Chapter Twenty: A Stable Earning of Two Hundred Coins a Day...
Li Yan rented a house in Tongye Hutong, and Tongye Street, the back street of Tongye Hutong, is a very prosperous street in Huating County.
The entire alley was lined with houses like the one Li Yan had rented: three large tiled rooms, a spacious courtyard, a kitchen on the left, and a latrine on the right.
Of course, each company will adjust and modify its internal layout according to its own needs.
For example, some families with many members build one or two extra rooms in their yard. Other families, for safety reasons, will build their yard walls higher than others.
There were also some previous owners of the house that Li Yan had rented. According to Cheng Yalang, he was a cook, so the kitchen was very large, with four big pots. In addition, there were stoves, cupboards, and other complete items.
Because no one had lived there for a long time, the courtyard was overgrown with weeds. But Li Yan withheld two hundred coins and had the brokers help clean it up. When she came today, the courtyard was indeed much cleaner.
The weeds were gone, and the house and yard were tidied up a bit, making it look much cleaner.
When the broker came to collect the two hundred coins, Li Yan handed over the money without saying a word.
Because we moved into the city before dawn, it's still early.
As the sun rose, the people who had gone out to work were still there, and the whole alley was bustling with activity.
Everyone divided the work. As soon as Aunt Xue arrived, she took the freshly picked vegetables from her garden and went to deliver them to the neighbors on both sides. In the process, she also managed to find out the information she needed to find out.
When she returned, Li Yan gave her some money, and Aunt Xue hurried to the morning market to buy meat.
Li Yan, meanwhile, stayed home with Xu Ge'er and Yue Jie'er, cleaning the house together. They washed and rinsed everything that needed washing, and the yard was spacious enough to dry lots of things, as long as the ropes were tied up.
Water for washing things is not a problem either. Every household in this city has a well in their yard, and they can simply draw water from their own well for drinking and other uses.
Life in the city is much more convenient than in the countryside.
After Li Yan finished washing everything that needed washing, Aunt Xue also returned home with the pork belly she had bought.
"We didn't go too late; there's still plenty of meat to choose from. Yanniang, how's the pork belly I bought?"
Unlike towns, cities don't have markets. The city has morning and evening markets, both selling various kinds of meat.
"This pork belly is beautiful, with a good balance of fat and lean meat, and the color of the meat is also nice. It looks very fresh, and the braised pork belly made from it will definitely be delicious."
Aunt Xue smiled happily: "I'll put it in the kitchen."
Then, Aunt Xue noticed how many things were drying in the yard. She took the meat to the kitchen and saw that it was also sparkling clean. Aunt Xue quickly came out and said, "Yan Niang, you've worked so hard these days. Go and rest. I'll do the rest of the work."
She's been working late into the night and getting up early these past two days, it's been quite tough for her. She still has to cook meat this evening, so she definitely needs a good rest.
So when Aunt Xue said that, Li Yan didn't hold back.
"Then I'll go inside and lie down for a while," Li Yan said, yawning.
Seeing that she had not only lost weight these days, but also seemed to be in poor spirits, Aunt Xue felt a pang of heartache.
"Go quickly," Aunt Xue urged her.
.
The neighbors were very hospitable. Aunt Xue delivered vegetables to each household, and soon each household also brought some gifts to visit her.
Over time, Aunt Xue became more familiar with her neighbors.
Knowing that a cook had come to the house, and that she was a young woman of seventeen or eighteen, the neighbors didn't think much of it. But as evening approached, the aroma of meat wafted from the courtyard to both sides of the alley, and everyone sniffed it intently.
"Who's cooking pork? It smells so good."
Finally, a few idle people followed the scent and found the Xue family.
"Aunt Xue, is it your family cooking meat?"
Li Yan was busy in the kitchen, while Aunt Xue was busy in the yard. The gate was open, and half of the things that had been drying in the yard earlier had been brought in.
Hearing someone speaking outside the door, Aunt Xue immediately dropped what she was doing and went out to greet them.
"Come in and have a seat."
A few curious onlookers gathered together. When Aunt Xue invited them in, they looked at each other. Finally, one of them took the lead and said they wanted to come in and sit down, and the others immediately echoed him.
Aunt Xue quickly gestured to invite people to the main room, but everyone clearly preferred to go to the kitchen.
"So it really is your daughter-in-law making roast pork." The kitchen doors and windows were all open, and once Li Yan entered the courtyard, everyone in the yard could see everything she did in the kitchen.
"Wow~ how much roast pork did you make? Why are you using all these pots? Are you having a banquet tonight?" But even if it's a banquet, you can't make this much meat. How much meat is that?
"Yes, yes, and it's not even time to cook yet. Making dinner is a bit too early."
Aunt Xue smiled and explained, "No, this is meat that's going to be sent to a restaurant."
Li Yan had already prepared a pot of meat, which had just been picked up by Yuanbaolou's truck. It was going to be delivered to Qingshan Town, so it naturally had to be done sooner rather than later.
What we're doing now is preparing for the Yuanbaolou (a type of ancient Chinese pavilion) in this county town.
One of them widened his eyes and said, "You said your daughter-in-law is a cook, and that she used to cook at home and then send the food to big restaurants?" If it were just a small eatery, why would it need to order roasted meat from outside, especially so much?
Aunt Xue didn't say much, but simply said, "I bought a lot of meat today, so everyone can try my daughter-in-law's cooking later."
Even in Huating County, meat is a scarce commodity. Ordinary families in the county town can't afford to eat meat every day.
Most of the time, it's only during holidays or special occasions that we'll buy meat and have a big meal.
Besides, the meat cooked by one's own family is naturally very different from the meat cooked by the chefs who supply food to restaurants.
The aroma of meat filled the entire courtyard, almost intoxicating people with its fragrance.
The host invited them to stay and eat meat, but his legs were too heavy to move. He felt like they were made of lead, and couldn't budge an inch.
His mouth was so thick it looked like it was covered in rice paste that he couldn't utter a single polite word.
After inviting the neighbors into the main room and having them sit down, Aunt Xue turned to the kitchen and told Li Yan what had happened.
"I was just being polite, but after hearing that, they were so engrossed in the conversation that they couldn't move, and I couldn't just chase them away, so..."
"It's alright, just fill a bowl and let them try something new," Li Yan said generously.
After receiving her daughter-in-law's approval, Aunt Xue finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Once the meat was cooked and ready to be served, Li Yan first ladled out a small bowl and had it taken to the main room.
Soon, the vegetable truck from Yuanbaolou arrived again.
The neighbors who had eaten Li Yan's roast pork quickly came out to help carry the meat onto the car.
A group of people stood in front of the Xue family's gate, watching the meat truck from the grand restaurant leave. At the same time, they were still savoring the satisfying feeling of their mouths being filled with the meat juices when they ate the meat... They had never eaten such delicious meat before.
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After that day, Li Yan quickly became quite well-known throughout Tongye Hutong.
"That new Aunt Xue who moved in, don't let her daughter-in-law's appearance fool you, she's smart and hardworking. At such a young age, her braised pork skills are amazing." Even after several nights, those who have tasted Li Yan's braised pork still find the aroma of meat lingering in their mouths, an unforgettable aftertaste. "That meat is so fragrant, so delicious!"
Another said, "No, she's a proper cook, she supplies dishes to big restaurants. You know, I heard she supplies meat to Yuanbaolou. Yuanbaolou, how many times a year can we go to a restaurant like that? But now, the head chef of Yuanbaolou is right here in our alley."
Another person wearing a blue cloth jacket said, "If we buy meat and ask her to cook it, we don't know if she would be willing."
The first person to speak said, "They make money cooking meat for restaurants, why should they do it for you for free?"
"I'll pay."
"How much money can you offer? Do you know how much they make from Yuanbaolou for every pound of meat they cook?"
You know?
"I don't know. And they won't tell me."
"You have no idea how much fun you're having babbling on here. Anyway, I'll go ask about it tomorrow. If the price is right, I can always pay more later."
The person who had previously competed with her shamelessly came back: "Hey, let me know if you find out. If it works, I'm also planning to ask her for help."
The others chimed in, "Let me know too."
.
The next day, several women came to the Xue family's place in a group.
It wasn't time to roast the meat yet, and Li Yan was sitting at the table under her window, peeling off slices of cucumber she had applied to her face in front of the mirror. The window was open, and she could see several women peeking out from the courtyard gate.
"Aunties and sisters-in-law, is there something you need?" Li Yan asked as she stood up and went out to greet them in the courtyard.
The woman in the blue jacket was pushed to the front by several people. She turned her head to glare at the people behind her, and when she turned back to look at Li Yan, her face immediately changed to a smile.
“Madam Li, the reason we’ve come today is actually…we have a favor we’d like to ask you for. We were thinking…we were wondering if we could buy the meat ourselves and then trouble you to cook it for us? We’ll pay you! If you cook the meat for us, we’ll pay you for your trouble. But…we’re just ordinary people, and we don’t earn much after a month of hard work. The reward we can give you is nothing compared to what Yuanbaolou offers.”
Upon seeing this, Li Yan became troubled.
This is actually not a big deal; it's easy to handle, but also difficult to handle.
If he really accepted money to cook meat for them, it would be equivalent to taking on private work. And the contract states that taking on private work is not allowed during the contract period.
Although it might just be helping the neighbors cook and wouldn't affect Yuanbaolou's business, Li Yan didn't want to break the contract. She currently earns a stable two hundred coins a day thanks to Yuanbaolou, so she naturally had to be careful and not easily offend her sugar daddy.
So, after thinking it over for a moment, Li Yan explained the situation clearly: "The aunts and sisters-in-law who asked me for help are doing me a favor, and I shouldn't refuse. It's just that... I signed a contract with Yuanbaolou, which states that this dish cannot be made outside for profit except for family consumption."
Hearing Li Yan say this, everyone looked disappointed. They didn't want to make things difficult for her anymore, but Li Yan changed the subject and said "but".
Upon hearing that there was still a chance for things to turn around, everyone immediately asked, "But what?"
A note from the author:
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Another 20 red envelopes will be given away!
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