Chun Di smiled and said, "It's all thanks to your third uncle. He made some money and traveled all over Xiaoye City to buy some. I made this for everyone. Try it first and see if it's good."
Song He'er forced a smile, gently pinched a small piece and put it in her mouth. The sweet and cloying taste was very pleasant.
"It's not bad, but I didn't rinse my mouth, so I can't tell if it's authentic or not. Besides, we've been away from the General's Mansion for so long, I've long forgotten what cherry omelet tastes like in the capital. Only my fourth aunt has a good memory and still remembers."
As she spoke, Song He'er was about to get out of bed.
Actually, it wasn't that she had forgotten the taste of cherry omelet, but rather that when her soul transmigrated into the original owner's body, her entire family had already been exiled, and she hadn't even had a chance to taste an authentic cherry omelet! How could she possibly explain it now?
"He'er, to be honest, what do you think of my candied fruit?"
"It's fine," Song He'er replied casually.
"I was thinking that if the shop needs me, I can make some tea snacks for the customers. As for my skills... although I can't compare to a master chef, they are still quite presentable. If this idea works, wouldn't that be the same as me helping you?"
Upon hearing this, Song He'er smiled slightly, "Fourth Aunt, if you go out again, I'm afraid these children at home will all have to be left in the care of Aunt Ruizhen and Fifth Aunt. I'm worried that they'll be too tired, and I'm also worried that you'll be overworked, after all, you're a girl who's about to get married!"
Chun Di disagreed, seemingly not agreeing with Song He'er's statement, and quickly retorted, "Speaking of being unmarried, aren't you also an unmarried girl? Besides, we're about the same age, just older than you."
Seeing her insistence, Song He'er didn't want to discourage her, so she had no choice but to verbally agree.
However, she ultimately had no real authority in the family. In terms of seniority and age, she was not among the most senior. She simply had the advantage of favorable timing, location, and connections, and possessed some minor skills that earned her everyone's trust.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll help out at the shop when I have time. I’ve never seen a market in Nanzhao before. I wonder what it would be like if it were bustling with activity.”
"So, Fourth Aunt likes lively gatherings. Why don't you come with me and take a look? Now that we've opened a branch, we'll inevitably need to hire some helpers. I'll have Mother come back to take care of Huan-ge'er, and Fourth Aunt can keep an eye on the shop!"
Upon hearing this, Chun Di immediately replied happily, "Great!"
"Fourth Aunt, we can't delay any longer. I need to eat something quickly and go to the shop."
"Okay, there's still some hot egg porridge in the pot, I'll bring it out for you."
"Um."
Song He'er ate a few bites and then left in a hurry.
When they arrived at the shop, Qin Xiaoniang and Li Qiang's wife had already put the steamed buns into the steamer, while Song Xiaoyu and Zhang Xiue were tidying up the shop across the street and buying ingredients.
"He'er's here, why didn't you sleep a little longer? After what you said yesterday, I roughly know how to make the spicy hot pot. Actually, it's okay if you didn't come, I'll take care of it," Song Xiaoyu said with a smile.
"Uncle means well, but you are a man after all. I feel bad about always making you wear an apron and stand by the stove. You used to be an official. With your talent, you should be an accountant or a restaurant owner."
Song He'er didn't want to stop there. When the business grew bigger in the future, she still wanted to push Song Xiaoyu to support her. After all, it wasn't good for her, a woman, to always be in the public eye. She might encounter a difficult businessman in the future. It would be better to use Song Xiaoyu, since he had experience in officialdom and would naturally be more careful in his actions.
"What's wrong with wearing an apron? What era are we living in? He'er, don't be so old-fashioned from all that studying. Your third aunt used to say I was a blockhead, but now I've changed. I don't care about the differences in status between men and women anymore. Why should washing clothes and cooking be women's jobs?"
These words were very pleasing to the ear, and Zhang Xiue felt quite pleased with herself.
"Well, you've managed to say a few words today."
"As long as you treat me kindly, I will naturally not make you angry."
Song He'er smiled and went into the inner room to check the ingredients.
Although Zhang Xiu'e was a careless person, she never neglected her purchasing. From small vegetable leaves to large chickens, ducks, fish and meat, everything was of top quality, comparable to the dishes in the small kitchen of the general's mansion.
"Third Aunt got up so early to go shopping, she must be working so hard."
Zhang Xiue chuckled, "It's not hard work, this little bit of work is nothing! By the way, the little profit from the steamed bun shop has all been used to buy vegetables, and the accounts there are completely empty. We need to quickly sell what we have and get some money!"
Song Xiaoyu draped a towel over her shoulder and then pointed to all the utensils in the kitchen. “These things all look new to me, so I didn’t replace them. But they’ve all been boiled in hot water and disinfected with white wine, so we can continue using them. However, we’ll need to buy new chopping boards, bowls, and chopsticks.”
The thought of the couple making stale meat buns made Song He'er feel utterly disgusted, so she had no intention of using their leftovers.
"Yes, we still need to change the bowls and chopsticks. After all, people who have eaten here before have some reservations. If we don't change them, it will make us look unclean."
Zhang Xiue nodded, "Not only do we need to change them, but we also need to make them different in color. They used to use earthen red bowls, so we'll change them to green ceramic bowls. That way, they'll look brand new."
Song Xiaoyu frowned. "Ceramic bowls are more expensive, and we don't have any extra money left."
Seeing their reaction, Song He'er took out a small silver coin from her bosom and handed it to Zhang Xiu'e, saying, "I have one, take it and go buy it."
"This... He'er, where did this money come from?"
"This is the money you asked me to return to Jiang Huaifu last time. I didn't have time to give it to him, so let's use it to tide us over for now."
Zhang Xiu'e made some money selling steamed buns a few days ago and used it to pay off her debts. However, Song He'er would not pay Jiang Huaifu back, since she had paid for the two shops herself and Jiang Huaifu was just a figurehead.
"Is this... okay?"
"Sure! Why not? He's not in a hurry for the money!"
After saying that, Song He'er stuffed the silver ingot directly into Zhang Xiu'e's hand.
......
My darlings, this book is fictional and has no historical basis. Enjoy reading, relax, and please don't take it too seriously!
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