After Shen Qingyu finished tidying up for Gu Shi, she saw Meng Zhao pacing around in the yard, so she ran up and took Meng Zhao's hand and said, "Sister-in-law, what are you doing?"
“I’m exercising. Walking around a lot will help me grow taller.” Meng Zhao tugged at Shen Qingyu’s little hand. This little girl is getting closer and closer to him now.
"Qingyu wants to grow taller too, Qingyu wants to grow taller too!" Shen Qingyu jumped up and down, acting coquettishly towards Meng Zhao.
So Meng Zhao had a little tail following him. Before long, Shen Qingyu ran over and pulled her brother, who was watching from the side, over as well.
The little tail then became two.
The next morning, Meng Zhao got up as soon as it was light, ate breakfast, and then set off for town.
She brought two taels of silver with her this time, not only to pay the balance for the custom-made iron basin and rice plates, but also to buy some seasonings she would need in the future.
Meng Zhao went to the grain store and bought ten catties of fine rice and ten catties of brown rice. Fine rice cost 7 wen per catty, and one catty of rice could be steamed into more than two catties of cooked rice. A boxed lunch contains about 300 grams of cooked rice.
If you only use fine rice, the cost will be too high, so you should mix fine rice and brown rice.
After paying, I left the money at the grain shop, and later I went to the carpenter's shop to pick up the cart and took it with me.
Meng Zhao spent the rest of his time searching for various seasonings, such as chili peppers, Sichuan peppercorns, star anise, and cinnamon, which are already widely used and can be purchased at seasoning shops.
However, ingredients like cassia seeds, angelica root, and cardamom can only be purchased from pharmacies, and pepper and cumin are now used as spices. Meng Zhao needs to collect these slowly.
I spent the whole morning shopping before I managed to buy some of the important spices, but I still didn't get everything.
Before setting up her stall, she needs to prepare all the dishes in advance because some ingredients are missing, and the recipes also need to be modified to some extent.
At noon, Meng Zhao went to the Meng family's butcher shop and had lunch with Meng's parents. After lunch, he went directly with Meng's father to inquire about renting a stall.
With Mencius' father present, the rent was paid and the location reserved in just half an hour.
Logically, the daily stall fee should be twenty coins, but Meng Zhao only set up his stall at noon, so he shared the stall with an old lady who only set up her stall in the morning. She would come in the morning to sell rolled pancakes, and Meng Zhao would come at noon to sell boxed lunches. The daily rent was ten coins.
After the matter was settled, Meng Zhao went to the carpenter's shop to pick up the modified cart. He tested it on the spot and found that it was very stable after the frame was fixed and did not shake at all.
Seeing that Meng Zhao had bought a lot of things, the master gave him two long wooden planks as a gift. After setting up the cart, the planks could be laid flat on the cart, and the height of the rice bowl would be just right for serving the food.
Meng Zhao pushed the cart to the blacksmith's shop to pick up the two iron pots he had ordered, then loaded all the grain he had stored at the grain shop, and also went to the Meng family's butcher shop to buy a few pounds of pork.
At first, they refused to accept the money, but Meng Zhao persuaded them for a long time before they finally accepted it. If Meng Zhao were just going back to the Meng family for a meal, she would naturally not be polite, but she was going to do business, so she couldn't refuse to pay.
I went to the vegetable shop and bought some vegetables I needed, as well as a crucian carp, planning to make crucian carp and tofu soup for dinner.
After buying all the ingredients, Meng Zhao prepared to go home early.
Two of her cousins were coming to build the stove today. Since they hadn't paid them, they couldn't let them go home hungry. Besides, Meng Zhao also wanted to hurry home and cook some elaborate dishes to test her skills.
As she approached the courtyard, before even entering, she heard lively sounds coming from inside. Upon entering, she saw two burly men washing their hands by the well. Seeing her enter, they hurriedly stood up, swallowed hard, and said nervously, "Cousin, sister-in-law, you're back."
This was the second time Gu Yun and Gu Yu had met Meng Zhao. The first time was at their cousin's wedding. On that day, their cousin was taken away by soldiers, and this new cousin's wife immediately caused a scene, overturning seven or eight tables and shocking everyone who came to eat at the banquet. So the two of them were still a little scared when they saw Meng Zhao now.
"Zhaozhao is back. Come, let me introduce you." Hearing the commotion outside, Gu's mother came out of the house, accompanied by a woman who was slightly older than Gu.
"This is your aunt, she's here to help out today. These are your two cousins, this is the eldest, Gu Yun, and this is the second, Gu Yu." The wedding day was chaotic, and she hadn't seen them since, so Gu Shi quickly introduced them to Meng Zhao, worried she might not remember.
"This must be Zhao Zhao. She's so pretty. Your mother was praising you to me for ages, saying that you're not only filial, but also a great cook."
This isn't just polite talk; her sister-in-law really did praise her daughter-in-law for a long time. At first, Aunt Gu was a little suspicious, but judging from her sister-in-law's personality, she didn't seem like a liar, so she gradually came to believe her.
"Haha, thank you for the compliment, Aunt. I'll cook something delicious later. Thank you so much for your help today, Aunt and my two cousins."
"Don't be so polite. We're all family. Your two cousins may not be good at much, but they are very strong. If you need any help, just ask your aunt." Aunt Gu stepped forward, took Meng Zhao's hand, and said kindly.
Seeing that Meng Zhao was beautiful and polite, Aunt Gu felt that she was not such an unreasonable person. The wedding day must have been a special case. After all, what woman wouldn't go crazy if she had to live like a widow on her first day of marriage?
Gu helped Meng Zhao unload all the things she brought back, and placed the two iron pots directly on the stove.
The yard has changed dramatically. Today the sun is shining brightly, and the newly built stove has dried completely. There's also a large work surface. Not only that, the roof has been enlarged, so cooking in the yard no longer has to be exposed to the sun.
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