Chapter 46: Ji Shu lost money by blackmailing others
"I came from the capital this time. Mr. Zhang asked me to bring you a message. If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. Don't pursue some things too much."
"You have a straight-forward character, which is a good thing, but it can be a bad thing if you use it in the wrong place. Suzhou is a wealthy place in the south, so you must be careful as an official here. I don't know how many eyes are watching this side. Mr. Zhang is worried about you."
"Thank you Mr. Zhang for your concern. I will be more careful."
"Right now, there is General Li outside. Have you heard of the imperial decree? He was conferred the title of Grand Tutor last year, and was conferred the title of Earl of Ningyuan in May this year. The local barbarians are terrified by his name, but things are relatively stable outside right now. There is also Mr. Zhang in the court. The tax reform has achieved remarkable results. The previous emperor has opened up the country again, creating countless wealthy people. However, this man has become rich, but his people are not as they used to be."
When Song Jin heard this, he thought to himself: It's strange, when she gets rid of her status and becomes rich, she won't smile at others every day.
Unexpectedly, when she was daydreaming, Lord Naro actually mentioned her name.
"The last time I talked to the shopkeeper here, I felt that he was right. The taxes are all on the land. Whoever farms the land will suffer. No wonder more and more people are selling their land to become slaves. Farmers have a hard life."
Song Jin thought: You should think of a solution, otherwise people will revolt in a few years. But you are right to praise me.
"What else did Shopkeeper Wen say?"
Song Jin smiled secretly, thinking that he was curious about himself. Then Lord Luo's voice came.
"Speaking of the Chai family's lawsuit, the idea is very interesting, but a little far-fetched. As for the taxes, they do make sense."
Song Jin was unhappy when he heard that the boss was unhappy, and he stomped his feet upstairs.
"My Lords, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Here is our new dish, pumpkin with egg yolk. Please try it."
Song Jin interrupted the two with a smile, and when the two saw Song Jin coming up, they stopped talking.
Compared to Ji Shubai, everyone seemed kind.
"The shopkeeper's dish is unique, with a golden color and a salty aroma. If it is changed to golden pumpkin, I'm afraid some people will give it a good omen and make it a famous dish."
Song Jin felt enlightened. Why didn't she think of this? After the people left, it was renamed Golden Pumpkin. The censor named it himself.
"Your Excellency is right. I am honest and decent, and I am not good at naming."
Lord Luo laughed: "This honest and upright person would never say that he is honest and upright, haha——"
Song Jin smiled along, put the pumpkin down and praised it for a few words before going downstairs and returning to the kitchen to continue his work.
The two of them ate very slowly and didn't order many dishes, but there were quite a few customers. Song Jin was too busy in the back to take care of them and didn't go upstairs again until they were about to finish eating.
"How was your meal, my lords?" Song Jin asked them with a smile.
"Yes, shopkeeper, your dish is quite interesting. It just so happens that the new prefect will take office next month. If I don't return to Beijing, I will definitely ask you to help me make a few of my signature dishes for the new prefect."
When Song Jin heard this, she realized that the prefect had indeed been replaced. However, she was even happier because Lord Luo wanted her to cook for the new prefect. This way, she could delay the wedding date and she would get a chance to catch her breath.
only......
"Since you have mentioned this matter, I have something to ask you."
"Oh, what's the problem? Ask."
Song Jin said, "I went back to the Chai family two days ago and saw that my aunt was worried about the lawsuit, so I wanted to ask, when will the lawsuit be settled? This will also help my aunt to feel at ease."
Lord Luo's face turned serious, and he twisted his beard and said, "I am not involved in this lawsuit."
"This case was heard by Lord Chen, and the county made a ruling last month. Your aunt was dissatisfied and filed a petition in the government office." He paused before saying, "Your aunt has a powerful lawyer."
Speaking of lawyers, Song Jin remembered the scholar he met at Chai's house that day, whose name was Mo something.
"I don't know about this little guy. I'm just worried about my aunt."
Song Jin smiled and covered it up, then heard Ji Shubai continue: "This lawsuit is not difficult to judge, it will be settled next month at the latest, but..."
Ji Shubai spoke in a very slow manner, and Song Jin could hardly breathe.
"I'm afraid your aunt won't win. You'd better tell her not to have any hope."
Song Jin smiled awkwardly and nodded, but he had already started to think about it in his mind.
The new prefect will be appointed in September. If she can delay until then, and the lawsuit happens to be settled by then, then she can apply for resignation in October at the latest.
So the most important thing now is to tell Wen Ya about Lord Luo's thoughts, so as to delay time and prevent her from using force. Another thing is to save more money, after all, you have to live after you get out, and without money you will become a refugee.
Song Jin had a plan in mind, so he looked natural. Ji Shubai asked about the cost of tonight's dinner while he took out money from his sleeve.
"Three cents and two cents, hehe."
Song Jin smiled and named a price. Ji Shubai's hand, which was about to take out the silver, stopped instantly, and Lord Luo also stared at Song Jin in a daze.
"Boss, this meal is really expensive. I see that this is a small shop with a big brand, so you don't have copper coins to pay taxes. This meal alone is enough for you to pay. Haha, Master Ji, you are losing money on this meal tonight."
Chai Heng was generous in giving out rewards, and Lord Luo was not stingy either, mainly because Chai Heng didn't take money seriously, so Song Jin didn't think five cents was too little. But today he said that Ji Shubai lost money on this meal, which was probably like losing five hundred yuan, but spending five hundred on a bowl of plain noodles immediately felt like a huge loss.
Song Jin put a lot of thought into this meal, and the dishes were not bad, but asking for three cents and two cents was tantamount to extortion, so Lord Luo said that Ji Shu had lost out.
Ji Shubai was stunned for a long while, but he still took out the silver from his sleeve. He just asked a question when he gave it to me: "Boss, can you help me calculate the price?"
He wanted to eat clearly, and Song Jin satisfied him.
"Sir, I didn't eat anything tonight. The expensive thing is the Li Meng cake."
"Tell me, what makes this Li Meng Cake so expensive?"
Song Jin said: "This Li Meng cake is a rare product launched by our store. To make this dessert, we have to extract the fragrance of Li Meng seeds several days in advance. It takes several kilograms of Li Meng seeds to extract this little bit. And if you want this Li Meng cake to solidify into a block, you have to buy it and chill it before it can be formed, so the price is a little more expensive."
"How much is it?"
Song Jin held up a finger and said, "One penny of silver per piece."
Ji Shubai narrowed his eyes and watched Song Jin talking nonsense. He smiled for a while and threw a piece of silver in his hand into Song Jin's palm: "No need to change it."
"Thank you, sir. Thank you, sir."
"Boss, has anyone ever said you are a profiteer?"
Song Jin was happy to get the money. Suddenly, he heard Lord Luo ask this question and answered, "My Lord, what you said is true. I am honest and do my business honestly..."
"Yes." Ji Shubai answered quickly.
Song Jin told himself that he was magnanimous, so he didn't bother with him.
She didn't plan to make Li Meng cakes again, mainly because it was too tiring, so she deliberately asked for a high price. One was to recover the cost of the previous experiment, and the other was to get Ji Shubai to stop making it, and not to be like that corn cake, eating it every time, which would tire her to death.
Ji Shubai paid for the meal and went downstairs with Lord Luo, with Song Jin following behind them.
"It seems that this Li Meng cake is very much to Master Ji's liking. One penny of silver for one piece of cake, others would think it is made of gold."
Song Jin followed behind and allowed Lord Luo to tease him without saying anything. However, the man in front of him suddenly stopped, and Song Jin was so panicked that he quickly stopped.
"My lord, do you have any other instructions?"
Ji Shubai turned around and looked at Song Jin, with a smile on his face: "Please ask the shopkeeper to make another one tomorrow, and I will arrange someone to pick it up."
Song Jin: “…”
Lord Luo and Ji Shubai left. Song Jin felt indescribable in his heart, happy and worried at the same time.
She was happy that people liked what she made, but she was worried that it was really tiring. However, this also had an advantage. Ji Shubai liked it, and as long as she kept this skill hidden, she might be able to get in touch with Ji Shubai in the future, and perhaps she would be able to use it in the future.
It was the Mid-Autumn Festival and the streets were extremely busy. But for Song Jin, her busyness was in the kitchen, where she kept waving the spatula until nearly the hour of Hai.
After finishing all these, Song Jin didn't feel like going out because there was no curfew during the Mid-Autumn Festival. He was so tired. But Chunyun and Hongxing Caiwei were very lively and wanted to go out and come back to clean up. Song Jin didn't restrain them and let the three of them, including Arong and a servant, go out together.
Several maids went out to see the lanterns, and the two maids were not idle either. They moved a square table to the backyard to serve as a table, and placed the remaining Li Mengzi on the shore, the moon cakes they made during the day, and the flowers that came from nowhere. After doing all this, they stood there and bowed to the moon, mumbling something in their mouths.
The two of them didn't stop there after they finished paying their respects, they pulled Song Jin over to pay his respects as well.
"What are you praying for?"
Song Jin was thinking about the Mid-Autumn Festival reunion, but she couldn't be reunited here now.
"You should be celebrating the reunion festival with your parents today, but we are busy and can't go back, so you can just worship the moon here."
"If you have children in the future, you must also worship the moon for them and pray for their safe reunion."
Song Jin was pulled to the square table. When he looked up, he saw a round moon on a silver plate, which was no different from what he saw in the 21st century.
She just hung quietly in the air, looking down at all the joys and sorrows in the world, whether it was a peaceful and prosperous era or the raging wars, what was supposed to come would come, and what was supposed to go would go, and it was no use begging anyone.
Song Jin was stunned for a long while and didn't bow. The two maids became anxious and pushed her.
"If you want to pray, pray for a safe reunion."
Song Jin smiled sadly, and imitated the old woman, clasping his hands together, closing his eyes tightly, and praying for his own safety.
I don't ask for great wealth and honor, I just want to live out my life in peace.
The two maids saw her bowing and said with a smile, "It's done. After the moon worship, we should eat and drink."
"They haven't worshipped yet."
Song Jin was referring to the guy who stayed in the store.
“Men don’t worship the moon, men worship the kitchen god.” As the two old women talked, they removed the offerings from above, leaving only the moon cakes.
Song Jin was watching from the side. She didn't know much about this old custom and only had a general impression. After all, it was not taken seriously in the 21st century.
Several people were talking while bringing up the food.
"Those girls and boys should be back soon, right?"
"You are young and don't know how to get tired. You are still running outside after a busy day."
Song Jin listened to a few people gossiping, turned back into the house, took out his bag of precious porcelain, and poured himself some tea.
"Boss, let's have a drink today."
The two old women were greedy and wanted to drink wine instead of tea, but Song Jin did not stop them.
"Okay, you guys drink, I'll sit here and drink tea."
There is an osmanthus tree in the backyard. Song Jin moved a bamboo chair and a spring stool under the tree. After making tea on the spring stool, she sat in the bamboo chair, holding the teacup, crossing her legs, and staring at the full moon in the sky. The bamboo chair creaked as she sat on it.
The old women were chatting and laughing, and it was lively outside. Occasionally, the sound of firecrackers could be heard. Song Jin just sat there quietly drinking tea.
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