Xu Qinyu listened to the fourth brother's question, and said, "It's a new helper from the restaurant. Why did the fourth brother ask him?"

There will be more and more customers in the restaurant in the future, but if Xu Qinyu and his apprentices, and the former chef of Donglaiju, there are still not enough manpower, and the Xuji restaurant is not enough. There are a lot of people, so in the past three months, she has also recruited some help cooks. In addition to the original help cooks and chefs, some help cooks have also come one after another. They are all people who have some cooking skills, and they learn more. Faster and easier to get started.

Similarly, any helper who comes to Xu Ji and wants to cook with her after learning to cook must sign a document, and they must stay in Xu Ji to do things with all their heart for five years. During these five years, they must not do anything unfavorable to Xu Ji. Come here, you can't sell the recipes you have learned to other people. You can let them leave after five years. At that time, the recipes you learned from Xu Ji wrote, and you didn't even want to open a restaurant yourself.

The person the fourth brother asked about came here half a month ago. His name is Yan Mingcheng. He is almost forty years old this year. He heard that Xu Ji was recruiting to help the cook and came here on purpose.

But for the people who only came to Xu Ji to learn to help the cook, Xu Qinyu would not let them go to the back kitchen for a while, but would let them take them in the backyard for two or three months to help with chores, washing and cutting vegetables on weekdays. The side dishes are very dependent on the stove, so won't let her learn from her on the stovetop.

Because she didn't know these help cooks, and she was worried about meeting people with bad thoughts. She always had to look at their character first, and stayed for a few months.

Yan Mingcheng has been with Xu Ji for about half a month. He usually doesn’t like to talk much. He just works hard, and asks him to chop wood as he chopping wood, and ask him to accompany vegetables. Unpredictable, plan to wait a few months to see how people are, before deciding whether to let him go to the stove and follow him to learn.

Pei Weixuan said: "He has a wide face, a long nose, bulging brows, wicked eyes, a pockmarked face and a green beard, but his life palace is sunken, his bearing is narrow and sinister, and although his eyes have no spirit, when he sees you, his eyes tremble slightly, his mind is different, and he is rich and silk. Gong saw that he had made a fortune half a month ago. From the Caibo Palace and the Life Palace, it can be seen that this person can do anything for money. Lai Xuji must have no good intentions, so he took the time to find a reason to send him away. ."

He didn't know much about physiognomy at first.

In the past, when was in the palace, read books on astronomical phenomena.

I have learned a little about physiogno in the last year. When used to help Yu Niang to choose a person, mostly used the eyes and some subtle movements to distinguish this person's character.

Until some time ago, stayed there to farm, and read books on physiogno in spare time. have made a lot of progress in physiogno, and can see something from face.

When Xu Qinyu heard what the fourth brother said, his heart also tightened, and he asked in a low voice, "Fourth brother, is this person bought by someone and came to Xu Ji to pick something up? Or was he bought to come here? Xu Ji stole a teacher?" After all, Xu Ji has a lot of cooks, and even if there is a restaurant or restaurant outside where Xu Ji eats the same food and reports to the official, it may not be possible to find out who did it.

Otherwise, why did he come to Xu Kee just after he got a windfall.

The fourth brother also said that this person is not a good person in terms of appearance. He has a cunning mind and can do anything for money.

Pei Weixuan said: "It's very possible, so I found a reason to send him off. In addition, Xu Ji has a bodyguard named Huo Jiang. Looking at his face, he has a delicate mind. In addition to martial arts, he has many other skills. The person of Xu Ji, Yu Niang can call him to help with the investigation and use it when the identity and origin are found out."

Huo Jiang is Huo Ye's adopted child. He has been in the black armor since he was a child. In addition to his martial arts skills, he is also very good at reconnaissance.

Xu Qinyu said, "Does he still have this ability?"

Huo Jiang is about the same age as her, he is quite edible, and he is very popular. He is very familiar with Xu Ji, whether it is the guards, or the other guys and cooks. When he arrived at Xu Qinyu, he seemed a little restrained. He also liked to call her master. He also said that he had been an orphan since he was a child, so he would practise martial arts. If he could use it on weekdays, just open his mouth and give him a stutter.

Pei Weixuan snorted, "When Yan Mingcheng is expelled, you can ask Huo Jiang to follow him and find out who he is."

Xu Qinyu nodded, intending to listen to the fourth brother's words. Those who come to Xu Ji in the future will ask Huo Jiang to help investigate first.

She was never used before. If she could inquire about this person's family background and character first, she would definitely investigate the origin of the character first, which would save a lot of trouble.

After saying this, Xu Qinyu chatted with the fourth brother about moving for a while, and the two fell asleep.

The next day, the fourth brother went back to Yuanbao Town to pick up Ning Jie'er and the others. He also had to transport all the furniture from Laixi Lane here. Ning Jie'er also had to deal with Linglong Pavilion. time of day.

Xu Qinyu went to see Huo Jiang after she was busy with Chao Shi's busiest time.

At this moment, Huo Jiang was squatting down to eat next to the vegetable garden outside Xu Ji.

On weekdays, the staff meals for these guards and other ladies and gentlemen are all cooked by the cook, and Xu Qinyu usually does not cook staff meals in person.

When she went to look for Huo Jiang, she thought about it and brought a bag of winter melon candy.

She made the winter melon candy by herself. It was summer recently. There were a lot of people who came to Xu Ji to escape the summer heat. They were all people with families and children. So she made some winter melon candies. Will give a plate of winter melon candy.

Winter melon candy is naturally made from large winter melon and sugar.

The wax gourd is peeled and sacs removed, and then cut into uniform long strips, then soaked in water with alkali added overnight, soaked the wax gourd strips until transparent and washed with water, and then continued to soak in water, and then the wax gourd strips Boil the water and put it in cold boiling water, then put the wax gourd strips in the cold water, then mix the wax gourd strips with sugar evenly, marinate for two or three days, let the sugar fully integrate into the wax gourd strips, and then put the marinated wax gourd strips in the pot. Stir fry the sugar until a layer of white frosting forms on the surface of the winter melon.

It is still quite troublesome to make, and it takes several days, so Xu Qinyu makes a lot of it every time, and often uses it as a snack for herself on weekdays.

Xu Qinyu went to Huo Jiang and brought him a pack of winter melon candy.

Huo Jiang was squatting in the vegetable garden and eating noodles. The noodles were made by the cook, but his food was also delicious, and his craftsmanship was much better than that of the usual black-armored guards. In fact, at the beginning, he actively wanted to come to the restaurant to be a guard, because he had eaten the food made by the princess. It was so delicious that he was so greedy that he came.

Although after coming to the restaurant, he could not eat the food made by the princess every day, but only occasionally, but he was quite satisfied.

When he finished the big bowl of noodles and was about to continue to serve the second bowl, he saw the princess walking towards him.

He thought that the princess was here to pick vegetables from the vegetable garden, but he didn't expect the princess to stop in front of him, and said warmly, "Huo guard, do you have time? I want to ask you for help with something."

Huo Jiang said immediately, "Just tell me."

Xu Qinyu said, "The middle-aged man named Yan Mingcheng in the back kitchen seems to be a little out of place. I plan to dismiss him in the past few days. Can I ask guard Huo to follow him for a few days? Let's see. Is there anything unusual about him?"

Huo Jiang smiled and said, "Sure, don't worry, I will pay attention."

"Thank you Huo Guard." Xu Qinyu thanked him and handed him the winter melon candy in his hand, "This is the winter melon candy I made myself, and Huo Guard can try it."

Huo Jiang immediately took the winter melon candy and smiled with big white teeth.

Seeing him like this, Xu Qinyu couldn't help but raised her lips and smiled.

When she left, Huo Jiang couldn't wait to open the oiled paper and squeeze out a winter melon candy. It was the first time he heard that winter melon can also be made into candy. The color was bright yellow, and it was a little translucent. It was covered with a layer of icing sugar, and the entrance was crisp and mellow. , won't panic, the sweetness is just right, he ate several pieces in a row, tucked them into the jacket, and went to the back kitchen to fill a large bowl of noodles out to eat.

After eating the noodles, Huo Jiang also went to the city, and specifically inquired about Yan Mingcheng's family background. He knew that he was not from Raozhou City. The family background could not be found out. He came to Raozhou a few days ago.

After returning, Huo Jiang told Xu Qinyu, and said that he could not find out his life experience for the time being, and he would not have been staring at him for a while.

...

After two days, Xu Qinyu did not find a reason to send Yan Mingcheng away.

Except for the scar on the end of his eyes, this person is not very good-looking, and he is taciturn. Xu Qinyu really can't see what kind of person he is. In addition, he does his work well, and he doesn't like to talk, so he can't be direct. let him go.

In the evening, the fourth brother took Ning Jie'er and the others back to Xu Ji.

The furniture was brought to the house with the help of the caravan in the morning.

Xu Ji was too busy, most of Xu Qinyu's relatives and friends were in Yuanbao Town, and only Madam Lu and the prefect's family were recognized in Raozhou City.

The prefect's family must not be able to invite him. They specially invited Mrs. Lu to come here, because they were afraid that she would not feel comfortable, so Xu Qinyu did not invite anyone, so she made a dinner in the new house and celebrated with the family. Is moved.

The new house is five years old, and there is a very spacious garden, which is connected to the back mountain, which is convenient for Bai Yu and Mo Yu to have fun on weekdays.

Since moving to Xu Ji, Bai Yu and Mo Yu were basically invisible during the day and went up the mountain.

Occasionally, when Xu Qinyu woke up in the morning, she could see a dead prey at the door of the room, which was brought back from the mountain by Mo Yu and Bai Yu.

Bai Yu also learned to hold food in her mouth instead of feeding her food back, which made Xu Qinyu very happy.

The courtyard where Xu Qinyu lived was the main courtyard, and it was also the largest courtyard in the house.

Xu Qinyu was also not used to living in such a big yard alone. If something happened at night, it would be troublesome to call someone, so Ning Jie'er lived in the same yard with her on weekdays.

Mrs. Wen and Mrs. Zhu lived in the yard next door with Brother Feng and Sister Qian, and they could get there through the hanging flower gate.

As for the fourth brother, he doesn't come back often on weekdays and lives in another yard.

The three yards are still next to each other.

Xu Qinyu and his fourth brother also took time to go to the tooth shop in the city to buy several little girls and come back, but they don't need them to serve other things, that is, the cleaning of the house on weekdays, and the washing of laundry. These little girls. In their spare time, they would also go over to Xu Ji to help with the work, and slowly start with picking vegetables and side dishes. Xu Qinyu also plans to teach them how to cook.

All she bought were little girls who were ten years old, or in their early ten years.

Most of these little girls in the tooth shop had a hard life at home and were sold by their families.

If she doesn't buy it, other people will buy it. If a prostitute takes a fancy to these girls and picks them into the brothel, it will be destroyed in the future.

Saying it is buying is actually like giving them a job. They have monthly money every month. When they are in their early twenties, if they want to get married and meet the right person, they will return the deed to them, and they all follow suit. She learned how to cook and let them marry and start a family.

Xu Qinyu bought eight little maids, all of them still had their own names, and Xu Qinyu did not plan to change their names.

These little maids are all very thin, and Xu Qinyu looks very distressed, so she simply explained what they should do on weekdays. , they all go directly to the back kitchen of the restaurant to eat.

The house doesn't need to be cleaned every day. Several yards where live on weekdays are cleaned every day, and other vacant yards are cleaned once every ten days.

The little girls were very uneasy at first. They stayed in the tooth shop and heard about Xu Ji's reputation. They never thought that Xu Ji's owner would buy them.

Xu Ji is still quite famous in the city, and even the owner of the tooth shop they are staying at has come to Xu Ji to eat, and they are full of praise.

When the little girls saw the boss talking, they were all gentle and kind. The boss also said that they would give monthly money every month. At first, it was not much, only 200 cents. Later, they could go to the back kitchen to help them, and gradually they would teach them some cooking. art.

A few little girls couldn't believe it, they were all dead contracts, the kind that could be sold by the owner at will. Let’s not talk about the monthly payment of 200 pennies. Generally, the big family will give 200 pennies a month, but the owner also said that it will increase in the future, and even taught them how to cook. was a little shocked. The owner also swears in his heart that he must be loyal to his master in the future.

After explaining the little maids, Xu Qinyu arranged accommodation for them.

They all lived in the back room on this side of the house. After all, they were maids who signed a sales contract, so it would be better not to mix with the women who ran the hall on the other side of the restaurant.

When the little maid is arranged, Xu Qinyu will go to the back kitchen.

After coming here, Ning Jie'er also started to get busy.

Ning Jie'er's Linglong Pavilion in Yuanbao Town has also been emptied, and she plans to find another shop in Raozhou City. The dismissal was also done by people who had been with her for two years. She could trust these embroidered mothers. On weekdays, it would be fine to let them work at home, and come to the restaurant to deliver her finished products once a month.

Ning Jie'er was running around every day, and the fourth brother also accompanied her to the capital to find a private school for Feng Ge'er and Qian Jie'er.

In this way, after three or four days, Xu Qinyu still hadn't dismissed Yan Mingcheng. He was in the restaurant and couldn't pick out any mistakes.

But tomorrow is his day off. Xu Qinyu will see if he will enter the city tomorrow. If he does, let Huo Jiang follow him and see if he can see anything.

Early the next morning, several people from Xu Ji rested, and Yan Mingcheng was among them.

After eating the morning meal, he went back to the dormitory and left the restaurant, planning to go to the city.

Without Xu Qinyu's orders, Huo Jiang quietly followed.

Huo Jiang followed Yan Mingcheng into the city and followed him for a day. It was not until dusk fell and Yan Mingcheng returned to Xu Ji to eat Mu's.

After eating the evening meal, Huo Jiang found Xu Qinyu, scratched his head and said, "Master, I followed him for a day, he didn't go anywhere, just went to the casino in the city for a day."

Xu Qinyu frowned. He was a person who likes to gamble. People in the restaurant, whether they are cooks or guys, are not allowed to have bad habits. This was made clear when recruiting.

Xu Qinyu nodded, "Thank you Huo Guard, I understand."

Early the next morning, Xu Qinyu found Yan Mingcheng and told him, "Master Yan, when you were taking a break yesterday, a guy from the restaurant happened to see you going to the casino, I'm really sorry, whether it's the chef helping the cook or the guy in the restaurant. We are not allowed to have bad habits, so I'm afraid we can't continue to let Master Yan stay in the restaurant."

She planned to pay Yan Mingcheng the salary according to the length of one month.

Because he was a cook, the monthly payment was three taels of silver at first, and Xu Qinyu took three taels of silver for him.

Yan Mingcheng's face turned pale, and he begged bitterly: "Master Xu, I know I was wrong, and, besides, I'm just curious about the casino, and I don't go there often on weekdays."

The fourth brother said there was a problem, so of course it was impossible for Xu Qinyu to keep him.

Even if the fourth brother didn't say it, if she knew that this man was a gambler, she wouldn't keep him.

On weekdays, playing horse tags with relatives and friends is not considered entertainment, and those who go to the casino are almost all people who are addicted to gambling.

Xu Qinyu said: "Master Yan, does he go to the casino when he is resting? In fact, he only needs to go there and ask. Is Master Yan going to do this?"

Yan Mingcheng's face turned ashen. When he first came to Xu Ji, the owner had already said that he could not do anything. He didn't take it seriously. He thought that going to the gambling house by himself would be harmless and would not affect other people. How could he know that Xu Ji was a little cook? , He even said that if he was driven away, he would be driven away without leaving any sympathy or ground.

What's more, his purpose of coming to Xu Ji is not simple. If he can't stay in Xu Ji, he won't be able to get at least 20,000 taels of silver later.

Thinking of this, Yan Mingcheng begged Xu Qinyu more and more, hoping that she would forgive him once when she was young and thin-skinned, and said that she would definitely change in the future.

But Xu Qinyu was firm and asked the guards to pack up his things and drive him out of Xu Ji.

In this way, many people will see it.

Xu Qinyu briefly explained the situation, which can be regarded as a warning to Xu Ji's surviving people, even if they go to the gambling house and the money they gamble with is their own money, it will not work.

Because a gambler is bound to lose his family and property in the end, and his family may be ruined. A gambler can do anything if he gambles in the end.

It is indeed to wake up the people in Xu Ji, so that even if they make a lot of money in the future, they cannot develop such bad habits.

After Yan Mingcheng was chased away, Huo Jiang followed him for several days.

A few days later, Huo Jiang came back. He didn't even wait until the morning meal was over, and went directly to the back kitchen to look for Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu and Huo Jiang went to a remote place outside and asked, "What did Guard Huo see?"

Huo Jiang nodded, "After this man returned to the city, he didn't go to other places. He went to the gambling house again, where he ate, drank, and messed up. He didn't come out of the gambling house until four days later, and then went straight to the Kong family's mansion. go."

"The mansion of the Kong family?" Xu Qinyu frowned.

Huo Jiang immediately said, "It's the house of the owner of Zuixianlou."

This is what he asked others after he saw Yan Mingcheng entered the Confucian mansion.

When Xu Qinyu heard this, his face darkened.

Now there is something don’t understand. The fourth brother said that Yan Mingcheng got a windfall a few days ago, and then came to Xu Ji to be a cooking assistant, and wanted to learn cooking from her. Now it seems that the windfall should be given to him by the Kong family Yes, let him come to Xu Ji to learn art by stealing from his teacher.

It doesn't matter if she changes the recipe of these dishes a little. When the time comes, Zuixianlou will change the name of the dish and change the tricks, and the price will be cheaper, which will attract a large number of diners.

But in fact, Xu Qinyu is not worried about this kind of thing, Xu Ji is not only relying on food to attract guests, but also living comfortably is also very important.

In addition, the taste of the same dish she made is unmatched by anyone, so even if someone uses this method, Xu Ji will not be defeated, only the passenger flow will be affected a little.

It's just that this kind of competition is really ugly.

Both of them run restaurants, but one is inside the city and the other is outside the city, so they don't affect each other.

These diners often go to Zuixianlou to eat when they are in the city on weekdays.

Huo Jiang said: "Master, do you want me to continue to follow?"

Xu Qinyu shook her head, "No, it's useless to continue to follow, just recruit people in Xuji later, and ask Huo Shouwei to help find out the details, otherwise this kind of person will come in again, and he will become a conspiracy. It won't break Xu Ji, but it will definitely hurt his muscles and bones."

Huo Jiang nodded.

After Huo Jiang left, Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen to get busy.

In fact, she knew in her heart that even if she knew that Yan Mingcheng came to Xu Ji to steal his teacher under the favor of Zuixianlou's owner, but now there is no evidence, and Yan Mingcheng has learned nothing, and even the police can't arrest him. If it can be counted, it should be regarded as not knowing.

But Xu Qinyu was still a little angry in her heart.

She suddenly thought that two months later, there would be a cooking competition in Raozhou City.

This is different from the once-a-year competitions in the city, or the private competitions between celebrity chefs and chefs.

This is a once-in-a-decade culinary competition, which is only available in the Southwest, and famous chefs from several states will come to participate.

She didn't know if the Kong family from Zuixianlou would participate, and she didn't know if the Kong family had participated in the competition before or won the championship.

But this time, she must participate. After winning the first prize, she will become famous, and Xu Ji will also become famous. More people will come to Xu Ji to taste delicious food and take vacations.

When Xu Ji's name is all over the southwest, Zuixianlou can no longer compete with Xu Ji, because it is almost no longer the same height, even if Zuixianlou studies Xu Ji's dishes, it can't hurt Xu Ji The muscles are gone.

But before participating in this culinary competition, Xu Qinyu had to go back to Yuanbao Town.

The winery in Yuanbao Town also started to make wine.

In addition to the wild grapes on the mountain this year, the green grapes that were planted in the previous year have also grown fruit one after another, which can be picked and used to make wine.

Mrs. Lu and Zhen Wu had already gone to Yuanbao Town first, and the wild grapes were being picked one after another.

The next day, Xu Qinyu went back to Yuanbao Town, and Pei Weixuan followed her there.

Xu Qinyu didn't have to do it herself when she returned to Yuanbao Town this time. She taught Xu Tiao how to use the sense of smell to make wine for three years. This year, she just guided from the side, and she didn't need to come in person. Xu Tiao also did a good job, so she basically didn't need to worry about it. , she was also relieved to hand over all the wine matters to Xu Tiao, and then returned to the restaurant.

Pei Weixuan also stayed for about half a month, and when he sent Yuniang back to the restaurant, he also left.

Before leaving, he found Huo Jiang and asked him to protect Yuniang on weekdays. As long as Yuniang wants to leave the restaurant, he must send someone to follow Yuniang, and he must go first to those who are recruited by the restaurant. After finding out the truth, Huo Jiang said hello solemnly.