The two of them went to the restaurant. Since Yuan and Lin came today, they didn't go back and swept the restaurant again.
The three men were originally very happy to see Xu Qinyu and wanted to say hello, but when they saw the man beside Xu Qinyu, they could not help but become reserved. The three men recognized Pei Weixuan and knew that he was the husband of their employer, who had been out doing business with a caravan for more than a year. So when they suddenly saw him, he seemed a little strange.
Xu Qinyu also jumped off the donkey cart and waited for Pei Weixuan and Yuan to move the kitchen utensils from the cart back to the kitchen. Seeing that Fourth Brother wanted to help chop the firewood in the backyard, Xu Qinyu hurriedly pulled his sleeve and said, "Fourth Brother, don't bother with this. You have been running around outside all year and you are very tired. Go back and rest first. My aunt and I are here, so there is no other work. Ma Liu will come over to take the letter back for me later. After this, I should go back."
She had the two letters in her pocket when she arrived just now, and asked Cheng Ge'er to run to the inn and ask Ma Liu to come directly to the restaurant.
Pei Weixuan saw that the restaurant really couldn't help much, and there were only Xu Feng and his friends there, so he nodded and went back to Guihua Lane first.
Xu Qinyu and a few others cleaned up the remaining shrimps, crabs, eels and snails.
It was not convenient for Ma Liu to bring soup with him on his way back to Beijing, so he originally planned to make the remaining river fish into pepper and salt flavor. However, thinking that he would ask Cheng Ge'er to send Ma Liu on a donkey cart later, he changed to other flavors. The shrimps were made into pepper and salt shrimps, the crabs were made into spicy crabs, the eels were directly grilled, and the snails were made into spicy field snails, which would be sent directly to the boat later.
As soon as it was done, Ma Liu came over. Smelling the aroma from the restaurant, his stomach rumbled.
Xu Qinyu asked him to eat a few custard buns to fill his stomach first.
As soon as the custard bun entered his mouth, Ma Liu was too speechless to speak. He just kept exclaiming how delicious it was while eating.
Xu Qinyu served him some brown sugar rice porridge.
Ma Liu has a big appetite. Each custard bun is only the size of a fist. He ate twenty of them directly and drank three bowls of brown sugar rice porridge. His stomach was full. He felt a little embarrassed when he saw Xu Qinyu. "The food made by Sister Xu is really delicious."
He couldn't control himself when he ate.
Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "We made a lot today, so it's okay for Sixth Brother to eat as much as he wants. In addition to the custard buns, there are also some milk steamed buns, pepper and salt shrimps, grilled eel, spicy crabs and spicy snails, as well as dried meat. Eat these as soon as possible. The weather is starting to get hot, and the dried meat will go bad in two days. The dried meat can be kept for another day, but it's better to eat it quickly." There were more than thirty officers and soldiers in this group, and actually all this food could be eaten in one day.
After that, she took out two more letters and handed them to Ma Liu, "I'll have to trouble you to run another trip for me after you return to Beijing."
"Sister Xu, please stop saying such polite things." Ma Liu accepted the letter. "I am happy to run errands for Sister Xu as many times as I want."
Ma Liu wasted no time and followed Cheng Ge'er to load the food onto the donkey cart and then headed for the canal.
When they arrived at the canal, the officers and soldiers were looking forward to the arrival of the ship. When they saw Ma Liu, they automatically got off the boat and came to move their things without Ma Liu saying anything.
Last year, they also ate the food that Ma Liu brought back from Miss Xu, but it was too little. Each person only ate two bites and was not satisfied at all. Now, seeing Ma Liu and Cheng Ge'er coming over in a donkey cart with a large wooden basin and an iron pot on it, they couldn't help but cheer.
Everyone quickly moved all the food from the donkey cart onto the boat and poured it into the kitchen utensils they had brought with them.
He also helped to clean the kitchen utensils in the canal before returning them to Cheng Ge'er.
Only then did Cheng Ge'er hurry back to the restaurant in his donkey cart.
Even if the kitchen utensils had already been washed, Yuan and her friends would wash them again and then iron them.
The kitchen utensils in the restaurant are washed and re-scalded every day, and other places are also kept clean.
After Cheng Ge'er left, Ma Liu and his group of soldiers gathered around to eat. They couldn't help but say, "What a delicious food! What kind of food is this?"
Ma Liu described the food to the officers and soldiers one by one. Everyone was drooling as they listened, as all of them were things they had never heard of or eaten before.
"Ma Liu, stop talking and eat quickly."
After Ma Liuchao had finished his meal, he distributed the food to his colleagues.
Although Miss Xu prepared a lot of food this time, they were too many and had big appetites. They ate Miss Xu's food for a long time, so they finished all the food in one breakfast. Even though these spicy dishes were not suitable for breakfast, they ate them all cleanly. There was still a lot of meat jerky left. Ma Liu could only give each of them a bag and said, "This meat jerky can be kept for three or four days, but we have to finish it as soon as possible. Miss Xu said that it's hot now, and no matter what food is, it can't be kept."
But even if he couldn't let it go, Ma Liu still couldn't help but want to let it go.
He didn't bring it back for his mother and wife to eat, but planned to bring it back for Miss Xu's parents and brother to taste. He wanted to reassure them and tell them not to worry about Miss Xu, as she was really amazing.
The others couldn't help themselves. With such delicious food in front of them, how could they resist any hesitation? They finished the jerky that day.
It would take six or seven days to travel back to Beijing by water from the border town. Ma Liu kept the package of dried meat there, and even placed it in a ventilated place. But on the evening of the fourth day, he smelled the dried meat and found that it had a bit of sour taste. He had no choice but to eat all the dried meat himself. It tasted pretty good, but a bit sour.
The food made by Miss Xu is delicious, but it is not a panacea. It will go bad if left for too long and will cause diarrhea if you eat it.
So after Ma Liu finished his meal, he started to feel nauseous in the middle of the night and had to go to the toilet twice.
He had diarrhea for a whole day the next day before it stopped. He had no choice but to give up the idea of bringing food to Miss Xu's home.
If Xu Qinyu knew about this, she would be at a loss whether to laugh or cry. These cooked foods cannot be stored for a long time. It is no problem to store them for several days in the cold winter, but the taste will change after a few days. She did not plan to ask anyone to send cooked foods to her family. She wanted to keep two hundred bottles of wine brewed this year, and the ham can be eaten in the spring of next year. They cannot be eaten raw, but they can be stewed, stir-fried, or boiled. She will ask someone to send them to the capital for her family to taste.
I never thought that Ma Liu would dare to keep the meat jerky for a few days when summer is approaching.
Even though the meat is fried very dry, it still contains some moisture. In addition, it does not contain any additives or preservatives. As long as it is meat, it cannot be stored for a long time.
Ma Liu returned to the capital in depression, and naturally went to the Dechang Marquis Mansion first.
The Dechang Marquis's Mansion is still the same as before. The third lady Xu Qinhui has not been out for social activities for more than a year since she broke her leg and her face was disfigured. In addition, when she had diarrhea, she learned that Yuanbao Town was not massacred by the soldiers sent by Empress Dowager Fu, and that her second sister and other relatives of Prince Shu also survived the diarrhea. She was so surprised that she fell ill again, so she stayed at home for almost a year to recuperate her leg and illness.
The wound on her face only left a very faint white mark, which was invisible unless you looked closely. It could not be seen after she applied rouge and powder on her face. Her leg was healed too, but she still had a slight limp when she walked, which was also invisible if you didn't look carefully. The doctor also said that after another two years of rest, she should be completely healed.
But she still felt a little regretful, wondering if it was not worth it to stay away from the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu.
It would be better for her to enter the palace and help the new emperor and Empress Dowager Fu to get rid of Prince Shu. However, she had no idea how Prince Shu had rebelled and came to the capital. She was also afraid that the crazy old woman Empress Dowager Fu would kill her too after she found out.
No matter what, it's too late to regret now.
It is impossible for her to enter the palace and become the new emperor's concubine in the future, so it is better to think about Prince Shu's affairs.
There are still eight years before King Shu ascends the throne. She still has eight years to ease the relationship between her second sister and King Shu. If she can ease the relationship and get close to her second sister, when King Shu becomes emperor and returns to the capital, she might be able to become his concubine. Even if her second sister is still alive at that time, she doesn't need to worry, because an emperor's harem cannot have only one woman.
Therefore, the most urgent thing is to contact King Shu first and write a letter to him, telling him that it was not her idea to let the second sister marry in place of her and to put the blame on the grandmother.
She is already sixteen years old. King Shu still has eight years to ascend the throne, and she also has eight years to go.
After eight years, she believed that she could convince King Shu.
But eight years later she was already 24...
Seeing that she couldn't enter the palace, her mother gave up the idea and wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but was stopped by her and her father.
Xu Shuping also hoped that his daughter could marry King Shu, but it was difficult for him to say it out loud, so he blocked it for his daughter.
Xu Qinhui also knew that Ma Liu helped her second sister deliver the letter to the second wife, so she asked Ping'er to keep an eye on him for her. If Ma Liu came into the mansion, she should tell her that she wanted to meet Ma Liu and learn about the situation of her second sister and Shu Wang's family in the border town.
One day, she was lying on the couch when she saw Ping'er come in breathlessly, "Miss, Ma Liu is here to deliver a letter to the second house's old mistress again."
Xu Qinhui sat up hurriedly and told Ping'er, "Ping'er, go to Second Uncle and Second Aunt's place. When you see Ma Liu coming out, tell him that I asked him to come over because I have something to ask him."
Ping'er nodded and hurried to the gate of the second courtyard.
Ma Liu gave the two letters to Xue, then sat down to drink some tea and eat some fruit. He then told Xue about his embarrassing experience on the boat, which made Xue laugh and cry.
Ma Liu also wanted to tell Mrs. Xue that there was no need to worry about Miss Xu. Miss Xu was living very well in the border town. Even though it was a border town and a relatively poor place, he could see that Miss Xu loved cooking very much. It was for her livelihood but also what she wanted to do most.
After Ma Liu left, Xue couldn't wait to open the letter her daughter wrote to her. She first felt the thickness of the envelope. She was still wondering what her daughter had written to her, why was it so thick? Could it be a recipe for her brother? When she opened the envelope, she saw a silver note of 2,300 taels inside. Xue was stunned and hurriedly opened the letter her daughter wrote to her.
Only then did I realize that what my daughter said about being able to earn a lot of money was true.
After paying taxes, Yu Niang can still earn four to five thousand taels a year from the restaurant she runs. Now she is planning to open a winery, which will make even more money.
He also told her not to give him money in the future, as he had enough. He also asked her to give the money from her mother's side to her uncle, so that her uncle could save enough money quickly to expand his barbecue business. He also said that he would have someone give her one or two thousand taels of silver notes every year so that she could spend it as much as she wanted.
As she watched, Xue felt distressed. Her Yu Niang was only seventeen years old. The girls of similar age from other noble families in the capital were all living a life of luxury, spending their days attending banquets, watching plays and admiring flowers. But her Yu Niang had already opened a restaurant and was busy all day long.
But since Yu Niang was so capable, Xue was not that worried. She was mostly just distressed.
After wiping away her tears, Xue put away the letter and the banknotes. When her husband came back, she would tell him that she would definitely not waste the banknotes and would leave them all for Yu Niang.
She gave the three hundred taels of silver to all her brothers from her natal family so that her brother could buy the shop as soon as possible and expand his business.
This way she can earn more and get some of the money, and it will be enough for her to spend now.
Ma Liu left the courtyard of the second house and saw a maid next to the hanging flower gate.
The maid saw him and was delighted. "Excuse me, are you Master Ma Jun? My daughter would like to invite you over."
Ma Liu frowned, "Who is your daughter?"
There are no illegitimate daughters in the Dechang Marquis's mansion, only three legitimate daughters in the third room. The girl from the first room seems to have been married, and Miss Xu from the second room is still in the border town. The only one left is Xu Qinhui from the third room, who asked Miss Xu to marry for her.
Ma Liu's face fell immediately. He turned around and left without paying any more attention to Ping'er.
Ping Er followed behind and called out, "Hey, Master Ma, wait a minute."
Ma Liu turned around and sneered, "Is it the third daughter of your family who knew her fiancé was going to be exiled, and then asked her cousin to marry her off?"
Ping'er's face flushed red, and she spoke up for her daughter, "Master Ma Jun, that's not the case. It has nothing to do with my daughter. My old lady favors my daughter more, so she went to the palace to ask for it privately. My daughter didn't know anything about it, and she fell ill after she found out. She felt sorry for the second daughter."
It was a trick. Ma Liu didn't believe it at all. How could the old lady of Marquis Dechang's mansion, an old woman in her fifties or sixties, go to the palace to beg? On what basis did the new emperor agree and even write an edict? It was obvious that there was something fishy going on.
Ping'er was indeed not lying. Everyone in the mansion knew that it was the old lady who went to the palace to ask for the imperial edict. Because the old lady doted on Xu Qinhui, she took the responsibility. Outsiders had no idea that it was Xu Qinhui who went to the palace to ask for it herself.
Normally, Xu Qinhui treated the maids around her very well and never beat or scolded them, so Ping'er was very protective of her master and truly believed that the imperial edict was requested by the old lady.
Ping Er continued, "Our daughter was very worried about the second daughter and wanted to get in touch with her. She even fell ill. After she recovered, she went to the temple on the mountain to pray for the second daughter. As a result, she broke her leg and injured her face. She has been staying in the mansion for more than a year and has hardly left the house."
Ma Liu was too lazy to listen and just turned around and continued walking.
He walked a little fast and Ping'er couldn't catch up with him. She stomped her feet and went back to tell Xu Qinhui.
Xu Qinhui didn't show it on her face, but she felt that such a rotten soldier dared to give her the cold shoulder.
Cursing Ma Liu in her heart, Xu Qinhui felt a little disappointed. How should she deliver the letter to King Shu?
Forget it, let father think of a solution. If it doesn’t work, ask father to pay more attention and ask someone to deliver the letter.
She did not dare to send the letter secretly because she was afraid that the letter would be intercepted by the people who sent it to the empress dowager and the new emperor, and she would be doomed then.
No matter what, this letter has to be sent.
Otherwise, it has been almost two years and she hasn't spoken a word to King Shu.
…
Xu Qinyu had no idea about the second wife Xu Qinhui's plan. After sending Ma Liu off that day, she went back to Guihua Lane first.
When I got back, I found that all the firewood in the yard had been chopped.
Fourth brother really can't sit still. If you ask him to go back to his room and lie down now, he definitely won't be able to do it. Thinking about the increasing number of people in the family, she wants to buy a bigger house to live in.
Wen, Ning Jie'er and the fourth brother were all there, so Xu Qinyu said, "Mother, fourth brother, Ning Jie'er, the yard we live in now is a little small. Ning Jie'er has grown up, and Yan Jie'er and Feng'er are also getting older. In the future, grandma will definitely come back to live here, so I want to buy a bigger house. It doesn't have to be too big, just two courtyards and five or six rooms, which will be enough for our family. What do you think, mother?"
Wen smiled and said, "I will listen to you, Yu Niang. I am free today. Do you want me to accompany you to take a look at the house?"
Xu Qinyu shook her head, "No need, mother, you just stay at home and have a good rest. Fourth brother and I will go out."
Fourth brother is busy anyway, so why not go out with her to look around the house?
She preferred Laixi Lane in front. There was a river in front of the lane. On weekdays, women washed clothes and children played by the water. It was very lively and there was quite a bit of market fun.
And Xia’s sister-in-law lives in Laixi Lane.
Shao Ge'er from the Xia family is older than Yan Jie'er, so the two families' children can play together.
The yard here is not for sale. She has lived here for almost two years and has some feelings for it. Besides, she is not short of the few taels of silver, so she might as well keep it and use it as a warehouse in the future.
After talking to Pei Weixuan, Pei Weixuan also thought the house in Laixi Lane was nice.
The two of them went out and prepared to go to Laixi Lane.
Laixi Lane was not far away, so Xu Qinyu did not buy a donkey cart. It was because the yard at home was too small, and it was difficult to put both the donkey and the cart. The backyard was not big either, just an aisle, so Xu Qinyu wanted to buy a bigger house as soon as possible.
When I went out and reached the entrance of the alley, I ran into a donkey cart. It was Mrs. Luo and her son Luo Dagen who lived at the end of Guihua Alley.
Old Mrs. Luo looked ashen, and Luo Dagen also looked pale, obviously something had happened. Even when Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan passed by them, neither of them noticed and walked past in panic.
In the past, if Old Lady Luo had run into Xu Qinyu and the Pei family in Osmanthus Alley, she would have definitely rolled her eyes.
Xu Qinyu raised her eyebrows. What happened to the Luo family?
But she remembered that two months ago, Luo Dagen brought home a girl who was about 20 years old. She thought Luo Dagen had married a new wife, but she heard from the ladies in Guihua Lane that the girl had not yet been married. This girl had no father or mother, no relatives at home, only her. Somehow she was deceived by the Luo family and moved directly into the Luo family.
Xu Qinyu thought that the girl was stupid. Even in the future, it would be better not to live in the man's house before getting married, otherwise she would be looked down upon.
This was still in ancient times. I really don’t know what this girl was thinking.
She had seen the girl several times. She was pretty, a little coquettish, with a pair of foxy eyes, but she was a nice person. She would greet everyone in Guihua Lane whenever she saw them, and would nod to Xu Qinyu every time she saw her.
Xu Qinyu also heard from people in Guihua Lane that they had warned the girl that the Luo family was not a good family, that old lady Luo had beaten and scolded her former daughter-in-law and granddaughter, and even wanted to sell the granddaughter to the kiln. They also said that Luo Dagen would occasionally beat his wife, so the girl should run away quickly. The Luo family wanted a son but did not want to pay a betrothal gift, so they tricked her into coming home, and when she got pregnant, she would not get any betrothal gift at all.
But this girl looked smart but actually silly. She even said to them, "Don't worry, auntie. Dagen and mother-in-law treat me very well and will definitely give me a betrothal gift."
Everyone in Guihua Lane thinks that this girl is a real fool.
Seeing that persuasion was futile, he stopped trying, still thinking that Luo Dagen would definitely make this silly girl pregnant soon.
Seeing Mrs. Luo and Luo Dagen hurrying back, Xu Qinyu intuitively felt that it might have something to do with that girl.
As expected, the ladies who were chatting in front saw Xu Qinyu and said, "Hey, Miss Xu, isn't this your husband? Is your husband back?"
Xu Qinyu and Pei Weixuan stopped by, and Xu Qinyu smiled, "Yes, Aunt Liu, my husband is back, so the restaurant is closed today."
Several ladies looked at Pei Weixuan, but none of them dared to look him in the face. They always felt that Miss Xu's husband was more solemn and steady than before, and had an aura that made people dare not ignore him.
They heard that Miss Xu's husband went out to do business and only earned a few dollars a year, not even as much as Miss Xu earned in a month. Alas, the Pei family is so lucky to marry such a good daughter-in-law like Miss Xu.
A few aunties asked the two what they were doing outside. Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "We are going to look at houses in Laixi Lane. There are many people in our family. Sister Yan and Brother Feng are getting older and older. With the donkey cart, it is a bit too small to live here. We want to buy a house with two entrances in the front."
The ladies all said that it was time to buy a bigger house. As they talked, they moved closer and asked, "Ms. Xu, did you see Mrs. Luo and her son just now?"
"I saw it." Xu Qinyu's heart was slightly moved, "But both of them looked unhappy. Did something happen?"
The woman burst out laughing and whispered to Xu Qinyu, "Didn't Luo Dagen trick an orphan girl back before? He dreamed that he wouldn't have to pay a betrothal gift if he could get her pregnant. But just now, Mrs. Luo and Luo Dagen went to the government office to report that the orphan girl had run away with all their family's money."
How did the ladies know about this? It was because at noon, Mrs. Luo went out and asked them if they had seen her daughter-in-law. She said that she had not seen her when she woke up in the morning, but that her daughter-in-law would go to the river in front of Laixi Lane every day to wash clothes, but she had not seen her until noon today, so she asked them if they had seen her.
Of course they didn't see it. Old Mrs. Luo went back muttering something, and then rushed out again after a while, her face pale, and she asked in a trembling voice, "Have you seen that little bitch of mine? She ran away with all the money in my family." It turned out that after Old Mrs. Luo went back, she finally found that the locks on the boxes at home were all open. When she searched, all the silver she had saved was gone. The boxes where her son and Old Man Luo kept their money were also not opened, and all the silver inside was missing.
The result was obvious: it was the orphan girl who was able to open the lock and ran away with all the money.
The ladies were stunned to hear Mrs. Luo slapping her thigh and crying, "There's not a penny left of our 40 taels of silver. Damn this bastard. I was wondering how a girl could be so self-indulgent that she would live in a man's house before getting married. It turns out she's a liar!"
That was all the money her family had, as well as the money Lin had given her for more than a year. It was all in there.
Old Mrs. Luo was cursing and crying at the same time. Luo Dagen came out in a donkey cart and shouted at her with an ugly face, "Mom, hurry up and get in the car and go to the government office to report to the authorities."