Shen Qinghe didn't know where they usually set up their stall, so she could only wait at the intersection they always passed. Around noon, she saw her mother, sister-in-law, and Aunt Feng'e coming over together from afar.
He stepped forward and took the stroller from his mother's hands, startling Madam Gu.
"Qinghe? What are you doing here? Didn't you say you had something to do today and didn't need me to bring you food? Why are you at the dock?"
"I took a day off today, but I finished my business ahead of schedule. Since I had nothing to do at home anyway, I came to set up a stall with you."
Since Madam Gu never inquired about Shen Qinghe's affairs at the academy, she did not pursue the matter further.
Seeing Shen Qinghe's relaxed demeanor and the faint smile in his peach blossom eyes, Meng Zhao guessed that the matter of entering the county school must have been settled.
"Mother, why didn't Qingze and Qingyu come with us today?"
Gu replied, "We won't be selling cold noodles anymore. Zhao Zhao, your Aunt Feng'e, and I can manage on our own, so we didn't let them come over. We're at home reviewing the lessons you assigned before."
Meng Zhao directed Shen Qinghe to park the cart at the stall, while Gu Shi carried a bucket to fetch water from where they bought it, leaving the three of them to tidy up the stall.
A regular customer saw Shen Qinghe helping to move things, glanced at him and then at Meng Zhao who was busy, and asked curiously, "Boss Meng, who is this young man?"
Meng Zhao and Gu Shi led their two children out to set up a stall. Although Meng Zhao wore a woman's bun, she was young and beautiful, and many people still came up to inquire about her.
To avoid trouble, the two told others that Meng Zhao's husband was working away from home, which put an end to many people's hopes.
Since this was Shen Qinghe's first time here, Meng Zhao guessed that he had been misunderstood and explained, "This is my husband's younger brother. He had nothing to do today, so he came to help us."
The man looked at him with an expression of realization, "Oh, I see. This young man is so handsome, I suppose Boss Meng's husband must also be exceptionally handsome."
Before Meng Zhao could speak, Aunt Feng'e said, "Of course, Shen's eldest son is a well-known handsome young man in our surrounding area. Not only is he handsome, but he also learned to hunt from a young age. When he was twelve, he went up the mountain with his father to hunt wild boars."
The man's eyes widened. Wild boars were extremely ferocious these days. Some villages at the foot of the mountain were often invaded by wild boars, which would destroy houses and property. A twelve-year-old daring to go up the mountain to hunt wild boars was too fierce.
Meng Zhao smiled shyly, "Indeed, my husband is indeed very capable."
She usually sets up a stall outside, and because of her powerful husband's reputation, others are wary of her. Therefore, neither Madam Gu nor Meng Zhao has told anyone that her husband is dead.
Meng Zhao was unwilling to say anything more about it. After Gu returned with water and washed up, she began serving food to the diners.
Watching his sister-in-law's words and actions, Shen Qinghe's opinion of her deepened. She must really like his older brother, which is why she went to such lengths to marry into the family.
It was because of her elder brother's accident that her personality changed drastically. In the end, the Shen family was the one who wronged her.
Today I made braised chicken legs, stir-fried pork slices, braised pork ribs, Mapo tofu, braised eggplant, and hot and sour shredded potatoes.
Because many modern braising ingredients did not exist in ancient times, the recipe for this ingredient needs to be re-experimented. Meng Zhao has made several kinds of braised dishes in the past few days, and today he is braising chicken legs.
Old Li is a regular customer at the stall. He has a big appetite and always buys two extra large steamed buns.
"Young lady, please give me more of this braising broth. Your braising broth is so fragrant."
Meng Zhao scooped up half a spoonful of braising liquid. "Okay, can I pour it over the rice or the vegetables?"
"I just pour it over rice and I like to mix it with rice."
The person who came with him said, "You old rascal, you really know how to eat."
"Of course, I love this taste. I crave it if I don't eat it for a day."
Before Meng Zhao had even gotten a few servings of food, Aunt Zhang from across the street hurriedly came over.
"Meng Zhao, come on, let's hurry to the yamen. I just received a letter that the yamen will post a notice today allowing vendors to register for the night market."
Upon hearing the news, Meng Zhao dared not delay. He quickly handed over his work to Gu Shi, washed his hands, and followed Zhang Da Niang to the yamen.
This old lady originally lived in the county. Her son worked as a constable in the county government and couldn't stay idle, so he set up a stall at the dock.
Two months ago, because of Meng Zhao's liangpi (cold skin noodles), her subing (crispy pastry) business was more than twice as good as usual, and the two families gradually became acquainted.
Meng Zhao was worried about how to register for the night market when Aunt Zhang said she had connections and told her to just wait. Sure enough, her son had just sent a message, and she dragged Meng Zhao to the yamen.
Even though they had received the letter in advance, when they arrived they found that a crowd had already gathered at the entrance of the government office.
This is the first time in so many years that the curfew has been lifted and a night market has been opened. It's not just small vendors like Meng Zhao who are eyeing this; those big restaurants and shops probably already know about it and have sent people to wait here.
The two waited at the entrance of the yamen until after noon before they saw the gates of the county yamen open and two constables come out to post the notice on the notice wall.
Meng Zhao and Aunt Zhang tried to squeeze in for a long time but couldn't. It wasn't until the crowd dispersed that they could see what was going on. After seeing it, Aunt Zhang exclaimed in surprise:
"Meng Zhao, how did you know that you need a household registration certificate to register?" No wonder those people in front of us dispersed; they probably went home to get their household registration certificates.
Meng Zhao's lips curled up. For officials, the commercial effect of opening a night market for the first time was secondary; the most important thing was safety. If something went wrong, it was uncertain whether it could be done again in the future.
Therefore, the review will be extremely strict. Meng Zhao had Zhang Da Niang prepare everything she could in advance. She even had the village head issue a certificate, which she had been carrying with her all these days, just waiting for this moment.
Meng Zhao hurriedly took Aunt Zhang to the county government office, handed over the household registration certificate, and after the review was approved, explained what they were selling and the size of the stall needed. After paying the stall fee, they finally received the certificate that allowed them to open the stall.
Before leaving, they were given many instructions, such as not to illegally occupy the road, not to disturb public order, and not to evade taxes. They made their promises to all of these before they were allowed to leave.
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