Chapter 29 Chapter 29 will be released at the end of the month...

Sun was not one to enjoy watching the fun, but today she had to go and see what was going on.

She wanted to see what kind of banquet could be hosted by someone who didn't even prepare the food and was calculating other people's money.

Lin Qiuran nodded. She decided not to go. Sun had already bought a lot of things, everything she wanted. In total, she had bought over three pounds of mutton, two pounds of pork, a chicken, a duck, two pounds of shrimp, and a net bag of small fish.

We're not cooking chicken today; there's only three of us, and we can't finish it all. The small fish is a little bigger than a finger, with not much meat. It can be stewed in soup or fried, but Lin Qiuran prefers it fried.

I'll make braised lamb and braised prawns. I can make ginger duck with the duck bones, saving some for soup, and the pork for tomorrow. It's the end of the month, and the weather is getting colder. Cover it and leave it overnight, and it won't go bad.

The cold weather was a boon for Lin Qiuran. Meat wouldn't spoil after a day, and it could be used to make broth and other delicious dishes. But it also meant some vegetables would be unavailable, and vegetable and meat prices would rise.

Lin Qiuran is now cooking three meat dishes, and the vegetarian dishes include stewed potatoes with green beans and stewed tofu with chili peppers. If the weather is cold, there will be no chili peppers, and the dish stuffed with meat will probably not be made. Even the chili peppers in the braised fish will not be available.

She should think of something else, like replacing the vegetarian dishes with potatoes, cabbage, and radishes. Trying new dishes today wasn't just for the banquet, but also for setting up a stall in the future.

She thought that she could also collect some vegetables and dry them, such as cowpeas, which would taste better after being dried, but it would be difficult to calculate the price.

On the other side, Sun went to the back, where several ladies gathered together to talk. Sun felt hesitant.

She usually didn't gossip with anyone. She worked on her business in the morning and cleaned the house in the afternoon. She rarely went out. She could call out the names of the people living in the alley, but she was not familiar with them.

Seeing several people gathered together, Sun really didn't know how to get through.

Just as Sun was thinking, an old lady beckoned to her, "Come here quickly. Do you think Huang Yun has lost his mind? You should prepare the food and pay her. Your daughter-in-law has hosted such a dignified banquet. This time, I saw her go home with some shopping. She bought some meat, some vegetables, and some fish, but she only bought five crucian carp."

Someone interrupted: "Hey, the crucian carp is only a small size, the plate can't even be filled with it."

"You want money, but you also want others to cook for you. In the end, you lose both the wife and the army, and you get nothing."

"If I had to go to the funeral and eat food like this, I wouldn't have anything to do with her family anymore!"

Huang Niangzi was a person who knew how to live. Since she couldn't get the money back and she couldn't bear to spend more, she cut the money from the food at the banquet. She prepared five tables of dishes, eight dishes per table, two of which were meat dishes.

One was braised crucian carp, the other was stir-fried pork and cabbage. Crucian carp didn't have much meat, so they were mostly used for soup. The Xiao family used to sell garlic-flavored crucian carp; it was cheap and tasty, and the demand was almost unsustainable. But that required skill, and not many people could learn how to make it.

The fish that Huang Niang made was dry. She had put the long fish on a plate, but it looked too ugly, so she put it on a round plate, but it was still not enough.

The stir-fried cabbage and meat dish was even more ridiculous. There wasn't much meat at all, just cabbage, not even a drop of oil or water. If I had hired someone to make this, it wouldn't have turned out like this.

The guests who came today included not only relatives, but also good friends of Huang Niangzi's father-in-law, who came to help carry the coffin for free.

I saw Mrs. Huang making a fuss early in the morning, but she still had to carry the coffin to bury the body. Her hometown is in the village, and she was exhausted from running back and forth. But when she came back, she had to eat such food. I really don’t know what to say.

Huang Niangzi's husband couldn't help but complain, "What the hell did you do? How will others look at me in the future?"

Mrs. Huang said, "If you want a good meal, you have to pay. Lin Qiuran snatched all the money and distributed it to the families living in the front for breakfast. I haven't eaten anything this morning. What can I do?"

The man said helplessly, "You want someone to help you for free? How can you blame them? You might as well find a cheaper chef to cook a few tables of dishes!"

This time, not only was there no food, but the money was also lost.

Upon hearing this, Huang Niangzi became anxious, "Blame me, blame me, blame everything! Why didn't you say anything when you knew about it this morning? Why are you talking nonsense now? I think you just feel sorry for the widow... Fine, fine, your father's body is still warm and you..."

The man got angry and couldn't help but slap her. "Shut up! Aren't you ashamed?"

Huang Niang was a little confused. The man said, "I told you not to mess with them! I'm a widow with a child. Are you going to make me so embarrassed that I can't even face people?"

He has a wife and children. If he really cares about the widow, people will spit at him to death if the news gets out.

Mrs. Huang lowered her head and covered her face. The man sighed and said that he had suffered a loss but did not learn his lesson. After today's incident, they could no longer live in the alley of Yulin Street. They had to sell the house and move out as soon as possible.

All the relatives, friends, and neighbors were offended. Fortunately, the old man was buried peacefully and the coffin was not lost, otherwise there would be more stories. They all said that if they had known this would happen, they would not have done it in the first place. But when Lin Qiuran asked Sun to go buy vegetables, he felt relieved.

That family is just like this, and it’s still in chaos. Someone comforted Sun, “Alas, you are unlucky today, stay away from these people in the future.”

They felt pity for the Xiao family. How could they not? They were newlyweds, barely together for a few times when the man died. It would have been fine if he was dead, but they left behind a child. If that happened to someone else, they would have remarried long ago.

People are bullied because they don’t have men. Isn’t that what happened today? If there was a man in the family, would Mrs. Huang dare to do this?

Lin Qiuran didn't remarry and was willing to keep the child. She would definitely help take care of Sun and Xiao Dashi in the future. As for the Xiao family making money from banquets, they were actually shocked. It was only five cents a day, but then again, if they didn't make money, what would they eat and drink?

No one is jealous of people with real skills, and on the contrary, no one wants to offend them. It's not a windfall, what is there to be jealous of?

Making banquet noodles can earn a lot of money in a day, but it's not possible every day. Who works all day long? Lin Qiuran is not the only banquet noodle chef in the county. He can only take four or five banquets a month at best. If three people come to do it, each person will earn less than one or two taels of silver per month, and it's all hard-earned money.

I'm really jealous. Why don't you try doing it yourself? If you can really make money, that's a skill.

Sun nodded and complained by the way, so as not to really think that the Xiao family made much money. She said: "It's all for raising children. There is no work to do these days, but I agreed to it if there is one."

After a few more words of comfort, everyone dispersed and went home to make lunch.

Sun also returned home and smiled at Lin Qiuran as she entered the house.

Lin Qiuran smiled and asked, "Mom, how is Mrs. Huang's family?"

Sun said, "It's a mess. The banquet wasn't even prepared. There's been so much noise and it hasn't stopped yet. It's her family's business, and she doesn't care about it herself. It has nothing to do with us."

Sun was worried that Lin Qiuran would feel that they were delaying the burial of Huang Niangzi's father-in-law, after all, the dead are the most important. But Huang Niang was not afraid, so why blame them?

Sun rolled up her sleeves to help with the cooking. As she entered the kitchen, she smelled a strong aroma. She couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

Lin Qiuran pointed to the stove in the yard. On top of it was a large pot with three clay pots inside. She said, "Mom, that's stewed mutton."

This is definitely not seen here, and it will be considered a Russian cuisine dish.

Originally, the marinated lamb and some side dishes such as potatoes and carrots should be fried with butter, but there was no butter, so Lin Qiuran could only use lard.

There was no red wine for marinating the meat. Lin Qiuran couldn't conjure it, and other wines didn't taste the same, so this step was naturally skipped. Sometimes wine was very important. She planned to find some time to see if there was anyone selling koji on the street and make a few barrels of rice wine. Making it herself was cheaper and tasted better.

Without red wine to color and flavor the soup, Lin Qiuran used tomatoes. She had to make this soup because she was short on ingredients. She tasted the soup and found it lacked the red wine flavor, but it still tasted sour, just without the fermented taste. She made three jars, one for each person, to save Sun and Xiao Dashi from making excuses.

Lin Qiuran: "The big pot has braised prawns, and the casserole has duck bone soup."

The duck has been cut up and I will make the ginger duck later.

Lin Qiuran: "Mom, after the ginger duck is cooked, send some to the two neighboring families. Although we bought breakfast, they invited the guests, and they live close to us. If we send the same thing as others, it will be hard to see our genuine gratitude."

Sun Shi felt that these dishes were fragrant just by smelling them. It wasn't the kind of fragrance you get from rich fish and meat, and she couldn't put her finger on it. She just felt that without Lin Qiuran, she would never be able to eat such delicious food.

Sun asked, "What are you doing, mother?"

Lin Qiuran took a look and said, "Mom, you clean up the little fish. I've prepared the batter, and you coat it with it."

Just fry it when the pot is free. For the fried fish and braised prawns, Lin Qiuran also made a dipping sauce with spice powder.

Now there is a big pot in the kitchen at home, an iron pot can be used on the stove, and there is also a big pot in the yard, which was built by Xiao Dashi not long after moving in. The daily intake of food is large, and one pot is not enough.

Now the family sells vegetables in the morning and rests in the afternoon. If they make braised pork, they have to make 40 kilograms every day. The different sides of the pot are heated unevenly. They can put all the meat in one pot, but the taste of each piece of meat is different. The same is true for stuffing meat with chili peppers. Lin Qiuran now cooks it in two pots.

Before she opened the shop, she had no intention of increasing the amount of food.

After the braised prawns were ready, Lin Qiuran fried the fish first and then started making the ginger duck. Duck has a fishy smell, and ginger is used to remove the fishy smell.

Cut the ginger into thick slices and fry half of it in oil until golden brown. She always sells braised pork, so she has no shortage of oil at home.

Lin Qiuran had already removed the bones from the duck. The duck was not too fat, so she only fried the skin until golden brown and asked Sun to turn down the heat. She added the other half of the ginger slices and stir-fried them evenly, and then seasoned them with soy sauce, sugar and a little salt. Now she added other ingredients and stir-fried them evenly over high heat.

The duck meat needed to be stewed, so Lin Qiuran cleared out the casserole, spread the fried ginger slices into the casserole, and poured in the duck meat. She originally wanted to cook it with rice wine, but there was none at home, so she added hot water and sprinkled a small spoonful of spices.

There was only one clay pot at home, and Lin Qiuran felt that it was necessary to buy another one. Many dishes tasted better when cooked in a clay pot than in a big pot.

Lin Qiuran first drank a bowl of duck bone soup, which had few bones and tasted light. It was too bland, so she tried the braised prawns. The seasoning was perfect, and the prawns were delicious.

It has the aroma of braised sauce and a hint of spiciness, and even the shrimp shells are flavorful. Each shrimp is plump and bright yellow, and even the shrimp legs are crispy.

Lin Qiuran hadn't eaten shrimp for a long time and thought this was the most delicious, so he even ate the shrimp legs.

She asked Sun to try it too, but Sun said, "I'll eat it after dinner. You eat first."

There were two dishes left to stew, so there was nothing else to do but watch the fire. Sun went to steam the rice. Today she was being extravagant and eating only white rice.

Usually there was only one bowl of rice. Lin Qiuran had white rice, while she and Xiao Dashi had two or three kinds of rice mixed in.

For the Sun family, although this money was what they deserved, it was not earned through their own efforts, so it would be easier to spend it early.

When the ginger duck was ready, Sun brought two bowls to the neighbors. Madam Chen and Madam Xu's eyes lit up at the sight of the golden-yellow bowl, but they kept refusing to take any. Sun could only say, "You guys try it. My daughter-in-law wants to try a new dish, so consider it a favor. If it tastes good, maybe we'll sell it."

Only after hearing this did they accept it.

Sun couldn't help but recall that once when they were eating braised pork, Lin Qiuran said the same thing. She didn't think much about it at the time. This child.

When Sun returned home, the family had already started eating.

Lin Qiuran wasn't too busy today, but she'd been cooking all morning. Seeing her busy, Sun Shi actually wanted to advise her, saying that without a man in the house, she'd be bullied. This time, besides Mrs. Huang's bad character, the reason for the incident was also because there wasn't a man in the house.

If she had a man to rely on, Huang Niangzi would never dare to do this.

But it seemed like she was forcing Lin Qiuran to find someone to rely on. Qiuran also said that she would consider it if she met the right person, and Sun didn't want to urge her.

She said, "Eat quickly, Qiuran, eat more!"

The ginger duck has a tangy aroma, the duck meat is cooked until it is tender and crispy, the ginger flavor is not too strong, and there is no fishy smell of duck meat.

Lin Qiuran tasted the braised lamb in a can. The lamb was crispy and tender, and the sour taste of the tomatoes made it less greasy. The carrots and potatoes were also soft and tender, and upon closer inspection, they had a meaty aroma.

The mutton has a bit of a smell, but it's not too strong or fatty, and it tastes delicious when mixed with rice.

Lin Qiuran thinks that it is good to eat mutton in autumn and winter. If the stuffed meat with chili peppers can no longer be sold, this one will be good for takeout. It is a pure meat dish and also comes with side dishes.

The only problem is that mutton is expensive, at 25 wen per jin. The cost of making these jars of stewed mutton is 30 wen. If the price were doubled, business wouldn't necessarily improve.

Braised prawns in oil are also good, but they are expensive. They are delicious, but most people can’t afford them.

The Xu family was wealthy, so their kitchen had everything they needed. Chicken, duck, fish, and meat were the most common, but shellfish, crabs, shrimp, beef, and mutton were also common. For ordinary people, however, a little pork was enough to satisfy their hunger.

But on second thought, it's not like we make it every day and change it every three days. There are also rich people among the people. The most difficult thing is to sell it for a while longer. There will definitely be people who are willing to eat it.

Lin Qiuran planned to change the taste after she had rice wine. Now that she had new dishes, she was not afraid even if it got cold.

She decided to remember these two things first and talk about them later when she really had a shop.

The three of them ate very well today. After the meal, Lin Qiuran told Xiao Dashi that they would make braised fish tomorrow and needed to buy some fish. "Dad, can you ask if the cowpeas are cheaper? We can buy more. We can blanch them, dry them, and save them for the winter when there are no vegetables."

Xiao Dashi: "How many kilograms do you want to buy?"

Changing them every three days, assuming no wind or rain, would require four hundred kilograms of cowpeas, which would take nearly half a year from autumn to the beginning of spring. Lin Qiuran said, "Let's buy three thousand kilograms first."

If there is no vegetable, the price of dried cowpeas will naturally increase.

Xiao Dashi nodded and said that he had to buy some, otherwise there would be no vegetables to sell.

After Lin Qiuran said this, she began to feel sleepy again, so she went back to the house to sleep.

She had thought she would sleep all afternoon, but she woke up after only half an hour. Lin Qiuran couldn't help but think that she must have had a good lunch and was full of energy, and the child must be happy too.

She didn't lie down, but got up to grind the spices. There was no time to waste, so she had to finish it quickly. She had six different spices to grind, and while she was sleeping, Sun had gone out and bought two small stone mills.

This is not expensive, and if three of us do it together, it will be much faster.

The ground spice powder needs to be sieved and ground twice. After it is fine enough, Lin Qiuran mixes it according to the ratio. There are a few ingredients left, which can be saved for next time.

In addition to this, Lin Qiuran also prepared a small jar of it. She also made some spices herself and made it according to the recipe she gave to Manager Xu. Otherwise, if it fails, it will be easy to blame her for the wrong recipe.

Lin Qiuran tried several times and found that as long as he mixed the ingredients according to the recipe she gave, it would work. Spices are dry goods and easy to store, but if they can't be sold for a year or two, they will still be a waste.

The next day, after Lin Qiuran finished cooking, Manager Xu came to her house to ask before she left.

Xu Yuanheng asked him to hurry up, and if Lin Qiuran couldn't make it, he would have to hand over the spice recipe.

But Lin Qiuran had already prepared it. She handed the prepared spices to Manager Xu. There were two large buckets of spices. The thirteen spices were green-brown in color, while the mushroom spices were light brown.

Normally, the matter would be settled after the payment was made, but Manager Xu was a little worried. He said, "Let Madam Lin come the first time. I'll keep an eye on it so that we don't make any mistakes."

Spices were expensive, and all of this cost sixty or seventy taels of silver. If any step was wrong, all the money would be wasted.

Lin Qiuran nodded and smelled what Manager Xu had done first.

Everything was prepared, the Thirteen Spice being more difficult, the Mushroom Fresh being simpler. Lin Qiuran had also made both of these herself, smelling them first and then tasting them. Once she had confirmed the flavor was the same as her own, she mixed them separately.

After weighing and mixing the mixture evenly according to the ratio, Lin Qiuran showed it to Manager Xu.

Lin Qiuran gave two cans to Manager Xu and two cans to Xu Yuanheng. Manager Xu carefully distinguished them and found that not only did they smell the same, they tasted the same too. He also gave them to several chefs to taste, and they all nodded in agreement.

Manager Xu smiled. "Madam Lin, please don't blame me for being cautious. These spices cost a lot of money, and I have to take great care of them. Madam Lin, just wait for the news. I will tell you as soon as I have any."

Maybe it will take a long time to sell, or maybe business is good and she will have to be asked to continue selling half of the products. Anything is possible.

Lin Qiuran said, "I also hope that the Second Young Master will take more trouble and get his money back soon."

Xu Yuanheng paid for the money to buy the spices and the manpower and material resources for transportation. With so much money, he could only make a profit by selling them. Otherwise, they would all be mixed together. He would never use them up, and no one else would buy them. After a long time, they would go bad and be no different from waste.

Manager Xu nodded slightly, "Of course."

Send Manager Xu away and forget about grinding spices for now.

There were enough spices at home, so she first went to the grain store and bought 30 kilograms of glutinous rice. After buying it, she asked someone to deliver it to her home, and then she went to the grocery store to ask about the yeast.

Every household did make wine, and koji was available in grocery stores, but it wasn't the same as what Lin Qiuran had seen before. She bought some, then went to the clinic and the spice shop and bought some Polygonum multiflorum, Polygonum multiflorum vine, mulberry leaves, verbena, and sweet potato leaves...

Different koji will produce different flavors of wine.

She tried both and then let Xiao Dashi try them. Lin Qiuran wanted to try them herself, but she had heard that pregnant women shouldn't drink alcohol, so she let Xiao Dashi do it.

Once you have rice wine, you can use it not only in making ginger duck, but also in making other dishes in the future. It can remove the fishy smell and enhance the fragrance. Sprinkling some rice wine can also enhance the flavor.

In addition to rice wine, Lin Qiuran also bought a jar of honey. Since he was making ginger duck today, it would be best to replace the sugar with honey. Now that he had money, he had to prepare all these things.

Lin Qiuran returned home, and before noon, Sun and Xiao Dashi returned. Besides them, there were two others standing in the yard: a man and a woman. The woman looked older, while the man was quite young. Their faces resembled each other, and they looked like mother and son.

After what happened with Mrs. Huang, Lin Qiuran would feel a chill in his heart whenever he saw outsiders.

She looked at Sun and asked, "Qiuran, this is a customer who came to buy vegetables today. She came early in the morning and waited until we closed the stall. She asked if you would accept a banquet. No, it's not a banquet..."

Because of what happened to Mrs. Huang, when the two people asked, Mrs. Sun wanted to refuse directly, but she was afraid of missing out on a good business deal.

The visitors were a mother and son, well-spoken and polite. The son was quiet, only giggling. He looked kinder than Mrs. Huang, so Sun had brought him back to ask about it. If it didn't work out, she could let him go. If it did, the family could earn more money.

Making banquet noodles or not, Lin Qiuran was a little confused, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Seeing that Sun hadn't explained clearly, Madam Feng said anxiously, "Madam Lin, let me tell you. I don't know if you'll take this job. My son's getting married in two days..."

Lin Qiuran interrupted embarrassedly, "You don't know, my husband is gone, so I'm afraid I can't attend the wedding banquet."

It's not just to avoid taboos. Some people are indeed taboo and some people don't care. But Lin Qiuran is afraid that they say they don't care now, but if something happens in the future, they will blame her in the end.

Madam Feng smiled and said, "Madam Lin, you misunderstood. I didn't intend to invite you to prepare the banquet. I wanted to do it myself, but I couldn't make the main dishes well, so I was thinking if I could ask you to help me by making just one or two dishes."

Isn't this just like buying vegetables from Lin Qiuran? You have to buy other dishes on the day of the wedding banquet, too. Who knows what those vendors' families are like? Some are happy and content, while others struggle to make ends meet. Who would ask the vendor if they have both sons and daughters before buying? Who would pick the vendor who has all the luck?

No one has ever said that there are any taboos about buying things on the wedding day.

Just ask Lin Qiuran to help cook one or two dishes. Isn’t that equivalent to buying the main dishes cooked that day?

In this way, the money for organizing the wedding banquet can be saved, and the other dishes can be prepared by relatives at home. Otherwise, she would have to buy vegetables and pay the chef, which her family cannot afford.

Madam Feng continued, "Madam Lin, please rest assured. This will not interfere with your business this morning. The wedding banquet will be in the evening. Just deliver the dishes before the meal begins."

After saying this, Madam Feng swallowed her saliva. Although the evening wouldn't interfere with the Xiao family's morning business, she was already busy for most of the day, and she was afraid that Lin Qiuran wouldn't be willing to do it.

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The author has something to say: Please water it~[panda head][pink heart][scatter flowers]