Blissful Days After Widowhood

When Gu Yin arrived at Wen's kitchen the next day, Master Xu was looking at the door.

Seeing her coming, Master Xu said attentively: "The little master came just in time, I specially reserved the tofu skin steamed buns for you! It won't taste good when it's cold! "

Master Xu learned ramen from Gu Yin the day before, and Gu Yin didn’t hide it from him when she was making snacks. stand up.

Gu Yin looked at him speechlessly as she took off her cotton robe.

Although the old man didn't bother with him about the matter yesterday, if he doesn't restrain himself, it will be unreasonable after all.

Master Xu noticed her eyes, and immediately explained: "I didn't do it myself, it was ordered by the second wife. As soon as it was done, she sent someone to say that it was no more, and it was replaced. Clear porridge and side dishes! The other owners have already ordered other breakfasts, so...hehe."

"Master Xu is really a smart person, I think too much."

After speaking, Master Xu put a stack of tofu skin buns in front of Gu Yin.

The steamed bun was still steaming, and when I took a bite, it was a mixture of various ingredients such as chopped mushrooms, chopped sea rice, chopped tofu and pork vermicelli, which had a messy taste.

If it is judged by Gu Yin's standard, it can only be regarded as average and not delicious.

But this was specially reserved for her by Master Xu, and Gu Yin still finished the small plate of buns.

The previous day, the old man said that after getting up today, he was thinking about what to eat in the morning, and asked Gu Yin to come to Wen's house and wait for his words to do it.

The old man's servant didn't come, Gu Yin was fine for a while, and asked Master Xu if he wanted to help.

Master Xu made three meals at the same time, waved his hand and said: "No, the second master is not in the mansion, the second wife has already called. The first master and the first wife eat simple, the three young masters Only the eldest young master gets up early, and the other two young masters generally don’t need to eat in the morning. I will be fine after I finish these three morning meals. As for my two young apprentices, they are cooking for the servants, so I don’t bother the young master. ."

Don't think that Master Xu is not particularly proficient, but he is a little bit powerful, that is, he moves fast - anyway, Gu Yin claims that she is not slow, but she can't do it all, Master Xu can do it, He finished the three meals before and after the meal.

Gu Yin couldn't help but praise, Master Xu said a little embarrassedly: "I'm ashamed of the little master, I saw it yesterday, you are the one born to eat this bowl of rice. I... just have a faster hand than others."

It is precisely because of this that Chef Xu, who is not particularly skilled in cooking, is firmly seated as the chef of the Wen family - he can do the work of three people alone! Master Wen Er has become a jerk, so he is willing to keep hiring him because of this, and he turns a blind eye to the fact that he eats something in the kitchen.

Seeing that Master Xu was done with his work, and it was not bright outside, Gu Yin got up and gave him the back chair, he let Gu Yin sit with peace of mind, and took a new small bench to sit on her beside.

But he didn't feel it was hard, and asked Gu Yin in a low voice: "Usually the old man must be up at this time, and it's not called Chaoshi, is it..."

Are you trying to make things difficult for you?

In the second half of the sentence, Master Xu didn't say anything, but Gu Yin understood, she bent her lips and smiled: "It's okay, anyway, as long as the old man doesn't force me to study, I will find a more obscure food list and let me follow it. I'm not afraid to do it."

"That's it! You are this!" Master Xu was convinced by Gu Yin, and he said it with a thumbs up, "Don't hide the little master, if I had the ability of you, back then You don't have to be apprentices for decades."

The days of being an apprentice at this time are not easy, and being scolded and beaten is not considered commonplace, and I have to work as a free laborer in the kitchen to serve the master's daily life.

Running errands, building walls, cleaning, and even pouring a chamber pot for the master, there is nothing that Master Xu has not done.

That's why he respected Gu Yin so much that he didn't want to do anything, so he was willing to give pointers to others.

While talking, Mrs. Wen came over in person.

The two stood up immediately, the old man's eyes lit up, and when he saw Gu Yin, he said with great interest: "You will know what is in the book, and you will definitely know the other things on the white case. Otherwise, this is the case. Come on, do something today that isn't in the book and I haven't heard of it!"

Gu Yin was stunned for a moment, and Master Xu was even more shocked.

Be good! This is still the old man, who can turn around and toss people in different ways!

Gu Yin came back to her senses but was not panicked and annoyed, she said yes, "Then I'll make a few things for you."

Just kidding, as a modern person, isn’t it easy to make up a few foods that the ancients didn’t know?

Gu Yin said that she wanted tea, so Master Xu immediately went to the cabinet in the kitchen, but this thing was used very little, at most, it was taken out and used when eating tea eggs during Qingming Festival. Master Xu drank tea. After searching for a long time, I only found a small bag of coarse tea foam.

Master Xu blushed with embarrassment and said to let the little apprentice go out to buy.

Mr. Wen couldn't wait and said he went to find it.

The old man went back to his study, but after looking around, he only found last year's tea - although it was very good, but it was brought from the capital a few months ago. All the way to save to the present, has gone. It's also that the old man doesn't usually pay attention to enjoyment, so he drank it all the time.

If anyone in the family has new tea there, it goes without saying that it is the gentleman Wen Er who is lonely to others and generous to himself.

Master Wen Er also has a study, also in the front yard. The old man took the key and went to his second son's study by himself, and found a pot of new tea with fragrant aroma.

When the old man was looking for tea, Gu Yin found brown sugar and sweet potato powder in the big kitchen.

, cut into small pieces, roll into balls.

There are tea leaves behind, Gu Yin poured the tea leaves into the pot and stir-fry with sugar, until the sugar was fried into syrup, the tea leaves also turned brown, pour boiling water and stir, then Add the milk, bring to a boil and remove the tea leaves.

Pour out the milk tea, put in the sweet potato balls, and a simple cup of bubble milk tea is ready.

I ate the milk jelly yesterday, and it smelled of milky milk. Gu Yin thought that the processing method of milk at this time was different from that of modern times, and she already wanted to try to add tea to remove the fishy smell.

It's time to experiment.

How many times the fragrance comes out!

Gu Yin presented it to the old man first, and the old man let them all have a taste. Everyone in the kitchen had a share, and Master Xu also got a big bowl. Gu Dong drank the milk tea in a few gulps, and then slammed the Q bomb pearls at the bottom of the bowl into his mouth, chewing in big gulps, and the food was delicious!

Drinking the long-lost milk tea, Gu Yin also squinted her eyes comfortably and muttered in her heart: "It's a pity that there is no tapioca flour. The pearls made from sweet potato flour are a little different. But it's really delicious. !"

The old man sips the sip, and when Gu Yin and Master Xu have finished eating, the old man said: "It doesn't count! I have heard of this milk tea, which is what the nomads outside the customs eat. ."

Gu Yin hadn't spoken yet, Master Xu muttered in a low voice, "I've also eaten the milk tea outside the gate, and it's different from the little master's."

On the contrary, Gu Yin was not annoyed and said with a smile, "It's fine, then I'll do the second thing."

Gu Yin said she wanted iron sticks, bamboo sticks, cumin powder, fennel, pork belly, chicken, etc.

At this time, although spices such as cumin, pepper, and fennel have been introduced to the Middle Earth, there is no large-scale cultivation in the country, so the price is high.

When Gu Yin set up a stall, in order to take care of the tastes of different customers, she allowed customers to add vinegar or minced garlic according to their tastes. She could not afford to add things like chili.

A bag of chili noodles from Wen's family was given by a friend of Mr. Wen Er's business.

"There are people selling spices at the fairs at the beginning of the year, so that's the price..." Master Xu looked at Mrs. Wen with his small eyes.

Mr. Wen was also generous, and immediately weighed his purse, "Cook Xu leads the way, let's go buy it now."

The three of them, plus Mrs. Wen's servant, immediately left the house.

Walking to the gate, I met the second housekeeper who was overseeing the work at the gate.

Across the distance, Gu Yin began to greet him enthusiastically by calling "Second Housekeeper".

The second housekeeper is actually very smart, and he had to turn around to check when he heard a noise in the house.

Hearing Gu Yin's shout, he changed his mind, first turned a deaf ear and blocked the road, and then deliberately scolded the housekeeper who was sweeping at the door: "Everything you said, cats and dogs, go to the door, Show me all the tricks. Don't look back and be smashed by some cat or dog!"

Gu Yin felt embarrassed for him when she heard this, but fortunately it didn't take long for Mrs. Wen to raise her leg high and kicked the second housekeeper's butt!

The second housekeeper was still wearing those soft satin shoes, and he was kicked and staggered and slipped out.

This time he didn't fall, but he screamed and hugged the big pillar in front of Wen's house, looking more and more ridiculous.

"Good you little cook!" The second housekeeper was gnashing his teeth while staring at the snickering housekeeper.

Gu Yin endured a smile and said, "The conscience of heaven and earth, I didn't kick you!"

"That could be..." The second housekeeper turned his head and saw the dark-faced old man.

He was surprised, afraid, and regretful, and his expression in the blink of an eye was brilliant.

"Something that doesn't have eyes!" Mrs. Wen snorted coldly and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Gu Yin said with a smile: "Second housekeeper, I have reminded you, but it's not good to be so oblivious to the road, you see it's only two days, you have fallen twice. Be careful!"

Then without waiting for the second housekeeper to respond, Gu Yin followed the old man briskly.

Chef Xu led the way, and the group of four went to the most lively gathering in town.

Although Mr. Wen is from Hanshan Town, he has been studying at home since he was a child, so he never joined in the fun. In addition, he hasn't come back all these years, and everything is both familiar and unfamiliar.

As Chef Xu said, the spices that Gu Yin wants are indeed not cheap, they are not sold by pound, but by two!

Gu Yin was calculating how much spice to make a skewer for Mrs. Wen alone, he waved his hand: "Buy all, buy more!"

Gu Yin quickly persuaded: "A sprinkling of spices is enough, you won't be able to finish it if you buy too much."

"Who said I ate it alone? You don't eat it, others don't?"

As the old man spoke, he glanced at Chef Xu from the corner of his eye.

Chef Xu blushed: "I don't eat it, I really don't eat it!"

Gu Yin also means the same, the pastry and milk tea in front of them, they can get some of it, the old lady is generous. Spice, meat skewers and other precious things, where do they have the nerve to eat them?

"Why do you think so much, little girl?" Mrs. Wen said very freely, "I don't bring these vulgar things, I don't bring them with me in death."

Appreciation, the late emperor respected him, and he was constantly rewarded during the festivals. The old man was not greedy for enjoyment. The silver and money were only stored in the warehouse to eat ashes, and he still lived a simple life. After decades of accumulation, he was naturally rich.

Five taels of silver will be spent on a spice.

Seeing a snack seller behind, Mr. Wen's eyes glowed with a little warm light, and said softly: "I couldn't come out when I was a child, and every New Year my father would buy some food from outside, and in the blink of an eye, the horses passed by. , I'm already this age."

"Why don't we buy some to try and see if we can get back the taste of your childhood?"

The old man hummed: "I didn't eat good food when I was a child. Is it possible that I still think this street food is delicious?" Without waiting for Gu Yin to answer, he said again: " Forget it, you are tired after walking for half the morning, let's find a place to sit and rest."

After speaking, Mrs. Wen asked Cook Xu and the servant to go buy what Gu Yin wanted, and told them to buy more, so he and Gu Yin went to a noodle stand on the side of the road.

Gu Yin asked for a bowl of Yangchun noodles, but the old man still said not to eat it, Gu Yin and the boss asked for an extra small bowl, and gave him half a small bowl, "You only eat one in the morning. A bowl of milk tea, let’s eat some pads.”

The old man is willing to use chopsticks.

In the winter, Gu Yin wanted to open a stall at the festival during the Chinese New Year, but she gave up after inquiring about the stall fee here.

So even though this noodle stall is small, the noodle soup is hung from old hen soup, and the noodles are also hand-rolled, which is very strong. A bowl of noodles is no better than a restaurant.

After eating, the old man said: "It's amazing, the noodles are firm and the soup base is clear. Although I can taste the taste of chicken soup, but I don't know how much water I added, it doesn't taste good."

This is natural, a bowl of noodles sells for a few cents, and if you use rich broth, you must not lose money.

Gu Yin smiled apologetically at the boss, but fortunately the boss was also very kind and didn't care.

After paying the money, the old man and the young man ate pea yellow, ghee pancakes, donkey rolls, and even two strings of candied haws. But these were not what Gu Yin invited him to taste. The old man bought them himself in the name of "thinking she wants to eat".

Until they couldn't eat any more, Chef Xu and the servant also finished shopping and came back.

The group returned home.

Mr. Wen was really full, so he said that the food would be cooked in the afternoon, and he went back to the house to rest for a while.

Gu Yin and Chef Xu went back to the kitchen.

Chef Xu began to cook lunch, while Gu Yin began to process the ingredients and make skewers.

By the time Chef Xu prepared a few lunches, Gu Yin had already put on dozens of strings.

Chef Xu saw that this work was simple, so he let Gu Yin rest and he did it.

Gu Yin really didn't feel tired. She was used to doing chores every day. She went out for a while in the morning and sat and dressed for a while at noon. Where did she get tired?

But Master Xu's hands are really fast, and in less than two quarters of an hour, all the ingredients prepared by Gu Yin have been skewered.

The kitchen was very idle in the afternoon, Gu Yin sat in the yard and basked in the sun for a while, until Mrs. Wen woke up from a nap, and then moved again.

The charcoal basin is ready-made in the house, with a few long iron sticks on it, it is a simple barbecue.

Because of the heavy smoke, Gu Yin asked Chef Xu to help move the barbecue to the yard.

Assorted skewers were placed in a basket, Gu Yin asked to grill ten skewers of beef and ten skewers of mutton for him according to the old man's taste.

When the cumin and chili noodles are sprinkled on top, it is even more incredible.

Soon the meat skewers that the old man asked for were grilled, and Gu Yin grilled a lot for herself.

At first, Mrs. Wen disliked the smoke and was reluctant to approach it. After finishing ten skewers, he didn't dislike the smell, so he ordered a few more skewers, approached and looked at Gu Yin bake. Later, when they saw Chef Xu and their greedy saliva dripping out, the old man asked them to build another charcoal basin and do it themselves.

In the end, even Mr. Wen, Mrs. and Wen Lang smelled the smell. At first, they thought it was the water in the house. Later, they knew that the old man was tinkering with people to eat and eat, so they didn't care.

I kept looking for the past.

In the courtyard of the large kitchen, Mrs. Wen had already taken off his coat and leather hat, and only wore a straight brocade robe with the sleeves rolled up to his wrists and started to do it himself.

Gu Yin was full after more than a dozen skewers, and pointed to the old man next to her.

Master Wen rubbed his eyes, unable to believe that this was his old father who had always been serious.

Mr. Wen was very happy to see him, flipping a handful of skewers with one hand, and waving at him with the other: "The boss is just in time, come and try my skewers! "

Master Wen swallowed his saliva and was stuffed with a bunch of strings.

Who can resist kebabs on an empty stomach?

Master Wen can't either!

After he finished licking the chili noodles in his hand, he pointed to the chili noodles next to him and said, "Father, make me more spicy!"

Mr. Wen baked him another wave of spicy food. After eating it, Mr. Wen's mouth was swollen and he still praised it!

At dusk, Wen's BBQ stall was closed.

Gu Yin and Chef Xu only made less than 100 skewers at first, but in the end, the old man cooked as much as he could, making Chef Xu rush to work temporarily to make the skewers again. Catch up with the speed of Grandpa's kebabs.

Mr. Wen still didn't let Gu Yin stay for dinner, saying that it was getting dark early and it was not safe for her little girl to go home.

Gu Yin thanked the old man and listened to him again: "Although this grilled skewer with pepper and cumin is fresh, it is written in "Book of Songs" that 'there is a rabbit head, burnt There is also a "Boiled Method" in "Qi Min Yaoshu", which records the method of cooking more than 20 kinds of ingredients. In the capital, there are more roasted venison and roasted mutton... So..."

"So it's not something that's not in the book, right?"

Mr. Wen nodded with a burp.

Gu Yin smiled and said: "Then I'll think about it tomorrow."

Mr. Wen smiled again, and asked Gu Yin to take some of the grilled skewers into food boxes.

When the old man left, Chef Xu couldn't help but say: "Why is the little master smiling, according to the old man's words, the food in the world is nothing more than frying, frying, boiling, stewing, and stewing. Marinated sauce mixed with raw, roasted and steamed...the twenty-eight kinds. Where is there anything that is not in the book, and the old man doesn't know about it? You are also very good-natured, the old man is clearly..."

It is clearly deliberately embarrassing people!

It's not that Gu Yinte is good-natured, but she can see that the old man is either embarrassing her or looking for something to do with her!

Gu Yin entertained retired cadres like the old man in her last life.

The old man looked fierce, but he was actually very lenient. First of all, he didn't care about the stage, nor did he punish Chef Xu who stole meat and the second housekeeper who talked nonsense in front of him. Seems like a good boss!

Like today, she "played" with the old man for a day, made him happy, and received a day's salary while eating and drinking at the public expense. This is obviously the best of both worlds!

But it's hard to say clearly, so Gu Yin just smiled: "It's really okay, the old man didn't embarrass me, I'll think about other things tomorrow."

After Gu Yin left Wen's house, there were several times in front of Gu Yin, the ugly and very angry second housekeeper touched the big kitchen.

Both of them are old people in the house, and because one is in charge of the family's affairs, and the other is in charge of the large kitchen, they are considered to have real power in their hands, so they can be considered to be able to talk in daily life.

The second housekeeper first praised that today's skewers tasted good, and Chef Xu is very skilled, and said coldly: "Master Xu doesn't know, although this little chef has been here for two days, she is very capable. Now, the old man has been coaxed around by her, this will come later..." There will be no place for you in the kitchen!

Chef Xu thought, are you talking nonsense? The little master was sent round and round by the old man, and the old man insisted on supervising the workers, but didn't he follow her all the time?

Seeing that Chef Xu was silent, the second butler leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Master Xu knows how much the little cook is paid per month?"

Chef Xu shook his head.

"Twelve taels! Twelve taels! She will pay you two months' wages in one month!"

"Too much!"

Chef Xu suddenly stood up from the small bench, and the second housekeeper smiled when he saw his reaction, "That's right, I think it's too much. Look how many years you've been in the house, alone It can be used for three people, and only five taels a month. She is a yellow-haired girl, why should she…”

Chef Xu was filled with righteous indignation: "The little master's craftsmanship, this cleverness, is to go to a big restaurant to be a master chef, earn those 22 taels, and 30 taels also make it, why only give 10 taels! The old man and the old man bully people together!"

Second housekeeper:…

This chef Xu seems to be seriously ill!

…

Gu Yin carried the food box back to Zhenyi Lane with a brisk pace.

Meeting the Wang family coming out of the alley head-on, Gu Yin stepped forward with a smile: "Mother, are you worried? I went well today, and I brought back a lot of meat skewers. Let's go tonight. No need to prepare dinner."

After she finished speaking, Wang Shi seemed to have just seen her and said, "Oh, why did you come back so early!"

Gu Yin said strangely: "You didn't come out to pick me up, then this is..."

Wang said: "I'll go out and buy some steamed buns or something, and give it to the people who work at home!"

She also laughed, her eyes were so laughing that she couldn't see, she lowered her voice and said, "Where is the pankang in our house!"

The small yard they live in does not have a kang, but a simple bamboo bed, which is usually fine, but it gets cold after winter.

Wang has asked before, but after the winter, there are many people in this line of work, and the asking price is also high. In the twelfth lunar month, the price has doubled several times.

Wang was saddened by money, and was not willing to do so, so he just put a few more mattresses on each person's bed.

Without waiting for Gu Yin to ask questions, Wang pulled her aside to explain the ins and outs.

It turned out that Guan Zhaotou came to the house in the morning and asked Wang to go to the county office.

Wang was so frightened that his calf trembled, and he almost knelt down to him, saying that he was wronged, saying that he was a good citizen!

Guan Capitou asked his apprentice to help her up and explained: "You misunderstood, it was the magistrate who heard that you adopted a child on the dock and wanted to reward you. In addition, your mother-in-law and daughter-in-law settled in the town. Now, you have to pay the poll tax."

When it comes to the second half of the sentence, Guan Zhaotou is also a little embarrassed. He prides himself on his ability to manage Hanshan Town into a paradise in this troubled world.

However, the taxation of the imperial court is not allowed to interfere with him, so even if he knows that it is not easy for Wang's orphans and widows, he has to tax her.

When Wang Shi heard this, he exhaled a long breath, his legs were no longer soft, and he put the money and Guan Caitou to the county office.

The county magistrate is an unassuming, very easy-going middle-aged man.

Wang shi relaxed a little, first crying that it was not easy for her to escape from the famine, and to be an orphan and a widow, the county magistrate was also embarrassed. The poll tax was paid—as for the child, the county magistrate knew that he was a refugee, and he was supposed to take care of him in a shantang. By helping them adopt, the county’s financial expenditures were reduced. So he doesn't get taxed.

At the end of the awards, the county magistrate asked Wang what he wanted.

Of course, Mrs. Wang wants money the most, but she really doesn't dare to ask for money from an official, and secondly, the clothes on the county magistrate's clothes are half-new and not used, and they are for more than one or two The head tax specifically called her over, knowing that she was not well-off either.

Wang Shiqi Ai Ai Dao: "When you arrive in the town, under the control of the eldest man, the women know what a good life is. It's just a new arrival, and there are still many inconveniences in life, such as sleeping on a bamboo bed at home, and in winter. With the wind blowing from below, it’s really not as comfortable as the heated kang in my hometown. It’s a pity that there’s no man in the family, so it’s all about this…”

The county magistrate was originally a kind person, and he had a good opinion of the Wang family. The life of an orphan and a widow was not easy. It's not difficult, the catchers in the yamen are all young and strong, but I don't know if they can do this."

Guan Suitou said that he would know, and learned from relatives when he was a child.

"A few years ago, I asked so many people to say less than two taels of silver. Our family of three paid one or two taels of head tax, and we still earned half taels!"

Gu Yin was stunned when she heard—

This **** is still old and spicy, at most she can eat and drink at public expense, why does she still bring a pan kang at public expense?