Chapter 36: No Good Deed Goes Unrewarded

Chapter 36: Good Deeds Bring Good Rewards

The next day, Wu Xiaoliu stood before the entrance of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, spatula in hand, frying stinky tofu as usual. His workload was lighter today; he only needed to prepare two hundred portions. While the quantity was similar to the day before, these two hundred portions consisted entirely of fully cured tofu.

Uncle Zhang had delivered two carts of tofu the previous day. The first cart, delivered as originally agreed, consisted of fully cured tofu, ensuring a taste identical to the previous days. The second cart, however, contained tofu that hadn't been dried for as long. Even a single day's difference in curing time significantly altered the flavor—such is the sensitivity of food to time.

Because many of Li Qi's customers were regulars, he feared they would detect the difference if he served them the semi-cured batch. He reserved the fully cured stock for them. As for the high-ranking officials, most had never tasted stinky tofu before, so they would likely be none the wiser even if they were served the less-cured version.

Since the two batches of tofu had arrived an hour apart, their marinating times also differed. Consequently, Li Qi stayed in bed to conserve his energy until nearly noon before finally crawling out. After washing up, he headed straight to Wu Xiaoliu's room, where a stove and a wok had already been set up.

Li Qi clearly wanted to work in Wu Xiaoliu’s room to avoid being seen in the kitchen. If the customers who had been queuing for two days saw that he had such a large stash of stinky tofu hidden away, they might just storm the shop and tear it apart.

Li Xiaozhu was standing there looking rather clueless. Seeing Li Qi enter, he hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Brother Li, everything is ready!"

Li Qi nodded with satisfaction. "Thank you for your hard work."

"Heh heh!" Li Xiaozhu, feeling flattered, rubbed his hands and chuckled.

Seeing his goofy expression, Li Qi shook his head with a smile and asked, "Do you know how to cook?"

Li Xiaozhu shook his head vigorously.

"How about this? The three of them outside are enough for the shop, so stay here and help me. I’ll teach you how to fry the stinky tofu while we work," Li Qi said with a smile.

"Yes!" Li Xiaozhu nodded eagerly. Children from humble backgrounds like his were always desperate to learn; as long as they could acquire a skill, that was enough.

Due to the time constraints, Li Qi didn't chat much longer. After a brief preparation, they began frying. Although most of the tofu here was only semi-cured, Li Qi’s technique ensured the flavor remained excellent.

The mere thought of having to fry 400 more portions of stinky tofu gave Li Qi a headache. In truth, he genuinely loathed the smell of the stuff. As he clipped out piece after piece of perfectly fried tofu, time slipped away unnoticed.

"Brother Li! Brother Li!"

Shortly after noon, Wu Xiaoliu’s voice drifted in from outside.

"Come in!"

Once Wu Xiaoliu entered, Li Qi asked, "What is it? Is the stinky tofu outside sold out?"

Wu Xiaoliu nodded excitedly. "Yes, my uncle and Dazhu are clearing up. I came over to see if you needed any help."

"Ha! It seems you haven’t had your fill of frying yet. Very well, go bring the stove from outside in here. If we both work together, we’ll have plenty of time," Li Qi laughed.

"You got it!"

"By the way, did the customers who didn't get any cause any trouble?" Li Qi asked curiously.

Wu Xiaoliu chuckled. "They’re used to it by now. They grumbled a bit and then dispersed. Actually, they made a bigger fuss this morning when my uncle posted the notice that we’d be closed tomorrow, but it wasn't anything serious."

Closing for a day was a helpless necessity for Li Qi; he had already sold tomorrow’s entire stock a day in advance.

"That’s good then." Li Qi felt relieved and nodded.

With Wu Xiaoliu’s help, the burden on Li Qi’s shoulders eased significantly. Soon after, Wu Furong and Chen Dazhu arrived as well—after all, they were dealing with high-ranking officials who could "eat people without spitting out the bones," so no one dared to be negligent.

Working in unison, they finished all 400 portions before sunset. To keep the tofu warm, Li Qi had specially asked Wu Furong to prepare two large bamboo steamers, placed over the stoves at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion. As each batch was fried, he instructed the two brothers to keep them warm.

Once the tofu was ready, Wu Furong hired a few cart drivers to transport the goods on two wooden carts, with the steamers and coal stoves loaded on top. Li Qi had already organized the delivery: Wu Furong and Xiaozhu would take one cart to the residences of Minister Cai, Minister Wang, and other third-rank officials. This cart carried the fully cured, superior-tasting tofu. The rest would be delivered by Wu Xiaoliu and Dazhu.

As for himself, Li Qi had no desire to interact with these ministers just yet, so he stayed behind to guard the shop. He even insisted that Wu Furong return all the silver the officials had sent. Although he was currently in dire need of funds, the long-term benefits of refusing the money outweighed the immediate gain.

Just as Wu Furong was about to depart, Li Qi leaned in and whispered, "Uncle Wu, when you deliver the tofu to Minister Cai’s residence, make sure to tell the butler that because Grand Preceptor Cai is of such advanced age, he should not eat too much—no more than one piece. Also, insist that he drinks some cooling herbal tea or soup afterward. And for the Prime Minister’s residence—they ordered the most, and I doubt he’s eating it all himself—tell them the same: this tofu is very 'heaty' and should not be consumed in large quantities. Remember this well."

"Oh, oh, I have noted it, sir!" Wu Furong nodded.

Li Qi sighed. "Off you go, then."

Once the uncle and nephew disappeared into the evening shadows, Li Qi let out a long, weary sigh and turned back into the shop. His words were a matter of survival; he wished these two treacherous ministers would drop dead sooner rather than later. But given his current status, his influence was nothing compared to theirs. He couldn't afford for anyone on his list to fall ill after eating his tofu, or it would spell total catastrophe.

Back inside, Li Qi felt deeply dejected. He thought to himself that even if he expanded the Drunken Immortal Pavilion across the entire country, what would it matter? In a few years, when the Jin army stormed the capital, everything would be reduced to nothing.

At the thought of this, his hatred for Emperor Huizong of Song and the "Six Thieves" grew even stronger. *Sigh! I suppose I can only take it one step at a time. Who knows? Perhaps history isn't exactly as the history books describe.*

Two hours passed in the blink of an eye. Wu Furong returned first, as his delivery route was more concentrated.

"Uncle Wu, how did it go?" Li Qi opened the door and asked anxiously.

Wu Furong gave a hearty laugh and suddenly produced two gold ingots from his sleeves.

"This—!" Li Qi gasped.

"Young Master Li, don't rush. Let me have a cup of tea, and I’ll tell you everything slowly."

After Wu Furong sat down, Chen Xiaozhu poured him a cup of tea. As he sipped, Wu Furong recounted the entire ordeal.

It turned out that the two gold ingots were rewards from the Cai and Wang households. Li Qi never expected that Cai Jing and Wang Fu would reward them specifically because of the warning he had given before they left.

Cai Jing, in particular, was deeply touched that a mere merchant would care so much for his health, even going so far as to warn him against overindulgence. As an eighty-year-old man, Cai Jing naturally hoped for a long life. He had personally summoned Wu Furong and bestowed upon him a gold ingot. As for Wang Fu, although Wu Furong hadn't met him directly, the reward indicated he was equally satisfied. Furthermore, they had insisted that Wu Furong take back the silver he had tried to return; such high-ranking officials cared little for such trifles.

"It seems that in this world, good deeds really do bring good rewards," Li Qi said, shaking his head with a bitter smile.