An Ancient Foodie's Guide to Getting Rich

[My new novel, A Look at the Nation's Foodies, is now available!] Synopsis:

Xu Xianxiang wakes up in the body of a little beggar. She lives in a dilapidated temple in the south of the city, where broken walls let in the wind and rain. She's poor, but she has a few friends and a head full of knowledge about modern cuisine.

So! It's only a matter of time before she gets rich!

She sets up a stall at the market, selling French fries, hash browns, crispy fried potatoes, tornado potatoes... One pot of potatoes kicks off the little beggar's path to riches.

Hot and sour rice noodles, chicken soup rice noodles, grilled cold noodles, teppanyaki, grilled meat skewers, honey-glazed chicken wings, egg tarts, lamb noodles... One modern delicacy after another. Day by day, the little beggar's wealth grows, and she pulls herself out of poverty.

Xu Xianxiang notices that a familiar figure is always hanging around outside her door.

One day, she gets a good look and realizes it's the young wastrel who once declared, "I will never eat a beggar's food!"

A few days later, he says, "This is delicious!"

*

Bonus Scene:

Rumor has it that Jiang Huai, the second young master of the marquis's household, has fallen for a little beggar. His improper behavior is a disgrace to the family.

The Jiang matriarch angrily rebukes the rumor and summons Jiang Huai to set things straight. He rubs his chin and smacks his lips. "That little beggar isn't bad."

The matriarch and everyone else: ...

The Jiang matriarch sends a servant to bring her five hundred taels in banknotes.

She thinks the little beggar has never seen so much money, and five hundred taels will be enough to make her pack her things and leave.

But the legendary little beggar has bright eyes and white teeth, and carries herself with poise. She doesn't look like a beggar at all.

She looks at the five hundred taels the servant brought, rummages in her sleeve, then holds out a thousand taels. "Would a thousand taels be enough to take Second Master Jiang off your hands?"

Afterward:

Jiang Huai says pitifully, "Wifey, in your eyes, I'm only worth a thousand taels..."

Xu Xianxiang points to the five hundred taels. "Explain this."

Jiang Huai: "Wifey, I was wrong."

[Reading Guide]

1. A food novel. Everything depends on the food. The setting is very, very loosely based on history, so don't take it too seriously.

2. If it's not for you, just click away. Please don't tell me. The author's heart is made of glass and will shatter at a touch.

Synopsis saved on April 24, 2020.

[Upcoming Novel A Look at the Nation's Foodies, please add it to your reading list]

#Food solves everything, including palace intrigue#

#I became everyone's favorite thanks to food#

Foodie Xu Nian transmigrates into the body of the ninth princess of the Great Song. Her father doesn't dote on her, her mother doesn't love her, and her siblings act as if she doesn't exist. She lives in a remote little palace.

It doesn't matter if no one loves her. She starts a vegetable garden, grows produce, cooks, and makes a little money. She lies flat like a lazy fish, living a carefree life.

All she wants is to be given her own residence and leave the palace when she turns fifteen.

The Great Song palace is also home to Lin Jing, a highly esteemed young lord whose maternal aunt is the empress. His status is equal to a prince's.

Servant: "Young Lord, I've come across a new delicacy called an egg tart. Would you like to try one?"

Lin Jing doesn't even look at it and waves the servant away in disgust. "Take it away! I don't want any!"

A few days later, the arrogant and haughty young lord Lin Jing is said to have looked at the ninth princess with wide, innocent eyes and asked sweetly, "Ninth Princess, could you give me an egg tart?"

Xu Nian: "Just pay for it."

After that, her remote palace becomes the most popular place in the Great Song palace, and the ninth princess, who used to be a nobody, becomes the most popular person around.

The refined second prince: "Ninth Sister, here's a newly published storybook. How about sweet-and-sour fish for dinner today?"

The blunt third princess: "Ninth Sister, this set of jade hair ornaments is for you. I'd like another bowl of river-snail rice noodles."

The mature and dependable crown prince: "Ninth Sister, those spicy chicken wings yesterday were excellent. Here's a newly presented coral branch for you."

Xu Nian: "These are nice, but remember to pay for your food."

Everyone: ...

The supposedly composed but actually tsundere young lord Lin Jing: "These are some new vegetable seeds. Keep them safe. There's only one plant like this in all of Great Song."

Xu Nian happily accepts them and generously waives the young lord's meal bill.

Hmph! Don't even think about taking her away from this young lord!

My completed novel, I Ascended to Immortality by Raising Pigs, is ready to binge.

Theme: Good food is too precious to pass up.