There are eight dishes and one soup in total. At the end, there is a hot and sour soup that is very appetizing. It is made with shredded winter bamboo shoots, shredded shiitake mushrooms, shredded cauliflower, shredded lean meat and eggs. It is sour and refreshing and appetizing. After drinking a bowl of it, you will feel so comfortable and warm.
Zhuzi was almost crying with greed as he named the dishes. Fortunately, after naming the dishes, he didn't have to continue disturbing the master and the adults from enjoying the food and drinking. When the master waved his hand, he immediately retreated.
Xia Yuanzhi and Xu Kongmu were eating. In the past, they always talked while eating at Donglaiju. This time, Xu Kongmu did not talk to him about the case for the time being, but just concentrated on eating. Xu Kongmu was not a person who cared much about food. For him, food was enough as long as it could fill his stomach. When he ate at Donglaiju before, he just thought the food tasted good, better than what the cook at home made. But after eating at this table today, he knew what delicious food was and what food desire was. Now he just wanted to eat well first and then talk about the case.
We didn't drink much today, just one glass each, and we were all focused on eating.
The same was true for Xia Yuanzhi. He really had never thought that Miss Xu not only cooked delicious fish and pork intestines, but also other delicious dishes.
In fact, many dishes at Donglaiju are prepared in similar ways, such as stir-fried lotus root slices, braised pork feet with soybeans, steamed pork ribs with rice flour, braised chicken with winter bamboo shoots, and hot and sour soup. However, the taste of the dishes made by Donglaiju’s chef cannot be compared with that made by Miss Xu.
Donglaiju does not have the remaining dishes.
Especially the fried pork shreds with fish and wild mushrooms. One dish is spicy and fragrant, the other is delicious. It is so memorable that you will want to eat it again.
The two of them ate almost all the dishes on the table and were a little full before they cleared the table. Zhuzi brought over a pot of tea, and the two of them drank tea and talked about the case.
Xia Yuanzhi thought carefully about that night. It was too dark, and he only saw a blurry silhouette. He really couldn't remember anything. He could only roughly describe the height, weight and body shape of the silhouette, and said that it looked a little familiar. However, this kind of silhouette looked like a man of average height and weight, and there were a lot of them on the street. In addition, he only remembered that the shopkeeper was injured and panicked, and asked him to go out and chase the thief and report to the police. There was nothing else.
The two men talked about the case for a long time. As night fell, Xu Kongmu left. As he left, he asked Xia Yuanzhi, "Where does this young woman who cooks live? Brother Xia said she sells breakfast and fish. I can also ask our servant to go there to buy some in the future."
It tastes really good, and he wants to let his family try it too.
There are quite a lot of people in his family. In addition to his wife, he has a son and a daughter. His son is already married and has children, while his daughter is fifteen and has not yet been engaged.
He was busy with household affairs and didn't want his wife to be too tired, so he bought a servant and a maid a few years ago.
The little girl worked as a cook and helped with housework. The servant also helped with housework and washed the men's clothes.
Xia Yuanzhi immediately told Xu Kongmu the address of Miss Xu, "That lady's surname is also Xu, but her courtesy name is Xu Yan."
Xu Kongmu nodded and went home.
After Xu Kongmu left, Wu and Xiao Cui came over to clean up the main room. Seeing their master smiling, Wu immediately asked, "Master, how is it?"
Xia Yuanzhi smiled and said, "The food cooked by Miss Xu is indeed excellent. Even Xu Kongmu praised it highly and even asked about Miss Xu's home address. He must be planning to buy food from her." This connection must have been established. Xu Kongmu is a decent person. If there is really trouble in Miss Xu's family in the future, Xu Kongmu can indeed help out.
Wu's heart finally settled down, and she handed Shao'er to Xia Yuanzhi. "Master, you take care of Shao'er. I'll go talk to Miss Xu."
"It's dark now. Why don't we go tomorrow?" Xia Yuanzhi saw that it was dark and snowing.
"No." Wu said, "Mrs. Xu must be worried about you too. I'll just go over and talk to her. I'll be back soon. Master, please wipe Shao'er's face and wash his feet. Go to bed first."
After saying that, Wu took Xiao Cui and rushed over excitedly to tell Xu Qinyu the news.
When she arrived at Pei's house, the gate opened before she even knocked. It was indeed Miss Xu. She didn't ask much, thinking that Miss Xu was also thinking about this matter and had been waiting there.
In fact, when Xu Qinyu was still in the kitchen, Pei Weixuan, who was helping her fetch water, said, "Someone from the Xia family is here."
She just got up and came out, and as soon as she opened the gate, she saw Wu and Xiao Cui.
Seeing the smile on Wu's face, she knew it was a success.
In fact, Wu had told her before that Xu Kongmu had a good character, and if there were any ruffians causing trouble and they went to the government to file a complaint, Xu Kongmu would intervene.
Now that Xu Kongmu has tasted the food she cooked, the two families have gradually become friends and have a deeper bond, which will definitely be better.
Xu Qinyu led everyone to the kitchen and brought over two small stools for them to sit on.
After Wu sat down, she smiled and said, "Mrs. Xu's cooking is truly amazing. My master has known Xu Kongmu for several years. They all say that Xu Kongmu is not a person who cares about food. Even he praised the deliciousness of Ms. Xu's cooking. The two of them didn't even drink much wine. He even asked my master for your address, Ms. Xu, so he could come to buy food from you."
Xu Qinyu's heart also settled down, and she smiled and said, "Thank you, Sister Xia. I pickled some winter bamboo shoots. You can bring some back to eat later."
She also bought winter bamboo shoots from Mr. He, a fishmonger. Mr. He lived in a nearby village, close to the mountains. People here don't eat wild mushrooms, but they eat winter and spring bamboo shoots. She wanted to eat winter bamboo shoots, so she asked Mr. He's son to go up the mountain and dig a lot of them. Since there were so many winter bamboo shoots at home, she pickled some. Pickling winter bamboo shoots is simple. After removing the shells of the winter bamboo shoots, cut them in half, blanch them in water and let them cool. Put them in a container, add boiled water, and add an appropriate amount of salt, seal it, and you can eat it after ten days.
It’s such a simple pickling method, and the pickled bamboo shoots she makes are crisp and refreshing.
She took out a lot of winter bamboo shoots from the ceramic pot and put them in a bowl. "When you want to eat, just slice them and eat them. If you want it to taste better, add a few drops of sesame oil and mix it cold."
There are already sesame seeds here, called sesame, which can be used to make sesame oil, but the price is quite expensive. She bought two taels and usually eats them sparingly.
Mrs. Wu took it and handed it to Xiao Cui. She was not in a hurry to go back, so she sat in the kitchen and chatted with Miss Xu.
Xu Qinyu was still braising pig intestines and wasn't in a hurry to do anything else. The two chatted for a while and unknowingly came to the case Xu Kongmu was investigating. "My master said that the lost jewelry was the most valuable, worth two or three hundred taels of silver. The boss is heartbroken about this, but it's hard to blame the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper was also injured. I just hope Xu Kongmu can catch the thief quickly."
Xu Qinyu also became curious. "Since the thief suddenly broke into the shop, didn't the shopkeeper get a clear look at what the thief looked like?"
Wu said, "It seems that when the shopkeeper turned off the lights, the thief suddenly ran out and hit him on the back of the head with a stick. The shopkeeper fell to the ground, and then he hit him twice on the forehead with the stick. Then he took a few pieces of jewelry from the cabinet and ran away. Who would have thought that he would take away the most expensive pieces of jewelry. The shopkeeper was very anxious. My master kept telling me to chase the thief when he passed by."
Xu Qinyu still felt that this was too much of a coincidence.
Wu continued, "My master also said that the thief looked familiar from behind, but his height, weight, and appearance were just ordinary people. You'd find a lot of them on the street, so he couldn't recall who he was."
Pei Weixuan, who was helping to pick mushrooms, paused slightly.
These are the last wild mushrooms in the house. Knowing that Yu Niang likes to eat them, I paid special attention to them when I went up the mountain. I went up the mountain twice and only found these in total.
There are many wild mushrooms in the southwest, but many of them are poisonous. He knows medicine and can tell them apart.
However, there are almost no wild mushrooms in winter. This is because people in the southwest do not eat mushrooms, so the wild mushrooms in late autumn are preserved and covered by heavy snow. There are still some left, but it is almost deep winter, and if you go to the mountains to find these wild mushrooms, there will definitely be no more.
But when spring comes, wild mushrooms on the mountain will gradually emerge again.
Upon hearing about the case, Pei Weixuan said calmly, "You can ask Xu Kongmu to investigate the people around the shopkeeper. The thief is related to the shopkeeper, so you can interrogate Shopkeeper Ma carefully."
Wu was stunned for a moment. "Is it related to the shopkeeper? Shopkeeper Ma's family is simple, with only his wife and daughter. The thief is a man, but Shopkeeper Ma has a nephew..."
She hesitated for a moment and chatted with Miss Xu for a few more minutes before returning home with Xiao Cui.
After everyone left, Xu Qinyu asked in surprise, "Fourth Brother, how did you know the thief was related to the owner of Jinyinzhai?"
Pei Weixuan said slowly, "The shopkeeper's reaction is wrong. It's too coincidental. The possibility of an internal thief is greater. But I heard from Sister Xia that the shopkeeper is a good person. He may have been forced to do so and there must be other hidden reasons." He had never met the shopkeeper of the jewelry store, otherwise he would be able to determine some details of the case just from his expression.
Xu Qinyu didn't realize it was related to the shopkeeper, but she felt that there was something wrong as the thieves rushed in just after the shopkeeper turned off the lights and stole some of the most valuable jewelry.
…
After Wu and Xiao Cui returned, they saw Xia Yuanzhi still playing with Shao Ge'er and had not gone to bed yet.
Mrs. Wu smiled and said, "I went back. Madam Xu even gave me some pickled winter bamboo shoots. She said they would be delicious if you added a few drops of sesame oil. I'll give them to you with your porridge tomorrow."
Xia Yuanzhi nodded and continued to tease Shao Ge'er, making him giggle.
Wu hesitated and said to him, "I was sitting at Miss Xu's house for a while and happened to tell her about the Jinyinzhai case. Miss Xu's husband heard about it and said that the thieves were related to Shopkeeper Ma. Master, do you think it's really related to Shopkeeper Ma?"
Xia Yuanzhi thought about it carefully. He was actually quite familiar with the shopkeeper of the Jinyinzhai next door, but Shopkeeper Ma was a loyal person and had been the shopkeeper of Jinyinzhai for more than ten years. He had indeed been robbed before, but the thief was caught quickly and it had nothing to do with Shopkeeper Ma. This incident happened a few years later, so he would not think it was related to Shopkeeper Ma.
Moreover, Manager Ma has no son, only a daughter. He does have a nephew, but it is impossible for him to do such an illegal thing with his nephew. Besides, Manager Ma's monthly salary is not small, so why would he give up a stable job for two or three hundred taels of silver?
Miss Xu's husband also said that it was related to someone around Shopkeeper Ma, but he didn't specifically say it was Shopkeeper Ma's nephew. They just knew that Shopkeeper Ma had a nephew. Xia Yuanzhi thought about it carefully again and found that the thief's back was indeed somewhat similar to Shopkeeper Ma's nephew.
He was undecided, but decided to tell Xu Kongmu tomorrow.
The next morning, Xia Yuanzhi went to the yamen, found Xu Kongmu, and talked to him about it. He also said that it was Miss Xu's husband who noticed it.
Xu Kongmu nodded and secretly asked someone to check the people around Manager Ma.
They did find out something. The shopkeeper Ma had a nephew who was addicted to gambling. He had been gambling big in the casino on East Street a few days ago and owed a large gambling debt. He was beaten up by the casino staff and was given half a month to pay back the gambling debt, which was almost two hundred taels of silver.
When Xu Kongmu found out about this, his eyes darkened.
Officers were immediately sent to bring back the shopkeeper Ma and his nephew for interrogation. When they arrested Ma Jinbao, the Ma family made a big fuss, especially the old lady of the Ma family, who threw a tantrum and asked why her grandson was arrested. Of course, Xu Kongmu ignored them and arrested them anyway. After taking them to the yamen, Xu Kongmu did not leave either. He took his men to search Ma Jinbao's house and the shopkeeper Ma's house.
Shopkeeper Ma is Ma Jinbao's uncle, but the family had been divided long ago. Shopkeeper Ma did not live with the Ma family. When the family was divided, Old Lady Ma was partial and did not give anything to her eldest son's family.
Later, Shopkeeper Ma survived the most difficult days and bought a house for himself. He also gave Old Madam Ma one or two taels of silver as support every month, which was also subsidized by Old Madam Ma for her grandson.
Xu Kongmu's jewelry was stolen because he was thinking about it. It is impossible for the thief to pawn it openly in the pawnshop in Yuanbao Town. It has snowed heavily recently, and it is difficult to go to other towns or Raozhou City. The jewelry must still be hidden.
They sent people to search Ma Jinbao's house and actually found those jewelries under his bed.
The stolen goods were also there, and when he returned to the yamen, Ma Jinbao confessed everything.
He said that after he owed gambling debts, he was scared and asked his uncle for help. His uncle could not come up with two or three hundred taels of silver, so he resorted to this trick of embezzlement. He also said that it was his uncle who persuaded him to steal more, and when he paid off the gambling debts, the rest would be divided equally between the two of them.
Shopkeeper Ma had a different story.
With red eyes, he told Xu Kongmu that his nephew owed a lot of gambling debts and came to him to ask for help, but he couldn't come up with the money. His old mother made a fuss and asked him to sell the house to pay off his nephew's debt. He had a wife and a daughter, so naturally he was unwilling to do so. He also said that the family had only saved a dozen taels of silver, so he could only help with this little bit, and gave the dozen taels of silver to his nephew.
As a result, my nephew took the dozen or so taels of silver and went to the casino and lost it all.
As the day to repay the gambling debt was getting closer, his nephew actually asked him to embezzle and said that he would steal more jewelry from the shop and split the remaining amount between the two of them after selling them to pay off the gambling debt. Of course, he was unwilling to do so, and the two of them had a fierce quarrel. But he did not expect that two days later, as soon as he turned off the lights, he was hit by a club from behind. In the dazed moonlight outside, he vaguely thought that the man was his nephew Ma Jinbao. Then he was hit on the forehead with a club. The thief stole a few pieces of jewelry and ran away.
After the incident, he guessed that the thief might be his nephew Ma Jinbao, but he was so frightened that he didn't dare tell his boss or the people in the yamen.
He was afraid of being bitten back, afraid that others would think he was in collusion with his nephew, and afraid that his boss would no longer want him.
After Shopkeeper Ma finished speaking, he burst into tears. He had helped his nephew pay off his gambling debts many times. In fact, he was unwilling to pay it back, but his old mother came to force him to pay. When he refused to give her money, her old mother rolled around in front of his door and said that he was unfilial. With the word "filial piety" putting pressure on him, what else could he do?
His old mother scolded him, saying that he only had one daughter and who was he going to save the money for?
He also said that his nephew was the root of the Ma family, and that someone would break the auspicious basin for him after he died.
For the sake of his nephew, he had saved no money over the years except for a place to live. You know, he was the shopkeeper of Jinyinzhai and received a monthly salary of three taels of silver. In the end, his nephew still cheated him.
After listening to both sides, Xu Kongmu went to investigate near Ma's house. At dinner that day, Ma Jinbao did come to Ma's house to find the shopkeeper, and the two had a fierce quarrel, which the neighbors could testify to.
Xu Kongmu went to interrogate Ma Jinbao again and asked him why he had quarreled with his uncle when he came to the house that day, and whether he wanted to steal the jewelry from Jinyinzhai, but the shopkeeper Ma was unwilling.
Ma Jinbao stammered and could not answer, and his subsequent answers were even more incoherent. After being whipped twice, he cried out in pain and confessed his guilt. Just as what the shopkeeper Ma said, it was indeed Ma Jinbao who persuaded his uncle to rob the house but failed, so he took advantage of the cover of night to sneak up on his uncle and steal the jewelry from Jinyinzhai.
The truth of the case was revealed and the jewelry was recovered.
According to the laws of the Great Sheng Dynasty, Ma Jinbao was guilty of a serious crime if he stole more than ten taels of silver. He would be punished with fifty lashes and then imprisoned for five years. He could be redeemed, that is, he could use money to atone for his sins.
For example, if you were to be spared from the fifty lashes of the cane, you would need fifty taels of silver. However, you would still have to spend five years in prison, and a year in prison would cost a hundred taels of silver. So you would have to pay five hundred taels of silver to redeem yourself, or you would have to stay in prison. Prison was miserable, with all kinds of snakes, insects, rats, and ants, and the food was often rotten.
After all, Shopkeeper Ma knew about the crime but did not report it. He should be punished with ten strokes of the cane, but he can also be redeemed.
But because of his nephew, Shopkeeper Ma has not been able to save any money over the years. He also has a strained relationship with his wife and daughter at home because of the constant financial support. Besides, his wife and daughter have no money, and he doesn't want to sell the house just because of these ten boards. Where will his wife and daughter live after selling the house?
Shopkeeper Ma thought he was going to be beaten with ten boards, but unexpectedly his wife and daughter suddenly came to the yamen and gave him ten taels of silver, which exempted him from the beating.
He then realized that although his wife usually didn't like him helping his nephew, she had no choice but to ask him for money, saying it was for household expenses. In fact, she secretly saved the extra money, which could be considered as saved from his fingers.
Shopkeeper Ma felt very guilty and hugged his wife and cried. He planned to give his old mother 500 coins every month and never give her any more.
Even if his mother came to the government office to sue him, five hundred coins a month in support would be the maximum she could get.
Moreover, he didn't realize that if he kept the matter hidden from his boss and the government, his boss might not continue to employ him. He was afraid that he wouldn't be able to continue working for his boss after committing such a big mistake.
After that, Ma Jinbao was beaten with a stick. Old Madam Ma, Ma Jinbao's parents, brothers and sisters all came. The whole family surrounded Shopkeeper Ma and asked him to pay the fifty taels of silver for the ransom of their nephew. Shopkeeper Ma was very angry. Of course it was impossible, and he didn't have fifty taels of silver.
Old Mrs. Ma asked her eldest son to sell the house for money.
Shopkeeper Ma became furious and turned around and left.
Old Mrs. Ma began to lie on the ground and cry. This trick used to work best on her eldest son.
But this time, the eldest son ignored her and turned around and disappeared.
Old Mrs. Ma, who was lying on the ground, was startled. She quickly got up and chased her eldest son and continued to scold him, wanting him to pay money. The onlookers already knew what had happened. Seeing this, they spit and scolded the old lady to death, but the old lady did not take it seriously at all and turned around to scold these people again.
Before the old lady could catch up with Shopkeeper Ma, the people from the yamen had already started the execution.
As the board came down, Ma Jinbao cried out loudly, his face turning pale. The old lady panicked and ran over, shouting, "Don't, don't hit me, don't hit my grandson. We have money to redeem him."
After saying that, he took out a bag of silver from his bosom, which contained fifty taels of silver. It was obvious that he had this silver at home, but he insisted on asking his eldest son for it.
The people around felt that this family was more and more outrageous. They asked the eldest son for money even though they had money. Moreover, since they had divided the family property, they were just relatives. Even if Manager Ma only had one daughter, he couldn't cheat her like this.
This was just the ransom for Ma Jinbao's caning. Five years in prison would cost another five hundred taels of silver. Even if all the people in the Ma family were killed, they still couldn't raise that much. The old lady cried bitterly, knowing that her eldest son couldn't raise the five hundred taels even if he sold his house, so she cried even more sadly.
The government didn't care. If Ma Jinbao couldn't pay the money, they would drag him back to prison.
…
Xu Qinyu found out about this a few days later when Xia's sister-in-law came to her house to chat with her.
Although the town was quite large and there were some thefts and robberies happening on a regular basis, the circumstances of this case were quite novel and spread throughout the town. Everyone felt that Shopkeeper Ma was both pitiful and innocent, though of course he was also at fault and should not have kept it secret.
After hearing this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Did the owner of Jinyinzhai finally fire Manager Ma?"
Wu smiled and said, "No, the owner of Jinyinzhai is very nice. He said that Shopkeeper Ma has worked for them for more than ten years and has never made a mistake. He is also a loyal person. Although he was involved in this theft, he is innocent. So he was given another chance. Shopkeeper Ma burst into tears and said that he would work hard in the future and that such a thing would never happen again."
After Wu finished speaking, she told Xu Qinyu that the jewelry in Jinyinzhai was quite beautiful and the silk flowers were also very unique. They should go shopping together when the weather gets warmer.
Xu Qinyu immediately responded "OK" and couldn't help touching her bun. She didn't have any jewelry yet, just a wooden hairpin. She could go shopping when she made some money in the future. Who in the world doesn't like to be coquettish?
She really didn't have any extra money now. All the money she earned had been invested. She only brought back the big iron pot yesterday. The firewood under the wooden shed was moved to the other side by her fourth brother. The big stove was also set up. Tomorrow she could cook more fish, and also make fish balls and fish head tofu stew.
Now that she was half acquainted with Xu Kongmu, Xu Qinyu had no plans to sell evening snacks in East Street and West Street again. It was too tiring. It would be better for her to take care of the business at home first. When she made some money in the future, it would be much more convenient to open a restaurant there.
Pei Weixuan paused after hearing the conversation between the two and lowered his eyes slightly.
Xu Qinyu thought about cooking more fish tomorrow and told Wu, "Sister-in-law, I'll make more fish tomorrow. I'll also sell fish balls and fish head tofu stew. The fish balls are also cooked, so you can just heat them up at home or simmer them in some oil for a better taste. You can also tell the neighbors in the alley who want to buy fish to come and buy them."
Wu immediately said, "Don't worry, Miss Xu, I'll take care of it."
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