Chapter 14, The 14th Inn

Upon hearing Yunyin's words, Song Shi exclaimed in surprise, "So, Madam Yun also runs a restaurant? No wonder she's so familiar with Madam Luo."

"I wonder what Lady Yun's specialty dishes are, and where her restaurant is located? Is it also in Pingxi Town?"

Song Shi asked one question after another, and Yun Yin answered them one by one: "It's on the official road opposite Linjiang Village. When you can leave the city in the future, you can come and try it."

"I can cook many dishes; I'll just make whatever ingredients I have."

Yunyin thought of something and smiled, "Isn't there a popular mushroom sauce in your school? I made that."

Song Shi's mouth dropped open: "So the mushroom sauce was actually made by Lady Yun!"

He looked around and, seeing that no one was paying attention to them, asked in a low voice, "Miss Yun, do you have any more mushroom sauce? You don't know, this sauce is very popular in our school. It's delicious with noodles or steamed buns."

"It's a pity the portion is too small; one person can only buy one can at most, how can that be enough?"

Song Shi sighed and said, "The food at our school is really awful. Boiled cabbage and boiled radish are so bad. I really don't want to eat it."

Yunyin knew that Song Shi genuinely wanted it, but she truly couldn't afford it at the moment. She shook her head and said, "I don't have any more right now. Doesn't Madam Luo have any left in her shop?"

If she remembered correctly, she had only received the mushroom sauce recently.

Song Shi suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and said, "If Madam Luo had it in her shop, would I still be looking for you?"

Seeing this, Yunyin said helplessly, "Then I really don't have any left here. I'll have to wait until next time to make them."

"Sigh, if only I could leave the city." Song Shi looked disappointed, but then his eyes lit up and he said, "Miss Yun, when will you come to the county town next time? You can bring me some."

Yunyin thought for a moment and said, "I probably won't be coming again anytime soon. I've bought everything I need."

As for the matter of the bandits, it's unlikely that you'll find out anything about it in the county town. Even if it's true, it's probably been kept secret. Even the young master of the registrar's family doesn't know, so it's even less likely that she would find out.

That's right, Yunyin already knew that Song Shi was the youngest son of the registrar's family and was studying at the county school.

She comforted Song Shi, who still wanted to leave the city, saying, "Just be patient for a few more days. Maybe you'll have some more with Madam Luo. I'll send her a portion of the new sauce as soon as I make it."

"That's the only way," Song Shi said, getting up to pay the bill. "I'll see you out."

Yunyin took the two portions of eight-treasure chicken that the shopkeeper had packed, paid for them, and said to him, "No need, I already know the way. You can go and do your thing. Come and eat my fish sometime."

After saying goodbye to Song Shi, Yunyin went to buy a steamer and then went to the place where the carriages and horses were parked, carrying large and small bags.

The journey back to Pingxi Town was smooth. Yunyin noticed that the yamen runners she used to see were now rarely seen. She thought of Fu Wang and Zhou Chang she had seen at the city gate before, and wondered if Fu Wang had told Zhou Chang about the bandits.

After all, Zhou Chang was the county constable of Long'an County, responsible for the safety of the entire county and other towns. If bandits were to appear, the county constable certainly could not turn a blind eye.

However, these are all just her guesses, and the truth cannot be known for a while. She just hopes that her guesses will come true, so that it will not affect her business.

Her small food stall was forced to close after only one day of operation, and she didn't know when she would be able to earn ten strings of cash to buy the valley.

Yunyin entered the backyard of Luo Family Restaurant. At this time, Luo Man was directing people to clean the yard. The yard still had a bloody smell from the sheep that had just been slaughtered. Hearing the sound of the carriage, Luo Man greeted her with a smile: "Sister, you came back so quickly. Why didn't you stay and explore the county town more?"

Yunyin got off the carriage and took out the things from inside, saying, "I've bought everything. I was thinking about home, so I came back."

She handed the still-warm Eight Treasure Chicken to Luo Man and said, "I just happened to have Eight Treasure Chicken at Manxiangju this time, so I brought one back for you too."

Looking at the still fragrant Eight Treasure Chicken, Luo Man murmured, "You ran into Song Shi?"

Yunyin paused, not intending to mention Song Shi. She was unaware of the connection between Luo Man and Song Shi, and mentioning it or not would only cause trouble.

Unexpectedly, Luo Man had already guessed it herself. Yun Yin smiled and said, "Couldn't it be that I thought it was delicious and brought it for you?"

Luo Man pursed her lips, took the Eight Treasure Chicken, and said, "Then did you run into Song Shi?"

Yunyin nodded and said, "Yes, we met. At first, he thought you had gone to the county town, and there was almost a misunderstanding."

Yunyin was actually a little curious, and since Luoman had asked, she voiced her doubts: "Sister Aman, you and Song Langjun..."

Luo Man gripped the Eight Treasure Chicken tightly, gave a bitter smile, and said, "There's nothing I can't say. My sister knows I was once married, but unfortunately he didn't have a good life and passed away after only a year."

“Song Shi and I were just a customer and a cook. He liked my cooking, so he often came to town to eat my food. Later, I opened a shop in the county town, and he often patronized it. We became familiar with each other over time.”

“I know you must have heard him mention wanting to marry me.” Luo Man shook her head and said, “Even if I had never been married before, there would be no future with a son of an official like him.”

When Yunyin heard her belittling herself, she disagreed and said, "I think Sister Aman is very capable. She can manage this family business by herself and do it so well. Sister Aman, don't underestimate yourself."

Luo Man chuckled upon hearing her words and said, "I know, I'm not ashamed of myself, it's just the truth. Even if we merchant ladies were to become concubines for the sons of officials, they wouldn't think we're good enough. Why should we bother? I think this life is pretty good now, and every day is fulfilling."

Seeing that Luo Man really didn't take it to heart, Yun Yin smiled and said, "Sister Aman's ability to think like this shows that she has a broad mind."

“I didn’t hear anyone mention bandits during my trip to the county town, not even Song Shi. But I think his family must know something, since they won’t let him leave the town now.”

After pondering for a while, Luo Man said, "No wonder I hadn't seen him for so long. I thought he had given up. It turns out there really are bandits."

She said worriedly, "It's relatively safe for us to live in town, but you have to be careful, sister. Aren't you living near the main road?"

Luo Man frowned and said, "If you ask me, you should move to town. Even if you come to town to run a food business, it won't affect me. It's not like no one has ever run a restaurant before."

Yunyin shook her head and said, "Sister Aman, don't worry. I know a little martial arts and I can protect myself. I won't risk my life."

After she finished speaking, she remembered that Song Shi had mentioned that there was no mushroom sauce, so she quickly asked, "Sister Aman, I heard Song Shi say that the mushroom sauce in the county town is sold out. Didn't I just give you a batch?"

When Luo Man heard her mention this, she slapped her forehead and said, "I almost forgot about this. It's really sold out. The batch you gave me before was all taken away by a merchant who went back to Mianzhou. I haven't had a chance to tell you yet. You need to make another batch. Make more this time, fifty cans. Ten cans of vegetarian mushrooms, and the rest of the meat mushrooms."

Luo Man went back to her room, got the money, and gave it to her, saying, "This is for the goods."

Yunyin took the heavy bag of copper coins and said with a smile, "Then I'll finish making it and send it to Sister Aman as soon as possible."

Yunyin was packing her things to leave when Luo Man saw how much stuff she had and quickly said, "Let Zhao Qian take you back; he can get there quickly by carriage."

Yunyin didn't stand on ceremony with her. Since she had a car, she bought the earthenware jar for the mushroom sauce and a small stone mill, as she wanted to grind some salt and pepper.

While eating eight-treasure chicken today, she saw a plate of salt and pepper and wanted to eat salt and pepper shrimp. Unfortunately, Manxiangju does not sell salt and pepper, so she had to make it herself.

After buying the earthenware pot and stone mill, Yunyin went to pick up the meat she had ordered. She had originally planned to make more mushroom sauce to store, but Luo Man needed it, so she decided to use the meat to make mushroom sauce.

She also bought some lard from the shopkeeper, planning to render some more pork fat, as there wasn't much pork fat left from the last batch.

Yunyin, carrying a large amount of stuff, took a car back to the valley.

The food stall was deserted. Zhao Qian helped Yunyin unload the goods and drove away. Yunyin glanced at Zhang Lin's locked house and guessed he was probably in the fields.

She walked a short distance in that direction and sure enough, she saw Zhang Lin still working. She called out loudly, and Zhang Lin immediately ran over and said, "Miss Yun is back."

Seeing Zhang Lin covered in sweat, Yunyin poured him a glass of water and said, "Didn't I tell you to rest when the sun is strong? Why are you still in the fields at this hour? Have you had lunch yet?"

She told him she wouldn't be back for lunch and that he should cook for himself. When Yunyin heard that he hadn't eaten yet, she choked up and finally said after a long while, "From now on, you'll have to rest for an hour at noon, understand?"

Zhang Lin chuckled sheepishly and said, "I understand, Lady Yun."

Yunyin steamed some rice and heated up the eight-treasure chicken she had brought back. She said to him, "You work so hard. It would be like exploiting you if I didn't pay you."

"What you're saying, Lady Yun? If you hadn't spared me back then, taken me in, and given me food and shelter, I don't even know if I'd be alive or dead now."

“Miss Yun, you don’t need to feel sorry. I made a mistake back then, but you were still willing to give me a chance. I am truly grateful to you.”

Zhang Lin smiled so much his eyes narrowed: "Besides, I'm doing very well now. I have no worries about food and drink, and I don't have to worry about getting arrested."

Yunyin: "Alright, since you think everything is fine, then I'm relieved. After you finish your year, I'll pay you your wages so you can save the money, register your household registration, and even get married."

Seeing Zhang Lin getting happier and happier, his face full of anticipation for the future, Yunyin said, "Tomorrow, can you help me collect some more mushrooms?"

She said, "If the villages here don't have enough, you can go to the villages across the river and collect more mushrooms. It will take more than a month for fresh mushrooms to come out, so for now we can only find someone to buy some dried mushrooms to use."

Zhang Lin agreed, then hesitated for a moment before saying, "Madam Yun, are you really not worried about the bandits? What will happen to our business if they continue to exist?"

Yunyin waved her hand and said, "It's okay, you help me bring the mushrooms back first."

As for the bandits, she had new plans.