Despite his doubts, Xu Mo took two steps back and respectfully requested the Prefect to examine him.
Aunt Zhang is a capable person, and Jiang Sheng has also given special instructions to the workshop workers about hygiene, so there will definitely be no problems.
In fact, Prefect He did not find anything wrong during the examination.
He wandered around the workshop with a group of yamen runners, his expression shifting from satisfaction to dissatisfaction, before finally standing with a furrowed brow in front of a rotten wooden table.
"My lord..." Xu Mo hadn't even finished asking the question.
He Chengzhang lifted one foot, and the rotten wooden table instantly shattered into pieces, lying scattered on the ground.
Xu Mo was slightly startled, his face turned pale, and his brows furrowed.
He Chengzhang was extremely satisfied. Staring at the wood fragments scattered on the ground, he shouted, "This rotten wood is against regulations and is at risk of mold. Throw it away immediately."
Then, he swaggered away with his constables.
The gate to the courtyard with the hairpin flowers was closed again, and Xu Mo came back to his senses, pondering the actions of Prefect He.
When the children returned in the evening, they all stared in astonishment at the wood chips.
"Second brother, second brother, come quick! This table is finally broken!" Jiang Sheng pulled Zheng Ruqian over. "I told you last time I wanted to get a bigger table. You said this one was still usable, but can we get a new one now?"
"Change it, change it, change it to something better." Zheng Ruqian nodded vigorously, his mind clearly not on the table.
Jiang Sheng then happily let him go and went to the side to consider whether to buy mahogany, yellow wood, or black wood.
"Jiang Sheng, why don't you just buy a piece of rotten wood?" Chang Yan suggested sincerely.
The little girl almost jumped up, "Why?"
“Because…” Changyan tilted his head, “I wouldn’t feel bad if it broke again.”
"How could the newly bought table break?" Jiang Sheng muttered to herself, puzzled.
The older brothers exchanged a smile, their eyes and brows showing relief.
For dinner, Aunt Zhang served up one novel dish after another.
Ever since Jiang Sheng gave her approval to make cured pork ribs, her thinking seems to have been opened up—if pork ribs can be cured, can other things be tried?
As long as it's marinated, stuffed into sausage casings, and then air-dried, it should all be considered preserved meat.
So Aunt Zhang made cured chicken, cured chicken legs, cured fish, and cured chicken feet one after another. She stuffed all the ones that could be stuffed into sausage casings, and dried the ones that couldn't be stuffed into sausage casings like cured pork. Then she washed them, steamed them, and ate them. The taste was surprisingly good.
Especially the cured fish, with a light layer of fish oil on the surface, has a chewy texture and a unique cured flavor, which made Xiao Jiangsheng very satisfied.
"Auntie is amazing! She can make so many delicious things all by herself. Can we sell this preserved fish together at the workshop?" The little girl's eyes sparkled, and she was clearly making a little plan in her mind.
Zhang Xianglian smiled slightly, "Of course it's possible."
She did so much, not only out of her own curiosity, but also for the sake of the workshop.
“Then we need to recalculate Auntie’s wages.” Jiang Sheng counted on her fingers, “Auntie contributed her efforts to making sausages, and Auntie was the one who developed the recipe for preserved fish. How much should we pay her?”
Zhang Xianglian couldn't help but laugh. "Little Jiang Sheng, you don't need to give Auntie money. Auntie is doing these things so that Little Jiang Sheng can earn money."
Seeing the little girl who used to wander at the village entrance grow up to be plump and have a better life, she was genuinely happy.
But Jiang Sheng unexpectedly insisted, "Auntie has made a contribution, so of course she should be rewarded. If Auntie doesn't take the reward, Jiang Sheng won't sell the preserved fish either."
This world has day and night, and contributions should naturally be rewarded.
After weighing the matter carefully in her mind, Jiang Sheng solemnly took out fifty taels of silver notes from her savings account, handed them to Aunt Zhang, and said earnestly, "If the preserved fish sells well, I will also give Aunt Zhang money."
That's a full fifty taels of silver.
An average able-bodied man can earn at most one tael of silver a month, and half a tael of silver is enough for an average family of three to live on for a year. The Zhou family, even after decades, has not saved up fifty taels of silver.
And now, it lies lightly in Zhang Xianglian's hand.
It turns out that as long as you work hard, persevere, and never give up, even a worker who only earns five coins a day can earn a large salary.
Aunt Zhang's eyes reddened, and she sobbed softly.
Jiang Sheng scratched his head, unsure how to comfort her.
Liu Cui stepped forward and patted her on the shoulder, teasingly saying, "Sister, you've finally made so much money, you have to treat us all to a good meal."
"Eat, definitely eat!" Aunt Zhang said, her tears turning into a smile. "Everyone, eat to your heart's content."
The next day, the cured fish was put into production.
At the beginning, I only made the most basic marinade, simply air-drying it until it released oil, and it was already delicious.
But Zhang Xianglian was very enthusiastic and started to study various ingredients on this basis, such as adding Sichuan peppercorns or other spices, to see if it would create a new flavor.
We also made a small batch of preserved chicken and chicken legs. We'll send the finished products to Youranju and see how they are received before deciding whether to produce them in large quantities.
at the same time.
Zheng Ruqian is also extremely busy.
With the arrival of December, both the north and south have entered the cold season. Except for a few places where fresh vegetables can still be produced, most areas cannot even find a single wild vegetable root.
The thousands of kilograms of dried green beans that were stockpiled were brought out at this time, and as expected, they were welcomed.
But that wasn't enough for Zheng Ruqian. He started to want to go to new county towns and new prefectural cities to find new dishes.
In his arrogant words: "The world is so big, the farthest I've ever been is Anyang County. There are so many more dishes to be had outside."
Anyway, the weather is cool, so we can bring back as many vegetables as we want. Why not go?
After hitting it off with Wang Xiaosong, the master and servant put on thick cotton-padded coats, slung their small bundles over their shoulders, and set off on their journey to a distant place amidst the tearful eyes of their respective younger sisters.
At the entrance of the courtyard with flowers in hand.
Jiang Sheng watched the carriage disappear into the distance, her small face full of worry. "The workshop and dried beans are already enough to make money, so why does Second Brother still have to go out? The New Year is only a month away, I don't know if he can make it back in time."
"Don't worry," Xu Mo comforted her, "Second brother knows what he's doing and will come back."
Fang Heng also frowned, "I told you to have Second Brother take Jiang San and Jiang Si with him. Their martial arts skills have reached their limit, and they can't improve no matter how much they practice. Taking them with him can also protect them in case they encounter danger."
But Zheng Ruqian simply refused.
“Perhaps Second Brother thinks Anshui County is the most dangerous,” Changyan said softly. “It has been more than a month since the Sun family fell from power and scattered.”
A month is precisely the time it takes for the envelope to travel from Anshui County to Fengjing and back.
With Fang Heng around, the Fang family is like a sword hanging over their heads, ready to fall at any moment.
The group fell silent, exchanged glances, and returned to the flower-adorned courtyard without a word.
Fang Heng walked at the back, his pace quite slow.
Suddenly, a small piece of paper was thrown at him. He twitched his eye and caught it.
Unfold it, and there's only one sentence on it: See you at the end of East Street.
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