Old Lady Wen snorted. Who would want the two taels of silver from the third son? He didn't have much more on him, and he still had a few thousand taels left. But since the third son was unfilial and only wanted to divide the family property, he would naturally not be given these few thousand taels of silver.
"Bring paper and ink."
Master Wen went to get rice paper, inkstone, and brush.
Old Master Wen wrote a letter of separation.
The division of property document stated in detail that the five-story house and two shops were purchased as dowries from the two daughters-in-law of the first and second wives, and they had no right to share the property, and there was not much else to share. The family did not have much extra money, but if the third wife wanted to continue living in the house, she could, and from then on, her food, clothing, and other expenses would be separate from those of the first and second wives.
Old Lady Wen was also angry. She had originally planned to give the third wife a hundred or so taels of silver, but now she was not going to give them anything at all.
After everyone put their fingerprints on the separation letter, Wen Zixiao led his wife and daughter to kowtow to Old Master Wen and Old Lady Wen. Wen Zixiao's two sons were not there, so they could not kowtow. Old Master Wen always thought that the two grandsons were playing outside because they were naughty. It was mainly because the two grandsons basically never came home after coming to the border town, and often did not come home all night, so by then they were used to it and did not think that the two grandsons were helping Xu Qinyu in the Pei family.
Wen Zixiao led his wife and daughter to kowtow to his parents, "After your son leaves the family, please take care of your health, father and mother."
Old Mrs. Wen snorted and said nothing.
Wen Zixiao stood up with his wife and daughter, and then led his family back to the third room to pack up their things. Naturally, Aunt Bai also stood up.
Old Lady Wen was startled for a moment, "Why did you take your Aunt Bai away?"
"Of course I took my aunt with me." Wen Zixiao turned around and glanced at Old Master Wen.
"Nonsense!" Old Lady Wen was so angry that she slammed the table. "She is your aunt, and she is also my concubine. Even if we split up, you should take your wife and children with you. How can you take my concubine with you?"
Old Lady Wen was a little anxious. Why did she keep Aunt Bai? The old lady doted on Aunt Bai when she was young. She criticized Aunt Gui because she was her maid. She promoted the maid to be an aunt, but the maid's daughter became the empress and suppressed her. She was always bullied by the noble ladies in the capital when she attended banquets. So she hated Aunt Gui and Wen Yan, and wanted to keep Aunt Gui in the mansion and let her do whatever she wanted.
Although she didn't like Aunt Bai, she didn't want to see her even more.
As soon as I saw her, I thought of how my father doted on Aunt Bai when he was young.
Old Lady Wen glanced at her eldest daughter-in-law, Yue, and wanted her to ask her so that Aunt Bai could leave.
Naturally, Yue did not want to offend her father-in-law, so she just pretended not to notice the look in her mother-in-law's eyes.
But before Old Lady Wen could speak, Wen Zixiao said, "Father, please take a look at my aunt. She has become increasingly haggard since she came to the border town. You should know what kind of life she has been leading in the mansion. Do you want her to continue to be a servant in the mansion?"
Old Lady Wen said angrily, "When did I ever say I would treat her like a slave?"
Aunt Bai was old and ugly, so he naturally had no feelings for her. But when his son separated from the family, he would not take his aunt with him.
Madam Wen spoke up hastily, "The third son is really filial. Aunt Bai has become increasingly haggard these days. I hope she doesn't get tuberculosis. Old lady, why don't you go and take a look at Aunt Gui? It's been more than two months since she was sent away, and there's been no news. It's clear that Aunt Gui is still alive and well. Why not let the third son take Aunt Bai out to live with him for a while? Maybe Aunt Bai's complexion will improve."
Aunt Bai held onto the corner of the table and slowly knelt on the ground, "Please help me, old lady. I want to move out with Zixiao."
Old Master Wen looked at the haggard and emaciated Aunt Bai. He remembered that Aunt Gui was like this before, and then she contracted tuberculosis not long after.
Old Lady Wen was a little scared and waved her hand, "Since you want to go out with the third brother, then go ahead."
It was easy to let the person go.
Aunt Bai knew that her situation was different from Aunt Gui's. Aunt Gui had to get the letter of release as a concubine in order to completely sever ties with the Wen family, but she didn't have to. Their third branch didn't have anything that the Wen family would like. Even if they did have something that the Wen family liked, they would have to see if Zixiao agreed.
Aunt Bai thanked Old Master Wen and followed Wen Zixiao to the third room to pack up things.
It happened that Cheng Ge'er and Gong Ge'er came back with food. When they learned that the family was going to split up, the two brothers were overjoyed and asked Wen Zixiao if they could also move to Guihua Lane.
Wen Zixiao smiled and said okay.
The money he earned when he came to the border town was not enough to buy a house in Guihua Lane, but two hundred coins a month was not much to rent, so he could buy one when he earned enough money in the future.
Mrs. Meng also looked at her daughter and two sons who looked like monkeys with a smile.
That's great, she thought. Even though she was exiled, her husband knew how to work hard. Now he can separate from the family and live alone. The children are by his side, and her aunt can leave with them. There is nothing happier than a family working hard together to make a living.
When she first married her husband, he promised her that he would never take a concubine in his lifetime.
He was also willing to rebel against his father and stepmother for the sake of his family.
To her, this kind of man is responsible.
The third family ate the food brought back by the two brothers, mainly the children.
The amount of food brought back from Yu Niang every day was not much. Meng and Aunt Bai would just taste it and give it all to the three children.
After eating, the two brothers washed the food boxes, plates and jars, while Mrs. Meng and Aunt Bai cleaned up the things. There was not much to clean up in the third room, just a few sets of clothes for each person and the silver that Wen Zixiao gave to Mrs. Meng.
Wen Zixiao gave two taels of silver he earned to his stepmother every month, and the rest was given to Meng.
Meng probably had more than forty taels saved.
After packing up, the group left the Wen family.
It wasn't dark yet, and the pawnshop was still open.
Wen Zixiao took his family to the dental clinic and asked for help in renting a small courtyard in Guihua Lane.
The broker brought a family to Guihua Lane to look at houses. Finally, the family chose the courtyard at the entrance of the lane, which cost two hundred coins a month. Although there was no well, there was a locust tree at the fork in the road ahead, and there was a well under the locust tree. It was usually covered with very thick wooden boards, so people in the surrounding alleys could just get water by breaking the wooden boards, which was quite convenient.
The layout of the house is the same as that of the Pei family. The room on the west side is the largest. The main room is also separated into two small rooms. The other side is the kitchen.
The house is tidy and you can just buy some bedding and go to sleep.
The family settled down in Guihua Lane.
…
When Xu Qinyu heard that even Aunt Bai was released, she was very happy.
She went back to the room and told Gui.
When Gui heard this, she was delighted, her eyes turned red, "She came out too, that's great."
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "The two families are not far away. Grandma, you can still go to Aunt Bai to chat about family matters on weekdays. How nice."
When Wen and Ning Jie'er learned that the third branch had split up the family, they were very happy for them.
After breakfast, Wen Zixiao brought Meng, Aunt Bai and his daughter Tao Jie to visit the Pei family.
Needless to say, Gui's eyes were red when she first met Aunt Bai.
Aunt Bai noticed that the old sisters looked very good. They had gained a lot of weight, their faces were rosy, their wrinkles were fewer, their hair was a little darker, and their clothes were clean. Feng Ge'er and Yuan Jie'er were snuggling beside her. They looked at least ten years younger and full of energy.
Aunt Bai finally felt relieved, and the two old sisters sat in the yard and chatted.
Wen Zixiao also came over and said to Xu Qinyu, "Thank you for your teachings to Cheng Ge'er these days, and for teaching him how to cook. I don't know what plans you have. If you want to take Cheng Ge'er as your apprentice, then he will be yours from now on. You can do whatever you want with him, and you don't have to pay him."
Xu Qinyu actually felt that she and Cheng Ge'er were of the same generation, so it didn't matter whether he became her disciple or not. She would teach Cheng Ge'er everything she could.
After Xu Qinyu said this, Wen Zixiao and the people from the third house suddenly understood. They were wondering why Yu Niang had taught Cheng Ge herself but had been dragging her feet and not wanting to accept a disciple. So this was the case.
Cheng Ge'er also breathed a sigh of relief. He was still wondering why his fourth sister-in-law refused to accept him as an apprentice. Could it be that he did not have a talent for cooking? He was a little sad. When he found out that this was the reason, he couldn't help but touch his head and grinned at Xu Qinyu.
Only then did Xu Qinyu realize that her third uncle thought that she did not want to accept her brother as his apprentice.
She was a little amused and helpless, but finally thought that it would be better to do it today than to wait for another day, so she might as well take Cheng Ge'er as her apprentice today.
"Then let Cheng-ge serve me tea today, as a token of my apprenticeship."
She doesn't like things that are too complicated, just serving tea is enough.
Wen Zixiao shook his head, "That's impossible. It's only right to serve tea, kowtow, and pay respect to the teacher."
Mrs. Meng also smiled gently and said, "The apprenticeship gift has been prepared a few days ago. If Yu Niang is willing to accept me as your apprentice, I will go back and get the apprenticeship gift."
The apprenticeship ceremony requires the preparation of six ingredients.
Celery, red beans, red dates, longans, lotus seeds and dried lean meat strips all have their own meanings.
Red beans, red dates, longans and lotus seeds are dried goods. Meng had prepared them some time ago. Now that Yu Niang is willing to accept her brother as her apprentice, she immediately went to buy celery.
Celery is about ripe at this time and is already available at the market.
But the celery nowadays is still relatively tender.
After buying them, Meng brought the six ingredients back to the Pei family.
Wen Shuncheng personally handed the six apprenticeship gifts to Xu Qinyu, served her tea, and finally knelt solemnly in front of Xu Qinyu and kowtowed to her three times.
Only then can you become my disciple.
In fact, Meng had prepared some silver, but Xu Qinyu refused to accept it, so she gave up.
"Get up." Xu Qinyu said with a smile.
Wen Shuncheng got up, his mouth almost stretched to his ears.
After becoming disciples, Wen Zixiao and Meng went back to buy things. There were still many things in the house that were missing, so they had to buy them all.
Aunt Bai naturally stayed here to talk to Gui, while Sister Tao wanted to stay and play with Sister Ning.
…
I don’t know if it was because he became a disciple, but Cheng Ge’er felt more at peace.
In the afternoon, Xu Qinyu asked him to cook a braised herring and stewed a portion of fish head with tofu.
The whole pot of fish to be sold was still made by Xu Qinyu. Even if she was the chef, she would start with individual dishes. It is not easy to make a big pot of fish, and it is even more difficult to make a big pot of fish that tastes good.
Before, Xu Qinyu had occasionally asked Cheng Ge'er to cook a piece of fish alone, and the taste was so-so. After all, Cheng Ge'er had some talent in cooking and knew the proportions of seasonings. As long as the heat was well controlled, the fish would not be bad. However, it would be extremely difficult, even almost impossible, to reach Xu Qinyu's level. Every point of her cooking was just right, and she knew by nature how to bring out the best taste of food.
This time, Cheng Ge'er's braised herring and fish head stewed with tofu were better than the previous two days. The herring had a crispy skin, tender meat, and the other seasonings were also good.
Xu Qinyu just made a compliment, and Cheng Ge'er smiled and said, "Since Master is willing to accept me, I feel relieved. I feel that my cooking skills are different now."
It did have some impact. He had always thought too much before, and was worried that his fourth sister-in-law would not want to accept him as her apprentice. Even if he had some talent, he would make mistakes in this nervous feeling.
Xu Qinyu also realized this and apologized to Cheng Ge'er, "I didn't think so much before. It's all my fault."
Cheng Ge'er said hurriedly: "Master, please stop blaming yourself. Now that you have accepted me as your disciple, I will definitely learn more in the future when my mind is at peace."
It is just as Cheng Ge'er said, he is making progress day by day.
In the blink of an eye, five or six days passed.
Xu Qinyu went to the restaurant and Wen said that the day after tomorrow, April 20th, was an auspicious day and it was suitable for opening.
Xu Qinyu also planned to open the restaurant the day after tomorrow, so she went to the restaurant today to take a look. The wood paint had dried, and the restaurant was clean and tidy, looking brand new. The kitchen countertop was also made of wood and had been painted, and other items were also placed neatly.
The renovation and furnishing of the entire restaurant cost a total of one hundred taels, because she also ordered some other kitchen utensils from the carpenter, ironworker and porcelain kiln.
She had about 100 taels of silver left, which she still had to buy rice, flour, grain, oil, seasonings and spices.
There are still two days before the business opens, and Xu Qinyu has been busy buying seasonings and various spices. As for pepper, she hasn't bought it yet. Four taels of silver are used for one tael, and one catty costs forty taels of silver. She can't afford it in her current small restaurant.
In addition to various seasonings and spices, she also ordered a lot of vegetable oil and sesame oil from the oil mill. As for lard, she can make her own lard. There are also various fine rice, millet, glutinous rice and white flour, as well as various coarse grains and beans. These have also been ordered from the rice shop and will be delivered today.
All the river fish were delivered by Mr. He, including various fish, river shrimps, snails and river crabs.
People here don’t eat river crabs very much either, but for Xu Qinyu, they are also a very delicious river delicacy.
At present, Mr. He's children and grandchildren basically do not have to work outside. They go to rivers or lakes to catch river fish. Mr. He's son even plans to buy a small boat when he earns money so that he can go to the canal to catch river fish in the future.
The eggs and duck eggs were all bought for her cheaply by Uncle He in the village.
Pork must be ordered from Tian the butcher, and as for mutton, Tian the butcher also has people he knows.
The chickens and ducks were all purchased alive and placed in the woodshed, and slaughtered right before they were eaten.
Beef is something you can only come across by chance.
She hasn't bought the pork and mutton yet, and will definitely wait until the opening day to buy them.
Today we will purchase these things, and tomorrow we will make the final preparations at the restaurant.
The purchase of condiments, spices, rice, flour, grain, oil, etc. cost another eighty taels of silver. This was mainly because she bought a lot. Rice, flour, grain, oil, condiments and spices were all bought on a monthly basis. After all, spices, sugar and brown sugar were really expensive. There was not only a small firewood room in the backyard of the restaurant, but also a utility room, which was specifically used to store these condiments and ingredients for her.
If it were other people, they would not dare to buy so many seasonings, spices, rice, flour, grains and oils in one go. They would have to worry about the flow of customers and the subsequent business. If the business was not good, all these things would be wasted.
Xu Qinyu was not worried at all.
The only meat left to buy was pork and mutton, and the rest were some vegetables, which were relatively cheap, so there was basically no money left to spend.
She still had about twenty taels of silver in her hand.
The main reason was that she had a lot of money. The 150 taels of silver supported by her mother and uncle were enough for her to use. Otherwise, even if she saved for another two months, she probably wouldn't be able to spend the money on renovating the restaurant, repainting it, and making a cooking table. She wouldn't buy so many other things as reserves because the money was simply not enough.
There were only two women waiters originally recruited, and later Xu Qinyu randomly picked one from the remaining list picked for her by Xia's sister-in-law.
The preparations are almost complete.
As for Xu's Restaurant, both breakfast and dinner are served.
People here only eat two meals a day, breakfast is around nine or ten in the morning, and dinner is around four or five in the afternoon.
Even modern hotels basically only serve lunch and dinner, while breakfast shops mostly specialize in breakfast.
Even if she had to cook breakfast and dinner, she could handle it by herself, but she was a little tired. If she wanted to make money, it would not be easy at the beginning.
For breakfast, Xu Qinyu planned to make it in the style of Cantonese-style morning tea, with all the food in small steamers. As for tea, she would not make it for the time being and could replace it with some hot drinks, such as hot soy milk or hot milk tea.
For breakfast and snacks, she plans to prepare custard buns, milk steamed buns, braised pork buns, glutinous rice and pork intestines, shrimp dumplings, roasted wheat, and raw fish slice porridge.
These are all relatively light dishes. Thinking that some people like to eat something heavier, she also added a dish of oil-splashed noodles. This is also simple to make. After the noodles are cooked, add seasonings and a spoonful of oil-splashed chili and mix well. She also adds a small spoonful of peanut butter to the oil-splashed noodles, which is more fragrant. The peanut butter is also cooked by her earlier. Because of the addition of peanut butter, the taste of this oil-splashed noodles is not only spicy and refreshing, but also particularly rich.
The rest were steamed snacks, which she only had to prepare in advance and steam until cooked. That is, when the guests came for breakfast, she only had to prepare raw fish fillet porridge and fried noodles, which was quite manageable.
When I find a helper in the kitchen, I will be able to have more types of breakfast.
For evening meal, it is just ordinary dishes.
Of course the taste is not ordinary.
…
When selling fish in the evening, Xu Qinyu said to the neighbors with a smile: "My dear aunts and sisters-in-law, my 'Xu Ji Restaurant' will open the day after tomorrow. At that time, braised herring, fish balls, and fish head stewed with tofu will continue to be sold there. It will be located at the innermost part of the West Street Market."
The neighbors had known that Xu Qinyu was going to open a restaurant. When they heard that she was going to sell fish and other things at the restaurant, they were a little worried and couldn't help asking, "Ms. Xu, how much are these foods..."
Originally, even if these foods were sold to them at a low price so that ordinary people like them could afford to eat delicious food every day, now that they want to open a restaurant, they certainly can't continue to sell them too cheaply, otherwise they will have to pay the restaurant rent, the waiters, the cashiers, etc., and then how can they make money? They can't sell to them at a loss.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Don't worry, the prices of these items will not increase. They are still the same as now. The restaurant I opened mainly sells breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, there are custard buns, milk steamed buns, braised pork buns, glutinous rice, pork intestines and shrimp dumplings, etc. For dinner, there are all kinds of dishes. Basically, I can make any dish. So the fish balls and braised fish are still the original prices, but they are still sold at the door of the restaurant as usual, and you still need to bring a basin to buy them."
After all, she has to do other business. Otherwise, if customers continue to sit inside and eat such cheap food, she will lose other customers and she will only lose money.
When the neighbors heard that the price remained the same but they could only buy the food to take home, they all expressed their understanding.
However, they didn't know that Miss Xu could cook all kinds of food. They thought she was only good at cooking fish and continued to sell fish in the restaurant she opened.
Xu Qinyu also told everyone that she would teach her apprentices how to cook fish in the future, and in the future, these fish would also be cooked by her apprentices.
But I assure you, they all taste delicious.
Everyone accepts it as long as it tastes good.
In their eyes, the food in ordinary restaurants tastes pretty good, as long as these fish can taste like those in ordinary restaurants.
They are satisfied as long as it is cheap and delicious. After all, Miss Xu's cooking skills are amazing. She sells the fish to them at such a low price that they sometimes feel a little uneasy while eating it. Now that Miss Xu is going to teach these fish-cooking methods to her apprentice, they don't think it's a big deal. If they have money in the future, they can go to the restaurant opened by Miss Xu to eat breakfast and dinner.
…
The next day, after selling the fish, Xu Qinyu and her family used a donkey cart to move the big pots and stoves in the yard to the restaurant. After all, they would not be selling fish here in the future, so there was no point in keeping the pots and stoves here.
The donkey cart was borrowed from Xia's sister-in-law. She only had twenty taels of silver, and she would buy the donkey cart when she earned money in the future.
The wooden barrel fermented bean curd, pickled side dishes, kimchi, fermented black beans, and fermented bean paste that Xu Qinyu had made before were also all moved to the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu also asked Tian the butcher to deliver pork and mutton tomorrow.
I'll buy these vegetables tomorrow morning.
The lard is also refined.
The sign of "Xu Ji Restaurant" was also hung and covered with red cloth, and the red cloth will be taken down tomorrow for official opening.
At night, Xu Qinyu and the Pei family were a little unable to sleep. Xu Qinyu was even more emotional in her heart. When she came to the other world, her first step was finally taken.
The next day, Xu Qinyu got up before dawn.
The other members of the Pei family also stood up.
Today is the opening day of "Xu's Restaurant". Everyone actually didn't sleep well. Wen is the shopkeeper of the restaurant, so of course she has to go along. Ning Jie'er felt that it was the first day for the fourth sister-in-law to open the store, so she was also worried about her and wanted to go over to help out a little, so she won't make buns today.
Wen Shuncheng and Wen Shungong also got up early to look for Xu Qinyu, and the whole family went to the restaurant.
The three waiters who were hired also got up and went to the restaurant.
Xu Qinyu set the starting time as the end of the Yin hour, which is five o'clock in the morning.
You must arrive at the restaurant at five o'clock. The time to get off work in the evening is not fixed because there is no fixed time for dinner, but you can basically get off work at the hour of Xu, which is around eight o'clock in the evening.
Although the working hours are long, there are basically two hours of rest after breakfast and before dinner.