self-improvement as a cook

Chapter 67

Even Mei Da was quite surprised. He said that in a month, he took over ten tables. If it wasn't for An Ran's desire to open a restaurant, he would not be willing to let his little wife be so tired. He has a lot of money, but An Jia Mu Zaitian, An's family will only have more money, and the purpose of opening a private restaurant in Cuiyuan is to make the little daughter-in-law happy.

But he really didn't expect that there would be a profit of 10 taels for just ten tables.Fuchunju is considered to be very profitable, only a few thousand silver a month, and his wife really has a pair of hands that can turn stones into gold.

It suddenly occurred to her that since a table needs to be prepared in three days, An Ran has either searched for ingredients outside or prepared ingredients at home in the past month, and the chances of the couple being together have decreased a lot.

Thinking of this, I was a little uncomfortable and said: "In the future, change it to once every five days."

His words immediately brought Yue Jintang, who was immersed in the dream of getting rich, back to reality, and suddenly felt the money in his hand flying. How could this work? But come here, you don’t know how many people are queuing up to post posts to this king’s other courtyard. They are all rich and powerful. Anyway, your daughter-in-law is a cook, so she has to cook anyway, if that's the case, why don't you worry about earning some extra money, and you won't be tired."

Mei Da glanced at him: "You mean I can't afford to support my daughter-in-law, and I have to make her earn money by cooking."

"Ahem...well, that's not what I mean, but who knows Dayan that you have a lot of money in your family, not to mention a daughter-in-law, even if you marry a few more, you can afford it." Seeing Mei's gloomy face, she hurriedly said: "That's what I said, yes, five days is five days, but how did so much money come from? Why is it like a dream."

Mei Da: "I still learned this from An Ran. Although her culinary skills are obvious to all, but if you think about it carefully, An Ran's way of cooking will never be a whim, and she will always think carefully. Before preparing, she will always take the diner's background, identity , preferences, etc., try to figure it out, and then predict the tastes of the diners based on this, and then consider the appropriate dishes, just like those literati and celebrities who came on the first day, most of the dishes she cooks have provenance, not Too much pursuit of taste, but she worked hard on an elegant word. When those salt merchants came, the dishes she cooked were extremely luxurious, so that every diner was satisfied, and these people could come Cuiyuan will definitely not be stingy with money, and loves face very much, the more you tell them to give them a few coins, the more they will give you, there is a mentality of comparison, and there is nothing new about throwing a lot of money."

Yue Jintang nodded: "That's right, when the salt merchant came that day, the first thing he sold was 1000 taels of silver bills, and the next one was more than the other. Just that one meal cost more than 2 taels of silver. Thinking about it, it's incredible for us, you What delicacies from mountains and seas to eat can be worth [-] silver, even the emperor's imperial meal can't be worth so much?"

Mei raised her eyebrows: "Why is An Ran's craftsmanship worthless?"

Yue Jintang: "That's true. Now that your daughter-in-law has become a legend in the culinary industry, if you can eat her cooking once, it's a very face-saving thing to go out and say. Nowadays, in the circle of gourmets, there is no If you have eaten the dishes cooked by your daughter-in-law, you can't be called a master. Besides, your wife is really rich.

When I was in Qizhou, the big and small restaurants in Qizhou were called a fire. The diners in the whole Yanzhou mansion wanted to flock to Qizhou. Now that you have come to Suzhou, the restaurants in Suzhou have also become popular. Don’t you know? , the tables in Songyuelou have to be booked several days in advance, otherwise, they won’t be able to get in the queue. Cui Fu doesn’t seem to be very knowledgeable, but he has a lot of business skills. The dishes that your daughter-in-law competed with Wang Pinrong are now Songyue The signboard of the building is gone, and there is an endless stream of diners who come here admiringly.

Speaking of which, your Anji Restaurant is much worse, and you don't need to leave Anji Restaurant outside to avoid suspicion. This is a good saying, fat water doesn't flow into outsiders' fields, only your wife can order a few times casually , Ben Wang guarantees that your Anji restaurant will definitely become the most prosperous restaurant in the south of the Yangtze River. "

Mei Da glanced at him: "Count your money, don't come up with bad ideas."

Yue Jintang rubbed his nose: "I said that you hide your head and show your tail every day, it's not a problem. In case, I mean in case, your daughter-in-law can't conceive, don't tell me you want to be a plum girl for the rest of your life."

Mei Da frowned slightly, Yue Jintang couldn't help sighing secretly when he saw him like that, this is An Jiamu, a person who used to be so suave and suave, but now he dare not even show his true colors because of that girl.

Thinking of something, he said: "You said we are just like Cui Yuan, how about opening another restaurant? After all, Cui Yuan is your couple's private house, and people come here for dinner every now and then, disturbing the quietness of your couple. , It’s really a bit too much for socializing, so I just open a pot like this. If your wife is interested, go and cook a few dishes.

In this way, your daughter-in-law can relax and take care of the diners outside. Besides, I have already thought about the cook. Are An Ran's two senior brothers not in Qizhou? Now Mr. Zheng lives in Meiyuan and spends every day with Mr. Mei There is no need for apprentices to wait in front of you.

Although the cooking skills of An Ran's two senior brothers are not as good as An Ran's, they are almost as good. With Mr. Zheng's reputation and An Ran's reputation, they will be very prosperous. "

Mei Da looked at him for a while: "I didn't know you were so interested in opening a restaurant?"

Yue Jintang: "You are a full man who doesn't know how hungry a man is hungry. You have the ability to sit at home and get money without moving your body or shaking your arms. Is this king successful? With my little salary, where can I get it? As for the famine, I, the king of the county, deserves it. I look at the scenery on the face, but I am in debt at the back. If I don’t find a reason to make money, the hole will not get bigger and bigger in the future. Besides, this is not the case. Have you caught up with the good opportunity, take advantage of your little daughter-in-law's east wind, save some money, and live a more comfortable life when you get old in the future."

Mei Dazi knew that Yue Jintang had the thickest skin, and in order to achieve his goal, he could say anything: "You have already thought about it, why do you ask me?"

Yue Jintang rolled his eyes: "Aren't you talking nonsense? Even if I think well, if I don't use your daughter-in-law's name, it's useless, who will buy me? If so, let's follow Cui The rules of the garden: I will look for the garden, and leave the layout to me. As long as your wife shows up and cooks a few dishes when it opens, the profit will be [-]% or [-]%. However, the name must be safe, so that outsiders will I think it's your daughter-in-law's restaurant."

Mei Da couldn't help being happy: "Is my daughter-in-law's name so easy to use?"

"That's right, are you married to a daughter-in-law, or married to a cash cow, and after shaking it a little, it cracked and dropped gold?"

"What's the gold drop?" An Ran was delighted when she heard what Yue Jintang said as soon as she came in.

Yue Jintang chuckled: "If you say that Mei Da married you, you are at a loss, and you will never be short of money in the future."

An Ran looked sideways at Mei Da, who stood up and pulled her to sit down: "Don't listen to his nonsense."

"It's not nonsense, I'm telling the truth." As she spoke, she leaned over to An Ran and said, "I'm discussing with Mei here, you two are newlyweds, there will always be someone who mixes up and it's not suitable for you, why don't we choose someone else?" In this place, it’s time to open a restaurant, just follow the path of Cuiyuan, do you think it will be possible?”

An Ran was stunned for a moment, can it work? I was originally referring to the model of modern private kitchen clubs. If I open one seriously, it will definitely make a lot of money every day.

Moreover, Cuiyuan has more and more diners, but it is quite different from what she imagined at the beginning. What she thought at the beginning was to cook a few dishes when she likes to cook, and treat diners as friends when they come.

Those of Mr. Mingyue were alright, but the later wealthy salt merchants, one by one compared with the other vulgar ones, in order to cater to their tastes, the dishes they made went against their original intentions. Even if they were satisfied, they were not happy with their cooking.

Recently, she always wonders whether she has entered a misunderstanding, caring too much about the thoughts and preferences of diners, and trying to cater to them in different ways, so that she loses the joy of cooking.

Moreover, Cuiyuan's reputation is getting bigger and bigger, and it will disturb the life of their husband and wife. Now she understands a truth, there is still a considerable distance between imagination and reality. The reputation will make diners flock to it.

Instead of this, it's better to be simpler, set the goal on making money, open a restaurant like a private restaurant, and you don't have to force yourself to deal with errands, and those diners don't have to queue up every day to go to Yue Jintang's other courtyard, so that Wouldn't it be possible to have both.

Thinking about nodding, Yue Jintang was happy, knowing in his heart that as long as An Ran nodded, the restaurant would be completed.

An Ran nodded, Yue Jintang didn't have the heart to settle accounts here, he stood up and ran away, An Ran took a look at Mei Da: "It's His Royal Highness, so short of money?"

Mei Da rubbed her hand: "He's out of money, don't worry about it, let's go back to the house..."

Hearing his tone, could An Ran still not know what he was thinking, and blushed: "It's almost the Dragon Boat Festival, it's so hot inside, why not go outside to cool off, what are you doing inside?"

Mei let out a big laugh, but lowered her head and kissed her ear: "I'll ask someone to move a few pieces of ice and put them in the house, so that it won't be hot in a while, and I'll sleep now, so I won't lose energy at night." , picked her up and went to the backyard.

After the torment was over, after taking a shower, and lying comfortably in Mei Da's arms, An Ran suddenly said: "Did you say that you did too much, that's why you didn't have any?"

Mei Da lightly caressed his daughter-in-law's naked back. His daughter-in-law's skin and flesh were really hard to put down, like white jade, with no blemish on her body, so that sometimes he wanted to let her go, but he bowed his head and looked at her. Look, this body like a jade carving can't help it anymore, and it feels very good in the hand.

Hearing An Ran's words, Mei Da was stunned: "Where did you hear this? The Tao is the reward of hard work. If you want to have children, you must do more to make it possible. Not diligent enough." Slowly lowering his hand...

An Ran blushed, and hurriedly grabbed his troublesome hand: "Stop making trouble, I can sleep in the next room tonight."

Only then did Mei Da become honest: "Okay, don't make trouble..." Just kidding, what should I do if my daughter-in-law sleeps elsewhere, now I can't sleep well without holding my daughter-in-law.

Although Yue Jintang usually has a playful and smiling face, he is extremely efficient in doing things, but he bought a garden in a few days. It belongs to the Dong family in the western suburbs. This Dong family is very famous in Jiangnan, and is one of the four major salt merchants in Jiangnan. , out of love for Jing'er in Suzhou, he built such a garden in the western suburbs of Suzhou, known as Dong Yuan.

It is several times larger than Jade Garden, with verdant trees, sparse flowers and trees, pavilions and pavilions built along the water, and every plant, tree, brick and tile are all made by famous masters. It is one of the famous gardens in Suzhou.

How could he be willing to sell the garden that took so much effort to Yue Jintang? The Dong family is not short of money. Mei Da looked at Yue Jintang strangely. It wasn't me who came to buy it, he heard that the king was going to open a restaurant, so he took the initiative to find it."

Mei raised her eyebrows: "How much money?"

Speaking of this, Yue Jintang laughed so hard that he couldn't close his mouth. Recently, his fortune and character have exploded. This Cuiyuan made a lot of money first, and it made up for all the famines he had suffered in the past years. There is still a surplus, the days when I have silver in my hands are so comfortable.

Besides, these good things happened one after another. I was looking for a garden here. Dong Dacheng took the initiative to give him the Dong Garden in the western suburbs. I remembered that day Dong Dacheng held the land deed of the garden and begged himself to accept it. With the expression on his face, Yue Jintang is still feeling happy at the moment.

Originally, he said that he couldn't find a suitable one, so he vacated his own other courtyard. With Dong Yuan, his own other courtyard is really not enough.

Seeing Mei Da's puzzled face, he smiled and said: "I don't need a tael of silver, Dong Dacheng said, give it to me."

Mei Da: "What conditions does he have?"

Yue Jintang couldn't help saying: "How do you know he has the conditions?"

"Dong Dacheng is a man who is good at calculating. He has as many eyes as a lotus root. Dong Yuan in the western suburbs has cost him a lot of thought and he likes it very much. Now he gave it to you for nothing. If there is no great benefit, it will be useless." possible."

Yue Jintang nodded: "Speaking of this king, I can't figure it out. His condition is to leave him a seat alone for him to treat guests. Moreover, it's not free. How much money is needed? If you don't eat enough, you will be full." Is it true, Ben Wang wondered, did Dong Dacheng have too much money in his family and had nowhere to use it, so he threw it out in a different way."

Mei Da: "He's really smart, you don't even think about it, there is the example of Jade Garden, the restaurant was booming before it opened, and now everyone outside is proud to eat the dishes made by An Ran himself, if Dong Dacheng booked a table early ,Think about it……"

Yue Jintang patted the table: "Isn't it? Why didn't I think of it? When the time comes, he will occupy a seat first. This will save him a lot of face. No wonder he is willing to take out the garden in the western suburbs."

Mei Da: "He is willing to pay for it. His garden has taken a lot of thought. Compared with Jade Garden, it is much more magnificent. It can be opened without much cleaning, which saves a lot of effort. Dong Dacheng also wants to take the opportunity to share with him. You get close, and use your relationship to connect with the emperor, his intentions are not too deep."

Yue Jintang smiled and said: "I guess he has this idea. It just so happens that the emperor also asked me to deal with these salt merchants. The embankment of the Lianghuai River has not been repaired yet. The emperor is also in trouble. King Ning here Quiet, the Empress Dowager Nei Li has been looking for troubles every three days. In the past few years, the tax burden has been reduced and exempted. The money in the treasury is not enough. Guaranteed that the weather will be smooth every year. If there is a disaster, the emperor will really worry about death, and the emperor will really have nothing to do, so he only cares about the accounts of these salt merchants. With your generosity, this king wouldn't have to spend so much effort."

Mei Da: "You don't need to read Sanyin here. Whenever the court has something to do, I'll take care of it."

Yue Jintang chuckled: "I'm just talking about it casually. Speaking of it, it's good that this money is enough, too much is troublesome, and if you don't bring it with you when you die, it's good for you to do something good. Say no."

Mei didn't care if he didn't accumulate virtue, but he understood a truth. Only when Dayan's court was stable could the people's life be peaceful, and their business would be able to continue in peace. This is a mutually reinforcing relationship, so he never grudged money.

What's more, there is a saying that a big tree attracts the wind. If there is too much money, it is not a trouble but a disaster. If you take the initiative to pay for it, it will be regarded as spending money to eliminate the disaster. , ransacked the family and exterminated the family, and even a tael of silver could not be kept.

After the garden was tidied up, all that was left was to name it. On a sunny day, Yue Jintang invited An Ran and his wife to visit the garden in the western suburbs.

Anran couldn't help but nod secretly when he entered. Small bridges and flowing water, winding paths leading to secluded places, exotic flowers and plants, rockery and strange rocks, row upon row, dizzying.

The entire courtyard is connected by a gallery, and there are twelve elegant houses in total. Each elegant house is an independent small courtyard with different scenery. There are several small doors, so that you don't have to go in and out through one door, which is convenient and privacy is guaranteed, and no one knows when you come and go.

This kind of ingenuity is indeed powerful, presumably those officials like it very much, but An Ran is very skeptical, knowing that the restaurant is opened by Yue Jintang, which official has no eyes, and coming here to eat dinner does not mean it is clear Tell Yue Jintang, is he a corrupt official? Just the salary of an official, no corruption and bribery, this level of consumption is absolutely unaffordable.

Not only An Ran and Mei Da couple came here, but also Mr. Mingyue and others. An Ran could tell that these famous literati in the south of the Yangtze River really had nothing to do every day.

After walking around, I finally sat down at Yuxuan. It was already noon, and I had to cook some dishes to entertain the gentlemen. The two seniors arrived in Suzhou a few days ago, and now they live in this garden.

An Ran sent a letter to the master before, telling about the things in Suzhou. The master's reply was sent back by two senior brothers. It's really not small, and it's time to start a family, let An Ran watch and help senior brother find two sisters-in-law.

An Ran looked at it, and couldn't laugh or cry, the master here regarded her as a matchmaker, but, from the words of the master, An Ran could feel that the master was in a much better mood than when he was in Jizhou before, perhaps because of the old friend for many years, the two The old man was talking and laughing, naturally happy.

As for the question of the sister-in-law, the second senior brother is not difficult, but the senior senior brother swore not to marry for the rest of his life because of the Wei family's affairs, which is a bit difficult, but Mei Da told her not to worry, he has his own way.

Although I don't know what can be done by Mei Da, based on past experience, he can handle things to perfection, so I don't have to worry about it.

The big dishes were served by two senior brothers, An Ran watched from the side, and couldn't help being a little surprised.Seeing her expression, the second senior brother couldn't help laughing: "Do you think that senior brother's culinary skills have improved? You girl is famous now. As your senior brother, if we don't improve, we are afraid that others will laugh at us to death. And your senior brother and I have studied your Anjia food list for a long time, and even the master said that our understanding of dishes is much stronger than before."

An Ran laughed: "Then junior sister, congratulations to the two senior brothers."

Eldest brother glanced outside: "However, these few are all famous officials in the south of the Yangtze River, so they are not very easy to serve."

An Ran shook her head: "The cooking skills of the two seniors, what else can I choose, I'll just make a staple dish."

What An Ran cooks is a noodle dish, according to the preferences of the gentlemen, using young bamboo shoots, small mushrooms, and stewed wolfberry heads as toppings, because the gentlemen are all old, and they are afraid that the noodles are too strong, so they Let Gouzi stretch the thin silver noodles, roll them in the water, take them out, cool them with spring water, pour the fried toppings on them, and let Gouzi serve them.

The second senior brother couldn't help being a little worried: "The noodles made by my junior sister are refreshing, but the toppings are too simple, I'm afraid the gentlemen won't like it."

An Ran smiled and said: "I don't know, senior brother, this topping looks simple, but there is an allusion in it, tender bamboo shoots, small mushrooms, wolfberry heads, these three are extremely delicious, and you don't need to make toppings, boil them in salt soup, use fragrant Cooked oil, pepper, salt, plus a little soy sauce, vinegar, mixed to eat, is also very delicious, because of the fresh and crisp taste, and it is a seasonal vegetable produced in the mountains, so it is also called Shanjia Sancrin, which was once chanted by a poet Admire this dish."

The elder brother laughed and said: "No wonder the junior sister asked Shunzi to study more in Qizhou. We are cooks, although we don't expect to be number one in the examination, but we can learn to read and read some books, and we can gain more knowledge."

An Ran: "Have Shunzi's legs healed?"

The second brother: "The legs are so sharp. Originally, we wanted to bring him here this time. No, his mother was sick before he left, and his father died early. There are only orphans and widows left in the family. After he leaves, there is no one left." We didn't take care of it, so we let him stay, and it's the same when his mother recovers from her illness. When we boarded the boat, the boy cried miserably, and kept asking us to send a message to the dog, saying that he would wait for him As soon as my mother recovered from her illness, she came over and reassured Gouzi that he would also take care of Gouzi's house."

An Ran's heart warmed up, these two little guys, although they didn't know each other for a long time, their relationship is really good, maybe it's because of their similar backgrounds and congenial temperaments that they hit it off at first sight.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter how long people have known each other. Some people have known each other for decades and still don't like each other. Some people can know each other after only one meeting. This is fate.

When An Ran got to the front, she saw a few gentlemen drinking too much and splashing ink in the gazebo.

An Ran couldn't help being amused, Yue Jintang was getting smarter now, there was a faint aroma of wine in the air, one could tell it was a rare good wine just by smelling it.

When Yue Jintang saw her, he hurriedly said, "Hurry up and come up with a name. Write it down because Mr. Mingyue is here, and this garden will have a signboard."

Mr. Mingyue just heard this, and couldn't help not being annoyed, but looked at An Ran with a smile: "Girl, just now your three crispy noodles and my old man's thoughts, Mr. Minger of your garden made it, only this three crispy noodles But you can’t hide your secrets. I wrote it for the old man and brought it back, so that my cook can learn it. I will do it in the future, and I will save you from trouble when I have nothing to do. I also wrote the few dishes last time. It's good."

An Ran smiled: "What's the matter, An Ran wrote it later and asked Gou Zi to send it to you."

Mr. Mingyue nodded in satisfaction: "You are indeed a good cook, you are open-minded and don't hide your secrets. It would be great if all the craftsmen in the world were like you."

As he spoke, he remembered something: "By the way, there is a child who wants to learn crafts from you. I think that child is clever and is a piece of material. I will bring it to you later."

An Ran was stunned, Mr. Mingyue is known to everyone in the south of the Yangtze River, and he is not a nosy person, so he suddenly recommended an apprentice to her, which really surprised An Ran.

It's not that An Ran doesn't want to accept apprentices, it's just that he accepts apprentices, if he doesn't have time to teach, it's better not to accept, Defu is still in Jizhou now, the master and senior brothers have come out, this apprentice accepts, really guilty, he didn't teach for a few days at all.

Yue Jintang saw that she was in a bit of trouble, and he smiled and said, "Don't talk about the name, why are you accepting apprentices again? Don't worry about accepting apprentices. Anyway, Master An Ran can't escape, but this name can't wait. It will open for business in three days, and all twelve tables have been booked out, and there will be no name at that time, what is it like?"

An Ran looked around, and thought for a while: "Why don't we just call it Yashe?"

"Okay, this name is good, it sounds elegant."

So Mr. Mingyue swiped his brush, and the two strong characters of Yashe were engraved on the outside of the gate.

Yashe replaced Cuiyuan and became the restaurant with the highest threshold, the most difficult to determine, and the most expensive restaurant in Jiangnan. It's quiet, almost no diners come to the door, which means that there are few cars and horses in front of the door.

If you don't know, most of the outsiders think this is a private house. If you ask, someone will tell you that this is not a private house, but a restaurant. If you want to go in and have a meal, I'm sorry you have to see you next year, Mr. Yashe The table has been booked until the end of the year, if there is any more, I will look you up and down a few times, and kindly advise you, if you have little money in your family, don't even think about it, a table in Yashe starts from a thousand taels of silver.

What do you mean that delicacies from mountains and seas are so expensive?Someone will sneer and say disdainfully, at first glance, you are from other places, do you know who opened Yashe, the current King of Xiaoyao County is fine, there is another one who is the famous Chef An, Chef An knows Who is not?

If you say you don’t know, there will be no less than ten people running over immediately, telling you about Chef An’s great achievements and what dishes he has cooked?How is the cooking skill so good?How did the chef of the governor's mansion, who won, take the opportunity to eliminate harm for the people, and sent the villainous guy to the magistrate's yamen. Now, the case has been cleared, and he is put on death row, waiting to be beheaded by the autumn queen. Yashe is almost complete. An unattainable existence.

No matter what outsiders think of Yashe, Yue Jintang has really tasted the taste of making a fortune without leaving. He used to see people doing business, whether it was opening a restaurant or selling things, it was hard work, but he didn't expect to make money so easy.

This girl An Ran is simply the God of Wealth, I don't know where she came up with these ideas, it doesn't take much trouble, and she can make a lot of money, and now Yashe earns more than Jade Garden before, won't she become the richest county king in Dayan if things go on like this , It feels good to have money in your waist.

Yue Jintang held the account book in his hand, his hands were trembling with excitement, but when he raised his eyes and saw Gouzi coming in with zongzi in his hand, he couldn't help being a little greedy: "Who made the zongzi? Isn't it not yet the Dragon Boat Festival?"

Gouzi: "My master made it, and said master wanted to eat it, so I made it..."

Before Gouzi finished talking, there was no one in sight, Gouzi was stunned, and looked at the bunch of rice dumplings in his hand, he seemed to have forgotten to tell His Royal Highness that the reason why he came to Yashe was to deliver rice dumplings, The two uncles, His Royal Highness, and even the staff and cooks in Yashe have a share, but Cuiyuan is gone now.

When Yue Jintang rushed to Cuiyuan in a hurry, Mei Da was eating the last zongzi. In fact, Mei Da didn't like eating zongzi, but it was the Dragon Boat Festival, which inevitably brought back some old things.

I remembered that when I met my daughter-in-law by the water that day, the daughter-in-law seemed to be breaking off the reed leaves to make zongzi. Then, the two had a misunderstanding, so that I almost drowned in that puddle later. inside.

However, now thinking of the way the little daughter-in-law took off her clothes and jumped into the water that night, I still feel a little scared. At that time, I lost my soul from the fright, so I jumped down without thinking, and then Rescued by the little daughter-in-law...

These things all started with the breaking of zongzi leaves during the Dragon Boat Festival, so when I saw the Dragon Boat Festival, I couldn't help but miss it, so that An Ran found that something was wrong with Mei Da, so she asked a question.

Mei Daran didn't dare to say so, so she reasoned that she wanted to eat zongzi, so An Ran asked someone to buy zongzi leaves and came back, made zongzi all morning, left a few fillings that Mei Da liked, and sent the rest to the dog. Yashe.

The couple were enjoying the cool and eating rice dumplings in the small pavilion by the water in the East Garden at the moment, but Yue Jintang ran over, and ran to the small basket on the table without saying a word.

Seeing that there was only half a basket of eaten zongzi leaves left, he couldn't help but be quite disappointed: "I said you are too mean, and you don't think about me when you eat zongzi."

An Ran blinked: "Didn't Gou Zi take it for you?"

Yue Jintang was stunned: "You said Gouzi sent the zongzi to Yashe?"

Seeing that his brow was sweating hot, An Ran obviously ran back non-stop, rolled his eyes, wanted to understand the cause and effect of the matter, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Mei Da also laughed, and Yue Jintang said depressedly: "You two are really unkind. In this hot day, is it easy for me to come back from the western suburbs without eating a single zongzi?"

Mei Da: "You'll be fine if you go back again."

Yue Jintang: "You think I'm stupid, just Yashe's gang of gluttons, I guess even the zongzi hair is gone now, I won't be able to go back to eat zongzi leaves." But he was staring at a white porcelain ice pattern in An Ran's hand Xiao Wan: "What is this? It's cool just looking at it."

An Ran knew that with Yue Jintang's temperament, as long as he saw it, it would definitely fall into his mouth, so she simply handed it to him directly: "Red bean smoothie, to cool off the heat."

Yue Jintang's eyes lit up, and he was about to reach out to pick it up, but he didn't want half of it to be intercepted by Slant's outstretched hand: "Brother Mei, what do you want, isn't it just a bowl of red bean smoothie."

Mei Da was too lazy to talk nonsense with him, so she pushed herself into his hands, and Yue Jintang immediately started to eat with a smile on his face.

Mei Da handed back the one in her hand to An Ran, An Ran couldn't help but pursed her lips and laughed, this man is sometimes so naive and cute, the bowl of red bean smoothie in front of her has not been touched yet, this guy eats it smell.

I had just eaten half of a bowl of smoothie when the maid came over and said, "Mr. Mingyue is here to visit."

An Ran was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly went out with Mei Da.

This time, besides Mr. Mingyue, I saw another boy who was eleven or twelve years old. I suddenly remembered that Mr. Mei mentioned last time that he asked me to take in an apprentice. Could it be this kid?
He lowered his head and said nothing, just when An Ran came in, he hurriedly raised his head for a glance, then lowered his head again, looking quite introverted, the clothes on his body were patched and patched, but they were washed very clean.

Asking Mr. Mingyue to sit down and serving tea, An Ran said: "Mr., is it because of the apprenticeship you mentioned last time?"

Mr. Mingyue pointed at the kid: "His name is Shen Yue, and you probably don't know him, but his father is quite famous in Suzhou. Shen, the chopstick in the west of the city, is his father."

Are the chopsticks heavy?An Ran couldn't help but take a look at this kid. She had heard of Shen Chopsticks before, not in Suzhou, but in Qizhou. Mr. Mei's plum garden kept a lot of good things, including antiques and porcelain, all of which were not new, An Ran But also found a set of chopsticks.

The chopsticks are made of smooth ebony, and the chopsticks have hot silver patterns. If you look carefully, you will find that they are pictures of ladies, and there are twelve chopsticks, each of which is different from the pictures of ladies. Quite shocked.

Mr. Mei said that it was made by Suzhou Chopsticks Shen, and it was a gift from Mr. Mingyue. It was all upside down. Why did Chopsticks Shen’s son come to learn cooking from him?

Knowing her doubts, Mr. Mingyue sighed: "Needless to say, as long as there is no one in the south of the Yangtze River who doesn't know about the craftsmanship of chopsticks, it doesn't matter if you have a great reputation. Making chopsticks is a thankless job. However, he is not a man who can support his family. The father who gave birth to this boy is a temperament who does not ask for anything.

Originally counting on this business, life was not easy. Years ago, I fell ill again. I borrowed money from others and couldn't get it back. The stranger rushed to the street. If it wasn't for the coincidence that the old man happened to meet, I don't know that their family is like this It's difficult, but it's a pity for this good craftsmanship.

Now it is placed in the Chongyuan Temple outside the city. When the child's mother heard that the old man knew you, she asked the old man to let the child learn to cook with you, so that she would not go hungry in the future. The old man brought you here today. Yes, you can see if you accept it..."

(End of this chapter)