Yan Qingqing's braised chicken was a great success; you could tell just by looking at how the children ate it.
Even Xiao Mochen, who had initially offered his opinion, couldn't bring himself to speak, because he was already a refined eater, and if he spoke again, he would be even less able to outdo Li Xiangjian and the others.
Fortunately, they knew that Yan Qingqing was an elder, so they tore off a chicken leg for her before they started eating.
Wang Dong stood to the side, feeling a little embarrassed. Yan Qingqing, while gnawing on a chicken leg, said, "From now on, treat this place as your own home. When it's time to grab something, you have to be quick, or you won't even get to eat the bones."
Wang Dong was so eager to grab it that, and now that he had received Yan Qingqing's words, he quickly joined the scramble.
Li Xiangjian even made room for Wang Dong. After a whirlwind of activity, only a pile of chicken bones remained, and they all seemed to be still not satisfied.
Li Xiangjian rubbed his stomach and said, "Why does this chicken seem so hard to eat? I'm still not full. It must be because our chickens are too small."
It's a pity these chickens weren't raised long enough. If they had been raised longer, they would have grown bigger and been more satisfying.
Li Xiang'an glanced at him and said, "You eat the most, and you're still complaining? Your teeth have such big gaps!"
Li Xiangjian is strong and eats a lot, so his eating speed is naturally unmatched by the others.
Li Xiangjian snorted twice and said, "This is how men eat. Those who dawdle and chew for ages are just girls."
Just as Li Xiangjian was feeling smug, Yan Qingqing slapped him on the head and said seriously, "How have I taught you all? You talk so incoherently."
Seeing this, Li Xiang'an and the others suppressed their laughter, while Li Xiangjian felt extremely aggrieved. His mother must have disliked him today, first glaring at him fiercely, and now slapping him.
However, Li Xiangjian dared not be angry or speak out, and could only look at Yan Qingqing pitifully.
For such a big guy to make such an expression, to put it nicely, is called a cute contrast; to put it bluntly, it's just unbearable to look at. Yan Qingqing turned her head away and ignored him.
Then she glanced at Xiao Mochen, who said with great insight, "Aunt, I've tasted it and it's very good. It's even better than... the chefs in the restaurants in the capital. I've never seen this kind of cooking before. The only downside is that the chicken is too small."
After saying that, Xiao Mochen licked his lips, and Yan Qingqing couldn't help but chuckle. This child hadn't had enough to eat.
However, with Xiao Mochen's evaluation, Yan Qingqing felt more at ease.
Over the next few days, Yan Qingqing taught them how to make roast duck and drunken duck, and that's when Yan Qingqing's oven came in handy.
Yan Qingqing taught diligently, and the students learned carefully. They mastered the skills in just three days, and all that remained was repeated practice.
In those three days, Xiao Mochen wrote a total of one thousand promotional flyers.
When Xiao Mochen handed the completed leaflet to Yan Qingqing, she was stunned. This was not handwritten at all; it looked like printed text. Look at the size of each character and the spacing between them—they were exactly the same.
Yan Qingqing suddenly felt a little reluctant as she sent out the flyers.
Seeing that Yan Qingqing remained silent, Xiao Mochen asked somewhat nervously, "Auntie, is there something wrong with what I wrote?"
Xiao Mochen felt that what he wrote was pretty perfect, but it was just too perfect.
Yan Qingqing sighed and said, "Your handwriting is too good. I'm afraid it might attract the attention of someone with ulterior motives."
Although Yan Qingqing was not entirely sure of Xiao Mochen's true identity, it would be a loss if this flyer caused unnecessary trouble.
Xiao Mochen smiled and said, "Don't worry, Aunt. I don't usually write in this style. This is a style I practiced in private. No one knows about it except a few close friends."
Yan Qingqing sighed in amazement. This child was already defying the heavens. At only six or seven years old, his handwriting was already like this. What would he be like in the future?
Sometimes, you have to admit that the phrase "gifted" is indeed true.
Seeing that Xiao Mochen was so confident, Yan Qingqing stopped worrying and left with a smile, holding the leaflet.
Yan Qingqing still went to the city herself, and she asked Chen Liu for help with this matter.
Chen Liu agreed without even thinking about it.
Yan Qingqing gave him ten taels of silver as expenses for this publicity campaign.
Chen Liu did not accept the money this time, but said, "Big sister, this is a small matter and doesn't require so much. Besides, I haven't spent all the money you gave me last time."
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Don't worry about me getting things done. Any extra money will be considered as a reward for your hard work."
Chen Liu still refused to accept the money and said, "Big sister, I'm not being polite, I really don't need that much money. I'll find some beggars in the city to promote it for you."
Don't underestimate them just because they are the most inconspicuous beggars; they are the most well-informed.
I have a good relationship with their leader, so a few copper coins each and the matter was settled perfectly.
In the end, Chen Liu didn't accept the money, and Yan Qingqing had no choice but to give up. However, Yan Qingqing was happy to owe him a favor, because all relationships can only last if there is give and take.
If you calculate everything too clearly, you may repay all the favors you owe, but the relationships will also fade away.
A few days later, almost every shop in the county received news that Canghe Liji Delicatessen was about to open.
Everyone knows that the "Flipped Red" dish comes from their family, and those who haven't tried it or are craving it are all thinking that they must go and try it sometime.
Even those who don't like the food saw the promotional leaflet which advertised braised chicken, roast duck, and drunken duck, and they had never tried any of them before, so they were determined to try something new this time.
Yan Qingqing and her team's promotional flyers were targeted at all shops in Chengyang County. Some middle and upper-class consumers could only rely on word of mouth because it was impossible for them to distribute flyers door-to-door.
After thinking for a moment, Yan Qingqing called over Li Xiangping and his brothers and said, "We have a stable, big client next door. Which of you would like to go and talk to them?"
Upon hearing this, Li Xiang'an coughed suddenly. He immediately understood who his mother was referring to as a major client, but he had never been to such a place before.
Li Xiangjian, being Li Xiang'an's twin, knew something was amiss from his reaction, so he stood there silently.
In business dealings, Li Xiang'an usually takes the lead. After waiting a long time and seeing that Li Xiang'an hadn't made a move, Li Xiangping hesitated for a moment before saying, "Mother, should I go?"
Yan Qingqing glanced at him and said, "Forget it, don't let this little thing cause you to quarrel with Hui Niang again. I don't want to be that kind of wicked mother-in-law."
Li Xiangping was a little confused by Yan Qingqing's words. How could they argue over a business deal? Hui Niang wasn't the kind of person who was unreasonable.
Seeing that his simple-minded older brother didn't understand, Li Xiang'an explained, "Brother, the big customer Mother was talking about is a brothel. You may not know this if you haven't been to our shop, but our shop is right next to the largest brothel in Chengyang County."
Mother probably didn't want my eldest brother to go because she was afraid my sister-in-law would be unhappy later.
Li Xiangping finally realized what was happening. He blushed and called Yan Qingqing "Mother," looking just like a wronged young wife.
It really proves the old saying: the eldest is simple-minded, the second is cunning, and there's a wicked third.
Yan Qingqing had been in a bad mood these past few days. Looking at her three troublesome sons, she waved her hand and said, "Alright, it's just a small matter. Look at the three of you, so incompetent. I'll talk to you about this myself later."
After saying that, Yan Qingqing stood up and left, leaving the three brothers looking at each other in bewilderment.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com