Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Test the sincerity of Bao Rong
It snowed all night, and when she woke up in the morning, it was all white outside. Baozhu shivered as soon as she opened the door.
Pei Yanqing was packing winter clothes in the house. He was even more reluctant to leave because of the snow. It was fine when he was alone before, but after Baozhu stayed with him for some time, he felt that life was enjoyable. Now that Baozhu was busy running the restaurant, he felt more and more lonely being alone outside. Now that he was home, he wished he could stick to Baozhu all the time.
Taking advantage of the free time, after breakfast, Pei Yanqing took a shovel and shoveled snow in the yard. Baozhu talked to him while wearing boots and holding the heater.
"That County Magistrate Zhou isn't very reliable and is quite incompetent. Most of the cases he handles are hastily concluded, and the laws he applies are extremely arbitrary. The yamen is overwhelmed with old cases, and now many things are handled by subordinates. Those jobs like catching thieves and tracking down criminals have been taken away from him. Now he just sits in the yamen and drinks tea."
Baozhu didn't know what happened in the government office after she returned to Bian Jing. Pei Yanqing told her about the big and small things in the government office.
"Now that he's lost power, he doesn't dare to stir up trouble. He no longer accepts money offered to him for favors. He used to accept money, but now he refuses to do anything for people. He's had people blocking the government office, which has caused quite a stir."
"But be careful, he might become desperate."
"I don't think I have the courage."
After Baozhu returned home, those ladies couldn't find her. They had only been flattering Mrs. Zhou and didn't take them seriously. Now that the Zhou family was declining, a group of people changed their minds and wanted to flatter them. However, Baozhu had returned to Bian Jing, and now they couldn't even find a way to find her.
County Magistrate Liu was quite perceptive. This gamble paid off, and he felt incredibly proud. He was also desperate. If he continued to endure this hardship, he might as well resign and teach at the academy. He was in the right position, and Pei Yanqing's staff was short of staff. He had previously been assigned to the yamen, a job he'd overseen but wasn't supposed to interfere with. Pei Yanqing promised him to work hard for two years, and when the time came, he would speak well of it to his superiors. When his term was up, he would definitely be among the transferred officials.
Even if he could not be promoted, now that County Magistrate Zhou was silent, he could still realize his ambitions instead of just doing what others said as before.
"Originally, County Lieutenant Zhou saw that you were unyielding and wanted to make you a high-ranking official so he could fill his own pockets with money. He never imagined that you would be pecked in the eye by an eagle."
Pei Yanqing sneered, "He committed so many evil things in the city, and now he's still at large. He's really lucky."
Neither of them wanted to mention the spoiling words again. Baozhu just changed the subject and asked how the preparations for the charity hall mentioned last time were going.
"I've already sent people to do it this month. I've treated the wealthy families in the city who wanted to give gifts to a few drinks and explained the benefits. They've all been competing with each other in donating money and grain for the plaque the government will give them. They've all said they'd donate money and grain." Pei Yanqing praised Baozhu's clever plan. "I've assigned someone to manage this charity hall. I've also selected a few of the largest donors to oversee it. They feel like they're working for the government, and they're very dedicated. They usually have their own rules for doing things, so I don't need to worry too much. I'll just wait until the charity hall is ready and then go and take a look."
Baozhu nodded. "If this is accomplished, it will be a great benefit to both the people and the government. If it really makes a name for itself, it will also be a great political achievement."
Before leaving, he was afraid that the snow would fall too heavily and collapse the house, so he cleared the snow off the roof. "When I'm not at home, if it snows heavily in the next few days, I'll ask someone to come to my house to sweep and shovel the snow. The ground is wet and slippery, so you won't fall."
When he was about to leave, Baozhu suddenly remembered to ask that Lord Xu, "Can you go and find out what kind of person Lord Xu is in private? Does he have any bad habits?"
"I saw him more often back in Bianjing. We were of the same age, after all, so we had a decent relationship. Editor Xu is indeed a good person. He was personally appointed to the Imperial Academy by the emperor. I've never seen him go to any brothels, and he rarely even drinks. He seems to be from the south."
Pei Yanqing wanted to ask why he was asking, but Baozhu shook her head, "Just ask."
Seeing that Baorong had attracted the attention of Lord Xu, she naturally had to find out more about this person. A daughter of a family is sought after by hundreds of families, so she had to be a top-notch person to match Baorong.
Pei Yanqing was just asking for information when Baorong came over angrily.
“It’s so infuriating!”
"I was wondering how the meeting ended so easily that day. Do you know what Xu Yuming said to Mrs. Kong's nephew?" Bao Rong put her hands on her hips. "He told others that I was a fool!"
When Baozhu asked her how she knew this, Baorong touched her nose and said, "I was really curious, so I agreed to give him a painting."
This fellow even argued that if someone really meant it, they wouldn't listen to his one-sided story. Baorong thought about it and realized that this made sense. He wanted to refute him but didn't know how to argue with him. In the end, he stepped on him hard and ran away.
Baozhu suddenly realized that since she came back, Baorong had been talking about Mr. Xu every other sentence. Although she heard Pei Yanqing say that Mr. Xu was a good person, she still didn't dare to let Baorong contact others. She knew Baorong's temper, and if this was said openly, it would make her even more curious.
Judging from the situation, Baozhu has to go find Mr. Xu to remind him. Baorong is young, but he is not young at all.
Baozhu found her own thoughts amusing; the two sisters were equally careless. Back then, her and Pei Yanqing's affair had been discovered by her mother, who had gone to warn them. She hadn't known about it before, but after their wedding, Pei Yanqing accidentally brought up the time when her mother had come to question him, looking as if she was about to give him a beating, frightening her to the point of fearing the affair wouldn't go through. Only then did Baozhu realize the incident had even occurred.
Baozhu didn't come to the house either, but asked Jiang Shi to deliver a letter and invite Mr. Xu to come to the restaurant for dinner.
At nightfall, Lord Xu finished his shift and saw the invitation when he returned home, so he hurried over. The dishes on the table were exquisite and impeccable. Xu Yuming bowed deeply at first, and then he guessed what was going on and blushed for a moment.
"Sister Rong is still young. If you are interested, you should wait a few more years. It is not gentlemanly to tease her all the time."
Baozhu's straightforward words made him almost fall off the stool. Sweat broke out on his back in the cold weather. Baozhu smiled and asked Jiang Shi to bring the warm wine.
He was not a person who could drink. When Jiang Shi heard Baozhu's order to fill his glass with wine, he did not dare to refuse. He closed his eyes and drank it all. It was not known whether the wine made him braver. He stood up straight, bowed to Baozhu, and said seriously,
"Sister Rong is lovely, and I treat her sincerely. If Madam Zhen is worried, I will no longer have close contact with Sister Rong and will only wait a few years before proposing marriage."
After just one drink, Xu Bianxiu couldn't even stand. Baozhu thought his words were somewhat believable. Although words could be false, actions could not be false. Baozhu asked Jiang Shi to send the man back. She just wanted to see if Xu Bianxiu was as sincere as he said.
Xu Niangzi's icehouse had already hired workers. Once the river froze solid, they could start chipping away at the ice. The river water was filthy, and even filthier in the summer. Some small workshops, unfazed by the low prices, bought the dirty ice to make drinks and cheese.
Many people contracted dysentery from eating unclean cold food and drinks. Every year in Bianjing, people died from eating these unclean cold drinks.
The ice hewn from the river was used to cool people down. If you wanted to eat ice, you had to make it with boiled water or saltpeter. It would take a while for the ice cellar to be completely filled. A layer of straw was placed on top of the ice to prevent it from sticking together and being difficult to separate.
"Boil a few more vats of water, freeze them tightly, and store them until next summer. Then you can sell them directly to the drink shop. It's much more cost-effective than making ice from saltpeter."
The workers expertly chiseled the ice into uniform blocks and carted them into the icehouse, which was even colder than outside. Once the ice was stored, people had to wear fur coats. Baozhu watched the workers stack the ice to the top. Although ice was common now, even if the icehouse was full, it would be a good thing if half of it was left by next summer.
To be honest, I don't make much money from this business, and it's extremely hard work, but it should be enough to provide ice for my own family next year.
After staying in the ice cellar until noon, Madam Xu was in a hurry to finish her meal and go back to the ice cellar to continue working. Her father was not at home, and her second sister-in-law had gone back to her parents' home today, so there were not many people at home. After the two of them came out of the ice cellar, they went to a restaurant to eat something to fill their stomachs.
The copper pot mutton hotpot in the store has been very popular recently. Most of the people who come to eat there are officials and scholars. The mutton shanks are mostly chewed by children, or they are eaten with wine.
There were many people in the store at this time, so Baozhu simply went to the kitchen and asked Chen Niang to boil two bowls of vermicelli soup, one for her and A Niang.
"Your father mentioned last time that a few chefs wanted to work for him. This month, he's thinking of signing four chefs to cook for banquets. Now that both sides are getting to know each other, even if the contract is signed, they still need to test their character. There are many happy events this year, so it's a good opportunity to let these chefs try their hand at cooking first. They can also earn some money to celebrate the New Year, and if there are any cheating people, they can be caught early. Unfortunately, two of them feel that their skills are being wasted, and they are not very happy about it. This has made your father very anxious."
"What's the big deal? If you don't want to break the contract, then so be it. Anyone who wants to make a name for themselves in a certain field has to work their way up from the bottom. Even my father worked his way up from the restaurant business. Besides, he had to accept these low-profit banquets in the beginning, and only then did he build his reputation step by step."
One has to take one step at a time. Not to mention that her father was preparing banquets for others, even she opened this restaurant. Looking back now, it seems to be going smoothly, but in fact, it was not achieved overnight.
"If you want to take on official banquets right from the start, you'll inevitably raise someone with high expectations but poor skills. If they can't even prepare a simple banquet properly, forget about preparing official banquets for others in the future. If there's a mistake, even if it's just a minor official in Bianjing City, an ordinary chef can't afford to offend him."
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