One-Eye knelt down with a thud, which scared Gongger and the other three children. Gongger couldn't help but ask, "One-Eye, what are you doing?" Why did he kneel down to the Fourth Sister-in-law after eating? Although the dishes made by the Fourth Sister-in-law were indeed very delicious, they were not to this extent.

"I, I, I want to be a slave for the boss." The one-eyed man spoke stumblingly, and was so nervous that his little face turned red, even his ears were red. After he finished speaking, he kowtowed to the ground three times with his head. His movements were so swift that Xu Qinyu couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.

After bowing his head, the one-eyed man said, "I am willing to do anything, just to be a slave to my master."

He heard from Gongger that his fourth sister-in-law was kind-hearted. Because they helped with the surveillance, Gongger's fourth sister-in-law invited them to dinner to thank them. She did not despise their disabilities and did not look at them differently. She was indeed a very good person.

Moreover, Gong Ge'er said that Xu's business was good and he was very busy on weekdays. He could do any job. If the boss was willing to take him as a servant, his life would belong to the boss.

As long as his boss was willing to make him a slave, he would have the opportunity to raise his three younger brothers.

Although the three children have no blood relationship with him, they grew up together and he has long regarded them as his younger brothers. In such a world, it is extremely difficult for them to survive.

Even if his life was as miserable as a dog, he wanted to live and take them with him.

In fact, Xu Qinyu felt a little sad when she first saw the children. She herself was an abandoned orphan. There were some children with disabilities like them in the welfare home who lived a worse life than her. Some bad children in the welfare home would bully them. Even people who came to the welfare home to adopt children would naturally ignore the disabled children.

She also had some ideas of her own. Xu's business was booming and they were very busy all day. She had posted a notice outside recruiting chefs, but no chefs came.

Perhaps they looked down on her as a young cook and thought she was deceiving them, so now, even though Xu Ji and her reputation have spread, those chefs who had gone to Guihua Lane to look for him before are too embarrassed to come to his restaurant again.

She was really short of manpower and apprentices, so she was thinking that the children were quite pitiful. She had a place to house them and could let them live in Xu's small grocery store. She might as well give them a hand and let them help her with chores in Xu's first. If they liked cooking and eating, were willing to endure hardships, or had some talent as a cook, she would be willing to take them in as apprentices, but of course it would depend on whether they were willing to be cooks.

Gong Ge'er couldn't help but look at the Fourth Sister-in-law. In fact, he also hoped that the Fourth Sister-in-law would accept Duyan. Duyan could do all kinds of work and could also help with odd jobs, running errands and looking after the restaurant.

As for the remaining three children, Gongger had no hope. There were too many of them, and if Fourth Sister-in-law bought them all, the other three children would be raised in vain.

As long as the fourth sister-in-law could accept One-Eye, he would raise the other three children.

Xu Qinyu looked at the one-eyed man and said, "How about this, my restaurant is usually quite busy and I just happen to be short of some staff. The four of you can stay here. I don't want you to be slaves. You can do odd jobs in the restaurant and live in the small utility room. You can help me look after the restaurant at night and wash and cut vegetables and prepare side dishes on weekdays. I will slowly teach you some cooking skills. If you like being a chef, I will also be willing to take you in as my apprentices when you are older and think clearly. If you don't like being a chef, I will give you some wages every month."

Mainly, they are provided with food and accommodation, which can be considered as supporting them. The children are too young and can't do much work, so they have to be nursed back to health first, so they will not be paid for the time being.

The one-eyed man was stunned for a moment, and even Gongger and the other three children were stunned as well.

The one-eyed man understood what Xu Qinyu said and was a little bit unbelieving. Then he stared at the young lady in front of him with wide eyes and saw that she was smiling and it was not the delusion in his mind. He reacted immediately, kneeling on the ground and kowtowed, tears dripping on the ground. He wiped his eyes with his dirty and torn sleeves, but he could not stop the tears.

"Stop knocking." Xu Qinyu was a little helpless.

The other three children were still in a daze. The oldest one was the lame one, who was about eight years old. The one with a red birthmark on his face was only seven years old, and the other child with six fingers was only six years old. They were probably too hungry and their health was not very good. They also looked much younger than normal children of this age, so they reacted slowly and looked a little dull.

Gong Ge'er couldn't help it, and kicked the three kids on the buttocks with a grin, "Why are you still standing there in a daze? Hurry up and thank my fourth sister-in-law!"

Although the three children were stupid, they were not fools. They had been beggars for many years and knew everything. When they saw the one-eyed brother kneeling down to beg the boss to take him in as a slave, they never thought it would work. They didn't even think that the boss would take the one-eyed brother as a slave. Because they were all disabled, if they hid in a corner and obstructed others' eyes, they might be rejected and beaten. Normal people would not be willing to take them in as slaves.

Knowing that their boss was willing to take them in, the three children simply couldn't believe it. But when they were lightly kicked, they finally reacted, burst into tears, then knelt on the ground and began to kowtow to Xu Qinyu.

"Hey, hurry up and stop knocking."

Xu Qinyu quickly pulled up the children. Seeing that their foreheads were already red, she couldn't help but say, "From now on, except to pay homage to your teacher, you are not allowed to kowtow casually."

Several children were crying, and it was unclear whether they listened to Xu Qinyu's words.

Several children were crying, and Gong Ge'er was grinning. He was also very excited. Fourth Sister-in-law was indeed the best person in the world.

Xu Qinyu thought about it and asked Gongger to go to the kitchen to boil some hot water so that the children could wash themselves first.

Fortunately, it is summer now and it is convenient to wash, but the well water is cold and cannot be given to them directly. I am afraid that the children are weak and will get sick easily if they are stimulated by the well water. I can boil some hot water and mix it with some cold water to rinse. Fortunately, there are soaps here in the restaurant. I guess they will have to wash several times.

Xu Qinyu asked Gongger to help boil water while she went to look for Xia's sister-in-law.

Mrs. Xia's family runs a cloth shop and also sells ready-made clothes, so she has to get some clothes for the children first.

It was already getting dark, but there were still many people on the street. Xu Qinyu went to Laixi Lane and knocked on the door.

When Mrs. Wu opened the door and saw Xu Qinyu inviting people in, Xu Qinyu explained the purpose of their visit and Mrs. Wu was stunned for a moment.

She also recognized those little beggars. There was no one in Yuanbao Town who didn't know them. They were children with disabilities, some of them were born with disabilities, and some became blind and lame later in life. The little beggars were very pitiful, but no one had ever thought of taking them in. No one even thought of buying them as slaves. However, Miss Xu took them in and was willing to teach them how to cook and take them in as apprentices.

Wu was still a little shocked.

After being shocked, Wu said, "Wait a minute, young lady. I happen to have some coarse cloth clothes stored here. I'll go find some for you."

There are a lot of cloth in the shop, and some of the cloth and ready-made clothes are stored at home.

Xu Qinyu measured the heights of several children and ordered eight sets at once, which was just enough for them to change.

Xu Qinyu bought two more mattresses. Since the weather was hot, she didn't need to cover herself with a quilt when sleeping at night.

However, there were no beds in the small utility room, so she could only sweep the floor and lay it on the floor for the children to sleep there for a few nights. Then she asked carpenter Gao to make a wider bed for the children.

When she returned to the restaurant, the children had already washed their clothes thoroughly and were all staying in the utility room. Xu Qinyu asked Gongger to bring the clothes in.

After they put on their clothes and came out, they all stood under the eaves a little embarrassed. In fact, the children were not ugly, with handsome features, but they were too thin, with pale faces and skinny bodies.

She went into the utility room again. It was already clean and tidy, and she could just lay out the mattress and sleep there.

Xu Qinyu told the children to get a good night's sleep, and then she and Gongger returned to Guihua Lane.

On the way, Gongger told Xu Qinyu that the children had no names.

The child with a missing right eye is called one-eyed, the child with a red birthmark on his face is called ugly, the one with a limp is called lame, and the one with six fingers is called six-fingered.

Xu Qinyu thought about it and decided that this would not work, so she still had to give the children some names.

However, I will discuss the naming issue with my family when I go back tonight.

…

When they returned to Guihua Lane, Wen was still waiting in the kitchen. Every time Yu Niang came home late, she would be a little worried and would only feel relieved when she saw her return.

When Xu Qinyu came back, she told Wen that she had taken in a few little beggars. She wanted to let them do odd jobs in the kitchen and then take them in as apprentices in the future.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Wen could not help but look at her daughter-in-law one more time. It was not that she disagreed, but most people really did not have such a heart. It was a great honor for the Pei family to have a woman like Yu Niang as a daughter-in-law. It was a pity that the Pei family was defeated and she could not give Yu Niang anything.

She said, "That's good. They are all poor children. There are not many people in your kitchen who can help. It's good to start teaching with just a few children."

They haven't found a helper in the kitchen yet, so Yu Niang is the one who has to work hard. It will take at least a year before Cheng Ge'er can take charge of the kitchen, not to mention the children who are younger than Cheng Ge'er.

Xu Qinyu actually planned to continue recruiting chefs and teaching the children.

She can cook many dishes, including red and white case, the eight major cuisines, a dozen other cuisines, Manchu-Han banquets, various private dishes, desserts, drinks and snacks. There is only so much that Cheng Ge'er can learn. In fact, she wants to take in more apprentices. The food of this era is still in its infancy. She hopes to present a prosperous era in the future.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law talked for a while and then went back to their rooms to sleep.

When we went to the restaurant the next day, the children had already woken up. One-Eye led three of them to fill the water tanks in the kitchen. The other three children were also very obedient and did their work well. They were also very considerate and did whatever work they were given. They also helped Cheng Ge'er wash and select vegetables.

Cheng Ge'er took them and taught them how to wash and select vegetables. The children were quite smart and learned quickly.

Now Cheng Ge'er is still in charge of buying groceries. With these kids following him, it is much more convenient for him to go shopping. A small group follows him to help him carry the groceries. When other people see him on the road, they look at them curiously.

Did some of you recognize that these children are the disabled children from Yuanbao Town?

…

The children were still quite young, so Xu Qinyu didn't let them serve in the kitchen, but made them help in the kitchen and the backyard.

Less than two days later, Ping'an Restaurant was still closed, and everyone became curious. After asking around, they found out that the story of Xu's Restaurant and Ping'an Restaurant causing trouble at the government office a few days ago had spread.

Upon learning that Ping An Restaurant was trying to bribe the waitress at Xu Ji to give laxatives to Xu Ji's diners, the customers who often ate there were very angry.

Everyone is scolding Ping An Restaurant for being vicious. How could this be possible? Even if they are jealous of their competitors' business, they cannot resort to such despicable methods. They run a restaurant after all, but they are using laxatives. It is obvious that they do not take their diners seriously and only regard them as tools to make profits.

Needless to say, once word of this spread, even if Ping An Restaurant continued to open, I'm afraid no customers would come.

Sure enough, within a few days, a notice for rent and sale was posted outside Ping'an Restaurant.

This shop was originally rented by Li and Zhang Quan. Now that this incident happened, Zhang Quan knew that Ping'an Restaurant would not be able to continue operating, so he did not continue to rent the shop. He sold all the things in it and planned to take Li back to his hometown town when she got better and open a small food stall to support his family.

Zhang Quan himself is also from the southwest, but his hometown is in a small village near the iron mine. The village is relatively poor. He became an apprentice to a chef when he was in his early teens. After following him for ten years, his master let him go out to start his own business. He started out by running a food stall, and slowly saved up some money before coming to Yuanbao Town. Then he continued to run the food stall and saved enough money. Only two years ago, he was able to rent a shop like this to open a restaurant.

In just two years, his restaurant was closed. It would be a lie to say that he wasn't sad.

He also blamed his wife, but things had already happened and he could only think of a way out.

He planned to go back to his hometown town to continue selling food. His hometown town was not big and was quite far from Yuanbao Town. It was next to an iron mine and the population in the town was mixed, making it difficult to do business. But this was the only way.

Li lay on the bed at home crying day and night, saying that she didn't know the diarrhea medicine would be so serious, and she also said that she would go and apologize to Xu's boss.

Zhang Quan told her that she should apologize, but even if she did, Ping An Restaurant would be finished, its reputation would be completely ruined, and diners would no longer be willing to dine there.

Li was completely stunned and didn't even want to talk for the past few days.

When she was able to move, Zhang Quan brought her to Xu Ji to apologize.

Li still walked with a limp and sincerely apologized to Xu Qinyu, but in the end she could not help crying to Xu Qinyu, "Mr. Xu, I really know I was wrong. Please give us a way out and tell those diners that I didn't mean it." In order to make money, she left her children in her hometown to be taken care of by her parents-in-law. She thought that after working for two years she would be able to save enough money to buy a house and bring her children and parents-in-law to Yuanbao Town. But because of her mistake, she lost everything.

Although I still have some money, it is impossible for me to stay in Yuanbao Town and continue selling food.

Xu Qinyu sighed, "Even if I tell the diners, they won't believe it."

If a chef wants to tamper with the food, the diners will certainly not forgive him.

Zhang Quan finally took Li away, and soon after, the two of them set off.

As the two left, something happened in Osmanthus Lane.

The old lady Luo's son divorced Lin, but Lin took the Luo family to court.

It was already evening when Xu Qinyu heard about this. It was Aunt Bai who told Gui about it. It turned out that Aunt Bai heard a commotion outside the yard during the day, so she went out to take a look and found that people from the yamen were forcing Old Lady Luo to go to the yamen. Old Lady Luo was screaming like a pig being slaughtered, which attracted a lot of people. Everyone followed her to see the excitement, and Aunt Bai followed as well.

When I went to the government office, I found out that the Luo family had divorced Lin, saying that she had no children.

The reason why she was childless was simply because Lin couldn't give birth to a son. Even if she had given birth to two concubines, she could still be divorced according to the seven grounds for divorce.

Lin was like a madman in the yamen, always saying that the Luo family wanted to sell the two daughters to Xiangmanlou in Raozhou City, and begged the county lord to let the two daughters follow her.

It turned out that Mrs. Luo was indeed frightened by Lin's beatings. Later on, Lin did not beat her every day. As long as Mrs. Luo did not insult or curse Mrs. Lin and her two daughters, Lin would not beat them. But Mrs. Luo hated Mrs. Lin more and more. She knew that Lin stayed in the Luo family just for the sake of her two daughters.

Thinking about how Lin treated her in the past two or three months, she didn't want to let Lin get her way.

Finally she couldn't stand it anymore, so she took out her own private savings of ten taels of silver and gave it to her son, asking him to divorce his wife and marry another woman.

Luo Dagen and Luo Laohan were the ones who managed the money of the Luo family themselves, and they kept the money they earned in their own hands. On weekdays, Mrs. Luo would ask her son and the old man for some money to buy vegetables and grains, and she would save some of it. In the early years when she was able to work, she helped people wash clothes, and Lin also gave her the one or two hundred coins she earned every month. In fact, she had secretly saved more than ten taels of silver over the years.

Old Lady Luo hated Lin to the core. She also understood that her son and her husband didn't believe that Lin would beat her, so she just wanted her son to divorce Lin. The two stinky girls were Luo's offspring, and Lin couldn't take them away. She would be so angry that she would die. After divorcing Lin, she would sell the two girls to Xiangmanlou and get more than 20 taels of silver. However, the 20 taels of silver were out in the open and could not reach her hands. That's why she hesitated whether to take out her private savings of 10 taels of silver to give to her son to divorce his wife and remarry.

At first, she was reluctant to part with her ten taels of silver, but later, seeing Lin's hatred, her heart was bleeding, so she couldn't help but take out her own private money and give it to her son.

Luo Dagen received ten taels of silver. He had some savings of his own and some extra after marrying a new wife. In addition, he also wanted a son, but Lin was unable to give birth, so he took the ten taels of silver from Luo's wife and divorced Lin.

When he was marrying Lin, she asked him for two concubines.

Of course Luo Dagen was unwilling to give it, saying that Da Niu and Er Niu were Luo's children.

Privately, Luo Dagen was thinking that he had finally brought up the two girls, so how could he possibly give them to the Lin family? Even if he didn't sell them to Xiangmanlou, in a few years, he could find a husband for the eldest girl and get a large sum of betrothal money.

Lin knew that after she left, Mrs. Luo would continue to instigate Luo Dagen to sell the eldest girl to Xiangmanlou first, and then wait a few years to sell the second girl as well.

She couldn't stand it, so she went to the government office and sued the Luo family.

At first, the people of Yuanbao Town were puzzled when they heard that she was suing her husband's family. How could a divorced wife sue her husband's family and want her daughter to be with her?

Lin stated her request in the court and also said that Old Lady Luo and Luo Dagen wanted to sell her two daughters to Xiangmanlou. When this was said, the people of Yuanbao Town did not believe it. They said that how could a grandmother and a father sell their daughters to such a place? Even in years of famine, people would sell their sons and daughters to wealthy families as slaves. A place like Xiangmanlou was a hell of a place for girls. No one believed it.

Other neighbors in Guihua Lane knew the Luo family and immediately told the people around them, "You don't live on South Street, so you definitely don't know who the Luo family is. Old Mrs. Luo used to have a daughter, but she sold her to a place like that, and she used the money to marry her son. Her granddaughter is not as good as her daughter. She dared to sell her daughter, so why wouldn't she dare to do the same to her granddaughter? And you don't know how bad Old Mrs. Luo is. She beats her daughter-in-law and granddaughter at every turn."

"My God, this person is so evil, isn't he afraid of retribution? Who would beat and scold his daughter-in-law like this? Even if you want to discipline her, you can't do it."

"No wonder this woman went to court to ask for her daughter after being divorced. This is what happened."

"Alas, the mother and her two daughters are so pitiful. It's useless to make trouble in the government. The county magistrate can't do anything about it. After all, it's a family matter. If the Luo family is unwilling to let them go, the woman can't take the two daughters away."

In fact, what everyone said was very right. The government had no way of doing anything, and there had never been such a case before. But the county magistrate was kind-hearted and had heard about the Luo family's affairs in Guihua Lane from his daughter Yang Zhizhi.

Yang Zhizhi was also someone she heard about during casual conversation with Xu Qinyu when she went out to play with her.

This kind of thing is already infuriating, and Yang Zhizhi told her family about it, and the county magistrate took it to heart.

But Lin's request was that her two daughters leave with her, but the county magistrate could not make the decision. The law of the Great Sheng Dynasty since ancient times was that no matter whether a woman divorced or got a divorce, her children would follow the man, unless the man was willing to let his children follow the woman, then they could leave with the woman.

All the county magistrate could do was to use indirect means to pressure the Luo family into giving their daughter to Lin, and also to tell Lin how she could get two children from the Luo family.

Mrs. Lin was still crying, and she was talking nonsense. She had been divorced for two days, and she had been staying at the gate of Luo's house during these two days, not daring to go anywhere, for fear that if she left, Mrs. Luo would sell her two daughters to Xiangmanlou.

She didn't expect that even though she had rebelled against Old Lady Luo, she still couldn't escape another kind of shackles that bound her.

Seeing that Lin was still crying, the county magistrate said to Mrs. Luo: "Even if this is your Luo family's granddaughter, are you really going to do such a sinister thing for the sake of money?"

Then he turned to Luo Dagen and said, "After all, they are your daughters. How could you bear to let them go into such a hell for the sake of money? Is money really the most important thing in your eyes?"

The county magistrate emphasized the word "money" and glanced at Lin.

Old Mrs. Luo snorted twice. Who doesn't get up early and work late every day for the two taels of silver? If money is not important, what is important?

money?

Lin finally listened to what he said. She was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shouted, "I, I am willing to give you money, Dagen, I am willing to give you money, just give me the two daughters, please, Dagen."

Old Lady Luo sneered, "Where did you get the money? You don't have any money at all, let alone how much money do you plan to pay to take away the eldest and second girls?"

Lin clenched her fists, her eyes red, "I really don't have money now, but I can earn money. I will work hard to earn money. I can write an IOU and pay a portion of the money every month. I am willing to give twenty taels of silver, Dagen, please let Da Niu and Er Niu follow me, or, or any amount you say, I'm willing." She can help people wash clothes, and she can also go to the river to catch fish, shrimps and snails and sell them to Xu's. She knew that Xu's accepts these, and for the sake of her two daughters, she is willing to work herself to death.

Old Mrs. Luo said, "You talk so lightly, you dare to say twenty taels of silver, you only make two hundred coins a month washing clothes and doing odd jobs, how do you earn these twenty taels of silver? Dagen, don't believe her."

She didn't want to let Lin get her wish at all. She asked her son to divorce Lin and kept the two girls at home just to make things difficult for Lin and to anger her. How could she easily let Lin pay money to take her granddaughter away? She would never let Lin get her wish.

Finally, someone couldn't stand it anymore and angrily scolded, "Oh, you old woman, you are really vicious. People said they were willing to give you money. Twenty taels of silver, selling them to a place like Xiangmanlou would only add a few taels. You sold your granddaughters to a place like that. It would be better to let their mothers pay the money and take them away."