Shen Fengming was wearing an ivory-white narrow-sleeved brocade robe with dark cloud patterns today. The collar was covered with snow-white fox fur and his waist was tied with a wide band of the same color, which perfectly outlined his figure. He had a sense of coldness, but it made him look even more handsome.
"Mr. Shen." Jiang Yunzhu's attention was unconsciously attracted to him.
Shen Fengming's gaze lingered on her lips for a moment. The weather had been cold and dry these days, so Jiang Yunzhu's lips were lightly coated with lip balm, making them look even more rosy and tender.
He handed the rabbit in his hand to Jiang Yunzhu, "I caught it today."
Jiang Yunzhu took the rabbit and wondered if he had nothing to do recently, so he took up hunting. Otherwise, why would he bring back rabbits and pheasants every day? He even hunted a white fox the day before yesterday.
"How about braised rabbit meat tonight?" she asked with a smile. Rabbits are cute, but she really likes to eat rabbit meat. Braised rabbit, stir-fried rabbit cubes, chestnut braised rabbit meat... She has dozens of rabbit meat recipes, each of which is very tempting.
"Okay." Shen Fengming's voice was clear.
Jiang Yunzhu placed the rabbit in the corner of the kitchen. It was not time to cook dinner yet, so she planned to make rice dumplings with fermented glutinous rice first.
The most labor-intensive part is making the glutinous rice balls. Jiang Yunzhu took out a basin and prepared to knead the dough.
Glutinous rice flour, glutinous rice flour, she searched up and down in the cupboard. She remembered that she had bought a small bag last time, so she should still have some at home.
Just where
Suddenly she looked up and saw a cloth bag on the top shelf of the cabinet. It was the bag where she kept the glutinous rice flour.
She reached out to grab it, but found that she couldn't reach it at all.
She withdrew her hand and prepared to find a bench or something.
At this moment, a hand reached out from the side, took the cloth bag, and then placed it on the table.
It was Shen Fengming, he had entered the kitchen at some point.
"Thank you." Jiang Yunzhu said.
"No need." Shen Fengming said.
The kitchen was narrow, and because Shen Fengming had just taken the cloth bag, he was very close to Jiang Yunzhu, so close that Jiang Yunzhu could smell the faint moonlight scent on him.
Jiang Yunzhu took a step back. The distance was really too close.
"Mr. Shen, please get out quickly and don't get your clothes dirty," she said.
"Miss Jiang has been in the kitchen all day, but her clothes are not dirty." Shen Fengming said, taking two steps back and standing at the kitchen door.
The Jiang family's kitchen was very clean, and Jiang Yunzhu was meticulous about her work, so she rarely got her clothes dirty. She liked to use soapberry powder mixed with lemon, so she smelled like a fresh mixture of lemon and soapberry.
Standing a little distance away, Jiang Yunzhu began to scoop water and knead the dough, then asked Shen Fengming, "Master Shen seems to have been free recently?"
"Well, I've finished the previous work."
The two chatted for a while. Jiang Yunzhu's dough was ready. She had to let it sit for a while before moving on to the next step. She looked up and said, "Mr. Shen..."
“Miss Jiang, you don’t have to be so polite. Just call me by my name.” Shen Fengming suddenly said.
Jiang Yunzhu stopped raising her head halfway and stared at his chest. What was his name, Shen Jieyu, or Shen Fengming
"Yeah." She responded softly, and before he could continue, she said, "This noodles will take a while. I'll go to the house and rest for a while."
"Miss Jiang, please do as you please." Shen Fengming said.
Jiang Yunzhu returned to the house, and Shen Fengming stood there for a long time.
The next day the weather was fine, so Jiang Yunzhu decided to store the sausages. After being dried for so many days, they were ready to eat.
Because she wanted to add sausages to the takeout menu, she packed a lot of sausages last time. Excluding the ones customized by Yang Sheng, there were about seventy or eighty left, which should be enough to sell until the New Year.
Jiang Yunzhu was thinking about this when suddenly someone knocked on the door. She got up and opened it.
Jiang Yunzhu immediately recognized a man with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He was the man who bought a lot of things from her last time and said he was giving them away as gifts.
Nie Xin stood there cautiously. When he was leaving the capital this time, the brothers of Qilin Guard raised a lot of money and asked him to help bring back delicious food, but the commander and deputy commander had been living in other people's homes, so he really didn't dare to buy any.
It has been delayed until today.
According to the deputy commander, he might have to return to Beijing in the next few days. If he didn't bring anything back, he would probably be blamed by his brothers, so he could only bite the bullet and knock on the door of the Jiang family.
"Boss, my friend really liked the food we bought from you last time." Nie Xin said tremblingly.
"As long as you like it." Jiang Yunzhu said with a smile.
"Boss, do you have anything delicious here? I want to buy some. I want to give some to my friends as gifts." Nie Xin said.
What a coincidence. "There are some sausages left. If you want something else, I can make it for you as long as you are not in a hurry." Jiang Yunzhu said.
Nie Xin first nodded with shining eyes, then quickly shook his head and said, "Just sausages will do, I won't bother the boss with anything else." With sausages, he would be able to report to his brothers, as for the other things... forget it, they knew how much pressure he was under to buy food for them, and yet he asked for so much.
Jiang Yunzhu thought he was a little strange, as if he wanted it but didn't want it at the same time. But it was his freedom.
"How many sausages?" she asked.
"Take as many as you can." Nie Xin finally gained the confidence. He was just afraid that there wouldn't be enough sausages to share after he took them back.
"About seventy or eighty." If he is in a hurry, I will sell them to him first.
"Okay, I'll take them all. How much?"
"About three taels of silver. I'll help you pack it and calculate it carefully at the same time." Jiang Yunzhu said.
Nie Xin nodded repeatedly.
Jiang Yunzhu asked him to go into the yard and wait, but he refused to come in. Jiang Yunzhu had no choice but to go in, wrap the sausages and bring them out to him.
There were seventy or eighty sausages, which was really a huge pile. Jiang Yunzhu called Jiang Lin for help to move the sausages outside the door.
Outside the door, Nie Xin had already prepared a carriage there.
"One sausage is thirty-five cents, and there are eighty-two sausages in total, which means two thousand eight hundred and seventy cents." Jiang Yunzhu said while wiping the sweat from her forehead.
"Okay." Nie Xin said as he easily put the sausages on the cart, then took out an ingot of silver and handed it to Jiang Yunzhu.
Three taels of silver, "Wait, I'll give you one hundred and thirty coins."
"No thanks, boss." Before Jiang Yunzhu could finish her words, Nie Xin left this sentence and drove the carriage away without a trace.
It's really like a gust of wind coming and going. Jiang Yunzhu sighed holding the silver in her hand.
Then she went to ask Yang Sheng what he was going to do with the sausages.
Yang Sheng said he could just take it with him when he left.
Jiang Yunzhu understood what he meant and knew that he might be leaving soon.
After returning to her room, she had just sat there for a while when Jiang Cheng came back from outside. He gave Jiang Yunzhu a purse.
Inside was the three taels of silver he earned. He was going to give it to Li Biaotou last time, but after what happened, Li Biaotou would not want the money anymore, so he decided to give it to Jiang Yunzhu.
"Dad, you earned this yourself, so just keep it." Jiang Yunzhu didn't want it.
"You want to go to the county town to do business. Besides, you paid for the mule and the cart..." Jiang Cheng said.
"Dad..."
"Okay, let's not talk about this. But I still have to give you the money. I'll keep it when I make money next time." Jiang Cheng said with determination.
Jiang Yunzhu, okay, then she will keep it for now.
What a good day today is. I made three taels first, and now I have another three taels, which adds up to six taels. Jiang Yunzhu thought about her plan to go to the county town to do business. Originally, she just wanted to do it, but she didn't have the capital. Now, she can plan carefully.
It would be best to start the business at the beginning of next year so that it would be convenient for Jiang Lin and others to go to school.
The shop she wanted to rent in the county town would cost at least more than twenty taels a year, and she also had to prepare the rent for Jiang Lin and Jiang Wu. She now had six taels plus the five taels she already had in savings, which made up eleven taels. She could make another fifteen taels from the takeout business before the New Year, which made up twenty-six taels.
I'm still short of about fourteen taels.
Where can I make this money? Jiang Yunzhu thought about it and suddenly had an idea. The people of the Xia Dynasty had the habit of visiting temple fairs from the fifth to the fifteenth day after the New Year, especially the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day, when almost everyone would go there.
Isn't this a good time to set up a stall and make money
No need to think about what to sell. When you are hungry, who can resist the aroma of barbecue!
Then the last question is whether to sell it in the county or in Luzhou.
The county town is close and easy to operate, but the flow of people and the wealth of the people are not as good as Luzhou. Going to Luzhou is far and troublesome.
If it were someone else, they would definitely not think of going to Luzhou, after all, they are unfamiliar with the place.
But Jiang Yunzhu was familiar with it. She had lived in Luzhou for seven years in her dreams and was even more familiar with Luzhou than the county town.
Going to the county town is stable, but you may not be able to earn enough money. Going to Luzhou is a challenge, but it is high risk and high reward.
Jiang Yunzhu frowned in thought.
"What are you thinking about? You're so lost in thought." Chen suddenly came into the room and said.
Jiang Yunzhu smiled, "I didn't think anything."
Chen walked up to her and asked excitedly, "Guess who I just met?"
"Who?" Jiang Yunzhu cooperated with her.
"The second daughter-in-law of Aunt Feng." Chen said.
Jiang Yunzhu raised her eyebrows. That wasn't something you saw often.
Chen smiled. Meeting her certainly wouldn't make her so happy, but she said those words... "She was also entrusted by someone to ask me what you mean."
How could this have anything to do with her? Jiang Yunzhu waited for her to continue.
"It was your Aunt Lin who asked her to ask you what you think of the child from Yanzhou?" Chen almost laughed out loud when she said this. The meaning of Lin's words was obvious. If Jiang Yunzhu nodded, she would probably ask a matchmaker to propose marriage.
Gu Yanzhou is handsome and has a bright future. Chen never dared to dream that she would have such a son-in-law.
Jiang Yunzhu is still smart and beautiful.
Chen was very proud of this. For a moment, she felt that the two were a perfect match made in heaven and that there was no other such a good marriage.
Jiang Yunzhu was stunned. She understood what Chen meant, but what about Gu Yanzhou
"Mom, let's just forget it," she said.
"I think so too..." Chen suddenly stopped and looked at Jiang Yunzhu in surprise.
"I don't want to get married now." Jiang Yunzhu said directly.
Chen was anxious, "Are you embarrassed to say it, or are you worried about what will happen after you get married?" Girls are always worried about such things.
Jiang Yunzhu shook her head.
"Then why don't you want to... There's really nothing to complain about that kid from Yanzhou."
"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I want to marry him."
"Why?" Chen really didn't understand.
"I don't have that kind of feeling towards him, how can I marry him?"
"Relationships can be cultivated slowly. It's rare that he treats you well. Besides, there will be a big exam next year. I heard that he will definitely pass the exam. If he passes the exam, you will be the wife of a juren. If he passes the exam..." Chen didn't even dare to say that word. What if Gu Yanzhou passed the exam and became the top scorer, then Jiang Yunzhu would be the wife of the top scorer.
How many girls in the world would be envious of that, "Isn't it better than you cooking and selling food all day long?"
That's a step to heaven, a complete transformation!
Jiang Yunzhu looked serious. If she wanted to marry into the marquis's family, she would have been able to become the marquis's young lady soon if she had snatched that short branch.
But is it useful
Yes, Gu Yanzhou should be stronger than Lin Tingan, but who can guarantee that he will not change after entering the officialdom.
She remembered that he was not the same as he is now in her dream.
To take a step back, even if he doesn't change, the ups and downs of officialdom are very tiring.
Marrying Gu Yanzhou could solve some of her current problems, but it would also bring about bigger problems.
Instead of doing this, she might as well live her life step by step, which is the safest way.
"Mom, you think cooking and selling food is tiring, but I like it very much. What I want is never wealth and glory.
Power looks tempting, but you have to pay for it, otherwise you will be swallowed up by others without leaving anything behind. "
This Jiang Yunzhu is too familiar. In the dream, she was so thoughtful and careful.
Now, "I just want to open a restaurant and spend my days leisurely."
Chen seemed to understand what she heard, but also seemed not to understand, and stared at Jiang Yunzhu blankly.
Outside the house, Shen Fengming stood there in a daze.
After a while, he tightly grasped the white jade hairpin in his hand, which was carved by him personally and was worth a fortune.
But what's the use
The man in the room wanted very little, but it was something he couldn’t afford!
The next day, Shen Fengming left with Yang Sheng. He was still dressed in black, as cold as a knife.
On the third day, Mr. Wu found Jiang Yunzhu and handed her a ten-liang gold ingot, "This is for you. It's the meal money for eating your food these days." He took two gold ingots from Li Biaotou, gave one to Jiang Yunzhu, and the remaining one was used as travel expenses.
Jiang Yunzhu didn't take the gold, but asked, "Should I give you another 100 taels of silver?"
The meals she cooked were worth one hundred taels of silver, and Mr. Wu needed two hundred taels to treat each illness. So, Jiang Yunzhu shouldn't give Mr. Wu another hundred taels.
"I don't have that much money now." Jiang Yunzhu said dejectedly.
Old Master Wu laughed. "You! You really don't want to study medicine with me, or go with me?" he asked. He really liked her and could see through her better than anyone else.
"Grandpa is leaving?" Jiang Yunzhu was surprised.
"I have to go." Mr. Wu also wanted to stay at the Jiang family for a few more days, mainly because he couldn't bear to leave the food cooked by Jiang Yunzhu. But these days, Doctor Jin couldn't help but want to run here. There is no wall that can't be penetrated. He believed that in a few days, more and more people would come to see him for medical treatment.
He was not afraid of anything, but not Jiang Yunzhu. He didn't want to disrupt her current peaceful life.
The one who is burdened by fame is Mr. Wu.
Jiang Yunzhu also understood, so she could only say, "Take care of yourself. If you want to eat the food I cook, come back anytime."
Mr. Wu looked at her deeply and smiled.
Well, he now has a place to go!
Mr. Wu always did what he wanted, so he immediately got up and left the Jiang family.
He came here against his will, but left with something on his mind.
Shen Fengming and Yang Sheng left, and now even Old Master Wu is gone. The huge courtyard has suddenly become much quieter, and Chen and others feel very uncomfortable.
Jiang Yunzhu doesn't think that she has her own life.
So she started to get busy. There was only one month left until the Chinese New Year, and some things needed to be prepared quickly.
She has decided to go to Luzhou to set up a stall during the New Year and make some quick money.
The author has something to say:
Hunting wild animals is illegal. Protecting wild animals is everyone's responsibility.