Chapter 91 Chapter 91 (Catching Bugs) Sparrow repays gratitude with ventriloquism performance...
Baozhu saw who it was and stood up instantly. She pulled Pei Yanqing aside and asked, "Am I seeing correctly? Is it Xu Yuming?"
Pei Yanqing didn't dare to respond. Someone behind her said to her in a rather unfriendly tone that she stood up and blocked other people's way, so she sat down. Pei Yanqing had no choice but to pull her to sit down first and poured her a cup of tea to calm her down.
At first, Baorong was looking at the ventriloquist preparing to perform inside the enclosure with a silly look on his face. The tables, chairs and benches were brought onto the stage in front of everyone, as if to prove that there was nothing else inside. The enclosure blocked the ventriloquist tightly. Baorong was watching intently, and when he looked up, he saw Baozhu. Her eyes were particularly sharp, and at that moment, the ventriloquist inside the screen clapped his hands.
The loud noise scared Baorong so much that he almost fell off the stool.
Baozhu whispered to Pei Yanqing, "You said Lord Xu was a gentleman, but look at you, it's almost evening, and he's already calling Sister Rong out. How can that be gentlemanly?"
The more she talked, the more she couldn't bear it anymore, so she bent down and pulled Pei Yanqing towards Baorong. Baorong felt a little guilty when he saw Baozhu, and as he watched his sister getting closer and closer, he wanted to crawl into the ground.
Seeing no way to avoid it, Xu Yuming bowed and greeted Baozhu and the others. He then said to Baozhu, "Sister, why don't you wait a moment? Sister Rong has always wanted to see the show but couldn't get tickets. I happen to be acquainted with the owner of this teahouse. Why don't you wait until today's show is over? You can scold me all you want then."
Baozhu spat secretly, "What's with the sister talk? You're just trying to establish a relationship. At this age, who is your sister?"
He cursed him in his heart, but only said a cold and indifferent remark. Xu Yuming's excuse was inevitably poor, but Baorong was always easy to coax.
Xu Yuming felt as if Baozhu's gaze was piercing his back. He poured himself some tea and ordered two plates of snacks, then sat there, his eyes fixed on his nose and his nose focused on his heart, not daring to move.
Baorong was seen tugging at Baozhu's sleeve again, "Mother is busy at the shop, father is out preparing the feast, and my second sister-in-law has gone back to her parents' home. It's the holidays, and I'm the only one left at home."
As she spoke, her voice began to sob, and Baozhu felt heartbroken at the sight of her crying. They sat down on a stool together and listened, no longer interested in what was being performed outside. Baorong, on the other hand, seemed oblivious, still looking carefree, eating and drinking as she listened. She would occasionally exclaim at the ventriloquist's best performances, and laugh out loud at the funny ones to feel completely satisfied.
Baorong was not the only one who enjoyed the performance. Everyone on the stage cheered and clapped. Only Baozhu was not interested. Baorong saw what she was thinking and took the time to feed her snacks while watching the ventriloquist performance. Unfortunately, Baozhu found it boring.
Time flew by, ending in about two incense sticks. The audience, still unsatisfied, gathered in groups to discuss the scene. Baozhu only vaguely understood the story of a sparrow repaying its gratitude, and the vivid chorus of birdsong had even caught her eye.
No wonder this newly opened teahouse was doing so well. Even Jiang Shi heard about it and came to ask Baozhu if she wanted to set up a stage in the restaurant, either to invite a storyteller or a ventriloquist, to liven up the business. However, restaurants are all about frequent business, and it's easy to be distracted by people eating and listening to storytelling or ventriloquism.
As soon as the storyteller left the stage, the teahouse owner came on stage and said that today's play was written by an adult, "This adult is here today too."
For a moment, the sound of people clapping was enough to blow the roof off. The shopkeeper made a very grand introduction. As soon as he finished speaking, a waiter came to Baozhu's table.
Baorong looked at Baozhu's face and said, "Today's performance is based on the script written by Master Xu. Master Xu asked me to take a look and see if there are any improvements."
Seeing someone coming to invite Mr. Xu, Baozhu suddenly understood and was a little surprised. The ventriloquist had just performed the story vividly. The story was not long, but very interesting. Baozhu did not hear the whole story, so Pei Yanqing told her the general idea in her ear.
It's about a bird that was injured, and a passing scholar saved its life. Later, the scholar went to Beijing to take the imperial examination, but was trapped in the wilderness during a sudden downpour. He was also trapped in the mountains by a mysterious wall, unable to escape. The bird he had saved called his friends to lead him out. The scholar passed the imperial examination that year and returned to the mountains to look for the bird, but he couldn't find it. When he got out of the mountains, he lost his way again. A thick fog swirled, and he met a woman in green.
It turned out that this girl was the injured bird that day.
The ventriloquist imitated the birds' calls perfectly, and the various sounds of thunder, lightning, wind and rain were even more similar, just as if there were real lightning and thunder outside.
Xu Yuming readily took the stage, and the shopkeeper then said that the shop often had new plays and invited everyone to come often. Baozhu was surprised. For these scholars, writing such vernacular plays was extremely unpresentable.
The performance ended and the audience dispersed. When we came out of the teahouse, we saw that the ground outside was dry. We started to discuss with a few friends about the superb ventriloquism skills that had just been performed.
Baorong followed Baozhu sullenly and didn't dare to say a word. He saw that Lord Xu kept winking at Pei Yanqing, and Pei Yanqing actually listened to him. He came over to Baozhu to make peace, but Baozhu glared at him and scolded both of them.
Lord Xu originally wanted to follow, but he was chased away by Baozhu after only two steps.
Pei Yanqing will be back to his post in two days. Baozhu originally wanted to go home tonight so that she could have a night talk with Baorong. However, not only Pei Yanqing, but even Baorong kept shaking his head. The two of them persuaded her together, and finally they had no choice but to send Baorong home first. Along the way, they kept telling Baorong to stay away from that guy.
Baorong felt guilty for no reason, so naturally she nodded to whatever her elder sister said.
Seeing her like this, Baozhu finally breathed a sigh of relief. This girl claimed to have read many novels and understood all things love and romance, but in reality, she hadn't opened her mind at all. No matter how many tricks that Master Xu had, they were like flirting with a blind man. But she still had to be careful with this guy.
Speaking of which, Baorong is now at the age to get married. A'niang had mentioned it before. Now that the second sister-in-law is at home, she often takes Baorong to banquets. Baorong is beautiful and has a likable personality, so naturally many people notice her. Now that life is good at home, there is no need to rush about marriage. After all, she is the youngest in the family and is loved by the whole family. Besides, several children in the family get married late, so there is no need to rush. Madam Xu also thought of screening them first. Baorong has a lively personality, so she must find a good one to avoid being bullied in the future.
There were many families that were interested in Baorong, including wealthy families and families with similar status to the Zhen family. They all sent acquaintances or matchmakers to inquire about her first. As soon as someone came to introduce his family, Madam Xu began to inquire privately, but she was never satisfied with any of them. After thinking about it, she felt that Baorong was still young, so she rejected them one by one for the time being and let things take their course.
The family wanted to carefully select a son-in-law with good character for Baorong, but they didn't expect that there was already a pig waiting for this little cabbage.
After sending Baorong home, Baozhu remembered that she had asked Pei Yanqing to check Xu Yuming's background. If he was a good person, there was no need to kill him with one blow. Thinking of this, she asked him if he had found out any information. Pei Yanqing shook his head and then nodded.
"Every day, he would go back to the Hanlin Academy or his own house, always accompanied by a small servant. Besides the doorman, there was no one else in his house."
"This Lord Xu is not a native of Bianjing. He is extremely talented, otherwise he would not have been selected to be an editor in the Hanlin Academy."
Baozhu nodded. To be honest, this Lord Xu seemed all right. He was handsome. She also remembered that he couldn't help but smile when he saw Baorong. Let's see what happens next.
After the Lantern Festival, the year was considered over. Pei Yanqing rushed to take up his post, and A Zhong also wanted to go to Xuzhou. Baozhu told him about the three farms in Pingyang County.
"These three farms are difficult to handle. Uncle Shi has seen more of the world and can handle this. Give him this letter." The letter had already been written. Baozhu asked him and Landlord Shi to take it, and then instructed, "If he reads the letter and agrees to this matter, you can have him come to Bianjing to see me first."
Ah Zhong nodded.
"If Uncle Shi goes to Hedong, then you will have to take care of the fields in Xuzhou by yourself. You will just watch over them. If you are short of manpower, you can find another helper. The wages will be paid to you at the same time. The work in the fields is tiring, so starting from next month, your monthly salary will be increased by 500 yuan."
Since arriving in Xuzhou, Ah Zhong has become darker and thinner every year. He wrote down everything Baozhu had told him and then drove back to Xuzhou.
Pei Yanqing went to the county, and Baozhu hadn't been to the store for a long time. She has been staying in the store these days. Although Jiang Shi is now very efficient in doing things, there are inevitably some things that he has not considered carefully.
For example, Jiang Shi was always unsure about purchasing vegetables. Sometimes he had to go to the vegetable vendor with Chen Niangzi to choose vegetables, and he was never sure how much vegetables he would need every day.
If there are not enough dishes, customers will be driven away; if there are too many dishes, they will not be fresh the next day. Jiang Shi was distressed, but he really couldn't think of any good solution. This was not a big problem, but it would be a difficult problem if it accumulated over time.
Baozhu had to deal with the long-standing issues in the shop first. She had not thought much about the purchase of vegetables before. If there were any extra, she would take them back. If there were few, she would inform the customers. However, if a customer wanted to eat a dish but couldn't get it, it would inevitably drive away the customer. Besides, the prices of those meat dishes were not cheap, and it would be a waste if she bought too much.
It looks simple, but it is not easy to do. There are many people during the New Year and they want many dishes, but there are fewer people after the Lantern Festival. Baozhu has been keeping track of how many plates of each dish can be sold in a day in the store these days, and asked Mrs. Chen to roughly calculate the amount of each dish. Some dishes can be prepared in advance and fried when the customers are ready, but seasonal vegetables cannot wait and need to be fried and sold immediately to make them delicious.
Calculate the daily vegetable portions, and do the same with any new dishes you add in the future. This way you will have a rough estimate of how much you will need each day.
Jiang Shi followed behind and learned everything clearly. Since he was willing to learn, Baozhu taught him without reservation.
In the first year, it was said that the Taotie Competition would be held every year. However, due to too many things to do last year, it was not held. This year, Baozhu handed the task over to Jiang Shi. Now that there are enough people in the store, Baozhu told him that if there is anything, he should call Danier and the two of them can work together.
Since Madam Chen divorced her dead husband, the mother and daughter have been living better and better. When Baozhu went to the county last year, her former husband brought his family to cause trouble. Jiang Shi was not afraid. He reported the matter to the authorities and made a list of the damaged items in the store and settled the accounts. He asked the family to pay double the amount of silver, and then exaggerated the matter and sent those people to the government office and beat them up. Since then, those people have never come again. Madam Chen also moved to a new place to rent a house and now lives next to the restaurant. If anything happens, Jiang Shi can take care of it immediately.
Danier's favorite person is Baozhu. In order to be able to stay in the restaurant to help in the future, she learned from her mother very seriously. This time when Baozhu came back, she prepared a lot of dishes for Baozhu to taste as if they were treasures.
Naturally, Baozhu gave her a raise after she tasted the food. Danier was overjoyed and devoted herself more to learning cooking. The more she practiced, the more popular her cooking skills became. Danier just hoped that Baozhu would open another restaurant so that she could be the chef.
She was a little reluctant to listen to Baozhu's instructions to organize the eating competition with Jiang Shi, but seeing Jiang Shi patted his chest and agreed, she was not willing to be outdone and patted her chest to promise to do it beautifully. Seeing her motivated look, Baozhu agreed to hold the competition next year and she would be the one to do it.
Jiang Shi prepared for several days and had almost everything ready, but after thinking for a few more days, he was troubled again about what food to use for the competition.
Baozhu thought about it for a moment and decided, "Let's use that to mix with rice."
The portion is large, and it looks generous in the eyes of outsiders.
"Business will be slower after the New Year. Those who should go to work have gone to work, and those who should work have gone to work." The restaurant is close to the school. Baozhu thought that the bibimbap sold at the stall was quite popular. Now that the school has opened after the New Year, it is just right to sell it to those students or the guys in the tile house. There are many opera troupes, and they always need to eat. This bibimbap is large in quantity and filling. If she can do business with more of them, she will make a lot of money.
"We can also use this competition to spread the reputation of our bibimbap." Jiang Shi nodded vigorously. "Boss, let me prepare it first. You can set the date for the competition later."
"Let's set the date on February 2nd, as it means the dragon raises its head, which is a good omen." Baozhu smiled and set the date, and Jiang Shi ran off to make preparations.
There are always some bumps and bruises in the restaurant, but it is much better in the dim sum shop. Madam Liu is efficient at work. The dim sum shop's customers are all wealthy families or those who are not short of money. Although she sometimes gets upset, Madam Liu has never had a fight with anyone. She is also polite to those wealthy families who come to buy things. During the New Year holidays, in addition to those big customers, these customers often send dim sum to her. With more social interactions, fewer people give her a bad look now.
Because of this, the cake and pastry shop earns not much less than the restaurant in a month.
Landlord Shi also came over. He had been silent for a long time since his family's land was gambled away by that prodigal son. He finally came back to life after devoting himself to the Zhen family's land in recent years. He also saved some money over the years and bought a few acres of scattered land. When he received the letter brought back by A Zhong, he immediately rushed to Bian Jing.
Baozhu asked for a high salary and said in the letter that he could sign a contract for three or five years. If possible, he would like to sign for ten years at once.
"The farm is different from Xuzhou, where people only cultivate the fields. There are many old people in the farm who used to work for the Pei family. Although I have dealt with some of them, they have been together for a long time and have formed their own faction. You are new here, so they will definitely exclude you."
"Also, you have to recheck the accounts at the farm when you get there. Those farmers who are owed money and grain must also return the full amount. The farmers rely on these fields to make a living. The Pei family is not a heartless family. In normal years, they collect 40% of the rent. In years of disaster, they collect 10% less. As long as there are people, there is food. There is no need to be too harsh on those tenants."
Baozhu gave him a general description of the three farms. Landlord Shi took out a booklet and wrote down the names one by one. He also took the list of those who had not yet returned the money and grain from Baozhu. In the afternoon, he went to hire a car and set off for Pingyang County early the next morning.
She has been busy these days. The last time she went home, Baorong hid with her master. Now that all the things she needed to do have been done, she would go back from time to time to catch up with Baorong.
The second sister-in-law always informed her that Baozhu was not at home every time she came back, and she was not at home today. In the afternoon, she asked Aman to go back and tell Grandma Pei that she would stay overnight.
Miss Kong had not felt uncomfortable in the first three months, but now that she was sitting still, she felt uncomfortable all over. Her second brother rushed back to accompany her as soon as he had a day off, but he was helpless and could only endure a few scoldings from her to vent her anger.
Baozhu saw her holding her big belly and vomiting so painfully. After asking her, she found out that she had not been able to eat in the past few days. No wonder she was still so thin. The cook at home usually only made some nourishing food or watery soup. Not to mention that Miss Kong was pregnant, even Baozhu felt that she could not eat.
Anyway, she was at home today, so Baozhu went to the warehouse to get two handfuls of pickled cabbage, washed it and chopped it into pieces. She also bought two pieces of old tofu from the tofu shop at the end of the alley, fried them until golden brown, and then stir-fried them with green and red chilies in a pan, added sauce and made a pot of pickled cabbage and tofu. Miss Kong, who always had a poor appetite, started to swallow her saliva as soon as she smelled the aroma.
The chili looked intimidating, but it wasn't spicy at all, just fragrant. This pot of pickled cabbage and tofu went perfectly with rice. She ate half of it with two bowls of rice. She wanted to eat more, but Baozhu stopped her, saying it wasn't good to eat too much at once. Miss Kong had no choice but to give up, and asked the cook to put the remaining half away to heat up tomorrow and continue eating. Baozhu smiled and shook her head, "Why do you need leftovers? I'll make more tomorrow. Something like pickled cabbage fish and boiled pork slices. I guarantee you'll enjoy it to your heart's content."
Just by listening to what she said, Miss Kong started to swallow her saliva again. It turned out that she was not unable to eat, but she was just eating dishes she didn't like.
Baozhu waited until dark before she saw Baorong sneaking out of the carriage from Lady Yu's house. As soon as she got out, she saw Baozhu standing at the door. She was startled and wanted to jump back into the carriage. Baozhu took her home and knew that she had eaten by smelling her fragrance. Since she had eaten, Baozhu was not polite and pulled her back to the house to ask her clearly.
As soon as they returned to the house, Baorong was very tactful. He first poured tea for Baozhu, and then tried to change the subject, telling her everything. Baozhu just sat there drinking tea without saying a word.
"Sister, my cousin from the Dong family has set a wedding date. It's before the Mid-Autumn Festival this year..."
"I recently sold a painting. Sister, guess how much it cost..."
"Sister, do you know that this woodblock print is now famous in Bianjing? I gave it a nickname called Madam Qingping. You don't know how funny it is. Some people even want to become my disciples..."
Seeing that Baozhu was not interested in what he was saying, after a burst of dry laughter, the voice became smaller and smaller. She simply bit the bullet and argued.
"Sister, I really have nothing to do with that Master Xu. We just exchanged painting skills and became more familiar with each other! The last time we met in that teahouse was only the third time. We don't usually have any interactions at all."
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