Although Chef Hu was arrested, the canteen could not be closed. Students from poor families depended on the canteen for their survival. If it was closed, it would have a huge impact on them.
Chen Jijiu was old and often asked for leave to go home to recuperate. This time, his confidant had a problem, and he felt ashamed, so he did not come over. He just handed over all matters to the Dean of the Imperial College, and naturally, the recruitment of people for the canteen was also handed over to them.
After Jiang Miao heard the news, he was actually a little eager to make a move. Contracting a canteen seemed to be a good job, with money directly subsidized by the higher-ups, so he didn't have to worry about losing money. However, thinking of his current status, Jiang Miao gave up the idea. He used to go in and out of the front frequently, and most of the students knew him. If they knew that Pei Che's family had contracted the canteen, the rumors that had finally been calmed down would probably spread again.
The chef who took over the canteen was quickly found. Unlike the fat and big-eared chef Hu, Chef Zheng was short and always had a stern face, but he was very good at cooking. Within a few days, he won the hearts of many students. Even some who only went to Jingcui Garden to eat would visit the canteen from time to time.
In addition, when he delivered vegetables to everyone, he did not bundle them for each family as before, but bought many different types and let everyone buy them by weight like they usually do at the vegetable market. In this way, everyone has more types to choose from, and when they encounter vegetables they don't like, they don't have to force themselves to take them away, causing a lot of unnecessary waste.
Jiang Miao really liked this method, because in this way, he could cook different dishes for everyone every day, unlike before, when he couldn't use his skills because of the limitation of ingredients. However, the one who felt the most about this matter was not Jiang Miao, but Pei Che. Looking at the two little faces of Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu that were getting bigger day by day, Pei Che felt a sense of crisis.
He believed that his only attraction to Jiang Miao, besides his money, was his looks. If he lost his handsome looks because of getting fat, it would be a loss. But he was unwilling to eat less every day. So Pei Che began to practice martial arts hard. In addition to challenging Su Jin, he also practiced swordsmanship in the yard every morning and evening.
Inspired by him, Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu would hold their small wooden swords and imitate Pei Che's movements every day, and sometimes it looked quite realistic.
Jiang Miao was also very interested in martial arts, but unfortunately he had neither talent nor perseverance in this area. If you asked him to flip a spoon or cut a mound for half an hour, he would not complain, but if you asked him to do horse stance for half an hour, it would be better to kill him. For this reason, Jiang Miao could only accept his fate of not being able to become a master.
Days passed by, and in the blink of an eye, the Mid-Autumn Festival was approaching. The Mid-Autumn Festival here was no different from the one Jiang Miao knew in his previous life. Both festivals meant reunion, and the family sat together to eat moon cakes and admire the moon.
However, the Mid-Autumn Festival here is more grand, and the holidays before and after the festival add up to five days. Jiang Miao was very happy to hear this. If there is anything wrong with the Imperial College, this is it. There are too few holidays, which makes him, who has three students at home, feel constrained and unable to go anywhere. This time he has a holiday, he must go out and have a good time.
Generally speaking, students only study half a day before the holiday. Jiang Miao packed up their things in advance, and after dinner, he urged them to go out. The others were in a similar situation. They were always missing home after being away for many days.
"You guys go back to the Duke's Mansion first. I'm going to go to the Jiang family shop." Jiang Miao said. It was a holiday after all, and of course they couldn't live outside as a group of people. They had to go back to the Duke's Mansion.
Pei Che said: "Let's go together. If you are worried about the Jiang family shop, then let's go there together first."
Since Pei Che said so, Jiang Miao naturally would not force them to leave first. When the car turned into the outer city and stopped at the backyard of Jiang's shop, Jiang Miao got out of the car and then led the others who followed him out of the car.
As soon as the gate was opened, a smell of mud hit them in the face. It felt like they had walked to the edge of a muddy puddle instead of the backyard of a store.
There was a big wooden basin in front of everyone. They sat in front of the basin with brushes, carefully scrubbing the crayfish one by one. Since Jiang Miao gave them this dish, it has become a daily routine, and no one can escape it, because this dish has become the signature dish of their shop. Even though other shops have gradually added this dish, people still think that the taste of Jiang's shop is the most authentic.
After checking the account book, Jiang Miao announced the benefits of the Mid-Autumn Festival. In addition to closing the store for three days, there were also bonuses and subsidies for grain, oil and food. The subsidies were applauded by everyone, but everyone had different opinions on closing the store. Everyone thought that business would be better in the next few days, and only the store would be closed on the Mid-Autumn Festival, and the rest of the time would remain the same.
After staying in the Jiang family shop for about an hour, they got on the carriage and went to the Duke's Mansion.
After not coming back for many days, everything in the Duke's Mansion was back to normal, without any changes. As soon as they entered the Duke's Mansion, everyone's laughter subsided unconsciously, and the atmosphere became dull for a while. When they returned to Pei Che's yard, Chan Yi and Wen Jing had already arranged everything, and waited for them to wash and change clothes, preparing for paying respects to Grandmother Pei later.
Just like before, Grandmother Pei only had room for Pei Che in her eyes. Facing everyone's greetings, she calmly asked them to sit down, and then she only pulled Pei Che aside and kept asking questions.
Jiang Miao and the other two didn't care. They just hoped that Grandmother Pei could speak faster so that they could go back and rest earlier. Unfortunately, things often go against one's wishes. After Grandmother Pei pulled Pei Che to finish speaking, she asked them to stay here to eat together.
The old lady ate things that were easy to digest. The dishes on the table were either steamed or stewed. They were too soft and the taste was not good. Jiang Miao didn't eat much, and the two children only ate a small bowl and felt full. Pei Che didn't like to eat these either, but facing the concerned look of his grandmother, he could only force himself to stuff the food in the bowl into his stomach.
After the meal, Grandmother Pei had tea served, and along with the tea tray, there was also a red invitation.
"Ache, this is an invitation from the Xinyang Marquis' Mansion. They are holding a Mid-Autumn Festival poetry meeting and invite you to attend." Grandmother Pei said.
"Mid-Autumn Poetry Festival?" Pei Che took the invitation and opened it. It was indeed stamped with the seal of the Xinyang Marquis Mansion. His family has always had contacts with the Xinyang Marquis Mansion, so it seems that he must go this time.
After returning to the yard, Jiang Miao slumped on the couch without any image, sitting upright for more than an hour, feeling extremely uncomfortable. He looked at Pei Che and said, "Can I not go to the poetry meeting tomorrow? I can't write poetry."
Pei Che sighed and said, "I'm afraid it won't work. The people above invited only you and me."
"Do they want to laugh at us?" Jiang Miao started to speculate on conspiracy theories. After all, everyone in Liangjing should know that the wife of the Duke's mansion's prince was just a merchant, so why did they invite them to a poetry reading
"That's not the case. The Xinyang Marquis' Mansion and the Duke's Mansion have always been on good terms, so they wouldn't do something like this on purpose. They should have also invited other people's families to go along, and the male and female guests will proceed separately." Pei Che said.
Jiang Miao sat up suddenly: "They won't let me hang out with the female guests, right?"
Pei Che laughed: "How could that be? You are with me."
Jiang Miao breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me, I thought I would be sent to the backyard." How could he, a man, be surrounded by girls
Seeing Jiang Miao's thankful expression, Pei Che couldn't help laughing again. Jiang Miao only had resistance to the backyard and no yearning at all. Did it mean that he had never thought about matters between men and women
(End of this chapter)