Pei Yao still had some things to buy, but with fifty taels of silver suddenly in her pocket, she, a child, dared not wander around the streets alone.
Fortunately, Niu Qingshan had nothing else to do at the moment, so he accompanied Pei Yao to the street to buy things.
Pei Yao was very grateful, and the two of them drove the oxcart to the grain shop first.
He was worried that the koji would not be successful, so he asked Chen Fang to only bring two catties of soybeans. Now that the koji was successfully made, making soy sauce would be relatively easier. Therefore, Pei Yao plans to buy some more soybeans and make more, since making soy sauce is not easy.
Moreover, if soy sauce is stored properly after it is made, it can be kept for one or two years without any problems.
Pei Yao went to the same grain shop she had visited before. Niu Qingshan watched the oxcart outside while Pei Yao went in alone.
Although it had been a while since Pei Yao last came to buy anything, the shopkeeper had a good memory and recognized her in no time, greeting her warmly: "Young lady, what do you need to buy this time?"
Pei Yao had a good impression of the shopkeeper. When she first came to buy grain dressed in rags, he did not kick her out because of her poor appearance, nor did he look down on her. Instead, he patiently explained the grain prices in the shop to her.
Pei Yao hates those kinds of merchants who look down on people the most. Some unscrupulous shops won't even let you in if they see you dressed poorly, and they'll even verbally abuse you.
Pei Yao smiled politely at him, then told the shopkeeper what she wanted: "Shopkeeper, I want thirty catties of soybeans, twenty catties of glutinous rice, and five catties of wheat flour."
Pei Yao didn't dare take too much glutinous rice, after all, she wasn't sure if anyone would like the glutinous rice and lychee wine she made. She thought she would make a small amount first to see how many people would like it.
When the shopkeeper heard that Pei Yao wanted so much, he was taken aback for a moment and asked uncertainly, "Miss, are you sure you want this much?"
The shopkeeper didn't mean to be sarcastic; he was simply asking her to confirm.
After all, so many things cost a lot of money. Last time this girl came, she only bought a small bag of brown rice.
Moreover, she ate such a small amount of brown rice for so long before coming back to buy more, which shows that her family is not well-off. Yet this time she came back and bought so much more.
This is credible...
There really isn't any.
Pei Yao looked up and saw the shopkeeper's hesitant expression. She immediately understood. After all, it was almost unheard of for a little girl like herself to suddenly want to buy so much grain in this dynasty.
Most of the people who go out to buy grain are the men in the family.
Pei Yao had no choice but to explain, "Don't worry, shopkeeper. My family sent me to buy grain. My brother is waiting at the door with the oxcart."
Hearing Pei Yao say this, the shopkeeper peeked out and indeed saw a dark-skinned young man sitting on an oxcart, his gaze occasionally drifting towards the grain shop.
Seeing his expression, Pei Yao smiled and said, "If you're still worried, shopkeeper, I'll pay first, and then you can load the goods for me."
Pei Yao said this but did not actually take out any money. She only said it to reassure the shopkeeper, because she was still a little worried about paying such a large sum of money before even receiving the goods.
Seeing that she had already said that, the shopkeeper put aside his prejudice and awkwardly laughed it off: "No need, no need, miss. I'll have someone pack it for you first, and you can pay later."
After saying that, he called a shop assistant to help Pei Yao pack her things, while he was calculating the bill. By the time the assistant finished packing, the shopkeeper had also finished calculating the bill.
"Shopkeeper, could this young man help us load these things onto the oxcart?" Pei Yao asked, looking at all the items.
"Of course." The shopkeeper nodded. In fact, even if Pei Yao hadn't asked, they would usually help deliver for bulk purchases, and for some nearby customers, they would even deliver directly to their homes.
Therefore, Pei Yao's request is not excessive.
After hearing this, Pei Yao handed the silver to the shopkeeper.
The shop assistant looked like someone who often carried heavy things. He walked over and easily lifted the two large bags. There was still a small bag of flour left, which Pei Yao picked up herself and led the shop assistant toward the oxcart.
After buying her wine, Pei Yao went to the tavern and bought a jar of grain liquor. It was really expensive, costing about 500 coins for a small jar, which was probably only about a pound. Pei Yao almost couldn't bear to buy it.
I also bought several large vats and wooden barrels. The large vats will be used to ferment soy sauce and lychee wine. The wooden barrels will be used to steam glutinous rice.
After buying all these things, Pei Yao took the items and rode back to the village in an oxcart with Niu Qingshan.
On the way, Pei Yao felt a little bored, so she remembered what Manager Qian had mentioned about the owner of Deyun Restaurant when they were at the restaurant earlier.
With a gossipy nature piqued, he looked at Niu Qingshan, who was focused on driving the carriage, and asked, "Brother Qingshan, do you know the owner of Deyun Restaurant?"
Niu Qingshan turned around when he heard her call. He hesitated for a moment when he heard Pei Yao's question before answering, "I don't know her, but I've heard some rumors about her before."
Pei Yao perked up immediately upon hearing this: "What rumor?"
Niu Qingshan looked at Pei Yao's eyes, which lit up with gossip, and his lips twitched before he continued, "Actually, I never saw this employer when I went to work before. I only heard from Uncle Qian that the employer's ancestors were exiled here. Later, they saved up some money and opened a small restaurant."
Back then, there weren't many food stalls in town, so his family's business was good. Unexpectedly, by the time it came to the Dong family's generation, their crimes were overturned, and they moved back to Kyoto with their entire family.
However, the owner was a sentimental person. After returning home, he didn't forget about his small eatery. He allocated money to expand it into a restaurant, which has been managed by Uncle Qian for many years. The owner almost never comes back...
After listening, Pei Yao understood. No wonder Deyun Restaurant had managed to stay afloat for so long despite its poor business. It seemed that without financial support, it would have gone bankrupt long ago.
When Pei Yao returned home, Yun Niang was busy in the yard and was surprised to see that Pei Yao had bought so many things.
"Yao'er, what are you going to do with this big vat?" Yunniang looked at the newly bought vat in the yard, somewhat puzzled.
"Yes, Yao, are you going to research some kind of food again?" Chen Fang also came over, looking at the things in the yard, including soybeans and rice, thinking that this girl was probably going to come up with some delicious food again.
Pei Yao: "Mother, Aunt, I plan to make soy sauce and lychee glutinous rice wine."
Upon hearing this, Chen Fang looked at her niece in surprise: "You can also make soy sauce and brew wine?"
Pei Yao nodded: "I know a little."
Chen Fang was about to ask something else when Yunniang asked again, "Yao'er, what is lychee glutinous rice wine?"
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