The two of them went to the restaurant. Since Yuan and Lin had come today, they didn't go back and cleaned the restaurant again.
The three men were very happy to see Xu Qinyu and wanted to say hello, but when they saw the man next to Xu Qinyu, they couldn't help but feel reserved. The three men recognized Pei Weixuan and knew that he was the husband of their boss. He had been out with the caravan for more than a year and had not returned. Now they suddenly saw him, and he seemed a little strange.
Xu Qinyu also jumped off the donkey cart and waited for Pei Weixuan and Yuan Shi to carry the kitchen utensils back to the kitchen. Seeing that her fourth brother wanted to help chop the firewood in the backyard, Xu Qinyu hurriedly grabbed his sleeve and said, "Fourth brother, don't bother with this. You've been running around outside all year and you must be very tired. Go back and rest first. I and Auntie are here, so there's nothing else to do. Ma Liu will come over later to help me take the letter back. After you finish this, I should go back too."
She had already put the two letters in her pocket when she came here just now, and she also asked Cheng Ge'er to go to the inn and ask Ma Liu to come directly to the restaurant.
Seeing that the restaurant really couldn't help much, and as for Xu Feng and his friends, Pei Weixuan nodded and went back to Guihua Lane.
Xu Qinyu and a few others cleaned up the remaining shrimps, crabs, eels and snails.
It was not convenient for Ma Liu to bring soup with him on his way back to Beijing, so he originally planned to make the remaining river fish into pepper and salt flavor. However, thinking that he would ask Cheng Ge'er to send Ma Liu by donkey cart later, he changed the flavors to other flavors. The shrimp was made into pepper and salt shrimp, the crab was made into spicy crab, the eel was directly roasted, and the snail was made into spicy field snail, which would be sent directly to the boat later.
As soon as it was done, Ma Liu came over. His stomach rumbled as he smelled the aroma from the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu asked him to eat a few custard buns to fill his stomach first.
As soon as the custard bun entered his mouth, Ma Liu didn't even bother to say a word. He kept exclaiming how delicious it was while eating.
Xu Qinyu served him some brown sugar rice porridge.
Ma Liu had a big appetite. He ate twenty custard buns, each about the size of a fist, and drank three bowls of brown sugar porridge. His stomach was bloated. He felt a little embarrassed when he saw Xu Qinyu. "The food cooked by Sister Xu is really delicious."
He couldn't control himself when eating.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "We made a lot today, so it's okay for Sixth Brother to eat as much as he wants. In addition to the custard buns, there are also some milk steamed buns, pepper shrimp, grilled eel, spicy crab and spicy snails, as well as dried meat. Eat these as soon as possible. The weather is starting to get hot, and they will go bad in two days. The dried meat can be kept for another day, but it's better to eat it quickly." There were more than thirty officers and soldiers in this group, and actually, all these things could be eaten in one day.
After saying that, she took out two more letters and handed them to Ma Liu. "I'll have to trouble you to run another trip for me when you return to Beijing."
"Sister Xu, please stop saying such polite things." Ma Liu accepted the letter. "I'm happy to run errands for Sister Xu as many times as I want."
Ma Liu didn't waste any time and followed Cheng Ge'er to load the food onto the donkey cart, and then headed towards the canal.
When they arrived at the canal, the officers and soldiers were waiting eagerly on the boat. When they saw Ma Liu, they automatically got off the boat and came to move things without Ma Liu saying anything.
Last year, they also ate the food that Ma Liu brought back from Miss Xu, but it was too little. Each person only ate a few bites and was not satisfied at all. Now, seeing Ma Liu and Cheng Ge'er driving a donkey cart over with a large wooden basin and an iron pot on it, they couldn't help but cheer.
Everyone quickly moved all the food from the donkey cart onto the boat and poured it into the cooking utensils they brought with them.
He also helped clean the kitchen utensils in the canal before returning them to Cheng Ge'er.
Only then did Cheng Ge'er drive the donkey cart back to the restaurant.
Even if the kitchen utensils had already been washed, Yuan and the others cleaned and ironed them again.
They wash and scald the kitchen utensils in the restaurant every day, and other places are also clean.
After Cheng Ge'er left, Ma Liu and his group of officers and soldiers gathered around to eat. They couldn't help but say, "What a delicious food! What kind of food is this?"
Ma Liu described the food one by one to the officers and soldiers. Everyone was drooling as they listened, as none of them had ever heard of or tasted before.
"Ma Liu, stop talking and eat quickly."
After Ma Liu finished his meal, he distributed the food to his colleagues.
Although Madam Xu prepared a lot of food this time, they were so many and had such big appetites that they ate everything they had prepared. Even though spicy food was not suitable for breakfast, they ate it all up. There was still a lot of dried meat left, so Ma Liu gave each of them a bag and said, "This dried meat can be kept for three or four days, but we have to eat it up quickly. Madam Xu said that it's hot and any food won't keep well."
But even if he couldn't let it go, Ma Liu still couldn't help but want to let it go.
He didn't bring it back for his mother and wife to eat, but planned to bring it back for Miss Xu's parents and brother to try. He wanted to reassure them and not worry about Miss Xu, because Miss Xu was really amazing.
The others couldn't help themselves. With such delicious food in front of them, how could they resist hesitation? They finished the dried meat that day.
It takes six or seven days to return to Beijing by water from the border town. Ma Liu kept the package of dried meat and placed it in a ventilated place. But on the evening of the fourth day, he smelled the dried meat and found that it had a bit of sour taste. He had no choice but to eat it all by himself. The taste was pretty good, but it had a bit of sour taste.
The food made by Miss Xu is delicious, but it is not a panacea. It will go bad if left for too long, and if you eat it, you will still get diarrhea.
So after Ma Liu finished eating, he started to have diarrhea in the middle of the night and had to go to the toilet twice.
He had diarrhea for a whole day the next day before it stopped. He had no choice but to give up the idea of bringing food to Miss Xu's home.
If Xu Qinyu knew about this, she would be at a loss whether to laugh or cry. These cooked foods cannot be kept for a long time. It is no problem to keep them for several days in the cold winter, but the taste will change after a few days. That's why she didn't plan to have anyone send cooked foods to her family. She wanted to save two hundred bottles of wine brewed this year, and the ham so that they can be eaten in the spring of next year. They cannot be eaten raw yet, but they can be stewed, stir-fried, or boiled. She would then ask someone to send them to the capital for her family to taste.
I never thought that Ma Liu would dare to keep the dried meat for a few days when summer was almost approaching.
Even though this jerky is fried very dry, it still contains some moisture. In addition, it does not contain any additives or preservatives. As long as it is meat, it cannot be stored for a long time.
Ma Liu returned to the capital in a depressed mood, and naturally went to the Dechang Marquis Mansion first.
The Dechang Marquis's Mansion was still the same. The third daughter, Xu Qinhui, had not been out for social events for more than a year since she broke her leg and disfigured herself. In addition, when she was sick with diarrhea, she was surprised to learn that Yuanbao Town had not been massacred by the officers and soldiers sent by Empress Dowager Fu, and that her second sister and other relatives of Prince Shu had also survived the diarrhea. She fell ill again out of shock, so she stayed at home for almost a year to recuperate.
The wound on her face was just a very faint white mark, which could not be seen unless you looked closely. When she put on rouge and powder on her face, nothing could be seen. Her leg had healed, but she still had a slight limp when she walked, which could not be seen unless you looked closely. The doctor also said that after another two years of rest, she should be completely healed.
But she still felt a little regretful, thinking that it might not be worth it to do so in order to stay away from the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu.
It would be better for her to enter the palace and help the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu eliminate Prince Shu. However, she had no idea how Prince Shu had rebelled and attacked the capital, and she was also afraid that the crazy old woman Empress Dowager Fu would kill her too after she found out.
No matter what, it's too late to regret now.
It will be impossible for her to enter the palace and become a concubine of the new emperor in the future, so it is better to think about Prince Shu's affairs.
There are still eight years before Prince Shu ascends the throne. She still has eight years to ease the relationship between her second sister and Prince Shu. If she can ease the relationship and get close to her second sister, then when Prince Shu becomes emperor and returns to the capital, she might still be able to become his concubine. Even if her second sister is still alive at that time, she doesn't need to worry, because an emperor's harem cannot have only one woman.
Therefore, the most urgent thing is to contact Prince Shu first and write a letter to him, telling him that it was not her idea to let the second sister marry in place of him, and to put the blame on the grandmother.
She is already sixteen years old. It will take eight years for King Shu to ascend the throne, and she also has eight years left.
In eight years, she believed that she could persuade King Shu.
But eight years later she would be twenty-four...
Seeing that she couldn't enter the palace, her mother gave up the idea and wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but she and her father stopped her.
Xu Shuping also hoped that his daughter could marry Prince Shu, but it was not easy to say it out loud, so he was able to block it for his daughter.
Xu Qinhui also knew that Ma Liu helped her second sister deliver the letter to the second wife, so she asked Ping'er to help her keep an eye on him. If Ma Liu came into the house, she should tell her that she wanted to meet Ma Liu and learn about the situation of her second sister and Prince Shu's family in the border town.
One day, I was lying on the couch when I saw Ping'er come in breathlessly, "Miss, Ma Liu is here to deliver a letter to the master and mistress of the second house again."
Xu Qinhui hurriedly sat up and instructed Ping'er, "Ping'er, go to Second Uncle and Second Aunt. When you see Ma Liu coming out, tell him that I asked him to come over. I have something to ask him."
Ping'er nodded and hurried to the gate of the second house.
Ma Liu gave the two letters to Xue, sat down to drink some tea and eat some fruit, then scratched his head and told Xue about his embarrassing experience on the boat. Xue was left in a state of amusement and tears.
Ma Liu also wanted to tell Xue that there was no need to worry about Miss Xu. Miss Xu was living very well in the border town, even though it was a border town and a relatively poor place. But he could see that Miss Xu loved cooking, not only for her livelihood but also as what she wanted to do most.
After Ma Liu left, Xue couldn't wait to open the letter her daughter gave her. When she first felt the thickness of the envelope, she was wondering what her daughter had written to her and why it was so thick. Could it be a recipe for her brother? When she opened the envelope, she saw a silver note of 2,300 taels inside. Xue was stunned and hurriedly opened the letter her daughter gave her.
Only then did I realize that what my daughter said about being able to make a lot of money was true.
After paying taxes, Yu Niang can still make four to five thousand taels a year from the restaurant she runs. Now she plans to open a winery, which will make even more money.
He also told her not to send him money in the future, as she was not short of it. He also asked her to give the money from her mother's family to her uncle, so that her uncle could save enough money quickly to expand his barbecue business. He also said that every year someone would send her a silver note of one or two thousand taels, so that she could spend it as much as she wanted.
As she watched, Xue felt distressed. Her Yu Niang was only seventeen. The girls of the same age as Yu Niang from other noble families in the capital were all living a life of luxury, and their daily routine was to go to banquets, watch plays, and admire flowers. But her Yu Niang had already opened a restaurant and was busy all day long.
But since Yu Niang was so capable, Xue was not that worried, but mostly felt distressed.
After wiping away her tears, Xue kept the letter and banknotes away. When the master came back, she would tell him that she would definitely not spend the banknotes carelessly and would leave them all to Yu Niang.
She gave the three hundred taels of silver to all her brothers from her natal family so that her brother could take over the shop and expand his business as soon as possible.
This way, if she earns more, she can get some of it, and it is enough to spend this money.
Ma Liu left the second room's yard and saw a maid next to the hanging flower gate.
The maid saw him and her face lit up with joy. "Excuse me, are you Master Ma? My daughter wants to invite you over."
Ma Liu frowned, "Who is your girl?"
There are no illegitimate daughters in the Dechang Marquis's Mansion, only three legitimate daughters in the third room. The girl from the first room seems to have married, and Miss Xu from the second room is still in the border town. The only one left is Xu Qinhui from the third room, who asked Miss Xu to marry on her behalf.
Ma Liu's face fell immediately. He turned around and left without paying any attention to Ping'er.
Ping Er followed behind and called out, "Hey, Master Ma, wait a minute."
Ma Liu turned around and sneered, "Is it the third daughter of your family who knew her fiancé was going to be exiled, and then asked her cousin to marry her in her place?"
Ping'er's face flushed crimson, and she spoke up for her daughter, "Master Ma, that's not the case. It has nothing to do with my daughter. My old lady doted on my daughter, so she went to the palace to ask for it without my knowledge. My daughter didn't know about it at all, and after she found out, she fell ill and felt sorry for the second young lady."
It was a trick. Ma Liu didn't believe it at all. How could the old lady of Marquis Dechang's mansion, an old woman in her fifties or sixties, go to the palace to beg? Why did the new emperor agree and even write an edict? It was obvious that there was something fishy going on.
Ping'er did not lie. Everyone in the mansion knew that it was the old lady who went to the palace to ask for the imperial edict. Because the old lady doted on Xu Qinhui, she took the responsibility. Outsiders had no idea that it was Xu Qinhui who went to the palace to ask for it herself.
Xu Qinhui usually treats the maids around her well and never beats or scolds them, so Ping'er is very protective of her master and truly believes that the imperial edict was requested by the old lady.
Ping'er continued, "Our daughter was very worried about the second young lady. She had been trying to contact her and even fell ill. After she recovered, she went to the temple on the mountain to pray for the second young lady. But then she broke her leg and injured her face. She's been confined to the mansion for over a year and hasn't left the house much."
Ma Liu didn't even bother to listen and turned around and continued walking.
He walked a little fast and Ping'er couldn't catch up with him. She stomped her feet and went back to tell Xu Qinhui.
Xu Qinhui didn't show it on her face, but she felt that a stinky soldier dared to give her the cold shoulder.
Cursing Ma Liu in her heart, Xu Qinhui felt a little discouraged. How should she hand the letter to Prince Shu?
Forget it, let dad think of a solution. If nothing works, I’ll ask dad to pay attention and ask someone to deliver the letter.
She didn't dare send the letter privately because she was afraid that the letter to the empress dowager and the new emperor would be intercepted, and she would be doomed then.
No matter what, this letter has to be sent.
Otherwise, almost two years have passed and she hasn't said a word to Prince Shu.
…
Xu Qinyu had no idea about the second wife Xu Qinhui's plan. After sending Ma Liu off that day, she went back to Guihua Lane first.
When I got back, I found that all the firewood in the yard had been chopped.
Fourth brother really can't sit still. If he were asked to go back to his room and lie down now, he would definitely not be able to do so. Thinking about the increasing number of people in the family, she wanted to buy a bigger house to live in.
Wen, Ning Jie'er, and Fourth Brother were all there, so Xu Qinyu said, "Mother, Fourth Brother, Ning Jie'er, the yard we live in now is a little small. Ning Jie'er is growing up, and Yan Jie'er and Feng'er are also getting older. Grandmother will definitely come back to live with us in the future, so I want to buy a bigger house. It doesn't have to be too big, just two entrances and five or six rooms, which will be enough for our family. What do you think, Mother?"
Wen smiled and said, "I'll listen to Yu Niang. I'm free today. Do you want me to accompany you to take a look at the house?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head, "No need, mother, you just rest at home, and my fourth brother and I will go out."
Since Fourth Brother couldn't sit idle anyway, why not go out with her to look around the house?
She preferred Laixi Lane in front, where there was a river. On weekdays, women would wash clothes and children would play by the water. It was very lively and full of the joy of the city.
And Xia's sister-in-law lives in Laixi Lane.
Shao Ge'er from the Xia family is a little older than Yan Jie'er, so the children from the two families can play together.
She is not selling the yard here. She has lived here for almost two years and has some feelings for it. Besides, she is not short of these dozens of taels of silver, so she might as well keep it and use it as a warehouse in the future.
I talked to Pei Weixuan about it, and Pei Weixuan also thought the house in Laixi Lane was nice.
The two of them went out and prepared to go to Xixiang.
Laixi Lane was not far away, so Xu Qinyu did not drive the donkey cart. It was because the yard at home was too small, and it was difficult to put both the donkey and the cart in. The backyard was not big either, just an aisle, so Xu Qinyu wanted to buy a bigger house as soon as possible.
When I went out and walked to the entrance of the alley, I ran into a donkey cart. It was the old woman Luo and her son Luo Dagen from the end of Guihua Alley.
Old Mrs. Luo looked ashen, and Luo Dagen's face was also not looking good, as pale as earth. It was obvious that something had happened. Even when Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan passed by them, neither of them noticed and walked past in panic.
In the past, if Old Lady Luo had run into Xu Qinyu and the Pei family in Guihua Lane, she would have definitely rolled her eyes.
Xu Qinyu raised her eyebrows. What happened to the Luo family?
But she remembered that two months ago, Luo Dagen brought home a girl who was about 20 years old. She thought that Luo Dagen had married a new wife, but she heard from the aunts in Guihua Lane that the girl had not yet been married into the family. The girl had no father or mother and no relatives at home. She was the only one left. Somehow she was deceived by the Luo family and moved into the Luo family directly.
Xu Qinyu thought the girl was stupid. Even in the future, it would be better not to live in the man's house before getting married, otherwise she would be looked down upon.
This was in ancient times, I really don’t know what this girl was thinking.
She had seen the girl several times. She was good-looking, a little coquettish, with a pair of fox eyes, but she was a nice person. She would greet everyone in Guihua Lane and nod to Xu Qinyu every time she saw her.
Xu Qinyu also heard from people in Guihua Lane that they had warned the girl that the Luo family was not a good family. Old Mrs. Luo beat and scolded her previous daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and even wanted to sell her granddaughter to a brothel. They also said that Luo Dagen would occasionally beat his wife, so they told the girl to run away quickly. The Luo family wanted a son but didn't want to pay a betrothal gift, so they tricked her into their home. Once she got pregnant, she wouldn't get any betrothal gift at all.
But this girl looked smart, but she was actually silly. She even told them, "Don't worry, auntie, Dagen and my mother-in-law treat me very well and will definitely give me a betrothal gift."
Everyone in Guihua Lane thought that this girl was a real fool.
Seeing that he couldn't persuade her, he gave up trying to persuade her, still thinking that Luo Dagen would definitely make this silly girl pregnant soon.
Seeing Old Lady Luo and Luo Dagen hurrying back, Xu Qinyu instinctively felt that it might be related to that girl.
As expected, the aunties who were chatting in front saw Xu Qinyu and said, "Hey, Miss Xu, isn't this your husband? Your husband is back?"
Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan stopped, and Xu Qinyu smiled, "Yes, Aunt Liu, my husband is back, so the restaurant is closed today."
Several aunts looked at Pei Weixuan, but did not dare to look him in the eye. They always felt that Miss Xu's husband was more solemn and steady than before, and had an aura that people dared not ignore.
They heard that Miss Xu's husband went out to do business and only earned a few silver coins a year, which was not as much as Miss Xu earned in a month. Alas, the Pei family is really lucky to marry such a good daughter-in-law like Miss Xu.
A few aunts asked the two what they were doing outside. Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "We're going to look at houses in Laixi Lane. We have a large family, and Sister Yan and Brother Feng are getting older. With the donkey cart, we're running out of space. We want to buy a house with two entrances in the front."
The women all said that it was time to buy a bigger house. As they spoke, they moved closer and asked, "Ms. Xu, did you see Mrs. Luo and her son just now?"
"I saw it." Xu Qinyu's heart moved slightly, "But both of them looked unhappy. Did something happen?"
The woman chuckled and whispered to Xu Qinyu, "Didn't Luo Dagen trick an orphan girl back before? He dreamed of getting her pregnant so he wouldn't have to pay a betrothal gift. But just now, Old Lady Luo and Luo Dagen went to the government office to report that the orphan girl had run away with all their money."
How did the aunts know this? It was because at noon, Old Lady Luo went out and asked them if they had seen her daughter-in-law. She said that she had not seen her since she woke up in the morning, but every day her daughter-in-law would go to the river in front of Xi Lane to wash clothes, but she had not seen her until noon today, so she asked them if they had seen her.
Of course they didn't see it. Old Mrs. Luo went back muttering, and then rushed out again after a while, her face was pale, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Have you seen that little bitch of mine? She ran away with all the silver and money in my family." It turned out that after Old Mrs. Luo went back, she finally found that the locks on the boxes in her house were all open. When she searched, the silver and money she had saved were gone. The boxes where her son and Old Man Luo kept their money were also not opened, and all the silver and money in them disappeared.
The result was obvious: the orphan girl knew how to open the lock and ran away with all the money.
The aunts were stunned as they listened to Old Lady Luo slapping her thigh and crying, "Of our forty taels of silver, not a cent is left! This damned bitch! I was wondering how a girl could be so shameless as to live in a man's house before getting married. Turns out she's a liar!"
That was all the money her family had, as well as the money Lin had given her over a year, all in there.
Old Lady Luo was cursing and crying at the same time. Luo Dagen came out driving a donkey cart and called out to her with a grim expression, "Mom, hurry up and get in the cart and go to the government office to report to the authorities."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
