Chapter 48 Chapter 48 Buying someone to make a living...
Xu Yuanheng nodded. "I'm glad you like it. The Xu family also deals in porcelain. If you need it, just tell Manager Xu directly. He'll give you a discount."
Lin Qiuran: "Thank you, Second Young Master."
I might consider adding a business on the second floor in the future so that the plates and bowls for banquets can be more attractive. Once I make more money, I'll replace everything on the first floor as well.
Xu Yuanheng said, "Now that we're partners, there's no need to keep thanking me."
Lin Qiuran followed suit and didn't mention it anymore. She thought of Jiang Sijie. Wasn't it said that the Jiang family in the county town and the Jiang family in Xuzhou were relatives? What if that side... However, Xu Yuanheng took over the Jiang family's business in just a few days. Naturally, he was not a fool who only knew how to make money but not how to manage it.
If the Jiang family really had someone to back them, then Xu Yuanheng definitely had one too. She didn't need to worry about what happened next. Lin Qiuran felt a little relieved, no longer having to worry about the Jiang family coming after her.
The Jiang family's misfortune had nothing to do with her, and not all the people working in the Jiang family shop were good people. She couldn't do business like this in the future, and she had to make money with conscience.
Xu Yuanheng was about to leave. Before he left, he looked upstairs. He could hear some noise, crackling. It wasn't dinner time yet, so it wouldn't disturb the guests. He asked, "Is the second floor being renovated?"
Lin Qiuran nodded. "Well, the restaurant business is pretty good. I figured the second floor is just sitting there anyway, so why not put it to use? Then when the Second Young Master comes over, he won't have to squeeze in downstairs."
Xu Yuanheng's eyes flashed with a smile, and he wasn't at all reluctant to offer advice. He said, "It's a bit noisy. It won't affect the restaurant's business, but we still have to do business. I'll have Manager Xu bring a few boxes of dim sum, and you can have someone deliver them."
Lin Qiuran nodded. Manager Xu used to always bring snacks home, so she decided to give him some money.
Xu Yuanheng asked again: "Do you mind if I go to the second floor to take a look?"
Lin Qiuran shook her head. She had only been to a restaurant with private rooms with Xu Yuanheng. Moreover, based on her previous experience, she felt like a blind man crossing a river. It would be best if Xu Yuanheng could offer some constructive suggestions.
The second floor is still in the demolition stage. The wooden floor must be removed first, otherwise it will be difficult to build the wall.
There was a lot of dust, but Xu Yuanheng still walked in and said, "Nine small tables can be placed downstairs, and upstairs can only hold four round tables. Let's make four private rooms, two bright rooms and two dark rooms."
Lin Qiuran: "In the dark?"
Xu Yuanheng: "As the name suggests, the main room is one where you can open the windows and doors frequently. It's spacious and bright, and you can see guests dining at the tables from downstairs. Even men and women sitting at the same table are very open and honest."
"The dark room is for private meetings and must be soundproof. If the open room is full, you can eat here."
There are some things that others cannot bear to hear, so you have to come to places like this.
Xu Yuanheng said, "It should look similar from the outside, so give it a nicer name. And don't put a small table upstairs, as it will be noisy and disturbing."
Lin Qiuran originally planned to make the private room of similar size, and then put two small tables on the top, so that people who came downstairs could eat upstairs.
But Xu Yuanheng also had a point. She nodded and took note of it.
Xu Yuanheng looked around and said, "Manager Xu will come over later and let him do it."
Lin Qiuran said, "Why is it so troublesome?"
Xu Yuanheng smiled and said, "He's just looking for someone to do it. He's done this before, so it's better than you trying to figure it out bit by bit. Besides, it's not like you won't pay."
Lin Qiuran was truly grateful at this moment, "Second Young Master, since I won't let you say thank you, then when this is done, you must do me the honor of coming to dinner."
Xu Yuanheng didn't nod, but just asked: "Are the dishes all the same?"
Lin Qiuran said, "There will be new dishes. If we prepare a banquet, it will definitely be different from the ones downstairs."
Custom dishes can be added, but they must be requested a few days in advance. For example, Xu Yuanheng likes to eat fresh seafood, so if you invite him to dinner, these will definitely be included. The restaurant's dishes are quite good, but for those with a wealthy family, eating once is a novelty, and they prefer something more exquisite.
Delicacies from mountains and seas, different kinds of meat. Lin Qiuran has only cooked chicken, duck, fish, and pork so far... These, as well as delicious meats such as rabbit meat and donkey meat, can all be used to make dishes.
Xu Yuanheng nodded. Lin Qiuran was good at cooking. Although he was still new to running a shop, he didn't need to give any advice on the dishes. He said, "The restaurant business will definitely get better and better."
Lin Qiuran: "Thank you for your kind words, Second Young Master."
Not long after Xu Yuanheng left, Manager Xu came. He moved things in twice. He went to two shops on the left and right. One of them prepared two boxes of snacks and a spice gift box. Each box contained two bottles of thirteen spices and two bottles of fresh mushrooms. The bottles were small, but well packaged, and it looked like the things were not cheap.
Lin Qiuran didn't open the snacks to take a look. He would send them over later. Lin Qiuran wanted to give money to Manager Xu. If he bought so many things by himself, it would cost several taels of silver.
But Manager Xu waved his hands repeatedly, not daring to accept the money. "Oh, Madam Lin, you're being too polite. You're in business with us, so these things should be sent home regularly. I was so busy a few days ago that I forgot. Please don't take it to heart."
Leave the decoration to me, and I'll report it directly to Madam Lin. We've hired someone who's worked for the Xu family before, so they're definitely reliable and the price is cheaper. If you're not satisfied, Madam Lin can tell me directly. The only thing is that this job requires meals, so you don't have to eat at a restaurant. One meat and one vegetable dish, generous portions, will be enough."
Lin Qiuran nodded and handed the gift-delivering job to Shopkeeper Shi. Shopkeeper Shi was happy to do it, and since the Xu family's steward was capable, he couldn't appear too useless.
Shopkeeper Shi went to two nearby shops and said something nice to them. The customers there greeted him with smiles and said they didn't mind.
After finishing the work, Manager Shi came back. Manager Xu had already taken people to the second floor, and Lin Qiuran also returned to the kitchen.
He passed the time by leaning against the counter and thinking about something. It seemed that Madam Lin and Mr. Xu had some relationship. He didn't know the specific reason, but he always felt that the second son of the Xu family had ulterior motives. It's not that he had bad intentions. After all, they were all men. If he didn't have some ulterior motives, why would he come here every few days?
Lin Qiuran is still young. She has been married and has children. If the child is born, a matchmaker will definitely come to her.
Many people don't care about this. What's wrong with having a child? Lin Qiuran is not incapable of making money. I guess Xu Yuanheng doesn't care about this either. With a large family and a large business, how much does it cost to raise another child? Even if it's someone else's.
But Lin Qiuran didn't think about this. She was busy with the shop until the end of the month.
The weather is getting colder, and restaurant business is very stable.
The second floor's renovation is expected to take another two weeks. During this time, some people have asked if they can eat upstairs. Shopkeeper Shi patiently explained, "Not yet, but it will be open in a few days. However, the second floor is a private room. If you have a large group, you can go upstairs to order food, or you can order a few days in advance. We also accept reservations, but for a maximum of four tables. We will not only have the dishes on the menu, but we will also prepare dishes according to the guests' requests."
This also solved the problem of Lin Qiuran being the only cook and unable to make business in the restaurant. Cooking in the restaurant was just a little more busy, and there was no need to run around twice. It was also a hassle-free solution for the customers, as they didn't have to prepare the food or clean up after themselves. The environment was quiet and undisturbed, the plates and other items were all provided, and the food was delicious.
The big restaurant also has private rooms. In comparison, the food at Xiao’s Restaurant tastes better and is cheaper.
Even if the county restaurant is worried about the Xiao family's restaurant getting bigger and bigger, there is nothing they can do now. Xu Yuanheng has been here, and Manager Xu comes here often, so it is not good to offend the Xu family.
It’s not that no one wanted to hire Lin Qiuran to work there before, but they were discouraged when they heard that she would charge eight cents of silver a day for preparing banquets. If she only charged eight cents a day and set up her own stall, if they really hired her, they would have to pay at least ten taels of silver a month for her to be willing to come.
Moreover, most of the chefs in large restaurants are men, and there are few female cooks. Besides, the master-apprentice inheritance is strict, and there is an unwritten division between the master chef and the second chef in a restaurant. With the arrival of Lin Qiuran, the original balance would be broken, so he gave up the idea.
I didn't take it seriously at first, but now that the Xiao family restaurant occupies a corner and business is good, it is even more impossible to invite Lin Qiuran over.
However, some people also thought that there was only Lin Qiuran in the restaurant. Even if she was good at cooking banquets and could make big pot dishes as delicious as stir-fries, there would be times when she was too busy to handle the large number of customers.
Lin Qiuran used to worry about this, but not anymore.
After more than half a month, Zhao Guangcai finally took a liking to the two girls and brought them directly to the shop. One was fourteen years old and the other twelve years old, and both had been sold by their families.
Zhao Guangcai said, "They both work hard at home. They are honest and hardworking. They can do laundry and cooking without any problem. You can choose which one."
Lin Qiuran asked, "...how much is it?"
Zhao Guangcai: "The small one is ten taels, the big one is eight taels. The younger one is still more expensive. At this age, you can still remember things. If you didn't say you wanted someone who could work, the younger one would definitely be better. But since I have the indenture, I don't have to worry."
Lin Qiuran was a little puzzled, then listened to Zhao Guangcai say, "They're pitiful. Their family only gave them a few taels of silver, and it was to help their brothers find wives. They went back home a few times, and then they sent them here."
If they didn't want to be sold, they would run back home, but the money had been taken and the contract of sale had been signed, so they would be sent back.
The older one was even beaten.
Lin Qiuran saw that the two men looked timid, with pale faces, thin bodies, rough hands, and no light in their eyes.
When I was at home, I wanted to work more and eat less, but my family sold them. Even so, I still wanted to go back, after all, they were my parents.
Lin Qiuran felt sympathetic for a moment, then asked, "Where do you live?"
Zhao Guangcai said that he came from somewhere else, not Xuzhou, and asked her to find someone else.
Zhao Guangcai mentioned a place name that Lin Qiuran had never heard of. "Don't worry, it's far away. We are also afraid of getting involved with their family again."
Zhao Guangcai whispered to Lin Qiuran, "But he's given up. He ran back, hugged his parents' thighs, and said he didn't want to leave. He said he could do more work and eat less or even nothing. But they still sent him here."
Zhao Guangcai didn't mention the others. He only mentioned the ugly ones. The good ones were sold and suffered a worse fate. Lin Qiuran pondered for a moment and said, "I'll buy them all."
Twenty taels was enough for the decoration, making it very elegant and also buying some beautiful porcelain. Xu Yuanheng took forty-five taels as his share, and Lin Qiuran had sixteen taels from the restaurant's profits, which was enough to buy food for two people.
Now that they were not short of money, one of them helped out in the shop, and the other stayed at home to look after the house. The older one, Lin Qiuran, taught her how to cook, while the younger one did the laundry and other odd jobs.
The Xiao family eats well, and I don’t know how I’d live if I went somewhere else. Lin Qiuran had to hire someone to run the shop, but he couldn’t bear to keep only one.
Just consider it fate.
The two remained expressionless when they heard Lin Qiuran say he wanted to buy them. Zhao Guangcai said, "Alright, I've been visiting them often these days. They have good personalities, and they're lucky to be with you."
Lin Qiuran thought, if she was lucky, she wouldn’t have been sold out.
Lin Qiuran and Zhao Guangcai signed the document, and a total of twenty taels of silver were given, six cents of which were Zhao Guangcai's wages, and the rest were taxes. Buying a person is like buying a house, and taxes also need to be paid.
Zhao Guangcai told Lin Qiuran to come to him if she had any problems, "Don't worry about me."
After Zhao Guangcai left, Lin Qiuran asked, "Do you have a name?"
The two of them lowered their heads in silence. After a long while, the younger one spoke, "My name is Erya."
Lin Qiuran said, "Since you've followed me, you definitely can't use your previous name anymore. From now on, you'll be called Lin Xia."
She looked at the older one again, "Your name is Lin Dong, right?"
Lin Qiuran didn't say that he treated the two of them as family members or sisters. After all, he bought them to help with work, not to bring them home to enjoy life as ladies.
Lin Qiuran asked Sun to take the two of them home to wash up, because if they wanted to work, they had to be clean.
It wasn't appropriate for Xiao Dashi to take them back; Sun had to go. This was the advantage of having more people; if the shop hadn't hired anyone, there would be nothing we could do.
There are three rooms in the house, and it is too cold to sleep on the ground, so Lin Qiuran asked Xiao Dashi to buy a wooden bed and put it in her room for her to sleep.
Originally, Lin Qiuran planned to let one of them sleep in the shop, but a girl of this age would definitely be scared to sleep alone. If she let someone sleep with Sun and Xiao Dashi stayed in the shop, then they would also be scared on the way back.
This is the time when the benefits of having a man in the family can be reflected, but the Xiao family does not have one.
When Sun returned with her people, the people sitting at the entrance of the alley asked, "Sister Sun, who are these two people?"
Sun didn't say she was a bought maid. She said, "She's a distant relative. Something happened at home, so she's living with us from now on."
Sun knew that Lin Qiuran had bought them to pass on his skills, and that they had even taken Lin Qiuran's surname, so she didn't really consider them servants. However, the Xiao family was just a small business, and they weren't buying them to keep as servants. Furthermore, it wouldn't be good to tell others about it, as they might think the Xiao family was rich enough to buy two servants.
"Are they relatives of the Xiao family? Did your son find them?"
Sun asked doubtfully, "My son?"
"I forgot who told me that, but your son is alive again. When will he come back?"
Sun said, "Think carefully about who told you this. How come I don't know about this?"
Sun was usually good-tempered, but she was a little angry at this moment. The neighbors knew that her son was gone, so what was the point of them making fun of a dead person?
Seeing Sun's unhappy expression, the man hurriedly distanced himself from the matter, "I heard this from others. They were gossiping a few days ago, and I overheard a few words. I don't know anything else. I thought it was a good thing, so I thought I'd ask you."
This has been said in the alley for a long time, but the Xiao family goes out for business, leaving early and returning late, and they don’t talk to others. If Sun hadn’t brought two people back, they wouldn’t have known about it today.
Sun hadn't thought about Xiao Xun for a long time, and she was still heartbroken when she heard this. Xiao Xun was only nineteen, such a good age, and he left just like that.
Seeing her like this, several people on the street tried to comfort her. Sun said, "It's okay. You can ask me, but don't tell Qiuran."
"Oh, don't worry."
"Who is so shameless as to spread such gossip?"
"Sister Sun, why don't you go back to the village and ask? There's no smoke without fire. What if something happens?"
Lin Xia and Lin Dong looked at each other. They had heard about the Xiao family from Zhao Guangcai. Lin Xia was younger, so she comforted Sun, "Auntie, don't be sad."
Sun thought it was all a mess, but it was just bad luck. Even if Xiao Xun was gone, the family would be fine.
Sun wiped her eyes and said, "Let's go home. Don't talk nonsense about this."
Lin Dong nodded, and Lin Xia said, "Don't worry."
Sun showed them where the well and firewood were, and gave them the small bucket Lin Qiuran had used. They put their small bags in Lin Qiuran's room and took a bath.
After washing, they didn't become unrecognizable because of their beauty, but they looked clean and tidy, and changed into new clothes, which made them look much more pleasing to the eye. The two of them naturally washed the dirty parts, and Sun didn't need to explain this.
This is also good, it is more lively when there are more people at home.
After the two of them had packed up, Sun took them to the shop. They were brought there in the afternoon, and they went to the shop just in time for the evening business.
There was no need for help in the front, so Sun took the two of them to the back. Wan Niang knew they wanted to learn how to cook. She had no relationship with Lin Qiuran, so it was good enough that she could come over to help with the work and teach her some cooking tips. As long as it didn't affect her work, it was fine. She even made room for them.
Lin Qiuran said to the two of them, "There's no rush to work today. Just watch first. Did you come here after dinner?"
The two nodded, but didn't say that they only ate two steamed buns at noon.
Lin Qiuran didn't care anymore. Lin Dong knew that she was sold to be a maid, and she had to do her job well in someone else's home, otherwise she would be sold again. Since her family was not doing well, she could only accept her fate and went to wash vegetables.
Lin Xia is young and lively, so when Wan Niang is busy, she goes to light the fire.
She'd been working since she was five or six, and now she was quite capable. Whether it was a large, medium, or small fire, she could always cook it just right. Lin Qiuran was satisfied. A few years older than Taohua, she was indeed more capable.
Business was good in the evening, and as the shop was about to close, a man came in anxiously, "Hey, can I ask you something?"
Shopkeeper Shi asked, "What's the matter?"
The visitor asked, "Does the restaurant want beef?"
A cow died in the man's hometown, of old age. His parents said it had worked for over a decade and needed a proper burial, but it was still meat, and the family needed money. But the butcher was selling it too cheaply, only fifteen yuan a pound. They said old beef tasted bad and would be hard to sell. They were right. When the family tried to cook it, it was too tough to chew.
So the man went to restaurants and hotels one by one late at night to ask if they could charge a little more.
But after asking several restaurants, they all said that the chefs didn't know how to cook. Beef is rare, so it's difficult to cook with beef. Many chefs don't know how to cook beef dishes, so buying it is useless. Also, they want one or two pounds of beef. The man was too bothersome and kept asking at the Xiao Family Restaurant.
If that doesn't work, he'll sell it to a butcher.
Shopkeeper Shi said, "I'll go ask for you."
Shopkeeper Shi called Lin Qiuran out, and Lin Qiuran asked, "How much is it?"
The man said, "If you want to separate it, the meat will be 20 cents per pound. If you don't want me to separate it, the bones will be 12 cents per pound."
Lin Qiuran said, "We need to see the meat."
It's almost November, and while it hasn't frozen yet at night, I've been told by Mrs. Sun that freezing is a common occurrence these days. If the meat is good, I'll buy it.
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The author has something to say: After writing the next plot, Xiao Xun will be back in the next chapter.
Don't be in a hurry
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