CHAPTER 51: CHAPTER 51: HE CHEN ACTUALLY HAS A SECRET STASH OF MONEY

The villagers had all gone to the square to receive the ducks sent by Xie Fengmian and Ye Xiaotong, so on their way up the mountain, they made a huge harvest over several trips without anyone noticing.

After returning, He Chen dealt with the ingredients other than the chicken and then started preparing tomato sauce and sweet and spicy sauce.

As long as he could make the sweet and spicy sauce today, the fried chicken would be simple afterward.

Although he hadn’t done it before, he was confident.

Ye Manman admired his confidence, but when she saw he didn’t peel the tomatoes, she gave him a tip.

"You have to peel the tomatoes for the tomato sauce. If you blanch them in hot water, the skin comes off easily."

Despite being confident in his cooking skills, He Chen still followed Ye Manman’s advice, peeled the tomatoes, and then re-chopped them to boil in the pot.

However, after boiling for a long time, the tomatoes still had large chunks, and the bottom of the pot had burned.

Ye Manman thought for a while and suggested using a rolling pin to crush them since there was no blender.

She shared her idea with He Chen, who obediently did as she said. Indeed, using tomato paste, it quickly formed.

At this point, Ye Manman saw that the contents in the pot were indistinguishable from tomato sauce and quickly used chopsticks to take a little taste.

"Eh! So sour!"

"Add sugar, add sugar!"

Tears welled up in her eyes from the sourness, and He Chen lovingly handed her a glass of water.

"Rinse your mouth, don’t taste it yet; you can try it once I’m done."

He added some sugar, but it became too sweet, so he added a bit of vinegar. Feeling it was just right, he let Ye Manman have a taste.

Ye Manman immediately gave him a thumbs up.

"That’s the right flavor! You’re amazing."

She delightedly licked her lips, thinking about the taste of the tomato sauce, and then remembered something that pairs perfectly with it.

"He Chen, do we have potatoes at home?"

She sat on the side, cupping her face and swaying like a cute bobblehead doll.

With a blissful look, He Chen glanced at her and responded, "Yeah."

"We do, are you craving potatoes?"

"No, I want to eat fries."

Seeing He Chen’s momentary confusion, Ye Manman explained.

"Fries are made from potatoes, just like fried chicken. They’re crispy and fragrant, and they taste so good with tomato sauce."

He Chen didn’t ask how she knew all these strange foods; instead, while packing the tomato sauce, he replied indulgently.

"Okay, should we make fries today then? We don’t have enough sugar at home, so I’ll buy some in town tomorrow to make sweet and spicy sauce and fried chicken."

Ye Manman felt that eating only fries was pointless, and making them separately was quite a waste of oil, so she declined.

"How’s the Sweet and Spicy Duck selling lately? Have you decided where to rent a shop? Are we moving over there?"

Thinking of Xie Fengmian and his team visiting the village today to send warmth by giving ducks, she inexplicably felt something was amiss, as the original story seemed to suggest sending grains and oils, not ducks.

So why were they sending ducks?

Could it be that ducks weren’t selling well?

Could it be related to He Chen selling Sweet and Spicy Duck in town?

It wasn’t unreasonable for her to associate it this way. There were only one or two large poultry farms in town, one being the Xie Family and the other the Liu Family, and He Chen certainly wouldn’t cooperate with the Xie Family, which meant he must have been collaborating with the Liu Family.

If He Chen’s Sweet and Spicy Duck could force the Xie Family factory to send ducks like this, his duck sales might be even better than she imagined.

He Chen tidied up the stove and kitchen and went inside with her.

"I do have plans, and with the recent increase in rain, I’m worried about flooding, so I’ve already started looking for a house."

"The Sweet and Spicy Duck market is doing well, just waiting to open a store, and the income will be more substantial then."

He had the habit of saving money regularly, giving some to Ye Manman for regular use, while saving the rest as funds for opening a store and living expenses.

Ye Manman wasn’t aware, and she thought all the money was with her, so she quickly asked.

"Do we have enough money? You’ve given me about fifteen hundred."

"Plus the hundred and twenty they gave us today for free, we have sixteen hundred and twenty. That should be enough to open a store, right?"

She wasn’t sure about the market, but she subconsciously wanted to give all the money to He Chen.

He Chen was very touched.

"It’s more than that, I’ve already saved enough to open a store, the money I gave you is for you to spend, don’t worry."

With that said, Ye Manman understood.

He actually had his own secret stash!

She foolishly worried he didn’t have money!

With red lips pouting, Ye Manman put her hands on her hips and huffed.

"So you had your own stash, no wonder you never asked me for money."

"Hmph, men are all liars. When you married me, you said all the household money would be managed by me, and in just a few months, you’re hiding money already, hmph!"

She sat down angrily, her fair, plump cheeks puffed up, like an angry little rabbit.

He Chen realized he was in trouble and quickly squatted in front of her to explain.

"No, don’t be mad, I only set some aside after confirming the store expenses. Sometimes, I want to surprise you with gifts to make you happy every day..."

"Don’t worry, I won’t waste a penny."

He never wasted a penny, never went to a restaurant alone, and all the money he saved was spent on Ye Manman.

He didn’t hand over all the money, besides store expenses, because he didn’t want to be without money when he saw pretty clothes or tasty snacks for her.

He loved seeing her eagerly waiting for him to come home and her surprised and adorable expression when he brought out new clothes or snacks from behind.

That was his daily joy and his entire motivation for working hard.

Ye Manman knew very well what kind of person He Chen was. She was just pretending to be upset and didn’t expect him to be so worried.

Seeing him squatting nervously and pitifully before her, she couldn’t help but giggle.

"Dummy."

She ruffled his short, slightly spiky hair, and then bent down to peck him on the cheek.

"Of course I trust you, you big cutie and big goof."

She playfully teased him, and He Chen blushed awkwardly.

It had been three days since he last properly kissed her...

The long kiss on the rainy night had been haunting his thoughts, yet he couldn’t muster the courage to ask if he could kiss her again.

Maybe today was a good time?

She had just kissed his cheek; she must be happy about it, right?

In his mind, the little figures representing the choice to ask or not battled it out, while Ye Manman patted his face.

"What’s wrong with you?"

"Did you get shy because I called you a cutie? Why is your face turning so red again?"

She wasn’t that close, but He Chen, looking at her charming face and rosy lips, couldn’t help but feel stirred.

The consequence of letting his thoughts drift was a sudden heat in his lower abdomen.

He Chen immediately wanted to dig a hole to hide, his face turning bright red.

It was broad daylight!

He actually wanted to...