Chapter 91 I Want to Marry You (Second Update)…

It was not until Duke Chen came to visit that Jiang Yanyi realized that the oxcart of chickens she received was raised by him. To apologize, Jiang Yanyi said that she would go to the market tomorrow to buy a big rooster as compensation. Duke Chen said it was not necessary and just said that he would cook him a delicious chicken meal tomorrow.

Chi Qing was too busy to teach Chu Yangui, so he came to teach him in person.

There were many rooms in the west wing, so Jiang Yanyi cleaned up one room for Duke Chen to stay that night.

It was already late when Chu Shubao went back. Jiang Yanyi was worried and asked Yang Xiu to send her back to the Chu family.

She still does everything by herself.

In addition to Chef Yao, the store's kitchen also hired a chef named Dunzi and a helper who specialized in washing vegetables and preparing side dishes.

Qiu Kui previously helped entertain guests outside, but she was a little dull and not very good at dealing with people. She preferred to stay in the kitchen, so Jiang Yanyi asked her to go to the kitchen to help Chef Yao.

Now the only waiters in the store outside are Yang Xiu and a newly hired waiter. The newly hired chef Dunzi, the helper and the waiter are all locals. With Chef Yao as a guarantee, Jiang Yanyi can trust them.

Aunt Guo also went to the front store to help. If Jiang Yanyi wanted to go somewhere, she would follow Jiang Yanyi out to protect her safety.

Jiang Yanyi had never considered Qiu Kui and Aunt Guo as servants from the beginning, and it was impossible for him to order them around now. Aunt Guo occasionally rushed to do things, and Jiang Yanyi felt bad and would be polite.

Therefore, after arranging the room for Duke Chen, when Jiang Yanyi was making soup in the kitchen, Aunt Guo came to accompany her on the pretext that she was too old, and she couldn't help but mutter: "Boss, your business is getting better and better now, and you have more money on hand, so you should have a few more servants around you."

She had regarded herself as a servant since she was called here by Feng Shuo, but she made up her identity at that time because she wanted to hide it from Jiang Yanyi, but Jiang Yanyi always treated her as the aunt of the neighbor.

During this period of time, Auntie Guo also realized that Jiang Yanyi was kind-hearted. Although Qiu Kui was bought by her, she never regarded Qiu Kui as a servant, and Auntie Guo did not expect Qiu Kui to be so naive as to serve others.

She hoped that Jiang Yanyi could buy a few maids to serve her daily life. Apart from other things, someone had to do the work of serving tea and water, tidying the room, washing clothes and cooking.

Auntie Guo was willing to serve Jiang Yanyi like an ordinary woman, but unfortunately, Jiang Yanyi would not let her, and secondly, she had practiced martial arts for half her life, so she could kill chickens and sheep with her hands, but she was not good at such delicate work as serving people.

Jiang Yanyi was sitting on a low stool behind the stove, and her delicate eyebrows frowned when she heard the words. The maids bought into the mansion also had to be paid a monthly salary. If they were just to serve her, she would be reluctant to spend the money. The noodle shop had already used up all her savings, and she was forced to postpone her plan to expand the antique soup shop.

Jiang Yanyi picked up a stick and started writing on the ground, calculating the annual expenses of buying a maid, just like a miser who lived a frugal life:

"It costs at least two guan to buy a maid. The monthly salary of a maid in Xizhou is six hundred coins, so the monthly salary for a year is seven guan and two hundred coins. Let's not count the accommodation. The maid eats at the master's house. According to the food in the store, even if it is ten coins a day, I have to pay three hundred coins a month, which is three guan and six hundred coins a year. In total, I have to spend twelve guan and eight hundred coins on a maid in a year!"

Nearly thirteen taels of silver!

Aunt Guo was obviously shocked by the amount she calculated.

She had originally thought that it wouldn't cost much to buy a maid, and she could always use her in the future. But after Jiang Yanyi calculated the expenses, she actually felt that it was a huge loss. Jiang Yanyi

said with a pained heart, "I don't plan to buy a maid for the time being. I'll save money to expand the store first."

Aunt Guo nodded in agreement.

Although Chu Shubao was eager to start selling rouge, the carved wooden cabinet she ordered had not been completed yet, so she could only wait.

Jiang Yanyi is now only responsible for the accounts of the antique soup shop and the noodle shop. When she has time, she can go to the noodle shop for a round of inspection. Although it was expected, the noodle shop's business is getting better and better every day, and it is catching up with the antique soup shop. Jiang Yanyi is still very surprised.

At the Chu family, she would bring new dishes to visit Mrs. Chu every now and then. The Chu family tried their best to conceal the capture of Chu Chengmao and Chu Chengbai, but Mrs. Chu still keenly noticed that something was wrong and often asked her children and grandchildren why Chu Changping didn't come back. The Chu family members all said that something happened in the army, and then they reluctantly comforted the old lady.

Jiang Yanyi was also worried about Chu Changping and others, but her ability was limited, so she could only pray for safety.

In order to divert her anxiety, she tried her best to focus on the business of the antique soup shop and the noodle shop. When she had free time, she would go to the greenhouse of Feng Mansion to see how the peppers were growing.

After the last incident, servants went to the greenhouse every day to clean the snow on the glazed tiles, and the growth of the peppers was good again. However, some peppers may be a little sick because of insufficient sunlight before.

Jiang Yanyi picked the peppers that did not grow well on the plants, so that the plants could supply limited nutrients to the peppers that grew well.

The picked peppers were still green and red, and could not be dried and preserved, so they could only be eaten when they were fresh.

Although Duke Chen repeatedly said that Jiang Yanyi could kill and eat the chickens he raised at will, Jiang Yanyi still didn't feel comfortable doing so. After all, once the chickens were cooked, Duke Chen wouldn't want to eat them all alone and would definitely share them with everyone. Those were the chickens he raised with great effort, and Jiang Yanyi didn't feel comfortable taking advantage of an old man.

So every time Duke Chen said he wanted to eat chicken, Jiang Yanyi asked Yang Xiu to go to Ma the butcher and bring one back.

The advantage of chickens in ancient times over modern ones is that all chickens in the world are authentic local chickens, all-natural and feed-free, and no matter how you cook the chicken, it will be fragrant when it comes out of the pot.

Holding the freshly picked peppers in his hand, Jiang Yanyi felt that he could arrange the braised chicken.

Authentic braised chicken has three unique features. The first is the soup, which is rich, salty and spicy, and oily but not greasy. In her previous life, every time Jiang Yanyi ate braised chicken, she would soak the rice in the soup, and she would finish half a bowl of rice.

The second is the meat, which is tender and delicious.

The third is the rice, which is said to be steamed with the "twice-oiled" method. The steamed rice grains are distinct, the taste is strong, and the aftertaste is rich and fragrant.

Jiang Yanyi left Kaifeng Mansion and went straight to Ma the butcher's butcher shop, bought two chickens and brought them back to the shop.

Duke Chen already knew that the chickens he had eaten these days were not raised by him, but bought by Jiang Yanyi, and he was angry.

Seeing Jiang Yanyi carrying two chickens back, he said with a fierce face: "I have never seen a girl as reserved as you!"

Jiang Yanyi smiled and tried to smooth things over: "Mr. Chen, I will make you a delicious braised chicken today."

Duke Chen did not respond, and said with a flick of his sleeves: "Since you are so reserved, I will not eat at your house anymore!"

In the afternoon, Duke Chen really made a gesture of not eating in the restaurant and went to the next door instead.

Jiang Yanyi knew that he had good intentions, but she was really troubled when this old rascal got angry.

She didn't rush to appease him, but went into the kitchen with a kitchen knife to cut and chop the two chickens into small pieces, washed away the blood, and marinated them with soy sauce and cooking wine.

Chicken and mushrooms have always been a perfect match, but there were no enoki mushrooms in ancient times, so Jiang Yanyi used shiitake mushrooms instead.

After the iron pan was heated, the chicken pieces were directly put in and stir-fried until cooked. Because the chicken skin itself contains oil, there is no need to add oil in advance. When the chicken skin is slightly yellow, take it out, heat sesame oil in the pot, sauté the scallions and ginger, then pour in the braised chicken and stir-fry, add the chopped peppers and star anise, drizzle with a spoonful of soy sauce, and turn off the heat when the braised chicken is colored. Pour

the chicken into a casserole, top it with mushroom slices, add soup and boiling water, and simmer until the chicken is cooked to the bones and meat, then sprinkle with salt to taste before serving.

"Okra, turn off the heat now." Jiang Yanyi said this and put away the kitchen utensils. She turned around and found Okra sitting behind the stove in a daze, as if he didn't hear what she just said.

Jiang Yanyi had no choice but to call her again: "Qiu Kui, the braised chicken is ready, you can turn off the fire."

"Oh." Qiu Kui just woke up from a dream and took out the firewood from the stove.

Jiang Yanyi felt something was strange and couldn't help asking her: "What's wrong with you?"

Qiu Kui stared at Jiang Yanyi for a while, shaking her head like a rattle: "Nothing."

Jiang Yanyi was busy with the Gu Gu Soup and the noodle shop recently, and had to go to the Chu family when she had some free time.

She really didn't care enough about Qiu Kui. She noticed that Qiu Kui was not right, but she didn't ask her directly what happened. With Qiu Kui's personality, if she didn't say anything, then no one could pry her mouth open.

Jiang Yanyi brought a small bowl to her and scooped a bowl of soup and meat and handed it to her: "Come and taste it."

Qiu Kui ran over and took the bowl happily. When she was about to eat, she seemed to remember something and stopped rushing to put it in her mouth. She hesitated and said: "Where are they?"

Jiang Yanyi thought that the "they" she was talking about might be other people who often ate together, and said: "This is for you to taste first, eat it."

Qiu Kui then picked up the bowl and started eating.

Jiang Yanyi asked her: "How is it?"

Qiu Kui nodded vigorously: "Delicious."

Qiu Kui never said that the things she made were not delicious.

Jiang Yanyi took the opportunity to ask: "Are you unhappy recently?"

Qiu Kui panicked for a moment, as if she was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would find out something, and shook her head quickly.

Jiang Yanyi felt even more wrong.

However, Qiu Kui asked her cautiously at this time: "Hua Hua, my household registration documents have not come down yet. Now I only have the indenture, right?"

Jiang Yanyi thought she was anxious about the household registration documents, and didn't know how to explain to her for a moment. If everything went according to normal procedures, her pardon edict would be issued around the end of the year. However, due to the previous war in the south, the emperor naturally had no time to deal with these trivial matters. Now Feng Shuo had rebelled, and her household registration was still requested by Feng Shuo for her. She was afraid that the emperor would not approve it at all.

Jiang Yanyi could only comfort her: "You haven't come down yet, but no one in the store treats you as a servant. There's war in the south now, and it's not safe for you to go back. Why don't you wait until the situation stabilizes before going to rebury your parents?"

Qiu Kui didn't know why, but she seemed depressed and relieved when she heard the news. She said, "It's okay, I'm not in a hurry."

After that, she suddenly added, "Huahua, help me keep the indenture."

Jiang Yanyi said, "I'll give you the indenture and you can keep it yourself."

Qiu Kui waved her hands and asked Jiang Yanyi to help her keep it.

Jiang Yanyi could only touch her head: "If you have anything that makes you unhappy, remember to tell me. If others bully you, tell me, too, okay?"

Qiu Kui's nose was sore, as if she was about to cry, but she held it back, "I will learn to cook well and become a capable person."

Jiang Yanyi's intuition told her that Qiu Kui was definitely bullied.

After she comforted Qiu Kui, she did not say anything. She put the braised chicken in a clay pot and added two bowls of rice into the lunch box, and asked Yang Xiu to take it to Feng Mansion.

In the evening, the people in the store still had dinner together. Jiang Yanyi quietly observed the new master Dunzi and the assistant chef, and she also paid attention to the waiter.

When Yang Xiu and Bing Shao were the only ones in the store, they were both bullied by Qiu Kui. If a newcomer saw Qiu Kui as stupid, they would secretly squeeze her out. Jiang Yanyi would never tolerate that.

She was actually worried that Chef Yao scolded Qiu Kui because she thought Qiu Kui was clumsy. After all, Chef Yao had a hot temper and would scold anyone when he got angry. So Jiang Yanyi didn't dare to ask Chef Yao directly about Qiu Kui.

After dinner, Jiang Yanyi asked Aunt Guo privately.

Aunt Guo had been with Qiu Kui for a long time and knew her better. "Although the girl is a little naive, she is diligent and honest, and has a simple mind. When the boss is not around, she practices her knife skills alone. Master Yao occasionally teaches her a few things when he sees her. It doesn't seem like he would lose his temper with her."

After Aunt Guo said this, the newcomers in the store became Jiang Yanyi's main suspects. She asked Aunt Guo to help in the kitchen tomorrow to see if anyone was squeezing Qiu Kui.

A braised chicken dish really calmed Duke Chen down, but when he came back, he brought a guard from the palace with him and asked the guard to slaughter all the chickens he raised and let Jiang Yanyi watch.

Jiang Yanyi was amazed by her husband's move. It would take too long to finish all the chicken. Jiang Yanyi used an old hen to make soup, and cut off the feet and wings of other chickens to make broth.

She planned to make Gongbao chicken with the remaining chicken tomorrow to see if she could sell it all.

If it was unsalable, she could make it into smoked meat and store it so it wouldn't be wasted.

Because of what happened during the day, Jiang Yanyi couldn't sleep that night. She simply got up, dragged out the money box under her bed, and counted the change in it: "One tael of silver, two taels of silver, three taels of silver..."

Every time she had a hundred taels, Jiang Yanyi would go to the bank to exchange it for banknotes.

As she was counting quietly, she heard something hitting the window.

Jiang Yanyi sat cross-legged on the mat, stopped counting the money, and listened attentively to the noise outside.

Soon, something hit the window frame again, as if someone was throwing pebbles at her window.

Jiang Yanyi walked to the window with the lamp, and after hesitating for a long time, she finally pushed open the shutter.

The oil lamp can only illuminate a limited area, and it is pitch black outside, but fortunately there is moonlight tonight. Another stone hits the window, and Jiang Yanyi squinted to adapt to the light, only to find a person sitting on the courtyard wall.

The silver moon is like a hook, and the outline of Feng Shuo's face cannot be seen in the night. Behind him is the deep blue night sky, and he seems to be sitting on the tip of the moon.

He made a gesture to Jiang Yanyi to go out.

The night was silent. Jiang Yanyi silently closed the window frame, blew out the lights in the house, and then carefully walked out of the door. The moonlight outside is very bright. After adapting to the light, you can see the road clearly without a lantern.

However, Qiu Kui was sleeping in the side room next to her, and Chu Yangui was in the room at the corner in front. Her feet made a "crackling" sound when she stepped on the snow, and Jiang Yanyi was terrified all the way.

After finally reaching the wall, she looked up and whispered to Feng Shuo, "Why are you here?"

Feng Shuo jumped down from the wall, "I missed you, so I came to see you."

In fact, he would climb up the wall every night after finishing his official duties, no matter how late it was, and stare at Jiang Yanyi's room for a while before going back to rest.

However, when he came tonight, he happened to find that the light in Jiang Yanyi's room was still on, so he threw two stones at her window with the idea of ​​giving it a try, and she really was still awake.

Jiang Yanyi was afraid that someone would get up at night and find them, so she looked around like a thief and said, "It's so late, why aren't you asleep yet?"

It was very cold outside, and she tucked her neck under the furry collar as much as possible, looking pitiful and cute.

Feng Shuo resisted the urge to pinch her face, and there was a hint of smile in his eyes: "Aren't you awake yet?"

He saw Jiang Yanyi's worry, stretched out his long arm and easily wrapped it around her slender waist, and jumped over the courtyard wall.

Her body suddenly lost weight. Jiang Yanyi was so scared that she grabbed his thin waist with both hands. After landing, she took a while to come to her senses and said, "Remind me next time you fly."

Feng Shuo heard her words and said, "Hold on tight."

Jiang Yanyi looked up in confusion: "Huh?"

Feng Shuo said, "I'll take you to the roof."

Jiang Yanyi was so scared that her hair stood up. She quickly wrapped herself around Feng Shuo like an octopus.

Feng Shuo stood there without moving, and after a second of silence, he said, "Put your feet down. I can't help you like this."

Jiang Yanyi was terrified and embarrassed, "I'm scared."

Feng Shuo: "..."

After the two of them finally got on the roof, Feng Shuo wanted to pull Jiang Yanyi to sit on the roof covered with thick snow, but Jiang Yanyi refused: "You will catch a cold!"

Feng Shuo pressed her to sit down, and wrapped her tightly with a cloak: "You have my fox fur cloak underneath, so you won't get cold."

Feng Shuo's fox fur cloak was indeed effective in keeping out the cold. After Jiang Yanyi was wrapped in it, she didn't feel cold at all. However, the roof was high, and the cold wind was even more biting, so her face suffered more.

Jiang Yanyi wanted to bury her head in Feng Shuo's cloak, and asked tremblingly: "Why did you take me to the roof?"

Feng Shuo raised his chin, and the light of the silver moon was reflected in his eyes: "Look at the moon."

Jiang Yanyi really couldn't understand his train of thought: "It's icy and snowy, why look at the moon, it's not a full moon tonight..."

"Even if it's not a full moon, I still want to watch it with you." Feng Shuo's words were very low, with an indescribable tenderness in them.

Jiang Yanyi admitted that she was useless, but she was actually aroused by his words, like a cat with its fur standing up, and suddenly its fur was smoothed.

She stopped complaining about her dissatisfaction and huddled in his cloak, resting her head on his broad shoulders. She looked up and looked at the crescent moon hanging in the night sky with him. Everything between heaven and earth was quiet. Everything in sight was dark silver-white. Time seemed to have stopped.

Feng Shuo suddenly turned his head and said to her, "Jiang Yanyi, I don't want to wait any longer. I want to marry you."