Chapter 75 Taking in

Song Yushu took the manager of Taixing Restaurant back to the village and specifically explained their purpose to the village chief.

"You said they're from Taixing Restaurant? Is Taixing Restaurant reliable? Before, Wei Xiaohu's family..." After hearing Song Yushu's purpose, the village head was not at ease with Taixing Restaurant.

"Taixing Restaurant has changed managers, don't worry. I also have a partnership with their owner now. This time, I'll have them sign a contract with the village. I'm not afraid they'll default on their debts," Song Yushu said, explaining that he brought his people over because he wanted the villagers to have some income during the cold winter.

"Don't worry, village head, we've brought the scripture. The price is a bit lower than what Boss Wei offered, but our restaurant needs a large quantity. You can take a look at the scripture, and we can discuss anything that's not suitable," said Hu, the current manager of Taixing Restaurant, who was very good at reading people's expressions.

The village head took the decree and read it carefully before he felt relieved. He then sent someone to call over the villagers who had planted vegetables to discuss the matter. In the end, about ten households signed the decree with Taixing Restaurant.

"Those who have taken the deposit, don't be stingy. Don't blame me for not reminding you, go back and reinforce your own roofs. This year the snow is heavy, and we don't want anyone to have their roofs collapse in the middle of the night. People can freeze to death in this weather," the village head said after seeing that they had taken the deposit.

There are a few families in the village with orphans and widows. These families have little able-bodied members, so the village head will arrange for people to help them. But for the others, they have to rely on their own family members, since they are quite skilled at reinforcing roofs.

When Song Yushu returned this time, he brought back some vegetables. Manager Hu, who came with him, was envious, but there was nothing he could do. Only these families had planted vegetables first; the seedlings of those who had signed contracts with Taixing Restaurant had not yet fully grown.

When they returned to the restaurant, Wei's mother was leading the shoveler to clear the snow. In just half a day, the snow that had been cleared from the roof in the morning had been covered with a thick layer again.

"Mother, you should take your sister-in-law and the others back to the village in a few days. The snow is so heavy, the roads will probably be blocked in a few more days," Song Yushu advised Wei's mother. These days, the customers are all coming for that plate of fresh vegetable leaves, and Song Yushu and the two employees in the shop are enough to handle it.

“Alright, I’ll go to town tomorrow to buy some New Year’s goods to take back, so I won’t have to come out again,” Mother Wei also felt that they couldn’t help Song Yushu by staying, so they might as well go back early.

After Wei's mother and the others returned to the village, the restaurant became even more deserted, with only Song Yushu and his two children, Aunt Zhong, and Xiong Erni among the guests.

Now, all they have to do is get up before dawn every day to prepare and deliver the goods ordered by Taixing Restaurant, and then they can rest when they get back. It's also easy to entertain a few customers who occasionally want to eat fresh dishes.

"Bang bang bang!"

Early that morning, Song Yushu was preparing goods in the kitchen with his men when there was a knock on the door.

"It's so early, there's no way any guests are coming. It's still dark outside!" Song Yushu didn't send anyone to open the door.

Who is it?

"Yu Shu, it's me. I have something important to discuss with you!"

Song Yushu recognized Xue Huai'an's voice and finally breathed a sigh of relief: "Why are you here at this time?"

"The orphanage collapsed under the weight of the snow last night!" Xue Huai'an said the important news as soon as he came in, without even bothering to shake off the snow off his clothes.

"Was the person injured?" Song Yushu's heart tightened upon hearing this.

"Five children were injured and have been taken to the hospital for treatment. Three other children were sick with fever, but the rest of the children are fine."

“The academy has taken in most of the children, but there are still twenty children who have nowhere to live. The county does not have a suitable place to accommodate so many people. If we build a shed, these children may not be able to withstand the weather. So the county magistrate thought of you.”

“Then let them come over. Anyway, I don’t have any guests here,” Song Yushu agreed without hesitation. She had a good relationship with the children in the orphanage and couldn’t bear to let them suffer in the cold outside.

"Well, I'll go back first. The children will be brought here when it gets light. The orphanage will probably take another ten days or so to build. The county will send them their food rations during this time. It'll be hard work for them."

Xue Huai'an looked at Song Yushu with tender eyes and said that he had actually gone to other restaurants in town yesterday, but those restaurants had guests staying at them and were afraid that the child would disturb the guests, so they did not agree. Song Yushu agreed without hesitation, which was enough to prove that he had not misjudged him.

After delivering the goods to Taixing Restaurant, Song Yushu and Xue Huai'an went to pick up the children.

"Aunt Wei!" Xiao Jiu ran out as soon as she saw Song Yushu.

"It's so cold, aren't you cold?"

"No, it's just a little scary, and we have a lot of paper-cuts that got crushed, so we can't sell our New Year's goods this year," Xiao Jiu said, feeling a pang of heartache. Those were paper-cuts that the children in their orphanage had spent several nights collecting.

"It's a relief you weren't injured. Hurry up and pack your things so you can come back to live with me."

The twenty children who had squeezed into the academy for one night had already packed their bedding and clothes.

One oxcart wasn't enough to fit everyone, but fortunately the county magistrate helped rent three horse-drawn carriages to help carry their clothes and the wooden beds that had already been dismantled.

"Miss Yun, take them to the wooden house first. There's a stove there to keep them warm. I'll bring them some food later," Song Yushu said, seeing that they hadn't eaten. Xiao Jiu was also speaking weakly.

The children were also familiar with Song Yushu's farmhouse, and they moved into their favorite wooden cabin with their belongings.

Yun Niangzi and Xiong Erni helped them rebuild their beds. The twenty children lived in five wooden houses, which were quite spacious, and they had a heater, so the houses weren't too cold.

"Dinner is ready. Wash and dry your hands before you eat," Song Yushu said. He diced the frozen pork from the restaurant, cooked a pot of minced pork porridge, and stir-fried some pickled vegetables for them to eat with.

The group of children stared intently at the pot of porridge, which smelled deliciously of meat, but they still obediently went to wash their hands.

The water for washing hands was warm; Song Yushu had specially boiled water so they wouldn't catch a cold.

After they washed their hands and sat down, Song Yushu placed bowls of meat porridge in front of them, and also put pickled vegetables in the middle of the table for them to help themselves.

"Miss Yun, you must be tired after a long day. Sit down and eat with them," Song Yushu said, seeing that Miss Yun was still supervising the children's meal. He urged her to eat something first.

Only Lady Yun came to see the twenty children this time; the others stayed at the academy to look after the children there.

Only then did Lady Yun realize that she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday, so she didn't refuse and scooped up a bowl of porridge to eat in the corner.

"These are their rations for the time being, as well as bedding. If they need anything, just ask someone to come and let us know," Xue Huai'an said as he brought the supplies over.

"Alright, have some porridge to warm yourself up first. Call the people outside who are moving supplies over to help. It's so cold, you guys have it tough," Song Yushu called him in and pushed the porridge he had prepared in front of him before he could refuse.