Chapter 72 Chapter 72 Returning alone...
Sun knew that the prefect was a higher official than the county magistrate. She also remembered that last year when Lin Qiuran went to the post station to cook, it was for him.
Sun had just seen Lin Qiuran carrying the glutinous rice balls over and talking to Master Zhao, so she asked anxiously, "What did the master say?"
Lin Qiuran smiled and said, "Mother, Lord Zhao said that we could make and sell that food and make it a Yu'an specialty. He also said the glutinous rice balls are excellent and that we should send him to school and learn martial arts in the future. Mother, Lord Zhao also said that there are even better academies in Xuzhou and the capital."
Sun's eyes lit up, and she couldn't stop smiling. "Then I'll have to listen to Master Zhao."
Who knows, there might be a scholar in the family who becomes an official in the future.
Lin Qiuran smiled. "Well, but Tangyuan is still young, so it's too early to talk about this. Mom, take Tangyuan back first. He must be hungry."
I've been out for a long time today, it's time to go back.
Lin Qiuran thought that if she suggested that Tangyuan go to Xuzhou to study in the future, Sun and Xiao Dashi might think it was too far. Yu'an also had a private school, and there was no need for such a young child to go to study elsewhere so early.
I never even thought about letting Tangyuan go to school.
Because Xiao Xun has never been to school and was born and raised in Xiaojia Village, Sun and Xiao Dashi probably don't have this awareness, but Zhao Jinshan is a high-ranking official, so Sun will definitely believe what he says.
Sun sighed a few times, took the dumplings, and said, "I'll be back soon."
Lin Qiuran brought their food, and Sun and Lin Xia went home with the dumplings.
After a busy morning, they also had to eat. Manager Shi was busy serving dishes and rice. "You said, our restaurant has also been patronized by the prefect."
Zhao Xing said, "Of course not. It will bring honor to our family. Madam Lin was talking to Lord Zhao. Well, I said that too."
Shopkeeper Shi said, "Then I'll still serve the dishes."
As they ate and chatted, the common people found it quite novel to see an official, especially one from outside. They looked different from ordinary people, but they also had two eyes and one nose.
Lin Qiuran watched them chatting and laughing, and he felt relieved. "Alright, alright, let's eat quickly, or the food will get cold soon."
After dinner, Zhao Xing and Lu Fan packed up. Manager Shi did not leave. He had to check the accounts of last month and sign the profit-sharing document with Lin Qiuran.
This was supposed to be done yesterday, but when the workers came over yesterday, Manager Shi showed them around the layout of the second floor and the first floor, and they also discussed re-paving the walls to a similar finish as the second floor. The tables and chairs will remain the same, but the lights and other items will be replaced. The ceiling and floor will also be repainted, matching the second floor's color.
Moreover, the exterior decoration should be more grand and built to look like a building. This morning, Shopkeeper Shi was still busy with these things, like a spinning top.
But starting from this month, he was busy with the restaurant business for his own sake, because the more the restaurant earned, the more money he would get. Manager Shi was even more eager than Lin Qiuran to have the decoration next door completed and open for business soon.
He also urged Zhao Guangcai to find someone quickly, otherwise, the kitchen next door was already installed, and without a cook, Lin Qiuran and the other two would be too busy to handle it. Because of Lin Qiuran, he and Zhao Guangcai had become closer. They were of similar age and had similar personalities, and occasionally they would go out for drinks together.
Zhao Guangcai wanted to hurry up, of course. He could only get the money if he found someone, but he had to find the right one. Lin Qiuran wanted girls around fifteen or sixteen, not too young. They also had to be honest and had to have cooked before, which was a bit difficult to find.
The guy wasn't in a hurry, and Zhao Guangcai wasn't busy with this either. Lin Qiuran also wanted a younger man, but that wasn't easy to come by either.
In remote villages, daughters were sold, but in even poorer places, sons were treasured and would not be sold even if the family had to eat dirt. Unless their family was so poor that they sold their sons into slavery, or if they were the children of slaves, they would still be slaves, but such children would usually work as servants in wealthy families.
She also needs to have good character and not be too old. It’s really hard to find a suitable one at the moment.
It was not until the sixth day of the New Year that Zhao Guang finally found a suitable one.
On the morning of the sixth day of the Lunar New Year, he brought two girls and a boy to Lin Qiuran. They were all about fifteen or sixteen years old. Unlike Lin Dong and Lin Xia, who were so thin when they first arrived, they were fair and handsome. The boy was taller than Zhao Xing and also had a handsome appearance.
Lin Qiuran saw that they stood properly and gracefully, as if they had been taught the rules before.
Lin Qiuran said, "This wasn't sold out by his family, was it?"
Zhao Guangcai nodded and then said, "These three people are from Xuzhou. The two girls were sold as children, and the boy's ancestors were officials, but later got into trouble and became slaves. They were all servants of the Qian family, the Xuzhou Tongzhi. When Qian Tongzhi was exiled three thousand miles for corruption, all the maids and servants in the mansion were confiscated along with other gold, silver and other treasures. After interrogation, they came to us."
Once a person is brought to the government, they will definitely not spend money to keep him. If he is sold to a pawnbroker or a wealthy family, the money earned from the sale will still be confiscated.
Lin Qiuran frowned. It was the first time she felt so clearly that people who had been enslaved were no different from commodities. Lin Dong and Lin Xia were more like distant relatives who had come to help with the work.
Zhao Guangcai didn't notice Lin Qiuran's expression, he had long been used to it, but the two girls noticed it. They thought Lin Qiuran was unwilling to buy it and was afraid that she would be sold somewhere else.
Something happened suddenly to the Qian family, and their former master was taken to jail. They didn't know where they were taken. They had a bumpy journey, separated from the people they knew, and finally came to Yu'an.
One of them couldn't help but say, "I can cook and do housework!"
Zhao Guangcai said, "The two girls are both kitchen helpers in the Qian family. I think the Qian family has a large kitchen and a small kitchen. They can both cook. This boy can also drive a carriage. It's a horse-drawn carriage. Although your family doesn't have a carriage now, it will definitely be useful in the future if you have one."
Zhao Guangcai thought it was pretty good, but he didn’t know what Lin Qiuran thought of it.
Lin Qiuran asked a few questions, and she first asked the servant, "Besides driving, what else can you do?"
The man said, "I can do all kinds of rough work, such as shopping, running errands, chopping firewood, and fetching water. I can also be a sandbag and play with the master at home."
Lin Qiuran couldn't help but frown again. She asked the two girls, "What else can you do besides cooking?"
The two said in unison: "We can do anything. Even if we don't know how, we can learn it."
Lin Qiuran said, "The Xiao family isn't a wealthy one. All I can promise is to make sure you have enough to eat and aren't bullied. If you need anything, you can go to a larger mansion to serve us, and we won't interfere with each other."
Lin Qiuran knew that the Xiao family wasn't wealthy, and that they bought them mainly for the restaurant, not just to serve people. She was definitely not as good as the Qian family. Perhaps the monthly salary they earned at the Qian family was more than what Zhao Xing and his family earned at the restaurant.
Lin Qiuran didn't want anyone who was careless, or someone who was arrogant because they had worked for a wealthy family before, and she certainly didn't want anyone who had learned the rules at the Qian family and taught her how to do things. Whether it was cooking or anything else, Lin Qiuran wanted someone who was obedient.
It’s good to be able to cook, but I’m afraid that after I teach you in the future, you will say that you didn’t do it this way before and still think it was better before.
The two looked at Lin Qiuran with a firm gaze, "We will do whatever Madam Lin tells us to do."
Lin Qiuran smiled and nodded, "Brother Zhao, I'll have to trouble you to go to the government office."
The three of them spent a total of thirty-five taels of silver: ten taels each for the two girls and fifteen taels for the boy. According to Zhao Guangcai, a maid from a wealthy family like this, with her good looks, wouldn't normally command this price, but with the Qian family in trouble, their prices have dropped. A servant is expensive, but after all, he can do a lot of work, so he's worth the price.
There was still sixty taels of silver in the family account, twenty of which had been used as a down payment for the renovations. This month, the money from the restaurant's hiring had been taken by Lin Qiuran, so she still had one hundred and seventy taels.
Lin Qiuran named the two girls Lin Chun and Lin Ying, as they came in spring, the season of lush grass and flying orioles, and the names sounded nice and easy to pronounce.
The man Lin Qiuran named himself Lin Ming, which means spring and bright scenery. After coming here, his previous name definitely could not be used, and Lin Qiuran did not ask.
The three of them were somewhat happy, but more cautious about being in a new place. After Lin Qiuran received the indenture, the three of them stood in the yard, not knowing what to do.
Sun was not in the shop, so Lin Qiuran waited for Xiao Dashi to come and asked him to take the three people home and arrange accommodation for them in the front yard.
There were many rooms in the house, and the main house was definitely not suitable. Lin Xia and her husband lived in one of the wing rooms, and the nurse lived in another, so they could only be arranged in the front yard. There were three rooms in the front yard, but one was used as a front hall for dining and entertaining guests.
There were not enough rooms for four people to sleep in, so there were just two rooms left. Lin Chun and Lin Ying would have one room, and Lin Ming would have one room, which they would share among the three of them.
In fact, Lin Qiuran intended to let Lin Ming look after the shop, but since it had not been decorated yet, he decided to live at home first.
Lin Qiuran: "Dad, his name is Lin Ming, and the other two are Lin Chun and Lin Ying."
Xiao Dashi looked at Lin Ming in surprise for a moment, then nodded and took the three of them back.
Sun was kindhearted. She quickly asked Lin Xia to boil some water. She washed the bedding, which was old, after she had come from out of town and had come to the Xiao family. The three of them were also understanding. After they divided the rooms, they cleaned up on their own and settled down.
Tangyuan was sleeping, with her wet nurse watching over her. Xiao Dashi went to take a look and then came out.
Seeing Sun making clothes in the house, he couldn't help but nag her, "You said it would be enough to buy a few maids, why did you buy a servant? It's so inconvenient to have a stranger living in the house."
Sun was stunned, but didn't take it too seriously. "Go back to the village for a few days. Aren't all the hard work done by Lin Dong and Lin Xia? They are so young. There's nothing wrong with hiring a servant to run errands and cover for any problems at home."
Besides, Xiao Xun is not here and Xiao Dashi is old, so there is no other way.
It's inconvenient for a man outside the family, but aren't Xiao Dashi and Xiao Xun also men? Lin Dong and Lin Xia didn't say it was inconvenient. The meaning of Xiao Dashi's words seemed to be because of what Lin Qiuran said.
Sun lowered her head and said, "I live in the front yard. I don't usually come to the back. It's not inconvenient at all."
Sun thought he was quite polite and thought Lin Qiuran would assign him some chores. Sun thought that was a good idea. Tangyuan was a boy, so he couldn't always be taken care of by a maid. He still needed a servant, and a boy should behave like a boy.
Since Sun said so, what could Xiao Dashi say? He was just afraid of being criticized by outsiders.
Xiao Dashi sighed and said, "The teahouse next door has also started decorating. The business is really getting bigger and bigger."
A few days ago, Lin Qiuran asked him to find someone to make a mold for the gold ingot. Lin Qiuran drew a shape that was round and bulged in the middle, which was different from the shape of a gold ingot.
Just use iron, then pour the pastry paste in, close both sides and bake it with fire.
Lin Qiuran wanted the pastry to puff up just right, and she wanted it to look like a gold ingot. It wasn't ready yet, though. She'd give it a try once it was done so she could discuss business with Manager Xu. The county would probably pay her for this deal, but she'd definitely have to make some money first.
Xiao Dashi no longer takes care of the purchases. It is all Lu Fan and Zhao Xing who come to see how the business next door is doing. Lin Qiuran will give them a raise later.
Lin Qiuran assigned some odd jobs to Xiao Dashi, as one cannot always be idle.
Sun smiled and said, "Wouldn't it be good to expand the business?"
Xiao Dashi's expression froze for a moment, and then became complicated. He hesitated for a long time before saying, "It's good, it's good. Everything we eat and use at home is earned by Qiu Ran, and everything is arranged by her. But sometimes, I feel that it's enough for a woman to do her job well."
Sun was silent for a moment, "Just tell me this, don't tell anyone else, especially not Qiuran."
Xiao Dashi was a little at a loss, worried that he might say something wrong.
Sun: "I don't know what you're thinking. When Xiao Xun was away and the family had no money, you were thinking about making as much as possible. Now that you have money, you think it's enough. Why do you want Qiu Ran to do more? Take care of Tangyuan and have more children?"
Sun was tortured and pressured by Xiao Dashi's mother to have a child, but she simply couldn't give birth, or else she would be subjected to abuse. After being tortured for so long, she couldn't stand it anymore and started to make a scene.
A few years ago, Xiao Dashi didn't care. He was honest, but the Bai family was too much. In the end, he had to choose between the two. Sun family couldn't stand it anymore, so they split up the family. He was not stupid, so he chose to go with Sun family.
Xiao Dashi: "I'm doing this for my family. Qiuran is always busy with the shop. Look at the restaurant owner Shi and the others, they're all men, and Zhao Guangcai is also a man..."
They used to work in a restaurant, but now they no longer needed Xiao Dashi as a waiter or Sun Shi as a cook. They didn't know what the restaurant was like. In short, it was Lin Qiuran who was busy and always had to deal with men.
If outsiders see this, they will definitely talk about it.
Sun looked at Xiao Dashi quietly for a while and said, "If you think so, you are forcing Qiu Ran to leave and pushing her out."
Xiao Dashi said, "It's not me who thinks so, it's others. Am I not doing this for the family? How can it be said that I am pushing her away? You said that putting more energy on Xiao Xun Tangyuan is not for the good of the family."
Sun put down the work in her hands and said, "Then I'm done. I'm done with the restaurant and the business. This is for the good of the family. It's not enough for the two of us old people to take care of a young child. And we're not allowed to go out to earn money. We have to stay at home. How can this be justified? What? Qiu Ran owed the Xiao family money in a previous life, and he's sold for a few taels of silver as a betrothal gift?"
Xiao Dashi: "I didn't say that I couldn't let her work or earn money... I just need to be careful about the limits. Can't we just take care of the family and have enough money to spend? Like before, Qiuran cooks at home and we go out to sell things..."
They are both old and not afraid of showing up in public.
Xiao Dashi just thought that Xiao Xun also had a salary, and the spice and snack business also made money, so letting Lin Dong and the others do the work would be fine, and not so tiring.
Sun smiled and said, "Then are you still going to do business with Second Master Xu?"
Xiao Dashi: "Why not?"
Sun rolled her eyes at him. "You're just being so naive! Second Young Master Xu isn't married, so he doesn't have to be shy about making money. But Shopkeeper Shi and his friends, who are in their thirties and forties and almost old enough to be Qiu Ran's father, have to be shy about making money. And you still want Qiu Ran to make money, but you also want her to stay home! What did you hear from someone? Why are you so confused?"
Xiao Dashi lowered his head in embarrassment, "You don't know what people in the village say, and what people outside say."
When you have free time, you meet more people and hear more.
It's been so long. Ever since Li Cuihua's family had a huge fight and nothing happened, the villagers still said that the Xiao family was lucky and that Lin Qiuran was kind and righteous. But later on, they kept saying nothing. They praised Lin Qiuran for his ability, but all they asked was, "But there are men in the restaurant. That's amazing. They even hired men to do the work."
There are even more unpleasant things, saying that Tangyuan is not Xiao's biological child, otherwise why didn't Lin Qiuran abort the child and remarry.
But it’s not Xiao Xun’s, so she really remarried.
Sun was furious when she heard this. She said, "When I have time, I will tear them apart alive. You believe everything those gossipy women say. They just can't stand our family getting along well. You fool, when you have money in the future, you can send Tangyuan to study in the state capital or the capital. He will become a high-ranking official there."
Lin Qiuran always did things with moderation. Sun was furious on Lin Qiuran's behalf. She said, "Wanniang is still at the restaurant. Her husband hasn't said anything, and you're just here listening to other people's nonsense! You should do something in the future and don't come back to Xiaojia Village as often!"
Sun: "Don't tell Xiao Xun about this. Qiu Ran doesn't even look down on us old guys, but you're saying something bad about him."
Those gossipy women in the village, no matter whether the family is good or bad, will say a few words about everyone. The Xiao family is doing well, which makes those people even more jealous.
Sun Shi sincerely treated Lin Qiuran as her own daughter, but she didn't want to hear people say that. Besides, the Xiao family was already holding them back, and Xiao Xun wasn't at home, so what else could they expect?
Xiao Dashi: "Look at what you said. I didn't say anything bad about Qiu Ran. I'm just afraid of what others will say."
Sun straightened her back. "What's the point of their gossip? Can they send Tangyuan to study in a big academy? You old fool, they would only be happy if you moved back to Xiaojia Village. Besides, they didn't talk much about our family before."
They said Xiao Xun was picked up and was an ungrateful person who could not be tamed, and that she and Xiao Dashi were unfilial. They had nothing to say. If you really listen, they were still working like slaves in their hometown.
Xiao Dashi scratched his head and said, "You're right."
Sun said, "Xiao Xun isn't home. If you're worried, you should pick up more people and send more gifts. If you're worried that Manager Shi and the others might have ulterior motives, then you should work harder and keep an eye on them. What's the point of saying this nonsense?"
Saying those things would only push Lin Qiuran further away.
Sun sighed, "You really have nothing better to do."
Xiao Dashi smiled awkwardly. Sun's words made sense. Outsiders' words were worthless. Who wouldn't envy the Xiao family?
Xiao Dashi slapped his head, ran again, and sent the three people over.
Lin Qiuran asked Lin Ming to follow Manager Shi first and do the job of waiter. Now there were exactly four people in front, and she realized later that there was no need to find other waiters.
Lin Qiuran did not assign any work to Lin Chun and Lin Qiuran, and the kitchen could not accommodate so many people. He would wait until he had time to see how well they cooked and then think about how to teach them.
With more people at home, Lin Qiuran prepared two more dishes in the evening, otherwise there wouldn't be enough to eat. With so many people, Shopkeeper Shi put two tables together.
Lin Chun and Lin Ying had never seen anything like this before. They had never been able to eat with their master before. The three of them stood aside, not daring to move. Lin Qiuran said, "Sit down and eat. We've been busy all day at the shop, so let's not talk about that."
The three nodded and found a corner to sit. They were not used to the Xiao family and did not dare to pick up their chopsticks.
Everyone had been busy for a long time and was hungry. No one had time to pay attention to whether the three of them ate or not, and they didn't even have the heart to talk at this moment.
Halfway through the meal, there was a knock on the door. Since the restaurant was closed, the door was locked. The guests outside would not come in because the door was closed.
Lin Qiuran glanced outside and saw a figure standing outside, pitch black. Zhao Xing stood up and said, "I'll go check it out."
Zhao Xing opened the door. A tall man appeared. He said, "Sir, we are closed. If you want to eat, please come tomorrow."
Shopkeeper Shi also looked back and stood up, "Hey, you silly boy, this is Madam Lin's husband."
Zhao Xing immediately said, "I was wondering why Tangyuan looked so much like him. It turns out it's Tangyuan's father. I'm the new guy here, Zhao Xing."
Xiao Xun smiled and said, "It's okay."
He looked at Lin Qiuran, "I'm back."
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The author has something to say: Thank you for the nutrient solution, please irrigate~[cat head][panda head]
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