Blissful Days After Widowhood

Chapter 81

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After one big and one small squatted down and finished drinking a bowl of Hu spicy soup, there was also a seat in the small shop.

Gu Ye ordered soup dumplings and biscuits again, and each had another bowl of soup.

After a hot meal, there was a layer of sweat on the back, and the hands and feet warmed up. So happy!

Emperor Zhengyuan let out a comfortable breath, and then looked at Gu Ye with undisguised love.

After eating, Gu Ye cleared his throat, and said with a guilt expression: "Uncle, the playbook you wrote is very good! It's a boy who is reckless, and such a good book only gave Uncle a deposit of five taels of silver."

Emperor Zhengyuan didn't come here for the money, so he waved his hand disinterestedly when he heard the words: "You all say that our family is familiar with each other, so there is no need to say that."

Gu Ye has been observing his expression, and seeing that he really doesn't seem to be telling a lie, he finally feels relieved, "I will supply my uncle with fifteen taels of silver in the future, totaling twenty taels. If this drama sells well, I will do it again. Give Uncle other bonuses. In addition, I will give Uncle a VIP of our family, save some money, and Uncle can come to our house for breakfast when he is free, how about that?"

When Emperor Zhengyuan was coaxed to the point of being elated, he nodded and said, "Okay, okay!"

This time Gu Ye showed him the outline of the play at the back - he also hid a hand in the front, and only showed Emperor Zheng Yuan the scene where the widow and the emperor met again. Although it was a cliché story, it was the first time he thought about a story, so he couldn't tell a stranger at once.

Now that the two of them have a friendship, the other party is really capable, and he cares about money undisciplined, so Gu Ye naturally believes in him.

Emperor Zhengyuan naturally took over the rest of the work, and the two stayed for the whole morning before parting at noon.

Gu Ye wanted to invite him to lunch, but Emperor Zhengyuan had to go back to the palace in time, so he said that he would have a meal next time.

Gu Ye sent him off and sent him back to the Suzaku Street in the palace, and then they parted.

At Jixiang Theater, Brother Xiaofeng got such a good book, and naturally he couldn't humiliate it, so although the new play in front of him had only been performed for a short time, he let the rest of the troupe work overtime to arrange the new play.

There is not much rest time in this line, and Hua Dan, who is in the same troupe, is a little unhappy. He still stays in this small theater troupe, purely because Brother Xiaofeng's master, that is, the old master of the troupe, is kind to him.

It's just that no amount of kindness can withstand the passage of time. By now, Li Yuanzhu has extended an olive branch several times, and he has been shaken.

Brother Xiaofeng has already divided the playbook according to his individual roles, and showed him the part that belonged to the pretty widow.

Look at this, the person who sang Huadan no longer complained!

At the back, Brother Xiaofeng also gritted his teeth and took out the silver coins at the bottom of the box, and equipped a new set of outfits for the important characters in it.

After going for hundreds of taels in one go, the old people in the troupe persuaded Brother Xiaofeng not to do this.

The owner of the Lucky Theater, Li Yuan, almost laughed crookedly when he heard the news. He waited for the little troupe to disperse, and then took Brother Xiaofeng and Qiaohuadan back to his own house!

He stopped the person who was rushing to persuade, but instead helped Brother Xiaofeng: "Although the class leader is young, he has a big vision. You have known the class leader for so long, how can you not believe him? Believe in you! When your play is ready, I will arrange the best show for you!"

By mid-November, the first scene of the drama was scheduled.

Brother Xiaofeng found Gu Ye and asked him the name of the play.

Gu Ye slapped his head, but he hasn't given a name yet!

But the story is what he thought, and it is normal for him to think of the name. Gu Ye, who didn't know a few big characters, directly named it "The Story of Love".

In late November, "The Merry-go-round" was officially put on the stage.

This name is really too popular, it is not as good as the previous scholar and young lady, that is to say, the performance is relatively good. In the afternoon, plus the reputation of Xiaofeng and Qiaohuadan, the attendance rate at the beginning was only six or seven. to make.

But once the play begins, Pretty Widow makes an appearance and timidly opens her mouth...

The timid tone, the clear singing, and the rhyming and evocative chorus of every sentence can attract people all at once.

In a play, the emperor went out of the palace to Shiweitian, praised the restaurant's food, and gave a generous reward.

The owner sent the pretty widow to thank them. The two met again after many years, one was full of emotions and the other was teary-eyed.

"How did it end here!"

"Yeah, I just felt the smell!"

The spectators were dissatisfied, and Brother Xiaofeng came up and cupped his hands: "Everyone, listen to me, it's not that we deliberately only sang half of this play, it's that you all look at the sky outside."

Only then did the spectators realize that it was almost evening outside, and it was time to eat dinner.

"Why has it been so long?"

"Yeah, I haven't realized it yet, how come the afternoon has passed all of a sudden?"

No one said anything this time, just urged Brother Xiaofeng to get out of the back.

There are also people who really like this play, and have already booked the show for the next afternoon.

This play is really good, and any sentence you pick out is memorable and unforgettable.

How could they want to go home? I have to quickly change places with a friend who is watching the show to reminisce.

There is no need to think about the place anymore, it is naturally the end of the opera, and the emperor in it all praised the food for the sky.

On Gu Yin's side, the beef from those cows has been sold out. After all, the meat is not fresh after being frozen for a long time, and the taste will become worse.

However, boiled butter can be stored for a long time. Before it is reserved, or deposited in advance, it can be eaten as a VIP who eats for the sky.

Since Brother Xiaofeng has launched a new drama, Gu Yin will naturally follow. With the tickets, you can order it as you go.

On a cold and bleak winter evening, first watch a scene of beautiful flowers, and then eat a hot butter hot pot, who can resist this

And the diners who eat for the sky heard about this event, and as long as they didn't watch the show at all, they would also watch a "Merryman" in their spare time.

The two sides influence each other, promote each other, and benefit each other.

But on the 10th, the whole capital knew that there was a very good-looking "The Mourning Story" in the auspicious theater. After watching the movie, you can go to the restaurant to eat a limited amount of butter hot pot!

This play is popular in the streets and alleys, to what extent is it popular

This Japanese grandfather is worth it, and I heard that the old man is humming the aria!

Everyone was watching, and Mrs. Wen didn't feel any embarrassment, but said to Mr. Wen, "The plot of this play is too vulgar, but this aria is really brilliant. Boss, if you have nothing to do, don't be bored at home. Now, you can listen to it. It is best to find out who wrote it. I think with his talent, he is definitely not an unknown person. "

Mrs. Wen knew that this play was written by Gu Yin in order to promote food for the sky, so she specially went to support it when she was free.

Unexpectedly, this sight attracted him too.

Later, he and Gu Yin inquired about the author, but Gu Yin only said that Gu Ye was responsible, and she did not know the details.

Gu Yeren is not big, but his mouth is tight. He said that the gentleman he hired did not want to be named, so he never spoke to the public.

As soon as Mr. Wen said this, Mr. Wen wanted to laugh but held back, only said: "Father knows, I don't like listening to dramas."

Then he plunged headlong into his study—he had to hurry up and write the rest of the scene.

In the next few scenes, Gu Ye still let his mother check it first, and then showed it to Brother Xiaofeng.

This playbook has never been changed, and it was the last one. After hearing what her mother said, Gu Ye put away the playbook and didn't give it to Brother Xiaofeng directly.

The two are already very familiar with each other now, Gu Ye carried the food box early that day and waited at the tea stall.

After a while, Emperor Zhengyuan came and asked him with a smile, "What delicious food did you bring?"

"It's the crab roe soup bun made by my mother, please let my uncle eat it."

This crab roe soup bun is a new VIP dish launched by Gu Yin. It is necessary to blanch the chicken into pieces overnight, then shave the pork skin, cut off the fat, and boil it together with the onion and ginger to make the meat skin chicken soup.

The next day, wait for the meat-skin chicken soup to congeal into aspic, then cook the crab, pick out the crab roe and crab meat, and adjust the pork filling. Finally, mix the pork filling, jelly, and crab meat together, and then add the seasoning and stir, and then the final filling is done.

After wrapping, put the palm-sized soup bag on a small plate into the steamer, wait for the water to boil and then steam for ten minutes.

As soon as the pot came out, Gu Ye jumped in line to take three out and put them into the food box.

The soup dumpling was white, fat, and crystal clear. When it was taken out of the food box, the soup inside was trembling and steaming.

Although he has been emperor for almost a year, Emperor Zhengyuan said freshly: "I have eaten soup dumplings before, and they are only bite-sized. Yours are fresh. I don't know where to start with such a big person."

Gu Ye took out the bamboo straw and gave it to him, and let him drink the soup first.

Emperor Zhengyuan did as he did, the straw was inserted into the soup bag effortlessly, and the fragrant soup was immediately sucked into his mouth.

After drinking the soup, biting through the skin of the steamed bun as thin as a cicada's wings, and finally eating the delicious and juicy filling, it was so fresh that I wished I could swallow my tongue.

Emperor Zhengyuan ate two in one go, and said with admiration, "You really can't choose the food in your restaurant, and the Hu spicy soup in front of you is better than the one you took me to, plus this crab yellow soup dumpling, also No wonder business is getting better.”

Seeing that Gu Ye held his cheeks silently, and did not touch the remaining soup dumplings, Emperor Zhengyuan asked, "Is there something to say? Do you want to recommend your soup dumplings in the play?"

Gu Ye nodded and said, "It's true that we want to change the show, but if you praise the soup dumplings, you can add them, and if you can't add them, forget about it. It's mainly a side effect."

At the end of the story of the playbook, the emperor and the pretty widow finally cleared up their misunderstanding and wanted to take her and the little prince back to the palace.

Of course it wasn't all smooth sailing, and a bad queen came out of it.

The queen had been married to the emperor for many years and had no children. She was jealous that the pretty widow had both the emperor's favor and gave birth to such a smart son. She tried to get rid of their mother and son several times.

Of course, it must not succeed. The emperor saw through her true face, and then abolished her queen position and made the widow the queen.

"The Empress is a good person, I don't want to write such a bad queen in my story." Gu Ye said.

Speaking of this, Emperor Zhengyuan also remembered that the Hanlin scholar asked him when he wrote this paragraph.

He didn't take it seriously at the time and said: "This story was originally made up, Aiqing wrote it casually, there have been many queens in the past, and it's not about the current dynasty. If you really want to sit in the right seat, there are so many dramas for the emperor and the queen, and both I and the queen are busy. Don't come."

Unexpectedly, he didn't care, but Gu Ye did.

Emperor Zhengyuan's heart softened, "Have you seen the queen?"

Gu Ye shook his head and said no, "But I know she's fine, she's just sick."

Earlier, Gu Yin and Mrs Wang came home from a banquet in the palace, and it was inevitable to talk about the affairs in the palace.

Of course, the ones who said the most were scolding Feng Guifei and Qin Shi. Then there is the Queen of Zhou.

Wang Shi was soft-hearted and persuaded Gu Yin: "I saw it when the Empress was staring at you, don't take it to heart. I think she is just a nervous child, and she is too nervous."

At that time, Gu Yin nodded and said, "Mother didn't even say I would save it. The Queen Mother helped our family out. We should think of her for that alone."

At that time, Gu Ye listened to it, and muttered unhappily: "Although she helped her mother first, the first mother looked at the little prince twice. She carried the prince out by herself, why is she staring at you?"

He is short, no one can stare at his mother anyway.

Gu Yin explained to him later, saying that people not only get sick physically, but also get sick emotionally.

"The Queen Mother seems to have a cold in her mood now, so she acts too tense. This is not her original intention. Would you hate someone because someone has a cold and sneezed in front of you uncontrollably? "

Gu Ye thought about it and said no.

When he was in Hanshan Town before, he also had a cold.

Zhenri sneezes and has a runny nose, not to mention his family members, even his little friends, instead of hating him or alienating him because he is sick, they will take care of him more.

So Gu Ye said: "The Empress is a good person. We can't use her for entertainment. If she is even more unhappy, the 'wind chill' in her heart will not be better."

Heart cold? Emperor Zhengyuan frowned and pondered.

In the past few years, he has only been the Queen of Zhou because he resented him and separated from him, so he changed his temper and deliberately did unpleasant things.

But she never thought that this is not her original intention, but she is emotionally and psychologically ill, and she shows symptoms uncontrollably.

"I see. I'll change the script for the last scene."

"Then trouble uncle!" Gu Ye laughed, "Actually, there is no need to change, just change the bad queen into a bad concubine!"

Anyway, Concubine Feng is not a good thing!

After parting, Emperor Zhengyuan returned to the palace and ran directly to Kunning Palace.

This time, Queen Zhou still did not let him enter the hall, and Emperor Zhengyuan did not quarrel with him. He had someone bring a chair, sit at the door, and start chatting with Queen Zhou through a door.

Don't talk about the emperor and queen, and don't talk about the children, just talk about the pleasant and unforgettable moments when the two got along in the past.

Less than a quarter of an hour after speaking, Emperor Zhengyuan was talking about the time when the two had just gotten married.

Queen Zhou came out blushing and told him to shut up!

At the beginning of December, all three scenes of "The Merry" were lined up.

There are so many people who like this drama, all the dramas in the auspicious theater have given way to it.

It's hard to get a ticket just like this, because it's not just fans of the show right now - fans of the show have heard about this good show, and they've seen it more than once. , can't catch the chat content of others, even those who don't like watching it very much have to buy a ticket to watch it.

Taking advantage of this shareholder trend, Shiweitian Restaurant has become famous in the second month of its opening, and customers are coming.

Gu Yin re-booked last month's account, and the profit reached more than 500 taels, which was worth the income of a year in Hanshan Town in the past.

Of course, there is also Gu Ye's credit for this. He not only bought a very high-quality playbook at a low price, but he also really has a vision for making friends. Afterwards, Gu Yin and Xiaofeng brother talked about advertising fees. I thought the other party would increase the price, after all Now that other people's dramas are so popular, it is reasonable to increase the price. Unexpectedly, Brother Xiaofeng not only didn't increase the price, but he didn't even want the twelve taels agreed in advance. He bluntly said that Gu Ye was able to sing such a good book to their troupe, and they became famous today, which is already the best for them. Good remuneration too.

The profit of more than 500 taels was taken home by Gu Yin at first.

The Wang family didn’t want it at all, saying that the family had enough money, and the salary was about to be paid, so there was no need to worry about money.

Later, when Wu Qing decided to pay, Gu Yin gave him the money again, saying that there was still a lot of liquidity left in the previous store, and the five hundred taels could be disposed of at will. He had emptied his private house before to open a shop for her, and it was not good to keep some money by his side.

Wu Qingyi refused to accept it, but said to her, "I was just about to find you for this, and His Majesty said that Mr. Wen Er has already collected almost all the debts he owed, and he wanted to return the 30,000 taels to us. He also asked me to What a reward."

That day, when she took Gu Yin off work, Gu Yin's sentence "Give a man a fish is worse than teaching him to fish, mutual benefit" gave Wu Qingyi great inspiration.

He and Emperor Zhengyuan both regarded the matter of caring for the wounded soldiers as an expense before, but never thought that the wounded soldiers could also serve the court.

When his thinking changed, he suggested to Emperor Zhengyuan that instead of giving the wounded soldiers money directly, he would distribute the land near the capital to them, and reduce their taxes a little bit.

In this way, the wounded soldiers no longer have to pay rent or worry about taxes. As long as they work hard and work hard, they can naturally support their families.

They are all members of the Rebel Army, and they were seriously injured when they charged into battle without flinching, and their loyalty is beyond doubt.

Although they are all disabled, those who have joined the army are bloody and ruthless, and they are not comparable to ordinary people.

Placing these people in nearby villages would invisibly strengthen the garrison of the capital.

Emperor Zhengyuan is currently short of cash, but he does not lack real estate. Before, he thought about selling the good shops first, turning them into cash, and then disposing of the property.

Now that one process is saved, the land does not need to be sold, but can be directly distributed to the wounded soldiers.

From Wu Qingyi's statement to the present, this matter has been carried out for more than a month, and it has been very smooth.

The first batch of wounded soldiers who got the fields were all grateful to Emperor Zhengyuan, that is, it was too peaceful near the capital at the moment, otherwise they would like to put on armor immediately and kill a few more thieves Xiaoxiao to show their loyalty.

This move is indeed benevolent and righteous, and even some of the civil servants in the court who felt that Emperor Zhengyuan's throne was not right, and were not very convinced of him, changed their attitudes.

This credit was taken by Emperor Zheng Yuan himself. Wu Qingyi was not unconvinced. He really did not have the heart to be disobedient. What did he do to gather so many people's hearts

The monarch and his ministers get along so well, and Emperor Zhengyuan naturally wants to reward him. It is not like before, rewarding the countless antiques and treasures in the palace, but asking him what he meant.

Before it was put aside, Wu Qingyi probably wouldn't have asked for anything, but this time Gu Yin actually ordered him, and the reward should naturally go to her.

So he said that he went back to discuss with Gu Yin. Emperor Zhengyuan couldn't bear it any longer. He laughed and scolded him as a "wife slave" and drove him out.

After listening to him explain the ins and outs, Gu Yin pursed her lips and said with a smile: "I also heard from Wei Sanniang and the others that they were all allocated fields, but I didn't expect you to think of this idea. Are you really free to ask for rewards? ?"

Wu Qingyi said: "His Majesty used to keep his promises before he ascended the throne. This time he said 'If you speak, I have nothing to do', you can say it."

With Wu Qingyi's understanding of Gu Yin, she would definitely not make any excessive demands.

And even if he mentioned it, he would not lose anything if he was scolded by Emperor Zhengyuan at most.

Gu Yin thought about it and said, "Then can I have a boat? It's the kind of big boat that can go out to sea!"

The chili peppers in the store are in short supply now. This thing is expensive to buy from the market. If you can have your own merchant ship, you can naturally save a lot of money. And if you can find peppers suitable for planting in the Central Plains overseas and grow them locally, it would be even better.

In particular, there are too many things overseas, but people don't know how to distinguish them.

Wu Qingyi nodded and said: "It's not difficult, but I don't know the specific value of a merchant ship, but His Majesty said that we will pay back the 30,000 taels that we spent in front of our family. If the ship is very expensive, we don't want the 30,000 taels. silver."

After the discussion, Wu Qingyi went to the palace the next day and said that Gu Yin went to work in the restaurant as usual, and waited for news at home after work.

When the twilight came together, Wu Qing decided to come back and find Gu Yin directly.

Seeing that he came back so late and with a complicated expression, Gu Yin guessed that things were not going well.

She first asked someone to bring him a cup of hot tea, and then asked, "But Your Majesty didn't allow it? It doesn't matter, I'm greedy."

Nowadays, the imperial court has imposed a sea ban, and ordinary people cannot go to sea unless the government allows it.

Although what she wanted was a merchant ship, she had to give the ship the qualification to go to sea. Many things overseas were unknown to the court, and it was reasonable that Emperor Zhengyuan would not allow it.

Wu Qingyi shook his head and said, "It's not that it's not allowed, but that it's allowed too much."

Their family only needed a merchant ship that could go to sea. Emperor Zhengyuan was pondering at that time, and Wu Qingyi thought he would not allow it.

Unexpectedly, after a long while, Emperor Zheng Yuan said: "I remember that there was a 'Ocean Ship Line' in the previous dynasty, and there was a deep entanglement with the former dynasty's eunuchs. The crew fled before I ascended the throne. You mentioned it, I remembered it. I don't know how many merchant ships his family has, so he simply gave the entire ship line to your family."

Later, he asked Wu Qingyi to take inventory of the ocean-going ships.

This shipping line has two huge merchant ships and a dozen medium-sized merchant ships that can carry over 100 passengers.

If converted into cash, it is worth more than one million taels.

It was because he was busy counting these, so Wu Qingyi came back so late.

Gu Yin was so frightened that she started coughing, and waved her hands hastily: "No, I really don't need to, what do I want to do with a whole boat trip?"

Wu Qingyi stretched out his hand to give him a pat on the back, "I said the same at the time, but His Majesty said that this is what our family deserves. I said that it was only about the wounded soldiers, I just raised a few thoughts, and I am ashamed to bear it. His Majesty said that there is still great merit in our family, and we will tell our family later in the year."

Gu Yin was puzzled by these words, what kind of great merit can get a reward worth one million taels!

But they didn't dare to accept it, and it was useless. The next day Ocean Shipping Line's house deed, land deed, and boat deed, a series of things, all came to the British government.

In this side of the Lu Guogong's mansion, the atmosphere in the mansion these days is very bad.

It is not a trivial matter to spend 100,000 taels of silver a month!

At first, Duke of Lu Feng Yuan felt that he had made a great contribution to this matter, and he felt very happy at the same time.

But I didn't expect that after his own money was spent like flowing water, Emperor Zhengyuan still treated Wu Qingyi the most affectionate.

Regarding the delivery of the ship, Emperor Zhengyuan and the British government did not disclose it first, and Feng Yuan didn't know it yet.

However, there was a concubine Feng Gui in the palace, who had already told her family members that Emperor Zhengyuan had left Wu Qingyi alone several times to speak.

There is a traitorous concubine in the recently popular "The Love and Flow", and the background is also from a family of military generals. Concubine Feng felt aggrieved by the great grievances of heaven, and she cried and complained in front of Emperor Zhengyuan, and wanted him to order that this play should not be sung outside the palace. .

This play was written by Emperor Zhengyuan, and it was used to connect the relationship between father and son. Can he allow this? At that time, it was said that Concubine Feng was too careful, and there were so many concubines in history, why should I take the right seat

This made Feng Guifei angry, and asked her family to check when the news came out.

With ease, the Duke of Lu found Shiweitian and the British government behind Shiweitian.

No wonder Emperor Zhengyuan is protecting it!

Qin Shi couldn't help but get angry. The day he heard the news, he opened the box and took out 30,000 taels of silver.

Looking at Wu Qingyi's appearance in the emperor's heart now, it's not good for them to directly take action against the British government, but it's always alright to fight a restaurant, right

The British government's wealth is weak, and the property is only one restaurant. As long as the restaurant is defeated, it will be enough to damage the vitality of his family!

After taking out the money, Qin thought about everyone in the family, and finally gave the money to his younger son Feng Tao—the one who lost money to Gu Ye in the casino before and made his brother unable to fight. .

"Even though Tao'er went to buy a better and bigger restaurant, the family has enough money and money, and must run the 'food for the sky'!"