Facing Jiang Yanyi's question, Qiu Kui shook his head in confusion: "I don't know..."
Both her parents passed away, and she was sold to a brothel by her aunt and then sent to a military camp. She lived in a daze for so long, and only after meeting Jiang Yanyi did she finally live a normal life again.
But Jiang Yanyi has found his relatives now. Although she doesn't say it, she is very envious in her heart.
When she was bought into the brothel, it was her aunt who took her to the market, so perhaps her uncle was unaware of it.
So when her aunt found her and said that her uncle was critically ill, she followed her aunt with a glimmer of hope. However, the place her aunt took her to obviously didn't seem to be a place for her uncle to recuperate, but rather a place for fireworks.
Jiang Yanyi heard what she said and frowned, "Does she want to sell you out again?"
But Qiu Kui was already a slave, so if she was to be sold again, she had to get her indenture. Since her aunt had sold her once, she couldn't have been unaware of this.
Qiu Kui pinched the corner of her clothes and said with red eyes, "I saw that I was in the wrong place, so I turned around and tried to run, but my aunt grabbed me. A few maids came out of the building, blocked my mouth and dragged me in. I heard my aunt talking to them about money and something, and the maids said they could only give it after a physiognomy test..."
When she said this, Qiu Kui bit her lip, tears already welling up in her eyes.
If it were in the past, she would not cry, because she knew that this was how her life would be. But after being with Jiang Yanyi for so long, those dirty and gloomy pasts seemed to have nothing to do with her. If she was suddenly pushed back into that hell, she would fight to the death.
Who doesn’t want to live facing the sun
Jiang Yanyi felt distressed and angry when she heard this. "Silly girl, why didn't you tell me such a big thing happened?"
Qiu Kui's tears fell. Jiang Yanyi was at the Chu's house during those days, and she couldn't just run over and tell Jiang Yanyi that she was bullied. Later, when Jiang Yanyi came back, it had been several days since the incident, so she didn't mention it again.
She was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would worry, so she choked up and said, "Huahua, don't be angry. I didn't suffer any loss. When they were dragging me, they ran into a blacksmith who was delivering goods over there. He recognized me and threatened them that I was from Jiang's family. If they did anything wrong, he would report to the police. Only then did they let me go."
But her aunt was not willing to give up because she didn't get the silver. She chased her and the blacksmith all the way and cursed her, saying that she was a money-loser and a nemesis who had killed her parents.
The blacksmith spoke up for her, but her aunt said in a sarcastic tone that she and the blacksmith were lovers. She also deliberately brought up the fact that she had worked in a brothel and as a camp prostitute. Her words were as unpleasant as they could be.
Before, the blacksmith used to come to the house every now and then to help sharpen the knives, but after that incident, he never came again.
Qiu Kui felt sad: "Here at Huahua, I feel like I can live like when my parents were still alive. At most, I will be considered stupid. But after I revealed my past experiences, others looked at me as if I were a dirty thing..."
At this moment, Jiang Yanyi suddenly felt that it was fine for Qiu Kui to be like this. The physical injuries she had suffered were over, but what she would have to face for the rest of her life was the harm caused by rumors.
She doesn't understand the world, so she won't get hurt.
This world is always harsh on women. Even though they were once victims, when others talk about their experiences as having worked in brothels and as camp prostitutes, it is enough to stir up their imaginations and breed endless malice.
Most men either pretentiously point fingers or make vulgar jokes. The saddest thing is that women, under the feudal ethics, would avoid such things as if they were snakes and scorpions. It would be good enough if they kept silent. What's hateful is that some would even gather in twos or threes and criticize them in a shameful tone.
From ancient times to the present, rumors have always been a sharp weapon that kills people without bloodshed.
Jiang Yanyi held Qiu Kui's hand and said, "People with a bad heart will find everything dirty. Don't pay any attention to it."
What she was concerned about now was how Aunt Qiu Kui found this place and what her purpose was in trying to coax Qiu Kui away.
Jiang Yanyi asked: "Do you remember where your aunt took you?"
Qiu Kui nodded: "West Market Willow Lane, the most impressive building with red lanterns."
Liuxiang in Xishi is a red-light district. Could it be that they are really going to sell okra there
Jiang Yanyi comforted her: "Don't be afraid, if your aunt dares to come next time, I will report her to the police and have her arrested."
You can't get anything out of Qiu Kui. If you want to know Qiu Kui's aunt's purpose, you probably have to pry open her aunt's mouth.
Jiang Yanyi asked Qiu Kui to calm down before going back to the kitchen.
The dishes were almost ready, and she prepared the soup base herself.
Considering that the tastes of people in the store for spicy food are different, Jiang Yanyi plans to cook a double-flavored hotpot, with the clear soup base made from pork bones and the fresh soup from old hens.
The base of the hot pot is fried with old oil, which can bring out the aroma of the spices to the greatest extent. Jiang Yanyi boils the old oil, fryes the dogwood and Sichuan peppercorns in the oil before taking them out, and then fryes the sugar on low heat.
Frying sugar in an oil pan is a technical job. If you fail to control the heat or the frying time well, the whole pan of oil and sugar will be wasted.
The red floating on the surface of the spicy hot pot soup is not only from capsanthin, but also from the fried sugar color. If the sugar is fried well, the soup will be bright red and not sweet. Sugar can enhance the freshness to a certain extent and also reduce the spiciness.
Jiang Yanyi was not careless at all when frying the sugar. She watched the sugar melt and golden bubbles pop up on the oil surface. The hot steam rising from the pot had a hint of sweetness. She quickly put the onion, ginger and garlic into the pot to stir-fry, and at the same time added more than a dozen spices such as cardamom, cloves, fennel, etc. to stir-fry. After the aroma came out, she poured bone broth into the pot, sprinkled salt and the previously fried cornus officinalis and peppercorns and simmered for a while.
The water in the pot was boiling fiercely, and the aroma of various spices mixed with the spiciness of dogwood and the numbness of Sichuan pepper stimulated people's sense of smell.
Spices are natural preservatives. Fry more when making the base of the spicy hot pot and it can be used for several days.
After turning off the fire in the big pot, Jiang Yanyi scooped some of the prepared spicy hot pot base into the shuangxiang pot, poured boiling water over it and started cooking the skewers directly.
Although she had caught a cold from someone and was ill for several days, she still did not forget someone in the neighboring palace when she had something delicious to eat, so she asked Yang Xiu to bring the soup base and skewered dishes over.
Chu Yangui has difficulty moving around, and there are more people in the store now. If he eats with everyone, it will be inconvenient for Chu Zhong to move him in and out every time. Jiang Yanyi prepared a separate pot for him and Duke Chen, and he ate in the front shop with other people in the store.
Now the west wing has become where they live, and the shop assistants will not go there easily.
Hot pot skewers are probably the most healing food. When Qiu Kui saw the full pot of skewers, all her previous unhappiness was thrown behind her. She has spent the longest time with Jiang Yanyi and now has a lot of experience in eating. She puts all the meat dishes in the spicy pot and most of the vegetarian dishes in the clear soup pot.
Chef Yao and the old scholar were old, and eating too much strong-flavored food had damaged their stomachs, so they preferred to eat some clear soup to nourish their stomachs. Seeing that Okra had filled a pot full of vegetarian dishes for them, they were so angry that they fumed.
"Girl, why do you put all the meat dishes in front of you!" Chef Yao said as he grabbed a few coriander and beef skewers and put them in the clear soup pot to cook.
Okra looked innocent: "Meat tastes better when cooked in a spicy pot."
"Who said that?"
"Flowey said so!"
Jiang Yanyi, who was making spark-reducing tea nearby, was caught in the crossfire.
Probably one thing that makes skewers more convenient than hotpot is that you don’t have to look around the pot for food. You can just pick up whatever you want to eat with a bamboo stick, and there is no need for everyone to prepare a pair of serving chopsticks.
It was only when Jiang Yanyi arrived here that he realized that people in ancient times were more particular about eating from hotpots than modern people. Even if they were familiar with each other, they would each prepare two pairs of chopsticks, one pair for eating themselves and one pair for picking up dishes.
When Chef Yao saw Jiang Yanyi cooking like this, he couldn't help but praise him, "Boss, why not sell a pot like this."
Jiang Yanyi refused mercilessly: "It's troublesome to string the sticks together."
It's fine if you eat at home, but if you want to make a profit from this, you might as well just sell hot pot. You can just cut and plate whatever dishes the diners want.
If you sell skewers, you have to add the step of skewering after cutting, which is time-consuming and laborious and not cost-effective.
Chef Yao thought about it and agreed that this was indeed the case.
After the coriander beef was cooked, Qiu Kui quickly grabbed two skewers and gave them to Jiang Yanyi.
The new guy was a little reserved at first, and was embarrassed to eat freely. After tasting the skewers, he flattered Jiang Yanyi and praised him. But when he found that everyone else was silent and was rushing to eat the meat, he let go of his awkwardness and rushed to eat.
The beef slices are cut thinly and the meat is tender. After being blanched, it makes your mouth water. It has a richer texture when wrapped with coriander. It is tender on the outside and crispy on the inside when wrapped with sour cowpea. In addition to being spicy, it also has a sour taste on the taste buds.
This level of spiciness was not a problem for Jiang Yanyi. The others were so spicy that they had to drink scented tea, but they still refused to give up eating the spicy hotpot.
Even Chef Yao and the old scholar, seeing how enthusiastically they were eating, couldn't help but dip the meat cooked in the clear soup into some of the spicy hot pot soup to taste it.
***
When Feng Shuo heard that Jiang Yanyi had sent more food, he quickly asked Xing Yao to bring it up.
Xing Yao said with a rather tangled look, "On the way here, I ran into the Grand Empress Dowager admiring plum blossoms in the front yard. When she heard that it was sent by Jiang Ji next door, she accepted it on your behalf."
Feng Shuo had a subtle look on his face. He put down the official document and said, "I will go to Mingtan Courtyard to take a look."
The courtyard where the Grand Empress Dowager lived was always heavily guarded. Outsiders could not get in, and the servants inside could not get out. Even if the Grand Empress Dowager told them to do something, they would have to tell the guards at the gate of the courtyard.
However, if the Grand Concubine Dowager wanted to go out in person, the guards would not have the courage to stop her.
Everything in Mingtanyuan was remodeled according to the palace where the Grand Empress Dowager once lived. This way, when the Grand Empress Dowager fell ill, she would think she was still in the palace instead of being in Xizhou, thousands of miles away, and then making a fuss about returning to Beijing.
Feng Shuo didn't dare to go in directly. He stood outside the warm room and listened to the noise inside.
"The chefs in the imperial kitchen have more and more ideas. They even came up with this way to eat the ancient soup."
"My lady, this was not made by the chef in the imperial kitchen. It was made by Jiang Ji next door."
"This meatball is cleverly made. The meat filling inside is different from the outside."
Feng Shuo peeked inside through the crack in the door. The Grand Empress Dowager was holding a pair of ebony ivory chopsticks. The nanny who was taking care of her picked up the cooked meat and used the serving chopsticks to put it into a jade bowl with a gold rim, as if she was taking care of a child. "These things are made with heavy sauces. Your Majesty, eat less and be careful not to upset your stomach."
The tip of her tongue was numbed by the spiciness, but the Grand Empress Dowager was in high spirits: "It's rare for me to have a meal that's been made with your heart, so don't keep nagging me about this."
The nanny had no choice but to continue helping the Grand Concubine Dowager prepare the meal. The Grand Concubine Dowager was gasping for air because of the spiciness and ate it mixing sips of tea with mouthfuls of vegetables.
Feng Shuo stood at the door for a long time before leaving.
When Fuxi heard that he was coming, he was afraid that the Empress Dowager would have a relapse and the mother and son would start quarreling again.
It was a rare occasion to see Feng Shuo leave with a gloomy face, and Fu Xi was also somewhat happy: "Your Majesty, the Queen..."
Feng Shuo made a silent gesture to Fu Xi, then he looked back at Nuan Ge and said, "My mother likes Jiang Ji's food, so you should buy more for her in the future."
Fuxi nodded quickly.
***
A few days later, Jiang Yanyi did not wait for Qiu Kui's aunt to come to the store to cause trouble again, but instead waited for blacksmith Luo.
She was checking the accounts at the counter when blacksmith Luo lifted the bamboo curtain that blocked the wind and came in with a saddle bag slung over his shoulder.
He was tall and had been working as a blacksmith all year round, so the tendons on his arms were obvious. He was only wearing a thin cotton-padded jacket in such a cold weather, but he didn't seem cold.
Jiang Yanyi thought he was going to eat the pot, so he asked politely, "Master Luo, what would you like to eat?"
Blacksmith Luo glanced inside and didn't seem to find anyone, so he looked away and said, "Manager Jiang, can you please have a word with me?"
Because he trusted his craftsmanship, Jiang Yanyi asked Luo the blacksmith to make most of the ironware in his shop, so they were considered acquaintances.
She asked Chu Shubao to help her watch over the counter and took blacksmith Luo to the yard at the back.
The original room has been converted into a simple flower hall, which can be used for guests to rest while waiting for seats, and can also be used for meeting guests.
Aunt Guo saw that the blacksmith was tall and strong, and was afraid that Jiang Yanyi would suffer a loss, so she kept following Jiang Yanyi.
After entering the house, before Jiang Yanyi could even ask a question, Luo the blacksmith took off the bag from his shoulder and poured out a pile of silver and copper coins onto the table.
Jiang Yanyi was startled: "Master Luo, what do you mean?"
Blacksmith Luo was a straightforward person. Jiang Yanyi had made so many tools from him, but he had never been polite to him. He always accepted the goods after paying the money, and he would not say anything else.
This was the first time he was so polite: "I want to redeem someone from Shopkeeper Jiang. This is my savings over the years, a total of fifty-seven taels. I don't know if it's enough."
Jiang Yanyi had a vague answer in his mind, but still said, "I don't quite understand what Master Luo means."
Luo the blacksmith was obviously not good at speaking. His face turned red, but fortunately his bronze complexion made the redness not very obvious: "I want to ask you for a marriage, redeem Qiu Kui's indenture contract, and marry her."
Aunt Guo looked surprised, obviously she had not expected things to turn out this way.
In contrast, Jiang Yanyi was much calmer. She said, "You know Qiu Kui is different from ordinary people. I have never planned to let her get married."
Qiu Kui has no family in her family, and her brain was damaged when she was a child. Although she is not mentally retarded, her intelligence is still inferior to that of ordinary people. If she gets married, Jiang Yanyi is worried that she will be bullied.
When Luo the blacksmith heard Jiang Yanyi's comments about Qiu Kui, he frowned and retorted: "She is not stupid, she is no different from ordinary people, she is just a little stubborn."
Jiang Yanyi heard the protection of Qiu Kui in his words, and felt happy.
Sometimes she also thinks Qiu Kui is stupid, but in fact she is not. Qiu Kui is very clear about the warmth and coldness of human nature. She is even afraid of causing trouble to others and taking on many things alone.
What Qiu Kui couldn't understand was things that were not stipulated in the law but were commonly accepted by the world, because in her opinion those principles should not be like this.
Jiang Yanyi asked the blacksmith: "Do you know her past?"
Blacksmith Luo nodded: "Those are not her fault."
That day, I met Qiu Kui when I went to Hua Street to deliver goods. I learned about Qiu Kui's past experience from her aunt. Qiu Kui's aunt insisted that Qiu Kui got lost on her own, but Qiu Kui also said that her aunt sold her.
Blacksmith Luo had been working as a blacksmith in Xizhou for many years. He had also made shackles and torture instruments for the government. He knew someone working in the prison, so it was not difficult for him to ask him questions through him.
The madam who committed the crime in the brothel is still in prison. The day Qiu Kui was bought in, the brothel happened to be closed down, so the madam had a deep impression of Qiu Kui.
Qiu Kui was forced by her aunt to put her fingerprints on the contract of sale. As long as the brothel owner is willing to testify, then Qiu Kui's aunt is no different from a kidnapper for selling a decent girl, and she will be sent to prison.
He ran around and took a lot of effort to get the brothel owner to be a witness.
Jiang Yanyi didn't expect that blacksmith Luo had silently done so much for Qiu Kui, and he was overwhelmed with emotions for a moment.
She asked, "Do you know why Aunt Qiu Kui tricked her into going to the red-light district that day?"
Luo the blacksmith showed some indignation on his face: "I beat up the old woman and asked her about it. She said that someone came to them and gave them fifty taels of silver to ask about Qiu Kui's whereabouts. She brought Qiu Kui with her because they wanted to. If Qiu Kui was the person they were looking for, they would give her more money."
Fifty taels of silver is not a small amount of money. No wonder Aunt Qiu Kui came to see her several times.
Moreover, if it was just a simple matchmaking, it would make sense that Qiu Kui's aunt didn't care whether Qiu Kui's indenture contract was in Jiang Yanyi's hands or not.
The other party was willing to spend so much money to find someone, so his background must be not simple. He also arranged to meet in the mixed place of red-light district, which obviously was not a place that could be seen in public.
Jiang Yanyi asked: "Why are they looking for okra?"
The blacksmith pouted and said, "The whole family is obsessed with money. They say that there is an old man who is sick and dying, and they want to find someone with a similar fate to him to bring him good luck."
Jiang Yanyi felt that this statement was full of loopholes. The other party didn't even know Qiu Kui's birth date, so how could he know Qiu Kui's fate
This is obviously just an excuse.
Jiang Yanyi felt upset and her right eyelid twitched twice. She raised her hand to rub it, knowing that the blacksmith would suddenly decide to marry Qiu Kui. He must be afraid that Qiu Kui would really marry the old rich man.
She said, "I treat Qiu Kui as my sister and will never let her suffer any injustice. Your matter with Qiu Kui needs her approval. I respect Qiu Kui's choice."
When Luo the blacksmith heard that she had changed her tone, he was overjoyed and said, "Luo thanks Shopkeeper Jiang!"
"You don't have to thank me. Just take the money back." Jiang Yanyi said.
Aunt Guo listened for a long time and finally understood the blacksmith's intention. She smiled and handed him the tea: "Have some tea."
Luo the blacksmith took it with both hands and thanked him, but his mind was obviously elsewhere: "Are the knives in Shopkeeper Jiang's shop still good? I'll go and sharpen them for you?"
Jiang Yanyi recalled what Mrs. An said when he praised the knife for its usefulness. He laughed in his heart and said, "Thank you for your help."
Blacksmith Luo got up and went to the kitchen.
When Jiang Yanyi and Aunt Guo walked out of the room, they glanced towards the kitchen and said with a smile, "If they can really succeed, I will be happy for Qiu Kui."
It is truly rare that he did not mind knowing Qiu Kui's past, but instead tried every means to help her vent her anger.
Just as she was about to go back to the shop in front, Yang Xiu walked in quickly and said to Jiang Yanyi with a somewhat unpleasant expression, "Boss, there are government officials outside, saying that the blacksmith has killed someone, and they want to arrest the blacksmith."
Jiang Yanyi frowned and asked, "Who did he kill?"
"The officer said it was a peasant woman."
The author has something to say: Sorry for the late update qwq
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