Chapter 81 The 81st Inn: Rock Sugar Pear and an Unexpected Guest...
Yunyin took out a plank from the woodshed and led the group back to the room from yesterday. They would use this room to make quilts first. Once Lin Yun learned how to make them, they would sell the cotton to her so she could make the remaining quilts for herself. This way, the room would be freed up.
As for temporary lodging, there are still two rooms available. If all else fails, the large dormitory-style room in the left wing can be used. That room has been unoccupied and is mainly used by Ma Hao and his younger brother when they are on night watch. Once her courtyard is completed, there is no need to worry about people having nowhere to stay.
Currently, Yunyin Inn is mostly filled with diners, with very few people staying there. At most, Song Shi would stay here for one night occasionally, but recently, due to the county school exams, he hasn't come for many days. Even the murals in the lobby have only been partially painted, so she has to keep that area covered.
Many people would ask about that area when they came to eat, and she would have to explain it to them every time. She hoped that Song Shi could finish his exams soon so that he could help her finish the mural and she could continue decorating the lobby.
Yunyin entered the house and had people bring the things in. She placed the four wooden frames with bamboo sticks stuck in them on a chair. Qian Xing looked at them and asked curiously, "Miss Yun, what are these for?"
Yunyin: "This is used to make cotton quilts. First, weave a layer of base material with this, then lay cotton on top, and then wrap another layer of base material around it to make a cotton quilt."
"This frame is made to fit the dimensions of my bed. If you want to make quilts of other sizes, just make this frame to fit the dimensions of your bed."
Yunyin taught them how to wrap the thread. Lin Yun understood it at a glance, but the other sisters-in-law had to learn carefully before they could understand it, because these bottom lines had to be wrapped many times, and the lines had to be run horizontally, vertically, and diagonally. Yunyin taught them carefully, and after they all understood, she finished wrapping the bottom lines of the quilt.
After all the threads were wrapped, Yunyin poured the cotton that had been fluffed yesterday onto the bed next to her, and then tapped it with a bamboo stick to make it softer. She then fluffed it again using the same method as yesterday. After all the cotton was fluffed, she placed it on the thread that had just been wrapped.
Yunyin took a wooden board from the corner, pressed the cotton down, and then used the thread tied to the bamboo stick to wrap the top layer of thread around the neatly arranged wooden frame. After wrapping it layer by layer, she locked the edges and finally took the quilt down from the wooden frame.
She folded the finished quilt and put it aside, saying to the group, "It's not difficult to make, it just takes time. It's already quite good if each person can make one quilt a day."
Several women stepped forward to touch the soft cotton quilt, their faces beaming with joy. "This is so warm! My goodness, how warm it would be if we could use a quilt like this in the future!"
Although they knew that quilts were very warm, they only dared to believe that they could have such quilts after seeing and touching them with their own eyes.
Several of the women squeezed around Yunyin and saw her picking off the cotton from her clothes. They quickly helped her, saying as they picked off the cotton, "Miss Yun, when can we change our cotton? By the way, how much cotton do we need to make a quilt like this?"
Yunyin: "I used ten catties of cotton in this quilt. I made it heavier because I thought it would be cold. You can also make it with eight catties of cotton, which should be enough for winter."
"If you want a thicker, warmer blanket, you can put in more cotton; if you want a thinner blanket, you can put in less cotton. It's all up to you."
Qian Xing glanced at the group and pulled Yun Yin aside, saying, "Miss Yun, how much cotton can you exchange for us?"
Yunyin thought about the cotton harvested yesterday and today. After deducting the cottonseed, each mu (unit of land area) could yield more than 50 jin (unit of weight), for a total of about 500 jin (unit of weight). She would keep at least 50 jin (unit of weight) of cotton for herself to make cotton-padded clothes, and ask Lin Yun to make ten quilts for her with the remaining 100 jin (unit of weight). The rest could be exchanged with the villagers.
Yunyin said to Lin Yun, feeling embarrassed, "I roughly estimated that I can only sell you a small amount of cotton, maybe 50 jin. The yield of cotton per mu is really not high. I didn't have many seeds at the time, and I only planted ten mu." Then she said to the sisters-in-law who were still asking questions, "Do you have that much straw? You need to keep some for your own use, and you'll need it to grow straw mushrooms next year."
The sisters-in-law looked at each other and gritted their teeth, saying, "If it's really not enough, I'll go back to my parents' home to borrow some. We still need to get enough cotton first, since cotton is much warmer than straw."
Yunyin shrugged and said, "I don't have that much to exchange either. I'll give each household 5 jin for now. If there's any left over, I'll exchange it with you."
"Five catties of cotton may not be enough to make a quilt, but it can make five cotton-padded coats." She looked at her expectant sisters-in-law and said helplessly, "The yield is really too low. This is all I can exchange with you. I hope you sisters-in-law will understand."
The sisters-in-law were indeed a little disappointed when they heard the number 5 jin, but 5 jin was not bad. If Yun Niangzi had any left over, she might be able to exchange it with them. The sisters-in-law decided to ask Yun Niangzi often to see if she had any leftover cotton.
By the time Yunyin finished making the quilts, it was almost evening. Feng Hai had already prepared dinner, so she invited a few people to have dinner together. After dinner, Yunyin arranged for someone to take her sisters-in-law home.
Just then, Huo Yu came to pick up Lin Yun. Lin Yun said to Yun Yin, "Then I'll go back first. As for the cotton, we can talk about it later. 50 catties of cotton is enough. We won't be able to sell cotton quilts this year, but we can sell cotton clothes first. I'll send someone over to learn how to make your cotton quilt and then I'll make it for you."
Upon hearing this, Yunyin smiled and said, "Alright, have someone come over. I'm entrusting my quilt to you."
Lin Yun waved her hand and said, "It's because they are familiar with the craftsmanship. In all things, I'm the one who benefits."
After Lin Yun left, the other guests who were having dinner also gradually left. Once everyone was gone, the inn became quiet. Yun Yin called to Zheng Guilan and said, "While there's still time, let me teach you how to make cotton-padded clothes."
Zheng Guilan washed her hands, tidied herself up, and then took Yun Niangzi to her room.
Yunyin looked at the neatly tidied bedroom that Zheng Guilan had made, picked up the cotton and put it away, lit the oil lamp, placed a piece of cloth on the table, and said to her, "Making cotton clothes is actually not difficult, but my needlework is so-so. I can only tell you how to do it. You will only know the specifics after you make it yourself."
The most important part of making a cotton-padded coat is filling it with cotton. The cotton inside the coat shouldn't be stuffed in clumps; it should be laid out piece by piece on the cut-out lining fabric. If you want a thicker coat, you can add more cotton. Then, press it down and sew the cotton and lining fabric together with thread. The most important step in this process is sewing the cotton in place so that it doesn't move around.
Zheng Guilan started cutting and sewing according to Yunyin's instructions, and it quickly took shape. After that, she knew what to do, and Yunyin accompanied her to make the cotton coat.
Zheng Guilan put away the last thread, turned the cotton coat inside out, and said to Yunyin, "Yunniangzi, why don't you try it on?"
Yunyin took the round-necked cotton-padded jacket, tried it on, and found it fit perfectly. She nodded and said, "It fits well. Here's what we'll do: I'll pay you, and you can make one for everyone in the inn."
Remembering her promise to make a cotton coat for Fu Wang if she grew cotton, she handed the cotton on the ground to Zheng Guilan and said, "You can use the cotton here first. After you finish these, make me two more men's cotton coats, one that are a little taller than Cheng Yong's."
Zheng Guilan took the cotton and said with a smile, "Okay, I'll make it for you when I have time."
Before leaving, Yunyin said, "Remember to make one for you and Ahe as well, and don't forget yourself."
Zheng Guilan wiped her eyes, her eyes red, and said, "I know, thank you, Lady Yun."
Since the cotton harvest began, Yunyin has become even more lively. Almost every household in Linjiang Village comes to her to exchange cotton. Fortunately, there aren't many people in Linjiang Village, so her 300 jin of cotton is just enough. She keeps some of the straw she gets for next year and uses the rest to build shelters for the shrimp and crab ponds.
After Yunyin and the others finished harvesting the cotton and drying the cotton seeds, a heavy rain came and the temperature began to drop sharply. She put on a thinner cotton coat that she had made and finally felt less cold.
She rubbed her hands together, looked at the relentless rain outside, and murmured, "Luckily, all the cotton has been harvested. This rain is quite considerate."
Cheng Yong looked at the heavy rain outside and said, "Yes, the weather is getting colder. The cotton-padded clothes that my wife made for us are just right. It's the first time I've worn a cotton-padded coat, and it's really warm."
"Fu Wang has done something commendable. These cotton plants can be planted by the soldiers. They will have to cultivate land anyway, and these cotton plants will give them a better chance of survival."
Yunyin agreed, "That's certainly possible, but I've already distributed my seeds to the nearby villagers, so I don't have many for you. Brother Cheng wants the army to grow cotton as well, so you'll need to go to the Western Regions to find seeds."
Cheng Yong shook his head and said, "I was just saying this to bring it up and see what they think. As for the seeds, I will have people pay more attention to them. We should have as many good seeds as possible."
Because of the rain, there were hardly any customers all day, and the construction site was also shut down. They went home to rest and would come back to work after the rain stopped. Yunyin took the opportunity to rest. She had been too tired from harvesting cotton recently, so she wanted to make something new to change her mood.
Autumn is actually a great time for hot pot, but she prefers spicy hot pot. The taste of dogwood is still not enough for her. She'll wait for Fu Wang to come back and see if there's any good news. She'll make some sweet soup this afternoon. She had some pears in stock, so making rock sugar stewed pears would be perfect.
Besides yellow-skinned pears, Yunyin also stocked up on some snow pears. Snow pears are perfect for making sweet soup. She also went to the warehouse to find dried white fungus, lotus seeds, goji berries, and red dates. She had found the white fungus while picking mushrooms in the mountains before. There wasn't much of it, and she hadn't been able to bear eating it. She used it to make this dessert.
Soak the white fungus, then wash the pears with salt water, remove the cores and cut them into chunks. Pour the soaked white fungus into a pot and cook it first. Once the white fungus becomes gelatinous, add the pears to the pot and continue to simmer. Cooking rock sugar pears requires patience; simmer slowly over low heat. When it's almost done, add the red dates, goji berries, and rock sugar and cook.
Rock sugar shouldn't be added too early, otherwise it will stick to the pot; if it's too late, it won't absorb the flavor well. Timing is crucial. After Yunyin poured everything in, she covered the pot and continued cooking for a while. When she saw that the cooking time was about right, she opened the pot and ladled out a bowl of pear soup. It was thick, smooth, and just right.
Yunyin called Zheng Guilan over and said, "Each of you should drink a bowl to get rid of the chill and moisten your throat. It's very comforting to drink this in this weather."
Zheng Guilan carried the soup over on a wooden tray, letting Zhang Lin and the others each take a bowl. After everyone had a bowl, she took a small bowl and shared some of it with Fang He.
Yunyin happened to see this and said, "There's still a lot left in the pot, you can each have a bowl."
Zheng Guilan smiled and said, "I know, but Ahe is still young and can't eat that much. Just a taste is enough. Eating too much is not good."
Fang He pouted and said, "My belly is so big, I can definitely finish it. Mom, please let me drink more. This sweet soup looks so delicious."
Zheng Guilan patted her and said, "Finish your drink first." She smiled shyly at Yunyin and pulled Fang He to sit down at a table nearby.
Yunyin also sat down with a bowl of pear soup, took a couple of sips, and sighed, "It's so comforting to drink some warm soup in this kind of weather."
Cheng Yong chimed in, "It really is delicious. It warms you up from the inside out. This white fungus is really good. It's a pity I won't be able to eat it next year."
Yunyin, knowing he wouldn't be here next year, comforted him, "It's alright, you can dry the white fungus and take it with you to cook on the road."
Cheng Yong shook his head and said, "Forget it, this stuff isn't convenient on the road, let's not bother." He took a sip of pear soup, raised his eyebrows and asked Yun Yin, "Yun Niangzi, you know so much about food, do you have any food that's convenient to eat on the road? We're getting a little tired of eating dry rations every day."
Yunyin paused in her soup-drinking motion, and after thinking carefully, said, "I actually thought of something to eat, but I think the flatbread you usually eat on the road is alright, it's not too bad."
Cheng Yong shook his head and said, "The flatbread we ate on the road was different from what you usually eat. It was very dry and hard to swallow. We ate it with water. I didn't think it was very tasty. Yun Niangzi, tell me, what kind of food do you know?"
Yunyin: "I've eaten a food called fried rice. After soaking the rice, you steam it, then dry it and stir-fry it in a pan. The rice becomes fluffy and can be eaten as a snack or soaked in hot water."
She ate this food often when she was little, and she got tired of it. She hasn't eaten it since she grew up. If Cheng Yong hadn't asked, she would have almost forgotten about it. But since she remembered it, she might as well make it. Maybe she wouldn't find it unpalatable if she ate it again.
Cheng Yong said, "Does Lady Yun know how to make this? Could you make some for me? I'll pay you."
Yunyin shook her head and said, "No need. I'll make some after the rain stops. I've been wanting to eat this for a long time."
Because of the sudden downpour, the inn became quiet. After finishing her rock sugar pear soup, Yunyin took out her food notebook, which she had read over and over again, and enjoyed the rare moment of leisure.
The people in the inn were all doing their own things. Zheng Guilan continued making cotton-padded clothes with Fang He, Cheng Yong took out the accounts to re-check them, and Ma Hao and Zhang Lin sat together chatting, telling each other about the interesting things they encountered while escorting goods.
As the weather turned cooler, it got dark quickly. Yunyin and the others ate dinner early. After dinner, she said to Wu Zhuang and Wu Qiang, "Thank you for keeping watch tonight. It's going to rain heavily tonight, so please be careful."
The two brothers said in unison, "Don't worry, Lady Yun."
Yunyin trusted these two quite well. Since they arrived at the inn, they had been working diligently. Although they didn't talk much, they handled the tasks Yunyin assigned them perfectly. This made her realize once again how useful Fu Wang's people were. She wondered if Fu Wang would be angry if she poached these people.
Thinking about all these random thoughts, Yunyin drifted off to sleep accompanied by the sound of rain.
Suddenly, a series of urgent knocks on the door startled Yunyin awake. She sat up abruptly, listened to the voices outside, changed her clothes, wiped her face, pushed open the door, and went out. She saw a magnificent carriage parked in front of the hall, followed by several other carriages.
Yunyin yawned, walked to the front, and asked, "How many people are there? I'm afraid we don't have enough room for everyone."
The people inside the carriage didn't respond. A woman wearing a green jacket and with her hair in two buns jumped down from the carriage, opened an umbrella, and helped the people inside the carriage get off using a stool.
The man wore a turban and a long robe with wide sleeves and a round collar. The robe was made of fine silk, and its luster could be seen even in the dim light.
Yunyin raised an eyebrow and stepped forward to greet them, asking, "Would you like to stay here now, or have a meal first and then rest?"
The man looked up at Yunyin impatiently, and seeing her beautiful appearance, his anger instantly subsided. He drawled, "Young lady, are you the manager here? Bring me some dishes first. What good food do you have here?"
There really wasn't much to eat that night, so she heated up a portion of the rock sugar pear soup she had made that evening and served it up. She then took the beautifully illustrated booklet and handed it to the guests, saying, "What would you like to eat? There's no time to make it tonight, but I can prepare it for you tomorrow morning. I also have some stock on hand; how about I cook you a bowl of noodles?"
He did not take the booklet that Yunyin handed him. The maidservant next to him bowed and took it, opened it and looked at it. She pointed to several exquisite dishes and said, "Golden minced fish, squirrel fish, Wensi tofu, steamed duck with fermented rice wine, peony swallow's nest, one of each of these. Also, prepare several of these desserts for us."
Yunyin looked at the pastries she was pointing to, which were lotus flower pastries, honey-glazed pastries, and dragon beard pastries. She nodded and said, "Of course, no problem. I will prepare them for you first thing tomorrow morning. The guests plan to stay for a few days."
The same woman in green answered, "We'll leave after the rain stops." As the two were talking, another woman in green walked up to her and whispered a few words in her ear. She looked around and frowned, saying, "Aren't there any better rooms? The guest rooms are too small."
Yunyin smiled apologetically and said, "I'm really sorry, the guest courtyard is still under construction, and for the time being there are only two side rooms available for accommodation. The rest is a large dormitory-style room, and there are really no other rooms available."
The woman moved her lips as if she wanted to say something, but after glancing at the man who was drinking rock sugar pear soup, she held back and shook her head, saying, "Never mind, let's leave it at that for now. We'll take both rooms, and keep the dormitory bed for us too. I'll arrange for a coachman and guards to stay there."
Because of the sudden arrival of this group, everyone else in the inn got up, except for Fang He, who was still fast asleep. Yunyin called Zhang Lin and asked him to settle the coachmen and guards, while Zheng Guilan was responsible for entertaining the women in the other carriages.
Yunyin took the booklet and was about to cook noodles for them when the man put down his chopsticks and said, "Jinse is giving the young lady a reward. This rock sugar pear soup is just what I wanted."
Before Yunyin could react, the woman named Jinse took out two taels of silver from her purse and handed it to her, saying, "Since my lord likes the food you make, I hope you will put your heart into tomorrow's meal. This is a reward; if you do a good job, there will be another reward tomorrow."
Yunyin held the heavy two taels of silver, looking bewildered. Were all noble children like this? But Xia Yan didn't seem to be like this. She put the silver away. Oh well, why think so much? As long as she got the money, nothing else mattered to her.
She washed her hands and went to make noodles for the group. The aroma of plain noodles wafted through the air. Eating a bowl of soup noodles in this weather was truly comforting. Judging from the man's expression, Yunyin knew he enjoyed it too. Sure enough, after finishing a bowl of noodles, the man let out a long sigh and said, "I finally feel alive again."
Jinse disagreed, saying, "My lord, what are you saying? Please stop saying such unlucky things."
He patted Jinse's head and said, "Good Jinse, I misspoke. Don't keep a straight face. Your little face is all scrunched up. Smile."
Jinse couldn't help but laugh at his teasing, and the other maids behind her joined in the laughter. The man recovered and finally began to seriously look around.
He asked Yunyin, who was sitting at the counter, "What is your relationship with Weiyuan Escort Agency, Madam?"
Yunyin was in a daze when she heard this. She looked up at the man and asked, "We're just friends. And who is my lord?"
The man clapped his hands lightly and said, "So you're Fu Langjun's friend. Since you're his friend, you're my friend too. I'm his good brother."
Yunyin looked up at Cheng Yong, who shook his head and said, "I don't know this young man." He turned to the man and asked, "What's your name, young man? Where are you from?"
The man looked at Cheng Yong and it took him a while to recognize him. "Isn't this Brother Cheng? I'm Lu Xuan. I didn't expect to see you here. When I saw the Weiyuan Escort Agency logo, I thought I was seeing things."
He slowly walked to the counter, propped his chin up, and said, "If we hadn't checked several times, we wouldn't have dared to stay here so casually. We encountered a shady inn before, and if it weren't for Brother Fu, I would have been dead."
Cheng Yong looked him up and down for a long time before he realized, "So it's that dark-faced kid from back then. I really didn't recognize you. Where are you going?"
Cheng Yong explained to Yunyin, "There was someone Fu Wang accidentally saved before who insisted on becoming sworn brothers with him, but Fu Wang ignored him. I didn't expect to meet him again today."
Yunyin never expected the world to be so small. Although Fu Wangren wasn't here, his presence was everywhere, and even unexpected guests could be connected to him.
Since they were acquaintances, Yunyin relaxed a bit and watched Lu Xuan and Cheng Yong chat with a smile.
Lu Xuan: "Since that dangerous encounter, I haven't been able to go out for a long time. It just so happened that a friend of mine in Chang'an invited me, and I wanted to attend their gathering, so I brought a few more people with me. Who would have thought that we would suddenly be caught in a downpour? Luckily, my maid has sharp eyes and saw the flag of Weiyuan Escort Agency here, so she came to investigate."
“It was truly an unexpected discovery,” Lu Xuan said with a smile to Yun Yin. “Brother Fu himself is handsome, and his friend is also good-looking and his cooking is just to my liking. He’s really not being fair by not introducing me to him.”
Yunyin smiled at Lu Xuan without saying a word, but a pretty woman behind him glanced at Yunyin, then quickly lowered her head again when Yunyin looked over, so that no one would notice.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
