Farming Beneath the Changbai Mountains

On February 29th, the restaurant officially opened. Invitations from the Xu family had long been sent to the homes of some famous people in the county. Because the Lu family was among them, many people came to support them.

Lu Shaoqian personally brought his family over and asked the housekeeper to help Zhixin receive the guests. After all, Zhixin and the others had only been here for a short time, and they had never met many of them at all. But the manager of the Lu family is different. He is the son of the Lu family, and he has reached his current position step by step. He knows most of the famous people in the county.

Zhixin and the steward of the Lu family stood at the door, followed by Guoxing, Guoqiang, Ankang and Anshun. Several people were here to greet the guests who came to congratulate them. With the guidance of the Lu family's steward, Zhixin was able to accurately call out people's names or identities, so everyone who came was very enthusiastic. Generally, people who come to congratulate guests will bring some gifts. Guoxing and the others are responsible for guiding the guests inside and accepting the gifts from the guests.

Wenhan, Zixuan, and Pengcheng were also busy. Several people were responsible for registering the gifts sent by the guests. These are the basis for human relations. In the future, if someone else's family has something to do, the Xu family will also have to show up.

In the back kitchen, Zhu and Jinghan helped change knives and other things. These apprentices are not good at learning. They are just good at washing and picking vegetables. When it comes to changing knives, they are a little behind. On the contrary, Jinghan has developed good knife skills by following the Zhu family and the Xue family over the years, so the two women helped in the kitchen.

"Hey, Miss Second, you're really good at cutting the meat." Chef Qian was about to stir-fry something, but when he looked back and saw Jinghan cutting the meat, he couldn't help but admire it.

"Master Qian is making a joke. I have learned a little bit from Third Aunt. Today is too busy, and you are too busy. Otherwise, I can't be embarrassed here." Jinghan spoke, holding the knife in her hand. But he didn't stop.

"Come on, you little monkeys, come and see how our second lady can cut meat, and then think about what you cut in daily life. Learn from me. When you are at the level of the second lady, you will be considered a master. ” Another master named Gao, after seeing the meat cut by Jinghan, called all the apprentices over to look at it.

"Okay, I'm just doing my own thing. If you want to see it, you have to see my third aunt's craftsmanship. That's good." Jinghan smiled a little embarrassed.

"Haha, I dare say that our third wife's knife skills are hard to find in this county. If these little monkeys see it, they won't know how to learn it. If they can be as good as the second lady, it's already It's very good." Master Gao admired Zhu's knife skills. One day, the two masters competed with Zhu, but both of them were defeated by Zhu. From then on, these two masters really admired Mr. Zhu.

Mrs. Zhu was working there. When she heard this, she laughed. "Okay, two masters. I can only cut vegetables and so on, but I can't compare to you at cooking. Let's get to work quickly. There are quite a few people here today. This is the name of our restaurant. It’s a great opportunity, so you must seize it.”

"Just take a look." As soon as the two masters heard Zhu's words, they all became very energetic and wanted to use all their seeing skills. For a moment, the kitchen was filled with fragrance, making people want to eat.

Zhixin and the others were talking to several shopkeepers at the door. From a distance, they saw a few sedans approaching in front of them. The people following them were all wearing clothes from the county government. The steward of the Lu family saw it and quickly pulled Zhixin forward to greet him, "That's the county magistrate coming with a group of officials from the county government. Give him a good reception. With them here, no one will dare to go to your restaurant in the future." Do not care."

Zhixin looked stern and hurriedly followed him to the sedan chair, "I don't know if you are here, but the common people are late to greet you. I hope you'll forgive me." As he said this, he was about to lift his clothes and kneel down.

A voice came from the sedan, "Brother Xu, please don't be too polite. Brother Zhixiang and I passed the examination at the same time, so we can be considered in the same year." Before the words could be heard, a person came out of the sedan. This man was less than thirty years old, fair-skinned, handsome, gentle and elegant. "Zhixiang's brother is just like my brother. I have seen him before." As he said this, the man bowed his hands to Zhixin.

Zhixin was so frightened that he said he didn't dare. "Your Excellency is the father and mother of a county, and ordinary people should not be treated as adults."

The county magistrate's surname was Wu, and he had met Zhixiang and Lu Binghao when they took the provincial examination. Later, when they went to Beijing to take the exam, the three of them met again and had a good conversation, so they could be considered to have some degree of friendship. Later, Zhixiang failed, but this person ranked 80th in the top three exams and entered the Hanlin Academy. Lu Binghao's family had already opened up the joints, and he was directly transferred to the county magistrate. Last autumn, the emperor suddenly selected many people from the Hanlin Academy and sent them to various places to serve, presumably to train them. The magistrate of Wuxian County happened to come here and became the magistrate.

Over the years, Zhixiang and Wuzhi County have been exchanging letters. Coupled with the relationship with the Lu family, Wuzhi County was particularly enthusiastic when he saw Zhixin. "Brother, there is no need to meet outsiders. I am new to this place and there are still many things I don't understand about the local customs. I have to ask my brother to tell me more about it later."

"Whatever your Excellency wants to know, the common people will definitely tell you everything. Please go upstairs first, and we can have a chat later." Zhixin had not heard Zhixiang mention this matter about this adult, so he thought it was Zhixin. When Xiang and the others came back during the New Year, they didn't know that Master Wu had come to the local area.

The magistrate led the people behind him, led by You Guoxing, to a private room upstairs. Lu Shaoqian happened to be there too, and everyone sat together and chatted.

At the beginning of noon, almost all the guests who came to congratulate had arrived. Zhiming looked at it and said, "Brother, it's almost time, let's set off firecrackers." There are no rules for opening in the north, but it's just a matter of setting off a few firecrackers. That’s all.

Wen Han and Pengcheng each raised a long pole, each carrying a firecracker on it. When their father said it was time to light it, they took the fire crackers to light the firecrackers. Amidst the sound of firecrackers, the restaurant was officially opened.

Zhixin had already arrived at the second floor. He stood in the middle of the second floor and hugged his fists at the people around him. "Everyone here is a well-known senior expert in this county. Xu is not talented. I want to work here." I'm looking for food in the county. Today is the opening of Xu's restaurant. I would like to express my gratitude to you seniors for coming to support me. Drink as much as you want, and you won’t come home until you’re drunk.”

The table was already filled with wine and food, and the tempting aroma filled the entire restaurant.

After Zhixin finished speaking, someone shouted, "Okay, as Brother Xu said, we have to have a few drinks today. I said Brother Xu, don't stand there anymore, come on." Come, let us brothers have a drink first." The speaker, whose surname is Mo, owns a pawn shop and a bank in the county. He is also a very effective talker in this county.

Those present here were all surprised when they saw that the magistrate was here just now. Mr. Wu has just come to the local area not long ago, and he has not heard of any merchants having a relationship with the county magistrate. Unexpectedly, a small restaurant in the Xu family actually invited the county magistrate. This made everyone think of the Xu family. I was amazed.

As soon as the man finished speaking, someone next to him echoed, "Yes, brother Xu should come over and have a drink with us. It's such a happy day today, so just drink with us properly."

Zhixin took the wine glass brought by Guoxing, "Seniors, Xu has a limited capacity for drinking and does not dare to drink more. I would like to offer you three glasses of wine to express Xu's gratitude." As he spoke, Zhixin said I drank three glasses of wine in one breath.

"Okay, that's refreshing enough." Everyone cheered.

The atmosphere in the entire restaurant immediately became lively. After Zhixin toasted three glasses of wine, he asked Zhiming to drink with everyone outside, while Zhixin entered the private room where the magistrate was.

The people in the private room can be said to be the people with the highest status and status in the entire county. The county magistrate, Mr. Wu, the county prime minister, Mr. Han, the chief secretary, Mr. Li, are all here. In addition, there are Lu Shaoqian and his second brother Lu Shaocheng, and several others who are also famous. Of course, that one is indispensable. Master Qin.

When we were preparing the invitations, we all had a dispute over whether to invite Mr. Qin, but later we decided to send invitations to the Qin Mansion. This is related to the face of the Qin family. If the whole county is invited and only the Qin family is left behind, I am afraid that someone will make a fuss about it. Besides, there is no serious conflict between the Xu family and the Qin family now, at least the Qin family has not made it clear that it wants to deal with the Xu family. In this case, it is better to aim at maintaining the relationship. There is no evidence to show that Master Qin sent people to what happened yesterday, right?

"Brother, come and sit down. You've been quite tired this afternoon." Wuzhixian said with a smile.

Which of the people here is not a human being? Hearing Wuzhi County call Zhixin this way, I couldn't help but feel a little puzzled, "Since when did the Xu family get into the relationship with the magistrate? It's really an unusual relationship for the magistrate to call him brother. Everyone I was secretly alert in my heart. I should carefully inquire about the background of the Xu family when I go back. I should be more careful in the future so as not to offend the Xu family.

Everyone was talking and laughing together, and the atmosphere was very good. Wuzhi County asked some questions from time to time, and everyone scrambled to answer them. In this way, from official career to economics, when it came to farming, Zhixin didn't know much about other things and didn't dare to say more. But when it came to farming, Zhixin couldn't help but talk about it. Everyone listened to his talk and nodded in praise.

"That day in the capital, Zhixiang once said that his eldest brother was a good hand in the crop fields and was proficient in all kinds of farm work. Now it seems that it is true. When my brother has free time, he must provide it well. Let me talk about farming." Wuzhixian said with a smile.