Chapter 64 New Job "Cough? Cough cough cough!" Su Zhihan had just picked up her cup...
"Cough? Cough cough cough!" Su Zhihan had just taken a sip of tea when she heard this and immediately choked and coughed. Her almond-shaped eyes widened as she looked incredulously at Yao's daughter-in-law, whose face was full of mischief, and she exclaimed in shock, "What?"
Yao's wife carefully observed Su Zhihan's expression and, seeing that she truly seemed unaware, immediately clapped her hands lightly with amusement and winked, saying, "Oh dear, look at my mouth! Our little Han'er is young, it's normal that she doesn't know."
Upon hearing this, Su Zhihan almost lost her smile, wishing she could retort to Yao's daughter-in-law: Since you know I'm young, why are you speaking up for someone a full twelve years older than me?
But the two are neighbors, and it would be bad if they started arguing.
Su Zhihan took two more sips of milk tea to calm her nerves before retorting in a low voice, "Sister Yao, don't talk nonsense. Master Song is a full twelve years older than me. How could he be interested in me? He just likes the food in my shop."
Little did they expect that Yao's wife would not follow the ladder down, but would continue to ramble on: "What does age matter? Song Guan is only twenty-six years old and is already a ninth-rank official. Look at the officials behind him, Sun Guan, Wu Guan, Zhan Guan... those older than him are still low-ranking officials."
"Besides, he's not even married yet." Yao's wife chuckled, nudging Su Zhihan with her elbow. "Countless matchmakers have come to our door, but he hasn't taken a liking to any of them..."
“There are usually good food shops opening around here, but I have never seen him come to buy food every day, or even help carry things occasionally.”
“Sister-in-law Yao, you’re taking this joke too far.” Seeing that Yao’s wife was talking non-stop, Su Zhihan quickly interrupted her and said, “Everyone in our alley knows that Mr. Song is known for his kind heart. He always lends a hand to everyone. Everyone knows that. He was just helping out casually. He really didn’t mean anything by it.”
"Don't you all agree?"
"What Sister Han said is right, that's exactly how it is." There were other people in the shop, and they all felt uneasy about what they heard.
Seeing this, Yao's wife looked embarrassed and said she had other things to do at home before getting up and leaving. As she walked out the door, she was still complaining in her heart, thinking that Han'er was too young and didn't know any better. She couldn't even seize such a good opportunity. It was much easier and more comfortable to be an official's wife than to be out in the public eye doing business.
Yao's wife muttered to herself, and then dropped the matter.
Seeing that Yao's wife had left, Su Zhihan breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time felt annoyed. She wondered what kind of favors that Master Song had given Yao's wife to make her speak so well of others, or to speak well of other officials by stepping on them.
Going forward, we should try to have less contact.
Su Zhihan didn't spread the word, but there were other people in the shop. Within two days, Yao Lang was ridiculed by Wu Guanren, and then Zhan Guanren came to her door saying he didn't want to rent the house anymore.
Yao Lang was dumbfounded. After much persuasion, he finally learned what his wife had done from others. He immediately flew into a rage and went to his wife: "You gossipy woman, what nonsense have you been spreading outside again? You've angered the official, who says he can't afford to live in our house and wants to move out next month."
Yao's wife was startled by his appearance, a hint of guilt flashing across her face, but she still forced herself to say, "Who told you this nonsense? When did I say anything bad about anyone?"
"You're still pretending! I've heard it all!" Yao Lang was furious. He and his wife were both lazy and didn't like doing any work. They made a living by dividing up their yard and renting it out.
Leasing was not an easy business either. Yao Lang disliked traveling merchants, fearing they would run away and he would have nowhere to collect his money. He also disliked poor scholars. What he liked most were those who worked as minor officials in the capital.
These petty officials are concerned about their reputation and have fixed places to pay their rent, so Yao Lang doesn't have to worry about them delaying payment or causing any other trouble. Moreover, if something really happens to his family, he can ask them for a little help.
Therefore, whenever Yao Lang had free time, he would treat everyone to drinks and gossip. Unexpectedly, instead of building closer relationships, his own wife offended everyone.
"Tell me how much benefit you received from Lord Song?"
"I...I didn't take it..."
"If you don't admit it, I'll go find him!"
"No, no..." Seeing Yao Lang's fierce expression and the way he was about to turn and go out to look for someone, Yao's wife immediately softened her tone: "He only gave me a string of cash, asking me to put in a good word for him with Han'er! Nothing else... really! I, I just mumbled something offhand..."
What did he teach you to say?
"Master Song has feelings for Miss Han, what a wonderful thing..." This time, Yao's wife dared not hide it and hurriedly confessed, "I was thinking that if things went well, we would be honored guests at Master Song's house, and maybe we could even find you a job in the government..."
"Who knew that Sister Han didn't appreciate my kindness?"
"Tell me the whole story."
Yao Lang first instructed his wife to explain the whole story, then spat on the ground: "Forget it! If you ask me, you're not even as sensible as a fourteen-year-old girl!"
What do you mean by that?
"What do I mean? If he really had feelings for her, he should have properly sent a matchmaker to ask Mrs. Jiang. Don't you find it strange that someone like you, who isn't even a matchmaker, is trying to find out what the young lady thinks?"
"Perhaps he's too shy to admit it."
"Tch, I don't believe it." Yao Lang, who prided himself on being a man and understanding men's minds better, said, "That official Song is so arrogant, how could he possibly look down on ordinary people?"
"He's poor, so if he wants to climb the social ladder, he needs to find a wife with connections so she can help him get ahead."
“I heard from the matchmaker that he wanted people to marry into wealthy families and those whose families held official positions. Do you think someone like him would be interested in the Jiang family’s daughter?”
"That's not necessarily true. Han'er and her mother both came from the Marquis's mansion. I've heard that some wealthy families like to marry the maids from there."
"Those are maids who serve the ladies, not ordinary servants. Besides, those people just talk the talk, who knows if they're telling the truth?"
Yao Lang didn't take the banquet seriously. Nine out of ten shops here love to claim that their recipes come from the Marquis's Mansion, the Earl's Mansion, or even the Imperial Kitchen. People who don't know the situation might think that all the chefs in the capital come from the mansions.
Before Yao's wife could speak, Yao Lang stroked his chin and offered another answer: "But you're not wrong. Maybe Master Song has taken a liking to Han'er, but not to her as a person, but to her skills."
What does this mean?
"Are you stupid? Look how good the business is at Jiang's Braised Meat Shop. If they take a skilled girl into the family, wouldn't the skill belong to them?"
Seeing that his wife hadn't come to her senses yet, Yao Lang lowered his voice and began to tell her about what he had heard in the marketplace.
It is said that some people often use tricks to deceive embroiderers and cooks, and after marrying them, they teach them to be slaves, and all the money they earn is taken by the men.
Yao Lang told him that Master Song was a wicked man. He kept saying dirty things about Master Song, making Yao's wife tremble with fear. Under the pretext of other matters, she returned the money to Master Song and never mentioned it again.
But that wasn't all. A few days later, Yao Lang climbed onto the door of Jiang's braised meat shop. His face was beaming, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Madam Jiang, Sister Han! I have some great news!"
When Jiang Zhenniang heard that Yao Lang had a falling out with the other men, she was unaware that it was related to her family. She greeted him with a smile and asked, "Yao Lang, what good news is there? Is your wife pregnant?"
No, no.
"That's your home..."
“It’s not my family’s happy occasion.” Yao Lang interrupted Jiang Zhenniang, then glanced at Su Zhihan and said with a smile, “It’s Han’er’s happy occasion.”
Upon hearing this, Su Zhihan looked up.
Jiang Zhenniang was stunned: "Han'er's happy event?"
Yao Lang felt that Jiang Zhenniang should know about the foolish thing her daughter-in-law had done. Fearing that she might misunderstand, he hurriedly explained, "Master Peng, who lives by the Fish Market Bridge, had his old lady book her 80th birthday banquet half a month ago."
Upon hearing the words "birthday banquet," Jiang Zhenniang's eyes lit up, and Su Zhihan put down what she was holding. Jiang Zhenniang eagerly asked, "Could it be...could it be that Master Peng intends to invite my daughter to prepare the banquet?"
"Well, this is neither true nor false."
"What is it?" Jiang Zhenniang immediately deflated, but Su Zhihan still sensed that Yao Lang hadn't finished speaking, and asked softly, "What does that mean...?"
"The cook who originally took on this banquet had to return to Xunzhou for a funeral, so Master Peng hired another cook. As a cook, Han'er knows that it's not easy to hire a cook on short notice, especially for such a large banquet with dozens of tables."
“Master Peng has invited them, but they said they don’t have enough time to cook for so many tables. So they are willing to cook the main dishes, but they want to find someone else to cook the cold dishes and soups.”
“I know the steward of Master Peng, so I tasted your braised dishes with him and we talked about the dishes from last time.” Yao Lang smiled and cupped his hands in greeting: “The steward was very satisfied and asked me to tell you about it. I wonder if you would be willing.”
Su Zhihan understood the meaning behind Yao Lang's words; he was teaching her to work as an assistant.
Being an assistant to someone else is not easy. There is almost no team to cooperate with, so you are bound to suffer some hardships. If you do not do a good job, you may even be blamed.
Jiang Zhenniang also understood the meaning behind Yao Lang's words, and couldn't help but look at Su Zhihan. She was worried and wanted to persuade her daughter not to go, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.
Han Jie'er has skills, but nowhere to use them. These days, they've been turned down a lot, if not in triple digits.
Without much thought, Su Zhihan answered, "Brother Yao, I'm willing to go."
Yao Lang was still feeling uneasy and anxious. He made it sound easy, but it actually took a lot of effort and money to get the steward to agree.
If it weren't for his wife's nagging and the unpleasantness, and the fact that Sister Han's cooking skills were indeed quite good, he wouldn't have wanted to do this time-consuming and laborious task.
Upon hearing Su Zhihan's agreement, Yao Lang's smile gradually appeared. He said, "Then I will go and inform the steward that I will take Sister Han to Master Peng's residence in five days."
After saying this, Yao Lang prepared to leave.
Seeing this, Jiang Zhenniang quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Hey, hey, Yao Lang, please wait a moment."
Without needing her to give a meaningful look, Su Zhihan had already taken out the money box from the cabinet. She first took out a string of coins and handed it to Yao Lang, saying, "There are two strings of coins here. Take them and buy some gifts to send to the steward of Master Peng's house, as a token of your appreciation."
Immediately afterwards, Su Zhihan stuffed another string of coins into Yao Lang's hand: "This string of coins is to thank you for your help. Please accept it."
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