The kitchen of a restaurant is not a place that anyone can just walk into. Some people are very secretive and want to keep all recipes and techniques to themselves, fearing that others will learn them. Chen Haiping's willingness to let Liu Lao Er go to the kitchen for two days shows his great magnanimity, and Liu Lao Er reciprocated this kindness.

“Brother Chen is very generous. I have traveled all over the country and visited many places. There are people in the west who love spicy food. They have a dish of mixed noodles that is very delicious. I have seen the vendors make it. I will write it down to repay Brother Chen’s kindness.”

Chen Haiping readily accepted, and began to consider the possibility of opening a braised meat shop in Xuanzhou. His reputation had already spread, and it would be a pity not to take advantage of this opportunity. However, he didn't know anyone in Xuanzhou, so it seemed he would have to make a trip there in person to check out the local market.

Qin Xiaozhou happily ate a bowl of cold noodles and walked back to Yifang Fengshun Tower in the afterglow of the setting sun. Lu Yunfeng had gone to inquire about the talent for building the embroidery tower, and had not yet returned.

Originally, she only wanted to build a simple two-story courtyard house, but since Magistrate Sun approved such a large plot of land, she decided to build a large city. For this, she specifically went to ask Zhu Xian for advice. Miss Zhu had traveled all over the country and knew a lot about the place. She told Qin Xiaozhou that the waterways in the county town could reach the Grand Canal, and that the waterways in the county town were wide and deep, with waterways connecting all directions. However, only the waterways in the east and north were suitable for cargo ships, while the waterways in the west and south were shallow and could only be used by small boats.

As long as there are cargo ships that can sail, the future development of Fenggu County will not be a problem, so building a large embroidered building is a long-term plan.

Qin Xiaozhou hoped that Chen Haiping would work hard to open the braised meat shop in Xuanzhou and Wanzhou, so that her income could increase many times over. In this small Fenggu County, even the most profitable business would not make her rich.

If we could go south to Jinling and Jiangnan, that would be even more amazing.

Lu Yunfeng and his brother returned in the last rays of dawn, their clothes soaked with sweat. Zhao Fang found them clean clothes, and the two washed themselves before going to the kitchen.

Everyone in the shop had finished eating, and the leftover food was still warm on the stove. Zhao Fang touched the rim of the bowl and felt that it was still warm before putting it on the table. "Come back earlier next time. It's not safe to be too late."

Lu Yunxing took a big gulp of water. The two brothers had run around and seen a lot of people today, and they were exhausted. "Mother, there was a heavy rain the day before yesterday, and the drought has been relieved. Everyone is thinking about living in peace and contentment now. No one will risk their life to rob us. Besides, my brother and I are not afraid of these people."

After saying that, he pulled Zhao Fang to compare their heights.

Lu Yunfeng is tall and strong, and ordinary people dare not mess with him. In the past six months, even Lu Yunxing has grown taller and is now more than half a head taller than Zhao Fang.

Lu Yunxing secretly compared himself to Lu Yunfeng again, but he only got close to his elder brother before he was immediately discouraged and sat down to eat.

Zhao Fang patted her second son's head and said, "You're fifteen years old by the Chinese age reckoning, you can still grow taller. Your eldest brother only stopped growing when he was eighteen."

Lu Yunxing felt it was a good idea and became happy. Qin Xiaozhou took out ten taels of silver and handed it over, saying, "Eryun, go find a teacher to study tomorrow. This is your tuition fee." She then took five taels, saying, "Use this money to buy paper, ink, brushes, and inkstones. If you need more, just tell me."

Although Lu Yunxing had dropped out of school for two years, his former teacher still lived in the county town. There weren't many families in the county town who could afford to study, so the teacher would accept anyone who wanted to go.

He stood up and bowed respectfully to Qin Xiaozhou, saying, "Thank you, sister-in-law. I will definitely study hard."

Then he said to Lu Yunxing, "Brother, come with me."

Lu Yunfeng shook his head, "I won't go."

The embroidery building needs to be built, the barbecue stall is just starting out, and the house at home is not yet finished. There are many things to do, and they are quite complicated. Although Qin Xiaozhou is capable, he can't just ignore everything and bury himself in his books, leaving everything to his wife.

Lu Yunxing said eagerly, "Brother, your studies are also very good. Are you worried that there are too many things to do at home and that your sister-in-law can't manage on her own? Then we can come back every day after we finish our studies. It's not far from the teacher's house, so we can manage both."

Everyone looked at Qin Xiaozhou, who didn't care, "Go if you want."

Once the embroidery pavilion finds a construction team, everything will be on track, and she can handle it. Lu Yunfeng shook his head again, patted his second brother's shoulder, "You should focus on your studies. If you pass the imperial examination in the future, one of us brothers will become an official and the other a merchant, which would be excellent. As for the fourth brother, let him do as he pleases. He can study or do whatever he wants."

These words impressed Qin Xiaozhou; she hadn't expected Lu Yunfeng to be so farsighted.

The next morning, Lu Yunxing took his tuition, writing materials, and a box of cakes and desserts to the teacher's house. The teacher was a scholar who specialized in teaching people how to pass the preliminary examinations; he couldn't teach anyone beyond that.

Fortunately, there is an autumn imperial examination this year, so Lu Yunxing can study properly for four months. If he passes the preliminary examination, he can take the county-level examination in three years, the provincial-level examination in six years, and the metropolitan-level examination in nine years.

The barbecue stall was doing brisk business. In the afternoon, Ma Dage came to the backyard of the shop to get ingredients. The meat had been delivered by Zhao Yong from Wangjia Village that morning, slaughtered and marinated at noon. It was incredibly fresh and hadn't been skewered yet. Ma Dage realized that skewering meat was a job, so he pondered for a long time in the yard before finally mustering up the courage to rub his hands together and go into the kitchen. "Boss," he said, "my wife has been feeling better these past few days. She's efficient and clean. Could she come here and skewer meat? You can give her one meal a day."

The family of three are from out of town. They have no house or land in Fenggu County. He has sold himself into the Lu family and has food and drink, but his wife and son are still hungry. His wife wants to find a job washing clothes, but she has no connections. As soon as people hear her accent, they don't want her to do laundry. She was so worried last night that she couldn't sleep.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!