Border Cook

Chapter 20 Theft
"Come to think of it, I remember that at first, Xia came to Brother Erniu's sesame cake stall to buy sesame cakes once or twice, and a few days later, he started making his own cakes and selling them. It was somewhat deliberate."

"I don't want to think the worst of people, but the Xia family is a bit too much. They just want to steal Brother Erniu's business. Don't they know how difficult Brother Erniu's family situation is?"

"It's just that Brother Erniu has a good temper. If it were me, I would have to go and argue with Xia no matter what to see what she wants!"

As soon as Zhang Laifu opened his mouth, his words came out like beans pouring out of a bamboo tube, crackling, and Jiang Erniu was stunned. After a long while, he stammered and replied, "It's just their ability to make money..."

"Ability? Could it be that Brother Erniu has no ability?" Zhang Lai Fu added.

He has no ability?

These words were like a needle that pierced Jiang Erniu's heart. Almost instantly, his eyes turned red. He lowered his head and kneaded the dough again.

Zhang Lai Fu stopped talking upon seeing this.

Someone came to buy buns, and Zhang Lai Fu went to work. Jiang Erniu stopped kneading the dough.

Looking at Xia Mingyue and Lu's busy pancake stall not far away, Jiang Erniu's eyes were dim.

In the afternoon, the ingredients were prepared as usual. Xia Mingyue went to the blacksmith shop when she had time and urged Manager Guo to hurry up. Then she and Xia went to find a carpenter on West Street and asked him to measure the open space next to Manager Qian's shop and start making a shed as well as tables and benches for guests to eat.

The carpenter’s surname was Cao. He was an experienced, older master who had two young apprentices under him.

Building a shed is not a very delicate job, so Carpenter Cao did not do it himself. He only asked his apprentice to do it and give him some experience.

Although the two apprentices were only seventeen or eighteen years old, they had learned the craft from Carpenter Cao since childhood and were familiar with this kind of work. They measured the dimensions with ease and selected the wood for Xia Mingyue.

For this kind of outdoor shed, table and bench, there is no need to be too particular about the quality, so the wood used is poplar wood, which is inexpensive and of acceptable quality.

After paying enough deposit, the matter was settled. Xia Mingyue went to the grocery store again to buy some bowls and chopsticks.

For a large coarse porcelain bowl, you don’t have to be too particular about the style, as long as it is sturdy and durable.

Xia Mingyue first ordered sixty sets of bowls, chopsticks and spoons.

In addition, there are large chopping boards, brooms for cleaning the boards, bamboo strainers for scooping out food, and large wooden basins for washing dishes and chopsticks...

After spending two taels and six cents of silver, the grocery store manager Sun smiled so happily that his eyebrows were invisible. Not only did he give her a small change at the end, he also gave her two extra brooms for sweeping the floor. He also specially found a flatbed truck to deliver it to Xia Mingyue's home and helped her stack the goods.

While helping, Mrs. Lu quietly asked, "Once this stall is open, what else do you plan to sell?"

"To be honest, I haven't thought about it yet. We'll see when the time comes." Xia Mingyue replied with a smile.

Let’s see when the time comes?

Is it too hasty...

But then again, with Xia Mingyue's cooking skills, no matter what she sells, business will be prosperous.

She just needs to help Xia Mingyue.

Mrs. Lu didn't think any more about it and just helped Xia Mingyue put her things away.

A few days later, the newly built stove was ready to be lit.

As Liu Caisheng said, he baked it on low heat for a while, and then burned it normally. After a whole day, there was no cracking on the stove.

"Liu Caisheng's craftsmanship is really good." Mrs. Lu couldn't help but praise him. "If I hadn't found him before, my stove would have broken twice. It seems that I still can't go for cheap prices in the future." "Since his craftsmanship is good, then please accompany me to find him again." Xia Mingyue smiled and said, "Build me another earthen kang in the inner room."

"Why do you need another earthen kang?" Mrs. Lu was a little surprised. "The earthen kang in your room is not small. Is it not big enough for you and Qi Yan to sleep on?"

Still... it’s not enough.

Xia Mingyue smiled awkwardly, "It's not for sleeping, it's for putting things on the abacus. If you want to make dough in winter, there's also a brick bed. At night, you can use some firewood to light a fire, so the dough won't break."

The dough fermented by old yeast takes a longer time to ferment and has high temperature requirements. If it is a cold winter day, the dough will not ferment overnight and needs to be heated.

"That's right." Mrs. Lu nodded. "You are very thoughtful, but your room is not very big, so the kang cannot be too big. It has to be next to the north wall."

"I think so."

Then hang a curtain in the middle so that Lu Qiyan will feel more comfortable sleeping when he comes back.

I just hope Lu Qiyan can keep his original intention!

Otherwise she wouldn't know what to do...

Having made up their minds, Xia Mingyue and Lu went to North Street again.

This was their second visit, and the interval was not long. Someone immediately recognized the two of them and asked, "What kind of work are you two ladies looking for this time?"

"I think that's not looking for someone to do the work, it's looking for someone."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone burst into laughter.

Xia Mingyue and Lu Shi were a little confused, "What do you mean?"

"What are you talking about? Aren't you here to settle accounts with Liu Caisheng?" asked a middle-aged man with a beard.

Settle accounts?

Xia Mingyue and Lu were increasingly confused, "What are you going to settle?"

"Didn't you come to find Liu Caisheng because he stole something from your house?" The bearded man looked at Xia Mingyue and Lu's surprised faces and touched his nose. "It seems that he didn't steal anything from your house."

"Liu Caisheng stole something from someone else's house?" Xia Mingyue was a little incredulous, "No way."

An honest man who is too embarrassed to eat more and even has to pay for his meal, stealing?
Xia Mingyue couldn't imagine it.

"What can I do? The master came here to look for me. He said that Liu Caisheng finished his work at home during the day, then sneaked over the wall at night and stole the silver ingots buried under the rice jar."

"If he stole it at night, why did you say it was Liu Caisheng and not someone else?"

"Liu Caisheng was in a hurry when he went to steal things, and he dropped the bricklayer he used for daily work next to someone's rice jar. The bricklayer had the word Caisheng engraved on it, and we all recognized it. It was Liu Caisheng's thing."

The bearded man said, "But Liu Caisheng denied it. He said he was at home the whole night. He was knocking on the bricks in the first half of the night and sleeping in the second half. His mother also said he didn't leave the house. The neighbors also said they heard some noises, so he must have been at home."

"But you can't believe these words. When her own son gets into trouble, the mother will definitely protect him. And his neighbor, whose wall was built by Liu Caisheng, will definitely speak up for him."

"But if Liu Caisheng really went to steal, there would be no need for him to take his own trowel with him," Xia Mingyue asked.

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(End of this chapter)