Chapter 43 Chapter 43: Coming to the door alone...
Now I can see with my own eyes that Xiao Xun's parents are indeed still alive.
This is naturally a good thing. After all, it is two lives. Jiang Sijie doesn't need to worry about saving their lives.
In the book, Xiao Xun's wife didn't abort the child. It was clear that Sun and Xiao Dashi were in good spirits; they weren't skinny after all, and they had smiles on their faces, looking genuinely happy, not like they were having a hard time. Jiang Sijie had seen the poor in this world, and they definitely didn't look this energetic.
Jiang Sijie saw everything he should have seen. Xiao Xun was not dead. When he found him, he would definitely live with his family. He had escaped death and finally had a happy ending.
In the book, although it is said that Xiao Xun does not hate Lin Qiuran nor loves Lin Qiuran, he is a noble person and will not abandon his wife even if they marry blindly.
Jiang Sijie's feelings for Xiao Xun are just out of sympathy for the paper man, but this is the world of a book after all, with a main storyline and a child of destiny. Will this have an impact on the future?
She didn't know whether it was because she flapped the butterfly's wings after traveling through time that affected other people's fate, or because someone traveled through the book and changed the plot, affecting other people's fate.
If it was the former, she had nothing to say, but if it was the latter… she was among them. If someone truly transmigrated into Lin Qiuran's body, knew all the plot, and chose to keep the child, what would that mean? Was it relying on the possession of Xiao Xun's child to cling to someone powerful enough to settle things later?
Jiang Sijie couldn't understand it either, because she had almost the same goal, except she was the heroine in the book, while others were the supporting actresses. Sometimes, timing is important. She was also glad that she came because she was worried that Sun and Xiao Dashi would not survive. Otherwise, she would have to wait for Xiao Xun and how long would she have to wait.
Jiang Sijie planned to go back to the inn first and figure out the matter tomorrow.
On the other side, Lin Qiuran and Sun's Xiao Dashi had already arrived home.
They had never come back so late before. Even when they were taken to the Jiang family, they came back earlier than today.
The first thing Sun did when she got home was to put her money bag inside. Then she would feed the chickens and collect eggs. She fed them once before leaving and never came back. It was cold now, and a chicken would lay an egg every two or three days, so she could collect three or four eggs a day.
Lin Qiuran watched from the side and urged, "Mom, hurry up!"
Sun looked back and saw Lin Qiuran pointing at the house. She didn't have to get up early tomorrow, so it wasn't too late for her to sleep now. She wanted to see how much money she had earned today.
Sun smiled and immediately understood what Lin Qiuran meant.
The shop didn't keep anyone there at night, so she definitely couldn't leave the money there, so she brought it all back, several thousand copper coins, including some small change. On the way back, Sun Shi felt that it was too heavy, but as soon as the thought came to her mind, she cursed herself. This was money, why would she complain about it being heavy?
You still think money is too heavy. You have had too many good days.
Sun: "Okay, okay, I'm coming right away."
Xiao Dashi also laughed. He locked the door and went to the inner room with his family to count the money.
Lin Qiuran weighed out the silver coins. There wasn't a dish on the menu that cost more than a penny, but ordering more would add up to the price. At lunch, there was a table of five people. Six dishes would have been enough, but they ordered eight. Including the meal and the wine, the total cost came to 275 wen. Sun rounded off the change, and the guests gave him two wen of silver coins and 50 wen of copper coins.
Lin Qiuran suggested rounding off the price. The change was not much, and after rounding off the price, the customers would feel it was cheap and easy to talk to, and would be willing to come next time, which could also be considered as attracting repeat customers.
This is how you do business, you have to make your customers happy.
If a table ordered less than a hundred or so wen, I'd just give them a few wen. If I couldn't afford to give them a wen, I'd say I'd bring rice wine next time. There were over twenty tables of guests at lunch, and more than ten at night. I sent two wrong dishes and didn't count the money. The change I earned today was one liang and six qian, and the rest was copper coins, a total of three thousand one hundred and twenty wen.
I didn't prepare the food accurately today, so I made too much in the afternoon and ate all the leftovers at home. This is also the cost. Calculating the profit, Lin Qiuran estimated that it was about half. If the food preparation was more accurate, the profit should be higher, up to 60%.
Because many dishes were prepared separately and there were some leftover fish and duck, it was impossible to calculate the amount based on the cash flow minus the principal. Lin Qiuran only made a rough estimate, half of the profit, and earned about two taels and three cents today.
Cooking in the kitchen, she knew exactly what she was going to sell. Lin Qiuran decided to make some simple adjustments today. She said, "Dad, we can buy less mutton tomorrow. Just stew 15 pounds a day."
Mutton is the most expensive and doesn’t sell as much as braised pork, but it’s good to eat mutton in winter, so this dish is also available.
"You can buy some more pork belly. I'm afraid we won't have enough to sell tomorrow. It wouldn't hurt to buy a few more ducks. Ginger duck is a popular dish. Also, buy an extra stove and clay pot to make ginger duck."
The ginger duck sold well because of Lin Qiuran's good cooking skills. Duck is difficult to cook and easily has a fishy smell, but Lin Qiuran's cooking does not have that. It is a golden pot. Seeing other customers order it, I also want to try it. After trying it, I found it tasted good, so I ordered it again.
In addition to braised pork, this is another signature dish of the restaurant.
Xiao Dashi nodded, he still preferred to buy things.
Lin Qiuran said, "The pickled fish is also selling well. We need more fish."
Keep it in a bucket of water, and kill it when you need it.
I used to have to be very frugal with my money, but now that I’m making money, I can invest it back into the shop to make the customers’ meals more comfortable. Basically, they can get whatever they want when they come.
Lin Qiuran thought of something else. "Also, I think the lobby is a bit dim with just candles. I need to buy some lamps and a charcoal basin."
Now that it's not too cold, all the dishes are hot and very comfortable to eat. But when winter comes, a charcoal brazier is essential.
Lin Qiuran said, "Please buy four charcoal basins and a hot water bottle for me."
Xiao Dashi nodded, and Lin Qiuran gave him all the coins. She kept the small change, as the family also needed to save money. If they saved it slowly, they might be able to buy something before the New Year.
I'll ask about recruiting tomorrow. The wages for waiters are definitely cheap, but I don't think the boss can earn just a few cents a day.
It costs a lot of money to recruit people, and all of this has to be included in the cost. The price of vegetables has been fixed and it is impossible to increase it again, so Lin Qiuran wants to save costs as much as possible. As long as the people are reliable, the price should be cheaper.
Lin Qiuran thought about this for the time being. Seeing that there was nothing else to think about, Sun urged her to go to bed. "It's getting late. We have to work tomorrow. If we don't get enough rest, we won't have energy tomorrow."
Lin Qiuran nodded, washed herself, and went to bed. If she could come back at this time tomorrow and find the waiter, she would ask Sun to come back early to boil water. She wanted to take a bath.
The next day, the family went to the shop at the same time as yesterday.
Lin Qiuran only needed to season the stewed meat; Wanniang and Sun Shi could do the rest. However, she still had to fry the fish herself, as others' frying didn't look good. She prepared the other dishes slowly, and then started cooking at noon.
Lin Qiuran is in charge of preparing all the freshly cooked dishes. Taste is important in a restaurant. If customers come and taste the food, the taste may vary, some delicious and some unpalatable, they will definitely not want to come again next time.
That's how moneymaking days went, the same old routine, with Wanniang going out to feed the children and then returning to her work. Last night, she brought home a good amount of mutton, which Zhao Shi ate with great delight. He even said that including the meal, his daily wages were more than fifteen wen, perhaps thirty or forty.
Zhao Shi: "After a month, they're almost catching up with me. I have to work harder."
This made Wan Niang laugh.
Sun and Xiao Dashi were busy up ahead, so Lin Qiuran went to look for Zhao Guangcai. Zhao Guangcai said he'd keep an eye out for her, but he wouldn't say when he'd be able to find her. Given how much time it took to find Aunt Liu, it would probably take two or three days.
During this period, Sun and Xiao Dashi will have to take more care.
Most guests came in groups of three or five. Yesterday, no one came, but today one came. And not just one person, this guest brought a maid and attendants with him.
It was a young lady with a maid standing behind her and guards guarding the door. When she sat down, the maid wiped the table and chairs for her. She was obviously a lady from a wealthy family.
It seems out of place in a small eatery.
This was the first time that Sun and Xiao Dashi had seen such a grand scene, because they had never seen any members of the Jiang family the last time they were at the Jiang family.
Sun stuttered a little, "Sir... first, take a look at the menu and see what to eat."
Jiang Sijie glanced at Sun. She was very neat, but it was obvious that she had lived a hard life in the past. She didn't look like she was in her forties, but more like she was in her fifties. Compared to her mother, she was much older.
She nodded slightly and looked at the menu carefully. She had been traveling all these days and had no time to learn to read and write. However, some characters in traditional and simplified Chinese were the same, so she could recognize the dishes by looking at them together.
There were all kinds of dishes, but they were all common in restaurants and hotels, like braised pork and braised fish... Jiang Sijie had eaten them several times while traveling. There were also some things she had never seen or eaten, but they had nothing to do with modern things.
If it was barbecue or milk tea, she could recognize at a glance that they were from modern times, but these dishes made Jiang Sijie not so sure.
Maybe he is just a good cook, after all, there are many restaurants on the street that sell these.
Jiang Sijie watched for too long. There were other customers waiting, so the restaurant only had Sun and Xiao Dashi serving as waiters. Sun couldn't help but ask, "Miss, what do you want to eat?"
Jiang Sijie looked up and smiled at Sun, saying, "Let's have braised pork, pickled fish, a braised food platter, and some shredded cabbage."
Jiang Sijie was still looking at the menu, wondering what else to add. Some of the dishes were indeed novel, but that couldn't be said to be unavailable in this era. Besides, the original book was a fictional one, and the dynasty was called Yue Dynasty, which wasn't even mentioned in history books.
She ordered the braised food platter because she wanted to see if it was the duck products that are everywhere on the streets nowadays, or the sweet and spicy flavor of a certain type of duck. Those things didn't exist in this era. If so, it was basically certain that Lin Qiuran was a time traveler.
Seeing that Sun and Xiao Dashi were busy outside, the person who cooked must be Lin Qiuran. If Lin Qiuran was not a time traveler, Jiang Sijie should think about what to do next.
Xiao Xun was a good person, he had a wife and a family, not to mention that he was not the type to abandon his benefactor, even if the two of them had no feelings for each other, he would not do anything to let Lin Qiuran down. As for Jiang Sijie himself, he would not think that the two of them had no feelings for each other and interfere, that would be a mistress.
Her mind was full of thoughts, and when she was about to order more, Mrs. Sun spoke up, "Miss, our dishes are quite large. If you want to eat alone, two dishes are enough. You can try more flavors, but if you order too much, you won't be able to finish it."
Jiang Sijie was stunned for a moment, then she nodded, "That's all, and another bowl of rice."
Sun first brought a pot of rice wine, and soon the braised food platter arrived. Jiang Sijie's heart tightened, but he quickly relaxed. It wasn't braised duck, but a combination of pig's head, liver, and pig's ears. It didn't taste sweet or spicy, but simply fragrant. Some guests even had pig skin jelly on their tables, with dipping sauces nearby. Every table was enjoying the meal.
Lin Qiuran is a very good cook and his dishes are delicious.
Jiang Sijie tasted the rice wine; it was sweet and not overly alcoholic.
Soon, the braised pork arrived, along with a bowl of rice. This kind of dish should be eaten with rice, otherwise it would become greasy if eaten too much alone. Even though Lin Qiuran's cooking was fat but not greasy, it was not good to eat it all the time.
Jiang Sijie didn't eat much yesterday and was starving now. Although she came here for other purposes, she was really hungry.
She took a bite of the braised pork and was amazed at how delicious it was. Not only was it better than what was sold at several inns and restaurants, it was also better than what the Jiang family chef cooked. It was so fragrant! No wonder the restaurant was doing so well.
When Jiang Sijie first arrived, there were still seats available in the lobby, but in just a short while, they were all occupied.
If you want to eat, you have to wait. But if you have to wait and watch others eat, it would be too uncomfortable. People inside are eating heartily, while people outside can only watch. She felt that the shop was not big enough, but there were only three of them. If there were more, it would be too busy.
After eating a few pieces of braised pork, Jiang Sijie ate half a bowl of rice. When the pickled fish and hand-shredded cabbage came, Jiang Sijie's eyes lit up again after tasting them. The pickled fish was sour and spicy, which was appetizing, but it was not a modern dish.
Because Yu'an is located in the south, if Lin Qiuran makes an iron pot stew here, she will definitely suspect that she is a time traveler. However, there is sauerkraut here. As the saying goes, "live by the mountain, eat by the mountain; live by the water, eat by the water." Jiang Sijie has no way of finding out when this dish appeared.
The stir-fried cabbage is a simple dish with lard in it. It tastes sour, spicy and fragrant, and the lard is crispy. Jiang Sijie ate a few pieces.
It seems that the Xiao family didn't have a greenhouse to grow vegetables for sale, so they couldn't be a time traveler. Jiang Sijie ate while looking at the shop. There was no decoration, only long benches, very simple and generous. From what Jiang Sijie saw now, he couldn't find any trace of Lin Qiuran's time travel.
It was rice wine, not milk tea. Jiang Sijie breathed a sigh of relief. Let's eat first and think about other things after eating.
Sun was right. The dishes in the Xiao family restaurant were generous in portion, and one person could not finish four dishes at all. Jiang Sijie had already eaten a lot today, but most of the braised pork was still left, and there was still a lot of fish and pickled cabbage in the big pot of pickled fish. The same went for the braised food platter. There was already a lot of stir-fried cabbage, but it felt like nothing was eaten after he finished it.
But she had already eaten two bowls of rice and really couldn't eat any more. The Jiang family was well-off, and she had never lacked food or clothing since Jiang Sijie came. There were also times when she ate less.
She thought about packing it up and taking it home to eat. If she heated it up, it would definitely not taste good. The maids would eat when they had their shifts.
The other guests were still waiting. Jiang Sijie put down a piece of silver, about half an ounce, and said, "Check out."
Sun asked for change, but Jiang Sijie said, "No need for change, but I have a request. Auntie, I have something I want to ask. I wonder if I can meet with the restaurant cook later... After you finish your business, I will wait in the teahouse next door. If the cook doesn't want to meet, that's fine."
Now that she was here, she still wanted to see what kind of person Lin Qiuran was and whether he was good to Sun and Xiao Dashi.
Although she had no right to say this now, she didn't want Xiao Dashi and Sun Shi to get hurt. Besides, her family was better off anyway, so she wouldn't mind if the Xiao family helped.
Sun was stunned for a moment, but she accepted the money. After all, there were some generous customers who gave her tips.
They are doing business, so more money is naturally better. Jiang Sijie spent less than two coins on this meal, but gave half a tael of silver, which is a good thing for the Xiao family.
After clearing the table, Sun went to the kitchen to find Lin Qiuran and briefly explained the matter.
Lin Qiuran said, "Didn't you tell me your purpose?"
Sun shook her head. "No, but it doesn't matter if I say I won't go."
Lin Qiuran thought it was the owner of some shop, "Mom, tell me, I'll go over and take a look when I'm done."
Sun nodded, and when she went out to serve the dishes, she glanced at the泔水袋 and thought it was a pity.
All the leftovers from Jiang Sijie's meal went into the slop bucket. If the family had a dog, they could feed it, but the Xiao family didn't have a dog, so they definitely wouldn't eat the leftovers. Even if they looked untouched, they were still leftovers. If helpers came later and saw a lot of leftovers, they wouldn't be able to take them home.
If the food is really taken away, the guests will worry whether it will be served on a different plate. This situation should be avoided if possible.
When running a restaurant, customers should feel safe eating in the kitchen. The kitchen should not be visible while the food is being cooked, so the front should be clean.
Lin Qiuran thought that since she didn't have a man at home, she could get a dog, either at the shop or at home. After all, when she was out, she worried about her family, and when she got home, she worried about the shop. If she got a big wolfdog, it would help prevent trouble. She also had children, and if she understood human nature, she could protect them.
But business is busy now, so let's talk about raising a dog later. The restaurant is too busy to have the time to find a dog.
The busy afternoon was quickly finished. After eating and washing his face, Lin Qiuran went to the teahouse next door. Cooking inevitably produces fumes, and there were no range hoods in that era.
After all, she was meeting a guest, so she had to dress neatly. When she arrived at the teahouse, a maid took her upstairs.
Yesterday, Jiang Sijie only looked at her in the car and could see that Lin Qiuran was pregnant and had a big belly, but he couldn't see anything else clearly because it was dark.
But today, when Lin Qiuran came in from outside, she saw him clearly. Lin Qiuran was wearing a cloth dress, and his hair was wrapped in a cloth.
Her forehead and temples were slightly damp, and her expression was calm. Furthermore, Lin Qiuran was very beautiful, with willow-shaped eyebrows and almond-shaped eyes, and no makeup, which gave her a natural and unadorned beauty. Her large belly added to her graceful and elegant beauty, making her entire temperament seem particularly gentle.
Like a mother, one can't help but want to get closer.
Jiang Sijie's voice couldn't help but soften. "You must be Madam Lin, right? My last name is Jiang, and my given name is Sijie."
Lin Qiuran heard the last name Jiang, but she didn't think of the dim sum shop, because Wufangzhai was handled by the Xu family, and they wouldn't be able to find her. "I won't say much, Miss Jiang should know that I'm the cook at the Xiao family restaurant."
Jiang Sijie hummed, "Sit down first."
There was no surprise in her eyes when she looked at Lin Qiuran. It was most likely that she had never heard of her name. If she had really read the original book, there would be some surprise in her eyes. It seemed that Lin Qiuran thought she was here to discuss business.
Jiang Sijie said: "Mrs. Lin may have misunderstood. I am not here to discuss business. I just heard about your family and admire you, so I want to say a few words to you."
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Please irrigate [Come on][Cat head][Panda head]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
