Jiang Yanyi pushed Chu Yan back to their yard at the Chu family's home.
Although they moved out, Old Madam Chu had always kept the yard for them so that they would have a place to rest when they came over occasionally.
Chu Jiabao came over and gave Jiang Yanyi a purse, and Jiang Yanyi was quite surprised.
Chu Shubao smiled and said, "Every year before the New Year, Jiabao would embroider a purse for the family. Yi, you are the first one to receive one this year!"
She glanced at Chu Jiabao and pretended to be jealous: "In previous years, I was the first to receive it."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yanyi smiled and thanked Chu Jiabao.
The purse on her hand is exquisitely embroidered, and every stitch is carefully crafted. It is made using Suzhou embroidery, and it is difficult to find such exquisite embroidery even on the market.
If a young lady had no worries and lived a life of luxury, she would not spend so much time and effort to please the whole family every year.
Jiang Yanyi thought about the status of the second branch in the Chu family, and could more or less guess why the girl in front of him had to do all these things herself.
Children who are not spoiled are always fragile and sensitive.
Chu Jiabao snorted at Chu Shubao and wanted to get closer to Jiang Yanyi, but when his eyes fell on Chu Yangui who was reading a book in a wheelchair, he didn't dare to go over.
Chu Yangui's complexion was still pale, but the look of illness on his face was much better than before. However, he was too thin, and the clothes that were supposed to fit him seemed a little too big for him.
He noticed Chu Jiabao's little action, but said nothing.
Chu Jiabao said to Chu Shubao, "Big sister, if you hadn't taken me with you to embroider rouge, I would have embroidered your purse last this year."
She glanced at Jiang Yanyi, pinched the corner of her clothes and said awkwardly: "Second sister, I heard that you bought the Ruyifang teahouse. I also want to do business with you in the future."
Mr. Chu was useless, and her mother was divorced and couldn't plan for her. Mr. Chu didn't have a son, so it was only a matter of time before he remarried. Mr. Chu often took his anger out on her because of her mother. By the time she had a stepmother, it wouldn't be long before her biological father became her stepfather.
At first, Chu Jiabao thought that when she arrived in Xizhou, she would behave like a well-behaved young lady, and when she reached a certain age, her family would just arrange a marriage for her.
But seeing that Chu Shubao, the eldest daughter of the Chu family, could follow Jiang Yanyi to do business without caring about the opinions of outsiders and even made a lot of money, he couldn't help but have some thoughts.
Before a woman gets married, she competes for her father, and after she gets married, she competes for her husband. But if she doesn’t have a strong father or a promising husband, does that mean she will not live in this life
Chu Jiabao is the most active one among the Chu sisters. Because she received little care since childhood, everything she does is purposeful. Even though her mother had a falling out with Liu in the past and she risked being scolded and beaten by her mother, she still wanted to play with Chu Shubao and the others.
Because Old Madam Chu wanted to see her children and grandchildren live in harmony, she would be pleased by doing this.
Chu Shubao and her sister are indeed not scheming. As the eldest sister, Chu Shubao is sometimes a little careless, but she has always treated her and Chu Huibao equally. She approached them with a purpose in the beginning, and now she has become open-hearted to Chu Shubao and her sister.
Because of her mother, Chu Jiabao also hated Jiang Yanyi and his sister at first.
But until now, perhaps because they share the same pain, she sometimes cries with red eyes at night when she thinks of her mother. Jiang Yanyi and the others will never be able to see their mother again in this life, which will probably only make them more painful.
After seeing that Jiang Yanyi not only did not have a hard time after moving out with Chu Yangui, but instead slowly expanded the business on her own, she really admired Jiang Yanyi and also wanted to live a successful life like Jiang Yanyi.
Jiang Yanyi knew Chu Shubao better than the other three sisters of the Chu family. When Chu Jiabao suddenly made this request, she really didn't know how to respond for a while.
Chu Shubao seemed careless on weekdays, but she knew her sisters' personalities very well. She half-jokingly said to Chu Jiabao, "Ayi runs a restaurant. Jiabao, are you going to help wash the dishes? You should work on the rouge with me. Now, the second purse should be embroidered for me!"
Chu Huibao was spoiled growing up, but she did not have the high expectations placed on her as the eldest daughter in the family. She lived a more relaxed life than Chu Shubao. She was pure-hearted and did not understand anything from her elder sister's words. She only remembered the purse and immediately shouted, "The third one is for Huibao!"
Chu Jiabao rubbed the small tuft on Chu Huibao's head and said, "Okay, okay, I'll embroider yours for the third one."
She also knew that her words were too abrupt, so she explained to Jiang Yanyi: "Big sister can sell rouge in the second sister's antique soup shop, and I think I can also go there to sell pearl hairpins and jewelry."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
Jiang Yanyi thought about the layout of future business districts and the structure of teahouses. She might be able to create an ancient business district.
The teahouse is a rare five-story building in Xizhou City. It was built in the shape of a hexagonal pagoda, with a spiral wooden staircase. There is also an indoor pool in the center of the lobby on the ground floor with a stage on top. It is said that this building was built by a rebel king in the previous dynasty for his enjoyment.
Before the Hu family went bankrupt, this teahouse was equivalent to a higher-class den of money-spending, with courtesans such as Hu Ji often performing on the stage.
Now that the building has fallen into Jiang Yanyi's hands, she is still hoping to get more business from female customers, so naturally she will not hire a prostitute like Hu Ji.
Jiang Yanyi thought that the first and second floors would be dedicated to food, the third floor would sell women's favorite rouge and powder, clothes and jewelry, and the fourth floor would sell study treasures and folding fans commonly used by men and other elegant items.
When you become famous, some idle land that cannot be fully utilized can be rented out, which can not only earn rent, but also gain fame and attract business.
With a rough calculation in mind, Jiang Yanyi said to Chu Jiabao, "If you sell jewelry, the capital will be quite high."
It would be fine if I only sold ordinary pearls, but if I didn't have thousands of taels of silver to back my gold, silver, and jade hairpins, I wouldn't dare to do this business. But if I didn't sell hairpins made of real gold and silver, ordinary pearl hairpins covered with iron and copper might not be appreciated by the girls from wealthy families.
Chu Jiabao only had an idea in mind. She had never done business before, and had never calculated the costs. After hearing what Jiang Yanyi said, she couldn't help but feel a little frustrated: "I thought it was too simple."
Chu Shubao said, "Ayi has moved to a bigger place, and my rouge business has also picked up, and I'm in need of manpower. In order not to embroider the second purse for me, you don't want to do the rouge business with me anymore?"
Chu Jiabao knew very well that Chu Shubao said this on purpose to relieve her of the psychological burden.
This seemingly heartless cousin actually uses all her heart and soul to protect her sisters.
She said yes with red eyes.
When Jiang Yanyi was with Chu Shubao, he thought she was a heartless girl who could be used as a blanket even if the sky fell. But now he felt that this girl was very thoughtful, but she saw things clearly and lived freely.
Her mother, Liu, was a short-sighted person, but she was rarely insightful.
Several people chatted in the yard for a while about the decoration of the store after moving to a new location. Chu Huibao asked to eat pickled fish, so Jiang Yanyi went to the kitchen with a smile and tears, and the three sisters of the Chu family followed him.
The Chu family's chef was already cooking. Lamb was stewed in a casserole. It had been stewed for several hours. The soup had turned white and the meat and bones could be separated with a light touch of chopsticks. Now it was simmered over low heat.
Glutinous rice balls are being fried in a large pot on the stove. The balls are made of fragrant glutinous rice and freshly chopped pork, coated with egg liquid and flour and fried in the pan. When they are taken out, they are crispy and golden, and they taste delicious when eaten.
The chef on the chopping board is cutting a roasted chicken with a golden and shiny skin...
Chu Huibao's eyes widened as he looked at this and that, wanting to eat everything.
Chu Shubao had no choice but to carry Chu Huibao back to her room first, fearing that she would cause trouble.
Jiang Yanyi felt both amused and sad when he saw Chu Huibao's tearful face when she was dragged away by her sister.
She told the cook that she wanted to make pickled fish, so the cook set aside a pot for her to tinker with.
Jiang Yanyi had made pickled fish many times and was very familiar with the method. He could make a big pot of it easily. His cooking skills were so sophisticated that even the chef of the Chu family was ashamed of himself.
Jiang Yanyi saw ribs soaking in a wooden basin nearby and asked, "What dish are you going to make with these ribs?"
The cook said, "To answer the second young lady's question, I was planning to make steamed pork ribs with rice flour, but the shopping boy came back late, and I was afraid I would miss dinner, so I decided to make soup with Codonopsis pilosula."
There is already mutton soup, and it would be too heavy to add pork ribs soup.
Jiang Yanyi picked up a piece of ribs and took a look. The bones were small and the meat was firm. She said, "It's a pity to use such good ribs to make soup. Let's make it into general ribs."
The chef had never heard of the name of this dish, so Jiang Yanyi had to cook it himself.
The ribs had already produced a lot of blood after being soaked in cold water, but Jiang Yanyi still blanched the ribs with a mixture of cooking wine and ginger. At this time, the fishy smell of the ribs had been almost removed.
Drain the water and add oil in the pot. When it is 60% hot, add the scallion and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the dogwood sauce and stir well, then pour in the cooking wine. Add water to the pot and pour in red yeast water to adjust the color.
Red yeast rice has been the best natural dye for cooking since ancient times. The red yeast rice wine sold in the market is brewed with red yeast rice.
After the red yeast rice water was added to the pot, the color of the whole pot of soup turned bright red. Jiang Yanyi added some sugar to enhance the flavor, increase the layering of the taste, and added some soy sauce for seasoning.
After the water boils, put the blanched ribs into the pot, add bay leaves, cinnamon and star anise and simmer over low heat.
The meaty aroma of the ribs is more intense with the help of spices, and the red yeast rice gives the ribs a natural color. After stewing, the ribs are bright red and look very beautiful.
Remove from the heat after the ribs are stewed until they are soft. If you want to keep it simple, you can just serve it on a plate and eat it.
But when making General's ribs, there is also a frying step.
Jiang Yanyi asked the servant in the kitchen to bring her some sweet potato starch, coated the cooked ribs with the starch, poured a lot of oil into the pan, and when the oil temperature came up, fried them until the shell was crispy and then took them out, and added a small dish of crispy peanuts.
Leave only a small amount of oil in the pan, throw a handful of chopped scallions into the pan and stir-fry, add dogwood and green peppercorns and stir-fry until fragrant, pour in the fried pork ribs and peanuts, stir-fry until well-flavored and serve.
If there were fried small twisted dough sticks, you could also add them to the spare ribs at the end, but unfortunately there was no time, so Jiang Yanyi did not make twisted dough sticks.
The ribs were served just in time for dinner.
Marquis Xing'an came to Xizhou. As a general under Feng Shuo, Chu Changping naturally had to receive Marquis Xing'an together and would not come back for lunch.
The family still had their meal in the yard of the Chu family's elders.
During the meal, Chu Huibao saw that the pickled fish she had been longing for was finally available. Her eyes almost lit up, and after she picked up her chopsticks, she just looked up to pick up the fish and buried her head in eating.
Old Madam Chu deliberately asked Jiang Yanyi and his sister to sit next to her. Perhaps it was because she saw that her two grandsons were cold to them when they paid their respects earlier, and she wanted to let her grandsons and their wives understand how much she valued Jiang Yanyi and his sister.
Jiang Yanyi picked up a piece of pork ribs for Old Madam Chu.
When Chu Chengmao saw the lake green purse hanging around Jiang Yanyi's waist, several of his sisters rushed to pick up food for her. Even Chu Huibao, the foodie, reluctantly put the fish fillet she had just picked up into Jiang Yanyi's bowl.
On the other hand, he who used to be the favorite of the little ones was ignored. Chu Chengmao felt more and more upset. When he saw Jiang Yanyi picking up ribs for Old Madam Chu, he said, "Grandma is old and has bad teeth. It's hard for her to eat these fried foods."
Jiang Yanyi could tell from his unhappy tone that he was worried about Madam Chu, and said, "These ribs were stewed until soft before frying, so they are not difficult to eat."
At this time, Madam Chu had already bitten into the ribs, which were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Cornus officinalis and Sichuan pepper were added during the stir-frying, and the golden skin on the outside had a spicy taste, which was just what Madam Chu wanted. With a light touch of her teeth, the meat inside was bitten off. The meat was tender, and the aroma of the spices during the stewing was all cooked into the meat, making it extremely fragrant.
Old Madam Chu smiled and said to Chu Chengmao: "Grandma is greedy, but she can still bite!"
He turned around and picked up another piece for Old Master Chu, "This rib is delicious, old man, you should try it too."
Chu Chengmao thought that Madam Chu was deliberately giving Jiang Yanyi a way out. He knew that his grandmother favored his aunt's children, so he didn't say anything. He just picked up a piece of pork ribs and ate it sullenly.
After biting open the crispy outer shell, Chu Chengmao was stunned to find that the meat inside was as soft and tender as Madam Chu said.
He took another piece and praised, "The chef in our house is very good at cooking."
Chu Huibao made a face at him and said, "These spare ribs and pickled fish were made by my second sister, not by the kitchen staff."
When Chu Chengmao picked up the piece of pork ribs and put it to his mouth, he didn't know whether to eat it or not.
He hesitated for a while, but finally opened his mouth and ate it. However, he did not touch the spare ribs and pickled fish afterwards, although he thought these two dishes were the most delicious.
Chu Huibao noticed that he didn't fight with her for the pickled fish, so she took the initiative to pick up a piece for him: "Why don't you eat fish, second brother?"
Facing the gazes of everyone at the table, Chu Chengmao said against his conscience: "I don't like eating fish."
Chu Huibao's face was full of suspicion, even though he had just been fighting with her for food.
Chu Shubao secretly pinched Chu Huibao's hand. Chu Huibao knew that her sister wanted her to stop talking nonsense, so she just buried her head in eating.
Although Chu Chengmao didn't put his chopsticks into the two dishes, the aroma still penetrated his nostrils. He glanced at Jiang Yanyi, who was eating politely next to Old Madam Chu, and endured it!
He ate slowly. With the Chu family's eating habits, there would definitely be leftovers in the end.
But several pairs of chopsticks were thrusting in and out of the pork ribs plate and the sauerkraut fish soup pot, and the pork ribs were gone at a speed almost visible to the naked eye.
The word "endurance" in Chu Chengmao's heart cracked.
It’s okay, there’s still pickled fish.
He comforted himself.
Chu Huibao took a spoon and scooped in the sauerkraut fish soup pot. After scooping out the last piece of fish meat, he scooped twice more to make sure there was no meat left. Then he said with some disappointment: "No more fish..."
Chu Chengmao: “…”
The crack in the word "忍" became bigger.
It’s okay, at worst he can just use the soup to soak some rice.
Chu Chengmao ate till the end. Before leaving, Mrs. Chu asked him with concern, "Brother Mao, you didn't have a good meal outside, did you?"
Look how hungry the child is! He has to eat so many more bowls of rice.
Chu Chengmao looked at the sauerkraut fish bowl and nodded.
Old Madam Chu told him to eat slowly and ask the kitchen to make more if there was not enough. The old lady was a little full after this meal, so Jiang Yanyi and Chu Shubao accompanied her for a walk to help digest the food.
Everyone left the table one after another. Chu Chengbai still looked haggard after the death of his beloved concubine. His first wife, Xue, spoke softly and seemed to be very considerate, but her raised face held a hint of mockery.
Mrs. Liu felt sorry for her son and went to the kitchen to make another soup for Chu Chengbai.
Finally, there was no one in the dining room. Chu Chengmao was just about to scoop some sauerkraut fish soup into his bowl with a spoon when the maids and servants who were cleaning the table suddenly swarmed in.
Chu Chengmao's face didn't look good: "What?"
Seeing that he had put down his chopsticks, the servant thought that he had finished eating too. He pointed at the sauerkraut fish bowl and smiled shyly: "Second Young Master has finished eating. Can you give me this bowl of soup? We all plan to use this soup to soak our rice."
Chu Chengmao: “…”
He put down the spoon silently: "You can take it away."
It’s just a bowl of pickled fish, what’s so special about it
The servant happily retreated with the sauerkraut fish bowl, and the maids began to clear the table.
Chu Chengmao felt a throbbing pain in his chest.
Damn, he is still rare!
***
Fengfu.
Today a banquet is being held to entertain Marquis Xing'an, and the chef of Feng Mansion has brought out all his skills. Various delicious delicacies have been delivered to the front hall.
Feng Shuo sat in the main seat, and the first person sitting on the left below was Xing'an Hou, and below him were several of Xing'an Hou's trusted generals. On the right were Feng Shuo's generals, and Chu Changping was already among them.
Because of his contribution in instigating the rebellion of Marquis Xing'an, Lu Linyuan also got a seat, but he was ranked last. He was thinner than before, but he looked calm and composed, and it was obvious that he had been tempered a lot.
"I have long heard of Your Highness's reputation. It is my honor to discuss major plans with Your Highness." Marquis Xing'an is nearly fifty years old and has grown a beard. Perhaps it is because he has been cultivating his character in recent years. Although he is a military general, he has an elegant air.
He raised his glass to Feng Shuo: "Yang toasts to His Majesty."
"Your Majesty, you are too polite. Danzhou's crisis is all thanks to your help." Feng Shuo raised his glass in response.
When the strong liquor went down my throat, I couldn't taste anything except a burning pain.
Jiang Yanyi was not in the antique soup shop today. The Chu Mansion was too far away from here, and he had no sense of taste at all.
"The emperor was able to win the battle of Danzhou because he did not expect that Yuzhou would rebel. When the imperial court mobilizes troops, Yuzhou will also be unable to avoid a fight." Xing'an Hou sighed.
On the surface, he was saying that Yuzhou would be in danger, but in reality he was seeking credit from Feng Shuo. This time, the imperial court was caught off guard, allowing Chu Changping to break out of the siege with his family. The Yuzhou army had made an indispensable contribution.
Feng Shuo said: "Your Majesty, don't worry. Xizhou has 200,000 soldiers stationed there, and it's no problem to send 30,000 to 50,000 to garrison in Yuzhou."
Marquis Xing'an has 50,000 soldiers in his hands. If he sends another 30,000 or 50,000 soldiers to the small Yuzhou, it will be hard to say whether Yuzhou will be ruled by the Yang or Feng dynasty.
Marquis Xing'an did not expect to encounter such a setback.
Since he has agreed to form an alliance with Feng Shuo, he will not fall out with him easily. He is saying all this now just to get more benefits.
Chi Qing was best at playing the good and bad cop with Feng Shuo, and he immediately said, "My Lord, try this roast suckling pig. It's made from wild boars just caught in the mountains, and it tastes better than ordinary pork."
Marquis Xing'an picked up his chopsticks and then put them down again. It was impossible for him to come to Xizhou in person just to have a meal with Feng Shuo.
Since Feng Shuo refused to accept the secret message, he just came straight to the point and said it clearly.
Xing'an Hou said, "Your Highness, I will not keep you in suspense. I have only one daughter, and I have made all the efforts of Yuzhou to come this far only for my daughter's future. Since Your Highness has not married yet, Yuzhou is willing to form a good relationship with Xizhou."
This means that Feng Shuo should marry his daughter as his principal wife.
The author has something to say: Jiang Yanyi (eating melon seeds, not fierce at all): It’s up to you.
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