Wei's words were sincere. As long as Zhizhi could eat well and lose weight, and be healthy, she would be willing to give anything.
After saying this, Wei couldn't help but say, "If Miss Xu is willing, I can give her twenty taels of silver every month. She won't have to run errands herself. I can just prepare breakfast and dinner every day, and then have the maid or servant come and get them. It won't interfere with Miss Xu's other tasks."
"Madam, you don't have to pay so much every month." Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Madam, you may not know, but my restaurant in West City will be opening soon. Miss Yang can come directly for breakfast and dinner then. I will adjust the food Miss Yang ordered and you can pay according to the price on the wooden stick."
She used to run a private restaurant and prepared fat-reducing meals for people. Most of them were customized and were quite popular.
It is difficult to make a fat-reducing meal taste good. If the meal tastes bad, people will not want to eat it at all. Naturally, they will just want to continue drinking milk tea and eating hot pot and barbecue. Therefore, the taste of the meal is also very important.
Even for a fat-reducing meal, she can still make it taste amazing.
Mrs. Wei smiled and said, "Then I wish your restaurant a prosperous business and a steady flow of profits. However, Miss Xu's business still has half a month to run, and she's very busy during the early stages of the opening. Even if the business is open, the breakfast and evening meals Miss Xu prepares will definitely be different from Zhizhi's breakfast and evening meals, which will be even more troublesome. So, please don't refuse. I will pay you twenty taels a month, and you will be the one preparing Zhizhi's breakfast and evening meals from now on."
She thought that if she paid more money, the young lady would be more attentive.
Otherwise, once the restaurant opens and becomes busy, it will be very troublesome to prepare breakfast and evening meals for Zhizhi separately. What if the young lady finds it troublesome and doesn't want to continue cooking for Zhizhi?
Xu Qinyu could earn twenty taels of silver just by cooking breakfast and dinner for a month. Of course, she wouldn't be stingy with the money. "In that case, I won't refuse. Madam, please rest assured. I promise that Miss Yang will eat different meals every day. She may lose weight more slowly, but it won't hurt her body and she will be full."
This is all Wei wanted.
Since everyone was willing to pay twenty taels of silver a month, Xu Qinyu naturally would not be stingy and left breakfast for Wei and Yang Zhizhi at home.
For breakfast, the family had custard buns, milk steamed buns, and some bean porridge. A proper amount of glutinous rice was added to the bean porridge to make it taste better. It was paired with some of the side dishes she pickled. It was a simple breakfast.
Since Yang Zhizhi and Wei stayed at home for breakfast, there were still some beans left from yesterday's soaking. Xu Qinyu took a casserole and added water. She also grabbed a handful of glutinous rice, washed it, and put it in the casserole together with the beans to cook. After the porridge was cooked, she added some salt to season it and added the marinated fish fillets. The fish fillets were cut as thin as cicada wings, and the temperature of the porridge alone was enough to cook the fish fillets. Finally, sprinkle with chopped green onions.
A simple dish of raw fish congee is suitable for people who want to lose weight, because it contains some whole grains and no oil, so it tastes light and sweet.
The fish porridge also has the soft and fragrant aroma of beans, which makes the taste richer.
The fish porridge was not enough, so Xu Qinyuqing stir-fried some shredded spring bamboo shoots and fried two eggs into an egg skin, using only a few drops of oil.
Fried egg skin rolled with shredded spring bamboo shoots becomes the most suitable egg skin roll for fat loss.
Yang Zhizhi and Wei sat in the main room, and Wen made two cups of tea for them.
While drinking tea, the two of them could smell the rich aroma of porridge and its delicious flavor.
Donglai Ju also has meat porridge. I wonder what the fish porridge made by Miss Xu tastes like?
Because of Wei, today's breakfast will be served in the main hall.
A bowl of fish porridge was given to Yang Zhizhi and Wei respectively, just to let Wei taste the fat-reducing meal that Yang Zhizhi had eaten. Wei could eat the rest of the custard buns, steamed buns and pickles, but Yang Zhizhi definitely couldn't eat them. However, seeing that her eyes were still on the custard buns, Xu Qinyu gave Yang Zhizhi another one.
Yang Zhizhi said happily, "Miss Xu, can I still eat this custard bun?"
She started thinking about it after eating it from Yunlan's place.
Even if it is to lose weight, Xu Qinyu does not recommend giving up your favorite food. It is okay to eat less.
For example, the custard buns are made entirely by hand. There are no additives in them, just a little sugar, so they are edible.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Eat it. There's not much left, but one is still enough."
Yang Zhizhi happily took a bite and could taste the filling in one bite. It was sweet but not greasy, with a rich milky aroma. She couldn't help but squint her eyes while eating it, with a look of enjoyment on her face.
Seeing her daughter like this, Wei remembered that she had heard her daughter talk about custard buns more than a month ago, and had even gone to Qingfeng Pastry Shop and Donglaiju to inquire about them. She couldn't help but pick up a custard bun and taste it. As soon as she put it in her mouth, she looked at Xu Qinyu in disbelief. The taste was really good, the filling was sweet and delicate, and the crust was fluffy and soft. The combination was sweet but not greasy, and had a rich milky flavor.
This was just the work of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old cook.
It’s really amazing.
She felt that if Miss Xu's restaurant opened, the business would probably be very good in the future.
To be honest, the food is indeed much more delicious than that at Donglaiju.
No wonder the master smacked his lips when he mentioned the banquet he had at Xu Kongmu's house this morning.
After eating the custard buns, Wei tried the fish porridge. The fish was tender and delicious, without any fishy smell. The porridge was also fragrant and rich because of the addition of beans. The beans were very soft and glutinous, unlike the bean porridge that the cook at home sometimes made, where the beans were a bit hard. So she didn't like bean rice or bean porridge very much, but she didn't expect that the fish porridge with beans was very delicious.
Eating such delicious food can also help you lose weight, Wei feels that no one can refuse it.
The egg wrap was only for Yang Zhizhi.
The egg wrap is also delicious, with a light taste. The aroma of egg and the crispy and refreshing spring bamboo shoots make you finish the whole egg wrap.
After eating, Yang Zhizhi was about 80% full.
Xu Qinyu added, "Miss Yang, you can eat some fruit after every meal, such as pears, oranges, and water chestnuts. At other times, you can drink more warm water, which will be more effective in losing weight."
In ancient times, the only fruits available at this time of year were pears, oranges, and water chestnuts. Oranges and water chestnuts were relatively expensive, and most people could not afford them. However, Yang Zhizhi's family must have been quite wealthy, otherwise they would not have spent twenty taels a month on her weight loss.
Yang Zhizhi nodded vigorously, "I save all that."
After breakfast, Wei and Yang Zhizhi returned.
When Wei was leaving, she couldn't help but buy some custard buns and pickled vegetables with Xu Qinyu.
Xu Qinyu makes fewer custard buns now, as they are all eaten by her family. She doesn’t make them often, but once every two or three days. She eats them herself and then sells some to the Xu and Xia families.
Because this custard bun is only the size of a fist and costs more than a meat bun, people in Guihua Lane are reluctant to eat it.
Custard buns are rarely made now, but once a restaurant is opened, custard buns and milk steamed buns will become the main breakfast items and the prices can be increased.
Moreover, Xu Qinyu was not worried about running out of milk, because Uncle He helped her find a new milk supplier.
That family was a large cattle breeder, raising cattle mainly for selling calves.
Although calves are expensive, they are good at plowing the land. Some wealthy businessmen or officials who have a lot of land at home will buy some cows.
Even wealthy families with a few acres of land would want to buy a calf and use it to plow the land if they have money.
Therefore, his family basically never runs out of lactating buffaloes, and there are always several buffaloes in the same lactating period, which is enough for the restaurant to make milk buns, custard buns and milk tea.
However, she still had to make time to go there in two days and sign a contract with that family.
Because now it was Uncle He who helped her buy a bucket and brought it over, she also asked Uncle He to ask whether the family was willing to sign a contract to supply a few more buckets of milk every day and cooperate for a long time.
The calves had too much milk to drink and few people wanted to buy it, so naturally the family was willing to give it to them.
After Yang Zhizhi left, Xu Qinyu went to rent a carriage and prepared to go there.
Because that family lived in Shunxi Town, which was some distance away from Yuanbao Town, it would take an hour to get there by ordinary donkey cart or ox cart. She had to come back in the afternoon to cook fish, so she would not be able to make it in time. However, a horse carriage could get there in half an hour.
The rented carriage would be driven by a man, and Wen Shi was worried about Yu Niang going alone, so she went along too.
After arriving in Shunxi Town, Xu Qinyu found the family according to the address given by Mr. He.
The family's surname is Wan, and the elders are still living in the family. The buffalo business is done by two brothers in the family.
Xu Qinyu said that she was planning to open a restaurant and needed fresh milk for cooking every day, so she would buy five to ten buckets of milk from them every day in the future. A bucket of milk weighed about ten pounds. She also said that if the business was good in the future, she might buy more, and she was willing to pay twenty cents for a bucket of milk.
This milk cannot be sold on normal days, and no one wants it even for ten cents.
Now some people are willing to buy it for twenty coins a barrel, so ten barrels would cost two hundred coins, which is six taels of silver a month.
Six taels of silver is not a small amount. The two brothers of the Wan family can each get three taels. Why not do it?
The premise for Xu Qinyu to give twenty cents was that she must be supplied with five to ten buckets of milk every day while she ran the restaurant. Even if she wanted to increase the amount of milk, the price could not be raised and it would remain the original price. As long as she ran the restaurant, the price of milk would be twenty cents a bucket, and one bucket must be enough for ten kilograms.
If the price is raised without reason or if the seller refuses to sell the milk even though it has milk, he will have to compensate her with twenty taels of silver.
The two brothers thought about it and signed the deed.
They thought that no one would buy it at ten cents a barrel, and this young lady was willing to buy it at twenty cents a barrel, so why would they raise the price or refuse to sell it to her?
After signing the contract, Xu Qinyu told the two brothers that he would ask Uncle He or his family to pick up milk every day.
Naturally, Uncle He helped her get milk and delivered it to the restaurant, and she would pay him a few hundred coins a month.
Xu Qinyu put away the deed and returned to Guihua Lane with Wen.
…
At dinner time in the evening, Xu Qinyu prepared steamed shredded eel for Yang Zhizhi, poured the sauce she made on it, and mixed shredded radish and eggs into a paste, seasoned it with some salt and five-spice powder, and fried a shredded radish egg pancake with a little oil, which was served with a bowl of mixed grain rice.
Wei came in person to pick up the evening meal, and also brought two small gold ingots for Xu Qinyu, which was exactly twenty taels of silver.
In the morning, Wei didn't bring any money, so she brought some now.
After receiving the money, Xu Qinyu started to prepare breakfast and evening meals for Yang Zhizhi every day. After that, a maid named Chunhong from the Yang family would come in a carriage to pick up the food boxes.
In the days that followed, Xu Yunlan and Yang Zhizhi would come to play with Xu Qinyu from time to time.
With Cheng Ge'er, Xu Qinyu could rest for two hours every day. In her spare time, she could sit in the yard and chat with the two of them. They talked about the trivial matters and gossips of the East Street and West Street, and Xu Qinyu listened with great interest, just like listening to gossip about celebrities.
If she was busy, Xu Yunlan and Yang Zhizhi would sit in the yard and play with Heiyu alone.
Less than half a month later, Yang Zhizhi had lost seven kilograms.
Yang Zhizhi doesn't weigh herself every day. It's a bit troublesome to weigh herself, so she plans to weigh herself once every two weeks.
As the opening of the restaurant was getting closer, Xu Qinyu would go to the restaurant from time to time to check the progress of the repairs and renovations, which were almost completed.
The kitchen has also been renovated. Xu Qinyu added a cooking table. Before, there was no cooking table, so she had to cut and wash vegetables on the long table. Now her cooking table is very convenient for washing and brushing.
There are three large stoves in the kitchen, and many other stoves of different sizes have been bought, which are enough for her to use, but she has not found a kitchen helper yet.
She posted a notice at the entrance of the restaurant, saying she was looking for two kitchen helpers. They needed to be proficient in either white or red casseroles, and have one or two signature dishes. The head chef would teach anyone who could help. The helpers she hired could become head chefs in other restaurants and smaller establishments. So everyone was wondering if the head chef of this small restaurant was a famous chef. Otherwise, why would he be so arrogant?
But why would a famous chef stay in a small restaurant to work as a cook? I'm afraid if he goes to any prosperous state capital, he will be sought after by major restaurants.
Everyone was confused for a moment.
Some were also curious and asked the female owner of the rouge and powder shop next door about the background of the restaurant's chef.
The female shopkeeper always shook her head with a strange look on her face and said she didn't know either.
There were a few cooks who came to the Pei family residence in Guihua Lane to apply for the job.
At the beginning, they all asked happily about the salary. Xu Qinyu gave them three taels of silver.
The cooking skills of these kitchen helpers are just enough to work as cooks in restaurants or small hotels, and their wages are mostly around three or four silver coins.
The three or two taels given by Xu Qinyu were enough to satisfy them, but these chefs came to apply for the job thinking that if a famous chef really worked as the head chef in this restaurant, they would be willing to become the famous chef's apprentice even without any wages.
So after asking about the wages, the natural next step was to ask who the famous chef was who was the head chef of the restaurant.
While asking, I couldn't help but look around to see if there were any elderly people.
Those who can become famous chefs are all over 50 years old.
They thought that the young lady who answered the question was a family member of a famous chef or something.
Who would have thought that this pretty young lady would tell them with a smile, "I am the head chef of the restaurant."
After hearing the answer, all the chefs were stunned without exception, and then angrily left with a word of nonsense.
Xu Qinyu was left in a state of confusion, and she wanted them to stay and try her cooking before making a decision, but they refused to listen.
The main reason was that these chefs came to apply for the job at noon or early afternoon. On weekdays, the Pei family only smelled delicious food during breakfast and evening. Naturally, there was no aroma of food at other times when they were not cooking.
If they smelled this fragrance during breakfast and dinner, they might have hesitated. But the timing was wrong. When they saw the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl saying that she was the chef, they thought she was teasing them and were naturally very angry.
So until now, the kitchen helper has not been found.
Xu Qinyu could only go with the flow.
There is a vegetable cutter named Cheng Ge'er. He is mainly responsible for cutting vegetables in the kitchen and can also train faster.
She wasn't afraid of being the only cook, she was just a little tired.
After a few more days, the restaurant was completely completed. It only needed to be cleaned and the wood paint dried completely before it could be opened. It would probably take about five or six days.
There is no rush for ingredients. She is very familiar with the processes of running her own private restaurant. She just needs to prepare them the day before the opening. Some ingredients and vegetables have to be bought in the morning so that they are fresh.
The next day, the two brothers Wen Shuncheng and Wen Shungong came over, and both of them could not hide the joy on their faces.
Xu Qinyu knew at a glance that a happy event had happened in his family.
The good news for the third branch of the Wen family should be the separation of the family.
I'm afraid that even if Master Wen San made a lot of money, it wouldn't be considered a happy event in the third room.
Xu Qinyu asked, "Why are Cheng and Gong so happy?"
Wen Shungong rushed to say, "Fourth sister-in-law, our family is splitting up!"
It turned out that last night, when Wen Shuncheng and Wen Shungong had not yet returned home, the third master of the Wen family, Wen Zixiao, just returned at dusk.
The Wen family was still having their evening meal. He returned home exhausted and sat at the dinner table to have his evening meal.
The evening meal didn't taste very good, and Mrs. Yue from the eldest wife's house couldn't help but say, "Sister-in-law, why is today's meal a bit salty again? There are even small stones in the dishes."
Meng said softly, "Sister-in-law is right. I will be more careful next time."
Wen Zixiao's face darkened when he heard this.
"Since my eldest sister-in-law thinks her cooking is unpalatable, why doesn't she cook it herself? Ever since we arrived in this remote place, my eldest sister-in-law has been treating our third wife like servants. My wife, aunt, and daughter are responsible for washing, cooking, and sweeping the house. Even though I am a concubine's child, I am still my father's biological child. My wife and daughter should not be subjected to such humiliation. If my eldest sister-in-law is like this, our third wife will not stay in this family. I ask to be separated."
As soon as Wen Zixiao finished speaking, Old Master Wen slammed the table and said angrily, "Third brother, you are really making a fuss! How dare you say that about your eldest sister-in-law?"
Wen Zixiao stood up and walked to Old Master Wen, then knelt down in front of him with a plop.
Wen Zixiao lowered his head and said calmly, "Father also thinks it's normal for the whole family to treat my wife, my daughter, and my aunt as slaves. I have nothing to say."
"You, you rebellious son!" Old Master Wen was furious. "When did I ever say I would treat them like slaves?"
Wen Zixiao said, "If that's the case, why are the first and second wives, who are both family members of the mansion, not required to do anything, while the third wife has to take care of all the affairs of the mansion? Could it be that they are servants and like to work? Besides, among the third wife, I am the one who earns money on weekdays. Although I don't give much to father every month, I am working hard. I never thought that I would devote myself to the mansion, but my brother and sister-in-law would treat my wife, daughter, and concubine like slaves. My son feels very uncomfortable and doesn't want my wife, daughter, and concubine to be treated like slaves anymore."
Old Master Wen was speechless after being questioned and was unable to speak for a while.
Old Lady Wen was a little unhappy. "What's wrong with asking your wife to do some work? She comes from a humble family, unlike your eldest and second sisters-in-law, who are both girls from famous families and don't know how to do these tedious housework. If you really think they are bullying you, they can only send you out if they want to divide the family. But you have to know that we have nothing left in exile in the border town. We can't even give you extra money, let alone this house. If we give it to you, will you let your father, mother, eldest brother, second brother and their families move out? Since there is nothing we can give you, you can only move out with your wife and daughter. Don't say that the first and second wives are bullying you when the time comes!"
Old Madam Wen had long since given up on supporting the third wife's family.
If she were to say, the third room was not good at work, so it would be better to buy a slave.
Otherwise, the daily food, clothing and other expenses would still have to be included in the three rooms.
"Nonsense!" Old Master Wen had never thought of dividing the family. All three were his sons. Although he did favor his two legitimate sons, how could he divide the family and send out his illegitimate sons? Wouldn't that lead to gossip from outsiders?
Madam Yue of the Wen family also turned cold at what Wen Zixiao said. She had wanted to split the family for a long time. The third branch was a burden to them. If the shop opened and made money in the future, even if she said that the shop was bought with her dowry, she would definitely use the money to support the third branch's food, clothing and other expenses. Naturally, she was not happy about this.
Seeing that her father-in-law was still trying to stop her, Yue reached out and tugged at her master's sleeve.
Master Wen immediately sighed and patted Wen Zixiao on the shoulder, "Third brother, your eldest and second sisters-in-law don't know how to do housework, so your third sister-in-law has to share more of the burden. But how can you say that you treat your third sister-in-law as a slave? Don't you think that even I, your eldest brother, am bullying your third branch? If you really think so, then we can split up the family and we don't have to endure this."
Wen Zixiao had a wooden face.
Old Master Wen glared at his eldest son and still disagreed with dividing the family.
Wen Zixiao said: "If father does not agree to divide the family, I will move out with my wife, sons, daughters and concubine. When someone asks me about it, I will just say that the third wife is like a slave in the Wen family. Even if I have to go to the government and get beaten with a stick, I will accept it!" No matter what, even if he was divided out, he didn't want his family to stay in this house.
Even Master Wen Er from the Second House came out and said hypocritically, "Third brother, what are you doing? The three of us brothers have always had a good relationship. How can we hurt our relationship over such a small matter?"
Wen Zixiao remained silent.
Old Madam Wen pulled hard at Mr. Wen's sleeve.
Looking at the stubborn illegitimate son, Old Master Wen knew that if the family didn't split up today, he might actually take the third wife away from the Wen family and live on his own. So he got a little angry and said, "Third son, it's not impossible for you to split up, but apart from the two taels of silver you give us every month, there's no income in the mansion anymore. Your mother and I don't have any money. This house and the two shops we bought before were also purchased with your eldest and second sister-in-law's dowries, so naturally they can't be divided up with you. So you won't get anything from this split up. Are you still willing?"
Wen Zixiao said, "I am willing, but I am useless and can only earn two taels of silver per month. So from now on, I can only give half of the two taels of silver I earn every month to honor you and mother. I hope father and mother will not despise it."
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