"What’s that amazing smell so late at night?"

"I think it’s coming from the Lynch family’s place. Come on, let’s go check it out."

Late at night, neighbors who should have been asleep came one after another to knock on Grace Winslow’s door.

Grace Winslow yawned as she went to open the door.

Seeing a line of neighbors standing at her door, all still in their pajamas and clearly woken up by something, she couldn’t help but feel a little surprised. "Aunties, what’s going on? Is something wrong? It’s so late."

"Grace, what are you guys doing in there? Why does it smell so good so late at night?"

"Yeah, I was lying in bed for ages. The smell was making my mouth water like crazy, and I couldn’t get to sleep."

"What delicious thing is your mom making now? Quick, let us in to have a look."

Hearing this, Grace Winslow looked helpless. She stepped aside to let the aunties in and explained, "Aunties, it’s nothing much. I brought some of my mom’s beef sauce to work today, and my colleagues loved it so much they asked if it was for sale. So, I asked my mom to make a bigger batch to sell at the shop, so people who like it can buy some to take with them."

"But we haven’t finalized anything yet. The jars we have at home aren’t very nice. If we use them for the shop, it might clash with the store’s style."

After hearing Grace Winslow’s explanation, everyone understood. "So that’s why it smells so amazing! I can smell shiitake mushrooms and meat. Oh my, I can’t stop my mouth from watering."

"Isn’t that the truth! I’ve been drooling a river. Are you really going to sell it? We don’t care if the jars are pretty or not. Once it’s ready, just give each of us a jar first."

Grace Winslow felt helpless again. "Alright, why don’t you all have a seat for a bit? I’ll go get you some tea."

Grace Winslow poured a few glasses of hot water and mixed in some malted milk powder.

The aunties living nearby were all relatively well-off, so they naturally recognized the taste right away.

They all understood tacitly but didn’t say anything.

Soon, Irene Lynch’s sauce was ready.

When she came out and saw seven or eight people sitting in the courtyard, she jumped in surprise.

She only found out after asking that they had been drawn over by the aroma.

She glanced at the time and couldn’t help but exclaim, "Oh dear! I’m so sorry for disturbing your rest this late at night. I’ll make it during the day from now on."

"It’s alright, it’s alright, no one’s blaming you. Hurry up and pack a jar for each of us. I want to take mine home right now."

The whole group was urging her on.

The tantalizing aroma was driving them crazy, making them utterly unable to resist. They had no idea how much they’d been drooling.

Irene Lynch smiled and agreed. Working together, she and Grace Winslow managed to fill eight jars in just a few minutes. Each person who had come took one jar home.

No one mentioned money. With a mutual understanding, everyone simply left two yuan and departed.

Grace Winslow collected the money. "Mom, it looks like this sauce will sell pretty well. We just sold eight jars in a few minutes. Let’s put it in the shop later. It has a long shelf life, so we can just sell it slowly."

"I’ll find someone to custom-make some nice glass jars, and we need to get a trademark sorted out too."

"I wonder if Sean York handles trademark registration. I don’t have time to deal with this stuff, and you don’t know how. I’ll ask him later."

Since they didn’t have enough small jars, they first stored the rest of the sauce in a large crock.

Grace Winslow glanced at the time; it was already past two in the morning.

She had to get up early for work the next day, so she hurried back to bed.

The next day, Irene Lynch packed a small jar of the beef sauce for her to take to the office, and Grace Winslow didn’t refuse.

As soon as she arrived at the office, several people caught the scent and came over to ask about the meat sauce.

"We’ve made it, but we don’t have any nice jars to put it in at home, so we probably can’t sell it just yet," Grace Winslow answered honestly.

"Oh, who needs nice jars? We’re not that picky. Just put it in anything. If that doesn’t work, I can bring my own bowl over to get a serving."

"I had some of your sauce yesterday, and when I went home for dinner, I felt like my food was missing something. Without your sauce, how will I ever be able to enjoy my meals again?"

"That’s right, Comrade Grace Winslow, you have to take responsibility for us!"

A group of people surrounded Grace Winslow, all wanting to get their hands on the meat sauce.

Grace Winslow didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, fine. Everyone who wants some, put your name down with me. I’ll go home and see if I can find enough jars to pack some up, and then I’ll bring them to the office for you."

Upon hearing this, everyone was thrilled and rushed over to sign up.

Grace Winslow had a helpless look on her face.

It seemed like a lot of people wanted to buy the sauce, but when she took down the names, it was actually only twelve people. Grace Winslow confirmed with them, saying she would go home at noon to check on things. If there were no issues, she would bring the sauce the next morning.

During lunch, many people still came over to mooch some of Grace Winslow’s meat sauce.

These were people who wanted to eat it but were too reluctant to spend their own money, so they figured they could just freeload a little off of someone else.

Yesterday, Grace Winslow hadn’t minded and gave some to everyone who came over to mooch. But today, she hadn’t brought much for herself, so it was impossible to share with everyone again. Thus, she refused them without hesitation.

By the afternoon, she heard rumors spreading about her, calling her stingy.

Grace Winslow rolled her eyes. She was speechless at these kinds of people.

’How can people like this exist? Just because I didn’t give them a bite to eat, they start spreading rumors behind my back and calling me stingy.’

After her shift, she slung her bag over her shoulder and headed home.

At this time of day, Irene Lynch was always at the shop.

Grace Winslow stopped by the shop to take a look, and business was indeed excellent.

Since most of the pastries in the shop were medicated, health-promoting snacks, everyone was skeptical at first. There was even a group of people who seemed to have been paid to be shills.

But after eating them for a while, their health genuinely improved. People realized the medicated pastries really worked, were inexpensive, and good for the body. Naturally, this led to many repeat customers.

These customers even recommended the shop to their friends and relatives, leading to a steady stream of new people who came every day after hearing about its reputation.

Irene Lynch and her two apprentices started grinding beans and making pastries at three or four in the morning every day. They basically never had enough to sell, and by around four in the afternoon, everything would be completely sold out.

By the time Grace Winslow arrived, most of the shop’s pastries were already sold.

The two apprentices greeted her with a smile.

"Where’s my mom?"

"Aunt Irene is in the back. You’ll see her if you go in," one of the girls, Annette Chase, said with a smile, pointing toward the back.

So, Grace Winslow went inside to find Irene Lynch.

She told her about her colleagues wanting to buy the sauce and the issue with packaging. Irene Lynch thought for a moment, then turned around and brought out several small, exquisite ceramic jars. "What do you think of these jars? They can hold about a pound of sauce, and they’re easy to seal."

Grace Winslow took one to examine it, her eyes instantly lighting up. She gave Irene Lynch a thumbs-up. "These are perfect, Mom! Not only do these jars look good, but they’re also practical. Let’s use these for now, and then we can get a batch of glass jars custom-made later."