The provincial examination was scheduled for the tenth day of the fifth month, so Niu Yong and Xiao Heng went to the county on the fifth day of the fifth month, unaware that such a big thing had happened to Niu Li's family.

The provincial examination was held in the city of the prefecture.

Therefore, you have to go five days in advance, and the whole process takes fifteen days because you have to wait for the results to be released.

Chen Yu was somewhat worried and said:

"I wonder how my second brother did on the exam! Please bless these two children to pass!" Chen Yu said as she spoke to Niu Da, Niu Cuihua, and Niu Yaba.

"Mom, don't worry! Fifth Sister said they'll definitely make it, so they definitely will!" Niu Cuihua said.

The shade structure was made of straw and coarse cloth, and its purpose was to provide shade for the ginseng seedlings during hot weather.

After a day of setting up the shed, when Xiao Fubao and Niu Cuihua returned, the workers had already chopped all the vegetables. Chopping vegetables sounds like a simple task, but it's not easy to do.

For vegetables like radishes, sweet potatoes, and bamboo shoots, the oldest and tenderest parts must be selected for each dish, and every cut must be completely even.

As a pickle.

The tenderest parts that are selected are then separated from the older parts; the tender parts are used to make pickled vegetables, and the older parts are used to make sauerkraut.

There are different rules for how to clean and cut each dish, and how thick and wide the cuts should be.

The proportions of vegetables, salt, sauce, and vinegar, and how many times to make them, are all strictly controlled. Chen Yu would never reveal her secret recipe for pickled vegetables to anyone.

However, there was no secret recipe for pickled cabbage and salted vegetables; it was all based on cooking experience and feel. So, Chen Yu generously taught a few workers how to make them.

Cantaloupe, garlic shoots, ginger, and chili peppers can all be used.

Fine salt was a precious commodity throughout history, with a market price of thirty coins per catty. Therefore, the pickles and salted vegetables made by Chen Yu were sold to families who could afford salt, such as small merchants, landlords, or high-ranking officials and nobles.

Some scholars and officials with some background in the arts would occasionally buy some.

Of the four young women recruited, one was from Heishan Village, surnamed Lu, fifteen or sixteen years old, and unmarried.

The other one was from Haijia Village, and of course, his surname was Hai. He was fourteen or fifteen years old and still unmarried.

She was quick and efficient at her work, which pleased Chen Yu greatly. She smiled and said to Xiang Jinlan, "Aunt Xiang, it's just a pity that I haven't raised two sons in my life, otherwise I would definitely have taken these two girls in!"

Xiang Jinlan was working briskly when she smiled and said, "I'd like to too, but I'm afraid they'll think our eldest and second eldest are too old."

Chen Yu said, "Age is not a problem, what matters most is good character. Your Zheng Si and Zheng Rong are good at taking care of people." "I think you should take some time to invite the two young men over for a meeting, it wouldn't hurt!"

“Your Zheng Si has been working at our restaurant for the past two months. I think it would be better to let the two of them get to know each other during the break from delivering pickled vegetables. If they hit it off, then we can hire a matchmaker,” Chen Yu said.

Upon hearing this, Xiang Jinlan also felt that it made a lot of sense.

Chen Yu was busy preparing the sauce, sealing the marinated vegetables in jars, and then sealing the marinated fish. After twenty days, she would dry it in the sun and then marinate it twice more.

Shen Yu learned how to make pickled vegetables from her grandmother when she was six years old. Old Mrs. Zhong didn't know how to do it; she was too busy weaving, embroidering, and taking care of her children to learn these skills.

The ceramic jars were made by Old Yang in town. Old Yang's family came from a humble background and made ceramic jars that were both good and affordable.

Chen Yu looked at the twenty-odd jars of braised fish and the twenty-odd jars of braised meat, ten of which were intended for her family's restaurant.

Since the restaurant reopened in March, it has been short of pickled vegetables. Customers have been asking Sangyu to report the shortage, with more than a dozen households ordering a total of more than a dozen jars of pickled fish and meat.

The most frequently ordered items are pickled vegetables and salted vegetables, and some people also ordered sauerkraut. However, there isn't enough food at home, so even if we try it now, it's not enough.

We also need to buy tofu, bamboo shoots, and other similar items.

"If only we could buy some more land!" Chen Yu said with some emotion.

Even among merchant families, there were explicit regulations from the imperial court that merchant families were not allowed to own land, let alone the fact that most were farming families, very few of whom were willing to sell their land.

The first two times, the family was lucky, as it happened to coincide with Jia Dafu's move, so they bought two shops and one hundred acres of fertile land.

The land behind the mountain was originally sold to them by a family in distress.

"Finding another piece of land won't be easy!" Xiang Jinlan said. Her family had also sold half a mile of land to the Niu family. She used the money from the sale to build houses for her sons, and there was no extra land left to sell!

“I just remembered something. Niu Fu seems to be selling land! I was worried he might not be reliable, so I didn’t tell you!” Xiang Jinlan said.

Chen Yu, who was busy making pickled vegetables all day and rarely went out, was unaware of these things and asked in surprise:

"Where does his family have land to sell?"

Niu Fu was the elder brother of Da Niu Li and Da Tan Shi. He was the one who sold his fourteen-year-old daughter, Niu Zhaodi, to Da Tan Shi's fifty-five-year-old maternal brother.

Shen Yu disliked this person and rarely interacted with him in the past.

While busy with her work, Xiang Jinlan lowered her voice and said, "After the Tan family members died, the only surviving one, Niu Laosan, became a live-in son-in-law, right? His elder brother is raising two grandsons, and the house, land, and the dozen or so acres of land belonging to the Niu Li family went to Niu Fu and Luo Shi."

“Aunt Tan’s land is actually quite good. If they were more diligent and planted something, the whole family would have enough to eat and drink. How could they be so poor?” Chen Yu said. Thinking of Niu Li’s land, she couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for it, so she asked:

How much are they planning to sell it for?

Thirty strings of cash!

Chen Yu exclaimed in surprise, "Thirty strings of cash?"

Xiang Jinlan said, "It's thirty strings of cash in total! Sold as a package."

Shen Yu was initially shocked by the "sky-high price" of thirty strings of cash, but upon hearing that it was thirty strings in total, she couldn't help but be tempted and said:

"Although her house is considered a haunted house, her farmland isn't on the same land as her residence, so how come it's being sold for such a low price?"

"I heard that his second son got a rich girl pregnant. The girl's father values ​​his reputation, and if he marries her in a grand manner as soon as possible, the wealthy merchant will give him a sum of money as a dowry." "If he is arrogant and takes advantage of the situation, he will have no choice but to beat the rich girl and his second son to death!"

Xiang Jinlan said.

Shen Yu was tempted by the thought that she could buy Niu Li's fields, land, and house for such a price.

Even if you don't live in that haunted house, it's fine to buy it and leave it empty. Besides, you can build a vegetable shed there, so no one has to live there.

However, Niu Fu is a cunning person.

Niu Da still has to deal with him.

Niu Da and several children were watering all the newly planted seedlings in the vegetable garden. Although Niu Baozhu was young, she was still very good at watering.

Xiao Fubao and Niu Baolan are playing in the field.