Chapter 355: The matchmaker comes to the door?】

Yuan Xu took the medicine package as ordered and opened it, taking a curious look at it.

Seeing that it was nothing serious, Yuan Xu couldn't help but say, "Your Highness, this... the Queen put a lot of Coptis chinensis in it."

No wonder it’s so bitter…

Xiao Yunshuo couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

I didn't realize that his princess consort is quite naughty.

Yuan Xu asked tentatively, "Your Highness, do you want to pick out some of the Coptis chinensis and throw it away?"

Although he is not a doctor, Coptis chinensis is a common medicine, generally used to treat fever, and sometimes also used to treat gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea, etc.

But you don't need to put so much...

Xiao Yunshuo shook his head and said, "No need. Just wrap it up as usual and fry it every day according to the Empress' instructions."

Yuan Xu was stunned for a moment, then carefully reminded: "Your Highness, in fact, Your Highness is in good health, just don't drink this medicine..."

The rest of his words were swallowed back by Xiao Yunshuo's glare.

Yuan Xu: “…”

Well... does this mean that His Highness is...doting on the Empress?

Others were pampered, given all kinds of gold and silver jewelry, silk and satin, etc., but his master was surprised that he was willing to drink bitter medicine...

Xiao Yunshuo then said, "By the way, have you arranged everything to deal with the aftermath of the town?"

After hearing this, Yuan Xu quickly responded, "Yes. Everything has been arranged."

The so-called aftermath arrangements refer to the incident in which Master Sun and Zhu Dazhuang stopped Shen Fenghe and tried to kidnap her.

Since she even dared to covet his Crown Princess, he naturally wouldn't let her go easily.

That night, Master Sun and Zhu Dazhuang were surrounded by several mysterious men and beaten so badly that they had to stay in bed for half a month.

Chen Fenghe returned home from the secret passage, first entered the space and took a nice hot bath, then came out and lay comfortably on your bed to sleep.

Well... although I still feel a little guilty.

However, the amount of Coptis chinensis she put in was not enough to harm his body.

Moreover, Xiao Yunshuo is so smart that he should know what she did as soon as she drank the medicine, and he will definitely ask someone to remove the coptis chinensis.

He's in good health, he wouldn't be so stupid as to insist on drinking, right?

Thinking of this, Chen Fenghe's guilt disappeared, and he closed his eyes and went to sleep obediently.

Early the next morning, news came that Zhu Dazhuang was found at the village entrance, and no one knew who had beaten him up with a black eye and a swollen face.

Village Chief Wu had someone carry him back home. His family called a doctor to see him, who prescribed some medicine for injuries and said he needed to stay in bed for two weeks.

Mrs. Yang came to visit and added a lot of details.

"Zhu Dazhuang deserves it. He's a bad boy, always hanging out with those playboys in town. This time, he was beaten up while hanging out with some... Young Master Sun. Even Young Master Sun was beaten pretty badly. It must have been an enemy who did it. If he hadn't been hanging out with them, wouldn't he have been spared this beating?"

After hearing this, Chen Fenghe thought about it for a moment and realized that this was probably arranged by Xiao Yunshuo.

Just think about it, I gave him Coptis chinensis... I'm not a human being...

"There's another thing. The Zhu family actually asked that matchmaker Qian from the next village to go to the Yun Mansion to propose marriage. Although Zhu Huaihua is pretty, she's known in the village for being noisy. She also has a useless brother, and her mother is no pushover either. Just wait and see. I bet Young Master Yun won't be interested in her!"

"What's funny is that Zhu Huaihua went to the Yun residence early in the morning without any hesitation to ask Mr. Yun's newly hired Mr. Su to treat her brother. She also said that we will be a family from now on. It's really hilarious."

Madam Yang and Qin Mengyue laughed for a while before continuing, "However, I heard that Mr. Su is a distant cousin of your Miss Shen. He offended Young Master Sun and Zhu Dazhuang in town yesterday. My son said that Young Master Sun has some connections not only in town but also in Youzhou City. I'm afraid Young Master Sun won't let it go so easily. I heard that Young Master Yun also has some connections with the prefect, so the Sun family probably won't dare to make a move. But your family is different. You'd better be careful and vigilant these days."

After hearing this, Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe both nodded and thanked Madam Yang for the reminder.

Sure enough, the next day, several people who looked like servants of a wealthy family came to the village and wandered around the village, paying special attention to the Shen Fenghe family.

However, these servants did not do anything.

Chen Fenghe watched coldly and did not act rashly.

Two days later, Chen Fenghe started making soybean paste.

What she wanted to make was Northeastern soybean paste, which turned out to be very simple, just soybeans and salt.

First, pick some high-quality soybeans, soak them in the mountain spring water in the space overnight, then cook and mash them, and shape the crumbs into square pieces of paste embryos. Place them in a ventilated place to dry for a few days until the surface is dry, then wrap them with paper and place them in a warm, non-ventilated place for fermentation.

This step is the initial stage of the process. The fermentation period varies from one month to more.

The general tradition is to ferment the paste embryo in December or February, and then start making the final paste in April.

After fermentation, wash the paste embryo with clean water, then crush it into small pieces. After drying the water, put it into the paste jar, add clean water and salt in proportion, stir evenly, cover the mouth of the jar with breathable gauze, and allow it to fully ferment for the second time.

In this way, after waiting for more than a month, you can enjoy delicious soybean paste.

That day, Chen Fenghe only made the sauce base and placed it in a ventilated place to dry.

While doing it, I couldn't help but sigh at the wisdom of our ancient ancestors.

In an environment where there were no refrigerators to store fresh ingredients, the ancients invented many methods to preserve food, and also derived various delicious flavors.

However, without exception, all of these take time.

Just making soybean paste takes several months. As for air-dried meat, ham, etc., the time required also varies.

In addition to soybean paste, Chen Fenghe also made some kimchi.

The pickling time for kimchi is much faster than that for soybean paste, and it can be eaten after three or four days. Of course, the flavor will be better if it is pickled for a longer time.

She took out some dried chilies from the space.

It seems that chili peppers had not yet been introduced to this dynasty. When she was on exile, she once took out some chili powder to eat, but at that time it was mixed with other seasonings. So when Qin Mengyue asked her what it was, she evaded the question by saying that it was brought by merchants from the Western Regions.

Now, seeing this red, pointed thing, Qin Mengyue couldn't help but ask curiously again: "Feng He, what is this? It looks quite festive."

Chen Fenghe smiled and said what she had prepared long ago: "Mom, this is called chili pepper. It's a unique vegetable brought in by merchants from the Western Regions. It has a spicy and pungent taste. Besides this, there are other varieties whose fruits can grow to a very large size. When I was little, my grandfather once sent some to my house, so I have eaten it and know it. I happened to see some for sale in town a few days ago, so I bought some, and also bought some seeds. I will try them when it gets warmer."

Qin Mengyue listened without any doubt and smiled, "So that's how it is? But, how do we make this? You said you wanted to pickle cabbage, is that sauerkraut?"

Chen Fenghe shook her head and said, "No, this is called spicy cabbage, it's not as sour as pickled cabbage."

As she spoke, she found a mortar and pestle and ground the dried chilies into chili powder. She also prepared sugar, salt, shrimp paste, apples, pears, garlic, ginger and other auxiliary ingredients.

First, clean the Chinese cabbage, cut it in half, and soak it in salt water. Then chop and mix the auxiliary ingredients to make the marinade. Apply the marinade layer by layer on the cabbage leaves, and then seal it.

The two of them and the three little ones worked together, and in a short while, they had pickled more than ten cabbages.

After pickling, Chen Fenghe looked at the five or six large jars placed in the yard and felt a sense of accomplishment.

No wonder people say that life was slow in ancient times.

If she had not traveled back to ancient times, she would not have had the leisure to spend a whole day pickling vegetables.

"Okay, then all we have to do is wait three to five days, and then we can use this kimchi to stir-fry meat."

The three little guys drooled when they heard this: "Sister, is spicy cabbage fried with meat delicious?"

Chen Fenghe smiled and said, "Of course. We can also make kimchi hotpot..."

If she continued talking, her mouth would start to water.

As he was speaking, someone suddenly knocked on the door and asked loudly, "Are Madam Qin and Madam Shen home?"

Qin Mengyue didn't recognize the voice, so she asked, "Who is it?"

The person outside said, "Mrs. Qin, I am Mrs. Qian from the next village. I have something to do today, so I came to visit you."

Chen Fenghe was stunned for a moment, then remembered that this Madam Qian was... the matchmaker Qian who went to the Yun family to propose marriage to Zhu Huaihua.

This matchmaker Qian is very famous in the surrounding area, but her reputation is not very good.

Because she is not picky, whether it is a widower or a concubine or other family's concubine, she will go to propose marriage and run errands, and occasionally she will also act as a pimp behind the scenes.

Therefore, any decent family with some manners in the surrounding area would not hire a matchmaker to arrange marriages for their children.

The Zhu family also found several other matchmakers. When they heard that they wanted to go to the Yun family to propose marriage, all the matchmakers declined.

Apart from other things, these days, there are dozens, if not dozens, of families that have come to the Yun family to propose marriage, and they have all been rejected. Many of these families are well-off.

The Zhu family is well-known in the village for being lazy and poor. If they go to propose marriage to the Zhu family, wouldn't that be embarrassing?

The Zhu family had no choice but to find matchmaker Qian.

However, the day before yesterday, Qian the matchmaker came to propose marriage, but was naturally driven out by Yuan Xu, and the whole village went to watch the fun.

Why did I come to her house today?

Qin Mengyue had obviously thought of this as well, frowning and asking, "But what's the matter?"

But the other party refused to speak, and said anxiously: "Mrs. Qin, please open the door, let's talk about it when we meet. This is a great joyous occasion!"

Qin Mengyue had no choice but to go over and open the door.

Matchmaker Qian immediately beamed, saying, "Oh! Madam Qin, what great joy! This is incredible wealth! No one within a radius of dozens of miles has such good fortune!"

Seeing that Matchmaker Qian was followed by a middle-aged woman who was dressed more elegantly and had a more arrogant demeanor, Chen Fenghe asked, "Who is this?"

When asked, Matchmaker Qian laughed and said, "Ah! Look how happy I was that I forgot to introduce myself. This lady's surname is Li, you can just call her Madam Li. Madam Li is from Youzhou City, not like a village woman like me. Madam Qin, I heard that your family has some excellent Longjing tea. Did you bring it from the capital? Quickly make a pot for Madam Li..."

Qin Mengyue frowned as she listened to her nonsensical remarks, even mentioning her family's Longjing tea. She asked, "Madam Qian, please explain clearly. What's the big news? And this Nanny Li, we probably don't know her. Why did she come to visit today?"

Matchmaker Qian originally wanted to wait until they entered the main hall and had some tea before discussing business.

Seeing Qin Mengyue like this, she had no choice but to speak in advance: "Madam Qin, this Li Ma is the housekeeper of the Sun Mansion in Youzhou City. She asked me to come here today to propose marriage!"

When Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe heard this, they were both stunned.

"Propose marriage? Propose to whom?" Qin Mengyue asked.

Matchmaker Qian looked at Qin Mengyue with a smug look on her face and said with a smile: "Who else could it be? Of course it's you, Madam Qin. Oh, by the way... and your daughter-in-law, Madam Shen..."

Chen Fenghe: “…”

Qin Mengyue: "..."

Matchmaker Qian paid no attention to the expressions of Qin Mengyue and Shen Fenghe, and continued to speak as if to take credit for it: "So I just said it was a great joy? Moreover, it's a double joy! Mr. Sun from Youzhou City heard that Madam Qin was beautiful, so he specially sent people to the village to see her a few days ago. When the people who came saw you, Madam Qin and Madam Shen, they all said that you were as beautiful as fairies. Mr. Sun was overjoyed and immediately sent people to find me to propose marriage. Mr. Sun's intention is to marry Madam Qin as his fourth concubine, and Madam Shen... will be Mr. Sun's concubine..."

Qin Mengyue was always gentle and polite to others, but after hearing what matchmaker Qian said, her face turned a little cold.

Chen Fenghe remembered something and asked, "The Sun family you're talking about, is that the family of Mr. Sun who was put in a sack and beaten a few days ago?"

Matchmaker Qian nodded hurriedly, "It's the Sun family! They're incredibly wealthy. Madam Qin and Madam Shen, if you marry into the Sun family, even if you'll be concubines, you'll surely enjoy endless wealth and splendor! You and Madam Qin marrying into the Sun family together, and coincidentally becoming mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, this incredible blessing is unparalleled!"

Matchmaker Qian was talking with saliva flying, calculating in her mind how much reward she could get from the Sun family, when she didn't expect that with a "splash", a basin of ice water was poured over her head.

"Ouch! It's so cold! Madam Qin...you! What are you doing?!"

It was Qin Mengyue who poured ice water on her.

Qin Mengyue sneered when she heard that she dared to ask, "What are you doing? Can't you see I'm chasing you away? What kind of filthy thing are you? How dare you come to my door and say such nonsense? Marry me and Feng He as concubines? Pah! Get out of here right now! Stay out of my doorstep and ruin our reputation!"