Chapter 51 Chapter 51 “This fish meat…

"This fish meat..." A cry of surprise was heard suddenly. Father Lin also came back to his senses and looked at the bowl of fish meat on the stone table. Could it be that something happened to the fish?

"It tastes delicious, Brother Lin and Brother Zhu, please try it..."

After taking a deep breath, Father Lin breathed a sigh of relief. As long as nothing happened, he was glad. He picked up a piece of fish with his chopsticks and put it into his mouth.

The weather was hot and the fish meat was not yet completely cooled. When I ate it, I felt a slight numbness at first, which was accompanied by a refreshing fragrance and was very comfortable. Then I felt the sourness and spiciness. The amazing thing was that they blended very well, and it was spicy, numb, fresh and fragrant.

Finally, the fish meat was so tender that it melted in the mouth and was swallowed before I had time to chew it. Father Lin, who had eaten many fish before, could tell at one bite that this fish must have been freshly killed and was very fresh.

The most important thing is that there is not even the slightest earthy smell, which is surprising. It shows that the chef's skills are superb, much better than the chef he hired at a high price.

Presumably, the eldest son had put a lot of effort into finding it. Father Lin felt relieved, but because of the flash of guilt he had just felt, he decided to check on his eldest son's academic progress later.

"It's really good." Another man called Brother Zhu also nodded. He didn't like eating fish very much in the past, not only because he had a fish bone stuck in his throat when he was a child, but also because the fishy smell of fish meat was really hard to cover up. Unexpectedly, this fish had no fishy smell at all. Instead, it was very smooth and tender. Moreover, because it was sliced ​​thinly, there were very few fish bones. It was really good.

Soon the fish in the bowl was gone. In order to ask someone to do him a favor, Lin's father gave up the fish. He could only watch the two people finish the fish with one chopstick each. He felt very uncomfortable and could only pick up the teacup to drink tea and divert his attention.

When the two of them had almost finished eating, Father Lin clapped his hands and called the maid to help them rinse their mouths and wipe their faces. He then signaled the housekeeper Lin next to him with his eyes, brought two small boxes and said,

"Master Cao, Master Zhu, I'm sorry to trouble you with the matters concerning my shop."

It is said that it is easy to avoid the King of Hell but difficult to deal with the little devils. The same is true for doing business. You have to take care of both the superiors and the subordinates, otherwise they can get you into trouble with just a flick of their fingers. Father Lin understands this very well. He has spent a lot of money over the years to establish good relationships with the clerks in the household and criminal departments. Now it is time to get it back.

"Haha, Brother Lin, you are too polite. We are not worthy of being called masters. We are just odd jobs in the county government office." Cao Yun looked at the box opened by Lin's father, which contained a box of silver, about twenty ingots, about 500 taels, and his expression became obviously happy.

"Yes, Brother Lin is still too polite. We are supposed to be on equal terms with each other, so why call him sir? You should punish yourself with a drink." Zhu Ziyou naturally also saw the box of silver, and greed flashed in his eyes.

"Look at me, I deserve to be punished." Father Lin said as he picked up the wine jug and poured a glass of wine and drank it.

When things progressed to this point, Zhu Ziyou, who introduced the two men, finally spoke up, "What do you think, Brother Cao?"

"That's not difficult. But Brother Lin, I have a request. As you know, my father's birthday is in two days. I didn't want to have a big celebration, but my uncle said he wants to come over for a drink, and I'm really worried about how to entertain him."

Uncle? Could it be the County Magistrate? Father Lin's eyes rolled as he thought about it, and his brows lit up instantly. He was just looking for an opportunity to get close to the County Magistrate. "That's easy to do. If Brother Cao doesn't mind, just let me handle it. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"Haha, I often hear Brother Cao say that Brother Lin is straightforward. Now I have also seen it. It's a pity that I didn't get to know Brother Lin earlier. It's really a pity. Come, Brother Lin, let me toast you a glass." Cao Yun pretended to sigh and picked up the wine glass.

Seeing this, Father Lin quickly filled his glass and returned the toast.

The three of them drank back and forth, and the banquet lasted until the evening.

"Make sure to send the two adults home safely, understand!"

"yes."

Father Lin gave instructions to the groom and servants before returning home.

After drinking two cups of hangover tea brought by the housekeeper, Father Lin suddenly remembered that he had not yet visited his eldest son Lin Jing, so he walked towards Lin Jing's yard again.

However, it was also during this time that Lin's father discovered that his eldest son had moved to the most remote yard at some point.

The further they walked, the worse Lin Shou's expression became. Steward Lin beside him also wiped his sweat secretly, "When did it happen?"

"Just...just last time, Madam said that the eldest young master went to the county school and rarely came back home, so she decided to temporarily move the courtyard to the young master to live in..."

"Temporarily?" The word sounded nice, and Lin Shou sneered twice.

"Tomorrow... No, you can find someone to change it for me later."

This was outrageous. Someone made the decision without his permission. Lin Shou felt that his authority as the head of the family was being challenged.

"Yes, sir." Butler Lin thought to himself that something was wrong, but he was wondering why the sir suddenly cared about the eldest young master?

When Lin Shou arrived at Lin Jing's yard, Lin Jing was reviewing his lessons. Seeing this, Lin Shou nodded, very satisfied.

"Ahem, are you reading?"

Lin Jing heard the voice and looked up. He found that it was his father. A look of surprise appeared on his face. "Dad?"

"Well, how are you doing with your studies lately? Have you made any progress?"

Father Lin asked casually without holding out hope. After all, he had a pretty good idea of ​​what his sons had been like over the years. It was his fate, he had three sons, and none of them were good at studying. It cost him a large sum of money to send his eldest son to the county school. Although the other two sons were not yet of age, the teacher said they were not that good either.

Lin Jing came back this time to talk about this matter. After hearing what Lin's father said, he happily told Lin's father that he had been admitted to Class A.

Class A? Wouldn't that be the best class in the county school?

You should know that the chances of those who enter the A class of the county school to pass the examination and become a scholar are greatly increased.

Father Lin really became happy, "Okay, okay."

"As expected of my son."

After thinking for a while, Father Lin said, "How about this, is there anything you want? As long as it's not excessive, I will agree to it."

Lin Jing thought about it and realized that he didn't seem to be missing anything. He shook his head and said, "No."

However, the less Lin Jing asked, the more his father wanted to give.

After a moment's hesitation, he said, "How about this? I'll raise your monthly allowance to 50 taels. If you want anything, you can buy it yourself."

Lin Jing was overjoyed when he heard this. His monthly allowance was only 20 taels before, but it had doubled. Wouldn't that mean he could buy whatever he wanted?

"Thank you, Dad."

However, just doing so was obviously not what Lin's father did. He then instructed the housekeeper to bring the deeds of the two shops in the west of the county to Lin Jing, and asked the steward to deliver the set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone that he had treasured for a long time in his study to Lin Jing.

"As long as you study hard, I will buy you whatever you want."

After all this, Lin Jing, who hadn't felt his father's love for a long time, was actually flattered and at a loss for a moment.

"Dad, this is too much. I can't use so many things."

"Not much." This is not much at all. As soon as Father Lin entered the house, he saw the furnishings in his eldest son's room. Not only was there not a single valuable item, but there was also a thick layer of dust on the windowsill. It can be seen what kind of life the eldest son has lived in this family over the years.

For a moment, he felt guilty, sad and moved. He felt guilty that he had been blinded by greed all these years and had ignored his eldest son. He was moved that even so, his eldest son was still very filial to him.

"By the way, my son, where did you buy the fish today?"

I heard that the county magistrate's ancestral home was from the south of the Yangtze River, so he must also like to eat fish. The fish was cooked well today, so Lin's father thought of inviting this chef to cook fish specifically, which would be considered as catering to his taste. Otherwise, it would be a bit difficult to just wait for the recommendation of the concubine's uncle who was so far away.

"I bought it at the dock."

On the dock??!

On the second day, at Jiangkou Wharf,

Su Li looked at the middle-aged man in front of her who had just sneaked around for a long time, then ran over and said a lot to her elder sister. It took her a long time to realize what the other person meant.

"You mean your master wants to invite us to his house to cook fish tomorrow, right?" Su Li summarized his meaning.

Butler Lin looked at Su Li and then turned to look at Su Hong. He wiped the sweat off his face and nodded, "Yes, that's what I mean."

"no

Cooking at a stranger's house? Su Hong refused without a second thought. Although she heard from her younger sister that Mr. Lin was not a stranger, what if?

However, Su Li at the side said, "Of course, of course, but I don't know the reward?"

Butler Lin was unhappy when he saw that it was the little girl who interrupted again.

As expected, he came from a poor family, and all he talked about was money. However, after thinking about the purpose of his visit, he still said, "Don't worry about the rewards. If you do a good job, you will definitely get a lot."

After saying this, Steward Lin slowly took out a piece of silver weighing about five taels from his sleeve and said, "This is the deposit. I'll give you another five taels after the deal is done."

Ten taels of silver for a dish? Not only Su Li, but also Su Hong and Su Tao were tempted.

"However, before that, please come with me back to my house so I can cook this fish dish again."

As if he was afraid that the person in front of him would not agree, Manager Lin said, "The carriage and horses are ready. Whether it succeeds or not, there will be 500 coins for tea money for you."

500 Wen?

"good."

"Little sister..."

"Fifth sister..."

Su Hong looked at Su Li, not quite understanding why her younger sister agreed so directly. In her opinion, it was too dangerous for them to go to a stranger's house to cook when their parents and grandmother were not around.

Su Tao looked at Su Li with some worry, not understanding why her younger sister was so brave.

Su Li pulled her eldest sister Su Hong and fourth sister Su Tao aside and began to tell them what she had learned.

"Sister, I just asked Aunt Zhao, and there is indeed a Lin Family Silk Shop in the county. What he said should be true."

Although it is true, but...Su Hong is still worried.

Su Li continued,

"Besides, think about it, big sister. We are in this situation now. What do you think they can do to us?"

…

This is true, it seems that it is not the case.

Although the three sisters all looked good, they were malnourished for many years and looked pale and thin. They were not very good-looking at all. Su Hong was naturally aware of this.

"Also, 10 taels of silver!"

They worked hard for a month and still didn't earn ten taels of silver, but this time they could earn that much just by making one dish. That's why Su Li agreed without thinking. It's not that she didn't know the danger, but for the sake of the silver, she had to give it a try no matter what.

Of course, safety is also important, so...

"At worst, we can ask Uncle Zeng to go with us."

After hearing these words, Su Hong was speechless.

On the other hand, when Zeng Lao Er heard that the three Su Li sisters were going to the Lin Mansion to cook and asked him to accompany them, he agreed without thinking.

Fortunately, the food was sold out. After putting the things on the mule cart, Su Li and the other two got on the carriage with Manager Lin who was sitting in front of them and went to the Lin family.

In front, Manager Lin looked at the three people sitting in the mule cart, and thought that Su Li and the other two were crazy. They chose the mule cart instead of the horse carriage.

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The author has something to say: Thank you to the babies for sending grenades and nutrient solution! [Spread flowers][Spread flowers] Sorry for being late today [covering face and laughing and crying] It will be earlier tomorrow.