After the opening of Xu Ji Restaurant, it became even more busy. They are all the people of Yuanbao Town. Even if the price of Chaojiu is not cheap, they still want to buy some for their family members to try.

In the first few days, the morning food was almost sold until noon, and finally, Brother Cheng told the diners that it was really impossible, and his master was the only one in the back kitchen. The master was too busy to touch the ground. , there is definitely no way to continue to add the morning meal, and the diners left.

Fortunately, there were a few small helpers, Xu Qinyu went to wash up, and after an hour of rest, she was about to prepare the evening meal.

Mu Shi also had more guests than usual, and it was delayed by an hour. When she returned in the evening, Xu Qinyu was too tired to lift her hands. Wen Shi was so distressed that she asked her daughter-in-law to wash up and lie on the bed.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Mother, what are you doing?"

Wen Shi seemed to recall something, and smiled softly, "In the past, the late emperor was also busy, and he felt uncomfortable after reviewing the memorials every day. I just helped him press his shoulders, neck and back, which made him feel a lot more comfortable."

Xu Qinyu hurriedly said, "Mother, this is not acceptable, I'll just take a nap in a while."

How could she be so embarrassed to ask Mr. Wen to massage her.

Wen Shi insisted, not to let Yu Niang lie down.

Xu Qinyu had to lie down obediently. Mrs. Wen sat on the edge of the bed to help her knead her shoulders and neck, and then to the back and waist. Mrs. Wen's strength was not great, but she was very comfortable.

Wen Shi did not speak, probably thinking of the late emperor and the eldest son.

Xu Qinyu unknowingly fell asleep like this. When she fell asleep, Mrs. Wen left. She went out and explained to Pei Jianing, "Sister Ning, when you go back to the house to rest in a while, take a step back, don't wake your sister-in-law."

Ning Jie'er smiled and said, "Don't worry, mother, I'll save it."

She also felt sorry for the fourth sister-in-law. Every time she went back to the house to sleep, the fourth sister-in-law was already asleep.

When she woke up the next day, Xu Qinyu felt that her body was indeed much more comfortable than the previous days. The previous days were too busy, and even if she came back and fell asleep, her body was still sore and sore the next day, but it was not so painful today.

In the next few days, Xu Ji was also very busy, there were still many diners, and many old diners from Donglaiju came to Xu Ji to eat morning and evening meals.

Originally, although these diners heard that Xu Ji tasted good, they didn’t like to run to the West Street. They felt that even if Xu Ji’s food tasted good, the place was too small and they had to wait in line. The place to live is open and bright, not crowded, and there are compartments, but because Xu Ji is helping the disaster victims, everyone wants to come to Xu Ji to have a look, even if you are in line, you have to come and try it.

That’s how I came to Xuji and tasted it, and I fell in love with it. When I went back, I told my relatives and friends, “Everything I’ve eaten at Xuji said it tasted good, but I was thinking about how good it can be. Donglaiju tastes very good. , what to eat, after all, yihua is like that, and it turned out that I was really wrong, Xu Ji’s morning and evening food is called a fragrant, and I can’t forget it after eating it, but there are so many people.”

"I told the master that Xu Ji's food is delicious. The milk tea tastes rich and mellow, and there is sour plum soup to quench the heat and quench thirst, but the master doesn't believe it. I often go there with several other wives, but I have to wait and ask. When queuing up, Xu Ji will give you a sign, then go in according to the number on the sign, and go shopping by yourself at other times, just pay attention to the time."

These female relatives have already mastered the skills of queuing. Every time they get a small wooden sign, they will go to West Street to buy some rouge gouache and jewelry. After about half an hour, it is their turn.

As Xu Ji's diners increased, Donglaiju's passenger flow decreased a lot, but the shopkeeper and the owner of Donglaiju didn't say much.

In addition to the decrease in the number of customers in Donglaiju, Wen Yunling's restaurant on East Street has finally opened. Her restaurant is called Xiangrui Restaurant. There are very few diners. She was a little hit, and she felt that it was because Xu Qinyu had a good mind and gained fame by helping the victims, and Xu Ji was completely prosperous in Yuanbao Town, so all the diners went to Xu Ji, her restaurant. Naturally no business.

It was Yue Shi who persuaded his daughter, "Sister Ling, don't worry, Xu Ji's business is good for a while. After a while, her relief work for the disaster victims is over. Who wants to have a meal all day long and have to wait in line? Everyone? That is to try something new for a while, after a while, everyone will not rush to make notes, our restaurant business will be better, and we can't be in a hurry to do business."

Wen Yunling could only suppress his emotions and wait slowly.

...

In the past few days, Xu Qinyu has not only been busy with Xu Ji, but also let Brother Gong lead Xu Feng and the others to pick a lot of wild grapes in the mountains to continue making wine.

She doesn't need to worry about the chores of washing grapes, picking grapes, drying grapes, washing and scalding the wine jar, and even the subsequent wine making doesn't need her to do it herself. She only divides the amount of grapes and rock sugar, and they help seal the jar. .

In just a few days, more than 70 jars of wine have been brewed, and they will continue to be brewed one after another.

The wine jar used for fermentation is an ordinary large wine jar, which is a few cents apiece, but after the wine is fermented, it needs to be poured out and packaged separately, which is a better small wine bottle.

It was specially customized by Xu Qinyu.

The small wine bottle of white porcelain is also engraved with the five characters of Xu Ji wine.

This kind of white porcelain carved small wine bottle is not cheap, fifty cents a piece, but she wants a large amount, so she ordered a thousand such small wine bottles first, fifty taels of silver, and they gave them two taels cheaper.

The first batch of brewed wine could almost smell the fragrant fruit wine. When Xu Qinyu smelled almost the same in the past two days, he asked Cheng Geer and the others to pour the fermented wine into a delicate white porcelain wine bottle. Continue the second fermentation, the weather is hot, and the second fermentation is about half a month. After half a month, you can drink it after the second fermentation, and you don’t need to continue to change the container. This small white porcelain wine bottle is just right. .

This kind of white porcelain wine bottle can only hold about a pound of wine. This kind of fruit wine is also a delicate route. It will not be sold too cheaply. Of course, it will not be sold for sky-high prices. At least the wealthy businessmen in Raozhou City follow Officials can afford it.

She made a large jar of wine that could hold seven or so small wine bottles, each priced at one or two bucks.

There was also a thin silk ribbon tied around the neck of the small wine bottle. It was also the leftover material from the satin she bought with the sister-in-law of the Xia family. She asked Ning Jie'er to help cut it. She also gave Ning Jie'er wages. She was willing to, and said that besides making bags all day, she had no other chores. She had to hire someone to do all the work at home, and she should also help her sister-in-law to do some work.

Xu Qinyu didn't insist. The bags that Ning Jie'er made were hand-made, and they were made very finely. Each bag was completely different. Even bags of the same type would have slightly different patterns.

The bags made by Ning Jie'er, Xu Qinyu saw that many girls in the market were carrying or carrying them cross-body.

The bags made by Ning Jie'er are not the more modern ones. They are more suitable for the skirts and gowns that these daughters and daughters wear on weekdays. They are small and delicate ones that can be carried in the hand or cross-body. For decoration, it is actually just an accessory to match clothes, buns and jewelry.

After all, bags are indeed more like decorations for women.

Ning Jie'er can make about four or five bags per month. The bags she is making now are ordered by the daughters of big families who come to her in advance. It is no longer leftovers, but whole pieces of silk and silk.

In fact, there are imitations of these bags in the market, but they are not as delicate as Ning Jie'er's, and the patterns are exactly the same as Ning Jie'er's. They are also cheap, but it does not affect Ning Jie'er's business. The daughters of rich merchants naturally want the best and will not be greedy for this cheap.

In this way, Xu Qinyu's first batch of wine was divided into 140 bottles, all of which were stored in the utility room, waiting for the second fermentation.

Everyone in Xu Ji Restaurant was busy. Seven or eight days passed, and the victims outside Yuanbao Town were still living outside. The victims also wanted to stay in Yuanbao Town, but they learned that the settlement fee would cost 5 taels of silver per person. , they naturally can't spend so much money, and can only go to villages that do not require registration fees.

But they are still unable to leave. As for the reason, the county magistrate told them that if they would discuss their whereabouts with them.

But this is to deceive these ordinary disaster victims, not to deceive the Wen family.

The Wen family is the queen, and she sees the problem.

She knew that there were three other villages under the jurisdiction of Raozhou City where the victims had contracted diarrhea in the past. At present, the villages have also been sealed off and sent people to go there for protection and treatment. Dare to let go? There is no word from the above, the prefect of Raozhou City has no way to make a decision about such a serious diarrhea. He must write a secret letter and send it to the capital. Based on the temperament of the two people in the capital, it is very possible to cut the grass and root, and even feel that Yuanbao Town was also implicated by the victims, and even the people of Yuanbao Town were slaughtered together.

In fact, Mrs. Wen knew in her heart that Empress Dowager Fu wanted to kill all of her lineage.

But the courtiers were so violent that Empress Dowager Fu did not dare to attack and exiled them.

Because she was worried that the two in the palace ordered the slaughter of the town and the village, Mrs. Wen had been a little absent-minded in the settlement of accounts these days. She had already seen that her mother-in-law was restless these days.

Wen thought for a while, and told her about her worries without hiding it from Yu Niang.

After Xu Qinyu heard it, she also snorted. It seemed that her previous guess was good. The new emperor and the queen mother in the palace are definitely not good things. It is possible to kill the town and the village.

Wen Shi added, "You don't have to worry too much about Yu Niang. The courtiers in the palace will not let them mess around. Besides, diarrhea can be prevented and cured now, so it shouldn't be massacred."

Wen Shi said, but his eyes couldn't help falling on Yu Niang.

Yu Niang was lying on the bed, her head turned slightly, half of her snow-white cheeks exposed, and half of her brows were furrowed, still worried that she could speak.

In fact, Yuanbao Town's prevention of diarrheal diseases before, Wen Shi did not think it was the protection method thought up by the county magistrate Yang. It was Yu Niang who went to the yamen in person that day, and she had this protection method. I'm afraid it is What Yu Niang came up with, this method has not been recorded in any book or travel journal, otherwise, even if there is a chance, it would have been discovered by the world and tried to prevent the plague.

Fortunately, Yu Niang knew in her heart that their family could not take credit for this kind of thing. Otherwise, if the two in the palace knew about it, they would feel that Yu Niang and the Pei family were a threat and would not let them go.

But Wen's mind was thinking about something else at the moment, Yu Niang really knew a lot...

Wen Shi couldn't help sighing in his heart.

Forget it, no matter what, Yuniang is just Yuniang, who is dedicated to her family and treats them very well.

Wen Shi stretched out his hands to gather the hair sticking to Yu Niang's cheeks behind her ears, and pinched her shoulders and arms for Yu Niang.

Because Wen Shi mentioned the two people in the palace, Xu Qinyu was also worried for several days.

Fortunately, the two of them didn't worry for too long. A few days later, officers and soldiers from Raozhou City came to post notices. Protection and medical treatment for patients with diarrhea.

After the notice was posted, the victims outside the town also packed up and left Yuanbao Town to settle in the village where there is no registration fee.

The town finally returned to its former tranquility.

It is already midsummer, and many crops have begun to be harvested. Xu Qinyu bought a lot of tender peanuts and plans to make five-flavored salty dried peanuts. Well, it can be stored for a long time after it is made, and it will be fine after a year.

The method is also simple. Fresh peanuts are washed to remove the dirt on them, poured into the prepared brine and boiled for two hours to fully taste the flavor, then spread them out to dry in the sun.

Fresh peanuts that have been boiled directly can also be eaten. This kind is boiled peanuts with shells and fragrant salt. It is very tasty. It tastes full of five-spice juice. It's hot, and the guests who usually eat evening food are taking out some wine, and this stewed peanuts are also added to the menu.

A plate sells for 20 yuan, and it is almost a must-order for every table.

Half of the boiled peanuts are sold on the same day, and the remaining half are spread in the yard on a clean stone slab to dry, but after drying, they are still not good enough, and they are not crispy enough to eat, so they must be dried again. She has Roasted in a kiln, put it in and dry it slowly with a slow fire. It is salted and dried peanuts. drink.

The first batch of wine made by Xu Qinyu has also been fermented for the second time and is ready to drink. She tasted it herself and found that it has a strong fruity aroma, a touch of wine and sweetness. She said it was wine, but it can actually be drunk as a drink. sour and sweet. She fermented well for the first time. After the second fermentation, these wines can be stored for a year or two without any problem, but the taste of the wine will be heavier later, not as strong as the fruity taste at the beginning.

The first batch of brewed wine, Xu Qinyu also sent some to the Xia family, the Xu family and the Yang family, and the rest were sold in the Xu Ji restaurant. learned that a bottle of one tael of silver, except for a few, is not bad. Customers with silver coins buy, but they do not sell much.

Because even if you eat a few good dishes in the restaurant, you only spend one tael of silver. This small bottle of fruit wine costs one tael of silver. Naturally, there are not many people who buy it. They are rich businessmen who bought some and went back to drink. .

The second batch of wine has also been bottled for secondary fermentation.

The third and fourth batches of wine are still fermenting in the large wine jars.

Throughout the summer, apart from making wine, Xu Qinyu made salty and dried peanuts.

But in fact, she didn't worry too much, the wine and salted dried peanuts were made by Brother Cheng and the others.

It's almost autumn, and Xu Ji's business is a little weaker than when there were disaster victims in midsummer, but there are still a lot of diners, and every day is very busy.

Fortunately, there are two days of rest every month, so that Xu Qinyu can breathe a sigh of relief.

Taking advantage of the late summer rest day, she wanted to go to Raozhou City. Her wine had been fermented in batches and was ready to drink. She had to find a market. There were indeed people buying it in the town, but it was sold at a low price. It's too slow, and we still need to open up sales in Raozhou City.

On the day of Xu Ji's rest, Xu Qinyu got up early, hired a carriage, and was going to go to the city. Wen Shi asked Cheng Ge'er to go with her, and she was definitely worried about Yuniang going alone.

Brother Cheng knows how to drive, so there is no need to hire a driver.

Xu Feng must also go with him.

Xu Feng injured one eye when he was a child. When he was a little beggar in the past, the broken eye looked particularly scary. After being adopted by Xu Qinyu, he specially made a blindfold to cover it, and the guests in the restaurant also looked at him. I'm used to it, and I don't think it's scary at all.

After more than two months of recuperation, these children have not only grown flesh, but also become taller.

Xu Feng is taller than Gong Geer, Xu Qinyu suspects that he is not only ten years old, maybe about the same age as Cheng Geer, but he has been a beggar since he was a child, and he doesn't know his exact date of birth. If you are full and often hungry, you will definitely not grow in size. Now that your nutrition keeps up, it is normal for you to grow up and down.

Xu Feng wanted to go with him, but Xu Qinyu didn't refuse, and asked him to follow along, and the other young ones watched eagerly, Xu Qinyu told them to take care of the restaurant, and the young ones nodded.

The family has actually bought a donkey cart, but it is used to buy vegetables and goods on weekdays, and to pick fruits and fungi on the mountain. If you want to go to Raozhou City, the donkey cart is too slow, so you must still need a horse-drawn cart.

Early in the morning, Brother Cheng drove Xu Qinyu and Xu Feng to Raozhou City.

The end of summer in the southwest has almost cooled down, the road is not too hot, and it is in the countryside, so there is not so much attention, so Xu Qinyu raised the curtains of the car and looked at the scene outside.

There are busy farming scenes everywhere on the road. This year, the weather in the southwest is smooth and the crops are growing well.

But even if the crops are growing well and the tax is paid, the rest is enough to eat. At most, there is a little surplus that can be sold for one or two taels of silver.

If there is a slight natural disaster, if there is more rain or drought for a few days, the harvest of crops will be affected, and it will be difficult to pay taxes and eat enough.

One is that the tax is a bit heavy, and the other is that the yield of crops is just so-so. If the weather is bad, the harvest is not good, and the yield will be even lower.

It seems that since the new emperor came to the throne, the land tax has increased a bit, and the tax for merchants has also increased a bit, but they are all within the acceptable range.

After watching a scene of common people harvesting crops, the three of them arrived in Raozhou City after an hour and a half.

When came from Raozhou City to Baozhen, because of the cold weather, had to pay attention to the road, and didn’t run fast. Now the weather is good, and can run fast on the road, and can reach Raozhou City in an hour and a half.

After paying the money and entering the city, Raozhou City has not changed much from before, but it is more lively. Last year, it was early winter, and there were not as many people as there are now.

Xu Qinyu directly asked Brother Cheng to drive the carriage to the inn where he stayed before.

The name of that inn was Bafang Inn. The owner of the inn was surnamed Zhou. The son of shopkeeper Zhou was still working as a cook in the inn. Since Xu Qinyu borrowed the kitchen of the inn, the son of shopkeeper Zhou also learned cooking skills from Xu Qinyu for a few days.

Xu Qinyu still remembered that shopkeeper Zhou's son was called Zhou Daqing, a very simple and honest person.

After getting off the carriage, Xu Qinyu entered the inn with several bottles of wine.

The waiter was the same as before, a young boy of fifteen or sixteen years old, he was stunned when he looked at Xu Qinyu, and felt that the little lady in front of him looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was for a while, thinking it might be People who have lived in the inn before.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Tie Niu, do you still recognize me?"

She also remembered the name of the waiter in this shop, Tieniu.

Tieniu's eyes widened, "You, you are Miss Xu who rented at the inn last winter!"

Back then, Miss Xu was thin and dry, with chilblains all over her face, but it was because of Miss Xu's cooking skills that he could remember.

Mrs. Xu borrowed the back kitchen, not only shopkeeper Zhou and Chef Zhou, but also him. After eating the food made by Mrs. Xu, it was so delicious. It’s been almost a year. , he still remembers that smell.

Not only was he thinking about it, but the shopkeeper and Chef Zhou occasionally talked about it, saying when they could try Miss Xu's cooking skills.

Even Liang Qianhu in the military camp was thinking about Miss Xu's craftsmanship. At that time, Liang Qianhu was dumbfounded when she knew that Miss Xu had left suddenly, and kept saying that she regretted it. He should ask Miss Xu where she lives and what to do next. Whether they plan to open a restaurant or not, in short, when Liang Qianhu learned that Miss Xu had left the inn, she left in such a distraught manner.

Tie Niu also remembered that although Miss Xu had frostbite on her skinny face at the beginning, her facial features were bright and beautiful. Now Miss Xu really looks good, she has grown some flesh, she is no longer dry, and she is wearing plain clothes. The dress, the face is tender and tender, and the eyes seem to be able to smile. When looking at people, the whole person is smiling and brighter.

He was a little afraid to look at Miss Xu directly.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Tie Niu, shopkeeper Zhou is here, I have something to do with shopkeeper Zhou."

Tieniu hurriedly said, "Yes, Miss Xu, wait a moment, I'll go to the backyard to find shopkeeper Zhou."

Shopkeeper Zhou was indeed talking to his son in the back kitchen.

When Mrs. Xu left, Zhou Daqing, the shopkeeper's son, had learned cooking skills from Mrs. Xu for a few days, but he also knew the raw fish porridge cooked by Mrs. Xu, stewed fish head tofu, grilled fish offal, wonton and so on. Sauerkraut fish, but Zhou Daqing did not privately use these dishes to solicit business for the inn after Mrs. Xu left.

In his heart, he regarded Mrs. Xu as his master, but the master didn't say anything, so it was impossible for him to steal a teacher's art and use it to make money.

So now the business of the inn is still so-so, the guests all stay at the inn, and most of them go to the restaurants outside to eat.

But in private, Zhou Daqing often cooks these kinds of food for his family, and the taste is getting better and better, but he knows in his heart that it is still not as delicious as what little lady Xu cooks, and it is not as good as it. But if he cooks a lot, it can be regarded as his special dish, and the taste is still good. Just relying on these few menus, he can go to a restaurant to be a cook alone.

Also, Liang Qianhu always came to ask him to cook these few flavors to satisfy his cravings.

He just collects money for ingredients and seasonings.

Shopkeeper Zhou is discussing with his son that the stables in the backyard need to be refurbished, and the work will start tomorrow. Otherwise, it will be difficult to repair when the weather is cold, and it is easy to freeze the horses of the guests.

While the two were talking, Tieniu rushed in and shouted at him excitedly, "Master Xu, Miss Xu is here!"

"What?" Shopkeeper Zhou didn't realize it for a while, "Which Miss Xu?" He didn't dare to think about Miss Xu at all.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly came to his senses, hurriedly got up and asked with staring eyes, "But, but that little lady Xu from last year?"

Tieniu nodded vigorously, "That's Miss Xu."

Shopkeeper Zhou hurriedly headed towards the front living room, Zhou Daqing couldn't sit still anymore, and followed his father to the front living room.

The three of them came to the living room and found Miss Xu sitting on a bench under a window.

Miss Xu is no longer what she looked like in the early winter of last year, her face is white and pretty.

Besides Miss Xu, on the square table in front of her were a few small white porcelain wine bottles tied with ribbons, which were very delicate.