Duan Tingxuan said a few words to Fang Lao Taijun and others before leaving. He still had to go to the palace and the East Palace to take a look and report the situation. In addition, the criminals this time had been locked up in the prison of the Ministry of Justice. Whether he wanted to understand the inside story of the frequent chaos in the capital during this period, or as a direct party involved, he was qualified to go and interrogate.
After coming out of the prison, the sun was setting. Duan Tingxuan went straight home and went into Chunfeng Garden to ask. Knowing that Su Nuannuan was still sleeping, he didn't let anyone disturb her. Just as he was about to go to the study to sort out the clues he had obtained, he heard a lazy voice in the room saying, "Honglian, Zhaocai performed very bravely this time, so much so that the vest he just put on was broken. Can you make another one for him?"
Duan Tingxuan laughed when he heard the voice, turned around on the spot, walked towards the bedroom, and said as soon as he entered the door: "Since you want to reward Zhaocai for his bravery in battle, you, as the owner, should make a set of clothes for it yourself to show your sincerity. What's the point of asking Honglian to do it?"
Su Nuannuan was stretching on the bed. When she saw him come in, she stood up and asked, "When did you come back?"
"I just came back and heard from the servants that you were still asleep, so I didn't call you. I thought I would go to the study to sort out my thoughts, but you woke up unexpectedly." As Duan Tingxuan spoke, he came to Zhaocai's cat's nest and grabbed the big tabby cat, who was lying comfortably, by the neck and lifted it up.
“Meow meow…”
Zhaocai probably didn't expect that after he had "accomplished a great deed", this unscrupulous owner who always competed with him for food would dare to disrespect him so much. He was picked up without any hesitation. His fur stood up for a moment, and he stretched out his claws to scratch Duan Tingxuan's wrist twice.
"What a powerful beast, you need to be punished, right?" Duan Tingxuan exclaimed, and threw the fat cat to the ground. He looked at Su Nuannuan angrily and said, "Look at what you have spoiled him to be? You are a typical spoiled brat, you even dare to bite me."
"You deserve it. It was lying there peacefully, and it didn't steal your food, but you had to provoke it. Be content, it was holding back when it came to attracting wealth, otherwise, didn't you see how it scratched those bandits' faces?"
Duan Tingxuan shuddered and nodded, "That's right. This beast is indeed ferocious. Well, it almost scratched two people's eyes blind. So, I should be grateful to it for showing mercy to me?"
Su Nuannuan shook her head and laughed, "Why are you arguing with a cat? Do you have to say thank you for showing mercy to it before you feel you have won back a point?" Then she said to Honglian, "Go pick up a plate of steamed dates from this afternoon. Whenever your master comes to Chunfeng Garden, his stomach is always empty."
"A good wife is one who understands me." Duan Tingxuan laughed, and then asked, "Is it a steamed snack stuffed with jujube paste? Just right. I saw the farm delivered fresh jujubes a few days ago, and I was thinking about this. I wonder what you are going to cook this time?"
"Eat, eat, eat. You can't stop talking about your job, can you?" Su Nuannuan said unhappily, "It's just steamed dates. If you want to eat snacks stuffed with date paste, shall I ask Xiangyun to go to the kitchen to check?"
"Steamed dates? How do you eat them like that? Aren't dates usually made into date paste or candied dates? Eating them directly is something only common people do. People like us don't like to be so unrefined."
Su Nuannuan sneered, "Yes, just because of the noble family background. So the dates must be made into snacks stuffed with date paste before they can be eaten. This is noble indeed. But I don't know how many delicious foods I have missed."
Duan Tingxuan laughed and said, "Isn't that a bit exaggerated? Although I said that, I was naughty when I was a kid and there were jujube trees in the garden. Do you think I have never eaten jujubes directly? Although they are sweet, the skin is very annoying. It sticks to the throat. It's okay for young people, but if the elderly eat this, it will really get stuck and they can't cough it out. Isn't it a problem? Besides, I don't think it tastes better than other fruits. So when we eat jujubes, we make them into snacks."
Before he finished speaking, Honglian walked in. Duan Tingxuan couldn't help sniffing and wondering, "What a sweet aroma, is this the smell of dates? Strange, it becomes like this after being steamed? Could it be that these dates are also cheap and don't taste good when eaten raw, and they have to be steamed in a pot before they are willing to release all the good flavors?"
"Bah! If I were Jujube, I would stick the whole jujube skin in your throat so that you can't cough it out." Su Nuannuan spat, stretched out her hand to grab two jujubes and ate them. The young marquis originally wanted to use chopsticks, but seeing that his wife had already started eating, he couldn't fall behind, right? Yin didn't care about the demeanor of a prince, grabbed two and threw them into his mouth, chewed them for a few times, and then his eyes lit up, both hands raised thumbs, and shouted incoherently: "Nuannuan, it's amazing, this is not your cooking skills, it's turning decay into magic, who would have thought that ordinary jujubes would be so sweet after steaming, delicious, delicious, really delicious. Have you sent them to the old lady?"
Su Nuannuan smiled and said, "I've said that you guys think you're noble, so you can't eat such delicious food. If it's ordinary people, they all eat the ripe dates like this. It's just steaming, there's no trick to it, so I asked the kitchen to steam a few pounds this afternoon, and now everyone is eating it. To be honest, I didn't expect the dates in the farm to be so good. The basket that Xue's wife sent over earlier was big and red. I didn't think it was ordinary dates. When I asked, I was told that it was a variety that has only been around for more than ten years. It's called horse tooth dates or weight dates. It's famous for its large size, sweetness and crispness. I think it tastes good, so I asked her to get me a few more baskets from the farm. I'll steam them and put them in the ice room and save them for the winter. They're fresh and sweet, and really a good snack."
The couple was eating and talking when they heard Cong'er's panicked voice outside: "Second Master is here? Our master and grandma are talking in the room. I'll go and inform them."
"Go quickly." Duan Tingye's voice sounded very anxious. Duan Tingxuan and Su Nuannuan looked at each other, and Su Nuannuan smiled softly, "I see that the Second Master is very affectionate to you as his brother now. He didn't come to visit for several years, but now he has come so many times in just a few days?"
"Bullshit, do you think he's after me? He's just after money. He must be asking you for some prescription again. Without this reason, why would he be so active in saving you last night?" Duan Tingxuan sneered. Seeing that there was nothing wrong with his wife's clothes, he didn't wait for Cong'er to report and said directly, "Let your Second Master in."
Duan Tingye rushed in headfirst. Even though he was the brother-in-law, he shouldn't have entered his sister-in-law's room directly. However, Duan Tingxuan happened to be there today, so Duan Erye didn't care about these rules for a moment. He asked anxiously as soon as he entered the room, "Who did you give the recipe for the candied dates to? How could you just give it to the kitchen to make? Even if the daughter-in-law of the Xue family is reliable, she is not one of us after all. How can we know that she won't sell the recipe for huge profits?"
Su Nuannuan was stunned, looking at Duan Tingxuan blankly, the meaning was very clear: your brother has fallen into the eyes of money? What is he talking about? It's just a simple steamed jujube, and he wants me to give him the recipe?
Duan Tingxuan also felt that this was outrageous, and he coughed and said, "Tingye, sit down and talk first. Look at you like this, you don't have the calmness of a young master in the marquis's mansion. These dates are steamed directly in the pot, there is no recipe at all. I just talked about this with your sister-in-law, but because we are a wealthy family, we don't usually do this."
"Ah? So that's how it is?" Duan Tingye fell into his chair like a deflated ball, and said dejectedly, "I thought this was another candied date prepared by my sister-in-law. It's sweet, soft, and delicious, but not as cloyingly sweet as ordinary candied dates, and they're sticky and sticky. It's strange. If they're dates, why are they so sweet? Didn't they really add some honey or sugar?"
"Really not." Su Nuannuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "Second brother, I heard from your eldest brother that your cake shop and restaurant are very prosperous. It's not an exaggeration to say that they are making a fortune every day. If you don't make a reservation ten days in advance, there will be no seats. Since the business is so good, why are you still not satisfied?"
Duan Tingye is a son of a noble family. After a brief moment of depression, he cheered up and said with a chuckle, "Sister-in-law, what you said is right. People are always greedy. How can you have too much money? Of course, the more the better."
Duan Tingxuan said: "I'm not afraid of being a little greedy, but don't get carried away and really think of swallowing an elephant. If you provoke public anger and something goes wrong, I may not be able to protect you."
Duan Tingye said sternly, "Don't worry, big brother. I know my limits. Besides, we are from a marquisate, and a clean reputation is the most important thing. Our products are of the highest quality. If you don't believe me, go to the store in your spare time. With your prestige, if you go there a few more times, those shopkeepers and accountants will be even less likely to play tricks."
"It's OK as long as you know the limits. I'm busy with my own affairs, so how can I have time to care about you? Since you know all the things about the shopkeeper and the accountant, you should keep an eye on it yourself." Duan Tingxuan said calmly, then changed the subject and said thoughtfully, "Winter is coming soon, and various expenses are bound to increase. In previous years, at this time, the public accounts were a little in deficit, and we had to make up for it with our private treasury. How is the situation this year?"
Duan Tingye smiled and said, "You definitely don't need it this year. The profit from the cake shop alone is more than enough to get through the winter and the New Year, not to mention the profits from the three restaurants. I sent you the bonus from my eldest brother and his wife before the New Year. If it's less than this amount, you can ask me."
As he spoke, he held up three fingers. Even though the young marquis was not easily shocked by praise or criticism, he almost fell off his chair and cried out, "Thirty thousand taels? No way? Are you opening a restaurant or turning stones into gold?"
"It's like turning stone into gold. But this person is not me, but my sister-in-law. So you should know that the family must be well-off this year, right?" Duan Tingye was beaming with joy, and he couldn't hide his smugness no matter what. This was his achievement, and although it was inseparable from Su Nuannuan's recipe, after all, he was the one who managed the restaurant and cake shop to this point. It was a rare opportunity to stand up straight in front of the boss, so how could Mr. Duan not be proud?
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