Blissful Days After Widowhood

First of all, the milk tea that was made for the old man was first remade.

It was not good, so it was abandoned.

Then mung bean soup and sour plum soup.

These two things are very common in modern times, and Gu Yin is very familiar with it.

Wait until the mung beans are out of sand, add some sugar, and finally turn to low heat and simmer for a quarter of an hour.

Sour plum soup is made of tangerine peel, hawthorn, mulberry, licorice, black plum and dried tangerine peel in proportion, soak for an hour, then put it in a pot and boil, turn to low heat and simmer for half an hour, Finally, add rock sugar to taste and filter impurities.

Of course, considering the cost, there is not much sugar in the beverages sold to the outside world, mainly because of the sweetness of the food itself.

The milk tea is fragrant, the mung bean soup is sandy and glutinous, and the sour plum soup smells sour. Very thirst-quenching.

Gu Yin is a loyal milk tea party, she first filled a bowl of milk tea and sipped it.

Shopkeeper Zhou and Mrs Wang also followed suit.

Treasurer Zhou likes sour plum soup the most, while women including Wang family prefer milk tea like Gu Yin.

While drinking, Gu Yin thought with some regrets that the store opened in April and missed the time to store ice in winter.

I originally thought that saltpeter could be used to make ice, and saltpeter could be evaporated, recrystallized, and recycled. The folks control saltpeter very strictly, and it is hard to buy some that are only enough to produce one or two pots of ice. Of course, there are also ships on the canal that transport ice and sell ice, but the price of buying ice in this season is several times higher than in winter. Shiweitian is a cheap business, and the profit is not enough to cover the ice money.

If these drinks don't have ice in summer, the fun will be less than half.

Dragon boat races will be held in the town during the Dragon Boat Festival, and people from Shili Baxiang and other small towns will come to watch the fun. At that time, they may not have the effort and spare money to go out for a meal, but it is completely affordable to buy a refreshing drink to quench their thirst.

If there is no ice, the drink will be hot as soon as it is put outside. I don’t know how to sell it, so I can only sell it in the store.

Gu Yin was worrying about this side, and Mrs. Wen came over for dinner.

The Wen family is only a quarter of an hour away from food. After Chef Xu left, Mr. Wen Er invited a cook next to him, but because he still only paid 5 taels of silver a month, he asked to cook food for a large family. There are few cooks like Chef Xu who are both fast and not bad. The chef he hired was said to be a level worse than Chef Xu, and even Wu An couldn't help but say that the Wen family couldn't eat food when he came back from school, so he would eat for the day during the lunch break.

So now the old man eats all three meals outside.

Seeing that the old man was sweating profusely, Gu Yin brought a bowl of cold sour plum soup to send over, "It's getting hotter every day, otherwise I'll have someone deliver it to you when it's time for dinner, or ask Will Wu An bring you one when he goes after lunch?"

"No need, sweating more after summer is good for your health."

The sweet and sour plum soup at the mouth is very thirst-quenching, and the cold air travels down the esophagus to the stomach, and the heat of early summer is suddenly lowered.

"Yes, but I don't think it will sell too much. There is no ice in the store," Gu Yinwei said, "It's not easy to buy saltpeter."

"What's so difficult about this?" The old man squinted at her with an expression of 'I can do it'.

Gu Yin pursed her lips and smiled: "Hey, do you always have a way to buy saltpeter?"

Of course the old man has a way to buy more saltpeter, but this is not what he said, "Isn't it just ice, the rich households in the town will have it, and generally they can't be used up. I'll borrow some for you. You'll pay it back in winter."

Chef Xu went to the front to help and whispered, "Where can I borrow it? The Wen family has it. Every winter, a cellar is full."

The old man said strangely: "No way, I haven't seen ice at home these days."

Chef Xu explained: "The Wen family buys ice for a cellar every year, but in a season like this, they won't be able to open a cellar. During the dog days, only a few of the masters' houses will be able to open the cellar. You can use some, but other servants can't touch it at all, including the big kitchen that is hot like a charcoal stove, I get heat stroke every summer, and I'm used to it."

When I bought ice last winter, the old man had already returned to Hanshan Town, but at that time he was angry and didn't ask about the affairs of the house. Now that he has not seen the ice in the summer, he thinks that Mr. Wen Er is too stingy and didn't save it in winter. He frowned and asked, "Then why does he save the ice?"

"Selling money, Wen Tieji can make a lot of money every year selling ice."

The old man asked him: "Wen what?"

, I'll deduct his wages later."

Mr. Wen was not angry with Chef Xu. After all, he knew that when his second son let Chef Xu out, he asked him for 10 taels of silver. Chef Xu was also angry. It's normal, but I still feel that my second son won't be able to pick up on this - it's a steal if you don't save ice in winter, but if you save it and don't use it, you turn around and sell it for the difference of dozens of taels of silver. That's really a steal. Plus stingy, stingy home!

After lunch, Mr. Wen went back to Wen's house. When Mr. Wen'er came back in the afternoon, he called Mr. Wen'er into the study and told him that he wanted to open a cellar with ice.

"It's not hot today!" Master Wen Er's first reaction was to refuse, as soon as the cellar was opened, the ice would begin to melt. Wherever the ice melts, it is silver!

Seeing the old man's face is not worried, he then added: "You only caught the cold a while ago, so you should wait until you fall into the ambush before using ice."

"I got a cold in the early spring, and it will be the Dragon Boat Festival in a few days now, which is the first child?" Mrs. Wen waved his hand irritably, "Today we will open the cellar, and do the housework first. All the servants will be given away, I will keep half for myself, and I will give away the other half."

Seeing that Mr. Wen Er was crying, the old man finally added: "Let's take the account of Gongzhong, calculate whether I and you bought it?"

Master Wen Er had a smile on his face, and he asked tentatively, "Is that based on winter...or is it based on the price of ice in summer?"

Mr. Wen laughed angrily and told him to get out.

"Wen Tieji, that's right!" The old man couldn't help muttering.

…

But with the help of the old man, Gu Yin's shop still has ice.

The Wen family's cellar is large, and the half-cellar ice that is divided just fills a cellar in Shiweitian's store.

There was so much ice all at once, it was a waste to make ice drinks. Gu Yin still wanted to think about other things, but unfortunately the time was too short, so she just didn’t think about it for the time being.

I have ice, and then there is a custom container. The dragon boat race is held at the pier, which is quite a distance from Shiweitian. It is difficult to attract customers there, so cold drinks have to be delivered to the pier for sale.

Because of the tight schedule this time, Gu Yin didn't have time to draw the drawings, so the shopkeeper Zhou took her to find the carpenter who worked with him last time.

Manager Zhou took her to the wood shop, where Feng Carpenter was sitting on the small bench in front of the shop, working in front of the sky.

As soon as he saw them coming, Feng Carpenter jumped up from the bench and ran into the store.

"Old Feng, what are you running for!" Shopkeeper Zhou strode to keep up, and suddenly stopped people.

Feng Carpenter had to stand up and said with a crying face: "Old Zhou, why are you here again?"

Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and said, "How do you talk? I must be here to take care of your business."

Feng Carpenter was an apprentice to an old carpenter in the same village when he was seven or eight years old. His craftsmanship is very good, but his family is poor and there are many children. Do loose work. During the festival, make some gadgets and send them to the market to sell.

The shopkeeper Zhou, who was still in the Mochizuki Tower at the time, discovered his craftsmanship and gave him the orders for the Mochizuki Tower.

The things that Gu Yin made when she opened the store were all made by him.

Although the wages given are generous, but they can't stand those things that Feng Carpenter has never done, there is no precedent to follow, and they are very fragmented. Just like the one or two hundred wooden dinner plates and bento boxes, they were all hand-milled by him and the children at home. If Shopkeeper Zhou hadn't come forward, Carpenter Feng would really not want to take on this kind of torturing piece of work.

What!" Gu Yin boasted with a smile, "And the big counter, the small table, and the partition, there's really no burr at all, it's ingenious!"

Feng Carpenter laughed when she praised her, and said, "No wonder the little lady's business is so prosperous, your mouth is really smart."

"No no, your craft is really good."

Although Feng Carpenter has a lot of business, he rarely encounters such approachable customers as Gu Yin. Then he thought of the arrogant appearance of the Wangyuelou steward after the big change, he asked directly : "What is the little lady going to do this time? Say it earlier, and I will start it earlier."

What Gu Yin wants is a bamboo cup in the style of a disposable cup in a later beverage shop, with a hole in the middle of the lid, a bamboo straw inserted, and a half-height box for storing drinks, similar to In the style of the freezer in later generations, the board can move, and it also has layers and ice storage positions.

She also knew that this thing was very troublesome, and smiled flatteringly: "Two large boxes, ten small boxes, and 500 sets of cups and habits this time, and the construction period is shorter, and it will be completed before the Dragon Boat Festival. Yes, so you can talk about the salary.”

Feng Carpenter smiled bitterly and said: "Two large boxes are one tael of silver, ten small boxes are three taels, and bamboo cups are still two cents a set, even the cups will take you to say That straw. Plus 5 taels of silver for rush work."

Gu Yin felt embarrassed when she heard this, and said, "It's only 12 taels in total, otherwise you should add more."

It was the first time that Carpenter Feng heard a client ask him to add money. He waved his hand and said, "How many years have Lao Zhou and I been friends? I don't earn his money, but the construction period is really short. I can only try to make it for you, that cup may not be able to count five hundred."

"It's okay, just do your best."

After negotiating, Feng Carpenter went into the backyard and shouted for his ten children to start work.

"When the money is handed over..."

Delicious meals."

The two of them were about to leave after talking, and they happened to meet a young man wearing a muslin bunt.

Gu Yin looked at this man with familiar eyes, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him for a while.

When the man saw them, he took the initiative to stop and smiled: "Isn't this the owner and shopkeeper of Shiweitian?"

Manager Zhou reminded Gu Yin in a low voice: "Is there any impression of the owner who came to see the job before?"

Gu Yin remembered the job applicant who shouted that women should not show up and rob men.

She nodded slightly, as a greeting, without stopping.

The man stepped forward to block her, and then smiled: "Little lady is a noble person who forgets things a lot, don't you remember me?"

In other people's shops, Gu Yin didn't want to quarrel with him, she just calmly said: "I remember, but I still remember sending you the sentence 'the way is different and not for each other', since There is no need to say hello when I see you on the road.”

Small butler. Speaking of which, I have to thank you, if you didn't accept me, I'm afraid I wouldn't have the opportunity yet!"

Gu Yin said no, "You mainly rely on yourself...you are annoying enough, otherwise if you are normal, I will accept you."

"You!" The man was very arrogant, "What a little lady with sharp teeth and sharp mouth. Hmph, but I also know that these days, we are equally divided between Wangyuelou and Hanxianglou. You can only do business for ordinary people, and you must be very uncomfortable..."

Before the words were finished, Gu Yin ignored him at all, and took Shopkeeper Zhou to bypass him.

He clenched his back molars angrily and patted the counter to let Carpenter Feng come out.

"

Feng Carpenter glanced at him and said, "If you can't do it, you should find another home."

"Why can't you do it? Hasn't your family always cooperated with our Mochizukilou? You can do it in previous years, but you can't do it this year?"

Feng Carpenter explained: "In previous years, it was custom made a month in advance. Now it's the day, and you still have to carve, so you may not be able to catch up. And you came by accident. , I have already taken other orders on Dragon Boat Festival."

Don't say that he really took up the work of the food for the sky, otherwise he would attack the attitude of the person in front of him, and Carpenter Feng didn't want to take it.

"I think you don't want our restaurant's order!" The young man threatened.

Feng Carpenter did not raise his eyebrows.

When shopkeeper Zhou was still there, he would definitely not want to lose such a big customer as Wangyuelou, but since Wangyuelou's blood change, his style of doing things has completely changed.

Seeing that the other party was unmoved, the man thought for a while, then changed his face and said kindly: "I just had a bad attitude, Master Feng, don't have the same knowledge as me. You said you took the order. , it should be the order of food for the sky. They asked you to order something? Is it also a gift box for the Dragon Boat Festival? Please tell me carefully. "

Speaking of which, he took out another silver slot and was going to put it into Feng Carpenter's hand.

This is completely challenging Feng Carpenter's professional ethics, and he immediately asked people out of the store.

"

He went to another house to order a gift box, and the man returned to Wangyuelou to return to his life.

Wang Dafu didn't dare to be lazy now, and he couldn't find a more conscientious guy than the shopkeeper Zhou, so he simply acted as the shopkeeper of Wangyuelou.

Seeing him coming back, Wang Dafu asked him: "Li Cheng, what did Carpenter Feng say, is it time to do it?"

Then Li Cheng smiled and said: "Feng Carpenter is too late, but the owner can rest assured, the small one has found another one, and the craftsmanship is not inferior to his, and it will definitely not miss your Dragon Boat Festival plan."

Wang Dafu was relieved. Seeing that he didn't leave after he finished speaking, he asked him if he had anything else.

Then Li Chengcheng said: "I don't know the owner, I met the owner and shopkeeper Zhou of Shiweitian at Feng Carpenter's place. The nostrils turned to the sky and the indomitable appearance was irritating, not at all. Take our Wangyuelou in your eyes. When they walked on the front foot, I asked Carpenter Feng on the back foot, and Carpenter Feng said that he had already taken over other tasks. "

"Do you mean that there should be a big move on the Dragon Boat Festival for food for the sky?"

"Isn't it!

Dragon Boat Festival is a big festival. When visiting relatives and friends, they will send things like rice dumplings, tea eggs, salted duck eggs and so on. Rich households are particular about buying them in restaurants. They are packed in wooden gift boxes, which are both beautiful and classy.

For the annual Dragon Boat Festival gift box, Wangyuelou can’t sell Hanxianglou. Something happened earlier this year, and Mochizukilou's vitality was severely damaged. At this time, he was able to go up to make a custom wooden box, and he was going to turn around here.

Now that Shiweitian wants to get a piece of the pie, Wang Dafu said: "Then let's set the price 10% cheaper. Even if we lose money and make a profit, we have to run on those two companies."

Within two days, Mr. Bai of Hanxianglou also got the news, and he followed suit and reduced the price of this year's Dragon Boat Festival gift box by 10%.

Just when the two of them were fighting like a cockfight again, in the blink of an eye, on the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, Gu Yin's cold drink stall opened!

And there is no need to rent a stall temporarily. Her previous stall is still in the lease period, and Aunt Ge’s family is only in the morning market business, and they also lent the stall in an excellent location to Gu Yin used.

Gu Yin said at first that she wanted to pay rent, but Aunt Ge insisted that she would not ask for it, "You have already opened a shop, and you are still offering buns to my family as before, and don't be polite to me again. Dragon Boat Festival That day, we were only selling Korean food, and the cold drink you made won't affect anything, even though it's sold at my place."

So on the Dragon Boat Festival, before dawn, Gu Yin got up and went to the store, first made three kinds of cold drinks on ice, and then made other morning meals, because it was the Dragon Boat Festival, so it was early in the day The market also sells zongzi, 100 pieces each of sweet and savory.

When it was dawn, Mrs. Wang and Chef Xu helped move the freezer wrapped in quilts, and the group went to the wharf.

The time for the dragon boat race is set in the morning, so in the early morning there is a lot of people on the pier.

By the time they arrived, Aunt Ge's house was sold out.

Aunt Ge simply removed all the guys from her house and asked them to put two freezers on it.

?"

Gu Yin explained: "It's an ice drink. I'm afraid the ice inside will melt. There are three kinds. Would you like to try it?"

Speaking of which, Gu Yin placed three bowls of mung bean soup, milk tea and sour plum soup that had been prepared long ago.

The sun rose, and the number of people on the pier was still increasing. The guest was sweating and asked about ten cents for the milk tea, while the other two were only five cents. A green bean soup.

Iced drinks are pre-packed. After Wang took a cup from the freezer, he inserted a straw and immediately covered the freezer.

The guest saw that the bamboo cup with a straw was very novel, he took a sip from the straw, and the sweet and cold mung bean soup entered his mouth, which made him shudder, his body was hot Completely subsided, and immediately let out a comfortable sigh.

He took another sip, and the mung bean paste at the bottom was sucked into his mouth.

"It's so icy, so refreshing!" He drank a whole glass in one breath, and asked for another to tell his brother, but when he turned his head, there was no one around him, and he said distressedly: "This stinky boy doesn't know where to go!"

Gu Yin said it was okay, "We can take this cup, but we have to pay two cents more. You can return the cup later, and we will return the two cents to you. . If you feel that the pier is crowded, you can also go to Wencheng Street to exchange money for food.”

It is not a loss to buy a brand new novelty cup for two cents.

After an hour, the 300 cups of drinks that Gu Yin brought have been sold.

.

At this time, Gu Yin's second-hand preparations began to work, and ten children headed by Song Shiliu and Wu'an Gu Ye came over with small wooden boxes.