Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Gap
After Sun Wu brought a cart of people, pears, and firewood to the canteen, he was pulled by Xu Yunfan to work.
When Xu Yunfan went out to purchase at noon, he saw fish for sale and bought twenty carp weighing about three pounds with a wave of his hand.
Fish was very cheap at that time, costing only two cents per pound. Because fish had a strong fishy smell, people only cooked fish by simply frying it in oil or boiling it directly in water. They didn't know how to remove the fishy smell. In addition, frying fish consumed a lot of oil, so fish was naturally sold cheaply.
All the fish Xu Yunfan bought were assigned to Sun Wu and several other waiters, some to butcher the fish, some to chop the fish into pieces, and they were all very busy.
In addition, after discussing with Qin Run, Xu Yunfan took him to buy dozens of kilograms of pork belly and dozens of kilograms of ribs. Naturally, the seasonings for making these dishes also had to be bought.
After buying the ingredients needed for the dishes to be cooked in the afternoon, Xu Yunfan took Qin Run to the shopkeeper. They bought ten pounds of red beans and ten pounds of mung beans. Before returning to the village that day, Xu Yunfan soaked them all.
As for the vegetables they used, they were naturally picked by Grandpa Fang and Grandma Fang early in the morning and asked Fang Yi to bring them over.
Sweet and sour fish is usually cooked whole, but a whole fish is difficult to divide. Xu Yunfan asked Sun Wu and the others to cut the carp meat into pieces of appropriate size, and then taught Qin Run to prepare a large bowl of sweet and sour sauce. As for how to make sweet and sour fish, crispy pork belly, and braised spare ribs, Xu Yunfan also explained the steps to Qin Run one by one.
For tonight's dishes, Xu Yunfan listed braised pork ribs, sweet and sour fish fillets, crispy pork belly, and green vegetables are indispensable.
There were a few dishes, and the prices were basically the same as in the morning. Because the crispy pork belly and fish fillets had to be fried, Aunt Qin and Qin Sanniang washed the vegetables and then cut lard and boiled oil, so they had no time to rest.
When Xu Yunfan handed the design drawings to Qi Xiu Ze and others to hire someone to do the renovation, he deliberately reserved a shopkeeper's room. This room was exclusively for him and Qin Run to use, and now it has become a place for Qin An and others to stay.
The dishes that will be prepared for students in the future will definitely not be limited to these few dishes. Xu Yunfan simply wrote a recipe book in the room and left it for Qin Run to follow and cook in the future.
Qin An and Xiao Ye seemed to have become addicted to folding flowers. If Xu Yunfan hadn't called them to eat, the two little guys would probably have forgotten about it.
In one morning, the two little guys folded nearly a hundred flowers. Their speed was not fast, but it was okay.
How is the food tonight? You can tell whether it sells well or not just by looking at the fact that there are not enough meals to sell.
The students who couldn't buy food looked devastated and had sad faces. In the past, they had to strive hard to be at the top of their studies and take exams. Their studies alone were enough to keep them busy. Now, they even have to fight for food?
Why is it so difficult to be a human being?
When they went back in the ox cart, Xu Yunfan was so tired that he collapsed on Qin Run. His whole body seemed to be pulled apart, and he was limp and moved up and down with the bumps of the ox cart.
Aunt Qin, Qin Sanniang and others did not feel tired at all after a morning of practice. They were all very happy. Even though the money was not earned by them, they had a good relationship with Xu Yunfan, and they were happier than anyone else that Xu Yunfan could earn money.
Sun Wu, Qin Ersao and Qin Sanfulang all looked trance-like, as if they had not yet recovered from the shock of Xu Yunfan earning more than ten taels in just one afternoon.
Qin Run didn't care what other people thought. Facing the afterglow of the sunset, feeling how much his young husband depended on him, his heart was full and could no longer accommodate other people or other things.
"Are you tired?" Qin Run asked Xu Yunfan in a low voice. Today Xu Yunfan took him to purchase goods and sat there to exchange copper coins for students to write recipes. He was indeed tired.
Today, apart from going out with Xu Yunfan to buy ingredients, he has been staying in the kitchen to cook. Xu Yunfan uses his brain and gets tired, while he gets tired physically.
Xu Yunfan was a prince, and he had never worked before. He had no choice but to do this job to make a living and avoid being a freeloader after he was inexplicably brought here with his suitcase.
He had been more tired from working in the fields before, but he was still full of energy. Today he suddenly became listless, which is completely abnormal.
Xu Yunfan hummed sullenly, rubbed his face against Qin Run's chest, and said in a muffled voice: "I got up too early this morning and I didn't get enough sleep."
He had been working in the fields harvesting corn before, and although he was tired, at least he could sleep until he woke up naturally. He drank a few bowls of porridge before slowly going to work in the fields. This morning, he was still dreaming when Qin Run woke him up.
Because he didn't sleep well, he felt listless all day.
Qin Run felt so distressed that he patted Xu Yunfan's back and asked him to adjust his sitting position. "Lean on me and sleep for a while. Go to bed quickly when you get home tonight so you can get up tomorrow."
The other people on the ox cart didn't want to hear the couple whispering in each other's ears, but their ears couldn't be blocked, and air was one of the media for sound transmission, so it was difficult for them not to hear what Xu Yunfan said.
Sun Wu and the other men were all choked. No, Xu Yunfan hasn’t gotten enough sleep?
People in the village generally fall asleep quickly, so they naturally wake up quickly in the morning. Like Sun Wu, when he drove the ox cart to Xiao Qin's house today, Xu Yunfan was still drinking porridge with his eyes closed. Even so, he felt that he had slept enough, so why didn't Xu Yunfan get enough sleep?
But come to think of it, Xu Yunfan’s family conditions were good in the past, so couldn’t he sleep as long as he wanted?
Even when the Qin family was busy with the autumn harvest, it was said that this little man would sleep until the sun was shining on his butt before getting up. In short, he would not go to the fields unless the sun was shining brightly.
If their own kid said something like this, Aunt Qin and Aunt Qin Sanniang would probably start scolding him immediately.
Once the target was changed to Xu Yunfan, how could they bear to say anything about him when looking at Xu Yunfan's face?
Not to mention, Xu Yunfan is not their son. Although they respect them a little, this little respect cannot be the capital for them to lecture him.
Qin Run doted on Xu Yunfan like this, and Aunt Qin and the others beside him really couldn't bear to watch it. They turned their heads away and looked towards the roadside tacitly.
Xu Yunfan adjusted his sitting position and lay sideways on Qin Run's legs. After a while, he began to snore softly.
Listening to Xu Yunfan's gentle breathing and seeing how dependent he was on himself, Qin Run had a momentary illusion that he was irreplaceable to Xu Yunfan. His heart, which had been fluctuating, finally found a place to settle.
Qin An and Xiao Ye were like two great guardians, surrounding Xu Yunfan on the left and right. Seeing Xu Yunfan fall asleep, Qin An whispered, "Brother, Brother Fu fell asleep. He is tired."
"Well, Gefu is very tired. Let's talk quietly so as not to disturb his sleep." Qin Run touched Qin An's head, and then touched Xiaoye. "Are you guys sleepy?"
Aunt Qin came over and lowered her voice: "If you two are sleepy, come here and let me hold you to sleep."
Qin Run was already "holding" Xu Yunfan, so how could he hold two little ones?
"No, Auntie, we are not sleepy."
In the afternoon, when Xu Yunfan was writing a recipe, he saw that the two little guys were addicted to folding flowers and didn't go out to play. Using their eyes for so long could easily cause eye fatigue, so he asked them to go to sleep for half an hour, so now they were not sleepy at all.
Moreover, the ox cart was rocking so hard that my butt would lift off from time to time, making it impossible to sleep well. Only a powerful person like Goff could sleep well.
Sun Wu drove the carriage quickly and arrived at the village in less than half an hour.
Seeing Xu Yunfan sleeping soundly, Sun Wu first sent Xu Yunfan back to Xiao Qin's house. When the Qin family heard the sound of the ox cart returning, they immediately brought over ten cleaned ducks, including duck offal and duck blood. The Qin family took everything.
After getting off the ox cart, Xu Yunfan was dazed and confused. Qin Run gave money to the clan leader's grandmother according to the market price.
The clan leader counted the copper coins in front of Qin Run, took out a few dozen coins and returned them to Qin Run, "Run'er, you gave too much."
"Not much!" Qin Run has made great progress in learning arithmetic from Xu Yunfan during this period. He should not be able to make a mistake in calculating such a small number.
The clan leader's grandmother laughed and said, "You're giving me the town's price. What's our relationship? How can I sell this duck for that price? You can't give me that price. It's alienating."
Xu Yunfan was right. The Qin family was truly different from those of other clans. They didn't want to take advantage of anyone.
"But it's tiring for you to help us kill the ducks."
"It's not tiring at all. It's just a piece of cake. Although our other families are not as close to you as Qin Er Niang, your surname is Qin, and we are from the same clan. To put it in a big way, we are all family. You are busy, and we are free anyway, so we will help if we can." The clan leader's grandmother is old, but she is nimble and dexterous. Killing and plucking ducks is a simple task for her.
Qin Run had no choice but to take the copper coins back since the clan leader’s grandmother had said so.
Xu Yunfan washed his face and then remembered the ten ducks. He slapped his head and said, "Oh, by the way, I still want to teach you how to make roast duck."
Qin Run saw Xu Yunfan's face was wet, so he took a towel and wiped it for him. "Just tell me what to do. If you're tired, just wash up and go to bed."
"I'm not that sleepy anymore." Xu Yunfan shook his head. After washing his face, he felt more energetic. "Light up the kiln. We'll just bake it over charcoal. I'll knead some more dough and make some bread. Tomorrow, I'll sell it in the cafeteria along with sweet potato rice candy, candy, malt sugar, and other things."
It should be a little after six o'clock now. The students in the college finish classes early, at five o'clock.
Because there were many windows open, Sun Wu and Qin's second wife both went to help serve the food, so the food sold quickly.
All the food was sold out before 5:30. Although there was some left in the kitchen, it was dinner for Xu Yunfan and his group. They had agreed to include the meal, so Xu Yunfan would not go back on his word. Qin Run and the others naturally ate there as well, so there was no need to trouble them when they came back.
Qin Run was busy making roast duck, and Xu Yunfan was kneading dough to make bread in the kitchen. The two were so busy that they didn't even have time to rest.
While steaming the bread, Xu Yunfan took out half of the candies and other things, and took them to the canteen to sell tomorrow, and kept the rest for use when opening the shop.
Afterwards, he wrote more than a dozen contracts, some of which were used to hire waiters, some were used to hire aunts and ladies to make sweet potato flour, and the rest were used to hire some men to chop wood and make charcoal. Of course, if wild grapes were found in the mountains, they would be picked for him as much as possible.
All of these contracts contain information about the craftsmanship of making sweet potato flour or the method of burning charcoal. If anyone leaks it, according to the terms of the contract, Xu Yunfan can put them in jail for life.
This clause may seem inhumane, but it is the most favorable protection for Xu Yunfan.
When Aunt Qin and the others saw this clause before, they did not think that Xu Yunfan's move meant that he did not trust them, and they did not feel unhappy about it. On the contrary, they thought that Xu Yunfan was right.
It is said that you cannot do business with brothers and friends. This is not without reason. If one is not careful, there are many cases where even brothers end up losing each other due to conflicts of interest.
As long as they don't have that idea, the terms in the contract are nothing but meaningless to them, and it makes no difference whether they exist or not.
The two adults are busy, and Qin An and Xiao Ye are also busy. They feed the chickens, pigs and water the vegetables. What doesn't they have to do?
At ten o'clock in the evening, Xu Yunfan, who had finished a day's work, lay on the bed, thinking about what Jiang Lanfang had asked him when he came over for dinner in the afternoon.
Jiang Lanfang asked him when he could officially start work.
Xu Yunfan pursed his lips and said to Qin Run beside him, "The other stores haven't opened yet. Won't I be exhausted by then?"
"Then I won't be a teacher. It doesn't matter if we earn less." To Qin Run, no matter how important money is, it is definitely not more important than Xu Yunfan. Xu Yunfan is the top priority and the most important person.
Hearing this, Xu Yunfan immediately disagreed, "No, absolutely not, I will definitely be the teacher."
"Why?" Qin Run didn't understand why Xu Yunfan was so obsessed with being a teacher.
He was the one who cried out that he was exhausted, but he was also the one who refused to give up.
Doesn't he feel that he is very contradictory?
Xu Yunfan explained to Qin Run, "We've rented the cafeteria at Qingfeng Academy, so we're considered businessmen. But are we rich? No."
Compared with those truly wealthy businessmen, their income is just a drop in the bucket, and what they earn is not even as much as what slips through others' fingers.
"Even wealthy businessmen have to greet officials with a shameless face. Money alone without power is still a barrier to success."
Therefore, after the Great Yan Dynasty abolished the law that prohibited merchants from entering officialdom, many merchant families tried their best to use their connections to get their children into colleges, hoping that their children would bring honor to the family in the future.
In the past, merchants had a low social status and were despised. They were rich but not noble. But now things have changed a lot.
He saw two students in the cafeteria this afternoon. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were wearing gold and silver. It seemed as if they were afraid that others didn't know that they had silver at home. Everything they wore and adorned around their waists was exquisite and precious.
Xu Yunfan had found out everything about these two people. One of them was named Ye Chen and the other was named Lin Zifei.
He heard from Qi Xiu Ze and the others that these two people were the eldest son of the Ye family, the richest family in Qingling Prefecture, and the second son of the Lin family, the richest family in Wanhang Prefecture.
The reason why Xu Yunfan was so impressed by the two people among all the students was not only because they were dressed too expensively and richly, but also because, if he had not seen Xiao Ye's skinny appearance when he first arrived at Xiao Qin's house, Lin Zifei, Ye Chen would definitely be the thinnest people he had ever seen here.
"No, their family is so rich. Could it be that he was treated harshly by his family or something? Why did he become so thin?" Xu Yunfan asked Qi Xiu Ze and the others curiously.
Xie Baizhou grabbed a peeled, plump, white pear in one hand and gnawed it without any image. "No, it's the two of them. Although Ye Chen is the eldest son of the family, his father only has him as a son. As for Lin Zifei, his family only has two sons. It's no exaggeration to say that they are both the treasures of the family."
Lin Xiaoran took a bite of the pear with a crunching sound and added on behalf of Xie Baizhou, "The reason they're so skinny is because they study too hard late into the night."
Shen Ruxi on the side seemed to have thought of something funny and chuckled. He didn't want to laugh. The reason he laughed was not because he looked down on Ye Chen and the others and laughed at them for being as stupid as pigs. He just thought it was funny when he saw them before, looking so weak and exhausted that their legs were shaking even when they walked.
Shen Shenxi laughed so hard that the pear flesh in his mouth almost flew out. Qi Xiuze slapped Shen Ruxi and said, "Although their family is very rich, you don't know that the last emperor has only been on the throne for twenty years. Although he changed some laws to allow merchants to enter the government, it has never been so easy to enter the government through the imperial examination throughout history."
In ancient times, why was it difficult for a poor family to produce a noble son, and for a poor family to produce a talented person?
Are all those from poor and struggling families stupid? Are they dumber than those from rich families?
No, educational resources were limited in ancient times. Writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone, taking exams, finding a teacher, and enrolling in school, which one didn’t cost money?
Ordinary people only earn a few taels of silver throughout the year, which is enough to have food in their bowls when they are hungry and clothes on their bodies when they are cold. Some families work hard all their lives and can only barely make ends meet. How many families can have enough money to consider studying, which is a luxury for them, when their food and clothing are still not yet solved?
For the people in the village, studying has always been exclusive to the children of rich families and the rich and powerful.
However, the wealthy and powerful could not take the imperial examinations because of the harsh laws in the early years. Therefore, for them, taking the imperial examinations was something they could not even think about. When the laws were changed and businessmen could also take the examinations, it was obviously too late for them who were in their twenties.
If they want to get rid of their family’s current social status, they can only focus on cultivating the next generation.
And this so-called training is nothing more than spending money to hire a teacher to teach your son and using connections to send him to the academy.
Because the law had just changed, many people still held the idea that merchants were at the bottom of the social ladder. Some powerful families even considered it a shame to have friends with merchants. Therefore, when merchants were first allowed to enter officialdom, it was not as easy as imagined for the sons of merchants to go to school.
But the emperor promulgated the law, and officials had to obey and carry it out. Therefore, the merchants in the capital or the provincial capital were not so bad, at least they were treated fairly and justly.
But this is not the case in other areas far away from the capital and provincial capitals.
The implementation of the law always takes time.
In some areas, merchants are still regarded as inferior and still receive unfair treatment when it comes to admission to schools.
As a last resort, in order to change this situation, the emperor specifically supported merchants, and thus imperial merchants came into being.
Within a few decades, the status of merchants has undergone tremendous changes, but it is only a few decades. How can they compare with the sons of officials?
For those officials, as soon as their children were born, their elders had already planned for their future paths and even focused on their training.
The teachers that the sons of merchants and farmers worshipped were mostly scholars. It was considered a great achievement to be able to have a juren as a teacher.
Let’s look at the sons of officials. The people they apprentice to are, at the very least, Juren or Jinshi.
As for a figure like the prince, there is no need to mention his teacher's status and knowledge.
The Prince's Tutor, who is qualified to be such a high-ranking official of the first rank?
He must be a famous scholar of the time. Looking at the recent generations of the crown princes and tutors of the Great Yan Dynasty, which one of them was not a top scholar and has a prominent family background?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
