The pained expression on Wen Jiang's face didn't escape Wu Zhu's notice. A hint of a smile flashed across his eyes, then quickly faded. Tong Wenyao sat close to her eldest brother. "Brother, come with me to the county tomorrow and serve as the captain of the city gate. That way, we'll get news from the capital sooner." Before leaving the county magistrate's mansion, Ji Shikang gave her a token, telling her to take her brother directly to the city gate to take up his post. It was as if he had predicted her brother's appointment long ago, but they had no choice now.
Wu Zhu asked, "You mean, we should change the spicy snacks in the county to this?" Tong Wen Yao nodded. The spicy snack workshop still had to be run, but the weather was getting colder. Except for the Cangzhou port which still provided goods, other places changed to barbecue and hot pot.
"I checked the account books today and sales in the county have declined, so your idea is a good one." Wu Zhu nodded in agreement. Tong Wenyao planned to prepare the hot pot base and hand it over to her Second Aunt. She would then lead the people in the spicy noodle workshop to prepare it and simmer it until it solidified. Then, they would add water to a pot and boil it to make the hot pot base. A condiment table would be provided nearby.
She had taken this into consideration when she designed the spicy noodle shop, so it was easy for the spicy noodle workshop to make hot pot. There were tables for eating in the shop. As for hot pot and barbecue, they would be baked in ceramic pots or used to make hot pot base. However, when she came, she forgot to ask the ceramic workshop to produce it. She drew the blueprint herself and asked Uncle Du to make it.
At that time, a fire-proof charcoal set will be placed under the ceramic, so that the ceramic pot can be used for barbecue and hot pot, killing two birds with one stone.
The barbecue net can also be woven by cutting bamboo from the back mountain, which can also be solved.
One or two varieties of spicy strips will be available as free condiments, and the others will require payment! In addition, the hot pot base in the workshop can also be sold to merchants at the Cangzhou dock.
She said all this in front of everyone present, and even Tong Hong thought it was feasible. The barbecue was just done, so Tong Wen Yao put the skewers on a plate and asked them to taste it before asking if there were any other questions.
Wen Jiang took the first skewer. The freshly roasted lamb was chewy and had no strong smell. Wen Jiang chewed it carefully and the more she chewed, the more fragrant it became. After finishing, Wen Jiang gave Tong Wen Yao a big thumbs up and said, "It's delicious! It's delicious."
Tong Wen Yao originally wanted to go back to her room to get paper and pen to record their taste, but she didn't expect that Qiu Zhen had already written it down. At that moment, she felt a little relieved and accomplished. Who would have thought that in just over two months, Qiu Zhen would be able to grow up and be able to stand on her own.
Qiu Zhen wrote down their tastes one by one, and when she encountered a word she didn't know how to write, she would ask Tong Bo on the spot, and Tong Bo generously taught her to write it. Tong Wen Yao said last time that she wanted to find someone to teach the villagers to read. She still hasn't found a suitable one, but she can ask Uncle Ping if he knows anyone who can teach!
"Uncle Ping, are there any teachers nearby?" Wu Ping frowned and thought for a moment before shaking his head when he heard Tong Wenyao ask this. "Very few! Very few! If children in our village want to go to school, they need to go to the town. Rich families will send them to the county."
Tong Wenyao felt that not only the children in their family should go to school, but also the younger ones in the village, so she thought of finding a teacher! Tong Hong seemed to have thought of something and asked Wu Ping, "Kong Ming, who retired with you, I remember he was quite knowledgeable. Where is he now?" Wu Ping thought about it and shook his head. It had been many years since they parted in Cangzhou, and he didn't know where he was.
Tong Hong sighed after hearing this. It's unpredictable! Wu Ping seemed to have thought of something and said, "If we go looking for him, we don't know if we can find him. He told me before that if we want to find him, we should go to Ningxiangzi to find a man named Ma Dong, and he will come when the time comes." Tong Wenyao decided to go find Kong Ming after hearing this. Since her second uncle said that his knowledge was okay, she felt relieved to let him teach Wen Jiang and the others.
In that case, after I finish dealing with things here in the next few days, I will go to Cangzhou to ask!
Everyone also discussed the distribution of hot pot and barbecue. There are many people in the village who can weave bamboo nets. At that time, Second Aunt will post an announcement in front of the spicy strips workshop. Then, tomorrow Tong Wen Yao will teach Second Aunt how to make hot pot base. At that time, the people in the workshop will be dispersed to make it. After the production is completed, it will be put into the pot and boiled into hot pot base!
Tong Bo will urge the workers to build the house tomorrow, and the cement and bricks have already been brought over.
Wu Zhu took his men to the ceramic workshop in Changzhen Village to order custom-made clay pots for barbecue and hot pot. He had originally planned to go to the county with his elder brother tomorrow and accompany him to report to the Chengmen team leader, but he didn't expect that he would be free now.
Tong Wenyao took out the token and gave it to her eldest brother. "Brother, keep this. Report to the guard at the county gate tomorrow. After your shift, go to the pharmacy and buy the herbs I need."
Tong Wenyao held the stone tablet in his hand. It was engraved with the word "Kang," clearly a token from the county magistrate. After putting it in his pocket, Tong Wenyao began to eat the venison. It was indeed venison leg meat, firm and paired with spices, it was delicious! It would have been even better if there was some wine to drink.
Tong Hong and Wu Ping chatted all night. That night, Tong Wenyao asked Xing'er and Guo'er to sleep together. Xing'er was so scared that she shook her head, "Miss, how can this be possible! Guo'er and I are lowly people. Eating together is a great sin. If we sleep together, you will kill us!"
"Xing'er, didn't you say you would listen to whatever the young lady said? Why aren't you listening now?" Xing'er shook her head and explained, "Young lady, this is different. Young lady, Guo'er and I will sleep in the woodshed today."
Second Auntie heard this and said, "It's not a good idea to sleep in the woodshed in such cold weather. If you catch a cold, you'll have to pay for medicine." Xing'er said, "Thank you for your kindness, Second Auntie. We are tough and strong, so if we wear more clothes at night, we won't be cold."
In the end, she couldn't persuade Xing'er, but Tong Wen Yao didn't allow them to sleep in the woodshed. They just slept on the floor in the room. There was a burning kang next to them. The temperature in the room was milder than outside, so they wouldn't feel so cold sleeping on the floor.
Xing'er was able to accept this. As long as they didn't have to sleep on the bed, they were fine with it! They took some of the straw that had been used to cover the bed and spread it on the ground. Xing'er spread her old clothes on top of it. Tong Wenyao took out the old quilt they had used before and covered them with it, so that they wouldn't be cold at night.
Xiaoxue was also afraid of the cold and originally wanted to crawl onto the kang, but Qian's mother drove it down and wouldn't let it get on the kang. It then ran to Xing'er to keep warm. This time, Xing'er didn't drive it away, but instead held it in her arms so she could keep warm too.
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