"Uncle Zhang, is Brother Daniu free today?"
Taking advantage of the fact that the academy was closed today, Jiang Miao hurried over to Zhang's house. He had been very busy these days. Every day, he would either sell buns or knead dough and chop stuffing at home, which made his hands cramp, but he still couldn't catch up with the next day's sales.
Uncle Zhang didn't go out to drive the car today. When he saw Jiang Miao, he thought he wanted to hire a car, so he hurried out to greet him. After hearing his question, he said, "Daniu, he went to the city gate to help people pick up goods, and he won't be back until the evening. Brother Jiang, what do you want to talk to Daniu about?"
"Last time when I came back in your car, didn't I say that I would ask Brother Daniu to help me next time? Now I'm too busy over there, so I came to him." After a few days of trial and error, he found that this business could be done in the long run, so he came to find someone. Otherwise, it would be embarrassing to inform others but have no work to do.
Uncle Zhang was delighted when he heard this: "You still want short-term work this time? How many days? I'll ask him to talk to the foreman first." Helping at the bun stall is much easier than picking out the goods.
"This is not a short-term job. I want to hire a long-term employee."
"A farmhand?" Uncle Zhang was a little surprised.
"Yes, farmhand. I need someone right now. If it's possible, you can ask Brother Daniu to put his work aside and come over tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll let him push it when he comes back." Uncle Zhang said without hesitation. Although he and Brother Jiang had only dealt with each other a few times, he could tell that he was a man of his word.
Since it was agreed, Jiang Miao started to discuss wages with him. Long-term workers are naturally not paid on a daily basis. The daily wage is a little less than that of short-term workers, but long-term workers are not like short-term workers who work one day and rest two days, so most people still prefer to be long-term workers. Jiang Miao had inquired before and found that the monthly wages of long-term workers here were about 800 to one tael of silver. He took a compromise and negotiated with Uncle Zhang to pay 900 coins a month.
Uncle Zhang had no objection, and he must have known the market situation. Jiang Miao exchanged a few more pleasantries with him, and then hurried back to mix the dough. That night, Uncle Zhang told Daniu the good news, and gave him many instructions on things to pay attention to when working in other people's homes, before letting him go.
Before dawn, Jiang Miao carried his load to the yard, took out his key and opened the side door, ready to go to the morning market. But as soon as he opened the door, he saw a dark figure squatting by the door, and he was so scared that he almost picked up the padlock and smashed it.
"Brother Jiang?" the man called out in a trembling voice.
Jiang Miao took a closer look in the dim light and found that it was Zhang Daniu. After only two months of not seeing him, Daniu looked completely different. When he was helping Jiang Miao with work, he was silent but energetic. Now, he looked like an old man, with the word "dejection" written all over his body. He stood up, and there was some white frost on his patched cotton jacket. It was obvious that he came here just after the morning bell rang.
"Brother Daniu? Why didn't you knock on the door when you came? Come in with me and have a good barbecue." Jiang Miao quickly let him in.
"No need. Isn't it time for you to go out to the stall? I'll go with you." Da Niu felt a little embarrassed. When he saw Jiang Miao's burden placed in the yard, he walked over and put it on his shoulder.
"Don't be in such a hurry. You haven't eaten yet, right? There are still some hot buns inside. Come with me and eat first before you work." Jiang Miao felt that he was not a fool. It was his fault that he didn't make the time clear on the first day, causing people to come so early. He had to treat them to some buns.
Daniu hesitated for a while, but finally put down his burden and followed Jiang Miao into the kitchen. Jiang Miao brought the buns and poured a bowl of hot water on the table. Daniu thanked him and lowered his head to eat.
"Brother Daniu, you eat here. I'm going to set up the stall first. It doesn't take two people to set up the stall. You can keep warm here after you finish eating. We can talk about it when I come back." After saying that, Jiang Miao went out.
However, when he came back after selling things, he saw Da Niu, who was supposed to be sitting in front of the stove warming himself by the fire, kneading dough with a grunt. In addition to the dough in the basin, the chopping board was also filled with small pieces of cut dough, which he only had to roll into dough to make buns.
The high intensity of work these days made Jiang Miao's hands tremble when he heard the word "kneading dough". When he suddenly saw this scene, he was so happy that he wanted to cry. It felt so good to have someone to help him!
When Daniu heard the noise, he turned around and saw Jiang Miao standing there looking at him with a strange look. He panicked and thought he had done something wrong. Jiang Miao quickly explained and he was relieved.
The two of them not only worked faster, but also much more efficiently. With the help of Danniu, Jiang Miao got a small cart and a frying pan. When he went to the stall, he fried the buns in both pans together. He sold a lot more buns than usual, and naturally earned a lot more money than before.
Jiang Miao's fried buns are now famous, not only in this street, but also in other streets. People often come to buy a few. Often, as soon as a pot of fried buns comes out, people will buy them the next moment.
Daniu was very shocked by this, but Jiang Miao was not surprised. In modern internet celebrity stores, there are always many people around, and some even queue up for hours to buy. His fried buns are still unique, which is probably equivalent to the internet celebrity stores in ancient times, right
However, once this thing becomes famous, imitations will soon appear. Jiang Miao is ready to deal with it, and has even made a banner in advance that reads "The First Authentic Fried Bun" to hang on the cart. But soon he discovered that there are still very few people imitating the fried bun business, almost none. Because for ordinary vendors, the price of a frying pan is still relatively expensive, plus the cart, rapeseed oil, etc., the cost is even higher. If such a business loses money, it will not be worth it, so they are ready to wait and see.
Jiang Miao was naturally very happy about this situation, as it meant that his business would still be unique for a period of time in the future.
Jiang Miao's business was booming, but Pei Che was not so happy. Ever since his grandfather came back a few years ago, his peaceful days seemed to have left him.
"Master, the old lady sent a message for you to come over."
Outside the study, there was the sound of Chan Yi. Pei Che put down the book he was reading halfway, sighed, and said, "I'll be there soon."
He tried to control his emotions, got up and went to his grandmother's yard.
"Grandma, what do you want me to do for you?"
Grandmother Pei was originally turning the Buddhist beads in her hand with her eyes closed. After hearing the voice, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at Pei Che: "Take your brother to visit your grandparents tomorrow."
"Your grandfather is hosting a banquet tomorrow, and the guests are all important ministers in the court. How can you not go?" Grandmother Pei stared at Pei Che, and noticed the resistance that flashed across his face, so she tried to persuade him earnestly, "Che'er, I know you don't want to go, but now that you have reached adulthood, what harm will it do you to make more friends? Will your grandmother harm you?"
She said it so seriously that Pei Che could no longer remain silent. He hurriedly said, "I know that grandma is doing this for my own good, but I have no official position, so how can I have the face to make friends with the ministers in the court? How can others take me seriously?"
Hearing him say this, Grandmother Pei softened her attitude: "Don't give face to the monk, give face to the Buddha. With your grandfather here, they dare not take you lightly. Just go."
"...Yes," Pei Che lowered his head, "but I won't bring Mu'er with me this time."
"It doesn't matter if you don't take him with you. You have to go." After saying this, Grandmother Pei felt that her attitude was a little too tough, so she immediately added, "Grandmother, this is for your own good."
"Grandson knows. Grandmother is also tired. You can take a rest now. Bye." Pei Che bowed and turned to leave.
"Do you think he is blaming me?" A faint voice sounded in the dim room.
Grandma Gao said, "Miss, the eldest young master is so filial, he will definitely not blame you."
Hearing this, Grandmother Pei gave a bitter smile and said, "Send someone to call the Second Master over."
"Yes, miss."
"Madam, the Duke has returned from over there." The maid whispered in the ear of a woman in luxurious clothes.
"Go, quickly invite the Duke over!"
"yes!"
Not long after the maid left, a middle-aged man walked in.
"Master, what did mother ask you to do?"
Pei Shiyuan looked at his wife who came closer and said impatiently, "What else could it be about? Isn't it just about asking for the title of Crown Prince?"
"Mother is so obsessed with this! How can a nephew take over his uncle's title? We have sons. Even if we want to confer a title of Crown Prince, we should confer the title of Min'er. What does it have to do with Pei Che?" Li Yijia shouted as soon as he heard what he said.
"Stop talking!" Pei Shiyuan looked around, stood up and closed the door. "I got this title from his father. If he wasn't still young, how could I get this title?"
"You mean, you really want to submit a petition to confer Pei Che the title of Crown Prince?" Li Yijia exclaimed in disbelief.
"Don't be so loud. If mother hears it, you will be in trouble!" Pei Shiyuan glared at her. The old lady had sharp ears and sharp eyes!
"What's wrong with letting her hear it? This is simply too much. Why should we let him pick the fruits after we have managed the Duke's Mansion in perfect order?" Li Yijia thought bitterly. After all, they are not his biological children. Even if he treats them well on the surface, they will turn against him once the title is involved.
"The Feng family is powerful and is at its peak. If Old Master Feng speaks out, everyone will respond. I'm afraid they will have to make him the crown prince." This is the person Pei Shiyuan fears the most.
"Pei Che has the support of my grandfather, and my mother's family is not without support either! No, I will go to the palace first and talk to the queen, asking her to say a few good words in front of the emperor and make our Min'er the prince first. I wonder if the old lady can stop me in any way?" As he said this, Li Yijia was about to stand up.
Pei Shiyuan quickly grabbed her and said, "You are crazy. How can a minister trouble the queen with his family affairs? If you want to harm the queen, go ahead."
"This won't work, and that won't work either. Are we just going to watch Pei Che inherit the family fortune?" Li Yijia sat down on a stool and said angrily.
"You, don't be so impulsive! We still have to think about it carefully. The best way is to make Pei Che lose his qualifications automatically." A hint of viciousness flashed in Pei Shiyuan's eyes.
"Do you want to ruin his reputation?" Li Yijia became interested.
"That won't do. The Duke Zhong's Mansion prospers and suffers together. What good will it do us if his reputation is ruined? Besides, if something happens to him at this critical juncture, we will be sitting ducks. Is the old man from the Feng family easy to mess with? On the contrary, I am going to give him enormous wealth. Listen to me..." Pei Shiyuan whispered a few words in Li Yijia's ear. The more Li Yijia listened, the brighter his eyes became.
"Master, if you have a solution, I will do as you say. I will go to the palace to find the queen tomorrow!"
(End of this chapter)