Chapter 54: Zhao Baili's Rise To Wealth

Li Chaosheng thought about that and could not help laughing. It was a good idea. Paper men naturally belonged to the Yin-Spirit category. Practicing this Musical Instrument Requiem Method was perfect and could help their cultivation.

It was a good item. Li Chaosheng put away the Musical Instrument Requiem Method and immediately opened the Human-Skin Catalog. It recorded the life of Zhao Baili, and Li Chaosheng was very curious what great crime Zhao Baili had committed.

Thinking this, Li Chaosheng clicked open Zhao Baili’s life. The next moment his mind was drawn in, and he had already entered the world of Zhao Baili’s life. The imagery was even more real than a 3D blockbuster, as if everything were happening right before his eyes.

Zhao Baili, from Zhaojiagou in Lin County, was a cook. He had once worked as a chef at the largest restaurant in Yanggu County, the Songhe Pavilion. But because his hands were not clean and he kept stealing the restaurant’s shrimp meat to eat, a colleague reported him to the owner, and the owner immediately fired him.

At the same time, Zhao Baili’s reputation for having dirty hands and liking to steal was confirmed, so the entire Yanggu County, including the major restaurants in several nearby counties, jointly boycotted him, effectively passing death sentence on his career.

Fortunately, when he worked at the Songhe Pavilion he had become close with the woman who cleaned the restaurant kitchen, Miss Sun. Although he lost his job, Miss Sun did not abandon him and kept supporting Zhao Baili.

During that period Zhao Baili was very depressed and sometimes even lost his temper. But Miss Sun silently endured and took care of his life. That time left a deep impression on Zhao Baili. She really was the virtuous-wife-and-good-mother type, and her actions were touching.

Such days lasted three years in total. Zhao Baili could not hold on anymore and prepared to throw himself into a well to die, not wanting to burden Miss Sun’s remaining life.

A turning point came. It turned out that the father of the Xuzhou deputy magistrate, Lord Wang, had recently lost his appetite and wanted to eat a famous dish from his childhood, stir-fried cucumber strips.

This “stir-fried cucumber strips” did not refer to the vegetable cucumber. It meant a small piece of meat on the beef tenderloin. It was said that this piece of meat was extremely tender and could be eaten raw. It was the finest of beef.

Here one might question: wasn’t eating beef illegal in ancient times? Killing working oxen without permission was punishable by death, right?

You are overthinking. The specific interpretation of that law was that commoners who killed working oxen would be put to death, while high officials and nobles who killed oxen were innocent.

In short, the laws of that era were designed by those in power to restrict the common people and imposed little constraint on the rulers. This was a sign of a dynasty heading toward ruin. Only officials were allowed to light fires, while commoners were not even allowed to light lamps.

Lord Wang wanted the stir-fried cucumber strips and searched all over for famous chefs, offering generous pay. But no one could make it to his satisfaction. At that moment Zhao Baili had a thought. He had once been fortunate enough to watch his teacher make that dish.

This dish required precise timing with the heat and had a secret sauce. It was a guarded technique of their school. Actually it was not that they never passed it on. Rather, the cucumber strips were not accessible to ordinary cooks. Their school’s ancestor had once been an imperial chef, so inside the palace they had the conditions to test the quality of this cucumber-strip meat.

Only with that could the dish be done well. So Zhao Baili told Miss Sun, and Miss Sun was extremely supportive. “My husband, you go ahead. I will take care of everything. Take these two taels of silver. If it does not work out, come back. I will support you!”

Miss Sun’s words sent Zhao Baili on the road to rapid success. Zhao Baili rushed to Xuzhou and made the dish. Lord Wang was full of praise and repeatedly lauded the cooking skill.

At the same time, the man had a likable look. When he spoke it was seven parts flattery and three parts sincerity, and it sounded pleasant. Old Lord Wang liked the young man very much, so he gave instructions to hand out heavy rewards.

They handed out piles of gold and silver. The deputy magistrate watched on without comment. After all, an official of his rank would not be short of such money.

One must understand that in that era, within three years a prefect could clear a hundred thousand pieces of silver. The deputy magistrate was not a minor official compared to the prefect, and he supervised finances. Wasn’t there plenty of money? As long as the old man was pleased, even getting the stars from the sky would be no problem.

Thus Zhao Baili was immediately given important duties. He became Lord Wang’s private chef, a position in the household second only to the steward. He was a favorite in the old man’s eyes.

This was a huge change. Zhao Baili rose to power overnight and came back from the brink. He soon bought a mansion in Xuzhou. Because he knew how to please the old man, the rewards became countless.

Within a year he had a mansion and maids. With such achievements Zhao Baili was very happy, and he thought about who had supported him through the hungry years. Wasn’t it Miss Sun?

Grateful, Zhao Baili immediately sent people to bring Miss Sun to Xuzhou to enjoy life. This story should have had a quite good ending here.

The grateful and conscientious Zhao Baili repaid kindness. The faithful and ever-supportive wife Miss Sun enjoyed comfort and honor. What a good story this was.

But things took a turn. In the second year of Zhao Baili’s rise, Miss Sun had been settled in Xuzhou for a year. Maids waited on her every day. For meals she ate whatever she wanted. Miss Sun, who had a kind heart, thought of her younger brother, Sun Dasha.

Sun Dasha was her blood younger brother, a peddler of sorts. He was extraordinarily ugly, about 1.9 meters tall, with a large dark face that looked intimidating. His teeth were pitch black. When he smiled his eyes were slightly cross-eyed. He looked stupid, the kind of man who startled other men and made women scream.

He usually carried a shoulder pole in the street selling small sundries to make a living, barely getting by. Life was tight, and with those conditions no woman wanted to marry him. When Miss Sun was around she often helped him. Once she came to Xuzhou, all contact was cut off and no one knew how he was doing.

Miss Sun thought that now her family was rich and her life had improved, she could not forget her blood brother who was still living in hardship. Now that they had money, why not find a house and a wife for him to continue the family line of the Sun household. After all, it was just a loving sister helping her brother.

So when Zhao Baili returned, Sister Sun told Zhao Baili, “There is this matter. My brother has not married. We live so well now. We cannot ignore him. Can you help my brother find a wife?”

When Zhao Baili heard this and remembered how Miss Sun had cared for him over the years, he agreed readily, saying, “Ah, this is nothing, my wife. Is it not just finding a wife for my brother-in-law? We have plenty of money now. Is this not easy to arrange?”

“We will ask the brother which family’s girl he likes and have a matchmaker propose. We will give plenty of money. What girl could not be married to my brother-in-law? If he wants to stay in Yanggu County, we will buy him a house there and hire maids and matrons to care for him. If he does not want to stay in Yanggu County, he can come live with us. Our courtyard is large anyway. The two of us would have too much empty space.”

Miss Sun was deeply moved and felt she had entrusted her life to the right person. She followed Zhao Baili back to Yanggu County. Just returning for a simple visit would have been fine, but this return instead cost Zhao Baili his life!