"Okay." Pei Yao said, squinting and raising her hand to shield her eyes from the glaring sun.
I was indeed hungry when I woke up at this hour.
Pei Yao took out the fried rice with egg that Yun Niang had left in the pot.
Pei Yao noticed that only she and Pei Erlang were in the courtyard, so she asked, "Where are Mother and the others?"
Pei Erlang: "Your mother and the others went to the village entrance to wash clothes. My eldest brother, Xiao Chen, and Xuan'er went next door to repair Xiao Hei's nest."
Little Black?
Pei Yao asked, somewhat puzzled, "Who is Xiao Hei?"
Pei Erlang nodded: "The little dog that Xiaochen and Xuan'er keep next door."
Pei Yao had been so busy these days that she had forgotten about this.
Pei Yichen and Pei Xuan had previously picked up a dog, which they were keeping in the neighboring yard.
However, she was startled last time and didn't react in time. This time, after hearing Pei Erlang say this, she looked puzzled: "That snow-white dog is called... Xiao Hei?"
Pei Erlang replied matter-of-factly, "That's right."
Pei Yao: "..."
Is that correct?
A snow-white dog named Xiao Hei...
Is that correct?
Pei Yao carried the bowl and walked to the courtyard next door, looking at the scene inside through the gate.
The three of them were in the yard, busy making a doghouse for Xiao Hei.
Because Pei Yao also comes here to work on weekdays, Xiao Hei is often kept inside the house.
After being released, he was having a wild party in the yard.
Its two little ears were constantly being blown around because it was running so fast, and its short legs kept tripping over things in the yard.
Very cute.
Pei Yao looked at Xiao Hei, who seemed to have noticed him too. Xiao Hei whimpered twice and then pounced over on its short legs.
Pei Yao forgot to run for a moment, and by the time she realized it, Xiao Bai was already at her feet.
Pei Xuan and Pei Yicheng were startled when they saw this scene.
God knows how terrified her older sister is of dogs!
"Xiao Hei! Come back quickly!" Pei Yicheng shouted as he ran.
Pei Xuan followed behind him.
Pei Yao froze and looked down, only to see a chubby little dumpling rolling around on its belly at her feet, acting cute.
He seemed to be trying hard to get Pei Yao's attention.
A pair of wet, large dog eyes were still fixed on Pei Yao.
Its little tail was practically spinning like a propeller behind it.
Pei Yao: "..."
Upon seeing this, Pei Yicheng and Pei Xuan also stopped in their tracks.
Maybe my sister will be charmed by the little white dog and accept it...
Pei Yichen was thinking this, but before he could finish...
"ah!!!!"
A sharp explosion erupted from the Pei family's residence, echoing throughout the entire Liangshui Well Village.
It startled a large flock of birds in the nearby woods.
Seeing Pei Yao screaming and running home, Pei Yichen quickly ran over and picked up Xiao Hei.
"What's wrong?" Pei Dalang heard the shout, put down his things in alarm, and turned around.
Pei Yichen, holding the dog, turned around and said, "Sister was frightened by Xiao Hei."
Pei Dalang looked puzzled: "Yao'er?"
Pei Yichen nodded: "Mhm."
Pei Dalang was shocked to hear this. Yao'er, who was fearless, was actually afraid of dogs?
……..
During this period, apart from Chen Fang, who was in charge of leading the villagers to collect seaweed, everyone else in the Pei family was in charge of the shop.
The first thing is the matter of naming the shop.
After a heated discussion, the group came up with countless fancy names.
In the end, I decided that the greatest truths are the simplest.
I used the simplest one: Pei's Dessert Shop.
It's simple, easy to remember, and most importantly, everyone knows it.
Then there's the matter of the dishes. Now that we've opened a dessert shop, we can't just sell ice jelly like before.
We need to add some other pastries or something.
However, none of this stumped Pei Yao, and she quickly devised several exquisite and delicious desserts.
Then it's time to recruit shop assistants.
This is very simple. There are plenty of men and women in town who have nothing to do. Pei Yao asked Manager Qian to help her pick a few lively and cheerful ones, and that should be enough.
There was a little incident in the middle, when Niu Qingshan also volunteered to be a waiter.
Pei Yao was naturally very willing to let him come, after all, Niu Qingshan was a reliable and capable person.
As for the kitchen, unlike the front-of-house staff, Pei Yao needs someone who is meticulous, detail-oriented, and has their own ideas and aesthetic sense.
Pei Yao inspected batch after batch of chefs.
Almost all of them were men; there were no women.
Pei Yao looked at several, but they were either not very nice, or they looked down on the shopkeeper because she was a woman and didn't want to come.
After recruiting for several days, they still couldn't find a suitable candidate.
Pei Yao's mind was almost entirely focused on this matter.
When Yunniang brought out the porridge, she saw Pei Yao sitting blankly to the side.
He stirred the thin porridge at the bottom of his mouth with the spoon, sometimes stirring, sometimes stirring.
"Yao'er, but the kitchen staff haven't been recruited yet."
Yunniang brought the thin porridge and sat down next to Pei Yao.
Pei Yao snapped out of her reverie and looked at Yunniang's face, where the worry was evident.
"Mother, I want to find a more meticulous cook, but I've looked at so many people these past few days and still haven't found a suitable one."
Yunniang gently patted Pei Yao's head and asked, "What's the reason you feel it's inappropriate?"
"The cooks who have come these past few days are either only good at cooking country-style banquets, or they're not very meticulous," Pei Yao thought about the people who had come in the past few days and shook her head helplessly.
Yunniang: "Then why not find a maid?"
At this point, Pei Yao sighed, "I would like to, but no woman has come over these past two days."
Not to mention the kitchen staff, even the waiters in the restaurant are mostly men.
"Aunt Yun, Xiao Yao."
Just as the two were talking about this, Liu Yan knocked on the gate of the courtyard.
The gate to Pei Yao's house was usually open, so Liu Yan knocked on the door before coming in.
"Xiaoyan, have you eaten?" Yunniang put down the porridge in her hand and looked at her.
Pei Yao put down what she was holding, looked at her, and greeted her politely, "Sister Yan."
Liu Yan smiled shyly: "Aunt Yun, I've already eaten."
After Liu Yan finished speaking, she took out what she was holding: "This is a jujube rice cake that I made myself. I wanted to bring it over for you to try yesterday, but you weren't here. My mother told me that you've been busy during the day lately, so I came over early this morning."
Liu Yan took out the soft and fluffy pastries in her hand, which looked very appetizing.
Pei Yao's eyes lit up when she saw the pastries in front of her: "Sister Yan, did you make these yourself?"
Liu Yan felt a little embarrassed by Pei Yao's bright eyes.
He nodded and replied, "Mhm."
Yunniang glanced at Pei Yao's expression and immediately understood. She then said from the side:
"Xiaoyan learned how to make jujube cake from you before. She made it and sold it at the dock. The business was pretty good."
Pei Yao had been so busy every day that she hadn't paid much attention to this matter.
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