border cook

Jiang Yanyi took out two plates of Zheergen from the food box, and said, "What's wrong with Zheergen, Zheergen is delicious!"

She went to the market this morning to buy some fresh seasonal vegetables, and found a farmer's street stall selling zheer roots dug out of the ground. She immediately bought a few large bundles, washed them after returning to the store, and made a plate of cold vegetables to taste. .

Zheer root will have a fishy smell when eaten raw, but when mixed with dogwood sauce, rattan pepper oil and salt, then topped with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and garlic water, it tastes quite crisp, tender and refreshing, and the more you chew, the more you can taste it The fragrance of zheergen itself comes out.

She looked at Feng Shuo and said, "You will know after you try it."

Under her expectant gaze, Feng Shuo had no choice but to hold a chopstick. The moment he took his mouth, his expression became a little stiff. As soon as he chewed, the fishy smell seemed to burst out from the crisp and tender root. Feng Shuo swallowed it whole. , I quickly took two mouthfuls of chicken soup to suppress the smell.

Jiang Yanyi could tell from his expression that he didn't like this dish. Zheergen's audience was indeed polarized. Some people liked it, while others avoided it. Feng Shuo obviously belonged to the latter.

She worried: "Are you okay?"

It was the first time that Feng Shuo had such a big reaction to any dish she cooked. Feng Shuo was afraid of hurting her heart, so he gritted his teeth and said against his conscience: "It's okay, the taste is quite good."

Seeing suspicion on Jiang Yanyi's face, he stretched the wooden chopsticks into the plate again as if to prove what he said was true, but he didn't have the courage to pinch the ears again, but pinched them accurately A crushed clove of garlic.

The garlic cloves I ate before were sweet and sour, and the taste was very good.

This garlic... the moment his teeth clenched together, he realized something was wrong.

Just now his complexion was just stiff after eating zheergen, but now his entire face is almost green.

The pungent and garlic smell burst out in the mouth almost at the same time, and the taste rushed straight to Tianlinggai.

Feng Shuo couldn't figure out what was wrong there. Under Jiang Yanyi's probing eyes, he had to swallow it as if nothing had happened, and wanted to change the taste with chicken soup, but the chicken soup was hot, and the taste of garlic became more obvious.

He picked up the kettle on the side and drank ten cups of warm tea down his stomach. His mouth felt a little better, but there still seemed to be a pungent garlic taste from the root of his tongue to his throat.

Jiang Yanyi was stunned and didn't understand why Feng Shuo wanted to eat raw garlic as an ingredient. Could it be that the candied garlic she made yesterday misled him?

Doubts are doubts, but Jiang Yanyi's hands are not slow, and he quickly picked up an orange from the fruit plate on the table and peeled it to him: "It would be better to eat an orange."

After Feng Shuo took it, he swallowed it whole. The oranges were very sweet, and the faint orange scent subdued the garlic that made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Jiang Yanyi peeled off another one and handed it to him. Feng Shuo waved his hand, indicating that he didn't want it anymore. He coughed lowly and tried to remedy it: "This king... yesterday was the first time I ate garlic."

The implication is that he has never eaten garlic before, and he does not know what garlic smells like.

Jiang Yanyi felt distressed and funny, and explained: "Yesterday's garlic was sugared garlic, which was marinated in the kimchi jar for nearly two months, so it didn't have much garlic flavor. Today's cold salad uses raw garlic, which has not been processed. But, so it's a bit more flavorful."

Feng Shuo glanced at Jiang Yanyi, and found that apart from a bit of teasing in her smiling brows, she no longer doubted the reason why he ate raw garlic.

He feigned anger and said, "Is it so funny?"

Jiang Yanyi shook his head for a second, and looked at him with a sullen face, but he failed in three seconds and collapsed on the futon with a smile.

Feng Shuo threatened: "Are you still laughing? Believe it or not, I'm kissing you now?"

Eating raw garlic and then kissing is too devilish.

This threat was very effective. Jiang Yanyi quickly tensed his face, got up and sat upright, trying to shift his attention to the travel notes he was reading.

It's just that when she inadvertently raised her eyes, she found that Feng Shuo was peeling and eating oranges by herself.

Feng Shuo glared at her, and dropped the orange as a gesture to catch her.

Jiang Yanyi was so frightened that she hid in the room, and when Feng Shuo blocked her into the corner, she could only cover her mouth tightly and muttered: "No kiss, no kiss..."

Feng Shuo looked down at her from above, viciously kneaded her neatly combed hair into a bird's nest, and said, "I owe you first."

In the next few days, the chefs in Fengfu will be unlucky. When their princes see garlic in the dishes, they will return them and ask them to redo them.

The cook couldn't figure it out, why did the lord, who used to only pick vegetarian dishes, suddenly refuse to touch dishes with garlic?

***

The blacksmith was acquitted. When he was released from prison, Okra was going to pick him up. Jiang Yanyi rented a bullock cart to take her there, and cried when he saw the blacksmith Okra.

Uncle Qiukui is a skinny old man with a bent back because he has been working in the fields all year round. Behind him stands his son and daughter-in-law, who are holding a two-year-old baby in their hands.

Aunt Okra's body was wrapped in a straw mat and placed on a cart. Her uncle still had a bit of pain on his face, but his son and daughter-in-law only showed impatience.

When Uncle Okra came over, the blacksmith took half a step forward to protect the Okra behind him.

Her uncle was a little awkward, with a sallow face full of wrinkles and grooves, a few gray beards scattered on his chin, and his hands, which were rough from years of hard work, couldn't close their fingers together when they bowed.

He said to Jiang Yanyan, "Are you the owner of Okra?"

Jiang Yanyi nodded her head, her attitude was neither indifferent nor warm, but she definitely couldn't make people get close.

Uncle Qiukui said: "Thank you for taking care of Qiukui, she is a poor child..."

Jiang Yanyi said coldly: "Since you decided to sell her at the beginning, you don't need to say these things now."

Who should I answer!

Uncle Qiukui didn't make any excuses, but his cloudy old eyes seemed a little wet, and he tried to force a smile on his face: "We should be thankful."

He turned his head to look at the blacksmith, and the two of them met without speaking. After a while, he turned his eyes to Okra.

Okra originally had a round face, but after arriving at Jiang Yanyi's shop, the food was good, her face became rounder, and the clothes on her body were also decent. In comparison, their family looked extremely down and out.

He said: "Uncle is sorry for you, and you should hate Uncle, but Uncle still hopes that you will have a better life in the future."

After saying only a few words, he walked towards the cart with staggering steps.He pulled up the cart, hunched over and walked forward with one foot deep and one foot shallow. His son pushed behind, and his daughter-in-law followed with her crying young son in her arms.

The padded shoes under the feet that have been mended for many years are soaked in snow water, and the chill travels along the soles of the feet. This road is as difficult as it has been in this life.

The cold wind poured down his throat, and Uncle Okra was choking and coughing. He buried his head too low, and his hot tears spilled into the snow, making only a few small pits the size of beans, which were quickly covered by footprints and wheel marks. .

In that year, there was a famine in Daxuan, and the family could not get rid of the pot. The daughter-in-law, who was eight months pregnant, was so thin that only a layer of skin and bones remained, and the okra had a tendon. come to him.There is another mouth in the family, and my wife never has a good face.

When his wife decided to sell the okra, he knew about it, but on one side was the empty rice vat and the grandson who was about to be born, and on the other was the niece whose parents had died, so he could only pretend not to Know.

In the famine year, the rich families only have to drive away the maids, so how can they buy them again?In addition, the okra's head is not easy to use, and no one wants to sell it to others for hard labor. Fortunately, the okra looks juicy, so it can only be sold to Hualou...

Looking at the figure of her uncle's family walking away in the heavy snow, Qiukui felt that the original complaints and hatred had been diluted by something, leaving only a daze that she didn't know about.

Tears flowed out, and my heart was astringent.

After the death of her parents, she has no family after all. Even if there are relatives in the world, they are just passers-by from now on.

The blacksmith told her, "Don't cry."

Unexpectedly, it was just this sentence, but it caused Okra to cry like a child with his mouth puckered.

It's just that it's not Jiang Yanyi who wiped her tears and comforted her now.

Jiang Yanyi watched from the sidelines and felt a little emotional. All of Okra's sufferings began when her aunt sold her to a brothel. She often said that death is like a lamp going out, and no amount of resentment should disappear.But her aunt sold the okra, and the whole family failed to live like a human being, and now they have lost their lives. Maybe this is retribution.

Once Aunt Qiukui died, there would be no evidence to sue her for abducting and selling okra. The blacksmith had been busy for so long in order to restore Qiukui to his good status. The water is empty.

On the way back, when Jiang Yanyi asked him about his future plans, he said: "I still have some spare money. I rushed to renovate the house a year ago, and I can get married in the next year. I will take on more jobs in the future." Son, I will never wrong Okra."

Forging iron is all about working hard to make money. Jiang Yanyi has made a lot of utensils with him, and he knows that it is not easy to earn money, and the older he gets, the less work he can take on if he can't become a famous artist. After all, his physical strength can't keep up. up.

Thinking that Bing Shao was too busy at the noodle shop, Jiang Yanyi asked him, "If you don't want to work on blacksmithing, I'm short of people here. As long as you work hard, you won't earn less than blacksmithing."

A blacksmith also knows that blacksmithing depends on the market price. He is the most famous blacksmith in Xizhou City, and he doesn't earn much money. Every copper plate is smashed with thousands of hammers.In the past, one person could eat enough and the whole family would not be hungry. If you want to get married, the expenses will be huge.

He is open and open, and he never hides his words, and immediately said: "If Shopkeeper Jiang wants someone else, I am willing to go and do it, but you also know that I am stupid, and I am afraid that I will screw up your business." .”

Jiang Yan said, "No."

If the blacksmith came to work with her, he would be able to earn more money, and his and Okra's life would be guaranteed in the future.Secondly, if he does something to offend Qiukui in the future, she can directly vent her anger on Qiukui.

The blacksmith nodded, and he accepted it. He said, "I still want to redeem the contract of sale for Okra for her."

Okra is a crime, which is different from ordinary slavery. As long as the master is willing, the slavery will be canceled at the local government.

The crimes must be pardoned by the Son of Heaven.

Jiang Yanyi said: "I'm just helping her store the deed of sale for Okra. I believe you really want to marry her now, but who can say for sure what will happen in the future. Let me put it here, if you dare to bully her She, I can take people away at any time."

She held Okra's hand: "I am her natal family."

The blacksmith said: "Master Jiang has a good intention. I thank you for Qiukui. But she will be my first wife in the future. I think she should keep all her things. If you don't trust me, I will I can go to the government to sign a contract of sale with you."

He would rather sell himself than to help Qiu Kui get back the contract of selling himself.

Jiang Yanyi nodded.

The ox cart turned around and went to the government office. After registering and signing the body contract with the government, the blacksmith said that it would take a few days to go back and transfer the blacksmith's shop, and then come to Jiang Yanyi's work, and Jiang Yanyi agreed.

When he got on the bullock cart back to the antique soup shop again, Jiang Yanyi said to Qiukui, "Silly girl, that's all I can do for you."

Qiukui knew that the blacksmith's deed of prostitution was in Jiang Yanyi's hands, and it was for her own good.

She said with red eyes, "Thank you, Huahua."

Jiang Yanyi touched her head: "Why are you crying, go back and embroider a beautiful wedding dress, and you will be the bride soon."

***

Xu Shi is approaching the New Year, and the good news is coming one after another. There is news from Li Chef that the military camp wants her recipe. Xizhou is bitterly cold, and the sentinels in the sentinel often cannot eat hot food. Instant noodles can solve this problem very well.

Moreover, when marching in a hurry, ordinary soldiers can also use instant noodles to pad their stomachs. Naturally, the main combat troops still have to eat food that can control their hunger.

Fangzi sold a full 200 taels, and because the barracks are not fully equipped, they can’t make bread, and they have to distribute military rations to the soldiers in the various sentry towers, so they can only give the 5000 taels of military supplies to him. Made by Jiang Yanyi's noodle shop.

Now the noodle shop is very busy, and has invited many new guys.

Just as Jiang Yanyi expected at the beginning, the practice of instant noodles could not last long. Seeing such a huge market, other noodle shops also moved their minds and began to share this cake.

Among them, the noodle shop under the name of shopkeeper Xu of Laifu Restaurant is the most prosperous, and it is still imitating. I heard that in order to win the business of Xizhou Daying, it even gave a big gift to a certain general, but it is a pity. No response.

In order to attract customers, Xu Ji Noodle Shop simply lowered the price to sell. The cheapest noodle cakes in Jiang Yan’s Noodle Shop sold for one penny, while he sold two pancakes for three pennies.

Jiang Yanyi happened to be busy with the list of the military camp, so he didn't have time to deal with it.

Everything is difficult at the beginning. Chu Shubao's rouge business has experienced a downturn at the beginning, and now it is gradually improving.

She has a warm temperament, even if the female customers who come to the store are not good at words, they can still ask her to have a chat.

There is no woman who does not love beauty. Chu Shubao spent a lot of money on rouge and gouache. She got some of the goods that are only available in the capital. She opened a box for free trial to the female customers in the store. , If there is something you want to buy, you can sell it at [-]% interest.

In order to try the rouge, the number of female customers in the store has obviously increased, Jiang Yanyi has also paid more attention to the service, not only setting up a place for the diners to put cloaks and cloaks, but also going to the tailor shop next door to order a lot of smocks, eating spicy pot Wearing a smock from time to time can prevent the oil from splashing on the body and dirtying the clothes.

There are also many women who want to learn some makeup from Chu Shubao, some of the fashionable makeup in the capital, few people in Xizhou can do it.

Putting paint on the counter, firstly, there are not many people standing in the small place, and secondly, there are many male customers in the store, which is always inconvenient. Jiang Yanyi cleaned up the room in the backyard where she slept by herself, and put it in There are quite a few exquisite futons, and Chu Shubao is here to teach the female guests how to make up.

At the beginning there were only four or five people, but later it became more than a dozen people rushing to line up. The space is limited, and Chu Shubao only teaches once a day, and the female customers often have to book a seat several days in advance.

As more female customers came to the store, there were more male customers.

In the past, only when you go to the lake for a banquet, you have the opportunity to see those girls from high families, but now you can "encounter" after a meal.

The business of antique soup shops is far more prosperous than before. If they don't want to lose these customers, it is imminent to expand the store.

With the huge sum of money in his hand, Jiang Yanyi is determined to open a restaurant with a larger specification than Laifu Restaurant!

Grab business, who can't!