A Guide to Feeding the Villain's Husband

[The full story is complete. Please support the official edition. Thank you so much.] Next up: a seaside fishing village story, Reborn to Dote on My Disaster-Bearing Little Husband. See the blurb at the bottom! A similar completed story in my author page collection: The Divine Doctor’s Son-in-Law Doesn’t Want to Live Off His Husband, about a doctor gong and a hunter shou. [Blurb] Chef Qin Xia had an accident while on vacation and ended up transmigrating into a novel as a disposable character. In the original story, this character forced the injured, amnesiac antagonist shou into marriage, only to end up meeting the King of Hell. The fellow he’d bought from a marriage broker to be his husband was actually Yu Jiuque, the future all-powerful Governor of the Eastern Depot. A beauty with a venomous heart, infamous far and wide. By the time Qin Xia arrived, the original owner had already pulled the man into his arms and was about to consummate the marriage on the spot. Qin Xia rubbed his chilly neck and changed the subject with a forced smile. “Are you hungry? Want me to make you a bowl of noodles?” Then Yu Jiuque ate every last noodle he made. Five whole bowls. And he became convinced that he was Qin Xia’s husband, determined to warm his bed. … Since there was no sending this “great Buddha” away, Qin Xia had no choice but to go out and make money before he was eaten out of house and home. The neighbors discovered that Qin Xia, the local street thug, had changed after getting married. He was setting up a stall to sell food. At first, no one believed anything he made could be fit to eat. Then they tried his teppanyaki tofu, grilled cold noodles, starch sausages, hot and sour vermicelli, teppanyaki chicken frames, jianbing, bite-sized pan-fried buns, egg burgers, and bowl cakes… The Qin family snack stall was a hit! Before long, the snack stall had grown into a proper restaurant, and everyone learned that Qin Xia could make more than just street food. His honey-glazed ham was glossy and tempting, fresh and sweet, tender and soft; The eel casserole was melt-in-your-mouth, full of flavor, and perfect with rice; The Mountain Village Trio of Crunches was a feast for the eyes, capturing the fresh taste of spring in a single bite; His tofu shredded as fine as hair, stunning everyone with his skill. The restaurant was packed every day, bringing in a fortune. But one day, Brother Jiu, who always stood by Shopkeeper Qin’s side, disappeared. People shook their heads and sighed. Men really did go bad when they got rich. He must have abandoned his partner to marry some wealthy woman instead. Several months later, in the imperial capital, thousands of miles away. Yu Jiuque, the imperial court’s Grand Eunuch of Nine Thousand Years, suddenly sneezed. Then he placed a hand on his slightly rounded belly, his face dark with displeasure. The ministers gathered before him fell silent as chickens and trembled like leaves under his oppressive presence. The Governor was in a thunderous rage. Someone was probably going to lose their head today! But after a long pause, all Yu Jiuque said was, “If you have something to report, do it quickly. If not, get out. Don’t keep me from going home for dinner.” [A master chef whose food is irresistible, gong × A beauty of a governor who can eat without gaining weight, shou] [Reader’s Guide] 1. The gong is the main protagonist. The leads dote on each other. The original novel’s plot is just a backdrop. The story focuses on food and running a business, with a sweet, slow-burn romance and a light, cozy tone. No awful relatives or similar drama. There will be children later. 2. In this version, men born as ge’er can enter the palace and become eunuchs. The author has the final say on all worldbuilding. The shou will gradually regain his memories, but both leads know how to communicate, so there’s no melodrama. The shou’s villainous descent belongs to the original novel’s plot, which has already been changed by the gong’s arrival. 3. The setting is an alternate world, with plenty of deliberately anachronistic details and other authorial inventions. Please don’t overthink it. [Upcoming Story Blurb] In his previous life, Zhong Ming had lofty ambitions but little ability, trusted the wrong people, and wasted his natural talent for swimming. He lost his ship and his family, and died in battle far from home. Reborn, he only wanted to find a partner and live an honest, steady life. Everyone said the Su family’s second-born ge’er had six fingers from birth and was a bad omen who brought misfortune to his family. Zhong Ming, though, thought he was capable, hardworking, and kindhearted. He just looked pale and skinny, as if he never got enough to eat. He thought, if he married him and made him his husband, he’d make sure the man grew plump and healthy. ** Su Yi had a hard life. His parents died when he was born, and the uncle who adopted him drowned at sea. Branded a bringer of disaster, he endured taunts and ridicule every day. He envied the fish in the sea, free to swim wherever they pleased. One day, Zhong Ming, the Zhong family’s skilled diver and fisherman, came to ask for his hand in marriage. Su Yi thought Zhong Ming was crazy. Then Zhong Ming brought out a heavy purse of copper coins and gleaming white rice as the betrothal gifts. …Su Yi decided he was seriously crazy. After they married, Su Yi asked for nothing but enough to eat at every meal. He never expected his husband to treat him so well, buying him new clothes and snacks, making wind chimes from fish bones, and polishing shell beads into jewelry. Later, Zhong Ming left the boat and moved ashore. He planted rice in the sandy fields, raised ducks and sold their eggs, and built a sturdy house out of oyster shells. The whole family was officially registered as residents, and their descendants could take the imperial examinations. At last, they had changed their family’s fortunes. The ge’er everyone had once despised as a bringer of disaster was not only never abandoned, but became a landowner’s husband, no longer scorned by anyone. ** Everyone said that people who lived on the water were born lowly, fated to have no land or livelihood, no household registration and no graves for generations. Zhong Ming, who had died once already, didn’t believe it and wouldn’t accept it. In this life, he swore he’d never drift aimlessly again. He would take his whole family ashore. [A hardworking businessman reborn, gong × A lonely, resilient little shou] Theme: Food is the first necessity of the people