Brian Carter's body trembled slightly, clearly showing that David Carter's palm carried quite some force. "Good brother!"

As their eyes met, it was as if sparks flew between them, and even the gentle candlelight in the kitchen seemed to radiate warmth. In this moment, the power of family felt like a blazing fire, unstoppable and indestructible.

Tears finally welled up in David Carter's eyes, tears of regret.

"Cousin, are you tired? Come, let's go sit in the hall."

Back in the hall, Brian Carter sat down. After all, he was still young, carrying a scholarly air. Sitting there, he hardly looked like the master of the house; though dressed plainly, he resembled a refined and elegant young gentleman.

David Carter quickly went to pour tea and brought it over. "Cousin, please eat."

Brian Carter took it, sipped lightly, and was surprised to taste ginger in the tea. He suddenly realized that he was now living in the same era as Wu Zetian. In this era, tea was boiled, not steeped, and not only was salt added, but also things like scallions, ginger, dates, tangerine peel, dogwood, mint, and so on.

"Cough, cough..." Brian Carter almost choked. Seeing David Carter about to pat his back, he quickly reached out and said, "No need, let's talk about the matter of selling yourself into servitude."

David Carter couldn't help but ask, "Selling oneself into servitude? Who's selling to whom?"

"Naturally, you are selling yourself to me."

"Ah... cousin... you... what are you..."

Brian Carter looked at him with great sympathy. "You see, just as I said earlier, I value family very much. The thought of you possibly leaving breaks my heart. Cousin, I can't bear to lose you. In the future, I'll teach you to cook. If you run away, I'll be sleepless and lose my appetite. But if you sell yourself to me, it's different. Then I can sleep soundly, not afraid you'll run off. Even if you do, I can report you to the authorities. Hmm... let me think, I seem to have read the Tang Code; the punishment for runaway servants is quite severe. But don't worry, we're family after all. You just temporarily sell yourself to me, I'll teach you the craft, and in the future, I'll treat you well, let you enjoy good food and drink with me. If you refuse, then I'll have to send you away. When you go back, you'll have to farm, but you have no land, so you'll have to rent someone else's fields. After a year of hard work, you might not even have enough to eat."

Honestly, who was Brian Carter? This cousin of his was lazy and glib. If he taught him the craft and the guy ran off, who would Brian Carter have to cry to?

"I... I..." David Carter was about to cry.

...

After signing and sealing the contract of servitude, David Carter looked gloomy and depressed. Clearly, he never imagined he would be tricked by this harmless bookish cousin. But, in the spirit of fairness and willingness, once he signed this contract, from that moment on, he no longer had any right to resist Brian Carter.

Brian Carter took the contract, feeling elated. Seeing David Carter looking as if he were mourning a death, he thought to himself that now was the time to encourage him, to lift his spirits and get him to work hard.

So Brian Carter, full of energy, said, "I've suddenly had an epiphany. This is the blessing of our ancestors, so we must bring honor to our family."

"Oh... bring honor to our family."

"We must revive the family business and enjoy good food and drink."

"Enjoy good food and drink... mm... mm... alright."

"Just wait, get a few trunks ready to hold all the money. We're going to make lots and lots of money."

"Cousin... there's something I've been holding in, and it's making me uncomfortable. The wages you owe me from before—will you pay me back once we make money? I need to buy some new clothes... and also..."

"Uh..." Brian Carter was momentarily stunned, then looked at him meaningfully and said, "Cousin, you must have faith!"

...

The Great Tang... no, it should be called the Great Zhou now. Brian Carter had only been here two days, but he had already seen the local customs.

A Mrs. Li who kicked him when he was down and tried to saddle him with an ugly wife, and a cousin who had beaten him since childhood—Brian Carter's impression of the people of Zhou was not good. Honest and simple folk? Nonsense.

So, the more wicked the world, the more Brian Carter had to outdo them in cunning. This was fighting poison with poison. As for being thick-skinned and ruthless, Brian Carter was quite experienced.

Now, what he needed to do was not so much to restore the family’s glory, but rather to protect his only asset and avoid being left destitute. The restaurant business had to go on.

If anyone dared to stand in the way of his fortune, Brian Carter had no qualms about turning them into minced eggplant with meat.

But the first problem at hand wasn't opening for business, but restocking. That's right, the restaurant was running out of ingredients. Chicken, duck, fish, meat, and all kinds of fresh produce were gone. There was still oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, and a vat of pickled cabbage in the backyard, but unfortunately, this was Luoyang, not Goryeo—people here didn't eat pickled cabbage every meal. So he had to buy more ingredients.

But here came the trouble: Brian Carter had no money. Not only was he penniless, he was also deep in debt.

But this didn't faze Brian Carter, because he planned to keep buying on credit. Buying on credit? What's so hard about that? As long as you're thick-skinned enough, it's fine. Besides, according to his memory, the restaurant already owed a lot for ingredients. So, with so many debts, what's one more? After all, isn't the debtor the boss?