After counting the money, Yan Qingqing arranged the work for the next day and gave Li Xiangjian a string of copper coins, asking him to go to the Wang family next door and retrieve the newly made bowls and chopsticks from Wang Dagang.
Dinner naturally included meat. Under Yan Qingqing's guidance, Yuan Huiniang made steamed pork with rice flour, sliced a large bowl of braised pork intestines, and also stir-fried some wild vegetables.
Looking at the table full of food, Yan Qingqing was naturally hungry too.
Knowing that Li Xiang'an and Li Xiangjian would be sleeping in Li Xiangbao's room that night, Yan Qingqing whispered a few words to Li Xiangkang. The little guy glanced at the food reluctantly and then went to the next room.
The Li family was having dinner when Old Mrs. Li saw Li Xiangkang arrive and immediately put on a stern face, saying, "What's wrong? Your spendthrift mother has emptied the house. I told you long ago that that little harlot is no good."
Seeing this, Zhao Yumei chimed in, "Mother, we don't have much food left at home. We don't know if we can last until the wheat harvest. We can't just let everyone take care of us."
Grandma Li didn't say anything. After all, this was her grandson. Although she favored boys over girls and didn't like Yan Qingqing, her grandson was still a member of the Li family.
Grandpa Li glared at the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, then smiled and said to Li Xiangkang, "You haven't eaten yet, come and have some with us."
Li Xiangkang craned his neck and glanced at the dining table. It was filled with black flatbread and wild vegetable porridge, without even a single green vegetable.
This would have been considered top-notch food in the past, but it's nowhere near as good as what they have now.
However, Li Xiangkang was clever, so he lowered his head and said, "I'm not hungry. Save some food for your aunt and the others. I came to see Brother Xiangbao."
Her tone was so pitiful that Old Master Li glared at Zhao Yumei again upon hearing it.
Upon hearing this, Li Xiangbao stood up and asked, "What do you want from me?"
Li Xiangkang immediately smiled and said, "My mother said she wanted to ask you for a favor. I wonder if you're free?"
Li Xiangbao quickly finished the porridge in his bowl and replied, "Yes! Yes! Yes! I'll go with you right now."
As they walked, he asked, "What does Second Aunt want with me?"
Li Xiangkang: ...
He couldn't very well tell him that his mother was calling him to eat something delicious.
So he replied with a smile, "You'll know when you get there."
Zhao Yumei pursed her lips and glanced at Xu Shi, sowing discord: "Third sister-in-law, you only have this one precious son, and you usually don't even want to ask him to do any work at home."
"Now that the second wife's side is calling you to do hard labor, are you willing to do that?"
Xu glanced at Zhao Yumei, disdainful of her provocation.
Zhao Yumei is the one who orders Li Xiangbao around the most at home, making him do all the dirty and tiring work. And now she's pretending to be all sympathetic here.
Even if Yan Qingqing is not good, she is still much better than Zhao Yumei. At least Yan Qingqing is not as malicious.
Li Sanniu, standing to the side, spoke up: "It's so late, Second Sister-in-law probably doesn't have any heavy work to do at home. It's only right that we help Second Sister-in-law fetch water and chop firewood, since Second Brother is no longer here."
Zhao Yumei was furious when she heard this. In the past, no one in the family dared to talk back to her, and everyone went along with her. Now, however, one after another, they all wanted to oppose her, and even Old Mrs. Li no longer sided with her.
She's a virgin bride; once she becomes an official's wife, let's see how she deals with these people.
It has to be said that Zhao Yumei has dreamed of being an official's wife for many years, and she has even thought about how many maids she would have to serve her in the future.
But Li Chengye was disappointing; after all these years, he was still just a lowly scholar. She could even sense that the women in the village who were her age had changed from envying and being jealous of her to mocking and pitying her.
Zhao Yumei was getting angrier and angrier, while Yan Qingqing's family was filled with joy.
Seeing Li Xiangbao rushing over with Li Xiangkang, Yan Qingqing waved to Li Xiangbao.
Li Xiangbao quickly walked up to Yan Qingqing and asked, "Second Aunt, what do you need me for?"
Yan Qingqing smiled and said, "Why can't your second aunt come to you unless there's something important? Your mother was there for me at the village entrance because of your eldest sister's situation, and you also took in your two older brothers to sleep. Your second aunt remembers all of this."
I've been wanting to invite your parents over for a meal, but I was afraid it would cause any trouble, so I invited you instead.
Li Xiangbao then looked at the dining table, and his mouth watered instantly.
The food at my second aunt's house is so good!
Seeing this, Yan Qingqing quickly invited Li Xiangbao to sit down, and the family began to eat.
Li Xiangbao didn't stop eating until his belly was round and full. He then helped Yan Qingqing and the others clean up the dishes before going home.
The next day, Yan Qingqing got up early again and followed the same routine as the day before, arriving at the dock before noon.
Just as Yan Qingqing and her group set up their stall, someone came over to buy braised offal.
More and more people gathered around, and after a flurry of activity, the goods were quickly sold out.
Those who arrived late still hadn't bought anything and started complaining: "Boss, didn't you say yesterday that you'd prepare more for today? We haven't even tasted it yet."
Yesterday, those who had eaten Yan Qingqing's braised offal and stew praised these two dishes to the skies, calling them the most delicious food in the world. While working, they kept bragging to their companions about how delicious they were.
That's why even more people want to try it today.
Yan Qingqing looked at the empty wooden barrels and explained with a smile, "Everyone, I'm really sorry, we would like to increase the supply, but we don't have enough manpower at home to make more."
Although these are pig offal, it's very difficult to remove the initial odor and smell, and they need to be cleaned meticulously. They also need to be braised using a family secret recipe.
Our family operates on the principle of integrity; I can't cut corners just to make more money.
Yan Qingqing's words resonated with everyone standing there, who wouldn't want the food they ate to be prepared with care?
Thinking about it this way, those who had eaten at Yan Qingqing's house felt that the few coins they spent were well worth it.
Of course, they felt it was even more worthwhile after these braised offal dishes became signature dishes that major restaurants competed for.
Taking the opportunity, Yan Qingqing added, "We'll come every day from now on. If you want breakfast, just come over. There will always be a chance to eat it."
Everyone agreed that it made sense; since Yan Qingqing and the others would be coming again tomorrow, eating there again would be the same.
Because they needed to continue doing business the next day, Yan Qingqing and her group quickly went to make purchases after packing up their things.
It happened to be a day of market day, and many vendors were still setting up their stalls.
Yan Qingqing instructed her two sons to buy groceries for tomorrow, while she herself thought she would go shopping and buy some gifts for the children.
The red ribbons I bought for the kids last time weren't quite right for them. She promised to make a bow for Li Yueniang, but she still hasn't done it.
Li Xiang'an was worried about Yan Qingqing being alone, so he asked Li Xiangjian to go shopping while he accompanied Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing knew her son meant well, so she didn't refuse.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com