Chapter 22, the 22nd Inn: Finally, they can buy land!
Yunyin raised an eyebrow and looked at Song Shi: "You didn't come to see me just to talk about this, did you?"
Song Shi coughed and said, "Oh, I just think the lotus flower pastries are so pretty and taste so good, they're perfect as gifts. I'd like you to make a few more for me to take back and give to my elders."
"Doing this isn't a problem, it's just the price..."
Before Yunyin could finish speaking, Song Shi quickly took out some silver from his purse and said, "The price is negotiable. We were very satisfied with our meal today, and I was particularly pleased with the golden minced fish. In addition, if you make me two servings of lotus flower pastries, I'll give you two taels of silver, how about that?"
Yunyin raised her eyebrows slightly, not expecting Song Shi to be so generous, actually giving her two taels of silver. As expected of an official's son, he was indeed very generous.
In fact, the group ate a total of five meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, a soup, and a dessert today. The most expensive dishes were the minced fish and lotus flower pastry, which together cost only half a string of cash, but he gave two taels of silver. However, Yunyin didn't say anything. In a county or prefecture city, two taels of silver wouldn't be much.
She took the money and said, "No problem, I'll make two portions for you in a bit."
After Yunyin finished speaking, she looked at Song Xuan, who had been standing silently to the side, and asked, "What brings you here, Madam Song? Is it also to make some pastries as a gift?"
Song Xuan glanced at Song Shi, who hadn't left after speaking, and hesitated for a long time before saying, "Um, I wanted to ask what kind of pastries Lady Yun makes? Like lotus flower pastries, which are both beautiful and delicious."
Yunyin pondered for a while and said, "As for pastries, peach blossom pastries and jujube pastries are both beautiful and delicious. Snow skin mooncakes are also good. I can make all of these, but there are many ingredients that I don't have here."
Song Xuan said, "I wonder what ingredients Lady Yun needs. If they are not too expensive, I can think of a way."
Yunyin realized that Song Xuan wanted to buy some snacks from her. Considering that she was still short of money for the land purchase, she thought that this business opportunity wasn't out of the question.
She said, "It's not particularly precious, it just requires cow's milk."
Song Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Milk? That's alright, I can buy it here."
Song Shi listened from the side and saw that Song Xuan was asking more and more detailed questions. He asked, "Xuan, you're not planning to use these pastries for your coming-of-age ceremony, are you?"
Song Xuan said, "Is it not possible? The coming-of-age ceremony banquet can be handled by Manxiangju, but I don't like their pastries. This is a once-in-a-lifetime coming-of-age ceremony, and I want to make it even better."
Song Shi said, "Yun Niangzi's skills are naturally excellent, but if you want to change the cook, you should discuss it with your mother. Does your mother know about this?"
Song Xuan lowered her eyes and said, "Mother doesn't know yet, but I will persuade her. Didn't you want to buy some pastries? If you don't buy them, I plan to buy some to take back for Mother to try. I believe Mother will agree."
Song Shi nodded: "Alright, since you want to, I'll put in a good word for you."
Song Xuan took out one tael of silver and handed it to Yun Yin, saying, "Miss Yun, this money is for you as a deposit. I will give you another two taels after the matter is settled. I will need your help to come to the county town then."
Yunyin shook her head and said, "Give it to me after you've made up your mind. When are you having your coming-of-age ceremony?"
After thinking for a moment, Song Xuan took back the silver and said, "I will give you news as soon as possible in another half month."
After seeing the two off, Yunyin was about to wash the toon leaves that Zhang Lin had picked when Luo Man came over.
Looking at the large pile of toon leaves, Luo Man asked curiously, "What are you doing, little sister?"
Yunyin smiled and said, "Sister Aman, please sit down. I was just about to make some toon sauce."
Luo Man sat down beside her, holding a Chinese toon tree to help wash it. "I came here to talk to you about the profit of those desserts, but I didn't expect you to be so talented. Your pastry skills are just as good as your hot dishes."
Yunyin shook her head and said, "I don't really know much about desserts. I only learned these because they are beautiful and delicious."
"However, these pastries all have something in common. Once you master the trick, you'll be able to make other pastries too."
Yunyin scooped up the toon leaves and transferred them to another large basin to wash them. She then placed the washed toon leaves in a winnowing basket to dry.
She looked at Luo Man and said, "Sister Aman, you can say whatever you want to say."
Luo Man looked around. There was no one passing by on the official road anymore. Only the two of them were here. In the distance, Song Shi and the others could be heard exclaiming in surprise. "Seeing how simple the environment is here today, I wanted to invite you to the county town to taste your cooking. I also hope to cooperate with you."
“If you don’t want to go to the town, you can go to the county seat. I can entrust my shop in the county seat to you to manage, and I will give you half of the profits.”
"It's a bit of a waste for such a good cook to be served here."
Yunyin's eyes widened as she realized that Luo Man was serious. She suppressed her shock and said solemnly, "Sister Aman, you're saying all this because you consider me one of your own. So, I'll tell you the truth: this will be my home from now on, and I won't leave."
Although this valley is desolate with little arable land and no human habitation, it is nestled between mountains and water, so no matter what happens, there is always a way to survive in the mountains.
Moreover, this is where she came from, and she doesn't want to leave. Buying the valley and turning it into her ideal home is her current goal.
Her life is slowly getting better. The vegetables in the field have just been planted, and there are many ingredients in the mountains waiting for her to discover. She is very satisfied with her current life and does not want to change anything.
She smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Aman, but I think things are fine as they are now, and I don't want to change too much."
"But this place is very desolate, unlike the county town where there are many wealthy families. With your skills, you could earn a lot of money in the county town and wouldn't have to work so hard like this."
Yunyin: "You can make money here too. Look, Song Shi even brought you here to support us. In the future, many people from the county will come here to eat."
She had no idea that these words would later come true. Many young men and women came here for outings, meals, and sightseeing, and this area became the liveliest place in the vicinity, gradually developing into a market. The villages opposite and next door also benefited from this.
Seeing that she insisted on her own opinion, Luo Man smiled helplessly: "Since you have made up your mind, I will not try to persuade you. Then take a look at the profits from the pastries."
She took out an account book from her sleeve and said, "Take a look and see if there are any problems. If there are no problems, I will give you one tael of silver first. After that, I will check the accounts with you every half month."
Yunyin carefully looked at the records in the ledger. There were indeed many people in the town and the county. In just a few days, she had made a profit of one or two taels of silver. No wonder Luo Man kept urging her to go to the county.
She calculated her current savings. Today, besides the two taels given by Song Shi and the one tael given by Luo Man, other guests also contributed one tael, totaling four taels of silver.
Adding to the previous five taels, she now has nine taels. If Song Xuan's business goes well, she will earn another two taels. Even if she has to pay taxes, she will still be one step closer to the ten taels needed to buy the land.
Thinking that Fu Wang would introduce her to clients tomorrow and that she might be able to buy land soon, she said happily to Luo Man, "Thank you so much, Sister Aman, for your trouble."
Luo Man shook her head and said, "Not at all. It's all thanks to you, sister. My business has improved a lot. I should be thanking you."
"Sister Aman, let's not thank each other. Let's work together."
"Uh-huh."
After chatting with Luo Man, Yun Yin turned over the dried toon leaves and, taking advantage of the early hour, decided to make toon sauce.
With the matter resolved, Luo Man felt relieved and flew kites with Song Xuan. The spring sunshine was bright and the willows were swaying, making it the perfect time to fly kites.
Yunyin saw the kites flying in the sky from afar and paused slightly in her movements. "It's time to fly kites. I haven't flown a kite in many years."
She quickly made the toon sauce and decided to add it to them later, and also take a good rest in the afternoon.
With the babbling brook and blooming wildflowers, Yunyin and Luoman spent a perfect afternoon laughing and joking.
She was still in a good mood when she woke up the next day. She hummed a song as she ate her meal, told Zhang Lin to watch the food stall, and then took the mushroom sauce to find Fu Wang.
The county town, which had just passed the Qingming Festival, seemed a bit more desolate than usual. Many people had gone out to enjoy the spring scenery and flowers, making the county town seem even more deserted.
A knocking sound came from the door of a quiet courtyard, startling the sleeping street. A deep voice came from inside: "Coming, wait a moment."
Yunyin looked at Fu Wang as he walked out of the door, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Fu Wang felt awkward under her gaze and tugged at his wide sleeves, saying, "What, do I look strange dressed like this?"
Yunyin realized that her gaze was too direct, so she shook her head repeatedly and said, "No, it's just that I'm used to seeing you in narrow-sleeved robes, so it's a bit surprising to see you in wide-sleeved robes."
Wearing a narrow-sleeved robe, Fu Wang was like a chivalrous knight in a book, with a free and easy demeanor. His movements were like a sharp sword, making people avoid his sharp edge.
Now, dressed in a wide-sleeved robe, he is like a sharp sword concealed, its edge hidden, and his sharpness is also concealed by this robe.
Fu Wang smiled helplessly: "I dressed up specially because I was introducing you to a friend."
Yunyin asked curiously, "Aren't you going to meet with merchants?"
Fu Wang: "It was indeed to meet with merchants, but Zhou Chang also invited me to a meeting. I was thinking that since you'll be staying here for a while, I'd like to introduce you to some friends and ask them to take good care of you."
Upon hearing this, Yunyin couldn't help but smile: "It's already beneath me to ask you to go to the trouble of introducing me to clients, how could I possibly trouble your friend?"
“My friend is your friend, no need to be polite with me.” Fu Wang led the way. “If you have connections, you should use them. Besides, Zhou Chang and I have a life-or-death friendship. Asking him to look after you won’t affect him in any way.”
Yunyin was feeling very uneasy. This person was being too nice to her, even though they had only just met.
Seeing that Yunyin did not respond, Fu Wang frowned and said, "Aren't we friends? Friends should help each other. Besides, for me, it's just introducing someone to you. You don't need to feel guilty."
Friends? Yunyin's uneasy heart gradually calmed down. Her furrowed brows relaxed. Besides Luo Man, she had made new friends in this world.
Yunyin smiled and nodded firmly, saying, "You're right, friends should help each other."
The meeting with Zhou Chang was pleasant. He was a generous man. Fu Wang asked him to take care of Yun Yin, and he agreed without hesitation. He also told Yun Yin to come to the county town to find him if she needed anything.
After parting ways with Zhou Chang, Fu Wang took her to meet several merchants. These merchants often cooperated with Fu Wang and were very satisfied with the mushroom sauce that Yun Yin brought. The orders from these few merchants alone amounted to one hundred jars.
She received 6 taels from this one sum, and Yunyin's eyes gleamed with excitement as she counted the money in her hand.
"With this money, I'll have enough to buy the land."
Upon hearing this, Fu Wang's lips curled up slightly. Seeing Yun Yin's happiness as if she had eaten honey, he was happy for her too: "Since that's the case, are you going to buy land? I happen to be free today, so I'll go with you. I know a little about buying land."
Yunyin put away the silver and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Let's go, it's still early, let's go find Village Chief Sun."
A note from the author:
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