Chapter Thirty-Five
"Medicinal food is good!"
Yu Ying was startled by Shopkeeper Chen's sudden cry. After coming to her senses, she pondered for a moment and said, "Shopkeeper Chen, you run a business as a peddler. Isn't making medicinal food a bad fit for you?"
After being excited for a moment, Manager Chen finally reacted after hearing what she said.
This medicinal food was a dish promoted by large restaurants, catering to the wealthy and the aristocratic. Most people who came to Wu's restaurant were there to fill their stomachs, so medicinal food was not really suitable.
Shopkeeper Chen showed a look of pity on his face, then said, "Since Madam Yu knows how to make medicinal food, why don't you try your luck at those big restaurants? Maybe you can sell one or two recipes, and then you won't have to worry about food and clothing."
Yu Ying chuckled softly and said modestly, "The medicinal food I make isn't particularly delicious, but more of a tonic. Besides, I'm just an ordinary woman. Between my medicinal recipe and the one prescribed by the old doctor, it's obvious which one the big restaurant will choose."
Shopkeeper Chen thought about it carefully and it made sense.
In this world, not everyone with ability can display his talent. If you don’t meet a mentor, you will ultimately be just an ordinary person.
Yu Ying pondered for a moment, remembering the herbal tea shops of later times, and said, "Even though we can't make medicinal food, why not have Manager Chen talk to the owner and have them set up a tea stand outside the shop so we can do business all day long?"
Shopkeeper Chen said with a smile, "There are many tea stalls in this city. Besides, brewing tea is too time-consuming, and the owner won't spend so much time to manage it."
After thinking about it, I felt that Madam Yu knew about herbs and might also know a lot of herbal tea recipes.
Shopkeeper Chen considered it for a moment and said, "The boss doesn't have the heart to take care of it, but maybe Madam Yu can consider it."
Yu Ying was stunned: "Me?"
Shopkeeper Chen nodded and said, "We had previously rented out the space outside the shop to someone else as a tea stall. We had hoped it would attract customers, but the owner didn't manage to keep it going. After waiting for several months and no one rented it, the owner stopped renting it out."
At this point, Shopkeeper Chen praised her, "Madam Yu is so talented. She knows all kinds of herbs. She's sure she can make some drinks that can relieve internal heat or warm the stomach. How about renting this place out and turning it into a teahouse?"
Yu Ying carefully considered Manager Chen's proposal.
But after thinking about it, even if she wanted to do it, she had a lot of things on hand now, and she was almost the only one busy with it. She was really too busy to consider the herbal tea stall now.
Thinking of this, Yu Ying said, "There are still many chores at home that need my attention. It will take at least two months before I can relax."
Shopkeeper Chen showed a bit of regret, but still said, "Don't worry, the owner won't put up red paper to rent it out anytime soon. And as long as it's not rented out yet, I think the owner will agree to rent it whenever Madam Yu wants to."
Yu Ying thanked Manager Chen and then settled the bill for today.
Because the weather was not very hot these days, the jelly was not sold out, and the bill was less than ten cents.
But Shopkeeper Chen said that it would be hot again tomorrow, so he asked her to make more.
Yu Ying brought fruit seeds with her, which was quite convenient as they were made directly in the restaurant kitchen.
The fruit season of the Ficus microcarpa is nine months, and she is also storing the seeds, so she doesn't have to worry about the material problem for the time being.
After making the jelly, it was almost time to go home.
*
Fu An and Funing were waiting for their aunt at the village entrance as usual.
A villager saw the brother and sister and jokingly asked, "Are you waiting for your aunt again? Do you mistake your real aunt for your mother?"
When Fu An heard this, he glared at him fiercely.
After the others left, Fu An whispered to his sister, "Sister, mother is mother, and auntie is auntie. If you mistake auntie for mother, our mother will be very sad."
Fu An pursed his lips and thought for a moment before saying, "Auntie is also our closest person, just like A-niang, so don't get them confused, okay?"
Fu An's memory of A Niang has become very faint, but he still remembers that when A Niang left, she hugged him and his sister and cried for a long time.
A Niang loves them very much, so they can't forget her.
But their aunt is also very good to them and is as important as their mother.
Fu Ning had no impression of A Niang, but still nodded in response to his brother's words.
Mother is Mother, and aunt is aunt. No matter who aunt is, she likes them.
When Yu Ying came back, they both ran towards the ox cart together.
After Yu Ying got off the ox cart, she walked back home, holding one of her children at a time.
After returning home, Yu Ying drank a sip of water and began to prepare dinner.
With a cooking pot, Yu Ying doesn't have to wait until the meal is ready before cooking.
While cooking the rice, I started stewing the fish, adding some ginger slices and perilla to remove the fishy smell.
After stewing the fish, we start to make lard.
Stewed fish, stewed meat with taro, stir-fried cabbage with oil residue, and an egg and cauliflower soup.
He Jia Dalang works for a noble family and is not at home. The He family only has uncle and aunt He, as well as his wife and grandson. These dishes are enough.
After serving the dishes, Yu Ying asked Fu Wei, "Do you mind having dinner with Uncle He and the others today?"
Fu Wei smiled faintly: "Nothing."
Yu Ying secretly breathed a sigh of relief: "That's good."
After putting down the dishes, he glanced at the faint smile on Fu Wei's face, and felt a little worried in his heart.
Ever since the yamen runner came the day before yesterday, Fu Wei seemed a little different from before.
There was a smile on his face, and he looked more profound and unpredictable than usual.
She turned around and went out to bring the prepared meals into the house one by one. Seeing that Uncle He and the others had not arrived, she asked Fu An and Fu Ning to call them.
After a while, Fu An pulled Uncle He, and Fu Ning pulled Aunt He over together. He's wife, Sun, also pulled her son into the yard.
When Uncle He entered the courtyard, he said to Mrs. Luo, "Why are you suddenly calling us over for dinner when there's no festival at all?"
Yu Ying heard the voice, poked her head out of the kitchen, and said with a smile: "It's not a holiday, can't you invite Uncle He and the others to have a meal?"
As she spoke, she said to Fu An, "Invite Uncle He and Aunt He into the house and have them sit down first. We can have dinner once the soup is ready."
Uncle He was pulled into the house by Fu An's hand, and he was helpless: "Uncle He can walk by himself, no need to hold his hand."
Uncle He had been to the main house and had spoken with Fu Wei, so when he met Fu Wei, he was not curious at all.
But Aunt He and her wife had never seen Fu Wei, so they couldn't help but feel curious about the second son of the Fu family who was taken away by mistake.
After entering the house, they couldn't help but look at the man sitting on the bamboo bed.
When they saw the man's appearance, Aunt He and Mrs. Sun were both stunned.
Fu Wei calmly nodded towards the people who came in: "Uncle He, Aunt He."
Uncle He nodded, and Aunt He was two breaths slow to react before she responded with an "eh".
Aunt He originally thought she saw a decadent and sickly man, but she never expected that Fu Erlang, apart from the inconvenience of his legs, was so handsome and elegant.
His black hair was neatly tied up, and his clothes were clean and tidy, making him look like a gentle young man.
Aunt He and Mrs. Sun suddenly understood why the son of the Wuling County prefect who was taken away by mistake hated Fu Erlang so much.
These two people are incomparable in terms of appearance and temperament, and the difference between them is like heaven and earth.
Perhaps the son of the prefect would feel ashamed standing in front of Fu Erlang, so it is not unreasonable for him to hate him.
Soon, their attention was drawn to the dishes on the bamboo table. There were fish, meat and vegetables. No one in Lingshui Village could eat so well at once.
Could it be that the Fu family has made a lot of money?
Just as they were puzzled, Yu Ying brought in the soup and said, "Everyone, stop standing and sit down."
Everyone was seated and the dishes were served, but for a moment they didn't know how to start eating.
Yu Ying said, "Don't be polite, just start eating."
As he spoke, he took the lead and picked out the bones of a piece of fish, then put it into Luo's bowl. He then got some boneless fish meat for Fu Ning.
When everyone saw her pick up her chopsticks, they began to pick up the food.
Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating, Yu Ying finally spoke up, "Uncle He and Aunt He, Erlang and I have something we'd like to discuss with you. Do you have some free time?"
The two of them looked puzzled when they heard this.
Uncle He nodded: "Of course I do."
Aunt He asked her daughter-in-law to help clean up the dishes. After the house was cleaned up, the others tactfully left the house, and Mrs. Luo also took Fu Ning out.
Only Uncle He, Aunt He, Yu Ying and Fu Wei were left in the room, and the four of them sat facing each other.
After a moment's silence, Yu Ying and Fu Wei exchanged a glance before looking at Uncle He and Aunt He across from them. She said, "Erlang and I have discussed this and we plan to go to the quarry in a few days to bring back my eldest brother and his wife."
Yu Ying's words shocked the He couple.
They were stunned for a few moments before they realized what she had said, and a look of astonishment appeared on their faces.
Uncle He suspected he had misheard. He looked at Mrs. Fu again and asked tentatively, "Mrs. Fu Erlang, did you just say you wanted to bring your eldest brother and sister-in-law back from the quarry?"
Yu Ying nodded and continued, "The quarry is full of mixed people. It's not safe for me to go there alone, so I wanted to ask Uncle He and Aunt He to go with me. They can also go and meet your Erlang."
"But, but two people will have to spend more than seven taels of silver in three years..." Aunt He was a little bit unbelievable that she could come up with so much silver at once.
Yu Ying said, "I went into the mountains to collect herbs earlier and found a rare herb. I sold it for over eight taels of silver, which was enough."
Aunt He raised her hand to cover her slightly open mouth in shock, unable to speak.
Uncle He was also shocked. He had previously heard from villagers who had picked herbs and sold them to the clinic that these herbs were not worth much.
He originally thought that the new bride of the Fu family went into the mountains to collect herbs every day, and estimated that she could only earn enough to have enough food and clothing. But now, in just over a month, she said that she could redeem Fu Dalang and his wife. How could he not be surprised!
Fu Wei waited for a moment, and when they calmed down, his face calmed and his voice slowed down, "Sixth Lady not only wants you two to accompany her to the quarry, but also wants you to go into the mountains with her to collect herbs when you have some free time from farm work. She will also give you a share of the profits."
Upon hearing this, Uncle He and Aunt He looked at Yu Ying.
Yu Ying nodded and said, "I won't hide it from Uncle He and Aunt He. I signed a contract with someone a few days ago to deliver 500 kilograms of medicinal herbs in October. However, I am definitely not able to handle it alone, so I thought of asking Uncle He, Aunt He, and He's eldest son to do this business together."
"Five, five hundred kilograms?" Aunt He's voice trembled a little, and then she couldn't help asking, "How much silver is that?"
Yu Ying said truthfully, "The lowest price is 21 coins per jin."
When the He couple converted the number, their eyes widened.
Twenty-one coins per catty, 500 catties, that's 10,500 coins!
This amount is something their family couldn't even imagine.
Even if I want to save this money, I don’t know how long it will take to save so much money.
After Uncle He was surprised, he gradually calmed down.
He glanced at them both, and after a moment's silence, he asked, "You just told us this, so you don't have to worry about me telling anyone else."
Fu Wei smiled calmly and said, "Even if I tell you now, no one will believe me. Even if they do, they might get jealous, but so what? They can't take this business away from me, and besides..."
He paused for a moment, his expression gradually becoming sincere. "Besides, Uncle He and Aunt He are people that Liu Niang and I have complete faith in."
Upon hearing this, Yu Ying turned around and glanced at him.
She didn't believe what Fu Wei said.
The hand under the table was suddenly held by Fu Wei. Yu Ying was stunned for a moment, but then she understood what he meant.
She turned back to look at Uncle He and Aunt He and said with a smile, "I also trust Uncle He and Aunt He's character."
She believed it, but Fu Wei might not believe it.
She felt that Fu Wei had indeed changed since the day the yamen runner came. He became more serious and better at hiding all his emotions.
Nowadays, he is like a politician, using nice and sincere words to win the hearts of the people.
He will be a powerful person in the future, and now he is trying to win over Uncle He and Aunt He, but this is just the beginning of his true colors.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
