Chapter 20: Opening Song Jin launched the slogan of pure Guangdong flavor
What surprised Song Jin was that after Wen Ya punished Ye Wenfu, she did not question her for taking the initiative to involve Meilin Courtyard, but went straight back to Zizhu Courtyard as if nothing had happened.
Is this killing the chicken to scare the monkey?
Song Jin followed Wen Ya, walking tremblingly, his eyes constantly looking at Wen Ya.
This woman, whose hair has turned somewhat gray, has been surrounded by merchants' families since she was a child. She knows better than anyone what these women are thinking, what ideas are in their heads, how to punish them justifiably, and how to punish them while appearing merciful.
The word hypocrisy began to take shape in Song Jin's eyes.
As for Ye Wenfu's fate, without the blessing of those gold and silver jewelry and without people to serve her in life, no one knows what kind of life she will become in the future.
As for finding a good family to marry into, if you have made their appearance rough and their reputation almost ruined, what good family can you marry into?
But now everyone in the Bai family thinks that Wen Ya is a good person, because she did not take Ye Wenfu to court, did not let her be caned, and even knelt down to beg for her. It was simply a miracle of the Bodhisattva.
Just as Song Jin was thinking about it, Wen Ya, who was walking in front of him, suddenly stopped, turned around and looked at Song Jin, and said, "Go back to the restaurant tomorrow. It should be open for business, right? Manager Liu should be back soon. Take the clerk in the accounting office with you. He will help with the accounting, and you will have more ease."
Song Jin thought, I really have to thank your ancestors for eight generations.
How could the accountant not be someone she trusted? There was Wen Xin, and the two of them were holding each other back, so she had to find a way to win him over. Now there was another accountant, so where could she go to get the money?
Song Jin had no choice but to agree and returned to his cabin alone, staring at the ground in a daze.
This day was really dangerous.
If it weren't for the smooth-talking Lord Lu, if it weren't for the Bai family's clamor for an heir, I'm afraid it wouldn't be so easy to fool people today. When Song Jin reacted, his back was soaked with sweat.
Don't take such a risk again. Be careful. Don't lose your life before you earn money.
She really doesn't want to be an ancient person anymore. She wants to go back to the 21st century so she can at least resign.
I don’t know if it was because she was frightened by the chaotic scene today, but when Song Jin realized it, two lines of tears were already on her cheeks. She quickly reached out to wipe them away.
Even if you want to cry, you have to save up enough money and get rid of your status before you cry.
Song Jin was not in a very good mood that day, but he noticed that Wen Ya was in a very good mood. The servants in the yard ran in and out many times, either delivering this or that. If it was not the mourning period, they would probably have called a troupe of actors to their home.
For her, today is indeed worth celebrating, but Song Jin is worried about Chunyun. She doesn't know where Chunyun will be assigned after leaving Meilin Courtyard. After all, she is being dragged down by herself.
Just when Song Jin was alone in the room, still in shock, Du Juan suddenly walked in with a plate of pastries in her hand.
The tender yellow pastries exuded a sweet aroma and looked very tempting, but Song Jin had no appetite.
"It's a reward from Grandma. Even though she burned down a house, Grandma is in a good mood."
Song Jin thought, if it were her, she would be happy too. Revenge, money and fame, three birds with one stone, who wouldn't be happy?
What's burning down a house?
"What's wrong with you? Why do you look unhappy?"
In Du Juan's eyes, Song Jin was Wen Ya's right-hand man. She should be happy that he helped her get things done, but she had a sullen face and couldn't smile at all.
"Du Juan, have you ever thought about... leaving your citizenship?"
"Deny your citizenship?" Du Juan was a little surprised. "Denying your citizenship is as difficult as ascending to heaven. Instead of thinking about this, you might as well think about how to please your grandmother."
Song Jin lowered his head and stopped talking about leaving his citizenship, but Du Juan became curious.
"You want to renounce your citizenship?"
"Who wouldn't want to?"
Du Juan sighed, "Where will you go if you lose your citizenship? What will you eat and drink? Without land, property or housing, won't you become a refugee? You might as well work like a slave in this compound."
Song Jin was speechless, so he turned to ask about Meilin Courtyard.
"How's Si Niang doing?"
"What else can I do? Everything worth a bit of silver was taken away. Grandma wanted to take away even the things on her head. It was like a house search. She was panicking and crying. I don't know how she's going to get through the rest of her life. It's okay in the summer, but I'm afraid it'll be hard in the winter. She's offended so many people on weekdays, so who would be willing to help her?"
"So...where are the girls? Where's Haruyun?"
Du Juan sighed again, "I don't know yet, but it will only happen in the next two days. Chunyun is a family-born child, and her parents have gone to the farm to farm, so I guess she will also be arranged to go to the farm. As for the other two, they probably won't stay."
Song Jin lowered her eyes. The impact of this incident was beyond her expectations. As expected, she had never lived here before, so she shouldn't speculate on the outcome easily.
But what should I do now?
"Chunyun... Can you please ask Grandma to let me take Chunyun to the restaurant? She used to cook with me, so even if she can't cook, she can always wash the vegetables and dishes."
Song Jin thought that if she returned to the farm, she would probably spend her whole life farming. Then she would marry a farmer and give birth to a child who also farmed. Her life would really be predictable.
"You want to take her away?"
Song Jin nodded: "Anyway, the restaurant is short of people, either arranging this or that. Chunyun can't help much even if she grows crops now. It's better for her to go to the restaurant. She is smart and hardworking."
Du Juan pursed her lips. What he said made sense, but the matter still depended on the grandmother's mood.
While she was hesitating, two little maids suddenly jumped in from outside. They were Lianxin and Meixiang, the two servants of Zizhu Courtyard.
When the two little girls saw Dujuan carrying in a plate of pastries, they knew it was for Song Jin, so they came over to take a look whenever they had time.
Song Jin saw the two children staring at the cakes and pushed the plate forward: "Eat it."
Meixiang and Lianxin were not polite and thanked him with a smile. They each grabbed a piece of goose neck to eat, and said as they ate, "Who was that young man in green clothes this morning? He was so handsome. He was surrounded by a group of people, so impressive."
Lian Xin said: "Yes, yes, it's just like what Sister Mancao taught me a few days ago, the so-called stop and go, everyone. I think he is like that."
"What a pity. Everything here is no longer elegant and graceful."
......
Song Jin and Du Juan listened and remained silent.
Once a woman marries out, she belongs to another family. Even if she remarries, she has to look at the opinion of her husband's family. When the husband is gone, she has to look at the legal wife.
If a strong mother's family comes, perhaps you can fight for it, but if the mother's family is not strong, then you will be helpless.
All the rules in the world always trap those who have no power.
As for that guy, Song Jin felt that the more gentlemanly this person was, the more sneaky and shady he seemed.
Natural enemies.
What surprised Song Jin was that when she left the next day, in addition to a clerk from the accounting office, she was also accompanied by three maids from Meilin Courtyard.
The head manager of the family came over and said that the eldest grandmother asked them to bring it there. Since the store was short of staff, they could just put it in the kitchen and it didn't matter whether it was a man or a woman. Since the cooks were all old women, there was no need to buy more.
Song Jin understood immediately. It was probably because Du Juan told the grandmother about the situation in the restaurant last night, which led to the decision to take people away today.
After thanking Manager Chen, Song Jin took the four of them away. She was quite happy, and Chunyun was even more delighted.
The restaurant was named Shi Ding Lou, which sounded quite impressive, and the plaque had already been commissioned. As for the menu, Song Jin originally wanted to write some dishes that were available in all seasons and hang it on the wall with a wooden sign, but was rejected by Manager Chen.
Menus were not very common in the Ming Dynasty. After all, without universal nine-year compulsory education, most people were illiterate. Therefore, it was useless to write one as few people could understand it.
Secondly, in this era without refrigerators, what was available each day was uncertain, so the waiters had to introduce the food. As a result, recipes were not very useful and could easily cause misunderstandings, so it was better to give up.
After Song Jin thought it through, he realized that instead of having a menu, it would be better to have a few signature dishes.
She led the three new girls to the backyard, put down their luggage first, and then went to the yard.
A shed was built in the backyard for washing vegetables, a large stove was set up inside the house, and the firewood room was already full. As for vegetables, the maids in the kitchen were much more familiar with them than Song Jin, so they could just order them and have them delivered every day.
Meat needs to be ordered from butchers in advance, and you can eat whatever is available. After all, there is no refrigerator here, so it is impossible to store meat.
Song Jin was not familiar with this place yet, especially after he suffered a great loss at Wen Ya's end, he felt more and more that he did not know this world very well, so he would not make suggestions based on his own judgment, but could only keep a close eye on things and be ready to make corrections at any time.
There were two cooks and three maids inside, two waiters and an accountant outside, and the position of manager was given to Song Jin himself.
It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. If she failed, it would be very difficult for her to recover.
The opening day was the day after the plaque was delivered. Because it was under Wen Zijin's name, the Bai family would not help at all, and Song Jin had to figure out a solution on his own.
Fortunately, the location recommended by Manager Chen is excellent, with many shops and the government office not far away, which can be seen from the second floor. Therefore, there is no shortage of pedestrians on the street. What is lacking is how to attract people in.
Song Jin had previously presented three dishes, each with three different flavors. Wenya liked the steamed pork ribs with glutinous rice the most, but it was a pity that it took too long. Eggs were too common, so no one was very interested.
After careful consideration, Song Jin came up with the slogan of pure Cantonese flavor.
Not only did he hang a sign at the door, but when no one was in the store, Song Jin would simply call the waiter out to go shopping, and talk about the Guangdong-style restaurant here with everyone he met.
As a result, there were few customers in the restaurant, but many people knew that a restaurant serving Cantonese cuisine had opened in Anju Lane.
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