Chapter 3

Chunfeng’s grand plan was to recruit an influencer.

Our opening day happened to coincide with the market fair. The streets teemed with people and vendors’ cries rang without end.

We had barely opened the doors when a burly, bearded man poked his head inside.

“Where’s your father?”

“Dead,” I said without looking at him, intent on polishing the counter.

“Then is your grandfather the blacksmith?” he persisted.

“My mother is.”

“What?” His suspicion vanished at once. He looked as if someone had stepped on his tailbone and burst into laughter. “Ha! Come see this! A smithy run by a woman!”

I was about to give him a thorough cursing when Chunfeng carefully set a tray of newly finished knives on the counter.

“What kind soul is advertising for us?”

She peered through the gathering crowd, happily enjoying gossip about herself.

Then her eyes lit up as though she had spotted the God of Wealth. She gave me a push. “That one—the woman with a hibiscus blossom in her hair.”

Ignoring the bearded man, I squeezed through the gawkers and approached our target.

“Big Sister, I heard you’ve been searching for a knife that fits your hand. Why not take a look at ours?”

The woman stared at me in surprise. “You know me?”

I took her hand and led her toward the shop. “Of course! You’re the finest cook in all Gaoyou.”

The bearded man kept stirring up the crowd, but I had eyes only for our prospective customer. As I passed him in the crush, I found his foot and stamped down hard.

He yelped and spun around in search of the culprit. I had already ducked inside.

Holding up a knife, Chunfeng ignored the jeers and launched into an enthusiastic pitch to Suxian.

“It may be smaller than most, but I spared nothing on the metal. Try it, Big Sister. Isn’t it handier than a heavy blade?”

The woman with the hibiscus flower was Suxian, the celebrated all-purpose cook of Clear Sky Restaurant.

Chunfeng and I had spent days tracking her routine so that we could choose precisely this hour to open.

“Mistress Suxian, you don’t truly believe her, do you?” Blacksmith Wu stepped forward when he saw her interest. “Would you dare use iron forged by a woman? Aren’t you afraid of ruining your good name?”

Suxian took Chunfeng’s knife and flicked it backward. Blacksmith Wu stumbled away in fright.

“A knife made by a woman can’t be used? You had no trouble drinking your mother’s milk or eating the meals she cooked, did you?”

She tested the blade. “This is an excellent knife. How much?”

At that, Chunfeng invited her into the courtyard and brought out the entire set.

“Thank you for putting your faith in me, Big Sister. Please accept these as a token of my gratitude.”

Suxian demurred, but her hands told a more honest story. “What is carved into the handles?”

“I heard your home is in Huangshan, so I carved its Welcoming Pines on every handle. Do you like them?”

“I couldn’t possibly accept all this.” She picked up a knife and examined it closely.

“You needn’t stand on ceremony. They aren’t entirely free.” Chunfeng eagerly moved a stool closer, leaned toward Suxian, and explained her idea.

The knives were an advance thank-you. All Chunfeng asked was that Suxian spread the word.

She wanted the women of the city to know that a woman blacksmith now worked exclusively for them, taking commissions and selling tools designed to fit their hands.

Women never lacked a chivalrous spirit.

Suxian not only recommended us to other cooks; she carried Chunfeng’s name beyond her own trade. Whenever a wealthy household hired her to arrange a banquet and praised her work, she made a point of praising the fine new tools she had acquired.

Soon, Chunfeng’s orders bloomed in every variety: knives for cooks, scissors for embroiderers, incense burners for nunneries…

Even Miss Yang commissioned a flower hoe, saying flower burials were fashionable now.

One young lady from an official family after another followed her through our doors. They arrived with baskets of demands—and scattered silver by the handful.

Chunfeng’s business flourished. We could now afford dry-tossed noodles with pork-kidney soup for breakfast and order steamed dumplings besides.

I even began wondering whether I should inherit her craft after primary school or attend an academy and win her honor through my studies.

Then she turned around and enrolled me in a martial academy.