"Alright, you can go anytime you want. It's going to snow soon, and the village will be slaughtering pigs then. It'll be fun to have a pig-slaughtering feast together."
The old lady smiled and exchanged a few words with Mrs. Liu before meeting her sons in the front yard and taking her leave.
The Marquis has other matters to attend to, so it's already quite rare for him to take the time to come over.
He hugged Jiayin outside the door, said a few words to the old lady, and then left in a hurry.
Mr. Wen is an imperial censor, and to avoid suspicion, he only sent a gift today and did not come in person.
Without her protector, the Li family was worried about letting Madam Cui go back on her own, so they first sent her to the estate before heading towards Broken Gold Beach.
Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er were about 50% drunk, and fell asleep as soon as they got home.
However, Old Lady Li and Tao Hongying surrounded Jiayin and asked her about the garden. Jiayin didn't want to hide it, nor did she need to. After all, it was that little green tea who provoked her first, so she explained it clearly in a few words.
Grandma Li held her granddaughter and didn't scold her at all; instead, she praised her.
“Yes, that’s how Fu Niu’er should be. We don’t bully others, but we absolutely cannot let others bully us. Remember, you are a princess! You have three uncles, a godfather, and seven brothers, all of whom are your support!”
Jiayin smiled, showing her little white teeth, and hugged her grandma, giving her several big kisses.
"Okay, Grandma, Fu Niu'er loves you the most!"
Tao Hongying was worried that if her daughter continued to be spoiled like this, she would really develop a spoiled and domineering temper, so she quickly poured cold water on her.
"Mother, this girl looks well-behaved, but she's actually quite shrewd. Look at her, she doesn't seem like she's being bullied at all; it's good enough that she doesn't bully others."
The old lady's eyes widened as she listened, then she hugged her granddaughter and patted her gently. "Our Fu Niu'er is so sensible. I'm just worried she'll get hurt. Didn't she get injured last time she played with Nannan?"
Tao Hongying remembered the pink scar on her daughter's hand and immediately changed her mind.
"Fu Niu'er, listen to your grandma. From now on, don't worry about who bullies whom. The most important thing is that you don't suffer losses, understand?"
Jiayin nodded quickly, moved to her mother's lap, and asked, "Mom, are you going to keep working at Uncle's restaurant? Grandma and I miss you so much at home!"
Tao Hongying thought that her son and nephew had both gone to the academy, and her daughter was the only child left at home, which made her feel lonely.
She quickly said, "Your uncle found the original chef from Sihaiju and bought out his contract, so he's not afraid of the new recipes being leaked. I'll help them for another ten days or so to teach them the new recipes, and then I'll come home to be with you, okay?"
Jiayin hugged her mother's neck and shook her head. "Mother, let Uncle reserve a room in the restaurant and put a big table there. From now on, when you make new dishes, you can only sell them to wealthy customers, okay?"
I cook it every five or six days, just enough for one table! Someone tastes the dishes for Mom, so she's not tired and can stay home with me and Grandma!
"Oh, what a great idea!" Before Tao Hongying could respond, Old Lady Li clapped her hands and cheered.
"Our Fu Niu'er is the smartest! There are so many rich people in the city, they must want to eat something different, preferably something new that no one else can eat."
"With so many new vegetables at home, we can easily prepare a feast. And since we go to the city every five or six days, it won't interfere with either home or the restaurant."
Tao Hongying was somewhat tempted, but still said, "Let's discuss it after my eldest and second brothers wake up."
The restaurant belonged to the eldest son, so of course his consent was required. The old lady didn't say anything more and took her granddaughter to take a bath.
Although my granddaughter didn't suffer any harm today and didn't hit the back of her head, we still need to check her over again before she can be completely at ease.
Tao Hongying sat alone in the room, silently pondering her thoughts.
In fact, the Tao family has always been cooks, and even produced imperial chefs. Her grandfather's generation was also a head chef in a very famous restaurant.
Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned, and the legacy changed when it came to her father.
Her father had a talent for studying and even passed the imperial examination at a young age, which made Grandpa Tao very happy. He thought it was time to change the family's fortune and bring glory to his ancestors.
Unfortunately, her father didn't pass the imperial examination until he was forty years old.
The worst part is that her grandfather, fearing it would embarrass his son who was studying, gave up his job as a chef early on, emptying the family's savings.
In the end, it was a complete failure; the Tao family did not become a scholarly family, and their ancestral culinary skills were lost.
Her mother died early, and she took charge of the household from a young age, learning a little bit from her grandfather.
The Tao family had no male heirs, and before his grandfather passed away, he left her some of the family recipes.
A few years later, my father fell ill and, due to poverty, could not afford the expensive tonics, and passed away.
Before he passed away, he betrothed her to the Li family, which was an unexpected but fortunate turn of events, giving her a good home.
The Li family is harmonious, the mother-in-law is reasonable, the sisters-in-law are close, the husband is responsible and knows how to care for others, and they have a son and a daughter.
Logically speaking, with the little skill she learned, she would be quite content just to cook a meal and make sure her family was well-fed.
But these days, working in the restaurant kitchen, frying and cooking, seeing the diners finish their meals perfectly clean, and hearing their praise, something seemed to erupt within her...
If she could have a place where she could occasionally showcase her culinary skills and try out her new recipes while taking care of the household, that would be nice...
Li Zhensheng and Li Lao Er slept until it was completely dark before waking up. When they saw that their mother had prepared some stomach-soothing millet porridge and light dishes for them, they were both happy and guilty.
I'm over thirty years old, and my mother still has to worry about me.
The old lady was eager to ask about the private kitchen dishes. She urged her son to finish eating and cleared the table before she began to talk about it.
Li Zhensheng's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he immediately replied, "Great, Mom, this is wonderful! I've been thinking these past few days that it's such a waste for my sister-in-law to have such good cooking skills and to be cooking at home."
"She's talented; the new dishes she comes up with are especially loved by the guests. If she could offer a set menu every five or six days, I'm sure many people would be interested."
Li Lao Er also said, "Big Brother can release the news first, and then accept reservations. Every table should have both new and traditional dishes."
"It's best not to reveal the menu; maintain a sense of mystery. Guests shouldn't know what they're eating until they're seated at the table. Of course, the final result must be something that makes guests feel they're getting excellent value for their money. That's how you attract diners!"
Before anyone else could react, Jiayin was already staring at him with eyes full of adoration.
Isn't this the most popular blind box from the past?
The only difference is that other restaurants' blind boxes contain cosmetics and stationery, while our restaurant's blind boxes contain food!
Humans are naturally curious. No matter the time or place, what we don't know and what is mysterious is what we look forward to the most!
It is foreseeable that such banquet blind boxes will be a hit in Xindu!
Of course, a few new dishes with added chili peppers are far from enough.
But she has a small courtyard, and that's her mother's greatest source of confidence!
In winter, serving up a table full of leafy greens, even if they're just boiled in water, is quite a novel experience.
This matter has temporarily received the unanimous consent of the whole family, but it will still take some time to get it going.
Tao Hongying will have to help out at the restaurant for at least another half month. Only after the restaurant's business stabilizes can she seek more opportunities.
Jiayin was also happy with this arrangement because she... was lazy.
She'd only copied half of all the recipes in the space...
Not to mention that Jiayin found an opportunity to enter the space that very night and continued to plagiarize.
The next day, a small blue cloth carriage arrived in front of the Wang family's house, and the woman sitting in the carriage was the same one who had attended the wedding banquet at the Liu family's house the day before.
The woman seemed a little guilty, as she looked around before getting out of the car and then entered the Wang family's side gate.
The old lady of the Wang family's maidservant received the person at the hanging flower gate and then led them into the backyard.
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