One-Eye knelt down with a thud, which scared Gongger and the other three children. Gongger couldn't help asking, "One-Eye, what are you doing?" Why did he kneel down to Fourth Sister-in-law after eating? Although the dishes made by Fourth Sister-in-law were indeed delicious, it was not necessary to do this.
"I, I, I want to be a slave for the boss." The one-eyed man spoke haltingly, and his face turned red with nervousness, even his ears were red. After he finished speaking, he kowtowed three times with his head touching the ground. His movements were so quick that Xu Qinyu couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.
After bowing, the one-eyed man said, "I am willing to do anything, just to be a slave to my master."
He heard from Gong'er that his fourth sister-in-law was kind-hearted. Because they helped to keep an eye on the situation, Gong'er's fourth sister-in-law invited them to dinner to thank them. She did not despise them because of their disabilities, and did not look at them strangely. She was indeed a very good person.
Moreover, Gong Ge'er said that Xu's business was good and they were very busy on weekdays. He could do any job. If the boss was willing to take him as a servant, his life would belong to the boss.
As long as the boss is willing to let him be a slave, he will have the opportunity to raise all three of his younger brothers.
Although the three children have no blood relationship with him, they grew up together and he has long regarded them as his younger brothers. In such a world, it is extremely difficult for them to survive.
Even if his life is as worthless as a dog's, he still wants to live and take them with him.
In fact, Xu Qinyu felt a little sad when she first saw the children. She herself was an abandoned orphan. There were some children with disabilities like them in the welfare home who had a worse life than her. Some bad children in the welfare home would bully them, and even people who came to the welfare home to adopt children would naturally ignore the disabled children.
She also had some ideas. Xu's business was booming and they were very busy all day. She had posted a notice outside recruiting kitchen helpers, but no kitchen helper showed up.
Perhaps they looked down on her as a young cook and thought she was deceiving them, so now even though Xu Ji and her reputation have spread, those kitchen helpers who had gone to Guihua Lane to look for him before don't dare to come again.
She was really short of manpower and apprentices, so she was thinking that these children were quite pitiful. She currently had a place to take them in, and they could live in the small grocery room of Xu's. Why not give them a hand and let them help her with odd jobs at Xu's first? If they liked cooking and making food, were willing to endure hardships, or had some talent as a chef, she would be willing to take them in as apprentices. Of course, it would also depend on whether they were willing to be cooks.
Gong Ge'er couldn't help but glance at Fourth Sister-in-law. In fact, he also hoped that Fourth Sister-in-law would accept Duyan. Duyan could do all kinds of work and could also help with odd jobs and run errands to look after the restaurant.
As for the remaining three children, Gong Ge'er had no hope. There were too many of them. If his fourth sister-in-law bought them all, the other three children would be raised in vain.
As long as the fourth sister-in-law can accept One-Eye, he can raise the other three children.
Xu Qinyu looked at the one-eyed man and said, "How about this, my restaurant is usually quite busy, and I just happen to be short of some staff. The four of you will stay here. I don't want you to be slaves, so you can do odd jobs in the restaurant and live in the small utility room. You can help me look after the restaurant at night, and you can help me wash and cut vegetables and prepare the side dishes on weekdays. I will slowly teach you some cooking skills. If you like being a chef, when you are older and have thought it through, I will also be willing to take you in as my apprentices. If you don't like being a chef, I will pay you some wages every month."
Mainly, we provide them with food and accommodation, which can be considered as supporting them. The children are too young and can't do much work, so we have to take care of their health first. So we won't pay them for the time being.
The one-eyed man was stunned for a moment, and even Gongge'er and the other three children were stunned as well.
The one-eyed man understood what Xu Qinyu said and was a little bit unbelieving. When he opened his eyes wide and looked at the young lady in front of him, he saw her smiling face and realized that it was not the delusion in his mind. He immediately reacted, knelt on the ground and kowtowed, tears dripping onto the ground. He wiped his eyes with his dirty and torn sleeves, but the tears could not be stopped at all.
"Stop knocking." Xu Qinyu was a little helpless.
The other three children were still in a daze. The oldest one was the lame one, who was about eight years old. The one with the red birthmark on his face was only seven years old, and the other one with six fingers was only six years old. They were probably too hungry and not in good health. They looked much younger than normal children of this age, so their reactions were slow and they looked a little dull.
Gong Geer couldn't help himself and kicked the three children on the bottom with a grin, "Why are you still standing there? Hurry up and thank my fourth sister-in-law!"
The three children were clueless, but not fools. Having lived as beggars for years, they knew everything. When they saw the one-eyed boy kneeling down to beg the master to take him in as a servant, they had no idea it would work out. They hadn't even thought the master would take him in as a servant. Because they were all disabled, if they hid in a corner and got in the way, they would probably be scorned and beaten. No one would be willing to take them in as servants.
Knowing that the boss in front of them was willing to take them in, the three children couldn't believe it at all. When they were kicked lightly, they finally reacted, burst into tears, then knelt on the ground and began to kowtow to Xu Qinyu.
"Hey, hurry up and get up, stop knocking."
Xu Qinyu quickly pulled the children up. Seeing their foreheads were already red, she couldn't help but say, "From now on, except when you are paying homage to your master, you are not allowed to kowtow casually."
Several children were crying, and I don’t know if they listened to Xu Qinyu’s words.
Several children were crying, and Gong Ge'er was grinning. He was also very excited. Fourth Sister-in-law was indeed the best person in the world.
Xu Qinyu thought about it and asked Gongger to go to the kitchen to boil some hot water so that the children could wash themselves first.
Fortunately, it is summer and it is convenient to wash, but the well water is cold and cannot be used directly for them. I am afraid that the children are weak and will get sick easily if they are stimulated by the well water. I boil some hot water and mix it with cold water to rinse. Fortunately, there are soaps in the restaurant. I guess they will have to wash several times.
Xu Qinyu asked Gongger to help boil water while she went to find Xia's sister-in-law.
Mrs. Xia runs a cloth shop at home and also sells ready-made clothes, so she has to get some clothes for the children first.
It was getting dark, but there were still many people on the street. Xu Qinyu went over to Laixi Lane and knocked on the door.
When Mrs. Wu opened the door and saw Xu Qinyu, she invited her in. When Xu Qinyu explained her purpose, Mrs. Wu was stunned for a moment.
She also recognized those little beggars. Who in Yuanbao Town didn't know them? They were children with disabilities, some of whom were born with them, and some became blind and lame later in life. The little beggars were very pitiful, but no one had ever thought of taking them in, not even buying them as slaves. However, Miss Xu took them in and was willing to teach them how to cook and take them in as her apprentices.
Wu was still a little shocked.
After Wu was shocked, she said, "Wait a minute, young lady. I happen to have some coarse cloth clothes stored here. I'll go find a few for you."
There are a lot of cloths in the shop, and some of the cloths and ready-made clothes are stored at home.
Xu Qinyu gestured to the heights of several children and asked for eight sets at once, which was just enough for them to change.
Xu Qinyu bought two more mattresses so that she wouldn't need to cover herself with a quilt when sleeping at night because the weather was hot.
However, there were no beds in the small storage room, so she could only clean it up and spread the beds on the floor for the children to sleep on for a few nights. Then she asked Gao the carpenter to make a wider bed that would be big enough for the children.
When she returned to the restaurant, the children had already washed their clothes thoroughly and were all staying in the utility room. Xu Qinyu asked Gongger to bring the clothes in.
After they put on their clothes and came out, they all stood under the eaves a little embarrassedly. Actually, the children were not ugly, with handsome features, but they were too thin, with pale faces and skinny bodies.
She went into the utility room again. It had been cleaned and tidy, and she could sleep on the mattress.
Xu Qinyu told the children to sleep well at night, and then she and Gongger returned to Guihua Lane.
On the way, Gongger told Xu Qinyu that the children had no names.
The child with a damaged right eye is called one-eyed, the child with a red birthmark on his face is called ugly, the one with a lame foot is called lame, and the one with six fingers is called six-fingered.
Xu Qinyu thought about it and decided that this definitely wouldn’t work, so she still had to give the children some names.
But I will discuss the naming with my family when I get home tonight.
…
When they returned to Guihua Lane, Wen was still waiting in the kitchen. Every time Yu Niang came home late, she would be a little worried and would only feel relieved when she saw her return.
When Xu Qinyu came back, she told Wen that she had taken in a few little beggars. She wanted them to do odd jobs in the kitchen and could take them in as apprentices in the future.
Upon hearing this, Wen couldn't help but look at her daughter-in-law again. It wasn't that she disagreed, but most people didn't have such a heart. It was really a great honor for the Pei family to have a girl like Yu Niang as a daughter-in-law. It was a pity that the Pei family was defeated and she could not give Yu Niang anything.
She said, "That's great. They're just a few poor kids, and there are so few people in your kitchen who can help. It's a good idea to start by teaching a few of them."
Even though we haven't found a kitchen helper yet, Yu Niang is the one who has to work hard. It will take at least a year for Cheng Ge'er to be able to take charge of the kitchen, not to mention these children who are younger than Cheng Ge'er.
Xu Qinyu actually planned to continue recruiting kitchen helpers and continue teaching the children.
She can cook many dishes, including red and white dishes, the eight major cuisines, a dozen other cuisines, the Manchu-Han banquet, various private dishes, desserts, drinks and snacks. There is a limit to what Cheng Ge'er can learn. In fact, she wants to take in more apprentices. The food of this era is still in its infancy, and she hopes that it will flourish in the future.
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while and then went back to their rooms to sleep.
When we went to the restaurant the next day, the children had already woken up. One-Eye led three of them to fill the water tanks in the kitchen. The other three children were also very obedient and did their work well. They were also very considerate and did whatever work they were given. They also helped Cheng Ge'er wash and pick vegetables.
Cheng Ge'er led them and taught them how to wash and pick vegetables. The children were quite smart and learned quickly.
Now Cheng Ge'er is also responsible for buying groceries. With a few kids following him, it is much more convenient for him to go shopping. A small group of people follow behind him to help him carry the groceries. When other people see them on the road, they look at them curiously.
Did some of you recognize that these children are not the disabled children in Yuanbao Town?
…
Since the children were young, Xu Qinyu didn't let them wait in front of the table, but asked them to help in the kitchen and backyard.
After two days, Ping'an Restaurant was still closed. Everyone became curious and asked around. It turned out that the story of Xu Ji Restaurant and Ping'an Restaurant going to the government office for a quarrel a few days ago had spread.
The customers who often went to Xu Ji for breakfast and dinner were furious when they learned that Ping'an Restaurant was trying to bribe the waitress to give laxatives to Xu Ji's diners.
Everyone is scolding Ping An Restaurant for being vicious. How could that be? Even if they are jealous of their competitors' business, they cannot use such despicable methods. They run a restaurant themselves, but they serve laxatives. It is obvious that they do not care about the diners and only regard them as tools to make profits.
Needless to say, if this matter spread, even if Ping'an Restaurant continued to open for business, I'm afraid no customers would come.
Sure enough, a few days later, a notice for rent and sale was posted outside Ping'an Restaurant.
This shop was originally rented by Li and Zhang Quan. Now that this kind of thing happened, Zhang Quan knew that Ping'an Restaurant would not be able to continue operating, so he did not continue to rent the shop. Instead, he sold all the things in it. He planned to take Li back to his hometown town after she got better and open a small food stall to support his family.
Zhang Quan is also from the southwest, but his hometown is in a small village near the iron mine. The village is relatively poor. He became an apprentice to a chef when he was just over ten years old. After following him for ten years, his master let him go out to start his own business. He started by running a snack stall and gradually accumulated some money before coming to Yuanbao Town. He then continued to run a snack stall and saved enough money. Only two years ago was he able to rent a shop like this to open a restaurant.
In just two years, his restaurant was gone. It would be a lie to say he wasn't sad.
He also blamed his wife, but things had already happened and he could only think about the way out.
He planned to go back to his hometown town to continue his food business. His hometown town was not big and was a bit far from Yuanbao Town. It was next to the iron mine and the population in the town was mixed, making business difficult, but this was the only way.
Li lay on the bed at home crying day and night, saying that she didn't know that taking laxatives would be so serious, and said that she would go and apologize to Xu Ji's boss.
Zhang Quan told her that she should apologize, but even if she did, Ping'an Restaurant would be finished, its reputation would be completely ruined, and diners would no longer be willing to dine there.
Li was completely stunned and didn't even want to talk these days.
When she was able to move, Zhang Quan took her to Xu Ji to apologize.
Li was still limping when she walked and sincerely apologized to Xu Qinyu, but in the end she couldn't help crying to Xu Qinyu, "Mr. Xu, I really know I was wrong. Please give us a way out and tell those diners that I didn't mean it." In order to make money, she left her children in her hometown to be taken care of by her parents-in-law. She thought that after working for two years, she could save enough money to buy a house and bring her children and parents-in-law back to Yuanbao Town. But because of her mistake, she lost everything.
Although he still had some money, it was impossible for him to stay in Yuanbao Town and continue the food business.
Xu Qinyu sighed, "Even if I tell the diners, they won't believe it."
If the chef wants to tamper with the food, the diners will certainly not forgive him.
Zhang Quan finally took Li away, and soon the two of them set off.
As the two left, something happened in Guihua Lane.
The son of the old woman Luo divorced Lin, but Lin took the Luo family to court.
It was already evening when Xu Qinyu heard about this. It was Aunt Bai who told Gui about it. It turned out that Aunt Bai heard a commotion outside in the yard during the day, so she went out to take a look and found that people from the yamen were forcing Old Lady Luo to go to the yamen. Old Lady Luo was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, which attracted a lot of people. Everyone followed to watch the fun, and Aunt Bai also followed.
When I went to the yamen, I found out that the Luo family had divorced Lin, saying that she had no children.
The reason why she was childless was simply because Lin couldn't give birth to a son. Even if she had given birth to two daughters, she could still be divorced according to the seven grounds for divorce.
Lin was like a madman in the yamen, and kept saying that the Luo family wanted to sell the two daughters, Da Niu and Er Niu, to Xiangmanlou in Raozhou City, and begged the county magistrate to let the two daughters live with her.
It turned out that Old Lady Luo was indeed scared by Lin's beatings. Later, Lin didn't beat her every day. As long as Old Lady Luo didn't insult Lin and her two daughters, Lin wouldn't do anything. But Old Lady Luo hated Lin more and more. She knew that Lin stayed in the Luo family just for her two daughters.
Thinking about how Lin treated her in the past two or three months, she didn't want Lin to get what she wanted.
She finally couldn't stand it anymore, so she took out her own private savings of ten taels of silver and gave it to her son, asking him to divorce his wife and marry another woman.
The Luo family's money was managed by Luo Dagen and Luo Laohan themselves, and they kept the money they earned in their own hands. On weekdays, Old Lady Luo would ask her son and old man for some money to buy vegetables and grains, and she would save some from her palms. In the early years when she was able to work, she also helped people wash clothes. In addition, the one or two hundred coins that Lin earned every month were also given to her. In fact, she had secretly saved more than ten taels of silver over the years.
Old Lady Luo hated Lin to the core. She also understood that neither her son nor her husband believed that Lin had beaten her. So, if she could just ask her son to divorce Lin, then the two stinky girls would be Luo's children, and Lin couldn't take them away. Even if they were naked, they would be enough to piss her off to death. After divorcing Lin, she could sell the girls to Xiangmanlou for over twenty taels of silver. However, this twenty taels of silver was out in the open, so she couldn't get her hands on it. That's why she hesitated beforehand whether to use her own private savings of ten taels of silver to help her son divorce his wife and remarry.
At first, she was reluctant to give up her ten taels of silver, but later, when she saw Lin, she felt so angry that her heart was bleeding, so she couldn't help but take out her own private money and give it to her son.
Luo Dagen got ten taels of silver. He had some saved and some left after marrying a new wife. He also wanted a son, but Lin couldn't give birth, so he took the ten taels of silver from Luo's wife and divorced Lin.
When he was marrying Lin, she asked him for two daughters.
Of course Luo Dagen was unwilling to give it, saying that Da Niu and Er Niu were Luo family's children.
Privately, Luo Dagen was thinking that he had finally raised the two girls, so how could he possibly give them to the Lin family? Even if he didn't sell them to Xiangmanlou, he could get a large sum of betrothal money by finding a husband for the eldest girl in a few years.
Lin knew that after she left, Old Lady Luo would definitely continue to instigate Luo Dagen to sell the eldest girl to Xiangmanlou first, and then wait a few years to sell the second girl as well.
She couldn't stand it, so she went to the government office and sued the Luo family.
At first, the people of Yuanbao Town were puzzled when they heard that she was suing her husband's family. How could a divorced wife sue her husband's family and want her daughter to marry her?
Lin stated her demands in court, and also said that Old Lady Luo and Luo Dagen wanted to sell her two daughters to Xiangmanlou. When this was said, the people of Yuanbao Town did not believe it. They said that how could a grandmother and a father sell their daughters to such a place? Even in years of famine, children were sold to wealthy families as slaves. A place like Xiangmanlou was a hell for women, and no one believed it.
The other neighbors in Guihua Lane knew the Luo family well, and they immediately told everyone around them, "You don't live on South Street, so you definitely don't know who the Luo family is. Old Mrs. Luo once had a daughter, and she sold her to a place like that. She used the money to marry her son, and her granddaughter is even worse than her daughter. If she dared to sell her daughter, why wouldn't she dare to do the same to her granddaughter? And you don't know how evil Old Mrs. Luo is. She beats her daughter-in-law and granddaughter at the slightest provocation."
"Oh my God, this person is so cruel. Isn't he afraid of retribution? Who would beat and scold their daughter-in-law like this? Even if you want to discipline her, you can't use violence."
"No wonder this woman, after being divorced, went to court to demand her daughter. So this is what happened."
"Ah, the mother and daughter are really pitiful. Even if they make trouble at the government office, it will be useless. The county magistrate can't do anything about it. After all, it's a family matter. If the Luo family refuses to release them, this woman really can't take her two daughters away."
In fact, what everyone said was right. The government office had no way of handling the matter, and there had never been such a case before. However, the county magistrate was kind-hearted and had heard about the Luo family in Guihua Lane from his daughter Yang Zhizhi.
Yang Zhizhi also heard about it from Xu Qinyu's casual conversation when she went to play with her before.
This kind of thing is already infuriating, and when Yang Zhizhi told her family about it, the county magistrate took it to heart.
But Lin's request was that her two daughters leave with her, and the county magistrate could not make the ruling. The law of the Dasheng Dynasty since ancient times was that no matter whether a woman divorced or divorced, her children would follow the man, unless the man was willing to let his children follow the woman, then they could leave with her.
All the county magistrate could do was to try to persuade the Luo family indirectly to let them give their daughter to Lin, and also tell Lin how she could get two children from the Luo family.
Lin was still crying and her speech was a little delirious. She had been divorced for two days and had been staying at the gate of the Luo family during these two days. She didn't dare to go anywhere, for fear that if she left, Mrs. Luo would sell her two daughters to Xiangmanlou.
She didn't expect that even though she resisted Old Lady Luo, she still couldn't break free from another kind of shackles that bound her.
Seeing that Lin was still crying, the county magistrate said to Mrs. Luo, "Even if this is your Luo family's granddaughter, are you really going to do such a cruel thing for money?"
Then he turned to Luo Dagen and said, "They are your daughters after all. How could you bear to let them go into such a hell for the sake of money? Is money really the most important thing in your eyes?"
The county magistrate emphasized the word "silver and money" and glanced at Lin.
Old Mrs. Luo snorted twice. Everyone gets up early and goes to bed late every day. Who isn't running around for those two taels of silver? If money isn't important, what is important?
money?
Lin finally listened a little. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shouted, "I, I am willing to give you money, Dagen, I am willing to give you silver, please give me my two daughters, please, Dagen."
Old Lady Luo sneered, "Where did you get the money? You don't have any money at all. Besides, how much money do you plan to give to take away the eldest and second girls?"
Lin clenched her fists, her eyes red. "It's true that I don't have any money now, but I will earn it. I will work hard to earn money. I can write an IOU and pay a portion of it every month. I am willing to give you twenty taels of silver. Dagen, please let Da Niu and Er Niu follow me, or, or whatever amount you say, I'm willing to pay." She can help people wash clothes, and she can also go to the river to catch fish, shrimps and snails and sell them to Xu's. She knew Xu's would accept this, and for the sake of her two daughters, she would be willing to work herself to death.
Old Lady Luo snorted, "You talk so lightly! You even dare to say twenty taels of silver? You only make two hundred coins a month washing clothes and doing odd jobs. How can you expect to earn these twenty taels of silver? Dagen, don't believe her."
She didn't want to let Lin get what she wanted at all. She asked her son to divorce Lin and leave the eldest and second daughters at home just to make things difficult for Lin and to piss her off. How could she easily let Lin pay money to take her granddaughters away? She would never let Lin get what she wanted.
Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and cursed, "Oh, you old woman, you are so cruel! People said they were willing to give you silver. Twenty taels of silver, selling them to a place like Xiangmanlou would only add a few taels. You sold your granddaughters to a place like that. You might as well let their mother pay the money to take them away."
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