Mrs. Wu's name was Wu Wan. She chatted with Miss Xu for a long time before getting up and leaving. It was time for dinner. She was carrying a large food box containing braised herring. Today, Miss Xu was preparing fish balls to sell tomorrow, so they would have braised fish for dinner, and she took one back with her.
Strangely enough, Shao Ge'er only eats the food cooked by Miss Xu. Even the braised herring that he often eats, he never gets tired of it and can eat a bowl of bean porridge with the braised fish.
Of course, even the bean porridge was cooked by Miss Xu.
Miss Xu clearly told her how to make bean porridge, how long to soak the beans, how much beans and rice to add, how much water to add, and when to use high heat and low heat to make the bean porridge soft and thick. However, the porridge she made was not as delicious as the one made by Miss Xu.
Even the taste is much worse.
Carrying the lunch box, Wu Wan returned to Laixi Lane.
Her alley is right in front of Guihuaxiang, and most of the houses are two-story houses, so they are naturally more expensive than the houses in Guihua Lane. However, Laixi Lane also has ordinary small courtyards, and the price is five to ten taels of silver more expensive than the similar courtyards in Guihua Lane. This is because there is a small river in front of Laixi Lane, which was artificially dug decades ago to provide convenient water for the people in the town to wash clothes. Both sides lead to the wharf on the north street, and it is a flowing water. There is also a big locust tree at the intersection of the alley. There is a well under the locust tree, which is convenient for people who don’t have a well at home to get water. There is a stream in front of Xishui Lane, and a well not far away, so the house prices are generally more expensive than other alleys.
At the entrance to Laixi Lane, Wu Wan ran into a girl about ten years old washing clothes by the river. She said to her, "Erniu, tell your wife that Miss Xu in Guihua Lane will be selling braised herring, fish balls, and fish head and tofu stew tomorrow. Remember to go early to buy them, otherwise they will sell out quickly."
The little girl who was washing clothes immediately responded, "Mrs. Xia, I know."
Most of the families who can live in a two-story house are engaged in business and are much richer than ordinary people. They will buy one or two maids at home.
Along the way, Wu Wan would tell anyone she knew.
She is usually generous and likes to chat with the women in the neighborhood. All the women and their families in the whole alley know her.
Originally, several families living next to Mrs. Wu knew that her evening meal was very delicious and that it was bought by Miss Xu's family. The surrounding women spread the news to their close neighbors, and now all the women in the whole alley planned to go to her house tomorrow to buy some to try.
At the same time, Xu Qinyu was making fish balls at home.
Since she wants to make fish balls, any big black carp will do. The black carps that Mr. He sent before were all around two or three pounds. Because of the fishing net, fish under one pound could not be caught. Now, she also wants those over three pounds. She fillets the fish meat and beats it into fish balls. The fish head can be cooked with tofu, so nothing is wasted.
She planned to set the price of fish balls at five cents per piece. One piece was about ten fish balls, weighing half a pound. A pound of fish meat could produce about one and a half pounds of fish balls. Fish meat was cheap, but it required starch. She added mung bean starch. There was no starch here. She ground the mung beans into a slurry and filtered it to separate it. It was not difficult to grind starch from mung beans, so she gave this job to her fourth brother.
When she was slicing the fish, Ning Jie'er was there to help, scraping off the remaining fish meat from the bones, not wanting to waste it.
Ning Jie'er now helps her scrape fish scales and does other work within her ability.
Xu Qinyu planned to give Ning Jie'er 500 coins every month as pocket money. She would then see what Ning Jie'er wanted to do. She didn't necessarily have to help her with the work; she could hire someone to do it.
The price of fish head stewed with tofu depends on the portion. There are five cents, ten cents and fifteen cents per portion.
All in all, the braised black carp is the most cost-effective.
After the fish balls are made, you can keep them and make another pot tomorrow, otherwise they may not be enough to sell. The fish head and tofu pot will be made tomorrow. Today's braised green carp has been sold out.
Just as the fish balls were cooked, someone knocked on the door. Xu Qinyu went to open it. It was a middle-aged man in his forties, tall and well-built, dressed in the uniform of an official from the yamen, with a long sword at his waist. When he saw Xu Qinyu, he said, "Is this Miss Xu?"
Xu Qinyu nodded, "You are?"
I already have a rough guess in my mind.
The man said, "I'm Xu Ren, Xu Kongmu, who works in the government office. I came here today to discuss something with the young lady's husband."
It turned out to be Xu Kongmu. He was looking for Fourth Brother, probably because it was related to the Jinyinzhai theft case. It was Fourth Brother who gave him the clue, so he came to ask Fourth Brother?
Xu Qinyu said, "Mr. Xu, please come in."
After leading the person in, Pei Weixuan also came out of the room. Seeing Xu Kongmu, he nodded slightly and invited the person to sit in the main hall. Xu Qinyu served two cups of hot tea. The tea was not very good. She bought it to make tea eggs.
Recently, there are more people buying glutinous rice and pork intestines at the dock. There are quite a few eggs left from Mr. He, so she made them into tea eggs and sold them. This is also simple to make. After the eggs are cooked, add soy sauce, salt, a little spices and water to continue boiling. After cooking, pour an appropriate amount of tea water into the eggs. The key is to soak the cooked eggs in the tea brine for an hour, so that they can absorb the flavor and taste better.
They cost two cents each and sold very quickly every day.
Xu Kongmu came here today not for the food prepared by Miss Xu, but for Pei Weixuan.
He knew that the reason they were able to solve the Jinyinzhai theft case so quickly was Pei Weixuan's reminder. This young man knew that the theft was related to the shopkeeper Ma just by hearing about the case. He was a man of great talent, and the yamen was in need of such people. Although clerks and officials were different, it was not necessarily impossible for a clerk to be promoted if he worked for a long time. So he came to ask Pei Weixuan if he was willing to work in the yamen as a clerk to help solve the case.
Xu Kongmu told Pei Weixuan the purpose of his visit.
Pei Weixuan pondered for a moment and said, "I'm afraid I have to offend Xu Kongmu's kindness. I'm a criminal exiled here and cannot serve as an official. I'm afraid my superiors will blame me. I also ask Xu Kongmu to keep an eye on the Jinyinzhai theft case for me. I don't want outsiders to know that I'm involved in this case."
Although Empress Dowager Fu and the new emperor were unlikely to go so far as to inquire about what he was doing here, and Empress Dowager Fu thought he was a complete waste who could not make any waves and would not pay any attention to their family at all, all he could do was to continue to live with his head down, hiding quietly and waiting for an opportunity.
The eldest brother once told him that if anything happened to him in the future, he could give him some of the black-armored guards he left behind. Those black-armored guards were all loyal to the eldest brother.
Once he has cured himself of the poison, he will not stay here any longer, but will go and seek work with the black-armored guards.
But before anything big happens, he will never reveal his identity so as not to put his family in danger.
So when he leaves, he cannot tell his family directly and will find an excuse to leave home.
Xu Kongmu was stunned for a moment. He probably didn't expect that Pei Weixuan was exiled as a criminal. In that case, it was indeed inappropriate for him to work as a minor official in the yamen.
Xu Kongmu didn't force it, but bowed and said, "Sorry to bother you."
Since this was the case, Xu Kongmu didn't want to stay any longer, so he stood up and said goodbye. Pei Weixuan saw him out and came to the yard. Miss Xu was putting fish balls into a jar. Fish balls are food that can be preserved for several days, not to mention it was such a cold day.
Xu Kongmu smelled the delicious aroma and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of food is this?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "These are fish balls made with fish meat. They cost five cents each and one portion is ten half a pound. You can heat them up and eat them right away. Adding a few drops of sesame oil will make them taste even better. You can also simmer them in oil or cook them with other side dishes. They taste fresher and the fish bones are beaten into a paste, making them more suitable for the elderly and children."
Xu Kongmu thought of his two-year-old grandson, who was just starting to eat. He could buy some fish balls and give them to his grandson, and also let the whole family taste them.
Moreover, these fish balls smell really good. I also ate the delicious food made by the young lady in front of me at Brother Xia’s house a few days ago. It was so delicious that I can’t forget it.
Xu Kongmu said, "Then please pack five pounds for me, young lady. I'll take it back and try it."
"Okay, Xu Kongmu, please wait a moment." Xu Qinyu found some oil paper and wrapped five pounds of fish balls for him.
Xu Kongmu took out fifty coins from his pocket and handed them to Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu took it and said with a smile, "We will also sell fish head and tofu stew tomorrow. If Xu Kongmu thinks it tastes good, he can send someone to buy it."
Xu Kongmu nodded and left.
After leaving the Pei family, Xu Kongmu was walking on the road and smelled the fragrance of the fish balls in his arms. He couldn't help but picked one up with his hands and put it in his mouth to taste it. It was indeed very delicious and chewy, with only the freshness of fish meat and no earthy smell of fish. However, he still felt that the fish in the fatty fish he had eaten that day was more suitable for his taste, fresh, fragrant and spicy. This fish ball is indeed more suitable for the taste of the elderly and children.
My wife, daughter and grandchildren will definitely like it.
Thinking of this, Xu Kongmu felt a little bit of anticipation in his heart.
He lived on West Street. He was only a minor official with a low salary, but his wife was a business person and owned two shops, so the family had a small fortune. He also thought that these fish balls were not only delicious but also very cheap, and ordinary people in the town could afford them.
To be honest, fish balls with this taste can be sold for hundreds of coins per pound in Donglaiju.
No one can match her cooking skills. It is obvious that the young lady just wants the people in the town to be able to afford to eat meat.
Xu Kongmu couldn't help but look up to Miss Xu.
After returning home, Xu Kongmu put the oil paper in his hand on the table.
Seeing this, his wife Xiang laughed and asked, "What did you bring back?"
The fish balls have completely cooled down along the way, and their fragrance has diminished a lot. It is indeed difficult for people with poor sense of smell to smell them.
Xu Kongmu said that he had eaten delicious food made by a young lady at Xia Yuanzhi's house a few days ago, so he specially went there today to buy some for his family to try. He did not mention that he went to the Pei family to look for Pei Weixuan.
Xiang couldn't help but ask, "Is it really that delicious?"
"Madam, you will know after trying it."
Xiang called the maid to bring a pair of wooden chopsticks and picked up a fish ball. It was a little cold when she put it in her mouth, but even a completely cold fish ball did not have the slightest fishy smell and was fresh and chewy.
Xiang was surprised and said, "It's really delicious. It shouldn't be cheap, right?"
Xu Kongmu said, "It tastes better when heated."
After saying that, he couldn't help but say, "Madam, guess how much silver is per pound of these fish balls."
Xiang also often dined at Donglaiju. The dishes there were not cheap, and they were really not as good as a simple fish ball like this one. She felt that the fish balls cost at least several dozen coins per pound.
She said, "It should be at least a hundred coins per pound. If it's sold at Donglaiju, it would be at least a hundred and twenty or thirty coins."
Xu Kongmu smiled and said, "Only ten cents a pound."
Xiang was extremely surprised. "How can fish balls with this level of craftsmanship and taste be so cheap?"
"Yes, this young lady not only makes delicious fish balls, but I heard she also has braised herring. Small ones are five cents each, and large ones are eight cents each. Tomorrow she'll also have fish head and tofu stew. Would you like to buy them all and try them?"
Xiang naturally said, "Let's buy some tomorrow and try them."
She then remembered that her grandson hadn't eaten much in the evening, so she told Xu Kongmu about it. Xu Kongmu was also a little worried, "Why didn't he eat well?"
Xiang sighed, "The egg custard I made tonight wasn't very tasty. I only ate a few bites and then refused to eat it."
"It's still early, why don't you heat up the fish balls and invite everyone out to try some? Xige'er can try some too."
Xiger is Xu Kongmu's two-year-old grandson.
Xiang immediately asked the maid to go to the kitchen and heat up the fish balls. Not long after they were heated, the whole room was filled with delicious aroma. Before Xiang could call for help, her son and daughter-in-law came over with Xiger in their arms. Her daughter Xu Yunlan also came over and started shouting, "Mom, what a smell! It smells so good!"
Xu Yunlan is only fifteen years old this year. She looks a lot like her father, tall and handsome.
Xiang smiled and said, "Your father brought you some delicious food."
The fish balls were heated up quickly and the young cook brought them to the table. She heated two pounds of fish balls and put one pound on a plate. There were about twenty fish balls in one pound, and a few drops of sesame oil were dripped on them.
Xu Yunlan remembered that when she was a child, her family still lived in a small courtyard, and their food and clothing were not as good as they are now. What she looked forward to most every day was whether her father would come back with some delicious snacks or other cooked dishes. The smell of the fragrance reminded her of her childhood, and her heart was warmed.
Xiang tried another fish ball that had been heated and dripped with sesame oil, and it was indeed even more delicious.
Xu Yunlan also took one and started eating. Her cheeks were puffed up and her eyes were bright. "Dad, where did you buy this? It's delicious."
While she was eating, she also picked up one for her nephew, thinking that he would not eat it.
My nephew hasn't had a good appetite these days and has lost some weight.
Unexpectedly, my nephew smelled the flavor, opened his mouth and took a bite, then shouted in a baby voice, "Aunt, I want more."
Xu Yunlan said happily, "Mom and Dad, Xi'er likes to eat it too."
Even Xu Yunlan's brother and sister-in-law couldn't help but try it, and they all said it was delicious.
Of the last two plates of fish balls, Xiger ate six or seven and shared the rest with everyone.
It had been a long time since Xu Kongmu saw his family enjoy a meal so much, so he planned to buy braised herring and fish head tofu stew to try tomorrow.
…
After Xu Qinyu finished her work in the kitchen, she had to prepare hot water for her fourth brother's second medicinal bath.
This time Pei Weixuan was much better than last time. Although his meridians were still black after soaking for a while, he did not lose consciousness and kept his eyes closed. However, he must still be in great pain. The meridians in his body were twisting and turning, and his face and lips were pale. This time it lasted for half an hour. When he opened his eyes, the medicinal properties in his meridians had subsided and returned to normal.
Seeing this, Xu Qinyu and Wen couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
…
The next day, after Xu Qinyu sold breakfast, she bought ingredients for lunch and the whole family started to get busy.
Recently, Mrs. Luo didn't dare to come home to make trouble. After finishing her housework, Wen went out to continue washing clothes for others.
Pei Jianing stayed at home to look after the two children.
When Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan returned with the ingredients, Wen had not returned yet.
Sometimes Wen would come back in one or two hours, and sometimes in three or four hours, probably because she had finished washing the clothes.
Several people started to get busy. The little black panther Mo Yu ran around with a fish in its mouth. Xu Qinyu let it do what it wanted. Anyway, the fish would be food for it and the little white snake in the future.
Yes, the little black panther was renamed Mo Yu.
Because when she first called him Mo Shui, Ning Jieer said, "Fourth sister-in-law, calling the little white snake Bai Yu sounds so good, but why is the little black panther called Mo Shui? Mo Shui should be ink, right? Why not also get the jade character from Fourth sister-in-law's name, Mo Yu? It just happens to match Bai Yu and sounds nice."
Xu Qinyu also thought it was good, one white jade and the other black jade.
So the name "Mo Shui" was changed to "Mo Yu" before it lasted even a day.
Not to mention, one is made of white jade and the other is made of black jade, they are really nice.
I don't know if it's because Pei Weixuan's ointment is effective or because Mo Yu has a strong recovery ability, but after a few days of raising it, it can already run and jump in the yard on its hind legs. It is a very energetic little leopard. Sometimes when Xu Qinyu comes out of the kitchen, she even sees it walking back and forth in the yard with a small branch in its mouth. I don't know what it wants to do, probably because it is too energetic.
Every time this happens, human eyes meet a pair of ignorant little animal eyes.
The person's eyes turned away helplessly.
The little beast started playing by itself again.
Mo Yu not only played by himself, but also pried at the sleeping little white snake. He didn't stretch out his claws, but just pried at little Bai Yu. The little snake had been pried from the stove to outside the kitchen. Occasionally, Xu Qinyu and the Pei family would pick it up and put it next to the stove in the kitchen. Little Mo Yu would continue to pry it. Sometimes when the little white snake woke up, Xu Qinyu felt that it was a little confused. It probably didn't know why it could run from the stove to the pile of firewood under the stove.
The little white snake wakes up almost once every few days. When it wakes up, it runs to Xu Qinyu to ask for food. If Xu Qinyu is not around, it goes to find Pei Weixuan. If both of them are not around, it goes to find Ning Jie'er or other people. It probably hibernates the rest of the time.
Little Moyu continued to play with the fish in his mouth.
It can also coax Fengger and Yanjieer, and the two children stare at it with interested eyes.
Xu Qinyu made another pot of fish balls, braised more than 30 herrings, and stewed fish heads with tofu for more than ten servings.
These can be made in one big pot, saving time and effort.
At around 3:30 in the afternoon, the neighbors of Guihua Lane came to line up in front of the Pei family's door. When the neighbors of Laixi Lane also came, they found that there were already quite a few people lined up in front of the Pei family's door.
"Why are there so many people queuing?"
"Aren't you from Guihua Lane? Madam Xu cooks delicious fish. We come here every day to buy it at this time."
"Hey, aren't you guys coming to Xixiang? I know her. Isn't this Mrs. Chen? Are you here to buy some fish too?"
"Yes, we heard that Miss Xu from Osmanthus Alley cooks delicious fish, so she made extra fish balls and fish head stewed with tofu today, so we came here to buy them."
"Are there new foods today? No wonder they smell so different. I thought they were from the young lady's family."
"I just don't know if it's expensive. It must be a bit expensive. We are already satisfied that Miss Xu can sell us such a cheap braised herring."
"Yes, yes. I am already very grateful to Miss Xu for being able to eat braised herring."
Even in the restaurants on North Street, it is impossible to get a plate of meat for only five or eight cents.
No one in Laixi Lane expected that everyone in Guihua Lane would support Miss Xu so much.
In fact, they didn't know how the fish cooked by Xu Xiaoniang tasted. They had never even eaten braised green carp.
Most of the people living in Laixi Lane are merchants' families, and they occasionally go to restaurants to eat. I think the people in Guihua Lane may not be able to eat delicious food on weekdays, and they rarely go to restaurants to eat, so they think the fish cooked by a young lady is delicious.
In short, we will have to wait until they taste it to know how it tastes.
Xu Qinyu opened the gate and saw that everyone was queuing up. She quickly apologized and said that she had been delayed by work today.
The ladies, sisters-in-law, and young ladies in Osmanthus Alley all laughed and said, "Don't panic, Miss Xu. We are not in a hurry. Take your time."
Xu Qinyu then told me the prices of fish balls and fish head stewed with tofu.
Fish balls are five cents per pound, and fish heads stewed with tofu are five cents, ten cents, and fifteen cents. Naturally, the prices vary depending on the size of the fish heads.
I heard that these two new foods were not expensive, probably just a little more expensive than the braised herring. The fish balls were the most expensive, but they were actually still affordable. It was okay to spend ten cents to buy a pound of them to try them out.
Customers at Guihua Lane have been eating braised black carp recently. Although it tastes good, they can't resist eating too much. This time, there are new dishes, so the price is a little higher. Most of them buy a pound of fish balls, or a portion of fish head stewed with tofu.
People in Guihua Lane are usually frugal. Even if there are new foods, each household will only buy one. Those who buy fish balls will not buy fish heads, so in the end there will be leftovers of both fish balls and fish heads.
The food in Laixixiang is still affordable, and some people just ordered a little of everything.
The one who bought it first couldn't help but eat a fish ball first. It was easy to eat and the fish ball was freshly out of the pot. It smelled fragrant and tasted even more delicious. After tasting it, the woman made a prompt decision and said, "My dear lady, give me two more pounds, no, five pounds of fish balls." Such delicious food, at ten cents a pound, their family could still afford it.
Someone in the back started yelling, "Hey, Sister Chen, you bought one jin earlier and now you're buying five more. Is there anything left? Leave some for us."
Xu Qinyu also felt that if they continued to sell fish this way, they would definitely not be able to buy anything later, so she could only say, "Each person can only buy two kilograms of fish balls now."
The Chen family's sister-in-law muttered a few words before leaving with regret.
Even though there was not much left in the end, there was originally one braised fish left. The last customer smelled it so delicious that he ordered both.
When she got home, she found that the two fish were just enough for the whole family, so she felt that buying the extra one was the right decision, otherwise there would definitely not be enough.
Needless to say, no matter whether you have eaten braised fish, fish balls or fish heads in Laixixiang, no one said it was not delicious, and everyone was impressed by the taste.
I plan to go buy it tomorrow.
Only after all the food was sold did Xu Qinyu, Pei Jianing and Pei Weixuan return to the kitchen.
Today, thanks to the help of Sister Ning and Fourth Brother, she collected the money and the two of them went to help serve the fish.
The kitchen is warm, and Xu Qinyu likes to stay in the kitchen to count money on weekdays.
She moved the wooden box over, and the copper coins inside clattered. It contained the money from selling breakfast this morning and the money from selling fish just now. She poured the copper coins onto the table, and a large pile of them came out.
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