Chapter 42 [V] "What does Madam Li want to talk to me about..."
Mr. Gao smiled and said, “It’s not quite the end of the year yet, and I need to stay in Huating County for a while. Take this silver ingot. There’s no scale right now, so I can’t weigh it precisely, but I estimate it’s about ten taels. You can use this silver to cover my food for a month, is that alright?”
If it meant a month's worth of meals, then Li Yan would dare to take the money.
However, she already has too many other jobs on her hands, and if she takes on this one, she's afraid she won't be able to handle it.
After thinking for a moment, Li Yan decided to speak her mind.
“Sir, I would be happy to cook for you. However, I also run my own small business and take on the job of cooking lunch for the county magistrate on the first and fifteenth of each month. I’m afraid I’ll be too busy if I accept your offer.” She could earn ten taels of silver just for cooking for a month, so of course she wanted to take the job.
But we need to explain the situation clearly and then discuss it properly with the elderly person.
Meanwhile, Li Yan's mind was racing. She used to sell milk tea after dinner because it was still warm then, and the evenings were cooler. But now, it was deep winter, and the weather was freezing, so setting up her stall in the afternoon was much more suitable.
If we set up a stall in the afternoon, this job can be left to my mother-in-law, Aunt Xue.
Although it was cold, the sun came out in the afternoon, so it wasn't so cold anymore.
This made her workload lighter.
She can prepare dinner before leaving so that they can have dinner at home without delaying their arrival.
Thinking about it this way, Li Yan felt that the time was manageable, but it would be a bit tiring.
Li Yan really wanted to earn those ten taels of silver. With that extra ten taels, she could have a prosperous New Year.
Moreover, cooking for him would allow for frequent interaction, which would leave a good impression on him. He is a highly respected figure, deeply loved and admired by the students; letting them know that she was cooking for him would undoubtedly be beneficial.
Thinking this way, Li Yan became even more determined to take on the job.
Therefore, Li Yan quickly added, "I have already promised the magistrate's family, so it wouldn't be right not to go. But I can come on any day except the first and fifteenth of the month."
The old gentleman had a strong preference for heavy flavors when he was in Beijing, but this caused him to suffer from various ailments. Therefore, even when he did eat, he dared not indulge himself every day.
Mr. Gao said, "If Madam Li can come for half a month, that will be fine."
"Then this silver..."
"No matter how many days you cook for me, the money I gave you will not be taken back." After thinking for a moment, he realized that since the person was running a small business, he should give them a written agreement to put their mind at ease. So he instructed the young man, "Changfeng."
“Master,” the young man named Changfeng immediately replied, “what are your orders, Master?”
Mr. Gao said, "Bring me paper and pen. Even though it's only a one-month collaboration, we still need to draw up a written agreement."
Changfeng immediately went to the desk and got paper and pen. Mr. Gao took the paper and pen and quickly began to write.
The old man picked up his pen and wrote the entire piece in one go, each character powerful and forceful. After finishing, he handed it to Li Yan to see.
The old man's handwriting was neat and clear. Li Yan had also been here for a long time and had signed some documents and contracts. In the past two months, she had also read some books. Therefore, she was becoming more and more familiar with traditional Chinese characters.
After taking it, she read it carefully word by word, and then handed it back.
"Sir, I've looked at it. I'll listen to you; I have no objections."
"Okay, then let's make two copies."
So Changfeng went to get more paper, and the old man wrote out the exact same copy as before.
After they finished writing, the two signed and sealed the document, and each of them kept a copy.
After carefully putting away the contract and taking the money, Li Yan said earnestly, "I'll still come over every day to cook for you, at least I can guarantee to cook you one meal a day. For your health, you can't eat spicy or numbing food every day, so on the days when you don't eat spicy food, I'll cook you other dishes to help nourish your spleen and stomach."
The old man naturally had no objections and smiled kindly, saying, "That's very good, very good."
After everything was settled, Li Yan was led by Changfeng to the inn's kitchen.
The contract also states that the old man will prepare all the ingredients himself, so Li Yan will not need to spend any more money.
It's almost 9 AM now, so I have about half an hour to an hour to cook. By the time the food is ready, it will be time to eat.
The innkeeper of Sifang Inn had been paying close attention to Mr. Gao's movements. When he saw Li Yan being led to the kitchen by Changfeng, he quickly followed.
Then, I saw the young woman cooking in the kitchen.
Li Yan caught a live fish of a suitable size from the water tank, then killed the fish, scraped off the scales, and rinsed it with clean water.
After rinsing, cut it in half and place it in a colander to drain the water.
At this time, she washes some vegetables and arranges them, so that they can be cooked and then added to the grilled fish later.
In most inns and restaurants, the seasonings are fairly complete. Li Yan only started frying the fish after finding the seasonings she wanted.
First, put the oil in the pan and wait for it to heat up before adding the drained fish. With a sizzling sound, the entire kitchen is filled with a delicious aroma.
Actually, for Li Yan, the seasonings here weren't quite complete. She used to add hot pot broth to enhance the flavor when filming videos. She has to admit, the grilled fish with hot pot broth definitely tasted better.
Li Yan only received the hot pot base recipe a couple of days ago, as a reward from the task system. However, due to the time constraints, she hasn't had time to study it in detail yet.
Once she has all the ingredients, she can make hot pot broth herself by following the steps. After cooking the ingredients in the correct proportions and order, she can freeze them, cut them into pieces, and perhaps even sell them.
Once the grilled fish was ready, Li Yan's task was complete.
"Young Master Changfeng, please deliver this to your master. I won't go upstairs. I'll come again around this time tomorrow." She thought to herself, "I won't come tonight. Today is the first day; I need to take care of things at home first."
.
When she got home, Li Yan told Aunt Xue about it.
When Aunt Xue learned that she could earn ten taels of silver just by cooking for a month, she was very excited.
"Yan Niang, don't worry about it. I'll take care of things at home," she said.
Then Li Yan casually told Aunt Xue what she was thinking: "Mother, I'll make the milk tea drinks in the morning from now on, and you can take them out to sell after lunch. The drinks sell well now, and I estimate they'll be sold out in a little over an hour."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of the stall from now on." She's no longer allowed to get up early to pick meat, and besides housework, she has nothing else to do. Giving her the stall job is perfect; it saves her from being idle at home all day, watching her daughter-in-law running around all day, which makes her feel bad.
Moreover, Yan Niang has already done the preliminary work and now has a certain customer base, so it won't be difficult for her to sell.
Li Yan nodded and said, "If I go to cook for Master Gao in the evenings, you'll have to take care of dinner at home. If I don't go, I'll cook dinner at home."
Previously, she was always busy with her business, and her mother-in-law cooked all three meals a day at home. Now that the work of selling drinks has been moved to the afternoon, she can have some time to cook dinner after she finishes cooking braised pork in the evening.
In the afternoon, Aunt Xue pushed her cart to sell drinks, while Li Yan stayed home researching hot pot broth recipes. She first gathered the ingredients she had at home, and planned to go out and find the rest during her free time in the next few days.
She had spent the entire afternoon engrossed in researching this in her room. When she suddenly snapped out of it, it was already late. Li Yan slapped her thigh, exclaimed "Oh no!" and hurriedly ran to the kitchen.
After the braised pork was finished, she quickly washed the pot clean, then chopped the pork, chopped the celery, kneaded the dough, and made dumplings with celery and pork filling.
The drinks were selling well, and Aunt Xue came home early to help make dumplings.
After finishing school, Xu Ge'er first went to the kitchen to greet his grandmother and aunt, then went back to his room to finish the homework assigned by his teacher and teach Yue Jie'er to read.
Once the steaming hot dumplings with thin skins and generous fillings were ready, Li Yan and Aunt Xue carried them into the main room together.
"Brother Xu, Sister Yue, stop busy and come out to eat." As soon as the dumplings were placed on the table, Li Yan called out to the house.
Soon, the two children came out of the house.
"It smells so good!" Yue'er, being a little glutton, immediately smiled and leaned over to smell it. "It's celery and pork filling, my favorite."
Li Yan: "Yes, yes, Auntie knows you like to eat this, that's why she made it."
"Auntie is so kind." After spending several months together, Yue'er and Li Yan have become like mother and daughter, and their relationship is very good.
In Yue'er's memory, the already faint image of her biological mother had long since vanished without a trace. Now, in her heart, her aunt, though not her biological mother, was like a mother to her.
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Li Yan had been frequenting the Sifang Inn these past few days, and over time, she became acquainted with Ye Gaozheng, the innkeeper and owner of the Sifang Inn.
Ye Gao is running the inn passed down from his ancestors, and he has quite a bit of ambition, wanting to carry on the family business. But he is just an ordinary person, not very well-educated, and not very knowledgeable about business management, so even though he has worked very hard over the years, the inn's business can only be described as barely passable.
In addition to providing accommodation, the inn also offers meals.
Ye Gaozheng's eyes lit up when he saw that Li Yan's cooking skills were quite good, and when he found out that in addition to helping Mr. Gao cook, she also worked as a street vendor selling drinks and cooking meat for Yuanbaolou.
And she was a widow...
Ye Gaozheng is in his thirties, and his wife passed away three years ago. He has no sons, only a twelve-year-old daughter.
He saw that Li Yan was quite beautiful and that her husband had died, so he decided to marry her as his second wife.
My approach and attempts to please you these past few days have been purposeful and deliberate.
Li Yan never dared to imagine that he harbored designs on her; she simply assumed his attentiveness was a businessman's nature—that he saw her cooking skills were good and wanted to build a good relationship so he could learn a thing or two from her.
Li Yan is not a stingy person; if he really wants to learn from her, she won't hold back.
But on this day, a matchmaker came to our house early in the morning.
The matchmaker was around forty years old, dressed in brightly colored clothes. She had quite a entourage, with a young maid following behind her, carrying many things in her arms.
As soon as he entered Tongye Hutong, he started talking loudly, attracting many neighbors to crane their necks to look.
Aunt Xue no longer needed to get up early to go shopping, so she was at home when the matchmaker came.
"Who are you looking for?" Recently, many unfamiliar important people have been coming to the house, and Aunt Xue has become used to it.
She thought it was another important family sending someone to find a daughter-in-law to cook for them, but to her surprise, she immediately said she was there to propose marriage.
"Propose marriage?" Aunt Xue was stunned for a moment before she came to her senses.
Aunt Hua from next door had also come to see what was going on, and was overjoyed at the sight. But seeing that Aunt Xue was stunned, she reminded her, "Auntie, they've come to propose marriage, shouldn't you quickly invite them into the house?"
"Oh, oh." Aunt Xue finally came to her senses and quickly invited the matchmaker into the house.
At this moment, a large crowd had gathered outside the Xue family's courtyard.
"The Xue family's young wife is really good. We've lived together as neighbors for a few months, and everyone can see that she's a good person. She's capable, hardworking, and good at making money; she's a hot commodity."
"Yes, she wasn't very good-looking when we first met her, but she's gotten more and more beautiful. Look at her face and figure, she's very eye-catching. She's also very good to us; she's always very generous with food and drinks."
"Her husband is dead. I heard he went to the front lines and died in battle. She's still young and has no children, so she'll definitely have to remarry sooner or later. It's only a matter of time... I just didn't know that no one came to propose marriage today."
“Aunt Hua, you’ve always been closest to the Xue family, why don’t you go and listen to what they have to say?”
Aunt Hua also wanted to go in and take a look, or help with the decision-making. But this was, after all, their family matter, and she didn't want to conspicuously intrude, as it would seem inappropriate.
"Judging from this, the man must be quite well-off. I just don't know how old he is, what he does for a living, or what his family situation is like. No rush, let's wait and see. I'll ask Aunt Xue later," said Aunt Hua.
Someone joked, "There are eligible ladies in our alley too. Didn't you say the other day that the second son of the He family took a fancy to Lady Li? But the second son is still a virgin, and Lady Li is a widow. Although Sister-in-law He is interested, she is still hesitant and hasn't given in yet."
Aunt Hua: "So what if she's a widow? Her husband died for his country; it's an honor. Besides, I heard the Xue family married Yan Niang to bring good luck to Xue Erlang. Yan Niang has never even seen Xue Erlang once; she's still a virgin. How is that any different from a first marriage? It's just that He family's sister-in-law is too old-fashioned. If my family had a suitable husband, I would have proposed long ago. Now, outsiders are going to get the better deal."
“If she remarries into our neighborhood, she can at least take care of Sister-in-law Xue. After all, she’s getting old and has two grandchildren to raise, which is really tough for her. If Yan Niang marries far away, she won’t be able to take care of her family. It’s pitiful.”
Someone whispered, "Do you think that if Madam Li really remarries, she can still support the young master Xue's studies? If she stops supporting him, then the young master Xue won't be able to continue his studies, and the tuition fees for that year are not cheap."
The crowd erupted in discussion, and the area outside the Xue family courtyard was quite noisy.
Meanwhile, inside the house, Li Yan was forced to sit in the main room to entertain the guests, but she was extremely unwilling.
When Li Yan learned that the person who sent the matchmaker to propose marriage was Ye Gaozheng, the owner of Sifang Inn, she laughed in anger.
"So, Master Ye asked you to propose marriage?" Li Yan couldn't believe it. "You must have misunderstood."
“How could that be?” the matchmaker said. “I’ve been in this business for so long, everyone in Huating County knows that I, Matchmaker Hua, am the best matchmaker. If you come to me not to talk about marriage, do you think you’d talk about business? Don’t worry, Madam Li, it’s definitely not wrong.”
But it's precisely because she can't be wrong that she's worried.
That Ye Gaozheng is really something else. He's old enough to be the original owner's father, yet he still dares to dream of marrying her as his second wife.
The matchmaker showered Ye Gaozheng with praise, saying he came from a wealthy family with businesses, and that marrying him would guarantee her a life of luxury. Moreover, the Ye family only had one daughter, no sons; if she married him and had a son, the family fortune would belong entirely to her and her son.
He also said that having a daughter wasn't a problem, since the young lady was already twelve and would have to get married in a few years. Then, wouldn't she be the one making all the decisions at home?
The matchmaker thought this marriage was perfect for Li Yan, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But Li Yan felt that Ye Gaozheng was really scheming; his abacus beads were practically jumping into her face.
He was impressed by her cooking skills, and after marrying her, he could put her in charge of the kitchen, saving him the cost of hiring a chef.
She could also trick him into giving birth to his children for free.
Seeing the matchmaker's flowery words and spittle flying everywhere, Li Yan couldn't hold back any longer and directly refused: "Matchmaker, please stop talking. I don't agree to this marriage."
The matchmaker's voice abruptly stopped.
She even looked at Li Yan with an incredulous expression: "Why?"
Li Yan was too lazy to waste any more words, and abandoning her previous gentle and good-natured demeanor, she lazily replied, "Why would I agree to a losing deal?"
"This, this is a good marriage! How can you say it's a loss? Besides, this is a marriage, not a business deal. There's no such thing as a loss or a gain." The matchmaker was still trying to persuade her.
Li Yan laughed in exasperation and said, "I've met that Mr. Ye before. He's over thirty, not much younger than my father."
The matchmaker tried to interject, saying that the age difference between the man and woman wasn't a problem, especially since she was a widow. But Li Yan wouldn't let her speak, and quickly followed up with, "He runs the inn, and I run my small business. I don't want his money. On the contrary, after marrying me, he probably won't even need a cook at the inn. And me? I've given him my body, given him my money, and I still have to bear his children... Don't you think it's a losing proposition for me?"
"How can you say that?"
Li Yan said, "Please stop talking. In short, I've said I disagree, so please leave."
Before the matchmaker could speak, Li Yan said, "How much did Master Ye pay you for the matchmaking? Is it worth you speaking up for him like this? Give me a number, and I'll pay double, just please leave quickly."
"Sigh!" The matchmaker had met her matchmaker; she had no choice but to bite the bullet and leave.
But once they reached the courtyard, he still left room for maneuver, saying, "Madam Ye, don't be too arrogant. Think about this matter again. I won't go back to Master Ye yet. We'll talk about it when you've really thought it through."
Li Yan said directly, "I don't need to consider it. You should just go and reply to him directly. Even if you don't reply to him, I have to go to Sifang Inn to cook lunch later, and I will run into him eventually. I can just reply to him in person then."
Upon hearing this, the matchmaker said nothing more and angrily slammed the door and left.
Stepping outside, she saw a crowd gathered around. She couldn't help but feel a bit vengeful, wanting to tarnish Li Yan's reputation. She said, "That woman is truly arrogant! The innkeeper wants to marry her, but she refuses. She even claims he has ulterior motives. What a load of rubbish!"
The group of aunts and sisters-in-law who had received favors from Li Yan would not tolerate such disparaging remarks about people from their own alley.
Aunt Hua, in particular, was the first to stand up and scold her: "Pah, stop talking nonsense! You failed to arrange your own marriage and wasted the matchmaking money, but now you're ruining the young lady's reputation. What big boss? We don't care! Our lady is capable and can earn money on her own. She doesn't want a man's money."
"Exactly, what kind of matchmaker is this? How can they be so unprofessional?"
"They probably came for Yan's family's wealth, but they were exposed and then they became desperate."
.
At noon, after arriving at Sifang Inn, Li Yan went straight to Ye Gao's front.
Ye Gaozheng had already received the matchmaker's advice, and now he felt a little guilty, so he avoided Li Yan.
Li Yan stopped him: "Boss Ye, why avoid him now?"
Having no other choice, Ye Gaozheng mustered his courage, turned around to face Li Yan, and forced a smile.
"Madam Li, I am truly sorry. I was presumptuous today and caused you trouble. I apologize to you here." With that, he bowed formally.
Since Li Yan had already vented her anger in the morning and had received his apology, she didn't intend to pursue the matter further.
But based on this incident, Li Yan could probably see through Mr. Ye's methods.
They have some cunning, but not much.
It's normal for business people to be shrewd and calculating. But if they're not too shrewd or calculating, they can be a pretty good business partner.
“Mr. Ye, let’s just let bygones be bygones. I’m not one to hold grudges, so let’s just leave it at that and pretend this never happened,” Li Yan said readily. “I have a business opportunity here, I wonder if Mr. Ye would be interested in hearing about it.”
Li Yan changed the subject too quickly, leaving Ye Gaozheng stunned.
"Business?" Ye Gao was wary, yet at the same time, he harbored a sliver of expectation and hope. "What kind of business does Madam Li want to discuss with me?"
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Author's Note: Update delivered!
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