The woman looked to be in her thirties. Her eyes were evasive and she was timid. Half of her face was red and swollen, and there were bruises and nail marks at the corners of her eyes. She looked like she had been beaten.
Xu Qinyu roughly guessed who the woman was. She had just seen her coming from the end of the alley. She should be the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Luo.
As expected, a woman saw this and immediately shouted, "Ms. Lin, what's going on? Didn't your mother-in-law say that the fish cooked by Miss Xu was unpalatable? She even came to our house twice yesterday to demand her eight cents back. Miss Xu said nothing and even returned the money, letting your family eat for free. Are you addicted to freeloading? Today she asks you to buy fish, tomorrow you ask for your money back, and the day after that you ask your two daughters to buy fish again? What's going on? Do you have any shame left in your family?"
The neighbors all knew that Lin was pitiful and knew what kind of life she lived in the Luo family.
But eating for free is eating for free. No matter what, Lin is the daughter-in-law of Old Lady Luo. If this family makes trouble every day, the young lady will get annoyed and wonder why there are so many rogues in Guihua Lane. Naturally, she will not want to continue selling fish in Guihua Lane.
If the young lady goes to sell fish somewhere else, her business will still be good.
At that time, the people in Guihua Lane had to be frugal and could not afford meat, and their children were always pale and thin. Who could they turn to for justice?
This also tells the young lady that the woman in front of her is the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Luo, and there is only one such peculiar family in their Guihua Lane.
Lin's face turned red.
But what can she do?
Her mother-in-law suffered such a great loss at the hands of Miss Xu, and she was unwilling to resign herself to it. She wanted to continue learning the recipes and cooking skills of Miss Xu, and she also wanted to eat fish, so she had to ask her to buy it. She didn't want to come, but her mother-in-law took the opportunity to beat her last night, and even Da Ya and Er Ya were kicked twice. If she didn't come today, her mother-in-law would beat them three even harder.
After the woman finished speaking, she saw that Lin's face was red, swollen and bruised, and knew that her mother-in-law had beaten her again. She couldn't help but sigh.
He is also a pitiful person, but there must be something hateful about pitiful people.
Xu Qinyu looked at the wounds on Lin's face and knew that if she were the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Luo, she would actually be less than 30 years old, and would look like only 23 or 24, yet she had been wasted like this.
Xu Qinyu felt a little upset. She said, "Sister-in-law, I won't sell you this fish. Please go back."
Even if she felt sorry for Lin, she couldn't continue selling fish to the Luo family.
Lin's face turned pale and she looked at Xu Qinyu pleadingly.
"My dear, please sell me the fish, or my mother-in-law will beat me to death when I get home."
"Don't you have arms or legs?" Xu Qinyu asked her back.
Lin was stunned. "W-what?"
She didn't understand what the young lady meant.
Xu Qinyu said calmly, "Don't you know how to resist? Don't you know how to run when she hits you?"
Lin's lips trembled twice and she was unable to speak.
No one ever told her that she could resist.
The women around began to nod.
In their opinion, even if they are beaten and scolded by their mother-in-law, they can resist but they cannot fight back.
What Xu Qinyu actually meant was, if she hits you, won’t you hit her back?
How come a strong laborer in his twenties can’t beat an old woman?
Her willingness to sell fish to Lin this time was only to encourage the evil tendencies of Old Lady Luo, making her think that she was easy to talk to and could make friends with. She would also try every possible means to get her recipe for cooking fish.
She felt that even though this was a feudal society and filial piety was the most important virtue, one should not be blindly filial. Moreover, this had nothing to do with filial piety. This was an old woman abusing her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, but she did not know how to resist.
This old woman Luo dared to sell her own daughter to marry her son. Now that Lin couldn't give birth to a son, the old woman Luo dared to sell Lin's two daughters and divorce Lin, and use the money from selling her granddaughter to marry her son to a wife who could give birth to a son.
It's just a matter of time.
Lin didn't say anything.
Xu Qinyu ignored her and continued to sell fish.
In the end, all the braised herring were sold out.
Lin also failed to buy the braised black fish. She returned to the Luo family in a daze. Mrs. Luo's face was bruised and purple, and one eye was swollen. Seeing her daughter-in-law returning empty-handed, she picked up the broom next to her and hit her with it. "You idiot! I told you to buy a fish, but you can't. What's the point of having you? You might as well sell yourself to a brothel."
Old Mrs. Luo cursed Lin and Xu Qinyu with foul language and hit them so hard that Lin bent over and her face turned pale.
The pain coming from her body and the despair in her heart made Lin couldn't help but wonder, can she really resist?
Can anyone really rebel against his own mother or mother-in-law?
She was beaten and scolded by her mother when she was at home, but not as severely as her mother-in-law. She had to work every day at home. Finally, her mother sold her to the Luo family for twenty taels of silver.
Her mother didn't prepare a single cent of the twenty taels of silver for her as a dowry, but left it all to her brothers.
The reason why she was able to ask for a betrothal gift of twenty taels of silver was because she was pretty. Luo Dagen had chosen her. Luo Dagen was ugly and had not yet married in his twenties, but he wanted a pretty wife, so he chose her.
She thought that this was how women of this era were.
But today someone told her that she could resist.
But how to resist?
…
After buying the fish, Xu Qinyu went home. She was a little depressed along the way. In fact, she had no right to judge the Lin family. Most women in this era did not live a happy life. Even if they were born into a wealthy family, they had to obey their fathers at home and their husbands after marriage. After all, the freedom that women of this era wanted was basically impossible.
After returning home, Xu Qinyu's mood had almost disappeared.
She felt that she felt more sorry for herself than for Lin. She was worth nearly 100 million, but ended up in such a place and became an exiled substitute princess. Who could be as unlucky as her?
If it weren't for her excellent cooking skills, her situation would probably be even worse than Lin's.
Fortunately, the Pei family members are easy to get along with and have cooking skills.
But no matter what, she still hopes that Lin can stand on her own feet and protect her two daughters.
After returning home, Xu Qinyu started to prepare dinner. She had been eating braised fish for dinner these days and was a little tired of it, so she cooked spare ribs. There was some rock sugar at home, so she decided to splurge and made sweet and sour spare ribs.
The recipe for sweet and sour spare ribs is simple. The most important thing is to fry the sugar color. If the sweet and sour spare ribs have good sugar color, the dish is half successful.
Pour the blanched ribs into the fried sugar color and stir-fry until the skin is slightly browned. Add soy sauce, vinegar and salt to stir-fry the flavors. Finally, add appropriate amount of water and cook over high heat. After boiling, turn to medium heat and continue stewing. When it is almost done, add a spoonful of vinegar to thicken the sauce.
The whole yard was filled with the sweet and sour smell of meat. They had no idea that meat could be sweet and sour. It smelled very appetizing and fragrant.
The people in Guihua Lane also smelled the sweet and fragrant meat aroma, and they all knew that it must be Miss Xu's family making new food.
There are many people in the family, so Xu Qinyu cooked all the more than two kilograms of ribs she bought last time in one go.
After making the sweet and sour pork ribs, she steamed an egg custard and finally stir-fried bean sprouts.
In the southwest, radish, cabbage, taro, tofu, and bean sprouts are all commonly eaten vegetables. Vegetables like yam, lotus root, winter melon, and water chestnut are relatively expensive because they are not available in the southwest and have to be transported from other places. Water chestnuts can be considered a kind of fruit to be precise.
In the evening, Shao Ge'er's mother, Sister Xia, came to serve dinner, and Xiao Cui came with her.
Shao Ge'er didn't come. Although the snow has been a little lighter these two days, the weather is still very cold.
Xu Qinyu had already packed the food box. The glutinous rice she cooked herself was soft, sweet, and the rice grains were shiny with oil, which was the oil contained in the glutinous rice.
She now makes roujiamo and braised green fish every day, and her net profit is about 350 to 360 coins, which is enough for her to eat glutinous rice every day.
Mrs. Wu also brought two turbans and two pairs of woolen gloves for Xu Qinyu.
Both are made of rabbit hair, one is white and the other is gray. They should be for her and Pei Weixuan. Seeing that they have to go out to set up stalls all day and the weather is cold, she sewed them for them.
Of course, it is not made of a whole piece of rabbit fur, but some scraps, and you can see the traces of splicing. Wu is good at needlework, and the hat is also very cute. It is furry on the head, and the gloves are also furry. After putting them on, the whole palm becomes warm. Xu Qinyu likes it very much and thanks Wu.
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "As long as Miss Xu likes it."
Shao Ge'er has gained some weight visibly these days, and she can't express how grateful she is to Xu Qinyu.
Seeing that Xu Qinyu and her husband had to go out to the stall in the wind and snow all day, she wanted to make something for them. Making clothes was not suitable, but making a hat and gloves would be a good idea. The Xia family made a living by making cloth. In addition to cloth, they also had various furs. There were even more leftover furs from cutting. So she picked up some leftover rabbit fur and made two such hats and rabbit fur gloves.
Mrs. Wu came just to give Shao Ge'er a hat and gloves. She gave him the things and took Shao Ge'er's evening meal before leaving.
Xu Qinyu was still fiddling with her rabbit fur hat and gloves. It was a pity that she didn't have a bronze mirror at home, otherwise she could have used it to see what she looked like.
Ever since she became her original body, she had not looked at her own face carefully except for the reflection in the basin when washing her face, but Xu Qinyu remembered that her original body looked about 80% similar to her.
Xu Qinyu touched the rabbit fur hat on her head and saw another gray rabbit fur hat next to it. She picked it up and walked over to her cheap husband, tiptoed to put the hat on him, and said, "Fourth brother, try it on too."
She smiled with her eyes curved and a hint of cunning, she just wanted to see what her cheap husband would look like wearing this slightly soft rabbit fur hat.
Seeing her standing on tiptoe, Pei Weixuan subconsciously bent down slightly to make it easier for her.
He also saw the sly smile on her face and couldn't help laughing.
When he realized that he had smiled, he was slightly stunned, then lowered his eyes and returned to his indifferent expression.
When Xu Qinyu put it on her cheap husband, she found that even though he was wearing a dark blue robe that was not very nice and a furry rabbit fur hat, he did not look feminine, but was still as cool and pure as jade, and his natural nobility could not be concealed.
Xu Qinyu touched the tip of her nose. As expected, she was so good-looking that even wearing a sack wouldn't affect her appearance.
Fengger and Yanjieer both particularly liked the sweet and sour pork ribs we had in the evening. The surface of the ribs she cooked was slightly browned, but the meat inside was very tender and bright red. The two children's mouths were covered with the sweet and sour sauce, and they licked the sauce off their lips at the end.
…
In the next few days, Xu Qinyu and her cheap husband continued to set up the stall. She had a rabbit fur hat, which she wrapped her head tightly, and put on rabbit fur gloves, so she didn't feel cold even when pushing the cart. Before, not only were her hands frozen, but the wind blew for half a day, and her head was buzzing. It was so uncomfortable. Yesterday, she was still thinking about whether to buy some fur to make a hat and gloves.
With a warm hat and gloves, Xu Qinyu goes to the dock half an hour earlier every day. Her business is basically stable, with about 100 roujiamo sold every day. Fortunately, she only goes to sell breakfast in the morning and not in the evening, so the other stalls at the dock still have some business.
Xu Qinyu sold breakfast at the dock for a few more days before she realized that it was only early winter. According to the past, the dock would be busy for at least more than a month. It would not snow so heavily until the end of the year and deep winter, and the merchant ships and official ships of the major owners would stop sailing. She did not expect that it would snow so heavily in early winter today, and they were trapped here. There were other merchant ships that had not yet reached the southwest, and were delayed on the way due to the snow, and had to dock at docks in other areas.
According to the people on the merchant ship, they don't know how long they will be trapped.
Xu Qinyu knew that although Roujiamo was delicious, she would get tired of it if she ate it for ten days or half a month.
Since the people on these merchant ships will have to stay at the dock for a long time, she plans to sell Roujiamo for ten days or half a month, and then switch to selling new breakfast again.
The business of roujiamo and braised black carp has stabilized. She sets up the stall early every morning and returns at noon after selling and buying ingredients. She can also take a one-hour break at noon before getting up to prepare the black carp for braised fish.
Old Mrs. Luo didn't dare ask her daughter-in-law and granddaughter to come and buy fish these days, and the Luo family at the end of the alley was quiet.
Having made some money these days, Xu Qinyu started thinking about new food.
She wanted to eat winter bamboo shoots and bacon. The winter bamboo shoots stewed with bacon she had made on the road of exile was not authentic. If she wanted to talk about authentic, it would have to be the Anhui cuisine's pickled pork with preserved vegetables, which was the real salty, fragrant and fresh dish.
Yan Du Xian requires good ham, spring bamboo shoots or winter bamboo shoots, fresh pork, bacon, ham, lettuce and other ingredients.
Among them, ham and bacon are the most important.
To make a good ham, it needs to be pickled, fermented and air-dried for at least half a year.
Even if she couldn't eat it now, she could cook the ham and bacon first. Besides, it was time to pickle some bacon.
She specially picked out a good pork hind leg and bought a few pounds of salt to make ham.
Making ham requires a bit of salt. First, trim the pig's hind legs, cover them with salt, rub them vigorously to rub the salt in, and rub the salt a second time. After that, it is air-dried and fermented.
Not only will she be able to eat this ham herself, she also plans to sell it for money.
In addition to this ham, she also pickled some bacon, so it was almost ready to eat during the Chinese New Year.
In addition to bacon, she also made some bacon and fish. When she made bacon and fish, she would spread some five-spice powder on them to make the taste better.
The five-spice powder is also a combination of several spices I bought before. After frying them until dry and fragrant, they are ground into powder.
Looking at the bacon, bacon and a big ham hanging in the kitchen, Xu Qinyu was satisfied.
…
Xu Qinyu's business was going smoothly. Deputy Captain Chen, who had sent the Pei family into exile, and Ma Liu and his party left Raocheng and returned home to the capital.
Originally, they were going to return to Beijing by water on a merchant ship, with Deputy Captain Chen and his horse also on board. However, they did not expect that after two days of sailing, it started to snow heavily, and the waterway was dangerous, so the merchant ship docked at a nearby pier, and Deputy Captain Chen and Ma Liu and his party continued to take the official road.
There were post stations and horses on the official road, so they rode at full speed and returned to Duxun in a few days.
Duxun was the capital of Dasheng.
When they arrived at the capital, Ma Liu said to Deputy Captain Chen, "Boss, I'm going to the Marquis of Dechang's mansion first to deliver a message to Miss Xu's parents."
During their exile, they were blessed by Miss Xu, who cooked for them for a few days, satisfying their cravings. Miss Xu was especially generous, teaching him several simple recipes. They knew they could make their own dishes when they were sent on their way to exile. While their skills wouldn't be as good as Miss Xu's, they wouldn't be as bad as before. The lady also told him that there was a more delicious way to enjoy the braised winter bamboo shoots with bacon, called "Yan Du Xian," though it was much more complicated, and she shared the recipe with him.
Having received benefits from others, Ma Liu kept his promise. The first thing he did after returning to Duxun City was to go to Dechang Marquis Mansion to report his safety to his parents.
Deputy Captain Chen nodded and said, "Go ahead."
Ma Liu immediately went to the Marquis of Dechang's mansion.
The gate of the Marquis of Dechang's mansion was closed. Ma Liu knocked on the door. The doorman quickly opened it, looked Ma Liu up and down, and asked impatiently, "Who are you looking for?"
Ma Liu had just returned to the capital and hadn't rested much along the way, so he was naturally unkempt and covered in dust.
Ma Liu's face darkened as he said, "I'm the official who sent the second young lady from the mansion to exile in the southwest. I've come here today to report this to the mansion."
Upon learning of Ma Liu's identity, the doorman didn't seem particularly pleased. He simply said indifferently, "Then, General, please wait a moment while I go in and report."
When the doorman came in to report, Ma Liu's face became more gloomy. His status was indeed low, but he sent the second daughter of Marquis Dechang's Mansion into exile, and now he was obviously back to help pass the message to Marquis Dechang's Mansion, but the servants in the mansion still had this attitude. It can be seen what kind of life Miss Xu had lived in Marquis Dechang's Mansion before. Even if she had no worries about food and drink, she was probably not respected by others, otherwise the exiled Prince Shu's fiancée would not have been promoted from the third daughter of the Marquis' Mansion to the second daughter of the Marquis' Mansion.
No wonder Miss Xu can cook. It’s all because she was forced by the Dechang Marquis’ Mansion. Otherwise, how could a girl from a noble family do such a job?
"Bah, what a thing!" Ma Liu angrily kicked the stone lion at the door twice.
About a quarter of an hour later, the doorman came out and said, "Sir, please follow me in. The old lady wants to see you."
Ma Liu followed the doorman into the marquis's mansion with a sullen face.
After walking along corridors and verandas for a long time, they entered a gate with hanging flowers and came to a quiet courtyard. Several maids and old women stood under the corridors in the courtyard. One of them, an old woman in a fine cotton jacket, waved away the gatekeeper, bowed to Ma Liu, and then led Ma Liu into the hall. At the head of the hall sat an old lady wearing a thick, long, silk, cross-collared gown and a silk headband with rubies. When she saw Ma Liu, she immediately said, "Excuse me, was it the general who sent our Yu Niang to the southwest? How is our Yu Niang? Did she suffer any hardships along the way? My poor Yu Niang, you were exiled so quickly that you had no time to prepare anything. You must have suffered a lot."
Ma Liu sneered in his heart.
The headband on this old lady's bald head costs dozens of taels of silver.
Even if Prince Shu offended the new emperor, the new emperor targeted Prince Shu's lineage and confiscated Prince Shu's mansion before exiling him, but he did not pursue the matter so much and just gave Miss Xu some silver notes, gold beans, gold leaves, etc., and would not let Miss Xu suffer so much on the way to exile.
Miss Xu had a very hard time during her exile, and it was obvious that she didn't have much money to buy food.
And this old lady just kept crying. If she was really worried about her granddaughter, why didn’t she shed a single tear?
Ma Liu did misunderstand this point, but he was not wrong. The five gold leaves on Xu Qinyu were bought with the money collected by the second house, but a headband for the old lady cost dozens of taels of silver, and she really didn't care about her granddaughter at all.
Ma Liu said, "Miss Xu suffered a lot along the way. She couldn't even afford some rice porridge and was sick the entire way. But thankfully, she managed to get through it and has successfully reached Raozhou City."
The old lady wiped her tearless eyes with a handkerchief and said, "My poor Yu Niang, it's all because of our incompetence. It's also her fate. Who could have imagined that the eldest prince would do such a treasonous thing, and even implicate Prince Shu, causing his entire lineage to be exiled. My Yu Niang is very understanding and didn't cry or make a fuss. She is willing to follow Prince Shu into exile. Alas."
Ma Liu gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it, this old lady is lying with her eyes open. Half of the people in the capital know that the one who was engaged to Prince Shu was Xu Qinhui, the third daughter of Marquis Dechang's mansion."
Ma Liu endured it for a moment and said, "Although Miss Xu suffered a lot on the way, she survived. Old Madam, Miss Xu asked me to bring a message to her parents. Please allow me to tell them."
The old lady said, "Since Yu Niang's mother was exiled, she has been extremely sad and has been ill for a while and has not recovered. You don't have to go there. I will send a message to the second wife."
Ma Liu couldn't bear it any longer and sneered, "Even mice have skins, old lady. How can you be so shameless? If you really cared about your granddaughter, you should have at least given Miss Xu some banknotes and gold. Miss Xu was exiled without any money and almost died. And everyone in the capital knows about the things going on in your Dechang Marquis Mansion. Since the Second Madam is worried about her daughter, you should have let me go and tell her personally. The Second Madam will recover after hearing the news. You don't want your daughter-in-law to get better, do you?"
The old lady's face turned pale. How dare these people humiliate her like this?
The wife of Marquis Dechang had never been humiliated like this before. She was so angry that she wanted to have him beaten to death. However, he was an officer after all, not a servant in the mansion. She was also afraid that if she drove him away directly, he would go around talking nonsense and ruining her reputation and that of the mansion.
The old lady said with a gloomy face, "I had good intentions. Since the general has misunderstood me, I have nothing to say. Madam Feng, please take this general to the second room!"
Nanny Feng's expression was not very good either. She responded and said in a cold voice, "Sir, please follow me to the second room."
Ma Liu then ignored the old lady and turned around to follow Nanny Feng to the second room.
Along the way, Nanny Feng ignored Ma Liu and had a stern face, but Ma Liu didn't care.
They soon arrived at the second room, which was a bit far from the main courtyard where the old lady of Marquis Dechang lived, and was located in the south.
When they arrived at the gate of the second courtyard, Nanny Feng said coldly, "Sir, we're here. Please make yourself at your leisure."
After saying that, he turned and left.
Ma Liu cursed, "What kind of crap is this?"
He had just finished cursing when a child came out from behind the bushes nearby and kicked Ma Liu in the leg. "Who are you? What are you doing in our second room? Did grandma ask you to come here and curse?"
Ma Liu turned around and saw a little boy about five or six years old. He was handsome and had facial features that were about 50% similar to those of Miss Xu, but he had a fierce look on his face and was grinning at Ma Liu.
When Ma Liu saw him appearing at the gate of the second courtyard again, he knew that he should be Miss Xu's biological brother.
He said, "I'm here to deliver a letter to your parents. It's from your sister."
The child was stunned when he heard it, then he suppressed the ferocious expression on his face, grabbed the corner of his clothes and ran inside, "Mom, mom, my sister sent someone to deliver a letter."
Ma Liu was dragged into the courtyard by the child's clothes. There were only two maids in the courtyard. When they saw the child, they hurriedly called out, "Brother Li, what are you doing? Who is this?"
Ma Liu briefly explained his identity. The maid's face was overjoyed. She hurriedly told Ma Liu to go inside and report. A moment later, a pale-faced woman came out, trembling with fear, supported by the maid. Seeing Ma Liu, she didn't even bother with etiquette. She asked with trembling lips, "General, is there a letter from my Yu Niang?"
"Yes..." Ma Liu told the woman what happened to Xu Qinyu along the way.
It was also said that Miss Xu really had no desire to live at the beginning, and was lifeless all the way. Later, after she fell ill, she became more open-minded, cooked food for them, and told the woman in front of her what Miss Xu had said.
The woman was also Xu Qinyu's mother, Xue.
After hearing what Ma Liu said, Xue burst into tears, but the knot in her heart gradually untied.
As long as the daughter is still alive and as long as she still has the will to live, there will always be a time when they will meet again.
When her daughter went to Prince Shu, she made a big fuss in the marquis's mansion. The old lady ordered people to tie her up and send Yu Niang to Prince Shu's mansion. Fortunately, the little maidservant beside her was smart. When Yu Niang was tied into the sedan chair, she secretly stuffed the five gold leaves she had prepared into Yu Niang's sleeves.
Seeing the woman crying so sadly, Ma Liu felt bad too. When her sobs died down, he scratched his head and said, "Don't worry, Madam. I can see that Miss Xu has really gotten over it. And the food she cooks is really delicious. I think the food in the big restaurants in the capital is not as good as Miss Xu's. With her cooking skills, there's no problem for Miss Xu to make a living in the southwest. She even said that she will make a lot of money for you in the future."
Xue didn't take this to heart. As long as Yu Niang could live well, that was enough.
Yu Niang can indeed cook some food, and the taste is pretty good, but she thinks it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say that it’s better than the food in the big restaurants in Duxun.
Xue thanked Ma Liu again. Seeing that the letter had been delivered, Ma Liu said goodbye to Xue.
When Li Ge'er sent Ma Liu out, he kept asking questions about his sister and it was obvious that he was very worried about her.
After Ma Liu explained it to the child in detail again, Li Ge'er secretly vowed that he would become a high-ranking official in the future to protect his sister and let her return to the capital.
…
At the same time, next to the main courtyard of the Marquis Dechang's Mansion, in the courtyard of the third room of the mansion, in the west wing, a beautiful girl was lying on a chaise longue covered with white fox fur. She was Xu Qinhui, the third girl of the Marquis Dechang's Mansion.
When Xu Qinhui opened her eyes and saw the furnishings around her, she was stunned at first, then slowly widened her eyes in disbelief.
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