I Became the Eldest Daughter of a Fallen Family - Chapter 37

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 37. A Misunderstanding
Despite the abruptness of the proposal, Song accepted So Yeon-hee’s suggestion without hesitation.
Rather, she practically leaped with joy, expressing her enthusiastic agreement and gratitude.
It was true that So Yeon-soo had complained, wondering why she was entrusting the tofu business to Song when she’d brought it up first—but what did it matter. In the end, everything had worked out well.
Once they began the tofu business in earnest, they’d agreed that the twins would join in the venture as well, using the Shim family’s cart.
With the labor shortage problem somewhat resolved, So Yeon-hee threw herself back into developing new menu items centered on tofu.
After returning home, she placed the remaining tofu before her cutting board and folded her arms.
‘Actually, tofu alone already meets two of the Wei household’s conditions. No meat, and a soft, non-irritating dish. And yet nutritious.’
She’d satisfied the two most difficult requirements; all that remained were taste and presentation.
The problem was that most tofu dishes she knew used seasonings with dark colors.
‘Tofu hot pot, braised tofu—they all use soy sauce as the base. The color ends up dull and rough-looking no matter what.’
But was she really going to make Mapo tofu just to show off an appetizing appearance?
She worried about the First Madam’s digestion, and besides, she didn’t have enough Good Deed Points left to buy that expensive chili pepper in quantity.
“Sigh. This is really troublesome.”
It would be wonderful to have something that looked impressive but wasn’t heavy on the stomach.
Ideally, something like Chinese cuisine that would suit the local palate.
So Yeon-hee rested her chin on her hand and thought for a long while.
Then, suddenly, an image rose in her mind.
Golden-fried tofu. Over it, a glossy sweet-and-sour sauce flowing down. A crispy exterior with a moist interior when bitten.
Lovely color, wonderful aroma, and at first glance, an utterly appetizing appearance.
It was none other than Tang-soo-yuk—the dish that had been the beloved comfort food of children from a certain generation.
“That’s right. How did I not think of this?”
Tang-soo-yuk sauce relies fundamentally on only soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar, yet the color isn’t dark at all.
Rather, it displays an appealingly vivid scarlet hue.
In times past, Chinese restaurants stuck with wheat flour batter, but in recent years the switch to starch batter had long since made the fried texture itself lighter and more delicate.
Moreover, tofu, when fried in oil, gains a savory richness that doubles in flavor.
‘Perfect. This is the one.’
So Yeon-hee slowly unfolded her arms and rose from her seat, a confident smile playing at her lips.
* * *
The moment word spread to the kitchen, the entire Wei household women’s quarters erupted in upheaval.
‘An outsider is handling the main dish at the banquet? And a young woman who sold skewers at the market, no less?’
Baek, the cook who had overseen the Wei household kitchen for a decade, brought his knife down against the cutting board with a sharp crack and stripped off his apron.
He had devoted himself faithfully to the inner chambers all those years. He was even a distant relative of the First Madam.
How many years had he been responsible for banquets large and small? If it was the First Madam’s birthday celebration, it was always the occasion where the Wei household spared no effort.
And now a rolling stone not only dislodged the stone already in place, but plucked away the finest, most eye-catching main dish? It was beyond outrageous.
It was an act of trampling his honor into the ground.
Baek strode out of the kitchen, his face crumpled as if he were wringing out a towel.
No matter his station as a servant, he could not endure such unfairness without voicing his grievance.
“Madam! This is unjust! How could the Wei household—how could the young master do this to me!”
At the sound of his cries echoing through the compound, Gyo, who had been embroidering in the inner chamber, started in alarm.
The young master—that would be her own son, Wei Jeong’s doing.
He was always causing trouble in the name of indulging his pleasures, so Gyo suppressed the headache pressing down on her and set down her embroidery frame.
“Nurse, what has Jeong done now?”
“Well, that is to say…”
“Never mind. I’ll hear it myself.”
Other women’s sons are filial; their mothers lead blessed lives. What sins did I commit in my former life?
After sighing heavily, Gyo had an attendant bring Baek to her chamber.
The moment he entered, Baek dropped to his knees and began pouring out his grievances in a flood, tears streaming down his face like chicken droppings.
The young master Wei Jeong had fallen completely for a woman from the market, pressed a silver coin into her hand to win her favor, and then—as if that weren’t enough—transferred his authority over the main dish at the birthday celebration entirely to her.
Because of this, his reputation had been destroyed, and the kitchen servants had begun to look down on him despite his years of devotion to the Wei household.
“Ha! This child of mine!”
There was no shame in a man taking a liking to a woman, but how could he be so devoid of propriety?
At an age when he was nearing fifty, his husband kept taking concubines—and now their own son was proving to be cut from the same cloth.
Gyo drew a deep breath as the back of her neck tightened.
“So this woman who has taken over your duties—she’s from the marketplace, you say?”
“That she is, madam. Moreover, she is said to be a butcher who delivers meat to the Jang-ga butcher shop!”
“A butcher! Our Jeong has fallen for a butcher woman!”
Gyo’s eyes rolled back and she nearly fainted. Six months pregnant as she was, she should be taking precautions, yet here she was subjected to such a shock that even breathing became difficult.
“Madam, please compose yourself!”
“Yes, madam! Think of the young miss—she’ll be frightened!”
Baek trembled with belated fear that his words might harm Gyo and the unborn child.
But befitting a woman who occupied the inner chamber of this great household, Gyo swiftly recovered her composure.
More than that, her eyes gleamed with icy fury and her entire presence emanated a terrifying aura.
‘If you must dabble in such foolishness, at least keep it quiet and out of sight! How dare you conduct yourself with such shamelessness!’
She had no wish to meddle in her grown son’s romantic affairs, yet this was neither honorable nor just.
When the children of concubines were already distinguishing themselves in scholarship, she could not stand by and watch her own son, besotted with lust, gnaw away at the family’s honor with his own teeth.
“Send someone to the Jang-ga butcher shop at once and bring that butcher woman here. I must see with my own eyes what kind of vixen has seduced my son.”
Gyo commanded this through gritted teeth, her eyes flashing dangerously.
At that chilling tone, the servants hurried out of the women’s quarters as if their very lives depended on it.
There was bound to be quite a commotion in the household.
* * *
Meanwhile, So Yeon-hee, having settled on her menu without incident, dropped by the Jang-ga butcher shop a day early to deliver her spiced preserved meat ahead of time.
She knew her schedule would be tight for a while, what with presenting her cooking to the Wei household and coordinating with the other cooks.
Fortunately, she had spent a considerable portion of her savings preparing an additional five pounds of spiced preserved meat on top of the ten she’d already made, so she had a comfortable buffer for the coming days.
Still, it was better to give advance notice and not damage the trust she’d built.
She also brought along a generous supply of okara pancakes, fried in the pork fat left over from making the spiced meat.
“So you can hang it up today and start selling it tomorrow. Since the smoking is already done, it’s fine to eat right away, but…”
“Space isn’t an issue—we can hang it without problem. But can you manage the delivery for next week? The First Madam’s birthday celebration is right next week; won’t that be too tight a schedule?”
“Oh, come now. It’s not like all the Wei household cooks are taking leave. I’m only handling one dish. Besides, Father has completely learned how to make spiced preserved meat, so there’s no problem.”
When she’d been making tanghulu, her father had felt a bit self-conscious about standing in the kitchen.
But perhaps because making spiced preserved meat involved a good deal of heavy work, he’d come to see it as men’s work?
Now he stepped forward without waiting for her to ask, taking charge of butchering the meat and cleaning the offal himself.
‘He doesn’t want to burden me alone with supporting the family just because he’s now the head of the household.’
It was a pity that her Good Deed Points gains had decreased somewhat as a result, but for her father, it was good fortune.
‘A general who once commanded battlefields, now walking back and forth between home and a narrow patch of land—it’s almost miraculous he hasn’t fallen into despair. I’m so glad he’s finally feeling better.’
She felt that through the spiced preserved meat business, her entire family had drawn closer together. In a way, she’d gained something far more precious than money.
“In any case, don’t worry about the spiced preserved meat deliveries. From now on, we’ll be operating in partnership with the Shim family, so if needed, I’ll ask them to help.”
Just as she was finishing the delivery arrangements and about to head to the Wei household to introduce her new dish—
“There she is! That’s the butcher woman who sells tanghulu!”
With those words, servants from the Wei household came pouring into the Jang-ga butcher shop.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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