"Ouch! It's so hot!"
Wow! This is the first time I've ever eaten steamed dumplings in my life!
"Exactly! It even tastes better than dumplings in soup!"
"Miss Ruan is truly amazing!"
......
Ruan Meng boiled the fish dumplings and steamed the shrimp dumplings, giving each guard a plate of the same. The guards devoured them, praising them endlessly. (Image of fish dumplings from the internet; image of shrimp dumplings from the internet) Sun Chengen ate half of each. According to A Yuan, this was the most dumplings his young master had eaten in years.
Ah Yuan had barely put down her chopsticks when she began to grieve.
"What am I going to do if I can't eat Miss Ruan's dumplings!"
Xiao Kai patted him on the shoulder, "Don't worry! I'll make sure you eat plenty!"
A Yuan rolled her eyes at him.
After the guards finished eating, Madam Xu finished serving the lady her meal.
Ruan Meng asked her second brother to send two dishes to Xu Zhen, while she took care of Madam Xu's meal.
Xu Zhen was reluctant to leave, perhaps wanting to see his wife eat more, so he sat down to the side.
If it were anyone else, Xu Zhen would certainly not have entrusted the task to anyone else, but Ruan Meng was meticulous, and it was evident from the food that she was taking good care of the lady...
Therefore, Xu Zhen was very relieved.
Mrs. Xu rarely eats dumplings because she finds the filling greasy, but this was the first time she had ever eaten fish dumplings. The flavor was light, the fish was fresh, there were no fish bones, and they were very easy to chew. Before she knew it, she had eaten two fish dumplings.
When Ruan Meng brought the shrimp meat closer, the steamed, soft and tender texture, unlike the wet and soggy texture of boiled shrimp, greatly surprised Madam Xu.
With a gentle bite, the mouth is filled with fresh and fragrant flavor, not fishy at all. Madam Xu actually ate three of them.
Xu Zhen was overjoyed to see this and tried it himself, finding it delicious as well.
After Xu Zhen finished breakfast, Ruan Meng turned around and discussed it with him:
"My lord, we should have administered acupuncture to the lady before she ate..."
"But considering that we are tired from the journey, why not give Madam acupuncture before we set off, so that she can sleep well and wake up soon after? What do you think?"
"Very good."
"Judging from Madam's taste, she can accept fish dumplings and shrimp dumplings. I asked my second brother to steam the remaining dumplings and wrap them in oil paper."
"In case the lady wakes up on the way, she can have something to eat."
Xu Zhen thanked her respectfully, and after his wife fell asleep during acupuncture, he personally had her carried to the carriage.
Inside the courtyard, Sun Chengen and his guards were waiting. When Ruan Meng came out, Song Shiwen, Fan Zizhong, and Lao Er, on behalf of their three families, thanked Xu Zhen again.
Xu Zhen returned the greeting simply and got into the car briskly.
Sun Chengen walked up to Ruan Meng and reached out his hand to A Yuan.
A Yuan took two things out of his pocket.
Firstly, Ruan Meng had prepared a budget plan overnight, but she hadn't had a chance to show it to her older brother yet.
When Ruan Meng opened it, she found that apart from a few places where Sun Chengen had circled his suggestions for modification, the rest of the changes were minor.
The other document contained several silver notes.
Ah Yuan explained, "Miss, this is all I have left, a total of four hundred and fifty taels. The young master told me to give it all to you, so that we can prepare for any eventuality."
Ruan Meng looked up at Sun Chengen and suddenly felt that he wasn't so difficult to please!
"Thanks! Consider it start-up capital! I'll remember this for Young Master Sun!"
Seeing Ruan Meng's expression, Sun Chengen pursed his lips, seemingly somewhat displeased, and lifted the carriage curtain without turning his head.
This person is inexplicable!
But for the sake of the silver notes, Ruan Meng was still all smiles and secretly instructed A Yuan:
"Come early, I'll cook you something delicious!"
A Yuan sincerely thanked him and apologized for the young master's temperature disorder.
An impatient voice came from the car:
"Aren't you leaving yet?"
A-Yuan jogged to the front of the carriage, which was driven away by the guards.
Xiao Kai stayed behind to finish up, while Ruan Meng and her brothers left first in two carriages.
With the issue of corvée labor resolved, Xu Zhen indicated that the mine wouldn't cause them any trouble for at least the next few months, allowing them to return home and address the thorny problems.
Ruan Mengji was worried about her elder brother and sister-in-law and was eager to return home. As soon as the carriage arrived in Nan County, it was stopped by an acquaintance.
It's Feng Xi.
The group jumped out of the car and asked Feng Xi about his situation, assuming he was just passing by and they were going to hitch a ride.
"I'm here specifically to wait for you, as instructed by the eldest young master!"
Ruan Meng and the others looked at each other in bewilderment.
Feng Xi explained, "You don't know, but something happened in Wanjia Village while you were away!"
Ruan Meng was overjoyed and could not hide her delight.
"oh?"
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