Chapter 44 Why did Shi San Niang come here with the ceramic pot?
Having not had time to inventory the accounts last night, Lu Qiong arrived at Lu's shop early this morning. Upon opening the accounts, she discovered that they seemed to have made quite a bit of money recently.
"July 12th, 26 portions of crispy mountain dessert... August 2nd, 20 portions of crispy mountain dessert, 30 portions of bayberry juice... August 17th, 2 portions of crispy mountain dessert, 20 portions of porridge..."
Recently, crispy tarts, cold rice balls, and a series of thirst-quenching drinks have been selling less and less, while porridge and beverages have been selling much better.
Before I could think about it, I heard a "clang" and turned around to see that Sister Yang was putting away the bamboo knife that had been used to cut meat and replacing it with a clean knife to cut cucumbers.
I had mentioned to her before that knives for cutting meat should be separate from those for vegetarian food. At the time, Sister Yang didn't understand and thought it was troublesome, and she even forgot several times.
She seems to have gotten used to it now, and Lu Qiong felt gratified to see that she was finally listening to what she had to say.
The ledger was still spread out in front of her. She rested her chin on her hand, her fingertips tapping her cheeks little by little.
The hired kitchen helpers are still here, and we didn't ask them to leave early, since we paid them. Regardless of their cooking skills, at least it makes their work less tiring.
But now we face a new problem: what foods are appropriate for the cold weather?
Anything that requires ice has been removed from the menu; it's time to add something new that will warm you up.
Just then, Meng Sheng walked straight over and tapped the wooden cabinet with his knuckles: "Manager Lu, a bowl of chicken and pork congee, please!"
Lu Qiong was brought back to reality by the voice. She closed the account book and then smiled and greeted him, "You've been too busy lately. I haven't seen you since the Qixi Festival."
Meng Sheng scratched his head, a hint of shyness creeping onto his tall frame, a blush creeping onto his dark skin. He chuckled, "Something came up..."
Judging from their appearance, is there some good news?
"Okay." Lu Qiong didn't tease anyone. She turned around, told Jin Niang, and led Meng Sheng to the table near the back door.
There were still some grease stains on the table, probably because the helper was being lazy.
Before Meng Sheng could notice, Lu Qiong first removed the cloth from her waist, quickly wiped herself, and then casually put it in her hand: "Would you like some fresh tea?"
Meng Sheng waved his hand, threw his head back and laughed loudly, his voice deep and rumbling like thunder rolling across his chest: "No tea, we have to drink to enjoy this kind of weather!"
Lu Qiong then heated up a pot of plum wine at his request. The wine in the shop was not strong, and as long as one was restrained, one could drink a few cups without getting drunk.
As the store became more crowded, Lu Qiong noticed that a surprising number of people were ordering congee. This reminded her of the "congee hot pot" of later generations. She wondered how popular it would be if it could be brought to Lu Ji's restaurant.
Why not just order a few "hot pots" and try it out?
In the past, the pots used for hot pot were mainly made of bronze and were mostly used by nobles.
During the Han and Tang dynasties, ceramic pots made from earthenware and porcelain clay became more popular and cheaper, making them affordable for ordinary people. This trend continued into the Song dynasty.
Taking advantage of the shop closing time, Lu Qiong planned to find someone to order two. She thought it would take some time, but unexpectedly, there were already ready-made ones. It is indeed a way of eating that is popular among ordinary people.
The shopkeeper pointed to a batch of ceramic pots and explained in detail: "These are from Yaozhou. Although they can't compare to Ru kiln, they are still good items that ordinary people can afford. After all, we can't compare with the imperial court."
Lu Qiong nodded, reached out and placed her hand on the side of the pot, rubbing it a few times; the outer wall was smooth.
As the shopkeeper mentioned, Ru ware was only for the imperial family to use, and it was forbidden for ordinary people to imitate it. Anything bought from outside was either fake or punishable by death. There were also Ding ware and Longquan ware, but those were used by literati and officials, and their styles were elegant, which didn't fit the style of her shop. So, only Yaozhou ware was suitable.
Finally, Lu Qiong bought two, paid the deposit to the shopkeeper, and agreed to have them delivered to Lu's shop the next day.
This street is a bit far from the state bridge, but closer to the rainbow bridge. It is also lined with shops, and because it is close to the city gate, there are more inns.
Lu Qiong walked along the streets and alleys, and at the corner she met Pei Yu at an inn. Pei Yu had indeed brought an apprentice as a helper.
Perhaps because they had made several sets of wooden furniture for the inn, the styles were intricate and more exquisite than before. The inn's servants also came out to help. The group was very careful, afraid of bumping into the stool legs or table legs.
Pei Ya was also by her side. She didn't cry or make a fuss. She held a piece of pear blossom balm in her hand and would suck on it from time to time. When it got stuck in her palm, she would just lick it clean.
She's quite well-behaved, much better than Lu Xuan was when she was little.
Pei Yu had just finished moving a load and was covered in sweat. Afraid that Pei Ya would be bored, he squatted down in front of her, tucked the stray hairs that were sticking to the corners of her mouth, tapped her nose and laughed at her, calling her a little kitten.
"Why is your face covered in sugar stains, all sticky?"
Pei Ya could only smile, her eyes curving into crescent moons as she held the remaining half of the saliva-covered pear blossom syrup to Pei Yu's lips: "Giggle, candy..."
It was covered in saliva and glistening with moisture. Pei Yu couldn't bring herself to eat it. She leaned back unconsciously, pushed away Pei Ya's hand, and hesitated before saying, "I'm not hungry. If you finish the rest, I'll take you to eat the jiaozi we had last time."
Hearing that he wasn't going to eat, Pei Ya wasn't disappointed. She stuffed a mouthful into her mouth, a sudden action that startled Pei Yu.
"Be careful, don't choke..." Pei Yu's remaining words were stuck in her mouth, because Pei Ya quickly chewed the candy clean.
Does he not understand, or are all children's teeth so good?
After Pei Ya finished eating the pear blossom syrup, she opened her mouth wide for him to check, and then tugged at Pei Yu's clothes with her sticky hands.
Pei Yu didn't care about getting her clothes dirty. She looked into her eyes and asked softly, "What's wrong, Ya Ya?"
Pei Ya's fingers were still clutching his clothes. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly said, "Jiaozi, for Mother..."
Seeing the expectant look in her eyes, Pei Yu knew that she missed Yang San Niang. After all, she had been away for several days, but she didn't expect that Yang San Niang would stay obediently by her side during this time.
Not wanting to disappoint her, Pei Yu gently pinched her cheek and coaxed, "How about tomorrow? We'll bring more than just the corner pieces then..."
Pei Ya couldn't understand everything the long string of words said; she only knew that she wouldn't see her mother today. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes, like pearls falling from a string, dripping down quickly. In the end, she didn't mention the matter again.
Pei Yu held her hand, let out a breath, and wondered how to deal with tomorrow.
...
Lu Qiong was unaware that Pei Ya had cried later. She returned to the alley along her usual route, passing by Pei's house and hearing quite a commotion.
They must have started arguing again. They made quite a few jokes yesterday, and I wonder what they'll be up to today.
She shook her head, lifted her skirt, and walked back, avoiding the gaps between the blue bricks.
Pushing open the door, I saw that the neighbor's jujube tree was laden with jujubes, the heavy fruit bending the branches. Who knows, maybe they'll have a bumper harvest in a few days too!
Suddenly, the sound of a door opening came from behind. Lu Xuan was carrying back a half-full bucket of water, probably having spilled quite a bit along the way...
She was panting, her forehead was covered in sweat, and her face was flushed. As soon as she stepped into the yard, she let go of the bucket and put it down.
"Sister! It's so tiring. A few days ago, I could just walk a few steps to the well to fetch water, but now I have to walk this far. It's exhausting..."
well……
Lu Qiong stroked her chin thoughtfully before speaking, "Then let's move to a new courtyard in the next few days. This place is really inconvenient."
It's manageable now, but if it gets colder and snows, it will be even more inconvenient to fetch water from elsewhere.
Lu Xuan was stunned at first, then her eyes widened as she looked at Lu Qiong with starry eyes, suppressing the excitement in her voice: "Really?"
Lu Qiong laughed at her: "How could this be fake?"
After the initial excitement, Lu Xuan calmed down: "But do we still have any money?"
The older sister said she was going to order new pots, and more than one, which would cost a lot of money. And the rent Shi San Niang was asking for was quite high, five taels of silver a month. If they were to move to a better courtyard… would they still have the money?
The thought of her and her sister looking so pitiful, standing on the street begging for money with a broken bowl sent chills down my spine.
No, I can't let my sister squander all the money.
To avoid sleeping on the streets, Lu Xuan firmly shook her head: "Sister, we only have a little money left now, we can't spend it so carelessly. The shop still needs money for many things. Are we not going to buy cotton clothes? Are we not going to use the charcoal for heating? And we still need to renew the street office's official documents in a couple of days..."
Lu Xuan's little mouth started chattering away, rattling off a whole bunch of things.
Lu Qiong laughed so hard she couldn't straighten up. Following her logic, she would lose a lot of money managing the shop in the future.
"You don't need to worry about that. We'll have plenty of money."
Fearing she would continue chanting, Lu Qiong quickly called the people inside, since the water tank was still waiting for them to "feed" it.
The ceramic pot was supposed to be delivered the next day, but the shopkeeper sent someone over early in the evening.
The errand boy chuckled, "Our manager was worried you might need it urgently, so when he heard your shop had opened, he told us to hurry over."
That's what they said, but they were also afraid that Lu Qiong would change her mind, so they settled the remaining bills as soon as possible to put their minds at ease.
However, they were also careful and moved the items with extra care, following Lu Qiong's instructions to place them on two tables against the wall.
The ceramic pot has a raised top to allow smoke to escape from the bottom upwards, and the smoke pipe is surrounded by grooves for steaming and cooking food. There is an opening in the lower compartment to add charcoal directly, or you can lift the stove at the beginning and slowly adjust the charcoal fire.
It's not very heavy either; two adult women can lift it together.
When customers arrive at the restaurant and see this kind of pot on the table, they become curious: "Is the manager going to open a 'hot pot' or make a 'bo xia gong'?"
Lu Qiong smiled without saying a word, and waited until the diners had guessed everything and were getting impatient before finally revealing the answer: "It's congee hot pot!"
Apart from her, no one else present knew what it was, but thinking about the novel dishes they had made in the past, they became even more curious.
The aunt who comes often asks, "When can we eat?"
Seeing the positive reaction from the crowd, Lu Qiong was even happier and smiled with satisfaction: "This ceramic pot just arrived and hasn't been boiled yet. It will be ready by tomorrow night at the latest. If there are a lot of people then, you might have to wait a while."
Many people kept asking questions, and only after she patiently explained several times did the diners finally leave. It's unknown how many people actually remembered this congee hot pot.
At the stroke of midnight, Lu's shop closed on time, but Shi San Niang from next door went into the shop.
Lu Qiong was still studying the ceramic pot when she was startled by this unexpected guest, and Yang Jie'er and Lu Xuan were also worried.
At this moment, everyone had only one thought in their minds—this was for the sake of the shop?
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