In fact, Zhang Sanzhuang did not need to deliver crystal agate meat to the shops on the street. At noon, the smoke and fire were everywhere, and the fragrance and the smell of fireworks were delivered to every corner of the street.
In the evening, the aroma from the kitchen of Jufu Restaurant began to waft around again, and the owners of several nearby shops came over on their own.
"What's making your food smell so good? Why don't you send us some? When you were breaking tiles this morning, I sent you a jar of good wine!" The owner of the Yun's Winery next door was named Zhou. He started yelling as soon as he entered the door.
Zhang Sanzhuang quickly put down his abacus and came over with a smile, "Uncle Zhou, I'm so sorry. I wanted to bring you some meat at noon, but the waiters were too shy and asked the customers to rush them, so they gave away all the meat left in the kitchen. So I asked my father to make some more and I was thinking of sending it to you earlier."
"Besides, the customer of your restaurant likes the wine very much. He said that both the rice wine and the Shaodaozi are delicious. He will have to order wine from you in the future. Please leave some for me." After saying this, he did not forget to bow to the owner of the cloth shop next door.
"I've also kept Mr. Wu's crystal agate flesh. We also need to buy some cloth to make mattresses for the kang in our backyard room so that our guests can sit more comfortably. Please leave me some cheap and good cloth."
The shop owners who came to eat said they were greedy, but in fact they were asked by their friends who knew the restaurant to come and find out what Ju Fu Restaurant was like.
The restaurant was quite busy at noon, and I don’t know whether business will be good in the future.
Who knew that as soon as I entered the door, not only did they give me gifts, but they also kept giving me money. I couldn't bring myself to ask any more questions.
"Uncle Zhou, Boss Wu, please come in and have a seat on the kang. Wait for my father-in-law to finish preparing the crystal agate meat. We'll have a barbecue in the backyard later. It's my treat today, so please don't leave. Uncle Zhou, you have to bring out a few jugs of good wine." Zhang Sanzhuang smiled and made way for the other person.
"It just so happens that a six-pound baby was born today, and Jufu Restaurant is opening. This is a double celebration. No matter what, you two must stay and share in the good fortune. A guest wants to eat big plate chicken. I'll go and send a jar of meat to Liang's Tavern first. I'll come back and order the dishes, and then I'll accompany you two elders for a drink."
He also knew that there was a small pub next to the cloth shop, whose specialties were steamed buns and big plate chicken.
And what about Yun's Brewery? Madam Zhou's eldest brother made mutton soup across the street from the restaurant, and they were worried that the new restaurant would steal their business.
He and his son-in-law, Sun Laohuo, used to live on the same street and were quite familiar with it. They felt more comfortable there than in Wa City.
Even though Awan is here, Jufu Restaurant’s business will definitely be good in the future.
Zhang Sanzhuang felt that he was different from Yu Maoyan'er. He would not lure all the customers into his restaurant, causing people to curse him countless times behind his back.
It would be great if we could all make money together. At least half of those who can spend money on food and drink must have enough money.
There are always things that people want to eat but are out of stock at Ju Fu Restaurant. All they have to do is ask the waiter to go out and buy them, and they can even earn some extra tips.
He did this kind of thing a lot in the restaurants on the street, and most of the copper coins he and Sun secretly saved came from this.
Boss Wu understood what Zhang Sanzhuang meant and patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Just go ahead. Old Zhou and I will go pick out the wine."
When Sun Laohuo lit the barbecue grill again, the aroma rose into the sky and spread all around. The two waiters in the front were so busy leading the way that they were not enough, so they could only ask the waiter to come out quickly and help serve the guests.
At dusk, most of the people who came out to join in the fun did not live in the town. After lunch, they went home early, so the lobby of Jufu Restaurant was not that lively.
In the backyard, however, the northwest wind was still blowing as soon as it got dark, and it was so cold outside that people's teeth were chattering. These rooms with kangs were particularly popular and were all crowded.
Some people even couldn't get a number in line and had to eat in the front yard while waiting.
But when the hot jar meat is served, accompanied by a large plate of pot cakes or sorghum rice, no one cares about the kang and all stares at the trembling meat.
At the Qiao family, Miao Wan had just woken up.
After giving birth in the afternoon, she should have taken a nap, but she was tired and in pain, and she couldn't get enough of staring at the little ball she had given birth to.
She secretly wrapped the little girl in her quilt, and would laugh for a long time holding her little hand, not knowing when she fell asleep.
I woke up because the baby suddenly started crying.
She was startled, sat up suddenly, and tears started to flow.
Holy shit, it hurts like it's about to burst, literally.
"Slow down, lie down quickly." Geng felt sorry for her, but she was holding the child and couldn't help her.
Aunt Geng came over, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and helped Miao Wan lie down. "Are you hungry? There's white fungus soup and millet porridge stewing on the stove. The Yu and Yang families both sent a lot of eggs, and Madam Zhang cooked them and sent them over."
"Then I'd rather drink Tremella soup." Miao Wan didn't like egg yolks very much and was afraid of choking.
She craned her neck to look at Geng, "Mom, is the baby hungry? How does she eat?"
She subconsciously touched her breasts and they seemed a little swollen, but there was no such feeling as Sister Chenxi had described, that milk could not be stopped from flowing out.
How come Sister Chenxi had milk right after giving birth? It’s been almost half a day since she gave birth, but she still doesn’t have any?
She ate a lot, so the baby weighed six kilograms and it hurt down there.
"Your third sister-in-law will be here soon after she finishes feeding the baby the braised eggs. Let you try first. If it doesn't work, let your third sister-in-law feed the baby for two days." Geng fed the baby two spoonfuls of rice soup and rocked the child gently.
The little dumpling was probably too hungry, so he howled twice, but when he tasted the food, he stopped crying, only his little lips kept moving.
Upon hearing this, Miao Wan quickly finished the Tremella soup and reached out impatiently, "Then I'll feed her."
Geng carefully placed the child in Miao Wan's arms. Miao Wan undressed and let Aunt Geng cover her chest with a hot cotton towel, hissing softly.
It's too hot.
If she hadn't been holding a child, she might have cried out.
But I don’t know why, but when I hold a soft ball in my arms, I seem to be able to endure the pain and discomfort, but I’m afraid of scaring that little ball.
After wiping it clean, Miao Wan brought the grain bag close to Tuanzi's mouth. The baby, who was smacking his lips, learned the trick without any instruction, grabbed the grain bag and started to use force.
He couldn't even open his eyes, and he struggled so hard that his little fists were almost out of the swaddling clothes. It was obvious that he was using all his strength.
But after sucking for a long time, Miao Wan only felt a little pain, and still did not feel any flow out.
The baby couldn't eat anything, lost his patience, and started crying, which scared Miao Wan so much that she was in a panic.
"Mom, what should I do? Why can't she taste it?"
Sun came in from outside and smiled when she heard this, "Wait and see. Some women don't produce milk until the second or third day. If that doesn't work, just like your sister-in-law asked your brother for help, ask Brother Ruichen to help you. You'll be able to have it soon. After all, you're eating well, so you shouldn't be short of milk."
"Ah? How... help?" For some reason, when she thought of the breast pumps in the future, Miao Wan had a very bad premonition.
As expected, Geng also laughed, "As a father, I will help my daughter with whatever she needs to breastfeed. Is there any need to ask?"
As expected, if you don’t have enough strength, your dad will come to make up for it. There’s nothing wrong with that… That would be strange!
Miao Wan was described as a clown by Sun and Geng.
Oh, it’s not so much shyness as embarrassment. I kept scratching my toes in the quilt and couldn’t say anything.
This... whether it's okay or not is another matter, Qiao Bailao wouldn't order me around like that.
They have been holding back on meat for a year since they started eating it again. This is a bit inhumane.
"Why don't you ask a midwife to come to your house and give you a massage? I heard that midwives have skills that are passed down to daughters but not sons. They're better at inducing lactation than men, but it hurts." Sun smiled again when she saw Miao Wan's face flushed.
Miao Wan raised her head hopefully: "How much does it hurt?"
Sun thought for a moment and said, "Let me put it this way. My eldest sister-in-law didn't scream very loudly when she gave birth, but when the midwife came the second time, she screamed even louder than you did. That night, I asked my eldest brother to help."
Miao Wan: "...How about you, Third Sister-in-law, just work hard for two days first, maybe I can do it soon."
Otherwise she really wants to die.
Sun smiled and said nothing. She untied her clothes and wiped them clean skillfully before taking Tuan Tuanzi over. "Oh, our girl is quite energetic."
After saying that, she glanced at Miao Wan. "You can't even suck it out even with all your strength, and you still want to express milk on your own?"
Miao Wan stubbornly said, "Mom, let's give the baby a nickname first, shall we?"
The name must be given by Qiao Shengwen, who has been pondering in his study since this afternoon.
Qiao Ruichen, the father, cannot compete with the grandfather, after all, the daughter-in-law also supports her father-in-law.
But the nickname... Qiao Ruichen has no say in it, it’s up to the mother to come up with it.
"How about calling me Taotao?" Miao Wan asked.
This little princess has drained her mother's heart.
Because of her, the restaurant was also emptied out.
Everyone was very tired, so let's call him Taotao, which sounds a bit like a boy. Taotao sounds nice.
She hopes that when her little princess grows up, she can be naughty and do whatever she wants.
Geng: "The peach in peach blossom?"
"Naughty girl." Miao Wan shook her head. Qiao Rui just happened to look in, so she quickly waved to her.
"Just like her aunt, I hope she can be lively, cheerful, safe and happy in the future."
Qiao Rui walked in embarrassedly.
Knowing that he had a lot of coldness in his body, he didn't dare to get close to his sister-in-law. He leaned close to Geng with wide eyes and asked in a low voice, "Like me?"
During the day, everyone was busy with Miao Wan's delivery, and the child was taken to Zhang's house. They were afraid that Miao Wan's name would scare the child.
Qiao Rui had lunch at Zhang's house. Her mother was watching over the baby and sister-in-law. No one called her back. She had dinner at Zhang's house, so she couldn't wait and ran back by herself.
After having the baby, or even before the baby came out, Qiao Rui felt a sense of loss. She was no longer the most important child in the family.
Although she loved her little niece very much, she still felt a little lost.
Miao Wan understood this kind of loss best. When Sister Chenxi gave birth to a child, she was already nineteen years old and still felt bad.
She touched Qiao Rui's head and said, "Our Xiaorui can read and write, is pretty, gentle and lovely. They say nieces take after their aunts, and I hope she'll be like you. Taotao will have to trouble Xiaorui to take care of him in the future!"
Geng also noticed her daughter's loss and felt a little guilty. She really didn't pay much attention to Qiao Rui these days.
She hugged Qiao Rui and said gently, "Yes, our Miss Qiao can also draw. Can you teach Taotao how to draw in the future?"
Qiao Rui immediately felt a lot braver. She ignored her disappointment and stood up. "Then I have to go find Dad. I haven't even finished memorizing the Three Character Classic yet, and I'm not good at ink painting. When Taotao can talk, I have to at least learn the Thousand Character Classic so I can teach her to speak fluently."
Miao Wan: “…” He can speak when he is just over one year old, and he speaks eloquently right away. Is it really necessary to be so arrogant?
Forget it, as long as my sister-in-law is happy, she won’t have to carry me anyway.
After Sun finished feeding the child, she left a small bowl of milk for the baby before going back.
Little Tuanzi also fell asleep after eating and drinking his fill, and then Geng whispered to Miao Wan about it.
"If you're too embarrassed to tell Ruichen, how about Mom? Putting aside whether you can handle the midwife's strength, the child needs to be fed once an hour after birth, and at most once every two hours at night. Braised Egg also needs a lot of milk, so it's not good to ask your third sister-in-law to express her milk every time."
Miao Wan looked at the little girl with a bitter face and gritted her teeth, "Then you tell me, mother. I'm scared."
She couldn't open her mouth anyway.
Geng thought, the couple usually talk quite normally, and it's easy for Awan to order Ruichen around, so what is there to be afraid of?
When they first got married, Awan was also afraid, and now she says she is afraid again...hiss, Geng had a toothache, and her son was really useless. She probably knew what her daughter-in-law was afraid of.
Qiao Ruichen, who was disliked by his mother, had just arrived at Jufu Restaurant.
Since they wanted to keep a low profile, they opened the Ju Fu Restaurant and spoke directly about barbecue. When a tile broke, they lifted the red silk themselves without even waiting for the dragon dance team to arrive.
Although the words on the plaque are written in a very majestic manner, they are made of raw wood and the characters are carved with a chisel without any modification.
As soon as you enter the lobby, you will see square tables filled with natural wood. Nowadays, people mostly sit on their knees when dining out, so the square tables in the lobby are all low tables.
However, considering that it was freezing cold and the floor tiles were also cold, Zhang Sanzhuang simply sawed off half of the legs of the stools on the original stall and made a new batch, all of which were made into small stools so that everyone could sit comfortably and eat to their heart's content.
This is particularly friendly to merchants from Northern Mongolia and the Western Regions.
They were not used to kneeling, although sitting on a small stool and eating around a low table, like adults taking the children's table and chairs, was more comfortable than having cool knees.
This is why guests are willing to fight for the room with kang table.
At least on the kang, no matter you kneel down properly or sit casually on it, it is warm.
"Is Bayin here?" Qiao Ruichen asked Zhang Sanzhuang.
Zhang Sanzhuang was counting the bills at the only dark-colored rosewood counter. When he heard Qiao Ruichen's voice, he nodded immediately, "Here they are, and they brought a distinguished guest with them. They said they were waiting for you and asked you to come over and meet them."
Qiao Ruichen nodded and said to Zhang Sanzhuang, "Send in a few jars of liquor and some more skewers later. Don't wait around in this room."
Zhang Sanzhuang didn't quite understand what Qiao Ruichen was going to do, but since he was related to the largest businessman in Northern Mongolia, he was probably afraid that what the Ruichen brothers did was not their business.
He just nodded in agreement, "I'll go in and deliver it myself later."
Inside the kang room.
"Is it the secret recipe passed down from the ancestors of Qiao Ruichen's wife's maternal family?" Qin Mao finished a jar of crystal agate meat and then asked casually. In fact, Qin Ba and Qin Jiu had found out all the details of the Zhang and Qiao families.
"How much money can you make opening a restaurant? If Qiao Ruichen gives me the recipe, I can open a restaurant in Xiping County directly. I guarantee you will make more money than you do now."
"If Lord Qin wants it, Zicheng will have no objection. But Lord Qin should also know that Brother Bayin does not run a charity hall. If he can give up the recipe and rent the shop to the Zhang family for business, he must have a more valuable business." Qiao Ruichen smiled as soon as he heard Qin Mao's words as soon as he entered the door.
Qin Mao narrowed his eyes. Lamb skewers and chicken wings arrived just in time. He picked them up and ate until his beard stood up. He didn't speak to Qiao Ruichen easily.
He can ask for other recipes, including the recipe for crystal agate meat and barbecue. After all, he is a lost dog. If he wants it, how dare the Qiao family refuse to give it to him?
Bayin laughed and scolded, "I know you have something good, why don't you take it out and show it to the garrison commander?"
"Zicheng greets the garrison commander." Qiao Ruichen smiled and bowed to Qin Mao at the door. "Food recipes aren't what my wife and my family are best at. If we're talking about who's best at making money, it's of course the wives of the various families."
Qiao Ruichen took out an exquisite glass bottle from his arms, pulled out the cork, and gently pushed it in front of Qin Mao. "What do you think, sir?"
At this moment, accompanied by the sweet fragrance of Miscanthus fragrans, Bayin felt as if he saw Qiao Shengwen.
He said, how could an old fox give birth to an iceberg, they look like father and son.
Qin Mao became more interested. "Rose water? It doesn't smell like that. It's more intense."
"This is aromatic oil, five times more expensive than rose water. However, I have both the rose water and the aromatic oil in the hands of merchants from the Western Regions. Zicheng, here, has an ancient recipe, and the cost is only one hundredth of that."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qin Mao's eyes suddenly changed. One in a hundred?
If there is such a good thing, you really don’t have to pay attention to the recipe.
"Are you really willing to give me such a valuable recipe?" Qin Mao raised his eyebrows. "Why don't you just tell me what you want?"
Qiao Ruichen smiled even more respectfully, "I've wanted to present this to you, sir, for a long time, but I just didn't have the means. It's just a coincidence that today is the day Qiao has a happy event in his family, with the birth of his eldest daughter, and I get to meet you, sir. It's truly fate."
He stood up and knelt on one knee in front of Qin Mao. "Zicheng has no other requests. My parents are old, and I dare not think about reinstating them. I just hope to find a job in the garrison so that my family can live a normal life. Who knows, my wife might be able to remember more prescriptions."
Qin Mao looked at Qiao Ruichen carefully for a while. The former fourth-rank deputy commander of the Yulin Guard could actually kneel so humbly in front of him, a sixth-rank garrison commander. This really made Qin Mao feel comfortable.
If it were in the past, Qiao Ruichen would not have knelt so willingly.
But there were a few things he didn't lie about.
The birth of his eldest daughter and the change in his wife made him want to complete the saint's entrustment as soon as possible and provide a good life for his family, wife and daughter.
He wanted Miao Wan to fulfill her wish as soon as possible.
The author has something to say:
Today's flag——
Miao Shiren: My daughter, if you want to roll it up, then go ahead. I don’t have to carry it on my back anyway.
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