They are now quite skilled at making cold seaweed salad. Yunniang and Pei Yao are in charge of slicing the seaweed, while Chen Fang and Pei Yichen prepare the sauce. They quickly made enough for Deyun Restaurant's needs for tomorrow.
Now, the Pei family has replaced all the barrels used for loading goods with these tall and large wooden barrels. These barrels can hold more and save space on the oxcart.
........
Everyone except Pei Xuan got up very early the next day.
Even before dawn, the Pei family's courtyard was already bustling with activity.
Everyone had their own tasks. Chen Fang, Pei Yichen, and Qiao Hui were all smashing the snail tails and cleaning the snails.
Today, Deyun Restaurant had a lot of orders, and the task of washing and cracking snails was quite large, so last night Yunniang asked Qiaohui to come and help this morning.
I paid her thirty coins a day, which was supposed to be her daily wage, but she was only busy for a short time in the morning.
Qiaohui was naturally very willing to come and help, but she refused to accept so much money, feeling that she hadn't really been of much help.
But Yunniang insisted on giving it to her: "Don't be so polite with me. You need to save money right now so you can bring those two men back as soon as possible."
Thinking of her husband and children still working at the saltworks, Qiaohui felt as if her soft spot had been hit, and she fell silent, no longer making excuses.
Yes, she needs to save money as soon as possible to bring her husband and son back.
Pei Yao was preparing breakfast and lychee lemon drinks. Today, she was going to town with Niu Qingshan's oxcart to deliver goods.
Since everyone is working in the morning, which is also the time when physical strength is most depleted, breakfast should include some meat and fish. Having some oil and water in your stomach will give you the energy to work.
Pei Yao mixed oyster meat with flour and scallions to make some pancakes, and then stir-fried some pickled wild celery with minced meat. The pancakes made this way were fresh and filling, and tasted great with the pickled vegetables.
Just as Pei Yao and the others finished their work, Niu Qingshan's oxcart arrived at the door to pick them up. In order not to keep others waiting, Pei Yao didn't have time to eat breakfast and went to help everyone carry things onto the cart. Yunniang took the time to wrap two pancakes in a banana leaf and put some pickled vegetables inside, and handed them to Pei Yao, who had just sat on the cart: "Yao'er, take two pancakes and eat them on the way. Don't go hungry."
After accepting the gift, Pei Yao waved goodbye to her family, and the oxcart traveled along the village road towards the town.
Pei Yao sat in the car and ate a pancake; she was indeed a bit hungry after a busy morning.
She handed Niu Qingshan a pancake: "Brother Qingshan, try this pancake with pickled water celery, it's really good."
Without waiting for a refusal, he placed it directly next to Niu Qingshan.
Niu Qingshan had already eaten breakfast and was originally too full to eat, but he couldn't refuse Pei Yao's hospitality and had no choice but to accept and start eating.
"Thank you, Yao-mei."
Niu Qingshan was instantly amazed when he took the first bite of the pancake. It was soft, fragrant, and fresh, with spicy pickled cabbage and minced meat in the middle, giving it a unique flavor. He could eat ten of them without getting tired of them.
Niu Qingshan was already very full, but he still couldn't resist the temptation and finished the whole pancake.
The two men drove the oxcart much faster than they walked, so they soon arrived at the back door of Deyun Restaurant, where Erdan was the one who opened the door.
Pei Yao hadn't seen Erdan for a while, so she was still happy to greet him when she saw a familiar face.
Hearing the girl's crisp voice, Erdan also saw Pei Yao. He felt that she seemed to have become even more radiant and beautiful after not seeing her for a few days. Her bright smile made people feel good just looking at her.
"Yao-mei, what brings you here today? The shopkeeper has been talking about you these past few days, and you've finally arrived. He'll probably be very happy to see you." Erdan quickly opened the door to welcome the two of them in.
"Oh? Uncle Qian, is there something you need from me?" Pei Yao asked, somewhat puzzled. Could it be that there was news about Pei Dalang and Pei Erlang?
Erdan smiled at her: "You'll know when you meet the shopkeeper."
Deyun Restaurant is doing well now, so they've hired a few more waiters and helpers.
Now that Pei Yao and her team's goods have arrived, they no longer need Pei Yao, a young girl, to help unload the goods, as before. Erdan found two men to help Niu Qingshan.
Erdan then led Pei Yao to the side room next to the kitchen to find Manager Qian. When they passed by the kitchen on their way to the side room, Chef Qin and Chef Liu immediately saw her and greeted her warmly.
"Miss Pei, what brings you here today? I've recently developed some new dishes. Could you give me some pointers later?" Chef Qin pointed to the dish he was preparing and warmly invited Pei Yao to try his new creation.
Pei Yao smiled.
Then, she looked down at the jar of lychee drink she was holding, whispered a few words to Erdan, and then Erdan took Pei Yao to the kitchen.
Pei Yao had been to this kitchen several times before, so she was somewhat familiar with it. She greeted Chef Qin and Chef Liu and asked to borrow a wooden basin and water.
Upon hearing this, the two realized that such a simple request meant Pei Yao didn't even need to lift a finger; Chef Qin had already brought her the wooden basin from the side.
Chef Liu then went to the side and brought Pei Yao a bucket of water.
"Is this bucket enough, Sister Pei? If not, I'll bring you another bucket."
Pei Yao quickly nodded to indicate that it was more than enough.
Pei Yao carefully placed the jar of lychee drink in the middle of the wooden basin, then filled the surrounding area with water. This water was freshly drawn from the well and was now cool to the touch.
It's perfect for making frozen lychee drinks.
Chef Qin and Chef Liu were both curious about what was inside the jar, seeing how much Pei Yao treasured it. Chef Qin couldn't hold back any longer and asked first.
"Miss Pei, is this stuff filled with delicacies? Do you really need to protect it like this?"
Pei Yao chuckled at him, "Of course, you'll find out soon enough."
Pei Yao didn't say it directly, but instead kept it a secret, leaving it in suspense.
The two people were clearly distressed, but since the other person wouldn't say anything, they couldn't force her to. They could only hope that time would come soon, as Pei Yao had mentioned.
After enjoying the lychee drink, Pei Yaobing went to her room.
Hearing the noise outside, Manager Qian put down his teacup and stood up as he saw Erdan bring Pei Yao in.
"Uncle Qian." Pei Yao greeted Manager Qian sweetly.
"Miss Pei has arrived, please have a seat." As soon as Pei Yao sat down, Manager Qian handed her the payment for today's goods: "A total of five taels of silver and eight hundred and sixty cash. Please count it to see if it's correct."
Pei Yao took the money bag and felt it with her hand. There was a small silver ingot, which she estimated to be worth five taels. There were also many broken copper coins next to it.
Manager Qian had never shortchanged them by a single penny during this period, so Pei Yao naturally trusted him. However, she didn't want to count the money directly in front of him, so she secretly touched the money pouch and put it away.
"Of course I trust Uncle Qian."
After hearing this, Manager Qian looked at Pei Yao with admiration.
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