After the New Year’s Eve dinner, Xu Qinyu and Wen returned to Laixi Lane.

Ning Jie'er's Linglong Pavilion had closed a few days ago, so she didn't go back with them these days.

As soon as she arrived at Laixi Lane, Xu Qinyu went forward and knocked on the door. Someone opened it. She thought she would meet Ning Jie'er or her grandmother, but it turned out to be her fourth brother.

He must have just returned and looked exhausted.

Xu Qinyu was delighted and said happily, "Fourth brother, you are back?"

She really missed her fourth brother. After he brought back five thousand taels of silver last time, he left Yuanbao Town within two days and has not returned until now.

Although they planned to let their relationship run its course, they could be considered to be in love after sleeping in the same bed together in Raozhou City. However, Fourth Brother was busy, and she was busy too, so they rarely spent time alone together. It seemed that they simply skipped the idea of ​​being in love, and lived a somewhat timid life.

However, she hasn't told her family about her relationship with her fourth brother yet.

Pei Weixuan took back five thousand taels of silver from Huo Ye, and then helped with a convoy mission before the New Year and sold a batch of glassware. He then returned to Yuanbao Town on the 29th of December.

Mrs. Wen looked at her son and daughter-in-law with a smile. How could she not see that Yu Niang's expression when she looked at her son was different.

"Let's go, everyone go in first."

Xu Qinyu followed the fourth brother into the house and subconsciously took his arm, "Fourth brother, have you eaten?"

Pei Weixuan said: "I have eaten with my grandmother and the others. The kitchen is heating up the water. Yu Niang will..."

Before he could finish, Xu Qinyu hurriedly said, "Fourth brother, wash first."

She knew that the last thing Fourth Brother wanted to say was to let her wash first.

There is only one stove in the kitchen, and we usually heat water in a pot. Now that the weather is cold, we need a lot of hot water just for washing.

Judging from her fourth brother's appearance, he must have returned to Yuanbao Town immediately after protecting the escort and had not stopped on the way. It would be better for him to wash up first after the long journey.

Pei Weixuan didn't refuse and went back to his room to wash up with hot water.

The water had already been boiled in the kitchen, and then Xu Qinyu and Wen came.

Sister Ning and the others have already washed up.

There was a little snow in the southwest this year. The snow stopped in the past few days, but it was still a little cold. After Xu Qinyu washed up, she didn't go out to the wooden pavilion in the patio to blow dry her hair. It would be easy to get a headache if she had wet hair in the snow.

Not long after she finished washing up, she heard a knock on the door. Knowing it was her fourth brother, she went over to open the door.

Pei Weixuan said: "Come and help Yu Niang wipe her hair."

Otherwise, her hair is thick and she can never dry it, so she falls asleep with half-wet hair and gets a headache the next day.

Xu Qinyu was used to it and moved aside to let her fourth brother come in.

Pei Weixuan came into the house and took out a thick flannel to help her wipe her wet hair. Xu Qinyu was also busy asking how her fourth brother's trip was and whether he encountered any danger. She was worried that he might have encountered some danger.

In fact, we encountered a group of bandits on this trip.

Even in prosperous times, there are always mountain bandits and sea bandits. Now that the world is still a little chaotic, there are even more mountain bandits and sea bandits.

Colored glass is expensive, and many people have started to inquire about it, wanting to know who made it and want to get their hands on it.

This time they encountered the Boshan bandits, who were willing to sacrifice their lives for money. However, the ones who transported the colored glass every time were the most skilled in martial arts among the black-armored guards.

The black-armored guards were all extremely skilled in martial arts, and were the most skilled among the selected group, so they were naturally not afraid of these bandits. Except for a few black-armored guards who were slightly injured, the others were fine.

Fearing that Yu Niang might be worried, Pei Weixuan paused and said slowly, "I didn't encounter anything this time."

Xu Qinyu turned around and glanced at her fourth brother. His face was calm, and he was wiping her hair with his eyes half closed.

Fourth brother is always like this no matter what he says or does. I don’t know whether what he says is true or false.

Xu Qinyu naturally couldn't help but nag him a few times, telling him not to hide anything from herself and his family, as everyone would be worried about him.

Pei Weixuan just nodded lightly.

It took more than half an hour to finish drying my hair.

Pei Weixuan also planned to return to his room and let Yu Niang rest early.

Xu Qinyu was just about to tell her fourth brother to rest early, but when she saw her fourth brother in a silk gown, with handsome features, broad shoulders and long legs, her heart started beating faster, and she couldn't help but say, "Fourth brother, come here."

Pei Weixuan glanced at Yu Niang and saw that she was evasive. He thought she wanted to say something, so he went over to her and asked, "Yu Niang, do you have anything to say?"

Seeing his handsome face moving towards her, Xu Qinyu tiptoed and quickly pecked the corner of his lips.

After pecking the corner of Fourth Brother's lips, her heart beat faster and her cheeks felt a little hot.

Pei Weixuan was stunned for a moment, then his eyes darkened. He had been enduring for a long time. When he got along with Yu Niang a few days ago, he also saw that Yu Niang was willing to accept him. However, he thought that Yu Niang would wait two years before clarifying their relationship with him and marrying him. He never thought that Yu Niang would kiss him.

At this moment, his self-control also disappeared instantly.

He held Yu Niang's wrist and bent down to kiss her.

Before Xu Qinyu came to her senses, a pair of somewhat cold lips fell on her lips, followed by the fourth brother's passionate kiss.

Then she was a little out of breath.

At some point, the two separated. Xu Qinyu felt a little dizzy. She heard her fourth brother say in a hoarse voice, "Yu Niang, go to bed early."

Xu Qinyu groaned in confusion, and saw her fourth brother walking away with big strides, his steps a little unsteady and a little weird.

Xu Qinyu looked down at her clothes again, quickly gathered them, and with a red face, she ran to the bed of the double bed, covered herself with the quilt, and covered herself tightly with the quilt, even covering her head, and lay there motionless.

…

The next morning, Xu Qinyu woke up.

Last night she actually had a dream in which she and her fourth brother got married. The dream became a little vague after that.

When she woke up, she kept thinking of the scene of herself marrying her fourth brother in a red wedding dress.

Last night she was thinking that she was already 18 years old, and even if she couldn't do anything else like falling in love, she might as well kiss him, so she kissed him for some unknown reason.

But I didn’t expect that Fourth Brother also couldn’t control himself.

She certainly won't regret it.

I just think that being in love feels good.

She was in a daze for a while, then got dressed and got up.

Today is New Year’s Eve, it’s Chinese New Year.

Xu Qinyu plans to make roast suckling pig today.

When she was making roast suckling pig for the corrupt official at Zhu's Restaurant in Raozhou City, she had been craving for it. But she had been busy since she came back and had no time to make it. Now that it was the New Year, she had a few days off and could roast it for everyone in the family to try.

When I just woke up and went to the kitchen, everyone was already busy in the kitchen. Breakfast would definitely be something cooked casually, and the New Year's Eve dinner in the evening was the highlight.

On ordinary days, the New Year’s Eve dinner is either eaten at noon or in the afternoon. This year, the New Year’s Eve dinner will be eaten in the afternoon.

When she went to the kitchen and saw her fourth brother, Xu Qinyu was still a little embarrassed and didn't dare to look at him.

The base of Pei Weixuan's ears was also a little red.

Wen also noticed the subtle atmosphere between the two.

But she didn't say anything. She never interfered in her son's affairs with Yu Niang.

We had a quick breakfast while Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Zhu cooked some noodles.

After resting for two hours, the family started preparing for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

All the ingredients had been purchased two days in advance, even the brick oven for roasting the suckling pig was ready.

Xu Qinyu was mainly responsible for making the roast suckling pig, while the others helped wash and cut vegetables, prepare ingredients and light the fire.

Fourth brother had already lit the charcoal fire, while Xu Qinyu marinated the suckling pig and began to brush the skin with crispy syrup. After brushing the skin with the crispy syrup, she waited until the skin was dry before bringing it over to start grilling.

After half an hour, the fragrance became stronger and stronger.

The neighbors around have become accustomed to it and know that it must be Miss Xu's family preparing the New Year's Eve dinner. They still remember the aroma of the New Year's Eve dinner Miss Xu prepared last year. They thought that the aroma last year had reached its limit, but the taste this year is no less delicious than last year.

Last year the aroma was fresh and delicious, this year it was a rich and unique meaty aroma, they all had the same characteristic, making them drool.

"It's a waste of my life. Every year I have to smell the New Year's Eve dinner made by Miss Xu. This aroma makes my own New Year's Eve dinner taste bland."

It's not just this family that thinks this way; almost everyone living in Laixi Lane thinks this way.

It’s just that Xu Ji doesn’t have New Year’s Eve dinner on weekdays, otherwise they would definitely not be willing to cook the dinner themselves, so they went to Xu Ji to make a reservation.

But no matter how greedy they are, they can only endure it.

By the time the suckling pig is fully cooked, the aroma is already overwhelming.

Last year, when old lady Zhu was in poor health, she cooked Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and this year it was roasted suckling pig.

Chinese New Year is a time for family reunion, and she attaches great importance to it. She wants to have a good meal with her family every Chinese New Year.

When the roast suckling pig is ready, prepare other ingredients.

The rest are a few home-cooked dishes, most of which are appetizing and refreshing.

At the time of Shen, everyone gathered together to start eating the New Year's Eve dinner, the highlight of which was naturally the roast suckling pig.

After helping to distribute the roast suckling pig to everyone in the family, Xu Qinyu took a piece for herself. She squinted her eyes in satisfaction as soon as she took a bite. It was crispy and crunchy in her mouth. Not only was it crispy but also very fragrant. It tasted even better than the roast suckling pig that Xu Qinyu made in later generations.

The roast suckling pig this time was even more fragrant and tasty than the last time he roasted it for the corrupt official in Raozhou City, because many of the seasonings were made by Xu Qinyu herself, such as the fermented bean curd and soybean paste needed to marinate the suckling pig. Moreover, the pigs here were fed with wild vegetables or dregs from the mountains, unlike later generations, where pigs were fed with feed and the meat was released from the pen very quickly. The pigs here grew slowly, but the meat was fragrant and tasted very different.

"Fourth sister-in-law, this is delicious." Ning Jie'er's eyes sparkled as she ate.

It was so fragrant. The fat under the pig skin was melted a lot during the roasting. Not only was the pig skin crispy, but the fat under the crispy skin was also a little burnt. However, if it was roasted to this extent, the skin should have been over-roasted, but that was not the case with the suckling pig roasted by Fourth Sister-in-law. The skin was crispy and the inside was also a little burnt. Although it was a little oily, it was not greasy. The next layer was lean meat, which was not dry at all and was very tender, tender and fragrant. When you took a bite, the crispy skin was connected with a little crispy fat, and then there was the tender lean meat. It was so delicious that Ning Jie'er wanted to live with Fourth Sister-in-law for the rest of her life. She would never get married and would give all the money she earned to Fourth Sister-in-law.

It was indeed delicious and Xu Qinyu was very satisfied.

The restaurant and Xuji will definitely add this roast suckling pig and Buddha jumps over the wall to their menu in the future.

Buddha Jumps Over the Wall requires reservation at least several days in advance, but this roast suckling pig does not require reservation, just one day in advance will do.

The family shared a roasted suckling pig weighing nearly 20 kilograms and finished it cleanly. They also finished most of the other dishes.

After Xu Qinyu finished eating, she had no plans to go to the night market.

After a busy year, I just want to take a break.

The whole family was roasting charcoal fire in the main room, chatting, and celebrating the New Year, feeling warm and happy.

…

On the fourth day after the Chinese New Year, Xu Ji opened for business. As soon as it opened, I felt that everyone was hardworking and contented, and the whole team was united. There were occasional minor frictions on weekdays, but they basically disappeared after the Chinese New Year.

It has been three or four months since the merger with Donglaiju. The original chefs and assistants of Donglaiju have learned almost everything from her, and Xu Qinyu can let them cook on their own.

Fourth brother didn't leave until after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, so he followed her to take a look at Raozhou City.

This time, neither of them went into the city, but went directly to the construction site.

The place where the restaurant was built was next to a big village called Pingxing Village.

In addition to the many craftsmen that Mrs. Lu had helped to find, most of the laborers were from Yuanbao Town, Raozhou City, and Pingxing Village.

Originally, when Pingxing Village knew that a restaurant was going to be built nearby, they were a little unhappy and had an xenophobic mentality.

But the family had a formal deed for a house in Raozhou city, so the villagers did not want to cause trouble. But when they learned that the house to be built also had an attic and that they needed to find craftsmen and laborers, and that even laborers would be paid thirty cents a day, the slight dissatisfaction in their hearts immediately disappeared, and they all rushed over to respond to the job.

As long as the person is diligent, Gongger and Taoqi will want him.

It was also agreed in advance that if anyone was found to be lazy and not working properly, they would not be paid a penny and would be fired directly.

Gong Ge'er and his friends certainly had no idea of ​​these people's character. When they started working, there were indeed a few people who gathered together to slack off. Gong Ge'er and Tao Qi and their friends immediately drove them away and did not pay them a penny for that day.

Naturally, these people also want to make trouble. They think that they are the local bosses and that they cannot defeat the local bosses, so they start to act like a spoiled brat.

Gong Ge'er and Tao Qi were even more ruthless, as they didn't even want the troublemakers from the same village.

This is now related to my own interests, the salary of thirty cents a day.

The person in charge also said that as long as I worked for a whole month without asking for leave, I would be given one or two taels of silver at the end of the month.

How could anyone be willing to pay such a high wage of only one or two taels of silver a month? Without Gong Ge'er and his friends stepping in, these people would have scolded and driven away several fellow villagers who were working cheatingly.

Gong Ge'er also told everyone, "Our boss has built a restaurant and a house for the guests to rest. We will definitely hire people in the future. We will need both male and female workers because we will receive both male and female guests. So everyone should work hard. In the future, we will let your sons, daughters, wives or wives come to work in the restaurant. Our boss said that the monthly salary will not be less than 800 coins."

"Eight hundred wages?" Everyone was a little unconvinced.

Gong Ge'er said, "Why would I lie to you? Our boss is the boss of Xu Ji in Yuanbao Town. The waiters in our Xu Ji get 800 wen a month. If you work longer, your salary will increase."

"Xu's? I think I've heard of it. I have relatives in Yuanbao Town. I heard the food is delicious. The wages of the employees seem to be quite high. The Dong family is also very nice."

After hearing this, everyone believed it halfway, but they also felt that this restaurant was located outside the city, could it really have customers? If there were no customers, then having so many employees would be useless.

But now the boss promised that as long as they work hard, they can become employees in the restaurant if there is a suitable candidate in the family in the future, so they naturally work hard.

When Xu Qinyu came over on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, she saw that the restaurant had made great progress compared to half a month ago.

Because everyone was still working hard during the New Year holidays, Xu Qinyu asked Gongger to pay double the wages to the craftsmen and laborers on the construction site during the New Year holidays. So everyone was very motivated and were willing to do so even if they could not go home for the New Year.

The attic of the hotel, the residential houses on both sides, and the house where she and her family live are all being worked on at the same time, and will be almost finished by spring.

Even the hot spring halfway up the mountain has begun construction.

However, there is no rush to dig for the hot spring. First, make bamboo pipes and connect the pipes from the mountain to the bottom of the mountain. It will not be too late to dig for the hot spring after the house is built.

It is difficult to buy large quantities of iron, so it is impossible to make iron pipes to carry the hot spring water down the mountain. The only way is to cut thicker bamboos on the mountain, pass through the core, and connect them. They can also be used. Iron tools are more likely to rust, so they are not the best choice.

When she came to see the progress of the construction site, she found that several supervisors including Gong Ge'er and Tao Qi had lost a lot of weight. Xu Qinyu was quite grateful to them.

During the Chinese New Year, she not only left a red envelope with ten taels of silver for Gong Ge'er, but also for Tao Qi and the other two. Xu Qinyu kept them all, intending to give them all, along with their wages, the red envelope and the bonus she gave them, when the project was completed.

This time she came here, she also planned to recruit people, waiters in the restaurant and employees in the two residences.

It just so happened that the fourth brother had some ability to see through people's minds and was able to screen out most of the cunning and dishonest people. When Xu Qinyu was recruiting people, she wanted the fourth brother to help with the screening so as to avoid trouble in the future due to not understanding people's minds.

It was easy for Xu Qinyu to recruit people. She just built an oil shed in front of the construction site and placed a square table and two stools underneath. She sat on one stool and the other was for her fourth brother.

The tentative salary for the employees in the restaurant and the mansion is 800 wen a month.

The waiters in the restaurant and the women's staff can hire older women, even those in their thirties, but they must be clean and tidy. If one looks slovenly, Xu Qinyu will directly exclude them without the need for Fourth Brother to help identify them.

The waiters for female guests and male guests must be separate. Female guests only need female waiters, while male guests only need male waiters.

The restaurant's waiters are tentatively scheduled to be around thirty people.

There are tentatively 30 people on each side for the ladies and 30 people on each side, and there will be two or three people guarding each courtyard.

This means we will recruit ninety people this time.

Xu Qinyu plans to recruit more than 40 people in Raozhou City and more than 40 people near Yuanbao Town.

Knowing that the young lady under the oil shed was the owner of this restaurant, everyone was very curious and could not help looking towards the oil shed. They were all a little amazed at how amazing this young lady was. She was so young, but she had already opened a restaurant and now she was going to open a restaurant outside the city.

I went home specially in the evening to talk to my family.

So the next day, many women, young wives and young ladies came to respond to the call.

Xu Qinyu doesn't want anything as long as the clothes are dirty, the hair is greasy, or the nails are dirty.

But most people either have dirty clothes or greasy hair. Some people have clean clothes and well-groomed hair, but dirty nails.

Therefore, when Xu Qinyu saw the ten in front of her, she just took a look and decided not to take them.

One woman couldn't help but ask, "Are you kidding me, little girl? We have over ten people here, but you don't want any of them. Didn't you say you wanted to recruit forty people?"

Xu Qinyu said gently, "I am here to entertain guests and make a living by catering. Look at you, you don't even pay attention to your appearance. There is mud in the cracks of your fingernails. If the guests saw it, who would be willing to come to my house for a second meal and play? So don't blame me, my wife. I only look for people who really like to be clean and tidy."

Seeing that she was telling him in a nice way, the woman softened her tone a little, but she couldn't help but mutter, "What's the point of being clean? I have to do farm work at home, how clean can I be? Do I have to be so careful when hiring a waiter?"

Xu Qinyu nodded, "Yes, you have to be a real clean worker. Otherwise, even if you are hired, you will be fired if you find that the hygiene is not up to standard after you start working."

Seeing Xu Qinyu's politeness, the woman wanted to say something to her, but the handsome man next to her had an icy face and just glanced at her. She felt as if she was immersed in ice and no longer dared to say anything rude to the beautiful young lady in front of her. She left in a hurry.

Fortunately, we did recruit a few people on the first day, including two women, three young ladies and two young wives, as well as three boys in their teens.

They are all from the nearby Pingxing Village.

The next day, more people came, including some women, young ladies, wives and boys from ordinary families in Raozhou City who came to respond to the call.

In the next few days, all the people were recruited.

Xu Qinyu also had to teach them how to massage their muscles and bones and dredge their meridians.

She didn't understand these things, so she asked her fourth brother for help.

After returning to the inn at night, the fourth brother taught her step by step. He asked her to lie on the bed and rubbed the meridians and bones on her back with his fingers. He also told her what meridians these were, how to rub them, the amount of force, etc.

There will be some pain in some places, but Fourth Brother said that this is just a phenomenon of congestion in the meridians, which needs to be slowly massaged open, and the force does not need to be too strong.

When Fourth Brother helped her massage her meridians, she began to feel warmth all over her body. It was indeed very comfortable, and even made Xu Qinyu feel a little drowsy.

After Fourth Brother taught her once, she began to massage him. He would also remind her if she did something wrong.

When she was massaging Fourth Brother's muscles, his shoulders, back, waist and abdomen were so stiff that she was a little distracted.

In addition to teaching her, the fourth brother also taught Gong Ge'er, and in the future, Gong Ge'er will have to teach the other waiters who take care of the male guests.

In addition to recruiting people these days, Xu Qinyu has been busy learning this from her fourth brother, and Gong Ge'er also comes to the inn every day to learn.

In addition to these, Xu Qinyu also plans to recruit some assistant cooks and chefs, as well as apprentices. The restaurant is much larger than the wine shop in Yuanbao Town, and she has only tentatively planned to have about 30 employees. When the business is good in the future and she is no longer busy, she will make other plans.

Because the restaurant is quite large, we don’t have enough assistants and cooks, so we have to hire them all.

In the next half month, Xu Qinyu was busy recruiting people and learning muscle massage from her fourth brother.

She and her fourth brother temporarily lived in Raozhou City, and they hired three assistants and a chef. In addition, they had to recruit guards who knew martial arts. The restaurant was outside the city, so they definitely had to hire some guards to ensure the safety of the guests.

Huo Jiang and a dozen other black-armored guards mixed in and responded to the call.

These were also the people selected by Pei Weixuan, and they were all the ones with higher martial arts skills among the black-armored guards.