Cute Wife Gourmet

Chapter 92 No More Rent

After returning home, Xia Chunfeng went straight to his second brother's study.

Xia Chunyu was leaning on the couch thinking about something. Today, the emperor summoned the ministers of the Ministry of War to discuss matters in the imperial study. The emperor intended to send troops to Ximen to help Ximen quell the rebellion. If nothing unexpected happened, Helian Xuan would lead the troops. Helian Xuan meant to let him go to Ximen together.

Will you go?

In the past he would have definitely not hesitated, but now, it seemed like there was something he couldn't let go of.

"Second brother." Xia Chun rushed in hurriedly.

Xia Chunyu played with the jade ring on his thumb and glanced at him calmly: "Where have you been? I didn't see you at dinner either."

Xia Chunfeng laughed and said, "Xiao Jing invited me to dinner. Second brother, guess who I met today?"

When Xiaojing invites people to dinner, they will definitely go to Tianshangju, and Xiaojing will definitely introduce Yaoyao to Chunfeng.

Xia Chunyu knew it well, but he asked casually, "Who is it?"

"Second brother, you also know this person, he is Li Yao, the head chef of Tianshangju. I heard from Xiaojing that you admire this person very much." Xia Chunfeng said with a smile.

Xia Chunyu snorted, "So what?"

"I also think he is an interesting person." Xia Chunfeng said, picking up the orchid beans from the dish and throwing them high up, opening his mouth, catching them steadily, and biting them with a crunching sound.

Xia Chunyu raised his eyebrows and smiled faintly, "How is it interesting?"

"I can't explain it. I just think he's quite interesting and suits my personality. Xiaojing thinks highly of him. Since he's Xiaojing's friend, he's also my friend." Xia Chunfeng said.

Xia Chunyu thought to himself: Yaoyao is really loved by everyone! If everyone knew that she was a woman, I wonder what they would think.

"Hey, second brother, Li Yao's cooking is really delicious! How about we invite him to cook for our family during the Mid-Autumn Festival?" Xia Chunfeng suggested.

"No." Xia Chunyu denied it without thinking.

"Why?" Xia Chunfeng asked curiously.

"We have a cook at home. It's a Mid-Autumn Festival family gathering, so we can just cook something. Why go to all the trouble?" Xia Chunyu said.

He had no way to object to Yaoyao's decision to work at Tianshangju, and he also had no way to object to Yaoyao accepting the Helian family's birthday banquet. However, he would never let Yaoyao come to Jing'an Marquis' Mansion to be a cook and let the family treat her like a servant.

Xia Chunfeng thought about it and passed over the matter. He said, "I also met someone today. It's Wei Liujiang you mentioned last night. You said he is Mu Qinchu's cousin."

Xia Chunyu's expression was stern: "Did they go to Tianshangju as well?"

"Yes, and Zhao Qixuan, we all gathered together to eat. However, I didn't treat Wei Liujiang well and teased him. Hey, second brother, are you trying to make trouble for him? I don't like this guy either."

Xia Chunyu answered irrelevantly: "They just went to eat?"

"No, Mu Qinchu claimed that he went there specifically to find Li Yao."

Xia Chunyu straightened up: "What does he want to do with Li Yao?"

"He was sending ice cream tickets, saying that Li Yao asked him to do it, which made Xiao Jing unhappy. Then Li Yao said that he was ripping him off. I laughed so hard that I died."

Xia Chunyu finally breathed a sigh of relief. Mu Qinchu was sensible. If he dared to cause trouble for Yaoyao, he would break his bones tomorrow, no, tonight.

"Well, the martial arts examination is about to begin, and you should concentrate on your studies. Don't embarrass the Jing'an Marquisate. Be careful that your father will come back to punish you." Xia Chunyu scolded.

Xia Chunfeng pouted and said, "Second brother, you are more nagging than mother. You just know how to criticize me all day long."

"This is all for your own good. Practice well these few days. I'll come to check in three days. If you can't last twenty moves under my hands, you can't take the assessment." Xia Chunyu waved his hand to send him away.

Xia Chunfeng wrinkled his nose in dismay, thinking, you underestimate me too much, let alone twenty moves, even two hundred moves will be no problem, I was trained hard by my father at the border.

As soon as his second brother left, Xia Chunyu's mind was in turmoil. He really wanted to go see Yaoyao, but he couldn't go too often because that little girl was very arrogant. He had better bear with it!
That night, in Yu Shu Palace.

"My Lady, I have found out that Li Yao came to Jinling recently and was hired by Tianshangju. He was originally a first-class assistant chef, but was promoted to head chef in a few days. Now he has also accepted the birthday banquet of the old princess of Helian Palace. It is said that Li Yao once saved Young Prince Jing and has a deep friendship with him."

A guard reported back.

Liuli frowned, no wonder Chunyu and Helian Xuan came that day, so that's how it was. It would be fine if others protected him, but it would be difficult to deal with Chunyu and Helian Xuan getting involved.

However, if she couldn't do it openly, she would do it secretly. In any case, she must get back at her.

"What about the situation in Tianshangju?"

"The owner of Tianshangju is called Li Xudong. He used to run a small restaurant. He opened Tianshangju seven years ago and is quite famous in the Jinling catering industry. However, Tianshangju is not his property. He rents it."

Liuli thought, "Go and find out the owner of the property and Li Xudong's family situation."

"Yes! I'll check it out right away." The guard bowed and retreated.

Liuli's almond-sized eyes showed a sneer. "You want to play, right? Then I will play with you." The next morning, Ye Jiayao took Jiang Li to Laifu Inn. Since they had decided to stay at Aunt Jiang's house, they didn't need to keep the guest rooms here. The autumn examination was approaching, and scholars from all over the country were flocking to Jinling. The inns in Jinling were doing a booming business, and every inn was full. She vacated a room, and Manager Du could rent it out to others to make more money.

"Hey, Brother Li is here." When Shopkeeper Du saw Ye Jiayao, he quickly put down the work in his hands and greeted her with a smile.

"Brother, how have you been lately?" Ye Jiayao asked with a smile.

"Great, it couldn't be better. Look, this inn is packed with people." Manager Du laughed.

Ye Jiayao looked around and said, "There aren't enough guest rooms, right?"

Shopkeeper Du immediately understood Brother Li's concerns and said, "It doesn't matter if there is only one room. By the way, Brother Li, have you solved all your problems? Isn't it time to come back and live here?"

Ye Jiayao said, "I came here today for this matter. I have found a place to live. This person is an old acquaintance of mine in Shandong. His family has also come to Jinling. There is an empty house in their home, so I can stay there."

Jiang Li clasped his fists and bowed to Shopkeeper Du.

Shopkeeper Du smiled awkwardly and pulled Ye Jiayao aside to talk: "Brother Li, please don't be polite to me. I really don't need this little rent."

Ye Jiayao said, "Brother, I'm not being polite to you. Really, Uncle Jiang and Aunt Jiang treat me very well, just like my family. They also hope that I can live there so that we can take care of each other."

"Really?" Shopkeeper Du was skeptical.

"Of course it's true. Why would I bother you? Brother and sister-in-law can come to my place when you are free. It's very convenient."

Seeing that Ye Jiayao didn't seem to be lying, Shopkeeper Du breathed a sigh of relief and patted Ye Jiayao on the shoulder: "That's good. In any case, if you have any difficulties, just let me know. Although I, your brother, don't have much ability, I still have a few houses. You are welcome to come anytime."

Ye Jiayao felt very warm. Although her time travel was tragic and bloody, she met many good people along the way. They treated her like family even though they met by chance. Ye Jinxuan was so unfortunate, but she, Ye Jiayao, was so lucky.

Ye Jiayao nodded seriously: "I will."

She went back to her room and packed her things. There weren't many things, just a small bag, which she asked Jiang Li to take back, while she went directly to Tianshangju to work.

They are going to start making pastries today, and Ye Jiayao can't help but look forward to it. Her weakest skill is pastries, and she hopes to learn some skills from Zhong Xiang.

The peas were soaked last night. There were no pressure cookers these days, so they could only be cooked slowly. When the beans were cooked into a paste, the bean skins were removed with gauze. The melted agar, powdered sugar, and osmanthus powder were added into the pot, stir-fried, and then flattened. After condensing, it turned into light yellow, crystal-like jelly-like pea yellow.

During the production process, Ye Jiayao used paper and pen to record the amount of various ingredients, steaming time, heat, etc.

"The pea yellow color made by adding agar is more translucent." Zhong Xiang is very satisfied with the pea yellow he made, which looks very good.

"It turns out this thing has this kind of use." Cui Dongpeng marveled in amazement. The agar that he had spent so much effort to extract turned out to be a really good thing.

Ye Jiayao picked up a piece and tasted it. After savoring it carefully, she said, "The amount of agar-agar is just right, the toughness is just right, and the bean powder is also very fine, but it's still too sweet."

"Really? Let me try it." Zhong Xiang also tasted a piece himself.

"It's okay, a little sweet." Zhong Xiang said.

"It's not good if it's a little sweet. Next time, reduce the amount of sugar by 10%." Ye Jiayao wanted just the right amount. Although it is difficult to satisfy everyone, some people like sweet and some like light taste, so what she wanted was just right, so that those who like sweet won't find it too light, and those who like light taste won't find it too sweet.

Zhong Xiang said, "Okay, let's make it tomorrow and reduce the powdered sugar by 10%."

"We're going to make walnut cookies tomorrow, remember not to use too much sugar," Ye Jiayao instructed.

Now adjust the flavor of each pastry to the most suitable level, and make sure it is successful at once.

"Brother Yao..." Deng Haichuan came back with a large food box in his hand.

"Haichuan, what good stuff did you bring back?" Cui Dongpeng said as he was about to grab the food box.

"Hey... be careful, don't touch it. These are top-grade porcelains." Deng Haichuan hurriedly protected them to prevent Cui Dongpeng from getting his hands on them.

"Brother Yao, these are three types of plates for serving dishes provided by the steward of Prince Helian's Mansion. You can choose and use whichever one is suitable when the time comes." Deng Haichuan opened the lunch box.

Inside were a set of glazed tableware with a pattern of longevity, a set of glazed tableware with auspicious and festive patterns, and another set of glazed tableware with a pattern of wealth and blooming flowers.

The three sets of tableware are brightly colored, with moist glaze, giving off a sense of luxury.

Ye Jiayao chose and chose, and asked for everyone's opinions. In the end, everyone agreed that the pattern of "Longevity" was the most suitable.

"Then let's go with this set. Ask the palace steward to prepare all the dishes and bowls."

Deng Haichuan said: "Okay, I'll go there again later."

"Oh no, oh no." Xiao Lu ran in in a panic.

"What happened? Is someone causing trouble? It's not even dinner time!" Deng Haichuan asked.

Xiao Lu said: "The landlord of this building is here. I just went in to serve tea and heard that the landlord said he wanted to take back the restaurant and would not rent it out."

(End of this chapter)