Mrs. Lu knew that there would be a queue for daily and evening meals at Xu Ji Restaurant, so she followed Zhen Wu to go there early, but unexpectedly, there were already many diners in the restaurant when she came early. Fortunately, they came early and there was still a seat. The two chose a seat next to the window. The seat was not big, and the distance between the front and back tables seemed a little close. Mrs. Lu used to be a girl from the Duke's Mansion. The speed is the best, and I am not used to it at this moment, but Zhen Wu couldn't help asking, "If I am not used to sitting, shall we find another restaurant to eat?"

Mrs. Lu shook her head. She was a little curious about Miss Xu's cooking skills. Could it be better than Zuixianlou in Raozhou City? Otherwise, why bother to line up?

When Zhen Wu returned to Raozhou City, he said that Xu Ji's food was very delicious, which was more attractive than the food he had smelled during his travels all these years.

Yuan Shi, who was serving the diners, recognized Mrs. Lu, came over immediately, and said with a smile, "Madam, what do you want to eat? We may have anything to eat."

Mrs. Lu asked, "What's your sign here?"

Yuan Shi immediately said, "We have a lot of Xu Ji's signature dishes, such as fat sausage fish, charcoal-grilled lamb chops, fried eel shreds, fried shrimp, bald butter, etc. Pot-boiled mutton is almost a must-eat table. It is a copper pot, which contains clear soup made by our boss, mutton tail oil, mutton, mutton leg meat, mutton brain, and other dishes. Madam, please try it taste?"

Mrs. Lu couldn't help being curious, it sounded a bit like the boiling pot of Zuixianlou.

She said: "Then bring a copper pot, and I will give you a portion of the dishes you mentioned, as well as other vegetarian dishes."

"Okay, wait a moment, ma'am."

Yuan Shi went to the back kitchen and talked to Xu Qinyu, Xu Qinyu asked Wen Shi to spare Mrs. Lu, quickly filled the copper pot with burning charcoal, poured clear soup into the pot, let Yuan Shi brought it out, and other dishes were also served in portions.

Xu Qinyu knew that Mrs. Lu came to eat with Zhen Wu from yesterday.

Mrs. Lu only introduced that he was the leader of the caravan, but Xu Qinyu could tell that the relationship between the two was unusual.

Zhen Wu saw that it was edible, so she served two servings of sheep tail oil, lamb, lamb leg and lamb meat, one serving of other vegetarian dishes, and wide noodles, which she rolled by hand. Served a large portion.

This leg of lamb also includes half of the front leg and half of the hind leg.

That is to say, the small three-fork and the big three-fork on the mutton have different tastes.

Wait until the pot and ingredients are served.

Mrs. Lu knows how to eat, and it can be seen that the ingredients are very fresh.

But the soup in the pot is too clear, like clear water, can the hot dishes be delicious?

This pot is made by Xu Qinyu with water, scallions, ginger slices, and her mushroom powder. It has a little umami taste, nothing else, not even salt, because of the flavor of the sesame sauce seasoning It's just right, the boiled meat is wrapped in sesame sauce, it's just salty and light, so that you can eat the tenderness and original taste of the meat, and the aroma of sesame sauce. If salt is added to the clear soup, it should be salty when dipped in sesame sauce.

Knowing that it was the first time for the two of them to eat mutton hot pot, Yuan Shi explained to them how to do it.

The sesame sauce seasoning is prepared in bowls by the owner, and one person will be charged five cents for this bowl of seasoning alone.

Zhen Wu listened carefully, and then began to rinse with sheep tail oil.

Put it in Mrs. Lu's bowl after rinsing. Mrs. Lu is a little disgusted. How greasy is this white oil?

But after rinsing like this, she smelled a strong fragrance, and couldn't help but pick it up and dip it in the sesame sauce bowl, accidentally dipped too much, and the sesame sauce dripped down, it was indeed oily in the mouth, but it was also delicious , this kind of fragrance is the fragrance of sheep tail oil combined with another kind of fragrance. It should be the fragrance of this bowl called sesame sauce, which is a bit straight to the top of the sky.

She also had to admit that she liked the sheep tail oil that she despised.

Then there is the taste of mutton, the meat is fresh and tender.

The leg of lamb is tender and juicy, and the brain of the lamb is fat and thin. She can taste different tastes in every bite.

For a while, Mrs. Lu didn't care about talking to Zhen Wu, and quietly ate the boiled mutton.

Zhen Wu helped her blanch and pinch the meat, so she didn't have to worry about the whole process.

When she ate, he would eat some himself.

It was also the first time he had seen Mrs. Lu eat food so seriously. After he tasted it, he knew the reason. It was indeed very delicious. It was the most delicious thing he had eaten in all these years of travelling. No wonder this small restaurant was so delicious. People line up every day to eat.

After eating, Mrs. Lu felt a little overwhelmed.

In order to maintain her figure, she has not dared to eat so full during the evening meal for a long time, but the taste is so good, so Madam Lu decided to indulge in these few days, come to Xu Ji to eat every day, after all, when she returns to forgive Zhoucheng can't eat such delicious food, and I'm afraid it will be tasteless to other foods.

When she was about to pay the bill, Mrs. Lu realized that Miss Xu didn't accept her money, and she wasn't hypocritical, so she didn't push Wen Shi back and forth, and left after speaking with Wen Shi.

After they left, Yuan Shi whispered to Wen Shi, "This lady is very lucky."

She could tell that the man next to this madam should be her man, and it was the first time she saw a man willing to take care of her mother-in-law outside like this. This Madam Lu ate pots and never boiled meat by herself.

Wen Shi smiled, it was indeed enviable.

...

The next day, Mrs. Lu and Zhen Wu came to Xu Ji early to have a meal.

And she was once again amazed by Xu Ji's morning food, everything was delicious, her favorites were brown sugar yin rice porridge and milk yellow buns.

This time, she really hoped that Miss Xu's restaurant would be opened in Raozhou City, no matter how small or crowded, she would like to eat there.

After eating court food, Mrs. Lu and Zhen Wu walked around the town.

Yuanbao Town is still much smaller than Raozhou City, and there are no larger workshops at all. We can only see if there is any land to build a winery.

In the next few days, the two have been looking for workshops or land suitable for building workshops in the town and nearby villages and towns.

In the past few days, the two have been eating day and night in Xu Jiyong.

Madam Lu planned to try other signature dishes in the restaurant after eating the mutton hot pot for three consecutive days.

Unexpectedly, the signature dish is not inferior to the hot-boiled lamb.

Mrs. Lu was convinced, and said to Zhen Wu, "Miss Xu told me before that this wine can only taste like this when she brews it. I didn't believe it, but now I believe it. Let Miss Xu cook. It’s not surprising that the wine produced is delicious because of the craftsmanship.”

Because even the simplest dish of fried tofu, she was satisfied and thought it was delicious.

I even thought, why is tofu so delicious?

Zhen Wu also agreed.

Afterwards, the two walked around the neighborhood again, and decided to buy about ten acres of land in Dagu Village to build a winery.

Dagu Village is the closest to Yuanbao Town. If you go out of the town and head north, you can get there in half an hour with a horse-drawn carriage. There are also many villagers in the village. It is also close to the foot of the mountain. There are many fields, and there is a large area at the end of the village. Mrs. Lu took a fancy to this open space, and it would be convenient to go to the mountains to pick grapes in the future. She also asked Mrs. Xu if the fruit grapes grown in other places could be used to make wine.

The grapes imported from other countries here are green grapes, which are very sweet when ripe, with a slight sour taste and a strong grape flavor.

Xu Qinyu said yes, and also said that the wine made from this kind of green grapes is a light blue color, the color is very beautiful, and the taste is even better than that made from wild grapes.

Even if Mrs. Lu has a plan, there is nothing she can do about it, because there are not many grapes planted in the southwest. If it is really transported from other places to the southwest, the cost and loss will be too high, and there is no way to save it. It will take seven or eight days to transport it to the southwest. It's already rotten.

There is no large-scale planting in the southwest because this product is expensive, and it is difficult to produce and sell it on its own.

After choosing the place, Mrs. Lu went back and talked to Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu knew that Dagu Village was near Yuanbao Town, and it would be convenient for her to go there when making wine in the future.

In the end, Mrs. Lu said regretfully, "It's a pity that there are no green grapes. The cost and consumption of green grapes are too high to transport, and the cost of winemaking is too high, so it is not suitable."

The price she sets for the wine is about three taels per bottle. No matter how high the price is, it may not be able to sell. Excluding the cost of road transportation, she can earn about one tael per bottle of wine.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but say, "If there are people here who are willing to plant grapes, they will have the conditions to make green wine."

The taste of green wine is slightly different from that of wild grape wine, and the entrance is sweeter.

There is no need for large-scale planting for the time being. If you want, you can divide the cultivated land into a field of one or two points or a few points for planting. A field is one-tenth of an acre of land, which will not affect the ration.

Green grapes can bear fruit in the second or third year. Most people are definitely not willing to take risks and try on a large scale. They have to grow grain and take care of their own rations. Moreover, grapes have only been introduced for a few years, even if other places do not. Dare to plant a lot.

So you can plant a small amount first. If you don't want to plant it in the fields, you can plant it in the front and back yards of the house.

The southwest side has favorable geographical conditions. Fruits are easy to ripen. There is sufficient sunlight and rain, and the fruits will be sweeter, so it is still very suitable for growing grapes.

Mrs. Lu couldn't help but said, "How about the little lady talk to her relatives and friends in a friendly way, and let them plant some grapes. After I went back, I also told my friends and relatives that I knew that even if I brewed less wine, it would be fine, but I have to try it first. try."

The business of her caravan running is relatively scattered, most of which are transporting things to other people, more like an escort. Mrs. Lu also wants the caravan to be fixed. If the business of this wine can continue to grow, it may be true in the future. It's good to just run this for a living.

So Mrs. Lu still hopes that the southwest side can slowly try to grow some grapes. Of course, if you want to eat into a fat man in one go, it is not possible. Take your time, maybe in a few years.

Xu Qinyu moved in her heart and felt that she could talk to the magistrate Yang.

After planting grapes, she and Mrs. Lu were willing to buy them to make wine.

It is more profitable to grow grapes than to grow grain, and you don’t need the common people to take all the fields out to plant them. Every ordinary family has two or three acres of land, just one or two cents of land, or the front and back yards of the house can be planted, after all. No one in the village has two vacant lots before and after the house. Even the people in the town have a small yard. A few grape seedlings can grow a large area. They can build a shelf and climb a shelf. The yield is much higher than that of grain.

And this is to bring everyone together to get rich, and it can drive the economy of the entire village and town without using most of the arable land. Start small and slowly.

Xu Qinyu felt that she could talk to the magistrate Yang.

She told Mrs. Lu her idea, and Mrs. Lu also thought it was feasible.

However, it is more troublesome to grow grape seeds. There are no grape seedlings from cuttings in Yuanbao Town, so they have to buy them from other fields. Mrs. Lu has a caravan, and she plans to let the people from the caravan go to buy some grapes from cuttings. The seedlings come back to see who is willing to buy them and try them out.

After that, Mrs. Lu went back to tell Zhen Wu, and Zhen Wu asked someone to do it. The two stayed in Yuanbao Town and bought a house first. It was troublesome to live in an inn like this. Zhen Wu is in charge here, and she also wants to come here often to eat the morning and evening meals made by Mrs. Xu, so it is more convenient to buy a house.

There are many houses for sale in Yuanbao Town. Mrs. Lu also wanted to live closer to Xu Qinyu, so she bought a second-class house in Laixi Lane in front of Osmanthus Fragrance, which was enough for her to live with Zhen Wu.

After buying the house, Mrs. Lu didn't want to go back to Raozhou City for a while, so she only wrote to the two little maids who used to serve her in Raozhou City. She lived in Yuanbao Town for more days, because Zhen Wu Must be busy here for a long time.

After choosing the place to build the wine shop, Zhen Wu will take care of other matters.

After Zhen Wu bought the land, he started looking for people to build a wine shop. He found many craftsmen. Although he didn't include food, he was paid a lot of money. Fifty pennies a day, one or two and a half silver a month. The winery can be built in two months. Building a winery is not like building a house. It only needs to lay the foundation, and each room should be built more spaciously.

This means that he will build the winery as soon as possible regardless of the cost.

Zhen Wu was busy looking for a craftsman, and Xu Qinyu was just about to rest, so she went to the county government to find the magistrate Yang.

Every time she seeks Magistrate Yang, she always comes from the backyard. The gatekeeper guarding the backyard has recognized her. She calls out to Miss Xu with a smile and asks her, "Miss Xu is looking for our girl or an adult?"

Xu Qinyu hurriedly said, "I have something to do with my lord."

The concierge heard the sound of entering, and Magistrate Yang immediately asked the concierge to invite people in.

Since the diarrhea, Magistrate Yang has not met Xu Qinyu in private, but he will not treat Xu Qinyu as an ordinary little lady.

Diarrhea was obviously his idea, but he didn't give him a reward in the capital, so he took 22 taels of silver from the public account as a reward for Xu Xiaoniang. All the money was given to the husband and wife Xu who helped treat diarrhea.

But Mrs. Xu didn't want it, and said that he should leave the reward to those who need it more.

When County Magistrate Yang saw Xu Qinyu coming, he smiled and said, "Miss Xu is here today?"

Xu Qinyu directly explained his intention.

When County Magistrate Yang heard this, he thought it was a very good thing. This is considered to lead the people in the villages and towns to make a fortune. It does not require the people to take out all the fields and plant them, just divide them up. If you don’t want to, you can plant them in the yard. Liducheng, that is, buying grape seedlings requires some money, and other costs are gone.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "This is just like the jujube and pear trees. You don't need to take too much care of it. Just fertilize it and water it once in a while."

People here like to plant some jujube trees and pear trees in the front and back yards of their houses. Xu Qinyu's family has a jujube tree, and the jujubes that produced last autumn were eaten by his family.

County magistrate Yang thought for a moment and said, "Okay, then I will post notices everywhere tomorrow, calling on everyone to try planting, saying that some people are willing to accept twenty yuan a catty for planting."

The price of grapes in other places is about 20 yuan a catty, which is more expensive than fine grains, and white flour and japonica rice are only about 10 yuan a catty.

Xu Qinyu said: "I still need to tell everyone that when more grapes are planted in the future, the price will drop, and you can only buy them for ten cents a catty, so if you are willing to plant them in the first one or two years, it will be the most profitable."

Otherwise, the whole Southwest wants to grow grapes in the future, and it is impossible to buy them for twenty yuan a catty. It is normal for the price to drop, but even if the price drops, the minimum is ten yuan a catty. This thing has a high yield per mu, and it is half an mu. The land that can be harvested is worth more than ten acres of grain.

Magistrate Yang nodded, intending to write all of this on it.

Xu Qinyu talked to County Magistrate Yang for a while, and told Magistrate Yang how to plant these grapes. They need to raise seedlings and transplant them. When raising seedlings, they can add some fertilizer to grow seedlings. The seedlings are better, and then how to water them. After transplanting, it is necessary to erect vines. If the grape branches grow too fast and produce too many fruits, they need to be pruned. How should they be pruned?

Xu Qinyu knows how to grow grapes because she deals with food ingredients. She has read books on the general cultivation of fruits and vegetables, and the feeding of poultry.

But it's just talk on paper, but some modern planting and poultry feeding must be more powerful than the ancients.

In addition, Xu Qinyu also told County Magistrate Yang that he and Mrs. Lu have made a joint venture to make wine. The winery is located in Dagu Village. They will definitely continue to use wild grapes to make wine in the next two years. They are afraid that green grapes will be planted later. Green wine is also made.

Last year's wine, Xu Qinyu sent a dozen bottles to the Yang family, the Xu family and the Xia family, so County Magistrate Yang also tasted the wine, and it was indeed delicious.

When Xu Qinyu left, County Magistrate Yang wrote a notice, asking the government servants to go to Yuanbao Town and the villages under its jurisdiction to post the notice.

Many villagers can't read, but when they see the notices posted, they will surround them and ask the yamen servants to help them read them out.

Sometimes taxes and corvees are announced through notices, so the people know that it is important when they see the notices.

After the yamen servant read out the content of the notice, the people began to discuss, "Although this grape is expensive, it takes two years to bear fruit, right? What about the first year?"

"People have said that it's not like you let all the fields in your family be used for planting, and you can divide one or two parts of the field for planting. If some people want to earn more, they can grow more if they are brave. It depends on whether there is such a thing. Have the guts, if you don’t even dare to have a field or two, just buy two or three seedlings and plant them in the front and back of the house, and if they grow out, they will be harvested as well.”

"Why did the magistrate ask us to grow grapes? Are there people who are willing to buy them? Why does that person buy so many grapes? He won't fool us, right? Can he finish eating? He wants to collect so many grapes."

After hearing this, the yamen servant said, "People use grapes to make fruit wine, and the fruit wine they make sells for silver. A bottle of wine can be sold for one tael of silver. They let you grow grapes to make money with you."

This yamen servant is from Yuanbao Town. Mrs. Xu helped to make meals when she was suffering from diarrhea. Everyone in the town knew that Mrs. Xu was honest. Now that Mrs. Xu said she wanted to collect grapes, he believed it and planned to go back. So asked old lady at home to free up some fields to try planting.

Someone immediately asked, "Master, who harvested the grapes? We planted them and really harvested them? Even if we make wine, we don't need so many grapes, do we? Otherwise, every household would plant a few grapes, which would bear a lot of fruit and make too much grapes." Can it be sold out?"

They also saw that the small wineries in the town sell slowly. If everyone grows grapes, wouldn't they be able to produce a lot of fruit wine? Fruit wine is really so good? Also such an expensive price.

The yamen servant said: "Xu Xiaoniang from Xu Ji received it. She made wine in partnership with a caravan from Raozhou City. She is still building a winery. Originally, wild grapes from the mountains could also be used to make wine, but it is said that the taste of green grapes is different, so I also want to make green wine. The ones made by others will not only be sold in the southwest, but will be transported by caravans to other rich cities for sale. Moreover, the caravans also bought seedlings back. They didn’t earn a cent for the price, so they will be sold to us at the original price. But it will take several days for the seedlings to arrive."

"Building a winery? I know this. The winery is built in Dagu Village. They invited a lot of people to build the winery. My man is there, and the wages are fifty yuan a day."

"Is the salary so high? Do you want someone else? I'll let my man go too."

"What do you think, people hire craftsmen to build a house, and your man doesn't know how to build a house. Do you really think the caravan people are being taken advantage of?"

"Oh, what's so difficult about it, it's just adding bricks and tiles, it's very simple."

"Simple ass." The two women argued a little.

Others were still thinking about the grapes, and some people said, "Little Lady Xu? I heard that it was the time when the diarrhea was sick that she cooked food for the victims, opened a restaurant, the taste was very good, and the people were also very good. Are you partnering to open a wine shop?"

"I seem to have heard of her? Is that what makes us really reliable in growing grapes?"

"Forget it, I'll go buy some seeds and sprinkle them in the corner of the courtyard."

"How can you just sprinkle it, I didn't see that the yamen said that you need to raise the seedlings first. They sell the seedlings directly, and it's good to plant them when they come back."

...

Xu Qinyu did not know that her name had spread in the nearby villages.

She knew in her heart that most of the people would be reluctant to give up a penny of the land, and it was indeed as she expected. Most people planned to buy one or two grape seedlings and try them in the front yard and back of the house. It is only after the money is returned that I am willing to plant a lot.

Xu Qinyu is not in a hurry. This is just a matter of chance. After the green wine business can do it, she can do it, and she can't do it without force. Her focus is still on the restaurant.

However, she still told the butcher He Laobotian, who worked with him on weekdays, that she could let her grow some grapes at home, and she would harvest them when they came to fruition, and she could also tell her relatives and friends.

Uncle He got the letter, and when he went back, he discussed with his children and grandchildren to plant grapes in the family's fields.

Now their family relies on fishing in lakes and canals to catch shrimps and snails and crabs. They provide Xu Ji restaurants and help Xu Ji deliver milk. They can earn several taels of silver every month, and sometimes they can earn 10 taels. also bought a small boat, and the family is living a prosperous life. don’t know how much happier was than when couldn’t get enough food and clothing.

Therefore, the He family is not only grateful to Xu Qinyu, but also treats Xu Qinyu as a benefactor.

Hearing what Uncle He said, the He family planned to use half of the fields to grow grapes. Now the He family can afford to buy food without farming, and they really don't need to grow fields, so they plan to divide half of the fields to grow grapes. .

Mrs. Xu said that cutting grape seedlings is the best season, so Uncle He immediately bought a lot after the caravan came back.

The price of grape seedlings was expensive in the first few years, but it has dropped a bit in recent years, but it is also much more expensive than other fruits and vegetables.

An acre of land requires about seven or eight silver grape seedlings.

The He family had a total of five acres of land, and planted two acres of land, which cost a total of fifteen taels of silver.

Uncle He also told other relatives in the family, but they didn't want to plough the land, so they bought two seedlings back. These seedlings are also expensive, and each one costs about a hundred liters of money, so most people will only buy one or two. bought it after gritting teeth, and most of them didn't buy a single one because they thought it was unreliable.

Even the butcher in Tian wanted to buy one or two acres of land to grow grapes, but the land was not cheap, and the grape seedlings were not cheap, and the land was not easy to buy.