Chapter 40 Chapter 40 The male protagonist sends a solo...
Jiang Sijie never imagined he'd one day travel through time, and into a book. This was a revenge novel. The protagonist, Xiao Xun, had a difficult life, a life marked by a lack of family ties and a destiny marked by calamity. His biological parents were framed and killed, and his entire family was murdered. He was abducted by his father's subordinates, narrowly escaping death. After wandering through many places, he was fortunately adopted and raised by foster parents.
Xiao Xun got married in Xiaojia Village, Yu'an County, and lived a life of working from sunrise to sunset. It would have been fine if he had lived an ordinary life like this, but things did not always go as he wished.
When Xiao Xun was old enough to serve in the military, he said goodbye to his parents and his newly married wife and set off with the army.
At that time, Xiao Xun still wanted to make great achievements and go to war to kill the enemy, but on the way he was accidentally involved in the game between the two parties. Xiao Xun was implicated and was seriously injured. Everyone thought he was dead, and his body was directly thrown into a mass grave.
This matter could not be told to outsiders. The news of Xiao Xun's death was reported back to Xiaojia Village, and the Xiao family was exempted from taxes for five years.
As the male protagonist, Xiao Xun naturally survived, having narrowly escaped death. However, returning home would be a deserter, bringing only disaster to his family. With injuries all around him, he had no choice but to catch up with the army. Upon returning to the army, he was much more cautious, but the battlefield was filled with swords and spears, leaving him vulnerable to near-death experiences. When he finally returned home, all he found was an empty house and two graves.
He survived, but it was not a blessing for him.
The news of his death had already reached Xiaojia Village. His parents, believing him dead, could not bear the devastation of seeing their son die, and their health deteriorated. Furthermore, his newlywed wife discovered she was pregnant, but upon learning of his death, she aborted the child and remarried.
After two setbacks, his parents passed away. He did send a letter home, but his parents were already dead and never received it. Thus, by a strange twist of fate, they were separated forever.
Months later, Xiao Xun returned home to find himself alone. His children, parents, and wife were gone, and Xiao Xun wondered what the purpose of his survival was. He had thought his family would be reunited, but in the end, he was left alone.
Xiao Xun knew that under such circumstances, his wife's remarriage was not her fault, and his parents' death had nothing to do with his wife. He could only blame himself. What else could he do? With his husband dead, he would have to take care of two elderly people and a child. How difficult would life be in the future?
Ultimately, it wasn't his wife who caused his parents' early death, but himself. How could Xiao Xun not resent his family's destruction simply because of a disagreement between the two generals above him?
Xiao Xun blamed all the faults on himself. Although he was later promoted and given more titles and took revenge, the death of his parents and children was always a thorn in his heart, and he could not forgive himself.
He became more and more silent, and during this period, the heroine was always by his side, carefully persuading and enlightening him, and saving him.
Jiang Sijie traveled through time as the heroine. When she traveled through time, the story had just begun: Xiao Xun had joined the army, and word of his "death" had spread back to Xiaojia Village. By the time the heroine met the hero, the graves of his parents were already overgrown with grass.
It will take several more months before Xiao Xun can go home. The book says that after Sun and Xiao Dashi got married, they were unable to get pregnant for a long time and were even driven out of their home. It was not until they picked up Xiao Xun that they began to live a decent life and had long regarded Xiao Xun as their own child.
Although he was given the name Xun, hoping that he would find his parents and find a wife for him, he kept these old memories deep in his heart and never spoke of them. Because of this, Xiao Xun always believed that he was their biological son until he went to the capital and learned about his life after many twists and turns.
Along the way, Xiao Xun also suffered a lot.
Jiang Sijie didn't know if Sun and Xiao Dashi were still alive. If they were, they would probably be devastated. She could bring someone to treat the illness and then tell them that Xiao Xun was still alive. Even if her daughter-in-law beat the child and remarried, there was still Xiao Xun, so there was still hope.
When Jiang Sijie read this book, she felt that Xiao Xun was too pitiful. He was orphaned at a young age, his family was broken up, and he was picked up when he was still young. After a few years of reunion, his parents passed away and his wife and children were separated. She couldn't understand why the author insisted on giving the male protagonist such a fate. Could it be that only in suffering can flowers bloom?
When his parents found him, they named him "Xun," hoping he would find his biological parents someday. With the weight of several lives on his shoulders, he searched for years, but his family had long since turned to dust.
By the end of the novel, Xiao Xun has achieved success and revenge, but he has nothing left.
Jiang Sijie thought that if she could save Xiao Xun's parents, it would be a comfort to Xiao Xun. If she really couldn't make it in time, then there was nothing she could do. She had tried her best, and the rest would be up to fate.
Regarding the fact that his wife beat the child and remarried, Jiang Sijie felt that it was indeed not Xiao Xun's wife's fault and did not blame her.
Jiang Sijie came from the modern era and knew that she could have children if she wanted to, and not have them if she didn't. How could he use Xiao Xun's bloodline to coerce her? He also knew the difficulties of a widow raising a child and two elderly people in this era.
Besides, Xiao Xun and she were married blindly and had no love for each other. Xiao Xun passed away just three days after their marriage. Could it be that she really had to give birth to the child and spend her life guarding Xiao Xun's tablet? Xiao Xun suffered, but his wife also suffered because she lost her husband just after their marriage.
In the novel, Xiao Xun didn't die, but if he really died, wouldn't he have to spend his whole life raising children in misery? Xiao Xun is pitiful, and so is his wife.
Jiang Sijie held her chin and sighed. She felt sorry for Xiao Xun when she read the book, so she just wanted to follow the plot of the novel. Besides, Xiao Xun was a noble person and had disregarded his own safety for the people many times.
In this era, it is better to marry Xiao Xun than to marry someone else blindly. Besides, in the book, the heroine is Xiao Xun's salvation. If the heroine is not there, how can Xiao Xun survive? I am afraid that there will be no joy in his life.
But the best way to redeem him was not to persuade and enlighten him, but to let his family live well. No matter how much she did or how deeply she persuaded him, it would not be as good as letting Xiao Xun see that his parents were still alive.
The Xiao family elders were probably terminally ill at the moment, and she had come too late to stop his wife from having an abortion. Jiang Sijie was also thankful that she had come through at this time. If she had come a few months earlier, she didn't know whether she should have told him.
Tell him that his wife Xiao Xun is not dead, so the child may be left behind. His wife is waiting for Xiao Xun to come back, and she, the heroine, has nothing to do with Xiao Xun anymore.
But if he didn't tell her, Jiang Sijie couldn't get over it. Now it would be best if Xiao Xun's parents could be saved and the plot would follow the book.
Jiang Sijie felt that the best thing about this novel was that Xiao Xun's wife was not portrayed as a vicious female supporting character, and she never pestered Xiao Xun because he was later given a higher official title.
Jiang Sijie didn't want that either. Since she had decided to remarry, she should just live her own life. If you can't share the hardships, how can you share the happiness?
She glanced out the window. "May the rain stop soon?" she thought. "One more day of delay would put his parents in danger." She thought about sending a servant to deliver the message, but she was worried he wouldn't be able to find it, and she was also worried that Xiao Xun's parents wouldn't believe her.
This was hope, and it was also the last straw. During this period, countless people told them that Xiao Xun might not be dead, but their hopes were shattered bit by bit. If ordinary people had said this, the two of them would definitely not believe it, and it would have made the situation worse.
Jiang Sijie felt that this was also fate. The male and female protagonists in the book met in the capital. After she came here, she asked carefully and found out that her original body had relatives in Xuzhou, so she came here.
The weather is very cold, I hope Yu An doesn’t let it rain, so as not to make life more difficult for the two of them.
It rained in Yu'an County today, too. The autumn rain brought a chill, so Sun and Xiao Dashi couldn't set up their stall. They had to clean up, and couldn't wait until the day of business.
The grease in the kitchen needed to be wiped clean, otherwise cooking would be too messy and uncomfortable to look at. Xiao Dashi bought firewood to fill the warehouse, and also bought some charcoal. While it was raining, he checked the roof tiles for leaks.
It looks good at first glance, with no leaks.
It rained today, but business is good anyway. There are customers coming even on rainy days. This is the advantage of having a shop. If you set up a stall, you can't go out on rainy days. It's different with a place sheltered from the wind and rain. There are fewer people on rainy days, but you can still make money.
Lin Qiuran's belly was too big to go out, so she cooked at home today. After two days of earning over a thousand coins, she could still afford to buy some meat for her family. Xiao Dashi got up early and bought some meat and vegetables, and Lin Qiuran was busy at home preparing them.
It was cold today, so Lin Qiuran took out the clay pot and planned to have hot pot. In this era, it was forbidden to slaughter oxen for farming, so eating beef hot pot was out of the question.
Xiao Dashi bought three tomatoes, a chicken and a pound of mutton from the street for eight cents per pound. This was Lin Qiuran's request, as she planned to eat sour soup hotpot.
Remove the broiler chicken and use the bones to make soup. These chickens are all domestic, so the meat is tender and chewy, perfect for hot pot later. For a sour soup, Lin Qiuran found some pickled peppers and mustard greens from home, stir-fried them with fermented rice wine and tomatoes, and finally poured the stewed chicken broth into the soup to enhance the flavor.
There was lamb and chicken, but there was more chicken. Lin Qiuran chose the tougher chicken breast, marinated it, coated it with batter, and fried it. Dipping it in chili powder, it was crispy and delicious.
The vegetables were carrots and potatoes. Sun had picked a lot of mustard greens earlier, so there was something to eat. There were also tofu and bean curd skin as side dishes, not much of each, but they were fresh and new to try.
After everything was washed and laid out, Lin Qiuran looked at the table and felt it wasn't quite enough, so she steamed some rice. The family had plenty of rice, but whole grains were good for the body, so she added some sweet potato rice. She felt that having more would make the flavors richer.
At noon, Sun and Xiao Dashi returned.
After walking back from the shop for a while, their shoes were wet. Sun smiled and said, "Everything has been cleaned up. I think business is pretty good here. Even in the rain, people still come here."
Lin Qiuran smiled and said, "Even if it rains, there are umbrellas. Some families still have donkey carts and horse carriages, so there are still people going out. Mom, you two should change your clothes and let's eat first."
Sun nodded. As soon as she entered the room, she smelled a sour and spicy smell. There was a charcoal stove on the table, and on it was an uncovered clay pot with red liquid inside.
The smell was sour and spicy. Sun Shi was not very hungry. She had eaten a cake before going out in the morning, but when she smelled this, she couldn't help swallowing her saliva, "Okay, let's eat first!"
Xiao Dashi also glanced at the table. The charcoal stove was still blazing. "Can this be cooked and eaten at the same time?"
Lin Qiuran nodded. "Well, since it's going to rain today, I thought I'd eat something hot."
Xiao Dashi felt it was good to be warm. The two of them changed their clothes. Sun washed her hands and went to serve the meal. Lin Qiuran moved the chairs a little further before sitting down. Sun and Xiao Dashi went out in the morning, so she took her time to busy herself with these things. She felt quite accomplished in making such a table.
Sun and Xiao Dashi had never eaten these before, so Lin Qiuran took another pair of chopsticks and put the mutton and chicken in to cook.
After it is cooked, dip it in the dipping sauce made of chili powder, minced garlic and sour soup, and it tastes sour and spicy.
The two watched Lin Qiuran eat like this and followed his example. Sun picked up the chopsticks she used to pick up meat and vegetables, and dipped them into the sauce after they were cooked.
This is really novel. I felt a little cold after coming back from the rain, but after eating a few bites, I felt warm.
Lin Qiuran had had sour soup hotpot before, and this was a simplified version. It was delicious, but lacked some of the flavor. For example, it lacked the litsea cubeba, so it wasn't spicy enough, and the tomatoes weren't pickled, so they lacked a fermented flavor.
The most important thing is that there is no beef roll, and the fresh-cut meat is not enough to absorb the soup. However, this time I boiled chicken soup and added it in, which is more delicious and tastes good.
Sun thought the pot was sour and spicy, stimulating the appetite without being greasy. Especially when the vegetables were added to it and soaked up the sour broth, it was even more appetizing and went well with rice.
Before she knew it, Lin Qiuran had eaten two bowls of rice. When she realized what was happening, Sun was about to serve her more. She hurriedly said, "Mom, I'm full."
Seeing that she was really full, Sun didn't go to get more rice.
After a full meal, Lin Qiuran didn't feel like moving, so he leaned against a chair to rest for a while, and asked about the situation at the shop. He had to set up the stall to make money, so he didn't rush to open the shop. If it was rented, every day of operation would increase the rent.
The shop has a good location, with two restaurants around it, a teahouse and a jewelry shop next to it, so there is no shortage of customers.
The problem wasn't the source of customers, but how to convert them into customers for the Xiao family. The Xiao family stall had repeat customers, but if they opened a shop, they wouldn't be able to sell by the kilogram like they did at a street stall. The price would go up, and those who only bought half a kilogram of meat or only vegetables probably wouldn't come back to the shop to eat.
Lin Qiuran wanted to set a suitable price based on the price of meat throughout the year, otherwise, like the last time when the vegetable prices increased, he would have to go directly.
Today is the eighth day of October. It might snow in November. It would be too tiring to set up a stall to sell vegetables.
Although there's no rush, it's best to settle the shop deal sooner rather than later. I can't wait until it's cold and I don't want to go out before I start doing business there. Everything needs to be prepared in advance, vegetables, meat, and running a restaurant is a lot more involved.
If there is a shop, it will definitely be open for business at noon and at night. Lin Qiuran plans to prepare the main dishes in advance, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. After the price increase, there will be fewer customers, so he can make less.
Keep it heated and eat it directly when the guests come. It can be considered as pre-made, but it will not be made a day in advance, which does not affect the taste of the dish.
The amount will be increased or decreased depending on how the business is. Lin Qiuran’s only worry now is that she is the only one running the shop, and there are too few varieties of dishes, so the customers will not be satisfied.
If Lin Qiuran went to a restaurant with several friends, but the boss said there were only three dishes, Lin Qiuran would not think that the food in the restaurant was delicious or unique, but would think that he would not come if there were not enough dishes.
After all, there had to be over twenty dishes on the menu for customers to order. The dishes needed also had to be prepared in advance. Lin Qiuran was thankful that it was cold now, so the vegetables wouldn't spoil easily. She planned to add braised fish, pickled fish, ginger duck, and boiled pork slices, in addition to the braised pork and braised lamb that the Xiao family was selling.
There are fewer vegetables now, so vegetarian dishes are still mainly potatoes and radishes. Hot and sour shredded potatoes and crispy rice potatoes can be added to the menu.
Lin Qiuran can still cook now, and Sun will help him with the main dishes. When he has enough money, he will buy someone to be an apprentice, but it is better to hire one now.
There were many ways to make tofu dishes. Lin Qiuran suddenly thought of growing bean sprouts and adding them to the boiled pork slices. Even though it was cold now, he wasn't sure if they would sprout.
She had someone in mind for hiring, but she had just had a new baby who was only two months old, so she didn't know if the baby was willing to work.
In addition to the helpers, Lin Qiuran also wanted to hire an older, clean person to wash the dishes and mop the floor. Sun's Xiao Dashi would be in charge of waiting tables, collecting bills, and doing some other odd jobs.
As Lin Qiuran thought about serving the dishes, he remembered that the Xu family's shop had tables and chairs, but not bowls and chopsticks. There was no need for bowls and chopsticks at home, so he had to prepare them himself.
There is also a plaque, which needs to be made by someone, and the name will be Xiao Family Restaurant.
Lin Qiuran had rested enough, so he let Sun and Xiao Dashi eat slowly. He went back to his room and wrote down all the things on paper. He did them one by one so he wouldn't forget.
Dishwasher Lin Qiuran approached Zhao Guangcai, who was in charge of selling the house but also hired workers. He hired a temporary worker to do the work of washing dishes and mopping the floor. The worker would come in at 5 p.m. and leave after finishing his work. Lin Qiuran didn't care about the rest of the time, but paid him eight cents a day.
The wages were cheap, but the job was popular, so Zhao Guangcai chose the one with the quickest hands and the best character. He was the one who introduced the person, so if something went wrong later, he would lose face. The man's surname was Liu, and he was about the same age as Sun. He could move over once the business opened.
Lin Qiuran asked Xiao Dashi to buy bowls and chopsticks. They were ordinary-looking plates and bowls, and the most important thing was that they were clean and easy to clean.
Lin Qiuran also drafted the menu. She added several soy-based dishes, such as tofu stuffed with meat, stir-fried bean curd, and minced meat tofu. There were no vegetables, as the family mostly ate tofu.
Lin Qiuran compared the prices of various restaurants. Most meat dishes cost 40 to 70 cents per portion, and the portion size was a little over one jin but less than two jin. For example, a portion of chicken, fish, or duck was about half a bird.
After finishing these things, Lin Qiuran went to Zhao Shi's house. The person she thought of was Wan Niang. Wan Niang had a good temper, but she didn't know if she was willing.
After all, Zhao Shi is good at making money, and it's just right for Wan Niang to stay at home and take care of her daughter.
Lin Qiuran thought about asking as soon as possible. If they didn't agree, he would ask Zhao Guangcai to find someone. But Wan Niang thought about it for a while and agreed.
The temporary wage is fifteen cents a day, and meals are provided.
Wan Niang felt that it was not much, nothing compared to what Zhao Shi earned. Wan Niang couldn't explain why she agreed. She sometimes felt that Lin Qiuran was very pitiful. Without her husband, she had to rely on herself for everything. She looked more than five months pregnant, and she was still very busy with this and that.
But she also felt that it was good for her to be able to make money. Seeing Lin Qiuran like this, she didn't want to stay at home all day. At least she could earn fifteen cents a day by working outside, and the family could buy more meat. Besides, the shop also provided meals. Lin Qiuran's cooking was so delicious. If she could bring some back, Zhao Shi would be able to eat better.
Her mother takes care of the children, so the family doesn't need two people. If there are more children, that's another matter.
Lin Qiuran said that she would come again before the shop opened. Wan Niang smiled and said hello, then sent Lin Qiuran out.
When Zhao Shi came back in the evening, Wan Niang told him about this.
Zhao Shi nodded. "That's fine. It's hard work, but if I earn a little extra money, I can save a little more for the family. Your job is not bad either. Although the pay isn't much, you can eat in a restaurant. Madam Lin is a good cook. Even ordinary dishes taste good."
Wan Niang smiled and nodded, "I think so too."
By the 11th, things were almost settled.
Lin Qiuran went to the shop to prepare things for the opening, and the stall was closed for business. Sun told Aunt Yu that the Xiao family planned to open a shop.
Aunt Yu was very happy for them, and her stall moved forward, so the business of the sauce-flavored pancakes would be even better.
These days the Li family is busy from morning to night. In the morning, Aunt Yu and Dahu come out to sell. In the afternoon, she and Taohua finish the work and let Uncle Li, Dahu and Erhu come to sell it.
Uncle Li went out to work in the morning and could earn four or five hundred coins a day.
Aunt Yu had never dared to imagine such a life before. In this month, she could save several taels of silver. In a few months, she would have enough money to marry Da Hu.
Moreover, she was happy for the Xiao family and even cooked some meat in the evening, waiting for Uncle Li and Dahu to come back and eat. However, Dahu looked unhappy today.
Aunt Yu didn't notice it at first, but he didn't eat much during the meal. He didn't eat a few mouthfuls of rice for a long time. She couldn't help asking, "Why don't you eat? Mommy's cooking is not delicious."
Da Hu muttered, "Mother... Aunt Sun's family has opened a shop, so they shouldn't be short of money."
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