The carriage was parked right at the doorstep. Xu Qinyu didn't know who it was, so she jumped off the donkey cart and looked towards the carriage.
When the fourth brother got off the carriage, the person inside still didn't come out. Xu Qinyu didn't know whether he was looking for her or the Pei family. Seeing that no one came out, she planned to move the ham back to the house with her fourth brother.
The person in the carriage was Wen Yunling. Halfway back, she thought of the scene of the chef from Donglaiju supporting the pregnant woman. She felt a little sick and after hesitating, she asked the coachman to turn the carriage around.
Arriving at Laixi Lane, she stopped in front of Pei's house, hesitating whether to go down and knock on the door. Later, she felt too embarrassed to go down. After hesitating for a while, she saw a donkey cart coming from a distance. Xu Qinyu and her fourth cousin were sitting on it. When the two stopped in front of the door, Xu Qinyu glanced at her carriage for a few times and didn't even ask who it was. She was planning to go straight into the house.
Wen Yunling was anxious, and hurriedly lifted the carriage curtain and shouted, "Xu Qinyu."
Xu Qinyu turned around and saw that it was Wen Yunling. She raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Ever since Aunt Gui came back, she has completely lost contact with that place.
Now that Concubine Gui has become Mrs. Zhu, no one outside knows about it except a few people in the family. Even the neighbors think that the mother of Prefect Zhu has come to Yuanbao Town to recuperate, so there is no need to contact them at all. During the holidays, Mrs. Wen will not go there to visit Mr. Wen and Mrs. Wen.
So she hadn't seen Wen Yunling for a long time, but she knew that she opened a restaurant, and that her restaurant business was not very good, and she was wondering if Wen Yunling would come to cause trouble.
Unexpectedly, Wen Yunling never came to make trouble.
Xu Qinyu had some understanding of Wen Yunling. If she came to cause trouble, she would probably go directly to her house and would not use any insidious means. For example, if Wen Yunling didn't like someone, she would turn hostile and say rude things to their face, but she would not use cunning means behind their back.
She is unreasonable, unreasonable, and has a bad temper, but she doesn't dare to do anything truly evil or kill people.
At this moment, she didn't even expect why Wen Yunling came to see her.
Pei Weixuan stood beside Yu Niang and glanced at Wen Yunling lightly.
The unpleasant words that Wen Yunling was about to say were stuck in her throat. When Pei Weixuan glanced at her, she was startled.
She used to be a sickly person who could barely speak a few words, but now, for some reason, when she looked at her, she felt a little frightened. She had been planning to say something unpleasant, but now she couldn't say it. She just looked at Xu Qinyu and said dryly, "I have something to ask you."
Xu Qinyu also looked at her, "Just tell me what's going on."
Wen Yunling glanced at Pei Weixuan. These were not nice things to say, and she was too embarrassed to say them in front of her fourth brother.
Xu Qinyu understood and turned to Pei Weixuan and said, "Fourth brother, move the ham in first."
Pei Weixuan nodded and moved the ham from the donkey cart back to the house.
Shi Liu, who was standing beside Wen Yunling, also leaned over and stared at the remaining ham on the donkey cart.
Xu Qinyu turned around and saw the maid staring at the ham.
She didn't recognize Shi Liu. She was not a member of the Wen family. She must be a maid bought by the Wen family after her grandmother passed away.
After Pei Weixuan had gone into the house and disappeared from view, Wen Yunling waved towards Xu Qinyu, "Come here, I have something to tell you."
Xu Qinyu frowned. "If you have anything to say, just tell me now. I still have to move the remaining ham back."
Wen Yunling glared at Xu Qinyu and finally said, "Is it about the kitchen helper in your restaurant? Are you going to listen to me or not? If not, I'm going back."
Related to Dong Qian?
Xu Qinyu frowned and then went over to Wen Yunling's carriage. "What's going on? How is it related to Dong Qian?"
She really couldn't imagine that anything could be related to Dong Qian. Dong Qian was a good person. Although he was the young master of Donglai Ju, he didn't give any of what he learned from her to Donglai Ju.
When Xu Qinyu came over, Wen Yunling leaned out and whispered a few words in her ear.
Hearing this, Xu Qinyu's eyes gradually widened, and finally her face became angry. She was almost mad to death after hearing this.
After Wen Yunling finished speaking, she saw that Xu Qinyu was very angry. She looked at the ham again and said to her, "I have helped you so much, shouldn't you be grateful to me? What is this on your donkey cart? Give me two as a way to repay the favor." She also didn't want Xu Qinyu to owe her a favor. The two of them didn't get along, so it would be awkward to owe her a favor.
Xu Qinyu glanced at Wen Yunling and felt that she would not lie to her.
But Wen Yunling has a very bad temper, and I don’t know whether I should believe her.
Xu Qinyu thought for a while and said, "I will tell Dong Qian about this. If it's true, can I give you two hams?" If it was true, she didn't want to owe Wen Yunling a favor.
She either thought that Wen Yunling would trick her into giving her two hams for no reason, or she was worried that what she said was false, and that she would use the hams for other things and use them to cause trouble in her restaurant.
But Wen Yunling couldn't have predicted that she would go back from the workshop with her fourth brother to get the ham today.
So Xu Qinyu couldn't figure out whether what Wen Yunling said was true or false.
Wen Yunling rolled her eyes at Xu Qinyu. Thinking of how familiar Xu Qinyu and Fourth Brother had been, she asked curiously, "Are you and Fourth Brother really married?"
What I mean is, are the two of them really husband and wife?
Fourth brother is a sickly person and usually cold, but the way he looked at Xu Qinyu just now shocked her a little. Even she could see that the way Fourth brother looked at Xu Qinyu was different.
Xu Qinyu was a substitute bride and was not originally the fourth brother's fiancée. She thought that the two of them would never become husband and wife.
"What's it got to do with you?" Xu Qinyu glared at Wen Yunling, finding her words incomprehensible.
Wen Yunling originally wanted to retort, but when she saw her fourth brother coming out of the house again, he glanced at her coldly, hurriedly lowered the curtain, and told the coachman to leave Laixi Lane.
It's really strange. Although Fourth Brother also looked cold when he was in exile, he wasn't this scary.
To be honest, during the exile, the Wen family targeted the Pei family.
But they didn't really do anything, it was all just words, and Fourth Brother didn't care at all.
There was one time when she had an argument with Xu Qinyu over a big rock. They almost came to blows, but in the end they didn't.
Now she was just talking to Xu Qinyu. Fourth brother looked like this, it was really scary.
After Wen Yunling left, Xu Qinyu also brought a ham, and Pei Weixuan carried the remaining few in together.
As they entered the house, Xu Qinyu whispered to Pei Weixuan, "Fourth brother, Wen Yunling just told me that Dong Qian's father had a mistress in Raozhou City. She said she saw her in Raozhou City today and came to tell me specifically to tell the Dong family. I just don't know if what she said is true or not."
Fourth brother is smart, maybe he can tell whether Wen Yunling’s words are true or false.
Pei Weixuan said gently, "She didn't lie to you. She had just returned from Raozhou City, and she had witnessed it with her own eyes."
Xu Qinyu was surprised and asked, "Fourth brother, how do you know that what she said is true?"
Pei Weixuan told Yu Niang that from Wen Yunling's personality and expression, the thick mud and weeds on the wheels of her carriage, and the fact that the makeup on Wen Yunling's face had all fallen off, it was obvious that she had been on a long journey and had only just returned.
Xu Qinyu really admired him.
But what Wen Yunling said was true, this matter was really disgusting.
Isn’t this what a Phoenix Man does when he wipes out his entire family?
It's even more disgusting than the Phoenix Man who wipes out the entire family. If a Phoenix Man wipes out the entire family, at least the child is still with the woman, and the family property will at least be left to the woman's child, so they are related by blood.
Yue Weimin is so good that he not only wants to wipe out the family, but also wants to give all the family property to the children he has with his concubines.
While he was eating up the family's food and keeping a mistress, he must have also despised children related to the Dong family's bloodline.
Even if the second son born to the Dong family took his surname, he would probably still feel aggrieved, thinking that the Dong family had made him marry into the family, making the world look down on him.
As for his second son, he probably doesn't have much affection for him.
Xu Qinyu was very angry. "Fourth brother, the chef of Donglaiju is a Phoenix man. He eats up all the family property. It's really disgusting. Fourth brother, I'm going to the Dong family later."
She had to tell Dong about this as soon as possible so that Dong could make preparations early.
"Let me take you there."
It was getting dark, and he was not comfortable with Yu Niang going out alone.
Xu Qinyu nodded.
After putting the ham back, the two planned to go to Dong's house.
Xu Qinyu hesitated for a moment, and finally took two hams and went to the Wen family first. She knocked on the door and gave the two hams to the doorman, asking the doorman to give the hams to Wen Yunling as a thank-you gift to her.
The doorman was a little stunned. Finally, after seeing Xu Qinyu leave, he sent the ham to Wen Yunling.
Wen Yunling looked at the ham and pursed her lips.
She didn't know how to eat it either, so she decided to ask the chef from Xiangrui Restaurant to try making it tomorrow.
In fact, she had only eaten food made by Qinyu once, more than a year ago when she went to Xu Ji to find Xu Qinyu to open a restaurant together.
It was just that one time. Later, seeing that Xu Ji's business was good, she felt annoyed and a little angry, so she didn't go to eat there. Later, seeing that Xu Ji's business was getting better and better, she felt annoyed and didn't want to take care of Xu Qinyu's business anymore, so she never went there again.
She knew how delicious the food Xu Qinyu cooked was.
In fact, almost everyone in Yuanbao Town has eaten Xu Ji’s food.
In Yuanbao Town, everyone, from officials to clerks, wealthy gentry, and ordinary people, has eaten there, because although Xu Ji's breakfast and dinner are a bit expensive, there are also cheap fish balls, fish heads, and braised fish.
Pomegranate stared at the ham, feeling extremely greedy.
Even if it is still raw, you can smell the rich aroma, which is completely different from the taste of ordinary bacon and pickled meat, and has a hint of salty fragrance.
…
After leaving the Wen family, Xu Qinyu went to the Dong family.
The Dong family has five courtyards and lives on the Dong family's side, not far from the Wen family.
After knocking on the door, the doorman recognized Xu Qinyu and immediately went in to report. Dong naturally asked the doorman to invite the person in quickly.
After inviting the guests in, Dong had tea and fruit served and said with a smile, "Master Xu, what brings you here? Are you looking for Brother Qian? He's in the west courtyard. Do you want me to ask the maid to call him over?"
Dong knew that Xu Qinyu was wholeheartedly teaching Qian'er.
She had a similar idea to Qian Ge'er. She would not add the recipe she learned from Xu Qinyu to the menu of Donglaiju, unless Donglaiju opened to other towns in the future. As long as Donglaiju and Xu's were in the same place, she would avoid them.
In the future, Dong’s recipes will also include where these dishes were learned from.
Xu Qinyu shook her head, "Madam Dong, I'm looking for you."
Dong was a little surprised, "Master Xu is looking for me?"
"Yeah." Xu Qinyu nodded and told Mrs. Dong what Wen Yunling had told her. She also told Mrs. Dong that it was not she who discovered it, but Wen Yunling from the Wen family. Shi Liu followed her to the house and saw the scene where the eleven or twelve-year-old boy inside called Yue Weimin "Dad."
Before she finished speaking, Dong's face had turned frighteningly pale. When she reached the end, when the child called her husband "daddy", Dong's body began to shake.
Xu Qinyu quickly stepped forward to support Mrs. Dong and asked worriedly, "Mrs. Dong, are you okay?"
Although the truth hurts people's hearts, this matter cannot be concealed. If it is concealed, the harm to the Dong family will be greater. Otherwise, if Yue Weimin really waits until all the affairs of Donglai Residence are dealt with and the property is transferred, and then divorces the Dong family, the Dong family will suffer even greater harm.
At that time, not only will the family be broken up, but people might even die.
Dong's body was shaking all the time and she couldn't speak at all. Xu Qinyu was a little anxious and wanted to go out and call the maids and servants outside to call the doctor.
Pei Weixuan, who was standing to one side, said, "Let me do it."
He stepped forward and pressed several acupuncture points on Dong's body. Dong's trembling body finally calmed down slowly, but her eyes were very red and she kept crying.
The two could only watch. It was okay for them to cry, but they couldn't keep it all in their hearts. She believed that Dong was not an emotional person and would investigate the matter.
As long as it is proven to be true, she will not let Yue Weimin continue.
Because she has her own children, she has to make plans for her children.
Xu Qinyu knew that regarding keeping mistresses outside, the laws of the Dasheng Dynasty were similar to those of later generations. Even if Yue Weimin was a son-in-law and kept a mistress outside and had children with her, the law could not do anything to him. This was a family affair and the government could not interfere.
So what Dong has to do next is actually simple.
Dong finally cried enough and wiped her swollen eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Xu. If you hadn't told me, I don't know how long I would have kept this a secret. If he really transferred all the family property and divorced me, that would have been really bad."
She actually had a vague feeling in her heart.
In fact, when her father asked her to find a son-in-law in the beginning, she had no feelings for Yue Youwei. She also had no feelings for her father's apprentices and only regarded them as her senior brothers.
But later, only Yue Weimin was willing to stay in the Dong family as a son-in-law.
After marrying Yue Weimin, she was worried that he might have some problems, so she always treated him well.
Later, she gradually fell in love with him, and after giving birth to three children, her feelings for Yue Weimin grew deeper and deeper.
But recently, she always felt that her husband was a little anxious, and she didn't know what he was anxious about. He always urged her to ask Qian Ge'er what recipes he learned from Xu Ji, and asked Qian Ge'er to write them down for him. He wanted to study them privately and promised that he would never use them in the recipes of Donglai Ju.
But she didn't agree, and Qian Ge'er wouldn't agree either. Her husband didn't say anything on the surface, but he always sighed in front of her, saying that he had been passionate about cooking all his life and had no other ideas at all.
She and Qian Ge'er still didn't show any mercy.
My husband also goes out frequently, for two days every month, saying he is going to a nearby town to meet someone to cook and taste food.
Also, every year at the end of the year, he always said that he would go back to his hometown to pay homage to his deceased family members. Who would have thought that he was not going to eat food with others, nor was he going to pay homage to his parents, but was going to his mistress, and even had a child with her.
Xu Qinyu sighed, "Madam Dong, then you should take care of the housework first, and we will go back first."
"Thank you, Mr. Xu." Dong thanked Xu Qinyu again.
After the two left, Dong sat there in a daze for a long time before finally getting up and going to the yard of her eldest son Dong Qian.
Dong Qian was accompanying his daughter and pregnant wife.
Seeing her eldest daughter-in-law's bulging belly and thinking of her husband's mistress, Dong felt extremely disgusted.
Dong thought to herself, "Since you are unkind, don't blame me for being unjust."
Dong smiled and said a few words to her eldest daughter-in-law, and asked the maid to take care of her and her granddaughter while they went to the yard to play. She had something to say to Dong Qian.
Wait for the eldest daughter-in-law and granddaughter to leave.
Dong Qian saw that his mother's eyes were red, and asked worriedly: "Mom, have you cried? What happened?"
Dong did not hide it and told her son what Xu Qinyu had told her.
Dong Qian's face suddenly turned ashen.
He thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry too much, Mom. I'll send someone to Raozhou City to check first."
He certainly couldn't go to Raozhou City in person to find out anything, for fear of alerting the enemy. If his father really had a mistress and had a child with her, he might have other intentions.
It is not against the law for a man to keep a mistress. Some men even feel that their wives are fierce and dare not take a concubine, so they keep a mistress outside.
But his father married into the Dong family, so the situation was different.
However, he had a mistress and had children with her, and his thoughts were self-evident.
Dong said, "Okay, send someone to check it out first. Just in case it's just a misunderstanding..."
In fact, she already knew it in her heart. Even Mr. Xu came in person, so it couldn't be a misunderstanding.
"Mother." Dong Qian hesitated and asked, "If father really has a mistress outside and has a child..."
Dong said coldly, "Then he can take his concubine and children and run away, but he can't take a single penny of the Dong family's wealth or money with him."
…
Dong Qian did not delay and immediately asked his servant to go to Raozhou City to see if his father really had a mistress outside.
This boy is his own man and has grown up with him since childhood.
The servant was shocked when he received the letter, but he said nothing and immediately drove the carriage to Raozhou City.
The next day, the servant returned at night and told Dong Qian and Dong Shi, "Madam, Young Master, the master really does have a mistress who lives in Shijing Alley in Raozhou City. Her name is Liu Niang. I also asked the neighbors nearby, and Liu Niang said that her husband is out doing business and earns money, so he only comes home twice a year. She also said that Liu Niang moved to Shijing Alley with a little boy seven or eight years ago. I heard that they didn't live in Shijing Alley before, but lived somewhere else, renting a small courtyard. Later, they bought a two-story house in Shijing Alley and moved in."
"Not only that, I even waited in a hidden spot in Shijing Lane for a whole day and night, and I ran into Liu Niang and the young man going out to buy something. The master walked them to the door and said he didn't want to go with them because he was too tired and wanted to rest. The young man said, 'Dad has been traveling around all year long, he deserves a good rest. So, Dad, go back home and rest, and Mom and I will go buy New Year's goods.'"
Yue Weimin really didn't dare to go out shopping with Liu Niang and Ji Ge'er, for fear of being seen by people they knew.
He also knew some chefs in Raozhou City, so he was still quite cautious.
After the servant finished speaking, he didn't dare to breathe. He didn't expect that the master, a son-in-law, had a mistress outside and even had a child with her.
Dong Qian nodded and let the servant go down first.
After the servant left, Dong Qian asked, "Mother, what are you going to do?"
He was actually very confused, after all, this was his father and he had feelings for him.
But this feeling is a bit complicated. Ever since his younger brother was born, he took his father's surname. He could slowly feel that his father treated him differently and was a little cold. Even when he was a kitchen helper at Donglaiju, his father did not teach him the new dishes he created by combining the Dong family's recipes.
"Do you want to tell your brother about this?" Dong Qian asked again.
Dong's face turned pale and she shook her head, "Don't tell your brother yet, I'll check the accounts first."
Although Donglaiju has always been managed by her husband, she checks the accounts every month.
However, the account books of Donglaiju were given to her by her husband, so they could be tampered with. According to the account books, Donglaiju's highest monthly profit was around 1,000 taels. Ever since she knew that Xu Dong's restaurant, which only had one floor or two shops, had a profit of 500 to 600 taels of silver every month, Dong now thought that the 1,000 taels must have been faked. At that time, Xu Ji had not yet opened, and most of the wealthy diners in Yuanbao Town ate at Donglaiju.
Donglai Ju is a three-story restaurant with three shops, so it must cost more than a thousand taels of silver.
Even after Xu Ji opened, the profit on Donglai Ju's accounts became even less.
By the summer, there would only be five or six hundred taels of monthly profit left in the account book.
Dong felt that her husband must have embezzled most of Donglai Ju's profits.
However, she actually didn't care much about the profits that her husband embezzled, because in addition to the profits he brought to Donglaiju during the years they were married, there was also a lot of family property and money left to her by her father, which were the real big chunks.
In fact, she hadn't thought of guarding against her husband. It was her father who told her before he died, "Child, even if you have a good relationship with Weimin in the future, you must be careful. Dad is a man, and Dad knows the nature of men. Don't let Youwei know about the things Dad left you. And you have to take care of the restaurant bills and the money. Remember everything?"
So over the years, she never told her husband about the family business her father left her.
Her husband did ask her if her father had left her any money or property, but she said no.
But the Dong family is a century-old culinary family, so how could they not have accumulated any wealth?
Since he is so unkind, even if she has money, she will make him return it all, otherwise he will never be able to see his mistress and child in Raozhou City again in his life.
Dong said, "Don't worry, Qian'er. Let's wait for him to come back."
————
Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan returned to Laixi Lane and were busy preparing for the New Year for the next two days. Fourth brother was also there this year, as was Old Madam Zhu. However, Old Madam Zhu's coma time had started to get longer recently, so she planned to have a good New Year this year so that no one would have any regrets.
As for the Dong family's affairs, it has nothing to do with her.
She could see that Dong was not a weak woman. Just because she had taught her eldest son well, she was capable of handling such matters.
Fortunately, it is the Chinese New Year these days, so Dongqian doesn’t have to go to Xu Ji every day, otherwise he would definitely be absent-minded.
Xu Qinyu has been busy preparing ingredients at home these two days. For this year's New Year's Eve dinner, she plans to make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.
Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, also known as Fu Shou Quan, was specially prepared by her for Old Lady Zhu, because the doctor said that it was almost time for Old Lady Zhu to prepare for her funeral after the New Year.
However, I wish the old lady would live a natural life without any disasters or illnesses, so it can be considered a happy funeral.
Before the old lady left, she wanted to prepare this Fu Shou Quan for her.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
