Chapter 42 Gao Zhi, you are born to be a worthless person
Because they had agreed last night to go back to Mati Lane together today, after Song Jin finished washing up, he did not go with the others to kill the chicken. Instead, he packed up the silver with A Rong and went back to Mati Lane together.
There were few people in the morning, so the two of them did not take the sedan chair and just walked back to Ma Ti Lane.
Because it was still early, Wen Xin was still in the yard when Song Jin and A Rong arrived at Ma Ti Lane.
Seeing Song Jin coming in, Wen Xin was stunned for a moment. Wearing a clean white Taoist robe and looking radiant, he began to believe the rumors that this child had a good relationship with Mr. Chai and the people in the government office.
"Oh, Mancao is back." Wen Xin sat at the head of the hall and ordered someone to serve tea.
Song Jin keenly realized that he was shouting "Mancao", smiled without saying anything, and only told A Rong to take the silver and go to the accounting office to weigh it, and then go back to the warehouse. After giving the instructions, he walked into the hall.
"I haven't seen you for a few days. The creepers have grown stronger."
Song Jin still had that smiling face: "How can you be as good as Master Wen? I guess you must have made a lot of money from lending money during this period of time, right?"
Wen Xin picked up the teacup and scraped the foam while saying, "In Suzhou City, there are many money lenders and even more borrowers, but not many can repay their debts on time."
At this point, he put down the tea lid, looked at Song Jin and said, "I heard that you have been very close to the people in the government office recently?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "The Censor asked me to make tea for him."
Wen Xin said, "Oh, that's good. Just hang out with them more and slowly you'll get to know the people in the government office, and then you'll have more opportunities."
Song Jin asked with a smile: "What way?"
Wen Xin smiled wryly: "In the government office, what can I get if I want?"
Song Jin was too lazy to respond. She didn't want to do business with the government from the bottom of her heart. She had had enough of that in her previous life. She was always a servant and always depended on others for food. In this life, she just wanted to live a simple life. She didn't want to be rich, but just stable. So she really didn't want to be too closely involved with the people in the government.
Seeing that she didn't say anything, Wen Xin continued, "Look, in my aunt's house, you were just a slave, but now you have borrowed an identity and are living like a human being. But this is just an illusion, right?"
Song Jin didn't answer, Wen Xin said to herself: "You are in this state now, and it would be unfair to ask you to go back and be a slave again. But after all, you are just a slave. No matter how bright and beautiful this way out looks, it is for Wen Zijin, and you can't get out."
When Song Jin heard this, his heart sank suddenly. He could no longer hold back the fake smile on his face and looked at Wen Xin with a sullen face.
Wen Xin stood up, walked over to Song Jin and said, "Look, you helped your aunt with such a big thing, and now you and your aunt can never be separated, right? I know you want to find a backer, but your red deed of selling your body is still in your aunt's hands. It will not be good for anyone if you turn against her."
Song Jin's lips began to tremble, and Wen Xin moved closer: "If you ask me, why don't we two join forces?"
"Look, if you marry me, you will really become a member of the Wen family, and you can also help your aunt keep the secret. We can help your aunt make money together, and everyone will feel at ease, right?"
Song Jin understood that Wen Xin wanted to win him over so that they could make money together.
To be honest, in the Ming Dynasty, for a girl from a wealthy family to marry a young man is the best way out. At least she can escape from her family status and no longer have to serve others.
But Song Jin didn't want to jump from a fire pit into a wolf's den. If she wanted to jump out completely, she couldn't do it this way.
"Thank you for your kindness, sir. I think it's not necessary."
Song Jin was uncomfortable with Wen Xin's words, so he lost his temper and rejected her without any hesitation. But Wen Xin did not give up, but came closer.
"You rejected me? Don't forget that you are doing business under the name of Wen Zijin. How dare a slave like you reject me? Could it be that you have climbed up the social ladder as rumored outside?"
Wen Xin moved closer and closer as he spoke, and his warm breath sprayed on Song Jin's face, making her feel nauseous.
"Whether I can climb up the social ladder or not has nothing to do with Master Wen. If there is nothing else, I will leave first. Goodbye."
After Song Jin finished speaking, she turned around and was about to leave, but Wen Xin grabbed her arm from behind and pulled her back, causing Song Jin to fall backwards and directly fall into Wen Xin's arms.
"Leave? Where to go? To the government office? How can you, a slave, expect to marry into a government office and become a concubine? Or marry into the Chai family and become the concubine of that fat man?"
"Let me go!" Song Jin pushed and hit Wen Xin but failed to push him away at all, which made Wen Xin even angrier.
"I'm telling you, don't ever think about leaving your aunt in this life. Either choose a slave in the Bai family to marry, or do as I wish. Don't be so foolish as to dream of marrying into a wealthy family. You are born to be a lowly person."
Song Jin was furious and didn't say a word. She just struggled desperately. However, the more she struggled, the tighter Wen Xin held her, and finally he even hugged her around the waist.
"ah--"
A loud roar sounded in the hall, causing the servants in the yard to rush into the hall.
"Sir..."
Just as the servants were about to ask questions, they saw Song Jin rushing out of the door, leaving Wen Xin in the hall, furious: "What are you all doing here? Are you free?"
Song Jin screamed, and Wen Xin was so scared that he let go of her hand. She took the opportunity to escape, ran straight out of the hospital door, and hid in a corner before she gradually calmed down.
Not long after, A Rong was seen coming out of the door, looking around for someone.
"Arong——"
Song Jin called out, and A Rong heard it vaguely. He looked around and saw Song Jin hiding in the corner.
"Shopkeeper, what's going on?"
"Don't ask anymore, let's go back to the store." She didn't want to stay here any longer.
Song Jin returned to Shidinglou, still furious, and went to the backyard to kill several chickens to vent his anger. Halfway through the killing, he suddenly remembered that he wanted to make snacks for Ji Shubai, so he put down his butcher knife and prepared the ingredients for the snacks.
Song Jin thought of making snacks because he saw Li Mengzi that day and remembered that lemon could be used, so he came up with the idea of making a lemon Babaruya.
Lemon Babalua is an extremely simple dessert, but to make it, you have to solve a problem first, which is the gelatin that helps solidify.
Gelatin is most convenient to make with isinglass, but she couldn't find so much isinglass at the moment, so she had to use pig skin as a substitute.
You don’t have to look for pig skin outside, you can already find it in your own store, which is much more convenient.
Song Jin found all the pig skins in the store, washed them with cold water, and put them into a pot to cook. He added some liquor to remove the fishy smell, and waited until the water boiled before taking them out and letting them cool.
To make gelatin, you only need pig skin gelatin, so any little bit of fat needs to be cut off. After it is rinsed with water, it will be much easier to handle.
Song Jin patiently cut off the fat on top slice by slice, then cut it into thin strips, rubbed it clean with flour again, and then boiled it in clean water again.
The cooking lasted from morning to afternoon, and half of the boiling water turned into a paste. Song Jin then asked Chunyun to turn off the fire.
Song Jin took out a number of clean plates, poured the glue little by little onto the bottom of the plates and smoothed them out, then asked Chunyun to help take them to the yard to dry.
"Sister, isn't this pork skin jelly? Why did you scoop out the soup jelly? How are we going to eat it later?"
Song Jin smiled and said, "If you want to eat it, I'll leave some glue for you later. You can take it out and cool it down with well water, and then you can eat it in the evening."
Chunyun smiled and said yes, and Hongxing on the side interrupted: "Are you going to make something new again?"
Song Jin said, "Yes, the Tongzhi Lord Ji in the mansion loves sweets, so I will make him a dessert."
"Master Ji?" Upon hearing Ji Shu, Bai Caiwei also became interested: "But is it the Master Ji who often comes to our store with that Tongpan?"
Song Jin nodded and said yes.
Caiwei said, "Oh, he is a handsome guy, but he doesn't talk much and is very cold. He is really good-looking."
Song Jin smiled and thought about Ji Shubai carefully. Actually, his face was a little blurry. It was not her fault. She felt nervous every time she looked into his eyes. She remembered that he was very sharp.
"Yes, she's good-looking and has a good figure." At least she doesn't have a belly.
"Have you even seen his figure?"
Several maids in the kitchen burst into laughter. Song Jin then realized that they were making fun of her. She smiled faintly and explained, "Isn't it obvious that he is wearing the official uniform?"
Hong Xing joked, "It's not obvious. We didn't notice it, unlike you, who can see through the clothes."
"screw you."
Song Jin cursed with a smile, but his hands didn't stop moving.
"But then again, you're going to leave your citizenship, so it would be beneficial if you could get closer to Lord Ji." Hong Xing whispered in her ear.
Song Jin also understood, but she concluded that Ji Shubai was too straightforward. She didn't want him to expose her without helping her, otherwise she would have to bear the consequences.
"Let's talk about it later. If I can handle it myself, I won't bother others."
The matter of denaturalization was not a big deal, it was the Bai family's internal affairs. It was not a small matter, an official intervening in other people's family affairs would easily be criticized, so she had never thought about it from the beginning.
The gelatin in the pot was almost scooped out, and Song Jin kept the rest. He asked Chunyun to put it in a large bowl, and he kept it in cold water. In the evening, he would help her make some condiments to dip it in.
Chunyun was extremely happy. Ever since she came to Shidinglou, she had never been short of food. Her originally thin and frail figure had become plump and looked a bit like a child.
While waiting for the pork skin gelatin to dry, Song Jin was thinking about what other ingredients were needed to make the snacks so that he could go to the market with the maids to buy some tomorrow morning.
After finishing all these, the sun was setting and the store was gradually becoming lively. The waiter came in and said that the dishes were ready, so Song Jin plunged into the kitchen.
Song Jin became more and more adept at the business of Shidinglou. He knew what the guests liked to eat, which dishes to prepare, and what dishes each person was good at. When the guests reported the dishes, he could start cooking without any discussion.
Just when Song Jin was stuffing meat into a piece of bitter gourd, the waiter outside suddenly came to report that Master Ji and Master Lu had come to the store again, and asked her if she wanted to go out and take care of them personally.
Song Jin looked at his hands which were covered with dirt and had no choice but to wash them and leave.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
