32 Just consider it as my apprenticeship gift
"Nothing happy, I just want to eat meat."
"What? You said he's going back with us?" Ye Yunzhao couldn't help but raise his voice, then lowered it again. "Madam Cuihua, what's going on?"
Seeing her agitation, Cuihua whispered, "I don't know. Perhaps she's going home to visit? After all, Lingnan County is also the hometown of the Jingshan brothers."
Ye Yunzhao frowned. Ruyi Tower was near Hu Er's blacksmith shop. She had been there many times and had seen many inscriptions on it. Naturally, she knew that Chen Jingshan was from Lingnan County.
But the embarrassing scene this morning was still fresh in his mind, and Ye Yunzhao really didn't want to go with him, at least not today.
"County Magistrate Ye, do you know?" Madam Cuihua looked around and lowered her voice, "Today's crystal cakes made a full 184 coins!"
"What?"
The embarrassment in his heart disappeared instantly, and Ye Yunzhao exclaimed in surprise.
Madam Cuihua thought she didn't believe it, so she quickly took out the heavy purse from her arms and secretly opened it to let her take a closer look.
"Really! This morning, Brother Jingshan tried the crystal cake we gave him and said it was delicious. He asked me to take it to Ruyi Tower to sell..."
Madam Cuihua kept an eye on Ye Yunzhao's expression. Seeing her frowning and pursing her lips, she hurriedly explained, "But I didn't agree! I didn't agree at first..."
Then Madam Cuihua's hand holding the purse trembled, and she seemed a little embarrassed.
Ye Yunzhao said in a deep voice: "Then he asked you to sell all the crystal cakes to him."
Madam Cuihua, who had been lowering her head, raised her head in surprise. County Magistrate Ye was truly an amazing person!
"That's right. Brother Jingshan said that selling the crystal cake to others is no different from selling it to him. Ruyi Tower sells the crystal cake for 35 coins each, and gives us 15 coins for each..."
What's so unclear about this? Ye Yunzhao didn't believe Chen Jingshan hadn't used the crystal cake recipe to make this.
Without waiting for Madam Cuihua to finish speaking, she glanced at Chen Jingshan not far away, stuffed the reins of the donkey into the hands of the servant behind her, and walked out of the city gate without saying a word.
Chen Jingshan was inexplicably glared at and was a little at a loss. Seeing that Madam Cuihua and the servant behind her had started driving the ox cart, he also followed.
"County Magistrate Ye..." Madam Cuihua hurried forward, "Don't be angry. Brother Jingshan actually has a point. Crystal cakes can only be sold for two cents in our hands, but they can be sold for thirty-five cents in Ruyi Tower!"
"Oh, right." Madam Cuihua pulled out her purse and added, "I can't take this money. County Magistrate Ye, take it and consider it my apprenticeship..."
Ye Yunzhao sighed, suppressed the anger in his heart, and pushed the purse in front of him into her arms: "Madam Cuihua, I don't want it. I'm not angry about this, nor am I angry because of you..."
Madam Cuihua was a little confused. If it wasn't because she was angry, could it be because of Brother Jingshan?
"I'm angry because Manager Chen fooled you!"
"But Brother Jingshan didn't..."
Ye Yunzhao took Madam Cuihua for a few quick steps, putting some distance between them and the crowd behind them, and spoke slowly, "Did you tell him the recipe for the crystal cake?"
"No, no!" Madam Cuihua quickly shook her head.
"The chef at Ruyi Tower wanted to buy it for five taels of silver, but I refused! This is your recipe, I can't sell it!"
The temptation of five taels of silver was great, but she knew in her heart that the recipe for the crystal cake belonged to County Magistrate Ye, who had taught her out of kindness. If she turned around and sold it, she would be unworthy of being a human being.
Ye Yunzhao sneered in his heart. What kind of chef wanted to buy it? If the boss didn’t agree, who would dare to ask for it?
"No matter how much he promises you, you must never sell it."
Ye Yunzhao explained earnestly, "Even though you won't get a good price selling crystal cakes at the market, if you go there every day, every year, you can eventually earn five, ten, or even fifty taels of silver. But if you sell the recipe, it's a one-time deal, and the five taels will eventually run out..."
"No matter who buys the house, I won't sell it. Remember?"
Ye Yunzhao's words made Cuihua feel a chill on her back. If she was really a fool and couldn't resist the temptation of five taels of silver, then...
Fortunately, fortunately, she said firmly: "I remember! From now on, I will sell them at the market and will never have anything to do with the restaurant again!"
Ye Yunzhao thought about it carefully. Even in a restaurant, thirty-five cents for an ordinary oil-free and sugar-free pastry was already a high price.
"Shopkeeper Chen will come to see you in the next two days. If you don't sell your house, he will definitely order all the crystal cakes you make in the future. You should tell him that each piece will cost at least ten cents, and have him send someone to pick it up at home."
Madam Cuihua was stunned for a moment, then nodded quickly: "Okay."
County Magistrate Ye could tell what Brother Jingshan said when he advised her to sell the crystal cake to Ruyi Tower, even though she had never seen him. Now, Madam Cuihua believed everything she said.
Chen Jingshan had no idea what they were discussing. He was currently following the oxcart, observing the... silk? No, there were also a lot of leaf stems mixed in. What was all this stuff used for?
His question was soon answered.
As soon as the two fully loaded ox carts and the donkeys laden with goods entered the territory of Lingnan County, they attracted the attention of many people.
Some of the braver ones even tried to shout, "County Magistrate Ye, what's that good thing you're pulling?"
"Hey, Brother Jingshan, why are you back?"
Chen Jingshan followed them all the way into Lingnan County, then said goodbye to everyone and entered the big garden.
Ye Yunzhao sent the things back to the county government office and asked the idle yamen runners to quickly unload the things into the yard. He then took out a purse from his arms, counted out the copper coins and handed them to them.
After a busy period, Liu Mazi panted and asked, "County Magistrate Ye, what are these things? Are they piled up in the county government office first?"
"Tomorrow, go to Xixiang and find seven or eight women to sort the broken silk. I'll provide lunch for you. You won't be paid, but when you're done, you can draw lots and choose one person to take the broken silk back home. I've seen it, and it can be made into at least one thin jacket."
Ye Yunzhao instructed: "First come, first served, but if there are particularly poor women, they can be selected first."
"good."
*
Early the next morning, Ye Yunzhao took out two eggs from the chicken coop as usual, put one in a pottery jar in the corner of the kitchen, and mixed the other with dried radish residue to become her breakfast today.
When she walked into the yard, she found that the peasant women were already sitting in the yard and starting to pick out the broken silk.
It is autumn now and the weather is getting cooler. Occasionally, Ye Yunzhao would put on a thin coat in the early morning, but the peasant women he saw were still wearing thin summer clothes. Some of them even had half of their arms exposed, and they wore hemp straw sandals that they had woven themselves after cutting hemp.
It makes one's nose sore.
Ye Yunzhao squatted aside and helped them pick up the broken silk threads mixed in. Logically speaking, after the silk cocoons are made, each one is round and plump, so it is impossible for there to be broken silk threads.
But many people don’t know that when the silkworms first start to spin silk, some tiny silk threads will be entangled with the irregular leaf stalks, which will actually benefit Ye Yunzhao.
This was a troublesome matter. Since there were some seasonal vegetables in the county government office and two crucian carps in the tank, she didn't need to go out to look for ingredients for lunch, so she stayed here for a long time.
Madam Cuihua, who came back with her yesterday, did not go out either. She was humming a little tune at home and spreading food to the two old hens in the yard.
When she thought of yesterday's scene, she couldn't help but want to laugh out loud.
When Madam Cuihua came back last night, Liu Dazhuang had already prepared dinner, but he did not eat it first. Instead, he held the bowl with his hand and waited for her to come back.
In the past, if Madam Cuihua saw that her man was so discerning, she would naturally hug him and kiss him a few times, but now that she had the heavy copper coins, she didn't have those romantic thoughts.
To Liu Dazhuang's shock, she took out her bulging purse, opened it, and turned it over, and a lot of copper coins fell out on the table.
Liu Dazhuang foolishly picked up one and examined it carefully. After a moment, he said, "Hua'er, are you stealing someone else's purse?"
Madam Cuihua glared at him and knocked him on the head: "Idiot! How could I steal anything! I earned all this with crystal cakes!"
She vividly told Liu Dazhuang how she met the Jingshan brothers today, how she sold the crystal cake to Ruyi Tower, how she sold something that cost two cents for thirty cents, how the chef of Ruyi Tower set a trap for her, how she cleverly dodged it, and how she unexpectedly earned 185 cents.
She spoke with such excitement that she even stood up, praising County Magistrate Ye. She praised County Magistrate Ye for being angry at first but then explaining things to her in detail; she praised County Magistrate Ye for being resourceful and guessing what the Jingshan brothers were doing after just hearing the beginning; she praised County Magistrate Ye for being a scholar with a smart mind and coming up with many ways to make money for her; and she especially praised County Magistrate Ye for being generous and giving her all 185 coins.
In short, County Magistrate Ye is smart, a good official, and an even better person, and he is good in every way.
Finally, she did not forget to praise herself. If she had not been grateful and proposed to repair the kitchen for County Magistrate Ye and took her to the mountains to pick fruits, how could she have had the opportunity to learn how to make crystal cakes from County Magistrate Ye?
Good people will be rewarded. I am a good person, and the 185 cents in front of me is my reward.
Liu Dazhuang saw that Cuihua was talking so much that her mouth was dry, so he hurriedly poured her some water. She drank a large gulp and wiped her mouth.
"Since I've accepted County Magistrate Ye's favor, I'm thinking of going to Aunt Hu's place to buy some meat these past two days. I'll give County Magistrate Ye a cut of pork belly as my apprenticeship gift, and I'll also buy back half a pound of lard so we can have some lard residue!"
Liu Dazhuang listened intently, nodded, and said, "When you go see County Magistrate Ye, see if there's anything she needs in her yard. If she needs a chicken coop or a stone table, I can go up the mountain to fetch mud or chisel stone after I'm done with this."
Hearing this, Madam Cuihua sat down next to Liu Dazhuang, her eyes slightly red. "Before, when we were repairing the kitchen for County Magistrate Ye, those gossipers said we were stupid. But in my opinion, we are not stupid at all."
The two smiled at each other, and the money-loving Wang Cuihua began to count the coins again with a smile.
For several days, Cuihua was beaming with joy. Others, unaware of her financial success, teased her, saying, "Are you pregnant? Why are you so happy every day?"
"What nonsense are you talking about." Madam Cuihua glanced at the man happily and staggered towards Aunt Hu's butcher shop.
"Aunt, give me a piece of pork belly and half a pound of lard."
Aunt Hu smiled and said, "Okay!"
"Oh! Madam Cuihua, is there some happy event at home? Why did you buy so much meat?" Aunt Wang suddenly exclaimed behind her.
Cuihua was startled. Seeing that it was her, she remembered why she had asked about her going to the county school last time. She said with a frown, "Nothing happy, I just want to eat meat."
【Author’s words】
Dear county magistrates, if you have extra moonstones, can you give them to me through the [Moonstone Airdrop] on the PC?
Need 500 moonstones to open the map bed QaQ
Thank you very much, little chef.
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