She called Qingmu back to the kitchen and brought out the cold mung bean noodle and flat noodle salads she had prepared that morning. She also made a bowl of spicy sweet potato vermicelli for them to try.

After they finished eating, she said to Li Changyu, "It’s not just the acorn starch; this sweet potato starch is also delicious. In the winter, you make these into a piping hot, spicy soup. It makes you break out in a sweat and drives away the cold. In the summer, they should be served cold, either spicy and sour or sweet. As for how to sell them, you know better than I do."

Li Changyu looked at her, his face lit up with a smile, and he nodded repeatedly.

Juhua added, "I think you should start with just these for now. I’ll be making other good things in the future. If you do a good job, I’ll naturally let you be the one to sell them, too."

Li Changyu nodded eagerly. "Yes! You have to keep your word. And that spicy cabbage—it’s fine if you make a lot more this year. My aunt is planning to sell it."

Juhua smiled. "I’m planning to change the flavor of the spicy cabbage a bit. I won’t be telling anyone this new recipe. If your aunt sells it well, I’ll find a few people to specialize in making it for her to sell. That will give the villagers another source of income."

Li Changyu’s jaw dropped. After a long moment, he said, "You’re right to think that way. Our village will be the only one that knows how to make this. It’ll be one of a kind. For you to not forget about the village... I’m truly impressed."

He couldn’t help but study Juhua closely, feeling that she seemed a little different from the last time they met.

’Hmm, she isn’t as shy as last time. She’s like a seasoned businesswoman. The things she says don’t sound like they’re coming from a teenage girl at all.’

The moment Li Changyu started studying her, Zhang Huai immediately grew wary.

Suddenly, a nervous thought struck him. ’If Changyu starts to like Juhua too, my life will be hell. Even if I manage to marry Juhua in the end, it’ll probably be after a bloody battle.’

He silently watched Juhua and thought, ’Then let’s fight. It’s no big deal!’

’I don’t think I’m any worse than Changyu. There’s no reason I’d lose to him. I have to make Juhua understand that my feelings for her are deeper than anyone else’s.’

’Worst case, even if I don’t win her over and she marries Changyu, that’s still better than her marrying some widower. I could rest easy then.’

But this thought made his heart ache as if pricked by a needle. He quickly suppressed it, not daring to dwell on it.

But the thought was like a gourd in water—the more he tried to push it down, the more it bobbed back up. ’What would I do if Juhua really married someone else?’

Juhua was talking with Li Changyu when she caught a glimpse of Zhang Huai looking at her with sorrowful eyes. She froze, asking him with a look, ’What’s wrong?’

Seeing Juhua’s silent question, Zhang Huai realized he had lost his composure. He quickly forced a smile, shook his head, and cursed himself internally. ’So pathetic. Nothing has even happened, and I’m already like this.’

’If I’m this useless, I’ll lose to Changyu without even putting up a fight.’ With that, he rallied his spirits and joined their discussion.

Juhua, however, was thoroughly confused.

’I know he has feelings for me,’ she thought, ’but I don’t think I said anything to upset him. Why did he look so hurt?’

’Sigh... a boy’s heart is a mystery. I could guess all day and probably never figure it out.’

The four of them brainstormed for a good while longer, with Li Changyu even taking several pages of notes. He didn’t take his leave until lunchtime, departing in a hurry. "I still have a lot to get done," he said with a smile. "Juhua, once I’ve made some money, I’ll treat you to a fantastic meal at a big restaurant in Qinghui County."

The promise seemed a bit distant, so Juhua didn’t respond, merely smiling.

Zhang Huai smiled at Juhua and also took his leave. He had a lot to think about as well.

Once Li Changyu and Zhang Huai were far away, Qingmu asked, "We’re selling the sweet potato starch, too? Wouldn’t it be better for him to just buy it from Qinghui County?"

Juhua pulled him down to sit. "Brother, this is the first year. How much money do you expect him to make? This business is about the long run. As we plant more and more acorn trees, we’ll have more than we need for pig feed. That’s when we’ll really make money selling it. And as we raise more pigs, we’ll have to find a way to sell the pork outside the village. That’s our real goal."

Qingmu nodded and smiled. "My mind isn’t as sharp as yours."

Juhua laughed. "Aren’t I your sister? If I’m sharp, then you’re sharp, too." She thought, ’When I was your age, my brain definitely wasn’t as quick as yours.’

Next, Zheng Changhe hired a butcher to slaughter the two pigs from last autumn. Per Juhua’s suggestion, they only sold off some of the fat and kept all four legs.

Juhua found Liu Xiaomei, and the two of them set about figuring out how to cure pork belly and make cured sausages.

She felt this cured meat had to be positioned as a high-end product.

The meat itself was expensive, and curing it was a lot of work. If they sold it to ordinary people, they wouldn’t make any money at all. They had to sell it to the wealthy, starting with the Chen Family’s restaurant.

Anyone could cure pork belly. But no one had ever made cured sausage before.

People here didn’t even know how to clean offal, so how would they know how to stuff sausages?

Cured sausages were made using pork small intestines. The intestines had to be cleaned, then the inner layer of fat scraped away with a sharp-edged bamboo tool until the casing was as thin as paper; it was easy to tear it if you weren’t careful. There was a trick to stuffing them, too. Juhua chose a piece of bamboo with a diameter similar to the intestine, cut a three-inch tube from it, and cleared out the inner node. She then fitted the casing over the bamboo tube, using it as a funnel to stuff the seasoned meat mixture inside.

This technique would be difficult for others to copy, so Juhua felt at ease.

She discussed it with Liu Xiaomei, and they came up with several flavors: spicy, sweet, and savory.

Liu Xiaomei was also very sharp. She said, "Juhua, we should grind the chili powder, fennel powder, and ginger powder very finely and mix them together. That way, even if someone recognizes the flavors, they won’t know the proportions, and it’ll be hard for them to copy."

Juhua chuckled. "Exactly! Even though these spices are common, it won’t be easy for anyone to imitate the flavor, especially since we’re adding a bit of wine. Once it’s sun-dried, the alcohol flavor will be gone, so they won’t be able to taste it. Besides, the drying time is very particular. Dry it too long, and the meat gets too dry. Don’t dry it long enough, and it won’t be flavorful or fragrant enough."

Liu Xiaomei added, "And they’ll never in a million years figure out how to stuff the sausages." She smiled smugly as she said this.