Chapter 164 [The guy at the bottom of the box]
Jiang Lili glanced at County Magistrate Hu. What secrets could this old man have? "Tell me about it."
Lord Hu glanced around with a hint of suspicion, "No, we can't talk about this here."
"Oh, in that case, I have something important to do with Liao Dabao's mother, so I'll leave you for now."
Jiang Lili called over the two people who were being surrounded by fellow villagers and asked about their well-being: "Dabao, let's go!"
“Eh—”
Lord Hu watched the three people walking towards the village temple, and hurriedly followed them with the wild bamboo shoots given by Jiang Lili.
As they walked away from the crowd, County Magistrate Hu lowered his voice and said to Jiang Lili, "Aren't you one of the managers of the He family? The safe return of the He family's ships is also very important to you, right?"
When this was mentioned, Jiang Lili became interested. If this old man had a way to ensure the safety of ships going out to sea, she would be more at ease with Wen Qiao.
She gestured for Lord Hu to continue.
At this time, Lord Hu kept the secret: "Did you really bring chili powder? How many pounds? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Jiang Lili felt that the old man really liked spicy food, so she said, "Not only does it have chili powder, but also various chopped chili peppers, chili sauces, and Sichuan peppercorns..."
The more Jiang Lili spoke, the brighter Lord Hu's eyes became.
"We'll see each other sooner or later, why would I lie to you? Should I stay in Dan'er County any longer?"
Jiang Lili glanced at the bamboo shoots in Hu Daren's hand and said, "You can also make spicy hot pot."
It must be delicious to stir-fry bamboo shoots and beef with the seasoning of spicy hot pot.
"So if you have something to say, hurry up and say it. There's no point in keeping this secret to yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't have told me and would have made a fortune secretly."
Lord Hu couldn't sit still any longer and said quickly, "I heard that pirates are rampant on the sea. I have something good that can help the He family's merchant ships resist pirate robbery."
Lord Hu put his hands on his hips and said proudly, "I can make gunpowder!"
"Really? I don't believe it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Lili glanced at Old Man Hu indifferently, as if she didn't believe it at all and even didn't want to pay any attention to him.
Jiang Lili had her own plans in mind, but she didn't show it on her face.
She heard from Xiao Wu, the yamen runner who led them on the day they settled down, that before Lord Hu was exiled to Haizhou, he had served as an official in Shu, in charge of copper and iron smelting, was proficient in smelting technology, and often dealt with things like fire and ore.
Now that the old man said he could make gunpowder, Jiang Lili believed it to some extent. However, if she showed great interest and chased the old man to ask questions, she would become passive and would be controlled by the old man.
And now the more she disbelieved it, the more Old Man Hu wanted to prove himself, and slowly took out all his hidden tricks.
At the moment, Jiang Lili is not in a hurry.
The group had already arrived at the side door of the village temple. Jiang Lili ignored Old Man Hu who was eagerly waiting for her to ask questions.
She knocked on the side door and called out a few times: "Sister Yin!"
"I'm back with Dabao!"
After shouting for a while, hurried footsteps were heard in the side yard, and then the door on the side of the village temple was opened. Yin Zhen was relieved to see Jiang Lili and others appear in front of her safely.
When Master Liao saw my mother, he suddenly lost the bully aura he had on the mountain and became obedient.
He stood in a well-behaved position, his hands tucked into his pockets, and called out sweetly, "Mom, I'm back~"
Has his omnipotent mother prepared delicious food for him these days?
Yin Zhen rushed over and gave Master Liao a few solid swats on the forehead: "You idiot, why are you still trying to compete with a monkey? Are you relying on your intelligence and skills?!"
"Ouch!"
Master Liao held his head in his hands, his expression miserable: "I came back unscathed!"
Jiang Lili and Xin Che gave Yin Zhen the wild fruits, vegetables, wild rabbits, quail eggs and other game they brought back from the mountains.
Yin Zhen collected a basket of things and said enthusiastically, "It's good that you're back safely. You brought me so many things. Why don't you all come to my place for dinner tonight?"
"With so many fresh ingredients, how can Dabao and I finish them all?"
Jiang Lili was impressed by Yin Zhen's cooking skills. She happened to have something to discuss with Yin Zhen, so she smiled sweetly and said, "Okay, sorry to bother you, Sister Yin!"
Yin Zhen smiled and welcomed Jiang Lili into the yard: "Don't disturb us, it's more lively when we eat together!"
Master Liao looked at the quail eggs and rabbit in the basket and immediately started ordering: "Mom! I want spicy hot pot and spicy rabbit head!!"
Yin Zhen said in a doting tone, "Okay, okay, Miss Jiang and I will learn from each other, okay?"
The three of them went into the house with Yin Zhen, leaving Old Man Hu alone there.
Lord Hu originally thought that revealing a big secret would surprise everyone, but Jiang Lili and Xin Che didn't react at all.
It seems that these two people don’t believe it at all!
Lord Hu was scratching his head anxiously. Also, the spicy hot pot and spicy rabbit head that the child mentioned made him cry with greed just by hearing the names. He also wanted to eat for free!
Is he really going to take out the thing he has kept at the bottom of his box?
Lord Hu was deep in thought here, while Jiang Lili was having a great time over there.
Yin Zhen served the three people a plate of her latest coconut jelly.
The coconut jelly melts in your mouth and is sweet and refreshing. Jiang Lili took the opportunity to tell Yin Zhen about her request for the pastry recipe.
She and Li Xiaoguan had inquired and found out that the starting price for buying out the pastry recipe from the restaurant in Linzhou was one hundred taels of silver.
Jiang Lili was very sincere: "Sister Yin, if you teach me how to make pastries, I will take care of your mother and son's food, clothing, housing and transportation in Yeli Village. I will also give you two hundred taels of silver."
"What are the recipes for mung bean cake and yam cake?"
When Yin Zhen heard that Jiang Lili wanted to give him money to buy the formula, he quickly shook his head and said, "No, you don't need to give me money. Miss Jiang, you have taken such good care of me and Dabao along the way. I don't have anything to thank you for."
"Don't worry, I'll teach you any pastry recipe or dish recipe you want without reservation! There's no need to state these conditions, it's too formal."
Jiang Lili still insisted on giving Yin Zhen a reward: "Not only do I need the recipe, but I also need your comments on the pastries I made and your guidance on how to improve them. This back and forth is quite tiring. We would feel guilty if you didn't accept the reward."
Master Liao also advised, "Mom, just listen to Sister Li Li! She's also kind-hearted, and cooperation only works when there's give and take!"
"Okay, okay."
Under the persuasion of Jiang Lili and Master Liao, Yin Zhen accepted Jiang Lili's conditions, but she was only willing to accept 20 taels of silver: "It's not safe for us mother and son to carry too much silver."
"I'll leave the remaining money with you, Miss Jiang. If my mother and I need anything in the future, we can transfer it from the account."
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