An Ning handed the matter over to Aunt Wu, and she felt relieved. She found Gao and said to her, "Mom, after I finish planting corn tomorrow, I will go back to the capital. You can have fun here with Biyu and Qingyu."
Gao didn't ask An Ning what she was going to do, but said, "Take Biyu back with you. I feel relieved to have her take care of you."
An Ning shook her head and said, "No need, you guys are short of manpower, so let her stay!"
Seeing this, Gao didn't try to persuade her anymore, but just told An Ning to be careful when the time comes.
The next day, Wu Zhuangtou prepared everything early in the morning and took the hired people to plant the land. Because An Ning only took out about one acre of corn seeds, Wu Zhuangtou first led people to plow the land for planting corn, and then led others to plant wheat.
An Ning took Wu Zhuangtou's four sons and his wife to plant corn seeds. After planting, Wu Zhuangtou led people to cover the soil, and the corn was considered planted.
Because there were so many people, it only took an hour to plant the acre of corn. After planting the corn, An Ning returned to the farm, changed clothes, and then took a carriage back to the capital.
An Ning didn't go home, but went directly to the newly bought restaurant. An Ning hadn't decided on a name for the restaurant yet, so there was no plaque on it yet.
When An Ning entered, she found that the interior was being renovated in full swing. The overall layout remained the same, but some details had changed. The kitchen had undergone a major change. Since they no longer sold stir-fried dishes, they could not use as many stoves in the kitchen. Two of them were removed, and the empty space was converted into an operating table.
The waiter and the two kitchen helpers in the restaurant were all helping with the work, but the three cooks were nowhere to be seen. An Ning found the shopkeeper and asked, "Why can't I see the three cooks?"
The shopkeeper smiled bitterly and said, "They were originally here to help, but seeing the stove being dismantled, they felt sad, so I asked them to go back first."
An Ning nodded and said, "How many days will it take for this kitchen to be completed?"
The shopkeeper said, "This kitchen is easy to renovate. It will be finished in two days."
An Ning thought for a moment and said, "Go and call the three chefs to our house. I'll teach them how to make hot pot base first."
The shopkeeper agreed and asked his clerk to help pass the message. An Ning took a look around and found that everything was arranged in an orderly manner, so he returned to the Rongchang Earl's Mansion.
Not long after An Ning returned to the Rongchang Marquis's residence, the three cooks came to the door. An Ning first signed a confidentiality agreement with the three people, and then led the three people into the kitchen.
In fact, hot pot base is very simple to make, but in this era, people are not very receptive to spices such as chili and pepper, so An Ning did not make a spicy hot pot base, but only a slightly spicy hot pot base. In addition to mushroom soup and bone soup, he taught them to make three kinds of hot pot bases in total.
After teaching them how to make the three soup bases, An Ning was generous and asked them to cut the meat slices and let the three cooks taste the flavors of the three soup bases. At first, the three of them couldn't accept the slightly spicy soup base, but after a few bites, they all fell in love with the taste.
The chef said, "My princess, I couldn't accept this spicy soup base at first, but I didn't expect that the more I ate, the more I wanted to eat. In the end, I even felt unsatisfied."
An Ning smiled and said, "This soup base is not spicy enough. There is also a spicy soup base. It tastes spicy and fresh, and it is very satisfying. I'm just afraid that everyone won't be able to accept it at first. Let's wait until everyone is used to the spicy taste and can accept the spicy taste before making it!"
The chef nodded and said, "It's just that this hot pot is only suitable for autumn and winter. In two months it will be summer, and it will be difficult to sell then."
An Ning nodded and said, "Don't worry, there is another way to cook the cold pot. I will teach you when the time comes."
After sending off the cooks, An Ning was about to go back to rest when she saw Butler An coming over. Butler An came up to An Ning, bowed, and said, "Princess, the eldest princess sent an invitation saying that there will be a flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow, and you must attend."
An Ning frowned. She hated flower-viewing banquets, where a bunch of women competed with each other for beauty and said hypocritical words. She really didn't want to attend. But since she was in the capital, and she was a princess appointed by the emperor, she couldn't avoid such occasions in the future. So she nodded and said, "Okay, go tell the person who came, I will go the day after tomorrow."
Butler An bowed and said, "Yes, Princess," before leaving.
An Ning returned to the room. Hong Yu saw her master coming back and hurried forward to greet her. She said, "Princess, how come you're back after just two days? Why didn't I see Sister Bi Yu?"
An Ning said, "I came back because of something. Biyu is still at the farm. By the way, I will attend the eldest princess' flower viewing banquet the day after tomorrow. You should get ready and come with me."
Hongyu nodded and said, "Yes, Princess." After An Ning gave Hongyu instructions, she returned to her room to rest, while Hongyu went to prepare clothes and jewelry to wear for the flower-viewing banquet the day after tomorrow.
When An Ning woke up and came out of the inner room, she saw several sets of clothes placed in the outer room. She asked, "Hongyu, what are you doing?"
Hongyu smiled and said, "Princess, this is your first time attending such an event, so of course you have to dress up beautifully to impress all the ladies in the capital."
An Ning shook her head, picked out a light blue dress and a light yellow skirt, and said, "Just pick these two colors and put the others away."
Hongyu said in confusion: "My Lady, I think this aqua red dress looks good, especially against your skin tone."
An Ning shook her head and explained, "This dress is too bright. When I go to someone else's house as a guest, I don't want to steal the limelight from the host."
Hongyu nodded and said, "It's my fault for not thinking it through."
An Ning smiled and said, "Are the jewelry ready? Let me see the jewelry you prepared."
Hongyu took out several sets of headwear that she had chosen. Some of these headwear were awarded by the emperor, some by the prince, and some by the empress and imperial concubine in the palace. An Ning herself had hardly ever bought any jewelry.
An Ning picked out a pair of plum blossom-shaped tassel hairpins made of white jade and a pair of earrings with the same pattern, and said to Hong Yu, "Wear this set of jewelry the day after tomorrow!"
Hongyu nodded, and then put the jewelry away separately. Then she ironed the two sets of clothes that An Ning had chosen, and then burned some incense.
An Ning looked at Hongyu burning incense seriously, and suddenly an idea came to her mind. She could try to make perfume, which would be a lucrative business.
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