in spring

Chapter 27

Chunying didn't know what Cui's mother and daughter said after she left, because it was late, she rushed to the kitchen to cook, but found that Lu's mother and Aunt Ma had arrived there at some time, busy with work, By the way, gossip.

"Here you come? Help me wash the dishes!" Lu's mother wiped her sweat with her hands without raising her head, and continued the conversation with Aunt Ma while cooking, "You just said that Mr. Is Young Master Xu from the Fourth Master’s family at West Street Kou a classmate? I remember that Young Master Xu is a concubine, right? Isn’t he studying ethnology?”

Chunying picked up the dustpan with vegetables and went to the well, listening to their words while washing.

"When I was young, I studied ethnology. Later, I heard that the gentleman in the school recommended him to another gentleman, so I met this Mr. Hu." Aunt Ma was chopping the meat in her hand, and looked at the meat in the cauldron. Water, "The oil is gone, let me borrow it from your house."

"You take it, it's over there. What happened later? How did I hear that Master Xu is leaving Beijing?"

"I heard that he passed the examination of scholar last year, but his ranking was far behind his elder brother, Young Master Fu. The husband also said that he would definitely not pass the provincial examination this year, so the fourth lady asked him to rest for a few years. Who knew that he was crying all day long, still Hanging around outside, I heard that he is often drunk. Tell me, Master Fu is still preparing for the exam! Everyone said that he must be in high school, how could he be troubled by this unworthy younger brother?! So the fourth lady gave it to Master Xu A sum of money, tell him to go to the south to see Zhuangzi, so as not to mess around at home." Aunt Ma suddenly raised her head and lowered her voice, "I heard from their mother-in-law that it actually means to divide the family, give him some property , far away, so as not to be an eyesore, what he will do in the south in the future has nothing to do with their family."

Mother Lu clapped her hands and opened her eyes wide: "Then Master Xu is not here yet! Didn't the Fourth Master confess that he would not separate the family until he married a wife when he was dying?"

Aunt Ma sneered: "The Fourth Madam didn't say she wanted to separate the family. She just saw that he was failing in his studies and asked him to help the family take care of the property. Although this Madam is not an official wife, she is very scheming and will never be taken away by others." Hold on, what are you worrying about?"

Mother Lu curled her lips and said, "Who's worried? But seeing that Young Master Xu lost his mother when he was young, and lost his father when he was less than ten years old, and now he has to be sent far away, I feel a little pitiful for him." He scolded Chunying again: "I haven't finished washing yet? The dishes are all rotten!"

Chun Ying was fascinated by this, and hurriedly responded, poured out the dirty water quickly, and took the vegetables into the kitchen.

Aunt Ma still said there: "What's so pitiful? This is his good fortune! He was born by a girl. He has grown up to such a great age without incident, and has also passed the exam. Now he is about to separate from the family and has an estate. The hand, the money is not a lot of him, the fourth wife and Master Fu treated him well. Look at the young masters in the other rooms, how many of them are as lucky as him?" After a pause, he turned his head in Chunying's direction. He nodded: "The young master Hu that your Chun'er invited in is also a concubine, and his own father is still there, spoiled like something, he takes it everywhere every day, the wife of the main house and the eldest son can't wait to tear it apart. Let him go! Look, I heard that the Hu family master is not good, if there is something good or bad, I don't know what will happen!"

Chunying hurriedly asked: "Really? Mr. Hu is really so sad at home?" Then he partnered with Nandeng and his wife, will there be any problems?
"Hurry up and cook! Why do you ask this?!" Mother Lu scolded again, but she was also a little curious. , but they are all first-class good things.”

Aunt Ma proudly raised her eyebrows and said: "Don't you believe what I said? The women in the fourth room all know about it, and their family has contacts with the Hu family. I heard that Mr. Hu's biological mother used to serve Mr. Hu since he was a child." She has been in love with her for decades, and after she gave birth to her son, she was directly promoted to become an aunt, and she has never been out of favor. Although she is still a person, how can Mrs. Hu spare her? Every now and then There will always be a scene. Mr. Hu is a concubine, even if he is favored by his father again, will he not let anyone bully him when he has no backing?" After saying that, he winked at Chunying: "Good Chuner, You are an honest man, don't get close to Mr. Hu, it won't lead to good results."

Chunying was stunned, angry and funny in her heart, before she could speak, Lu's mother said, "What are you talking about?! How old is Chun'er? Are you talking nonsense?!" Aunt Ma smiled embarrassingly, Busily put the chopped green onion tofu fried minced meat in the pot on a plate, and took it out.

Mother Lu muttered a few words in a low voice, then said to Chunying: "Don't listen to her, Mr. Hu has helped us, we must not be ungrateful!" Then she paused, "But although he is a concubine, he is a nobleman after all, He is not with us, and you don't have to get close to him in the future."

Chunying hesitantly agreed, and after thinking about it, she still told about the fact that Lu met Nandeng and his wife and set up a partnership with Hu Gongzi for them. Lu's mother smiled and said: "This is a good thing, just don't let outsiders know about it." , to save Hongyu's father from looking for trouble again."

Chunying nodded, and asked cautiously: "Mother...they are doing business together...we...do you want to take part?"

"What does that have to do with us? Do you think we have money and have nothing to do? Hey? It's already cooked, why don't you put salt?!" Mother Lu hurriedly pulled Chunying away, put salt into the pot, and then gave her daughter a look. , "Why are you so confused? Go and set the dishes!" He grabbed the spatula again.

Chunying shrinks her neck, turns around to go out, but is stopped by her mother again.Mother Lu hesitated for a long time, glanced at Cui's house, and then whispered: "No matter what the Cui family says, don't get too close to them in the future, they are not good things!"

Chunying smiled and said: "Mother, you are prejudiced. Although they are a little selfish, it is not easy for them."

"It's not easy for everyone in this world!" Lu's mother sneered, "But I don't see that everyone will be a white-eyed wolf! Who knows when they will stab us secretly again?" After saying that, she went to cook on her own.

Chunying walked out of the kitchen and looked towards the Cui family's hut nearby. The dim light reflected the figures of two women, one big and one small, sitting next to each other behind the window.Miss Cui didn't know what she said, but Widow Cui burst into tears suddenly. The daughter comforted the mother, and the mother stroked her daughter's head.After a while, Miss Cui got up to pack her things, probably going back home.

Chunying turned around and walked towards her own house.Whether the Cui family's mother and daughter are good or bad, it has nothing to do with her. Miss Cui has to work hard in the mansion, and she has to work hard outside the mansion for the family's free livelihood.

It took only a few days for the store to be opened, and there was a letter of approval, and the shop was already rented out.Mr. Hu was worried that his family would know, so he didn't go out in person. Instead, he entrusted a long follower of his friend Li Xu to negotiate with the butler of the Li clan chief.Because Li Xu went south, the whole family of this long-term follower was in Beijing, and he didn't want to be separated from his family, so he didn't go with him.He had no errands and wished he could run this errand for Mr. Hu. It was a lot of money and hard work. Unexpectedly, within two days of finishing the job, he was sent by his master to the countryside to guard Zhuangzi.

The shop is located near Longfu Temple. The shop is not big. Chunying estimates it is about [-] square meters. There is a kitchen behind the shop, a small yard of five or six square meters, a well, and two huts next to it.The first hand here is a noodle shop, but there are many ready-made materials, and the stove and kitchen utensils should be complete.Nandeng and his wife discussed it and decided to return the house in the alley and move to the store to save some money.

After Nan Deng consulted Mr. Hu, he decided to name the store "Red Lantern Story". After Chunying found out, she was so embarrassed that she couldn't speak for a long time.Then Hongyu ordered a menu. There were not many varieties, except for the signature osmanthus rice wine glutinous rice balls, Yangchun noodles, fried noodles, plus white flour steamed buns and scallion pancakes.

If it is a street food stall, these few dishes are not bad, but it seems that there are few shops.Mr. Hu passed by once in a while, and suggested to add a few more dishes, otherwise, he would specialize in one or two special dishes, so as to make a name for himself.He came and went in a hurry, but it troubled Nan Deng and Hong Yu for a long time.The young couple is not a person who is good at cooking. It is rare to be able to cook a few kinds of pasta. How can there be any ideas?
After Chunying knew about it, she sat in front of the shop and observed it for half a day, asked many people, and finally summed up the characteristics of the flow of people in this area.

Longfu Temple was originally a temple with a lot of incense. There are many residents and businesses around it. There is a temple fair every [-]th and [-]th. The things sold range from antique calligraphy and paintings, silk and satin to flowers, birds, fish and insects. Naturally, food stalls are indispensable, and ordinary people seem to be more accustomed to eating in such places, while famous restaurants nearby mostly receive rich customers.In this case, the Red Lantern Book is a small shop. If it sells things from food stalls, the price should not be raised too high, I am afraid that it will not make much money.

So Chunying said to Nandeng and Hongyu: "The shop is small, the tables and chairs are all cheap, and there is no private room. Those rich people will not come, so we have to attract customers with little money. The kind at home. When they go to Shangxiang, if they don’t want to spend a lot of money to go to restaurants, but also want to eat clean and rich, they will come to small shops like Hong Deng Ji. Therefore, I suggest that you think about a few more dishes and make them cheaper It is affordable, delicious, and the portion is generous, and it should be made clean, so that they feel that eating here is better than elsewhere.”

She generously contributed the recipes she had pondered over the past few months, including stewed pork with bean tendon, roasted eggplant with minced meat, scrambled eggs with Chinese toon, ribs and radish soup, etc., and said: "The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon, if you want to If there are no new dishes, you might as well make more zongzi for sale. In addition to the common stuffed bean paste, pork, and dates, you can also make some red beans, mung beans, pine nuts, and walnuts. The big ones are enough for a bowl of rice, and the small ones are One bite at a time, let people eat a bunch. By the way, if you have lotus seeds, ham and salted egg yolk, you can also use it." She clapped her hands: "Speaking of red beans and mung beans, remind me that drinking mung bean soup is not the right thing to do now. Is it suitable? Make a big pot early in the morning and sell it slowly. There is a well in the backyard, and it will be cooler if you pour it into the well water!"

Nan Deng was dizzy when he heard it, but Hong Yu carefully wrote it down one by one, and added pork wontons and dumplings stuffed with pork and cabbage, and said with a smile: "I often make these two when I'm at home, thank you for reminding me. Already." Counting carefully, there are more than a dozen kinds of dishes, and they are ready to meet people. She is very happy, but also a little worried: "What if we can't do it?"

Chunying waved her hand: "They are all very simple dishes, but the ingredients are a bit more troublesome. You start with the easy ones and practice it two or three times. Just remember to make the dishes as clean as possible, and use all the dishes and chopsticks. The boiling water has been scalded, the water for washing dishes should be changed frequently, the floor should be kept clean at all times, there should be no stagnant water, and, Brother Nan Deng, remember to wear a hat when cooking, wash your hands frequently, and never cook when you are sick... ..." Unknowingly, she uttered all the hotel management knowledge she had learned before traveling.

Nan Deng thought it made sense, so he wrote it down very seriously, but he was a little suspicious: "Why does the little girl seem very familiar? I remember that the Lu family never ran a restaurant before?"

Chunying stifled, and laughed a few times: "I've always heard what others said, I heard what others said..." Seeing that Nan Deng was half-believing, but didn't continue to ask, she was secretly relieved.Reflecting on it, she seems to be too enthusiastic about this matter, and she is not the one who opened the shop, so why be so active?

However, she still had some small hopes in her heart.There is no money to buy shares now, but if she can come up with a few more good ideas, will Nan Deng and Hong Yu reward her for it?Just like my uncle, the several plans I put forward made him money, and he will also generously give bonuses.

When she has more money, she can invest in it and buy a share. The profit may be very thin, but after years of accumulation, there will be a lot, right?

With such longings in mind, she helped Nan Deng and Hong Yu master the recipes of a dozen dishes little by little. Then, on a certain auspicious day, "Red Lantern" opened.The first day was just in time for the temple fair, there were crowds of people, and business was booming.

Standing by the door of the store, she watched the customers walk into the store one by one, feeling extremely happy in her heart.

And at the same time, in the Huanhua Pavilion in the southeast corner of Qingguo Hou's Mansion, Cui Manru, holding freshly brewed fragrant tea, avoided several big maids and walked gently into the studio where the third young master was.

(Pink tickets~~~>_<)

(End of this chapter)