"Thank you, Miss Xu." Dong said with a smile.
She took the bowl of Tremella, red dates and lotus seed soup and took a sip slowly. The syrup was thick and sweet but not greasy. The red dates had been peeled and pitted, and tasted sweet and soft. She couldn't help it and drank half a bowl in a row before stopping. Her originally irritable mood calmed down a lot.
During these ten days, not only did she not get a good rest, she didn't even eat much. After she divorced Yue Weimin, there were still many things to finish. Yue Weimin used to be the chef of Donglaiju, and he was responsible for all the purchases for Donglaiju. He must have embezzled a lot of money in this regard. Now he has to find someone new to be responsible for the purchases, and he has to reconcile all the previous accounts. In addition, Donglaiju's menu also has to be redone. Just like what Yue Weimin said, some of the dishes were made by him, and Donglaiju didn't need them, so they all had to be redone and use the dishes on the previous Dong family menu.
Fortunately, Donglaiju still has two chefs and several kitchen helpers.
After this incident, Xu Qinyu asked Dong Qian to go back to Donglaiju to help first, and then come to her side after Donglaiju stabilized.
But Dong Qian could see that Xu Ji was also short of staff. Even if Donglai Ju was missing him, it still had Xi Ge'er and other kitchen helpers and chefs, so it didn't need him anymore. So he didn't go back to Donglai Ju, but stayed in Xu Ji. Dong Shi didn't let him go back either, thinking that he had learned all the cooking techniques of Xu Ji, so it wouldn't be right for him to go back to help Donglai Ju if something happened there.
Fortunately, there is still Xi Ge'er in Donglaiju. Yue Xi hasn't spoken to them for several days since his parents divorced, but he has been working as a kitchen helper in Donglaiju during these days. He is even responsible for the purchases these days. Looking at the price difference between the previous accounts and the accounts he is currently responsible for, he can't deceive himself. His father really doesn't love them and has wanted to leave a long time ago.
After these ten days, Donglaiju gradually became stable.
Even though there are fewer customers, Dong knows that these things need to be done slowly.
Dong came here today to find Dong Qian and ask him something.
Dongqian is still helping in the kitchen at the moment and will have to wait until he is done before coming to the front.
Xu Qinyu could see that Dong was looking haggard, so she served her a bowl of the red date, white fungus and lotus seed soup that she had cooked today.
No matter what season it is, this red date, white fungus and lotus seed soup is delicious and very nourishing.
Even Xu Qinyu didn't expect that the child Yue Weimin had outside was not his, but was born to Liu Niang and another man.
Of course, she didn't know exactly what happened, she just heard it from outside.
Dong had nothing to do at the moment, so she told Xu Qinyu what happened that day.
After she left that day, she didn't intend to take care of what happened next, but she still left a maid behind. She was also worried that other things would involve her later, so she asked the maid to stay and see what would happen next.
The old woman squeezed quietly into the crowd.
Seeing Yue Weimin questioning Liu Niang, "Is Ji Ge'er my child?"
Liu Niang burst into tears, "Master, why don't you believe me? They are talking nonsense. Ji Ge'er is of course your child."
In fact, even Liu Niang herself didn’t know whose child Ji Ge’er was, nor did she know whether the child in her belly was Yue Laoye’s or Chen Daqun’s.
But she could only say that she belonged to the master. She couldn't admit in front of so many people that she was a fickle woman and that she was not faithful to her husband when she was a concubine and had an affair with other men.
Yue Weimin had originally planned to give up on this. He couldn't really force Liu Niang to admit in front of everyone that the child was not his. Although he had already determined in his heart that Ji Ge'er was really not his child, because he had no resemblance to him at all, whether it was Qian Ge'er, Xi Ge'er, or his youngest daughter Yu Jie'er, at least their facial features were slightly similar to his.
But Ji Ge'er has nothing in common with him.
She doesn't even bear the slightest resemblance to Liu Niang. Appearances can't be deceiving.
But even if Yue Weimin and Liu Niang didn't plan to continue arguing in the crowd, Yue Weimin wanted to wait until everyone left before questioning Liu Niang.
Someone in the crowd started muttering, "I remember this Liu Niang didn't live in Shijing Lane before. She lived in Shitai Lane in front. Oh, and I think she lived next door to the Chen family? Do you remember?"
"Now that you mention it, I do seem to have some impression of her. When she first moved here, she said she moved from Shitai Lane and asked us all to take good care of her."
Everyone looked at each other.
Yue Weimin glared at Liu Niang fiercely.
When Yue Weimin started to chase people away, someone suddenly saw a tall man walking towards the alley entrance and immediately exclaimed, "Isn't that Chen Daqun? He's coming to Shijing Alley."
When Yue Weimin heard this, he pushed through the crowd and saw a tall man walking towards him.
He did have an impression of this man. The yard he had rented for Liu Niang was in the alley in front, next door to this man. He had run into him once when he knocked on Liu Niang's door. Now that he thought about it, this man was not surprised at all when he saw him. It was obvious that he had known that Liu Niang was his mistress.
Now there is nothing unclear.
Chen Daqun did come to find Liu Niang.
He entered the alley and didn't notice that there were many people at Liu Niang's door. When he looked up, he saw something was wrong. He found that Liu Niang's master was standing in the crowd, glaring at him fiercely. Chen Daqun was shocked and turned around and ran away subconsciously. He didn't expect Yue Weimin to come to Liu Niang at this time. He remembered Liu Niang said that after Yue Weimin left on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, he would be very busy when he returned to Yuanbao Town, and sometimes he would not come to see her for more than a month, so he felt at ease to come to Liu Niang.
As soon as he ran away, Yue Weimin lost his mind and immediately chased after him.
When he chased him to Shitai Lane and arrived at Chen's house, he knocked on the door like crazy. Chen Daqun didn't let his wife open the door, but his wife couldn't remain indifferent when she heard the noise outside. She went to open the door and didn't recognize Yue Weimin. She asked him what was going on.
Yue Weimin went up and punched Chen Daqun without saying a word, and the two started to fight.
Chen Daqun's wife was still pulling Yue Weimin, asking him why he started beating people as soon as he came in.
Many neighbors from Shijing Lane came over, and Chen Daqun's wife asked what was going on.
These neighbors were very kind and told Chen Daqun's wife about Yue Weimin's identity and his relationship with Liu Niang. They also told everyone that Liu Niang's child was not Yue Weimin's, but seemed to be Chen Daqun's.
When the woman heard this, her face turned pale and she thought about it carefully.
Liu Niang had been her neighbor for several years and had a son. She had always thought that the son looked vaguely familiar. Wasn't it because he looked a bit like her husband? Especially his eyes and nose.
The woman never imagined that Liu Niang, whom she often helped, would actually have an affair with her man behind her back and give birth to a child.
The woman cried out and started scratching Chen Daqun.
The three men fought for a while, and the crowd couldn't bear to watch it anymore, so they went up to persuade them to leave.
Chen Daqun was a bodyguard and had some martial arts skills. Even if two people attacked him, he could easily subdue them. However, he was guilty and did not dare to fight back, so he was the most seriously injured at this moment, and his face was scratched by his wife.
The woman was still crying, "Chen Daqun, how can you be so disgusting? I gave birth to your children, and you actually hooked up with that vixen next door. Why don't you just die? How have I ever wronged you? You haven't given me or the children a penny in all these years. I've been working to raise them myself. Tell me, did you use that money to support this vixen and that bastard?"
Chen Daqun was furious and said, "What nonsense are you talking about!"
Yue Weimin asked, "Did you take the money I left with Liu Niang?"
He already knew that Liu Niang was unfaithful and Ji Ge'er was not his child. No matter whose child was in Liu Niang's belly now, he had no intention of interfering.
He definitely couldn't go back to the Dong family, as his affairs would be known to the entire southwest. Even if he regretted it and wanted to beg for forgiveness from the Dong family, he couldn't stay in Yuanbao Town. He had to go somewhere else, and the Dong family would not sell their property and go to another state capital with him. Even if he stayed in Yuanbao Town, the Dong family would not reconcile with him. He knew that the Dong family was a person who could not tolerate any grain of sand in their eyes, so he planned to get back the silver and money that Liu Niang had taken away. Otherwise, he would have little money on him, and it would be very difficult for him to make a comeback.
Liu Niang has no shortage of money on a daily basis, so it is impossible for her to touch the 50,000 taels of silver.
So it could only be that Liu Niang gave it to someone else.
Needless to say, this person must be Chen Daqun.
He must get back these more than 20,000 taels of silver.
Chen Daqun's expression changed constantly. "What silver? What Liu Niang? I don't know what you are talking about at all."
Yue Weimin's face flushed, and he said, "Give me back the silver, and let this matter rest. I won't pursue any further questions. Otherwise, I will sue you and Liu Niang to the authorities."
Before he could go and report to the authorities, the yamen runners came over from a distance. It turned out that the neighbors saw them fighting so fiercely and went to report to the authorities, so the yamen runners came naturally.
Yue Weimin saw the yamen runner and gasped, "Sir, I want to sue Chen Daqun and Liu Niang from Shijing Lane for embezzling 23,000 taels of silver from me."
Now it is no longer a simple family matter. It involves stealing money and you have to go to the government office.
The bailiff led a few people to the yamen, and another bailiff went to Shijing Lane to find Liu Niang.
Along the way, the people of Raozhou City were very curious.
Those neighbors who went to join in the fun naturally told the people about this bizarre and tortuous story.
When the people of Raozhou City heard this, they all thought it was outrageous. How could he not want his own child? As a son-in-law, he still kept a mistress and a child outside? In the end, the child was not his own. Isn't this pure retribution?
"If you ask me, the chef of Donglaiju deserves it."
"What chef of Donglaiju? He's already divorced the owner of Donglaiju and has nothing to do with the place. Just now, the lady came over and took away over 20,000 taels of silver notes. But there's still over 20,000 taels that can't be recovered."
"My God, did he get so much silver from the Dong family?"
"The owner of Donglaiju is so miserable."
"The shopkeeper doesn't want to get involved in this at all."
"So where did the missing 20,000-plus taels of silver go? Did Liu Niang really squander it all? Or did she give it to Chen Daqun?"
"I don't know. We went to the government office just for this matter. Come on, let's go and take a look."
An elderly woman in the crowd asked the people around her in surprise, "The woman you're talking about is called Liu Niang? What's her last name?"
"I don't know. They say she lives in Shijing Lane. Some people who knew her years ago said that her aunt was about to sell her to Xiangmanlou, but Master Yue saw her on the road and bought her. At that time, everyone felt quite sympathetic towards her and thought her aunt was so cruel... Oh, it seems someone is coming. Look behind? The woman the yamen runners are holding is Liu Niang. She is indeed quite beautiful."
The old lady looked behind her, stunned. "This, isn't this Liu Niang? Isn't this my niece?"
The people around asked, "What? Your niece, old lady?"
The old lady spat on the ground and said, "Yes, I am the evil-hearted aunt you are talking about. God has mercy on me. When Master Yue bought my niece, I told him that she was not a good person. She lived in my house after her parents passed away and even hooked up with my son-in-law. It made me very angry, so I wanted to sell her to Xiangmanlou in a fit of rage. Actually, I didn't really intend to sell her there. I just wanted to scare her, but I didn't intend to let her stay in my house any longer."
"When I saw Master Yue wanted to buy her, I told him the truth about what my niece had done. He didn't believe me and scolded me. He stuffed money into my pocket and said he wanted to buy my niece. Later, I scolded him, saying that if he got involved with my niece, his family would be destroyed. This, this really came true..."
The people around looked at each other in confusion.
"It's like your family is torn apart and you're leaving your happy home behind. Tsk tsk, this is karma."
Everyone followed them to the yamen. After investigation, the officials of the yamen found out that Chen Daqun only earned about ten taels of silver each time he went on business, and estimated to be only thirty to fifty taels a year. However, he was a frequent visitor to the casino in Raozhou City, and he often lost money gambling. He lost at least twenty to thirty thousand taels of silver in the casino.
Only then did Chen Daqun admit that he had been hanging out with Liu Niang since she first moved to Shitai Lane, and he also knew that Liu Niang was Yue Weimin's concubine.
Liu Niang said that she didn't like Yue Weimin and was with him just for the money and a stable life.
Later, Liu Niang often used silver and money to subsidize Chen Daqun. In the past few years, Yue Weimin put more and more silver and money in Liu Niang's hands. By this year, he had subsidized Chen Daqun with nearly 30,000 taels of silver.
There should also be the monthly allowance that Yue Weimin gave to Liu Niang, as well as the silks, satins and jewelry she bought, which she also used to subsidize Chen Daqun.
The truth of the matter has become clear, and the official ordered Chen Daqun to return the money to Yue Weimin.
Chen Daqun knelt in front of Yue Weimin and cried bitterly, saying that he could not afford so much money.
Yue Weimin kicked the man away and wanted to hold Chen Daqun accountable.
This is also considered as not paying back the money, and the person should be beaten and thrown into jail.
Chen Daqun was beaten with a stick and then locked up in prison.
Yue Weimin also went to the market to pack up his things. He had nothing left. He knew very well that he could not get back the 30,000 taels of silver that Liu Niang spent on Chen Daqun. The 30 to 50 taels a year that Chen Daqun paid was enough to pay him back for the rest of his life. He could not stay in Yuanbao Town forever and let Chen Daqun pay him back 30 to 50 taels of silver every month.
When Yue Weimin returned to Shijing Lane, Ji Ge'er had already returned from school. When he returned home, there were only the old woman and the maid. He asked his mother where she had gone.
The maid and mother-in-law hesitated, not daring to tell him the truth. That evening, when Ji Ge'er saw his father coming back, he was surprised and said, "Dad, didn't you leave to join the caravan on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month? How come you're back today?"
Yue Weimin looked at Ji Ge'er coldly. Even though he had loved Ji Ge'er sincerely for thirteen years, now that he knew that Ji Ge'er was not his son and had no blood relationship with him, his feelings were gone. He said calmly, "I'm not your father. As for who your father is, you can ask your mother in person when she comes back."
Regardless of Ji Ge'er's stunned state, he stepped into the house to pack his things.
Although the maids and old women were all Liu Niang's people, they did not dare to stop Yue Weimin at all. They watched helplessly as Yue Weimin took away all of Liu Niang's silks, satins, gold, silver and jewelry, and even the house deeds.
Yue Weimin first stayed in an inn in Raozhou City.
Liu Niang didn't have the face to look for him, so she just sat at home sadly. Ji Ge'er kept crying and asking him who his father was.
The next day, Yue Weimin sold all the silks, satins, gold, silver and jewelry he had taken from Liu Niang. He also planned to sell the two-story house in Shijing Lane, but the house was difficult to sell, so he lowered the price. Four or five days later, a pawnshop bought the house. The total amount of money he got was only two or three thousand taels.
With these two or three thousand taels of silver notes, Yue Weimin returned to Yuanbao Town...
…
Xu Qinyu couldn't help but frown when she heard this. "How could he have the nerve to return to Yuanbao Town?" Suddenly, she thought of something and asked with bright eyes, "He, he's not going back to Yuanbao Town to reconcile with his wife, or to take the second young master away, is he?"
According to Yue Weimin's personality, he even felt ashamed to be the son-in-law of the Dong family. After such a scandal, he would not stay in the southwest and would definitely leave. However, he must also regret divorcing Dong, or he would come back to reconcile with Dong and persuade Dong to sell the family property and leave the southwest with him. However, Yue Weimin himself knew that this idea was wishful thinking, so he should not have any hope in his heart.
And Ji Ge'er, born to Liu Niang, is not his child. This man attaches so much importance to his bloodline that it is more likely that he will take the second young master of the Dong family away. After all, that is his bloodline and he has his surname.
Dong sighed, "He did apologize to me when he came back, saying he knew he was wrong and hoped to get back together with me. He also said he would listen to me from now on, but he hoped to sell the Dong family business and go to the capital to make a living."
When Dong heard this, she was not angry at all. Instead, she felt very calm. She had known his temper for a long time.
She refused coldly, and Yue Weimin's face changed, but he didn't dare to quarrel. He came back knowing that Dong would not agree, and he came back just for Xi Ge'er.
Xi Ge'er has his blood flowing in his body. Since Ji Ge'er is not his child, it doesn't matter whether the baby in Liu Niang's belly is his blood or not. Liu Niang is unfaithful and even more hateful than Dong Shi. Even if the child in Liu Niang's belly is his, he would feel ashamed and would not acknowledge it, so the only one he has left is Xi Ge'er.
Yue Weimin wanted to take Yue Xi away.
Dong hesitated for a moment, but in the end, Xi Ge'er let him meet Yue Weimin. Because even if he was not allowed to meet, if Xi Ge'er really wanted to go with his father, she could not stop him. She was also afraid that Xi Ge'er would blame her in the future, so she let Xi Ge'er choose for himself.
When Xi Ge'er saw Yue Weimin, Yue Weimin smiled and called him Xi Ge'er. He also said that he was wrong a few days ago and that he still loved him the most in his heart. Now he wanted to leave Yuanbao Town and go to the capital to make a living, and wanted Xi Ge'er to go with him.
Xi Ge'er said coldly, "No, I don't want to leave Yuanbao Town with you. It's not because I'm a snob and I know you don't have much money, but because you've never truly loved me, my brothers and sisters, and mother. You've never treated us as family. Even though I've taken your last name, I still love mother, my brothers, and my sister."
Xi Ge'er is already twenty years old. Even though he has taken Yue Weimin's surname, it has been Dong who has taken care of him since he was a child. Dong taught him how to be a good man. He is the second son and is spoiled by Yue Weimin. His temperament is not as calm as his eldest brother, but he is not really unable to distinguish right from wrong. Dong has taught him loyalty, sincerity, perseverance and courage over the years.
He has a fiancée here. If he leaves, what will happen to his fiancée? Wouldn't she be unable to live her life? He would never do such a stupid thing.
Seeing that Xi Ge'er was unwilling to go with him, Yue Weimin finally couldn't help but curse, and left with a red face and thick neck.
Only then did Xu Qinyu know the twists and turns of the matter. She was stunned when she heard it, but she felt very refreshed. She also thought that the second young master of the Dong family was a good person and that Dong was very good at teaching children.
Dong continued, "He's been gone for several days, probably in the capital. Liu Niang seems to still be in Raozhou City, having gone to the Chen family. She's about to give birth, and Yue Weimin sold the house she lived in. She has no money, so she had no choice but to ask Chen Daqun's wife for help. But Chen Daqun's wife hates her so much that she won't let her stay. She's been staying in an inn these days."
She also knew that Yue Weimin still had two or three thousand taels of silver on him.
But two or three thousand taels of silver is nothing in the capital. It is not enough to open a restaurant in a better place. If he opens a restaurant where ordinary people live, the ingredients of the dishes that Yue Weimin innovated based on the Dong family recipe will be very expensive. Any dish will cost at least five hundred coins. Ordinary restaurants cannot afford such expensive dishes, and ordinary people cannot afford to eat them. So she knew that even if Yue Weimin really went to the capital, he would probably have a hard time making a living.
After hearing this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but frown.
The most unlucky person is Chen Daqun's wife. She is so unlucky.
Seeing that Dongshi was still worried, she advised, "Madam, why are you still sad? You should be happy."
Dong couldn't help but smile, "What's there to be happy about?"
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Over the years, he has indeed helped Donglaiju accumulate many diners. Now, Madam, you have money and children. The children are all grown up and they are on your side, understanding you and loving you. In the future, they will take over the recipes of Donglaiju and Dong's. Moreover, you have grandchildren now, so you can just enjoy family life. Isn't that great?"
It makes me happy just thinking about it. I don’t have a man, but I have money and a child, and the child is obedient. In later generations, many people will envy me for this.
She was quite envious...
Dong was slowly stunned.
What Yu Niang said seemed to make sense. She had everything she needed. Although she was divorced, she had money, children, and granddaughters. The children all sided with her. As for Yue Weimin, although she had some feelings for him, it was just because she had gotten used to him over the years. If you really say that the relationship was very deep, it was just that.
Dong suddenly smiled and said, "Thank you for your comfort, Miss Xu."
Xu Qinyu's words persuaded Dong Shi to calm down, and the depression in her heart dissipated. When Dong Qian came out from the kitchen, he saw his mother smiling. It was not a forced smile, but a smile that came from the heart. He couldn't help but smile, "Why are you here, mother?"
Dong Shi came to see Dong Qian because of some matters concerning the procurement of Donglaiju. Xi Ge'er didn't quite understand something, so she came over to ask her eldest son.
The mother and son were talking nearby. Xu Qinyu smiled and went to the kitchen.
…
Although the news about the Dong family spread in the southwest, after a month, the novelty wore off and no one continued to talk about it. Donglaiju also became more regular. Although there were fewer diners, it still made a lot of profit every month. Dong was not short of money and did not attach much importance to the profit of Donglaiju. She just ran Donglaiju and some other businesses of the Dong family. Xi Ge'er got married two months later and invited Xu Qinyu to the banquet. The bride was a girl with delicate and peaceful eyebrows, a cute round face, curved eyebrows, and a pair of big almond eyes. She was very cute.
It was almost summer when Xi Ge'er got married, and Xu Qinyu started to busy herself with preparing some fresh food. In another half a month, the winery would also have to resume production.
As for Liu Niang, Xu Qinyu also heard about it later. She gave birth to another daughter, but Chen Daqun's wife refused to accept her. She sold the maids and servants around her and disappeared with the two children.
While Xu Qinyu was preparing fresh food, Wen Yunling's Xiangrui Restaurant was completely closed and the restaurant sign was removed. She didn't plan to continue making a living in the food business as she was not suitable for this line of work.
Wen Yunling gave some severance pay to the waiters at Xiangrui Restaurant and also gave one hundred taels of silver to Chef Wang of Xiangrui Restaurant.
Chef Wang was already fifty years old, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had half a foot in the ground. He wasn't short of money, so he refused to accept the severance pay of one hundred taels of silver. He just said to Wen Yunling embarrassedly, "Actually, I want to work as a kitchen helper at Xu's Restaurant and learn from Miss Xu's superb cooking skills. I admire Miss Xu's cooking skills very much, and I hope Miss Wen won't mind."
He had everything he needed and just wanted to perfect his cooking skills. Xu Ji's boss was a very nice person, so he wanted to work as a kitchen helper at Xu Ji and learn cooking skills from Miss Xu at the same time.
Wen Yunling was stunned for a moment, pursed her lips and said, "Of course I don't mind."
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