Chapter 77 Chapter 77 Trivia. (Second update)...

"Who knows! But the government has already put up a wanted order, and there's a reward for anyone who can provide information, so I think it must be true!"

"Alas," Song Jiaoniang sighed, unable to help but sigh, "Poor fellows working in the shop! They toiled so hard for months and didn't even get a penny."

"That's right. The winter solstice is about to come, and yet this kind of thing happens." Madam Yu had endured the hardships of winter in previous years, so when she heard Song Jiaoniang mention this, she also sighed.

Madam Yu felt the atmosphere was a bit heavy, so she quickly changed the subject, "Oh, by the way, I haven't told you yet, but my sweet osmanthus almond syrup is selling like hotcakes!"

The sweet osmanthus and almond porridge she was referring to was the sweet porridge she had brought for a taste test. After returning home, Madam Yu tinkered with it for a few days, adding almonds for a more fragrant touch and then topping it with osmanthus syrup. Now, both in color and flavor, it was one of the best hot drinks around, and it became an instant hit.

Linzhiji was next door to Madam Yu's house, so Song Jiaoniang had certainly heard about this. Her lips curled up as she replied with a smile, "I've heard that many officials come to your shop after their shifts, or send their servants to buy one or two to take home!"

Madam Yu covered her mouth with her hands and laughed. She leaned over to Song Jiaoniang's ear and whispered, "I'm telling you, Madam Hua came over again midway through, boasting all the time. If you didn't know better, you'd think she was the one who gave me the idea."

"How dare she come to my house?"

"She's just thick-skinned!" Madam Yu used to think of herself as a friend and didn't think there was anything wrong with Madam Hua.

But after getting to know Song Jiaoniang, I realized that friends don’t just give one-sidedly. Even if they are just chatting about gossip or family matters, they should help each other and make progress together.

After figuring this out, she felt a lot brighter. The two times Hua Niang came, she could see the jealousy hidden in her eyes. "She even followed me into the kitchen and insisted on seeing how to make sweet osmanthus almond syrup, saying she wanted to try making it at home."

Madam Yu was speechless when she repeated Madam Hua's tea-flavored words. She probably knew that Zhijie'er had taught her how to make bald yellow butter, but she didn't think about what kind of people Zhijie'er's family was, and what kind of bastards their family was.

"Do you think she thinks I'm stupid?"

Song Jiaoniang said nothing, only patted the back of Yu Niangzi's hand. Seeing that Yu Niangzi was still depressed, she moved closer and asked, "Do you remember the kiln in Xie Da's Mutton Restaurant?"

Madam Yu nodded, then suddenly leaned forward and asked, "Did she tell anyone?"

Song Jiaoniang gave an affirmative answer.

Madam Yu took a deep breath and said, "You can only know a person's face but not his heart."

Song Jiaonian nodded heavily. Fortunately, Sister Zhi was cautious and careful, and her family had taken precautions in advance, so they didn't let the recipe spread out. Otherwise, maybe Lady Hua's family would be the first to open a roast duck restaurant.

Madam Yu bit her lip and spilled some news: "Actually, I kept one thing from you last time. Madam Hua said her nephew could help me find an easy job, and then she mentioned another matter."

"?"

"It's her nephew." Madam Yu curled her lips. "She said that her nephew saw Sister Zhi on Double Ninth Festival and couldn't forget her, but she was too embarrassed to speak up and wanted me to help bring it up. I didn't think it was appropriate, so I didn't agree."

At first, she thought that it was because she didn't help that Hua Niang deliberately delayed and didn't help to find a job: "It wasn't until you told me those things that I realized the problem here."

At that time, she was thinking about hot drinks, and only after she sent Hua Niangzi away did she feel scared: if she had really helped to speak up at that time, she and the Linzhi family would not only not be friends, but she would probably have cut off all contact.

"You're daydreaming!" Song Jiaoniang had already noticed Hua Niangzi's thoughts, and now Yu Niangzi's words only confirmed her guess.

She curled her lips, not wanting to mention this unlucky person anymore: "Let's not talk about these bad things. I heard there was an elephant show on the Imperial Street a few days ago?"

“Yes, it happens every year.”

"Every year?" Song Jiaonian was shocked.

"That's right. Let me tell you something." Seeing Song Jiaoniang's curiosity, Madam Yu hurriedly introduced herself. "Every year from the Winter Solstice to the Lantern Festival, there are elephant performances every now and then in Bianjing. These elephants are so clever. They can blow trumpets with their trunks, spin in circles on their legs, and even kneel and sing!"

"Elephant...what does an elephant look like?"

"Huh?" Madam Yu was filled with shock and quickly gestured: "The elephant is this big!"

Seeing that Song Jiaoniang still couldn't imagine it, she explained in detail: "The ears are as big as a palm-leaf fan, the nose is this long, and there will be a pit when you step on it..."

Song Jiaoniang couldn't close her mouth when she heard this.

Seeing this, Madam Yu added, "If you want to see it, go to the Imperial Street. There you can buy painted elephants. If you're lucky, you might even be able to pay for an elephant to paint you."

After seeing off Lady Yu, Song Jiaoniang took out the almost-finished shoes from the basket and told the father and daughter about the elephant show. "Let's go see it together during the winter solstice! I want to see just how big the elephants are!"

"Didn't you say last time that we'd go house-hunting together when we have our next holiday?" Lin Sen joked, still working on the filling, adding the pre-prepared powders and stirring vigorously. "Why are you talking about going to see elephants again?"

"It doesn't take long to see the elephants, and the Yahang is close from the Imperial Street."

Song Jiaoniang wanted both, not wanting to miss out on either. As she replied, she lowered her head and carefully sewed the hem of the shoe, striving to make the upper smooth and even. "Take a look at these shoes. Are they well made?"

"Of course my wife does it the best."

"Go away, stop talking so smoothly."

"I'm telling the truth!"

Song Jiaoniang was too lazy to argue with him. After she finished making the shoes and washed her hands, she took out the wonton wrappers and started making wontons.

She had already mastered the technique and could quickly pick up the filling and pinch the skin with chopsticks. Soon the plate was filled with wontons of the same size.

Looking at her own achievements, Song Jiaoniang was very satisfied. When she caught a glimpse of the crooked and cracked wonton wrappers that Lin Sen had made, her smile froze and she couldn't help but complain: "...Brother Sen, don't waste the wonton wrappers. It's not easy for Sister Zhi to make them."

After a pause, she became complacent again: "I was wondering why our ancestors didn't have a cook, so how come Sister Zhi suddenly appeared? Now it seems that she inherited it from me!"

Lin Sen was unconvinced and turned his head away, laughing: "Follow someone who jumps onto a chair when he sees a fish jumping?"

Song Jiaoniang immediately got furious and reached out to twist Lin Sen's arm.

The couple's quarreling noises reached the kitchen, where Linzhi was busy brushing crispy water on the roast geese and then hanging them up high for ventilation.

Just as they were busy, the laughter and noise in front of them suddenly stopped. A moment later, Lin Sen lifted the curtain and walked in: "Sister Zhi, Mr. Zhao wants to order two more roast geese."

"Got it." Lin Zhi took a pen and wrote it down quickly, then clipped the note to the rope next to him. There were at least dozens of similar notes on the rope. Looking under the eaves, there were roast geese hanging everywhere.

After all, as the winter solstice approaches, everyone in Bianjing is busy preparing for the festival, and the sales of the most expensive roast goose are also experiencing a surge.

"Shall I go in and help?"

"Well, Dad is responsible for slaughtering and blowing?"

"No problem." Lin Sen turned around and said to Song Jiaoniang, teaching her to be responsible for making wontons and receiving guests. Then he skillfully rolled up his sleeves, moved a small stool and sat in the yard to get busy.

Every time he helped out in the backyard, he would sigh that his yard was really small - especially now that the weather was getting colder. Even with a stove and hot water next to him, it was still very cold when he was killing geese outside, and his hands were frozen stiff.

There were also two chickens raised in the yard. They were frightened by the smell of blood and were trembling all the time. They hid in their nests all day and refused to come out, looking listless.

Lin Sen considered slaughtering both geese to avoid wasting money if they died of disease, but then he gave up after thinking about how much he had raised them for two months. As he deftly plucked the geese, he muttered, "Let's find a house and book it soon. We can start decorating before the New Year and move in after the New Year."

"Dad, what do you think of Xie Da's Mutton Restaurant across the street?" Lin Zhi came out to get something and happened to hear Lin Sen mumbling to himself.

"Thank you, Big Mutton Restaurant!" Lin Sen's hands trembled, and his voice suddenly rose: "How much does such a big shop cost?"

"I don't know." Lin Zhi had only started to wonder when she heard that Shopkeeper Xie had absconded and the shop had been repossessed by the pawnbrokers. She hadn't asked for details. "I just think our place is pretty good. Dad and Mom are familiar with the neighbors, and we have a lot of regular customers. If I move somewhere else, I'll have to start dealing with everyone else all over again, which would be really troublesome."

Lin Sen breathed a sigh of relief, and his voice dropped again: "That's right."

But when his daughter mentioned it casually, he couldn't help but feel excited. Lin Sen still remembered when his family first arrived in Bian Jing to look at houses. At that time, they looked at Xie Da Mutton Restaurant, Dongji Restaurant and Furong Zhuang with envy, thinking that they would be satisfied if they could rent a house like that for three years.

It's only been a few months, and yet it's actually possible? Lin Sen became increasingly agitated as he thought about it. He couldn't even hold the knife steady. After a few attempts, he failed to cut the goose's neck. Instead, the goose broke free and flew into the kitchen, flapping its wings.

"Hey!" Lin Sen came to his senses and jumped up immediately. With the winter solstice approaching, prices were rising. This goose foot cost over a hundred coins!

Linzhi didn't react in time. When she came to her senses, the goose had already rushed into the main room.

Seeing the big goose spread its wings, lowered its neck and about to rush over, Song Jiaonian couldn't help but scream in shock.

"Wow! Why is there a goose running out?" Chen Yan just walked in and saw white feathers flying towards him. He was startled at first, and then the ferocious goose chased and pecked him twice, so he quickly grabbed it.

"Chen Lang?" Lin Zhi, who had chased out of the door, breathed a sigh of relief and quickly took the goose from his hands: "You are not Dad, you dared to be distracted when killing the goose. You are lucky that you didn't hurt your hand."

"It was because you suddenly said you wanted to buy Xie Da Mutton Restaurant that I was shocked."

"Sister Zhi, do you want to buy Xie Da Lamb Restaurant?"

"I'm just saying it first, I haven't even asked the price yet—"

Amidst the chaotic conversation, Chen Yan finally understood the whole story. He was at a loss for words, and just as he was about to speak, Song Jiaoniang pulled him away: "Brother Yan, you've arrived just in time. Come, try on the shoes."

"Shoes..." Chen Yan was stunned, his eyes fell on the cloth shoes handed to him by Song Jiaoniang, and it took him a long time to react: "Why do you make shoes? I told you everything..."

"It's all done. It's useless for you to say that." Song Jiaoniang stuffed the shoes into Chen Yan's hands and urged, "Try it on quickly."

Chen Yan couldn't resist, so he took the shoes and tried them on silently.

"How about it?"

"Very good." Chen Yan couldn't come up with any other evaluation and replied dryly.

"Really? Wear it and walk around for a few steps to see?"

"..." Chen Yan stood up helplessly and walked around the room a few times. His feet felt warm, and the warmth from the bottom up seemed to flow into his heart, making him curl his lips: "Really, it's good."

"I told you it's good." Lin Sen came over, patted Chen Yan on the shoulder and boasted, "My wife's cooking skills are really good, you are such a lucky kid!"

"Go away, what are you talking about?" Song Jiaoniang pushed Lin Sen away. "Go kill your goose quickly, or it'll run away again!"

When facing Shen Yan, Song Jiaoniang was smiling again: "Don't listen to your uncle's nonsense, just put it back on later so you can feel it. If you feel anything is not right, just tell me directly, but you are not allowed to hide it from me, your aunt."

Chen Yan felt a little uncomfortable and responded obediently. He saw Song Jiaoniang making wontons and asked, "Why don't I help too?"

Song Jiaoniang was about to refuse, but Chen Yan quickly said, "You treat me as your nephew, and I treat you as your aunt. I'll help you make some wontons—"

"Hey, hey, hey, I didn't say those things, okay? It's not that I don't want you to help, it's that your skill in making dumplings is too poor, and your speed in making wontons is not enough." Song Jiaoniang interrupted Chen Yan and pointed inside: "Why don't you help your uncle with the big goose? There have been so many orders recently, and they are very busy."

Just as Shen Yan happily agreed and lifted the curtain to enter the kitchen, he heard Lin Zhi and Lin Sen chatting.

Linzhi was carrying a freshly slaughtered goose and exclaimed in amazement: "Look at this shank of meat! No wonder Dad couldn't hold it down."

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Lin Sen choked, jumping up and down in anger: "Your father was careless and let it run away by accident."

After a pause, he slowed down his voice and said, "By the way, are you really planning to buy Xie Da Mutton Restaurant?"

"I've already said that. I just started thinking about this after hearing the news. I have to ask again."

Lin Zhi placed the goose on the chopping board and skillfully began to apply spices. "Besides, that shop would cost at least two thousand strings of cash? No, it should be more than that. We don't even have enough money at home to afford the down payment."