with pork as the ingredient, boasting creative presentation, good flavor, and affordable prices.

The invitation to dignitaries to taste the dishes on opening day, with a half-price discount, had exposed many to the unique offerings Tongfu Building had.

Word of mouth from the diners spread, and nearly everyone in Qingshui County came to know about Tongfu Building.

Before Han Lei left, she had instructed Luo Hai to apply a hunger marketing strategy, selling only one pig per day, stopping once sold out.

As a result, the dignitaries who had considered pork as low-grade meat indeed appeared in recent days, queuing up frantically to grab it.

The dignitaries either sent their servants early in the morning to secure a spot or ordered them to queue and pack the food.

The scene of dignitaries eagerly waiting in line to eat the supposedly low-category meat was unprecedented in Qingshui County.

Shopkeeper Mr Wang watched with a smile, unable to close his mouth in joy. He couldn’t help but secretly admire in his heart: that charming and sweet Miss Han indeed was an extraordinary person!

Luo Hai had been waking up from sleep laughing these past days. Besides the restaurant’s surprisingly good and established business, everything was normal regarding the wasteland and the pig farm.

The pigpen construction method taught by Han Lei was quite novel. It was not only neat, clean, and easy to manage but also continuously provided fertilizer for the wasteland.

With the cold weather in the north, the entire pig farm’s perimeter was fortified with stone and concrete walls, and bamboo poles supported the overhead eaves, with PVC transparent soft mats nailed in place to form a sunny room.

During the day, the pigpens could capture sunlight and maintain warmth, shielding from the wind and snow. At night, covering the top with straw mats made the pigpens even warmer.

The pig feed left by Han Lei was also effective, not only saving the masters who were responsible for them a lot of trouble but also allowing the pigs to grow quickly.

According to the pig rearing techniques left by Han Lei, several sows were now pregnant.

Half of the wasteland was reclaimed, now being watered with decomposed pig manure. With this progress, come spring, it might be possible to catch up on planting crops.

As per Han Lei’s request, after completing the pigpens, over a hundred craftsmen worked overtime to hasten the construction of dormitories for the farmers.

In a few days, the dormitories’ surrounding walls were completed. Once fully constructed, the farmers could stay directly inside, saving them the hardship of commuting back and forth.

Luo Hai, along with government office personnel, supervised and assisted on-site daily, witnessing the farmers rising early and toiling late indeed exhausted.

Therefore, he decided that the restaurant wouldn’t serve guests tonight, but instead, everyone gathered together to have a reunion dinner.

As night fell, the snow intensified, heralding a prosperous year with auspicious snow.

From afar, a long convoy of horse carriages brought back farmers who had worked in the wasteland.

Since Luo Hai had last emphasized rules to them, after getting off, everyone lined up consciously to enter Tongfu Building, with no chaotic crowding situations occurring again.

At this moment, in front of Tongfu Building, a pair of large spring couplets and red lanterns illuminated the street, and from afar, one could see tables inside filled with hearty meals.

Luo Hai, accompanied by those from the government office, had been waiting inside. After the farmers entered Tongfu Building, Luo Hai gave New Year’s blessings.

Then, everyone lifted their glasses to celebrate, savoring the feast...

Laughs and joyous voices filled Tongfu Building, bringing an atmosphere of festivity. No one noticed the shadow standing under an old locust tree at the street corner.

The shadow was none other than Wei Dabao.

With hands tucked inside his clothes, his neck hunched, Wei Dabao shivered and stared through the door of Tongfu Building at the farmers indulging inside.

On New Year’s Day, despite the wind and snow, Wei Dabao was personally standing here spying on Tongfu Building because two of his servants sent to inquire recently went missing inexplicably.

Since he first discovered issues between Tongfu Building and the County Magistrate, he had dispatched three groups of servants altogether to gather information, but none returned.

Alive they were not seen, nor their bodies found.

On the opening day of Tongfu Building, he went inside to inspect but found nothing unusual. Tongfu Building was just a regular establishment selling food and drink.

That day he tasted Tongfu Building’s offerings as well. As for the taste, it was indeed delicious, but aside from using pork as raw material, he hadn’t found anything particularly strange.

The puzzling thing was, where did Tongfu Building get enough pigs from? Their slogan claimed they sold only one pig per day, and then stopped.

Before Tongfu Building opened, the dignitaries never ate pork, and commoners couldn’t afford it. Not just Qingshui County, but across the entire Da Jing Dynasty, very few raised pigs.

So where did Tongfu Building’s daily supply of a pig come from?

Every morning, these farmers took horse carriages out, and returned by carriage at night. If they needed carriages, it must be far away.

Where exactly were these farmers going?

Most importantly, these farmers were evidently mere laborers; why were they involved with the County Magistrate?

If these laborers were out working for the County Magistrate, it was confusing that the County Magistrate didn’t treat them like cattle or horses but instead joined them in eating and drinking, smiling all the while.

Much like now, dignitaries and commoners were to celebrate the New Year together, an unheard-of scene.

Had the groups of servants he sent out uncovered some unspeakable secret among these people, thus going missing? Could they have been silenced?

Countless questions emerged in Wei Dabao’s mind, feeling increasingly baffled regarding Tongfu Building and Luo Hai.

He wanted to stay here to continue observing and probing, then follow where the farmers went next. However, the snow was falling heavier, and cold winds continuously seeped through his neckline, causing him to shiver uncontrollably. His teeth chattered, making a clattering sound.

”Forget it, this wretched weather. Better go back and send more people to spy! I don’t believe I won’t uncover your secret.” Wei Dabao muttered to himself, blowing hot air on his hands.

With that, he tightened his thick coat and turned to disappear into the night.