Blissful Days After Widowhood

by Usui Takumii

not mine, word drain.

5. 61 to 80

The enemy's road was narrow, and the pair of women who came were actually Mrs. Wang's eldest sister-in-law Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law.

A few months ago, the scene of the people pretending to be poor was still fresh in her memory.

In front of her, Mrs. Zhao was wearing a long robe with red and gold branches and leaves, and a set of gold, jade, crested jewellery. She was a rich and graceful old lady.

Mrs. Zhao looked at Gu Yin and asked, "Why are you here?"

"It turns out to be my aunt! I just took a look, you are dressed so richly, I almost didn't recognize you." Gu Yin did not avoid her, and generously bowed, "I have leisure time in winter and thought of finding a job. But I didn't know that this restaurant belongs to my aunt's house."

When she said that, she smiled meaningfully, and didn't go on.

When Mrs. Zhao and her daughter-in-law came in, Gu Yin said no.

Apparently she recognized them from the start.

Saying that, it was natural to deliberately stab Mrs. Zhao for pretending to be poor before.

Seeing that the atmosphere between them was a little strange, the shopkeeper immediately stepped aside and closed his mouth.

But the chef didn't have the insight, so he stepped forward and said with a diligent smile, "I'm her nephew and my surname is Zhao. The little lady, based on seniority, you have to call me 'cousin'."

"You're wrong, my uncle and aunt are not my family." Gu Yin put on her cotton robe, "Do you think I'm dressed like someone with wealthy relatives?"

The chef was teased and turned to look at Mrs. Zhao, only to find that her face was instantly darker than the bottom of the pot.

Mrs. Zhao's daughter-in-law was thinking about letting her mother-in-law help her son go to school. Seeing Mrs. Zhao's expression, she immediately said, "On this snowy day, my cousin came out to find work. It seems that living with my aunt is really not good. We are all relatives, you and aunt don't have to act. After all, we are a family, my mother has a bodhisattva heart. Can she still watch you have a bad life? Well, it is the Chinese New Year, as long as my cousin kowtows to my mother for the New Year, we will spare a few taels of silver for you to have a good New Year. No one should say that we don't take care of our poor relatives."

Gu Yin had already walked to the door, and when she heard her words, she couldn't help but smile again, "Cousin-in-law, our life is naturally not comparable to yours. But we don't have so twisted intestines, and our bones are so hard that we can't kneel down on our knees. But after all, I still have to thank my uncle and aunt, who finally returned the courtyard left by my grandfather to my mother, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to live like this now."

After hearing that, the people in the back kitchen probably guessed something.

These old men were crowded in the back kitchen every day, and their work was boring and tedious. If a newcomer came, they took a few more glances, let alone hear the gossip news of the owner's family. Everyone stopped what they were doing, craned their necks and waited to hear what was next.

But to their disappointment, Gu Yin did not go on to say further and the daughter-in-law was also held by Mrs. Zhao.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law of the Wang family were not very good at speaking. If Mrs. Zou was there, they might still have the strength to fight. Gu Yin felt that it was boring, and thanked the shopkeeper again, and then left on her own.

Looking at the curious and inquiring eyes of the chefs in the restaurant, Mrs. Zhao's daughter-in-law was embarrassed and complained, "Mother you are an elder, why didn't you scold her?"

Mrs. Zhao was also furious, and wanted to gouge her daughter-in-law.

What could she say? As soon as she came, Gu Yin said no, and she didn't have to be cheeky to stay in Full Moon Hall. Moreover, her attitude was also to call them generous and the etiquette was not wrong at all. Not to mention that last time Gu Yin defeated her and Mrs. Zou.

Mrs. Zhao didn't have the eloquence of Mrs. Zou, so she could only be stabbed.

Gu Yin carefully said that the Wang family wanted to deprive them of their courtyard at that time.

Full Moon Hall was built after they split up the family, and the eldest brother's household built it with all he had. The business was not good at the beginning, and it was not until the current Manager Zhou was dug from the state capital that the money spent was recovered, and the business became more and more prosperous.

The shopkeeper had an upright personality. It was because he couldn't stand the evil deeds of his former owner that he was willing to transfer from the state restaurant to that town. Mrs. Zhao couldn't get used to him for a long time, so she was waiting for her nephew to replace him. But it was not the time to let Manager Zhou be dissatisfied with them first.

Mrs. Zhao took her daughter-in-law and walked away in despair, and the back kitchen suddenly became lively.

"Why did the owner's wife look so guilty? Isn't it because she has poor relatives? There is an old saying that the Emperor has three poor relatives!"

"Hey, aren't you stupid, didn't you listen to the little lady's words? It seems that she wronged them first."

Chef Zhao immediately retorted, "You guys are full of bullsh*t! How could Madam be such a person? It's obvious that the little lady rejected the job herself, but it's not that Madam can't tolerate her!"

Everyone knew that the chef was close to the Zhao family, so they didn't argue with him, just winked and gave a secret signal.

Manager Zhou didn't want to participate in the owner's house affairs. But he still thought about the pot of porridge Gu Yin made.

He lifted the lid of the pot, and the faint fragrance was replaced by a strong sweet fragrance blowing on the face.

Even the cooks who were talking stopped.

Chef Zhao wanted to continue blaming Gu Yin, but he stopped talking when he smelled the scent.

"This little lady is really capable," he said embarrassingly.

Manager Zhou scooped out a bowl and tasted it. The natural aromas of several ingredients in his mouth bloomed on the tip of his tongue, with distinct layers and endless aftertastes. Just that one-handed skill, not to mention helping the cook, that little lady could also be the chef of Full Moon Hall.

When Gu Yin walked out of the Full Moon Hall, she found that the snow was extremely heavy outside.

Before she could decide where to go next, she stopped under a porch.

After a long while, she held up her umbrella and was about to leave, when Manager Zhou chased after her.

He handed over a food box and said, "It's freezing cold, this is the Laba porridge that you just cooked. Take a bowl back to eat and warm up."

Gu Yin had a very good impression of him. The staff in the restaurant was still as enthusiastic and thoughtful even when he knew that she was there to apply. Manager Zhou's management ability could be seen. And when she was cooking porridge later, the eyes of others were all focused on her, only Manager Zhou was watching her movements from beginning to end, not her.

She took it with a smile, "Then I'll wash the food box and send it back to you."

"You can deliver it whenever you are free." Manager Zhou said in a low voice, "You have extraordinary craftsmanship, and there are not many restaurants in our town that match your craftsmanship. But there is also a good restaurant that you can apply to called Hanxiang. But the relationship between the head and the kitchen of that restaurant is a little complicated, so you should be more careful."

He was not related to her, but Manager Zhou came out to remind her, so Gu Yin accepted his affection and said softly, "Thank you for your kindness. I also want to tell you that this Full Moon Hall… Forget it, thank you anyway."

When Gu Yin was cooking, she looked attentive and kept her eyes fixed, but in fact, the steps were all well-known in her chest. She had heard six ways, and had found that the back kitchen of Full Moon Hall seemed to be divided into two factions. One was naturally headed by Manager Zhou, and the other was the attentive and flattering Chef Zhao.

To say that Chef Zhao was not someone specially inserted by Mrs. Zhao, that only a fool would believe it.

No matter what era of the workplace, factional warfare was a headache, not to mention that the other party was still at the top with nepotism. If things were not handled well, Manager Zhou would have to stand on the opposite side of the boss. He, like her, was a person who concentrated on cooking, and knew that those who blindly thought about gaining power and flattering would not be able to win the top spot.

But she saw that in less than an hour as an outsider. How could Manager Zhou not know?

So Gu Yin just stopped, and didn't say anything more.

Manager Zhou naturally knew that, and was worried about it before.

Back then, it was easy for him to come out of the state capital, but he offended the owner of the big restaurant over there, and it would be difficult to return to such a big place.

In Hanshan Town, only Full Moon Hall could meet his criteria for selecting a post. Hanxiang was smaller than Full Moon Hall, and the relationship between the head and the kitchen was really complicated.

He also had no choice, so he could only stay.

Gu Yin saw the loneliness that flashed across his expression, and her mind moved. If she had the opportunity to open a restaurant by herself, she would have to recruit people. Wasn't the manager in front of her a ready-made candidate? He could cook and manage, he was a rare compound talent.

That was also Gu Yin's dream. At the moment she only had a small stall, not even a small shop, let alone a large restaurant like Full Moon Hall.

So she didn't say anything, just asked the shopkeeper's surname, and after a few words of greetings, she left with the food.

Manager Zhou watched Gu Yin go away, and sighed in his heart.

When he turned back, he saw many guests inquiring about Laba porridge.

After all, Laba Festival was also an important festival. The relatives and friends would send some Laba porridge to express their affection. As the guests could smell the strong fragrance, it was necessary to inquire whether Full Moon Hall had a new speciality.

Manager Zhou was about to have people reject these orders, but Chef Zhao had already brought out some Laba porridge for everyone to taste.

Everyone gave thumbs up after eating.

Manager Zhou couldn't show a bad face to Chef Zhao in front of people, and only pulled him aside after the guests had dispersed, "Why did you bring the porridge made by that little lady?"

Chef Zhao was smitten with himself because he helped the restaurant with so much business. Hearing that, he smiled and said, "That little lady cooked less, otherwise we could get more orders today!"

"That little lady doesn't work here, how dare you…"

Chef Zhao waved his hand impatiently and said, "Manager, why are you so worried? Isn't it just a mere bowl of Laba porridge, does it have to be made by the little lady herself? Besides, I've seen her method just now, and when the time comes, I'll make it!"

There was a saying that experts watch the doorway, laymen watch the fun, and there was a saying that a full bucket of water was not noisy, a half bucket of water sloshed.

(The fools were often desperately trying to assert themselves. They made a lot of noise while the wise were quiet)

The second half of the two old sayings were about people like Chef Zhao.

Manager Zhou had to say more, but Chef Zhao was already impatient, "I just did that after asking the boss's wife. If you have something else to say, tell her directly!"

After speaking, Chef Zhao left, and Manager Zhou's face was ashen.

Later, on the day of the Laba Festival, the customers who placed orders came early to receive the porridge.

Chef Zhao cooked a pot of porridge early and packed it up for the guests to take away.

The guests happily took the porridge back, and boasted to their relatives and friends that it was bought from Full Moon Hall with a lot of money, and the taste was not comparable to that of ordinary Laba porridge.

But when they tasted that Laba porridge, they couldn't help but feel that it was an exaggeration. Wasn't it just an ordinary bowl of porridge? Also bought for a lot of money, people could really boast.

Some of the relatives in the family who were not in harmony immediately made a sarcastic comment.

People who bought porridge had a taste, which was really average.

Of course, if there was no pearl and jade in front, this porridge could be considered to be drinkable, but having tasted the porridge, the gap was hard to ignore.

Those who could go to a place like Full Moon Hall to order porridge were all people who had some spare money at home and ate well. How could they bear that anger?

They didn't expect the porridge cook to change. They just thought it was New Year's Day, and orders from Full Moon Hall surged, so they didn't do their best.

Manager Zhou had a premonition that something was going to happen, but at that moment, Chef Zhao had already heard the wind and hid.

As a shopkeeper, he had to come out and handle the matter.

Because of it, before the New Year's Day, he paid a large sum of money first, and almost broke the signboard (name and fame) that had been in business for many years.

Wang Dafu, the real power holder of the restaurant, came to check the accounts and scolded Manager Zhou severely.

Besides, after Gu Yin came out of Full Moon Hall, she remembered what Manager Zhou said about Hanxiang but unfortunately, after inquiring, she found out that it was on the other side of the town.

The snow was getting heavier. It was almost noon after she had been out for so long. If she hurried there again, it would have been dark by the time she came back.

Afraid that Mrs. Wang would be worried, Gu Yin decided to go home first.

When she reached the vicinity of Jinyi Alley, the snowstorm was already so big that it was hard to see.

It was also a coincidence that Wen Peifeng was reconciling the accounts in Daxing, and when he looked up, he saw a huge black figure. He couldn't help but glance a few more times, and after taking a closer look, he recognized Gu Yin.

Seeing that her journey was difficult, Wen Peifeng put down his account books and greeted her, "Little lady, come in and hide from the wind, wait for this gust of wind to stop before leaving."

In the past two months, when Gu Yin or Mrs. Wang came to buy rice, Wen Peifeng always gave discounts as they agreed before.

After a few times, they were considered to be familiar with each other.

Gu Yin put down her umbrella and entered the store, "Then I'll disturb Shopkeeper Wen."

Wen Peifeng smiled and said, "You can also see that there is no one in our store."

It was so windy and snowy that there were hardly any pedestrians on the road, let alone the shops.

He poured hot water himself and handed it to Gu Yin.

She took the hot water and thanked him. She turned around and saw Wen Peifeng on the desk with a red paper for recruitment.

She took a closer look and found that it happened to be for a cook. And the monthly money was also very high, it was twelve taels a month.

Gu Yin happened to be free in the first lunar months, wouldn't it be enough for Wu'an's admission in two months?!

Wen Peifeng noticed her gaze, and took the initiative to explain, "Our boss's appetite has been bad recently, and his family has hired several cooks."

Gu Yin put down the bowl in her hand, "To be honest, I went out on this windy and snowy day to find a job in the kitchen. Since I happened to see it, can you let me try for the position?"

If that was someone else, Wen Peifeng would definitely reject it.

But Gu Yin helped him out of the siege before, and after contacting her, he knew that she was a really open-minded person.

Therefore, although Wen Peifeng had never tasted her cooking, he still said, "There are no customers in the shop today. After finishing my work, I will go back to the master's house to deliver it. It's not away from here, why don't you come with me?"

Gu Yin was still thinking about going out in the wind and snow, but seeing that a job was in front of her, she agreed.

After about two quarters of an hour, Wen Peifeng calculated the accounts, put the accounts together, closed the store door and took Gu Yin.

At that time, the snow was still heavy, but fortunately, Wen Peifeng had a carriage to travel.

Wen Peifeng asked Gu Yin to sit in the carriage, while he squeezed with the man who was driving it.

Two quarters later, the two arrived at Wen's house.

The sky was getting more gloomy, and a middle-aged man who looked like a housekeeper at the door of Wen's house was grinding his teeth while instructing his servants to clean up the snow.

After the carriage stopped, Wen Peifeng got off the carriage first, then put the pedals down, and then stepped back to let Gu Yin get off.

When the two walked to the door, they heard the housekeeper say, "I don't know what kind of evil (ghost) our Old man experienced recently, he told us to find two women and…"

Although he only said that, other people who heard that all winked and laughed weirdly. Old Master Wen's wife had been dead for several years, and he didn't think about remarriage but was suddenly looking for two unnamed women and a girl. It was hard not to have a side-by-side association.

Gu Yin walked behind Wen Peifeng, and as soon as the wind blew, the housekeeper's words became incomprehensible.

But when Wen Peifeng heard it, his face sank immediately, and he scolded, "The matter of the old man is something that we people can talk about at will?!"

The housekeeper seemed to be deaf, and continued to tease. After Wen Peifeng had waited for a while, he turned his head and pretended to be surprised, "Oh! Our fourth young master is back? My clumsy eyes, I did not meet you in person, Fourth Young Master, don't blame me!"

The eldest master of the Wen family had only one son, Wen Lang, while the second master had two sons.

There were only three young masters in the mansion, but the housekeeper deliberately called Wen Peifeng the fourth young master, which was to humiliate him and tell him not to use the eldest master's half-son position in front of them.

Wen Peifeng blushed with shame, but the housekeeper in front of him was from the second son's household, and there were many others present. He studied with Wen Lang since he was a child, and he was also educated by literati, so he could only ignore them.

Then the housekeeper looked at Gu Yin who was following Wen Peifeng, and smiled again, "Fourth Young Master, where did you find this little lady? Although you were born low, look how strange she dresses up. She is not worthy of you!"

If the other party only taunted him, Wen Peifeng would endure it, but the man misunderstood the innocence of the little lady for no reason.

Wen Peifeng was about to argue with the housekeeper, when he watched Gu Yin step forward from behind, and suddenly bowed to the housekeeper, "You are the master of the house, right? I'm the cook who was invited back by the shopkeeper Wen, I greet you."

The housekeeper hurriedly avoided, "Don't talk nonsense, you little lady, I'm just the second housekeeper in the house. You little lady wore strange clothes, but your eyes are not very good."

Gu Yin suddenly realized and hurriedly apologized, "The wind and snow are so heavy that I didn't hear you clearly. I thought that you who was bossing Shopkeeper Wen is the master of the house!"

The housekeeper got angry, "How can you think wrong? How am I bossing him?"

"Huh? It turns out that your arrogance is wrong. I didn't understand that. I thought it's good to praise people for their pomp and momentum!" She said, "Shopkeeper Wen, it is said that the prime minister's doorman is a seventh-rank official. The second housekeeper of your family is so amazing, so the main one must be very powerful, right?"

Gu Yin specially emphasized the sound of the word "second" in her words.

There was probably no second-in-command in the world who would like to hear people mention that.

In particular, the second housekeeper had been the housekeeper for most of his life in the Wen family. When the old man and the people from the big branch came back, their confidants naturally came back, and he was demoted.

Seeing Gu Yin's sly eyes, Wen Peifeng held back a smile and said, "The seven-rank officials in front of the prime minister's gate are honest people. They will say that the servants are spreading the rumor. You should not say this word next time. Don't worry, Madam, our old man, the eldest master and the eldest young master are all very kind people."

The second housekeeper turned black with anger, but Gu Yin was not yet a servant of the manor. He really didn't know how to hold her accountable.

When Wen Peifeng took Gu Yin around the wall, the second housekeeper spat heavily.

At that time, in the study room, Old Master Wen was teaching his second son a lesson, "Before, I asked you to divide a few shops for your brother and nephew. It's okay that you picked all the unprofitable shops, and let the guys deliberately embarrass them, but you still want to touch the shop in your mother's dowry? What if you allocate a few rooms for your eldest brother, so you can't eat? Why are you in a hurry to find supplements from your mother's dowry?!"

Second Master Wen was stunned by the old man, but he had been in business for many years, and he had long practiced shameless work. He quickly poured hot tea for Old Master Wen, "Father, don't be angry. Mother had been gone for so many years. The shop in her dowry was also kept. Plus, it's not just the son's ambition, it's just that the lease of this shop has expired, and people didn't rent it anymore. It's better to give it directly to me…"

Old Master Wen waved to stop him, "Your mother's fart! When your mother left, she said that her dowry was reserved for her granddaughter-in-law! Now none of them have a family, you are the elder. Do you want to touch the things of your future daughter-in-law?"

Speaking of which, Old Master Wen also dropped the tea cup beside him.

It was windy outside, and although they couldn't hear what the old man was scolding inside, they could still feel the monstrous anger.

Wen Lang looked at Gu Yin embarrassedly, "What I just said is true, the old man is good-natured."

Gu Yin bent her lips and smiled reassuringly.

The old man inside pointed at his son, "How did your mother and I give birth to such a person like you? Don't even think about your mother's dowry shop, I will just give it to pigs, dogs, and the big bear at the door…"

Mr. Wen squinted his dim old eyes hard, and through the gloomy sky outside the house, he could only see a huge dark figure at the door, "Where did the big bear come from?"

Just when his son was worried about how to get out, when he heard the words, he went out immediately and scolded, "Where did the weirdo come from, what are you doing strangely dressed? Do you want to scare the old man! Leave quickly!"

Wen Peifeng was about to explain, but when that person saw him, he became more disgusted. With a wave of his hand, the maids and servants drove the two directly out of the study room.

After leaving the study room, Wen Peifeng immediately bowed his hands and apologized, "I'm sorry, little lady, I'm the one who burdened you."

If someone else brought Gu Yin there, they would not be treated like that, but he didn't expect to meet the second master. They were kicked out.

Gu Yin shook her head, "It's your good intention that you were willing to introduce me. I can't blame you if things didn't work out."

She really didn't blame him. Gu Yin had already heard the scolding in the room. The old man was the one who fell in front of the stage that day.

That day, the old man was kicked off the stage by Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xu. He and even quarreled. When he left Jinyi Alley, he was very angry. It didn't matter who led her there, he would not accept her.

Wen Peifeng sent Gu Yin out of Wen's house and asked the driver to send her back.

When she was about to get into the carriage, Gu Yin handed him the food box in her hand, "I don't have anything, this is Laba porridge I cooked at noon. I am giving it to you as a thank you gift. I hope you like it."

Shopkeeper Wen naturally accepted it and the two agreed to part ways. He could return the food box at the shop the next day.

The sky was getting darker, and it didn't take long before it was time to put on the lantern.

At that time, Old Master Wen's anger also subsided, and he asked about the people who came earlier.

Knowing that it was Wen Peifeng who was there to introduce him to a cook, Mr. Wen was ashamed and muttered, "This kid, I was angry at my second son, not at him, why just leave like that?"

The servant didn't dare to say that his second son took his anger out on Wen Peifeng, so he could only say, "Then should I go and invite him over?"

The old man nodded, and the servant quickly went to find Wen Peifeng.

At that time, Wen Peifeng had just warmed up to the Laba porridge that Gu Yin had given him.

He felt more regretful that Gu Yin was not introduced to Old Master Wen. When he heard that Old Master Wen was looking for him, he put the bowl of porridge into the food box again, and took the food box to the old man's study room.

It was only dusk when Gu Yin returned to Jinyi Alley, but due to the bad weather, dusk came early.

The entrance of the alley was so narrow that horses and carts couldn't pass.

After thanking the driver, Gu Yin got out of the carriage and walked home.

As soon as she reached the entrance of the alley, she saw a black shadow quickly passing in front of her, turning into another alley and disappearing.

Gu Yin stopped and squinted, and when she looked closely, she saw Wu'an sticking out half of his head from the alley.

"Mother! Sister-in-law is back!" The little guy shouted and came up to hold Gu Yin's hand.

Gu Yin dodged and avoided, "I'm cold."

Xiao Wu'an obediently held the corner of her skirt.

The two walked home slowly in the alley.

Gu Yin said with a smile, "I saw a small black shadow jumping past, who would have thought it was you."

Xiao Wu'an shook his head quickly, "I didn't run around, I've been standing behind the wall and waiting."

The two were talking, and Mrs. Wang hurriedly greeted them and urged, "If you have something to say, talk about it after entering the house, why are you still outside?!"

After speaking, without waiting for Gu Yin and Xiao Wu'an to answer, Mrs Wang grabbed their hands and dragged the two into the house.

There was a warmth in the house, and as soon as she entered the door, Gu Yin sighed comfortably.

Mrs. Wang put her umbrella at the door, closed the door of the main room, came in and took off the big cotton robe for her, then pushed her to the bench, and stuffed a fresh soup into her hand to keep her warm and entered the kitchen again.

Gu Yin saw that Xiao Wu'an's nose was red from the cold, so she let the old woman put the robe on her, and the two of them were covered together.

"Sister-in-law, your hand is so red," Xiao Wu'an reached out and touched Gu Yin's finger lightly. Fearing that it would hurt her, he immediately retracted his little hand.

Gu Yin looked down. She didn't feel anything when she was outside, but as she warmed up, she realized that her fingers and the back of her hands were red, swollen, and thick.

She joked, "Don't my fingers look like pickled radish sticks? When you're hungry at night, would you eat it?"

Xiao Wu'an was amused by her.

Mrs. Wang came out of the kitchen with hot water, and scolded with a stern face, "It's like this, and you're still in the mood to joke? If I knew it would get so snowy in the afternoon, I wouldn't have let you go out!"

Gu Yin immediately stopped laughing and sat on the stool honestly.

Mrs. Wang put the tub with hot water in front of Gu Yin, and squatted down.

Gu Yin quickly retracted her feet and said embarrassedly, "Mother, I'll do it myself!"

Mrs. Wang glared at her, "Why are you still embarrassed? When you first came to our house, you peed on the kang at night. If it wasn't because…"

"Mother!" Gu Yin's face was flushed, although it was the original owner's childhood, but she had completely integrated her memory. So it was equivalent to listening to the embarrassment of her own childhood.

Xiao Wu'an covered his mouth and snickered. Mrs. Wang stopped talking, poked Wu'an, and then lifted her skirt to help her take off the snow-soaked shoes and socks.

The shoes and socks were taken off, and Gu Yin's fair and jade-like insteps were exposed first, but her toes were not so beautiful – the ten small fingers were all red and swollen.

Mrs. Wang did not put hot water directly, but said to her with a stern face, "I made a lot of inquiries with people today, and only then did I know how to treat this frostbite. If you come back from outside, you have to use hot water to soak your feet. But you can't soak your feet in hot water directly, you have to warm them up first. Otherwise, if you soak your feet in hot water directly, the ten fingers would fall off!"

Mrs. Wang was frightening her as if she was frightening a child. Gu Yin forcibly restrained her smile, nodded and said, "It's my mother who knows a lot, I'll listen to you."

But when Mrs. Wang finished speaking and was about to hold her feet in her arms, Gu Yin was extremely embarrassed and wanted to pull her feet back.

"I've been walking for a day!" She said in a somber voice.

Mrs. Wang's hands were like a pair of pliers, "Didn't you just say you will listen to me? Now you're embarrassed again, right? Like when you went down to the ground with me to learn how to pour manure when you were eleven years old…"

"Mother, you are my mother! What you say is right!" Gu Yin begged helplessly, and dared not struggle any more.

Mrs. Wang snorted smugly, and almost wrote the words 'Want to fight with me, the little girl is still a little tender" on her face.

After covering it for about a quarter of an hour, Mrs. Wang took Gu Yin's feet and put them into the water basin.

Gu Yin sighed comfortably again. Mrs. Wang went to the stove to wash her hands, then brought out a pot of hot water, and sat down on the small bench at Gu Yin's feet.

"In the past, the winter in our place was not as cold as it is here. Today, I heard your Aunt Xu talk about it all the way, and only then did I know that many people here suffer from frostbite and freeze to death every year. It scared me to death. If it snows in the future, you must never leave the house. I even bought an ointment for frostbite today, and you can apply it immediately after soaking your feet…"

Gu Yin responded gently, and the temperature on her feet spread to her limbs and bones, and even her internal organs felt as if they were soaked in hot water. All the mishaps during the day seemed to be nothing.

After changing the hot water three or four times, Mrs. Wang wiped Gu Yin's feet dry with a towel, and took out another white porcelain box from her arms.

The white porcelain box was exquisite and small, and the ointment inside was translucent and lustrous. After just rubbing it on the feet, the itchy and painful feeling like being bitten by insects disappeared.

Mrs. Wang looked up and saw Gu Yin's eyes on the porcelain box in her hand, and said, "What are you looking at? Apply it three times a day. When you finish eating, you have to apply it on your hands too."

"This ointment is really comfortable, isn't it expensive?"

Mrs. Wang said with a stern face, "Do you have money in the house?" Then she thought that she had handed over the financial power of the family to Gu Yin before, and it was normal for her to ask, so she added, "Anyway, I didn't use the money at home, it's the private money you gave me before."

In the beginning, Mrs. Wang got twenty taels of silver from her parents' family. Later, when she started to do business, she spent a lot of money, and there was not much left. In the end, all that was given to Gu Yin. Afterward, the business of the small stall became more prosperous, so Gu Yin returned the two or three taels to her, and let her use it as her private money, separated from the family's money.

Seeing that she refused to speak, Gu Yin guessed that the price must be expensive. But that was because her mother-in-law was kind, and she no longer asked.

After applying the ointment, Mrs. Wang went to wash her hands again, and by the way brought out a large pot of meatball soup and a few sesame seed cakes from the stove.

The meatballs were made from the meat stuffing that Gu Yin had prepared before, and there was also white radish in the soup. The meatballs were round, fragrant and soft, and the white radish also stewed the soup flavor, and the glutinousness melted in the mouth. The sesame seed cakes were freshly baked. Mrs. Wang bought them in the afternoon. The crispy cake was full of sesame fragrance.

Gu Yin didn't eat lunch, and only put down the chopsticks after eating two large sesame seed cakes.

Mrs. Wang looked at her eating hurriedly. Apparently she was busy all day and didn't bother to eat lunch. Mrs. Wang probably guessed that she did not get work. She would definitely have to ask carefully and then slap the person who didn't have vision and didn't choose her daughter-in-law.

But seeing that Gu Yin didn't mention it herself, she still held back and didn't ask.

After the evening meal, Gu Yin was pushed back to the room by Mrs. Wang, and she was not allowed to wash the dishes.

Gu Yin went back to the room and went to bed. She began to think about the day's events. She always felt that something was wrong—

It was mainly the matter of the Wang family's eldest brother's household. At that time, the couple had just found out that Mrs. Wang was back, and could not wait to come to the door. They pretended to be poor and introduced the ship's work. They wished they could fool Mrs. Wang.

At that time, Gu Yin thought they were just afraid of Mrs. Wang making trouble.

Later, Mrs. Wang took out the letter of her deceased father. Although the Wang family was reluctant at that time, under the auspices of the patriarch, they did not play any other tricks.

That matter should have ended there.

But when she saw the scale and passenger flow of Full Moon Hall, she knew that the eldest brother's household had money. The life of the eldest brother's household was so good, the second brother's household was only more shrewd and capable than the eldest brother's household, and would not be worse than them.

Not to mention the daily revenue, it would not look like it would take so much trouble to give one or two rooms. And at that time, they didn't know that Mrs. Wang had a letter left by her father, and wanted to have her share.

Why were they in such a rush to strike first?

They just didn't want to see her mother-in-law go back to her parents' house?

For a while, Gu Yin couldn't figure out the key points, and with the drowsiness after a day of running around, she almost fell asleep in a daze.

The door creaked, and Mrs. Wang came in again, "Soak your hands before going to sleep."

Gu Yin rubbed her eyes and got up, sat down at the table, and obediently stretched out her hands and put them into the water basin.

Mrs. Wang saw her drowsy like a chicken pecking at rice, and her eyes crooked with laughter.

After she had soaked her hands, Mrs. Wang helped her apply the ointment, and urged her to take off her outer skirt and go to bed, and while covering her with the quilt, she said, "Just sleep like this for now, and I will boil a large pot of water for you tomorrow morning to wash when you get up."

Gu Yin couldn't open her eyelids, so she nodded.

Mrs. Wang climbed up the pole and said, "Then it's agreed that you won't go out tomorrow!"

Gu Yin's brain was dizzy, and she answered again.

Mrs. Wang lightly carried the water basin and went out, thinking that since she agreed, no matter what Gu Yin said, she should not let her out again.

However, Mrs. Wang still miscalculated, because Wen Peifeng personally came to look for her early the next morning.

Gu Yin just got up at that moment.

The previous night, her hands and feet were no longer itchy in the middle of the night. She had the sweetest dream.

In her dream, she opened a restaurant that was no worse than Full Moon Hall, and even hired Manager Zhou into her own restaurant.

Their dishes were good. Mrs. Wang helped with other trivial matters. The business was booming, and they were all ready to go to the capital to open a branch.

In her previous life, she disappeared when her porridge shop expanded, and opening a branch seemed to be a knot in her heart.

After that dream ended, Gu Yin became more motivated, and when she woke up, she saw Xiao Wu'an, who was squatting on the head of the bed with his hands on his chin.

The little guy looked at her unblinkingly, and when he saw her awake, he immediately turned his back.

"Why aren't you in bed early in the morning?"

Xiao Wu'an said, "Mother told me to watch you, for fear that you will go out again when you get up."

Gu Yin glanced outside. The sky outside was still gloomy, and the wind was whimpering, but at least it didn't snow again.

As she put on her coat, she asked, "Can't I go out if it's not snowing?"

Xiao Wu'an shook his head in an old-fashioned manner, and copied Mrs. Wang's tone, "Tell your sister-in-law to be honest! If the old lady boils the hot water and finds that your sister-in-law is missing, I will make you a pig's head. Your pig head will be on the offering table!"

Gu Yin laughed so much that her face hurt.

Xiao Wu'an also laughed, "Anyway, that's what my mother said."

After speaking, Gu Yin took Xiao Wu'an out of the door.

Mrs. Wang was in the kitchen room, with her ears sticking out, when she heard the sound of her door, she immediately walked from the kitchen room to the main room, and urged, "I have the hot water boiled, and the tub is cleaned. Come and wash!"

In that weather, she couldn't go out after washing. If there was a cold wind, one would definitely get sick.

What else could Gu Yin say? She could only go back to her room to get a change of clothes.

Mrs. Wang had moved the long table in the middle of the kitchen. The water jars and the baskets for the ingredients were piled up in a corner, the back door and windows were also closed, and cloth strips were tucked into the cracks of the windows and doors.

There was a large tub in the middle. Before Gu Yin could do it by herself, Mrs. Wang helped pour the hot water on the tub, and then poured cold water from the water tank.

When the hot water filled the entire tub, Mrs. Wang said, "Bath."

Seeing that Gu Yin was feeling embarrassed again, she didn't insist on helping with the bathing, closed the door and went out.

Gu Yin took a comfortable hot bath and washed her hair with soap.

Mrs. Wang drove her back to the room to stay, turned around and took a cloth to wrap her hair, and stuffed her with the steamed buns she had just steamed in the morning, and let her sit in the room to eat.

After making sure that Gu Yin looked like that, and would not go out again, Mrs. Wang got busy with her own business.

It was at this time that Wen Peifeng came over.

He couldn't even think about what happened the day before.

He brought the Laba porridge given by Gu Yin to Old Master Wen.

Old Master Wen accepted his filial piety, and said while eating, "You are caring. At my age, I can eat two bites less. So why is it worth it to run around and invite a cook for me?"

After speaking, he tasted the porridge, and the old man's complexion changed.

Wen Peifeng thought it didn't taste good, so he immediately explained, "This is the porridge that the little lady cooked at noon, but it got cold, so I reheated it. Maybe its smell had gone. Can you give that little lady a chance and let me invite her to cook a new one?"

Old Master Wen put down the bowl and asked, "What little lady? Is that the big bear who came with you in the afternoon?"

Wen Peifeng said, "It's freezing cold and the little lady was wearing thick clothes. In fact, she looks good."

"Is she fair and beautiful, with particularly bright eyes?"

In Wen Peifeng's mind, Gu Yin's eyes flashed with a sly smile, and those eyes were indeed smart and clear.

He lowered his eyes and said yes.

Old Master Wen slapped his thigh, "You bring that big bear… No, you invite that little lady over, we'll invite her!"

Mrs. Wen hated to owe favors the most. When he resigned from Beijing, he never asked his colleagues for help.

On the same day, he accepted the favor of the two families, but forgot their address, so he could only ask the servants to help him find out.

However, although Hanshan Town was small, it had a population of several thousand. Finding two people was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

He thought there would be no more finding on that matter, but didn't expect that the little lady who had cooked porridge for him came to the Wen's house on her own. Although the Laba porridge was reheated, as soon as he tasted it, he knew that the porridge couldn't be cooked by an ordinary person.

Then Mr Wen asked Wen Peifeng to invite her.

Wen Peifeng and Gu Yin were acquainted, as Gu Yin often went there to buy rice. It was the most taboo for men and women to talk to each other, so in fact, the two sides were not particularly familiar, and he just heard them say that they set up a stall at the pier.

The wind and snow were so heavy that day, the canal could not be used for boats for a long time, and there were not even wild birds on the pier.

Wen Peifeng could only ask the residents near the pier.

Although these residents did not seek life on the pier, most of them would buy some food on the pier for convenience.

In that weather, it would be hard for anyone to be woken up. After being scolded by three family members, Wen Peifeng found out that the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law probably lived in Jinyi Alley, because someone saw that Mrs. Wang asked Officer Caotou to find a child.

Jinyi Alley was a general term, and the small alleys in that area were included. It was not easy to get the news. Wen Peifeng went door-to-door to ask.

It was also due to the reputation of "evil mother-in-law and charming daughter-in-law" that was also very loud in that area, he finally found them.

Wen Peifeng thought that they did not have an adult man at home, so he specially brought an old mama from the house to accompany him.

When Mrs. Wang came to open the door, she was surprised when she saw Wen Peifeng, and asked, "Why are you, the young shopkeeper here?" As she spoke, she opened the door and invited people to the main room to speak.

Wen Peifeng had been so busy in the morning, his face was pale from the cold, and his nose was red. He no longer had his usual youthful and mature appearance.

Mrs. Wang turned her back and snickered, then turned around and went to the kitchen to grab a handful of peanuts she had just bought the day before and stuffed it into her hands. She also made a bowl of sugar water for him and the old mama.

"There's nothing good at home. Seeing that you're cold, eat and drink this."

Wen Peifeng got up to meet her and thanked her.

"You're welcome, you're welcome, sit down and talk."

He didn't expect Mrs. Wang's hand to be so strong. His shoulder felt a little numb when she pressed it, and the surprised embarrassment flashed across his face.

After drinking a bowl of hot sugar water and warming up his hands and feet, Wen Peifeng let out a long breath and talked about his intentions, "Yesterday, the little lady passed by our shop and happened to know that our family wanted to hire a cook. I recommended that she go to the mansion with me, but there was a little unpleasantness in the middle. Afterward, the old man liked the little lady's porridge very much, and immediately told me to invite her over. So I came here early in the morning. "

Mrs. Wang specifically didn't ask Gu Yin about the day, so she didn't know what happened.

She knew that her daughter-in-law could make up her own mind, so she didn't help to agree or refuse. She just told Wen Peifeng and the old mama to sit for a while, and went into the room to ask Gu Yin.

When Gu Yin was in the room, she heard Mrs. Wang talking to people on the patio, but in that era, she had just taken a bath and wrapped her hair, so she couldn't go out. She could only put her ears against the wall and listen. .

When Mrs. Wang came in, she saw her head wrapped like a dumpling, lying on the wall, looking very funny.

She said, "What kind of weird posture did you learn?"

Gu Yin stepped back from the wall and said with a smile, "It sounds like Shopkeeper Wen from Daxing is here. What did he say?"

"Usually, you and that young shopkeeper's relationship is old-fashioned, but today it's lively!" Mrs. Wang succinctly relayed Wen Peifeng's words, and then asked, "What was the unpleasantness? Did you suffer? Why didn't you come back to tell me the grievance? If you were really wronged, don't go, no matter how high he pays, we won't suffer!"

"A month's wage is 12 taels of silver…"

Mrs. Wang smacked her mouth, "My dear! So many!"

But soon she still had a painful expression on her face, "Long life, long life, long life, how can this money be earned all at once? Anyway, the innocent people of our family would not be sold as the servants of those big families!"

Seeing that Mrs. Wang was so distressed, Gu Yin said seriously, "I'm not joking, the so-called unpleasantness is a misunderstanding. Yesterday, the old man scolded the second master of that house, and Shopkeeper Wen took me over and happened to hear it. The second master felt ashamed, so he drove me away without letting me see the old man."

Gu Yin did not mention that the old man was the one they met in front of the stage.

First of all, she thought that since the other party specially invited her regardless of the past, it must be that he didn't care about it. Second, she heard Mrs. Zhao talk about the Wen family, but she didn't listen carefully at that time. Yet, she heard that the Wen family was very remarkable, and it was the family that the Wang family wanted to cling to. She saw the plaque of the Wen family, and it should be the family that she mentioned.

Her mother-in-law was amazed but she couldn't stand it. If she told her that the man she labelled crazy was Old Master Wen, it might scare her.

"The second master of that family has lost face in front of you, so you can't go…"

"Don't worry about that, mother. Since I'm going to cook for the old man, I don't need to worry about the second master. Otherwise, if he as a son harassed the people invited by his father for no reason, that would be embarrassing. Besides, as you said, we are not servants. I can do this job if I can, but if I can't, I will come back immediately. Anyway, I am idle."

During that period of time, Mrs. Wang had gradually become accustomed to obeying Gu Yin's words. Her words were justified and honest, so Mrs. Wang nodded and went out to agree. Because it was already halfway through the morning, and Gu Yin had just taken a bath and could not go in the wind, she agreed to let her go to work at Wen's house the next day.

After the agreement, Mrs. Wang sent Wen Peifeng out.

Wen Peifeng and the old mama walked to the alley to take a carriage. When he turned around, he saw a shadow but he didn't see anything when he looked closely.

He sneered, thinking that he was probably too tired. It was freezing cold, how could there be a child with little clothes hanging around outside?

After sending Wen Peifeng, Mrs. Wang went into the room and quickly dried Gu Yin's hair – before, it was to prevent her from going out, so she only let her wrap it up first, but since Mrs. Wang knew that Gu Yin would go out the next day, she didn't have to think so much.

After all, it was not as convenient as having a hair dryer in that world, and since there was still no sun in the morning, Gu Yin's waist-length hair was not dry until almost noon.

At noon, the not-so-hot sun came late, and Gu Yin helped Mrs. Wang take out the bedding at home to dry.

Mrs. Xu opened her door, yawned and stretched.

The three courtyards of the Xu family used to be together, and it was only later that Mrs. Xu wanted to rent it, so a high wall was placed in the middle.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang were drying the bedding when they saw Mrs. Xu's two fat arms sticking out from the wall.

Mrs. Wang said with a smile, "The sun is on your head, so you just got up? I heard Qingchuan reading in your house when it was just dawn. Why did you get up so much later than your son?"

Mrs. Xu's replied from across the wall, "I rarely get up late to meet you!"

Afraid that the two would quarrel again, Gu Yin hurriedly added, "Perhaps my aunt was tired from going to the market to buy New Year's goods yesterday, and the weather this morning was really bad, so it's normal to sleep more."

Mrs. Xu didn't care about Mrs. Wang anymore, and yawned, "It's not too tiring to go to the market to buy things. It's just that I didn't sleep well at night. A wild cat scratched the window in the middle of the night. It woke me up. I hit the window with my shoe, and drove the stray cat away."

Hearing that, Gu Yin couldn't help laughing and said, "Wild cats are noisy in the spring, in winter…"

Speaking of it, Gu Yin stopped the movement in her hand, thinking of the dark shadow she saw at the entrance of the alley when she returned home the day before.

Seeing her stop, Mrs. Wang asked her what she was thinking.

When Gu Yin finished speaking to her in a low voice, surprise flashed in their eyes at the same time.

…

Before lunch, a particularly attractive scent wafted from the kitchen, pulling Xiao Wu'an out of the house.

"It's so fragrant, so fragrant, what is my sister-in-law making?" Xiao Wu'an snorted and jumped into the stove.

Gu Yin was stewing pork knuckle.

Her craftsmanship with meat was a little bit worse, but stew, a dish that required control of the heat, was similar to cooking porridge, and she did a good job.

The pork knuckle was first set on fire to scald the hair, and then the surface was brushed clean to remove the bloody smell. Then spread the soy sauce evenly on the surface. When the oil in the pot was 50% hot, she added the knuckle and half fried them. When the skin turned brown, she took it out, then heated the oil in the pot again, added sugar, and when the sugar syrup in the pot turned jujube red, she added boiling water to stir the sugar syrup, then added the pork knuckle, onion ginger, soy sauce, appropriate amount of salt and star anise and other spices.

Xiao Wu'an came in at that moment, smelling the fragrance and circling around the stove.

Mrs. Wang was amused and pulled him back, "Your sister-in-law is stewing knuckle, do you want to drill into the pot?"

Xiao Wu'an's eyes lit up, and he was pleasantly surprised, "Didn't you say that we can only eat knuckle during the New Year?" Then he counted the days mentally, "Isn't there a month before the New Year?"

Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin looked at each other and laughed.

She winked at him, "Let's stew knuckle to catch the wild cat!"

Xiao Wu'an wanted to ask in detail, but Mrs. Wang covered his mouth, "Don't ask, just pretend we are celebrating the New Year early!"

The knuckle was stewed until after lunch time, and when it came out of the pot, the aroma was so fragrant that even Mrs. Wang swallowed her saliva several times.

Xiao Wu'an was already waiting beside her with a small bowl.

However, after Mrs. Wang presented the dish, she did not bring it to the table, but went straight out of the house with a bowl.

Xiao Wu'an looked at Mrs. Wang's back in disbelief, put down the small bowl and chased out.

Mrs. Xu next door had already smelled it. At first, when she smelled the more intense fragrance, she thought it was specially delivered to her house by Mrs. Wang, so she opened the door and said with a smile, "Why are you being so polite? "

In the end, Mrs. Wang left without looking back, and she didn't send it to another house, but walked around all the nearby alleys to the entrance of the alley where Gu Yin saw the shadow the day before.

After going around three or five times, many people could smell the fragrance and stuck their heads out from their homes to see. Mrs. Wang felt cold so she walked back with the bowl.

Mrs. Xu was still standing at the gate of her house, and she said, "Isn't it just a stewing knuckle? Who can't eat meat in their old age? Is it worth showing off? Afraid that others won't know?"

Just as Mrs. Wang was about to elaborate, she couldn't as the "little kitten" might be nearby.

So she curled her lips and said, "What's the matter? There's no rule that you can't bring out the cooked food for everyone to smell, right?"

The two were about to quarrel again, Gu Yin quickly came out of the house and explained, "This is my new stew, I don't know how it tastes, so I'll let my mother bring it out for everyone for testing. If you like the smell, I can make it with confidence next time."

"So that's what happened." Mrs. Xu believed in Gu Yin's statement that she was testing the new product, and stopped looking at Mrs. Wang, and only smiled, "This smell is really fragrant, the color looks good, and if you made it, it has to taste good!"

"Thank you for your compliment, I will go back and share some for you to taste."

As she spoke, Gu Yin pulled Mrs. Wang back to the house.

The skin of the knuckle was already warm at that time, and when Mrs. Wang poked it with chopsticks, the charred skin of the knuckle trembled, revealing the red lean meat inside.

Gu Yin divided the knuckle into three parts, the most of which was reserved for their family, a small part was sent to the next door, and the other part was poured into the hot soup in the pot and placed on the windowsill of the kitchen room next to the open space in the backyard. On the top, an endless stream of fragrance was sent outside the house.

Xiao Wu'an had been waiting to eat for a long time. The skin of the knuckle was fat but not greasy, and it melted in the mouth. Mrs. Wang and Wu'an ate two sesame cakes in a row.

After sending Xiao Wu'an to the kitchen to wash his own dishes, Mrs. Wang asked Gu Yin in a low voice, "The smell must have drifted out. If the child is nearby, he would definitely smell it. It's just that he was still looking for us yesterday. He went to the next door, but your Aunt Xu didn't open the door for him. Do you think he thought he found the wrong place and left? And you know this part of our house, the terrain is very complicated, and anyone who doesn't know the way gets dizzy. Do you think he can still recognize the way today?"

Naturally, Gu Yin couldn't guarantee that, she only said, "Let's wait. He probably hadn't eaten enough in the past few days. He should smell this fragrance today. As long as he is still around, he will surely come."

Both the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law were talking in low voices. The room was quiet, and they heard a crisp sound, not the sound of things being smashed, but the sound of a china plate being knocked over.

"Wu'an, what's the matter with you? Can't you keep the bowl properly after washing it?"

Wu'an walked out of the main room with wet hands, "No! My small bowl has been washed a long time ago."

"Isn't it you?" Mrs. Wang wanted to ask again, Gu Yin put her finger up to her lips and made a silent gesture.

The three of them entered the kitchen room lightly, and saw that the small bowl placed on the windowsill of the kitchen room had been knocked over.

The soup was knocked over on the windowsill, and there was less meat in the bowl.

The three of them looked over and their breathing became lighter.

After a long silence, a little black hand stretched out.

Mrs. Wang rushed over and grabbed the little hand straight up.

The other party didn't expect to be caught, and he started struggling hard on being frightened.

However, that strength was naturally nothing in Mrs. Wang's eyes, but for fear of hurting him, she could only be gentle.

Gu Yin immediately opened the back door and went out.

Sure enough, the child on the pier was hanging on her windowsill at this time—he was still wearing that dark cloak. His one arm was grabbed, two little feet were laboriously on tiptoe, and he was wriggling his body.

But when he saw Gu Yin, he recognized her, and didn't struggle any more. He just made two anxious ah-ahs, as if to ask Gu Yin to find a way to let him go.

Gu Yin quickly stepped forward and picked him up.

The little guy was freezing cold, and his bones were so light that he seemed to have no weight. He was really like a cat when he was hugged.

Seeing that she was holding the child, Mrs. Wang was afraid that she would not be able to hold the child if he struggled, so she quickly told her to carry the child into the house.

"We finally caught you!" Mrs. Wang smiled and let out a long breath.

The child hadn't appeared since the stranger came to the stall, and the weather became colder the next day. Officer Caotou couldn't find him. Both Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin had already made the worst guess. Unexpectedly, he actually appeared near Jinyi Alley again.

"Doesn't this brat seem to be thinner than before?" Mrs. Wang said, and reached out to take him from Gu Yin's hand.

The child shrank into Gu Yin's arms at once, with a pair of small dark eyes full of alertness, and his eyes had drifted toward the back door, as if he was thinking about how to grab the door and escape.

"Why is this little white-eyed wolf only accepting you? Did I feed him less?" Mrs. Wang pouted unhappily, but she still took a half step back and didn't touch him again.

"Maybe it's because he likes to eat what I make, that's why he treats me differently," Gu Yin hugged him. Afraid of scaring him away again, she said in a soft voice, "Are you still hungry?"

The child put away his gaze toward the back door and nodded honestly.

Mrs. Wang went to put away the small bowl that was knocked over on the windowsill, poured a spoonful of hot soup from the pot, and took another sesame seed cake.

Gu Yin carried the child to the table in the main room, and asked Xiao Wu'an to get a cloth and come over to wipe the child's hands.

The child obediently allowed Gu Yin to wipe his hands, and then threw himself on the table and ate.

"Slow down, no one will rob you!" Mrs. Wang took a step away from the child, saw him being ruthless, and said helplessly to Gu Yin, "It's good that you were at home today, otherwise I really couldn't control it. It's been really cold these two days, and I don't know how he survived until now."

Of course, Mrs. Wang could definitely catch him with brute force, but just like when Officer Caotou went to find him and almost forced him to jump into the river, trying to catch him without hurting him was not easy.

Gu Yin pouted at Xiao Wu'an and asked him to help her pour a bowl of water, then made the child drink it, then smiled and said, "Mother, don't say that, he flashed before my eyes yesterday, I didn't react at that time. It's you who helped catch him."

When they were talking, Xiao Wu'an saw that the child had not enough meat in the small bowl, and said, "Mother, I think I can eat another sesame cake."

"You just ate two big cakes like me, can you eat more?!"

Xiao Wu'an lowered his head embarrassedly, "But I did the dishes just now, so I'm not that full anymore."

He was not usually so greedy, but he had a big elbow. Something he couldn't eat once a year, and what his sister-in-law cooked was so delicious. It seemed to be the most delicious meal he had eaten since he was born.

Mrs. Wang squatted down and touched his stomach. That was a method parents use to determine whether their child had accumulated food.

Xiao Wu'an tried to suck in his stomach, but his stomach was still bulging.

"Your belly is swollen like a ball, is your mouth full nonsense?"

"Mother, I beg you!" Xiao Wu'an had always been sensible, but after all, he was still a child under six years old, so he took Wang's hand and whispered, "Mother, my good mother, let me eat some more."

When Gu Yin saw it, she followed suit to touch his belly. Sure enough, his stomach was hard.

She hurriedly held down his two little hands and forbade him to eat any more.

The child looked at her blankly, then turned to look at Xiao Wu'an who was still crooked, and tentatively looked at Gu Yin and said, "Mother, I eat!"

That kid could actually talk. Both Mrs. Wang and Xiao Wu'an became quiet.

Gu Yin was also taken aback and asked him, "Do you want to eat more?"

He refused to speak, only nodded heavily.

Gu Yin was not as experienced and sophisticated as Mrs. Wang, so she did not agree at once, and relayed the hardness of his stomach to Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang said, "It sounds like he is full, feed him some more water."

Gu Yin fed the child half a bowl of hot water according to her words, and sure enough, he didn't bother to eat anymore.

After that, it was time to clean up and wash the child.

Fortunately, when Mrs. Wang boiled water for Gu Yin in the morning, she had chopped up enough firewood and brushed the wooden bucket, so she only needed to boil another pot of hot water and pour it into it, and it didn't take a lot of trouble.

The room was warm, and after eating, the child tightly squeezed the hem of Gu Yin's clothes with one hand, while staring at her and dozing off.

It wasn't until Gu Yin gently took off his clothes and put him in the hot water that he suddenly opened his eyes.

"It's alright, just take a bath, it would be more comfortable to sleep after bathing." Gu Yin put his two small hands on the tub, then stretched out one hand to support the back of his hand, and the other hand scooped up hot water falling on his small body. Feeling the comfort of the hot water, the child didn't struggle any more, and obediently grabbed the tub and let her wash.

Standing a step away from the tub, Mrs Wang looked at the protruding bones with red eyes, turned around and wiped her eyes, "Such a small child, I don't know why he came here after more than half a month."

That was also Gu Yin's curiosity and helped to ask.

The child seemed to be unable to understand human words, so he didn't respond, but splashed the water with his two short legs.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang looked at each other and could only shake their heads helplessly.

Later, Mrs. Wang handed Gu Yin a loofah, and Gu Yin took the loofah and carefully washed the child from head to toe.

Mrs. Wang saw that her forehead was sweating, and she reached out to help, but it was the same as before. The child would hide when she saw her.

She had no choice but to back away.

"It's alright, stay here to talk to me," Gu Yin raised her arm and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Mrs. Wang sighed, twisted the cloth and handed it to Gu Yin, asking her to wipe the child's face, "This child can't speak, and we don't know how he has been doing these days or how he found this place."

That time, they didn't expect the child to answer, but he suddenly made a "squeak" and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of pulling the reins.

Well, he came in a carriage.

After taking a bath for almost half an hour, she finally washed the little child out of the mud den back to his original appearance.

Mrs. Wang took out Xiao Wu'an's clothes. He was wearing wide ones, and it was strange to feel the clothes and pants on his body.

Mrs. Wang looked at his appearance carefully, and couldn't help but praise, "This small kid is really handsome!"

Gu Yin looked at him too. That child had big eyes and a high nose. Although his skin was dark, his eyes were brighter. There was also a black mole under his eye, which was very delicate. But he had frostbite on his face, hands, and feet, and if one looked closely, they would only feel distressed.

Mrs. Wang took out the frostbite cream she had bought for Gu Yin before, and asked her to apply it on the child's hands and feet.

The child curiously watched Gu Yin put medicine on him, smelled the cool smell and even wanted to lick it. Only after Gu Yin put it down did he become honest.

After a while, he became sleepy again and couldn't open his eyes, so Gu Yin tucked him into the bed. As soon as he touched the pillow, the little guy started to snort.

"Sleeping when he is full, he's really no different from a kitten," Mrs Wang joked softly, then opened the low bedside cabinet and took out some money.

"He doesn't leave you, so it's better to stay right here and watch over him. I'll get a doctor for him to come and see."

Although the little guy could eat and sleep, after wandering outside alone for so long, he still needed to be shown to a doctor for them to feel at ease.

Mrs. Wang went out.

She was familiar with the way to the hospital, and within two quarters of an hour, the doctor was invited over.

The old doctor still remembered her and when he entered the room, he said strangely, "Didn't your daughter-in-law take the tonic last month? Logically, she should be completely healthy. Is it still the same as last time?"

After entering the house, the old doctor knew that he had to check the child.

After checking the pulse, the old doctor's face was solemn, and Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang couldn't help but sigh.

After a long while, he said, "The frostbite on his body is not a big problem. I think you have already given him medicine, and the medicine looks good. As for the other …he was hungry before, and is malnourished. He needs to recuperate!" He touched the child's hands and feet again, and looked at his teeth. The little guy woke up suddenly, saw Gu Yin in a daze, and closed his eyes again .

"Looking at the bones and teeth, this child is four years old, but he looks only two or three years old. We can't give a lot of medicine at this age, so we can only do it slowly… This child shouldn't be from your family, right?" Speaking of which, the old doctor went on and said apologetically, "It's the old man who talks too much, your family naturally wouldn't do bad things, otherwise you wouldn't give him such a good ointment, let alone spend money to invite me to come. This world, sigh… you met him, it's fate, so treat him well. I won't publicize what happened today, you can rest assured."

Mrs. Wang knew that this old doctor had an excellent reputation, so she specially invited him. At that time, listening to his personal assurance, her heart became more settled.

She sent the old doctor out, but the other party refused to accept the money. In the end, at her insistence, he only received half of the consultation fee.

…

That night, in Full Moon Hall, Manager Zhou was the one who stayed the last.

Everything was silent, and Manager Zhou went to the back kitchen and went to the back alley with the food that he had specially left behind and warmed on the stove.

There was a small shack in the back alley that was used to store things every day, and in the hidden corner of the shack was a simple den built by Manager Zhou with a blanket.

But at that time, it was empty. Manager Zhou stretched out his hand to touch it again, but there was no temperature on the blanket. It was obvious that no one had slept there for a long time. The other party hid when he saw him approaching in the past.

He frantically walked around in circles, but in the end he found nothing.

Just as Manager Zhou was about to give up, a soft sound suddenly came from behind him.

He turned his head in surprise, and when he saw that behind him was Chef Zhao, his face turned cold again.

"What are you doing here so late?"

Chef Zhao raised his eyebrows and said with a smile, "I just wanted to ask the shopkeeper. For a half-month you were always the last to leave, could it be that there is some hidden secret?"

Manager Zhou knew that the other party wanted to find fault for a long time, so he ignored his provocative attitude and asked calmly, "What secret can I have?"

Chef Zhao naturally didn't know the reason, his eyes fell on the bowl in Manager Zhou's hands, "Is the shopkeeper feeding the wild cats and dogs with the things in our restaurant?"

"This is my own meal, not from the restaurant. If you don't believe it, you can count the things in the back kitchen… I don't usually see you as thoughtful when doing things. Obviously, your mind is not on the right path," Manager Zhou stopped looking at him, put the bowl in his hand in the corner of the shack, and left.

Chef Zhao followed step by step to the shack, and carefully rummaged through the corners, but found nothing.

He braved the cold wind to hide for half the night, but he didn't catch Manager Zhou's weakness.

But the other party was still the manager of Full Moon Hall, and he himself was only the chef. So he couldn't do anything.

When Manager Zhou's back disappeared in the back alley, Chef Zhao spat heavily on the ground, gritted his back molars and said, "Sooner or later, I'll get you kicked out!"

The child slept until twilight and did not wake up.

Gu Yin thought of the doctor's order to feed him less but more frequently. She dressed him up and carried him to the main room.

The evening meal was vegetable porridge cooked by Gu Yin and some meat left at noon to heat up.

Since he was in poor health, he could no longer eat meat, so Gu Yin only fed him porridge.

The child sniffed the aroma of the meat and pointed at the meat with fascinated eyes.

Gu Yin took a piece and held it in front of his nose. Seeing that, he closed his eyes again, Mrs. Wang squatted beside him and fed a spoonful of vegetable porridge.

The child opened his mouth to eat the porridge. As if he felt something was wrong, he stopped chewing. But there was indeed a strong meat aroma in front of his nose, so he ate it.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang looked at each other and snickered, and then they finished feeding a small bowl of vegetable porridge in that way.

Seeing that the child fell asleep again, Gu Yin took him back to the room, and then came out to eat with Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang was squatting for a long time and her legs had gone numb. While beating her own legs, she said, "When will this little brat not be afraid of me? I had to be so sneaky in my own house, and my legs are numb."

When Gu Yin and Xiao Wu'an heard the words, they wanted to reach out to help her massage, but they were blocked by her, "Eat and go to bed. I will lie down for a while."

After the evening meal, Mrs. Wang sent Xiao Wu'an back to her room and followed Gu Yin to her room.

"This brat only recognizes you, and I can only let you sleep with him at night. I have locked the front and rear doors of the house. You should also be alert. Don't let him sneak away again."

He was finally caught, and naturally they couldn't let him wander out.

Gu Yin nodded, then took out a light summer shirt edge and tied the two sleeves of the shirt to her and the child's wrists respectively.

Mrs. Wang told her of some precautions for going to work the next day, and went back to the house to rest.

Gu Yin lay down again, and it didn't take long to hear a sound on the door.

Thinking it was Mrs. Wang who came back to talk, she stood up and asked, "Did you forget to say something, mother?"

Xiao Wu'an pushed open the door and slid his head in, and smiled shyly, "Sister-in-law, it's me."

He was only wearing a night coat and came over. She gave way to the inside, patted the empty seat outside and waved to him.

Xiao Wu'an walked to the bed, holding on to the hem of his clothes and refusing to go up, "Mother said I'm an older child and can't be like before."

Gu Yin thought for a while and said, "The book says that men and women should not have skinship after the age of seven. You are still six years old."

"Is there really such a sentence?" Xiao Wu'an asked as he took off his shoes and went to bed.

"Really!" Gu Yin covered him with the quilt, "If you don't believe me, ask Brother Qingchuan next time."

Xiao Wu'an laid down beside her. His gaze passed over Gu Yin to the child on the other side of her who was sleeping.

Gu Yin noticed his gaze and asked him softly, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Wu'an put his hands on his face and said sullenly, "Nothing, nothing…"

He didn't lie very much in the first place, and when he spoke hesitantly, it was obvious that he had something on his mind.

Gu Yin simply said, "Let me guess, there is a child in the family and you are upset?"

"No!" He hurriedly denied it, paused for a while, and then whispered, "Okay, a little bit…" Then he stretched out his little hand again, his thumb on the tip of his index finger, "Just that much"

Although he had an older brother above him, he had never seen him since he was born, and when he grew up, he was treated as an only child.

After the child came, his mother and sister-in-law were all around him. He didn't know what was wrong with himself, and his heart was sour. In order to attract the attention of his family, he acted like a spoiled child, arguing that he wanted to eat more.

Gu Yin hugged him, patted him, and asked tentatively, "Then why don't we send him away?"

"No!" Xiao Wu'an immediately became anxious, "It's so cold outside, he's so young, even younger than me! No way!"

She just knew that he was a good boy with a soft heart, so she asked that on purpose, and at that moment she couldn't help but smile, "You also said that he is younger than you, and he has been wandering outside for so long, and just came here to our house. It must have taken a lot of work. Otherwise, you make yourself dirty, and mother and I will help you take a bath?"

Xiao Wu'an felt a little embarrassed even sleeping with her, let alone asking them to help take a bath, and immediately blushed, "No! I can wash myself!"

Gu Yin bent her lips and patted him again, "Little fool, mother and sister-in-law still like you the most."

Xiao Wu'an listened to her soft-spoken explanation and comfort, thinking of how miserable the child was when he first saw him. He was eating other people's leftovers. Wu'an closed his eyes and muttered softly, "It's fine, you can like him a little more…but not too much, just as much as you like me."

"Good boy," Gu Yin saw that he was asleep, tucked him and the child into a quilt, and also laid down.

However, she only slept until dawn, and the two well-behaved children wet the bed together. Gu Yin could only grab both of them from the bed and change the bedding. The two little guys fell asleep again after a while, but she couldn't sleep any longer, so she simply boiled water to wash the bedding.

Not long after she got up, Mrs. Wang also came out of her room.

Hearing her talk about the two children peeing the bed, Mrs. Wang almost laughed, "I wanted to remind you to be careful about it yesterday, but I forgot about it later. Wu'an is also a kid, but why did he come to sleep with you?"

Gu Yin then talked with Mrs. Wang about Wu'an's mood, and said sternly, "It is not a trivial matter. But fortunately, our Wu'an is kind. I persuaded him yesterday, and he isn't unhappy anymore."

"Is this kid stupid?" Mrs. Wang said with a smile, "He was born to me, how can I still like others over him?"

As the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law spoke, they washed the bedding, wrung it dry, and hung it outside.

Not long after that, the sky was getting brighter. Gu Yin went back to the house and saw that the two children were still sleeping, so she lightly changed her clothes and went out.

"I'll have to bother you to look after that child during the day. I think he actually understands words. You explain to him that I'll be back at night."

Mrs. Wang nodded and said it was natural, and then sent Gu Yin out of the house.

It snowed again the night before, and the morning was gloomy again. Gu Yin put on the big cotton robe, and when she walked to the alley, she saw the carriage that she had ridden before.

Gu Yin walked over quickly, and Wen Peifeng in the carriage heard the sound and came out.

"Why did Shopkeeper Wen come to pick me in person?"

Wen Peifeng first got out of the carriage and put on the footstool, let her step on it. Only then did he get on the carriage, and then he sat next to the driver.

"The snowstorm was heavy that day, I was afraid that you who had only gone there once may not know the way. Besides, I failed to introduce you to the old man, and you were kicked out. I felt guilty, and I came today to make up for it."

The job opportunity was all thanks to Wen Peifeng. Gu Yin had regarded him as a friend, so she smiled inside and said, "Thank you so much."

The two stopped talking, and arrived at Wen's house in a quarter of an hour.

Wen Peifeng had to go to the shop, so he did not enter the mansion again, but he invited the old mama in the mansion to accompany her, and on the way, he also explained to Gu Yin the general operation of the Wen family.

The old mama was much older than Mrs. Wang, half of her hair was white, and she looked kind.

She was already waiting at the door in that weather, and Gu Yin got out of the carriage and hurriedly greeted her.

"Little lady, you don't have to be so polite, just call me Hua Mama," Hua Mama said and pulled Gu Yin up.

She was the eldest maid of the late Mrs. Wen, and she never got married in her life.

Later, Mrs. Wen was gone, and Hua Mama asked to leave the mansion. The old man thought that she had no relatives by her side, so he let her live in the mansion. Later, when he left Beijing, he also took her out.

The two went to Wen's house together, and the servants at the door were still cleaning up the snow, and the second housekeeper was the one who took the lead.

When the servants saw Hua Mama, they all voluntarily and consciously gave way, but the second housekeeper stood at the door and didn't move.

When Mrs. Wen was still there, the second housekeeper naturally had to respect Hua Mama, but Mrs. Wen was long gone, and Hua Mama became a leisurely meal in the mansion. Not only did he have a bad face toward the eldest son's household, but he also had no respect for Hua Mama.

Hua Mama didn't care about him, she patted Gu Yin's hand on the back and motioned her to go around the second housekeeper.

But when the two turned to the left, the second housekeeper who had his back turned to them also turned to the left, and they turned to the right, and the second housekeeper also turned to the right.

There was a sullen look on Hua Mama's face, but Gu Yin was not angry. She called out with a smile, "Second housekeeper!"

Her voice was clear and sweet, which was blown by the wind and spread far away.

"What are you calling me for?!" The second housekeeper turned around unhappily, "Why is it you again?"

"Yeah, thanks to the second housekeeper, I came for the job today. In the future, I will have to trouble the second housekeeper to help and take care of me."

The second housekeeper's scalp was numb when she shouted the word "second", "My surname is Zhang, you can just call me Housekeeper Zhang!"

As he said that, he pretended again, as if he had just seen Hua Mama, and took two steps back, "Why did Hua Mama come out? I was busy instructing people to work, and I didn't see you."

At her age, Hua Mama was too lazy to care about such trivial matters with him, so she nodded slightly.

The second housekeeper pointed at the servants again and said, "All cats and dogs are coming in front of the door. You all carefully sweep the snow. If an old person like Hua Mama slips, I'll kick you all out!"

Yes, that was deliberately stabbing people.

"Second housekeeper, you need to be more careful. Although I've only been here twice, you don't seem to notice someone approaching each time, and you don't seem to respond very quickly… Be careful not to fall."

"My surname is Zhang!" The second housekeeper gritted his teeth, but Gu Yin was the old man's chief, not a servant of the house, and he couldn't discipline her either.

Gu Yin smiled without answering, and followed Hua Mama.

Before the two of them could go around the wall, they heard a thud behind them, and the second housekeeper really fell flat on his face and his whole body was lying on the ground.

Hua Mama, who could stand things like that, couldn't help laughing.

"How did the little lady know that he was going to fall?"

Gu Yin whispered, "How can I have the ability to predict the future? It's just that he is wearing soft satin shoes on a snowy day, with a thin layer on the bottom, and I said it casually."

The two of them passed through the hanging flower door, passed through the veranda, and arrived at a large kitchen.

The kitchen was not as large as the back kitchen of Full Moon Hall, with a total of five large stoves and a row of small mud stoves next to it. All kinds of ingredients were slightly messy on the middle counter. But in the end, it was much better than Gu Yin's own small kitchen.

There was someone in the kitchen. A fat middle-aged man who looked like a bun was the original chef of the house, Master Xu, who was responsible for cooking for several masters in the family. There were also two assistant, who were Master Xu's apprentices, and were responsible for cooking for other servants in the family on a daily basis.

When Gu Yin greeted them, Master Xu who sat on the bamboo chair with the backrest, slowly lifted his eyelids to look at her. Although he didn't say anything, his expression was already contemptuous.

The two little helpers saw their master like that, so naturally they didn't talk to her.

Gu Yin didn't care. She took off the big cotton robe and put it aside. While washing her hands, she asked Hua Mama, "Is the old man up today? Did he say what he wanted to eat?" (Old man is not derogatory)

Hua Mama said, "The weather has been bad recently, and the old man is asleep in the mornings. I guess he still didn't get up. He likes to eat noodles in the morning. As for what flavor he wants to eat, I don't know."

The old man had been very picky about food recently, so Hua Mama did not dare to tell what flavor the old man wanted to eat, so she comforted, "But since the old man has invited you over, he must be very satisfied with your cooking skills. You can make whatever you want."

Gu Yin turned her head and saw a piece of beef on the table.

That was something that could be eaten at any time in later generations, but at that era, it was rare. It was illegal to kill a cow, unless it was a sudden death or a sick cow, which could be killed legally. The beef was in short supply, so only big families like the Wen family could buy such fresh beef.

Hua Mama followed her line of sight and said, "The old man liked beef very much when he was young, but when his teeth got bad, he started to eat less of it."

Gu Yin nodded, and asked about the old man's dislikes. Looking at the gloomy sky outside, she was ready to make noodles in clear soup and oily noodles.

She first found a large pot, added flour and water and kneaded them into a flocculent shape, then added a little salt to increase the gluten of the flour, kneaded the dough to be smooth, white and fat, moderately soft and hard. Then she used a rolling pin to roll out the dough into a large sheet, and cut the dough into strips. After that, she brushed the cooking oil on the plate, put the strips on it, brushed them with the oil again, and then covered them with a cloth and set them aside to rest.

Within a quarter of an hour after resting, Gu Yin cut a small piece of beef and cooked a large pot of beef soup.

She sprinkled a handful of flour on the counter and started to pull the noodles.

The noodles shaking in her hand and falling on the chopping board was divided into two, and then divided into four each. In the end, one became as thin as a hair and the other was wide.

At that time, Master Xu couldn't help sitting up straight.

He had previously thought that the old man couldn't eat the food he made, nor could he eat the food made by other famous masters. Obviously, the reason was not their cooking skills, but the old man himself. So when he recruited such a little lady, he estimated that she would not last long.

At the time, seeing Gu Yin's skills, he realized that he was wrong – she obviously had real skills.

The thin and wide noodles were put in separate pots. Gu Yin put some salt in the pot, took out the beef, cut it into thin slices with a knife, put it back in the pot and continued to cook.

When she turned her head and saw that Hua Mama was still with her, Gu Yin was grateful and asked, "Would you like to eat some too?"

She only used flour, and the Wen family ate refined grains every day. Hua Mama felt that it was not a bad idea, so she nodded and said, "Keep it for the old man first, and we can share the rest."

Gu Yin smiled, at the same time shredded cucumber, added minced garlic, put it in a large bowl, and added cooked sesame seeds and a pinch of chili.

When the thin noodles were ready, Gu Yin added a spoonful of fragrant beef soup, a few slices of beef, and sprinkled a handful of chopped green onion on it.

Gu Yin put the wide noodles into the prepared ingredients bowl, and then poured hot oil on it, only to hear a "zzz" sound, the fragrance was overflowing, it would make people greedy.

After the two things were done, it was bright outside, and the servant who was taking care of Old Master Wen, came to pick up the food.

Old Master Wen had already woken up and was playing with his five pets in the yard. He didn't see the boy who brought the food, but smelled the food first.

"What is it?"

The servant said, "It's two kinds of noodles. The small ones look quite novel. Would you like to try them?"

Old Master Wen entered the room and asked him to set out the food. A bowl of noodles was refreshing, with a clear soup base, thin noodles, and green chopped green onions, which looked very appetizing. Another bowl was of oil-splashed noodles, the bright red noodle soup, the wide noodles and shredded cucumber soaked in chili oil, made people drool.

One light, one oily and spicy, obviously no matter what flavor he wanted to eat, she could take care of it.

He first tasted the noodle soup. The noodle soup was light, but not bland, full of the aroma of beef. The noodles looked thin, but they were very strong. The beef as thin as a cicada's wings had not undergone complex processing, retaining its original taste, but was perfectly cut along the texture of the beef. It melted in the mouth.

Unknowingly, Old Master Wen ate half a bowl of noodles. The smell of the other bowl of oil-splashed noodles was also very fragrant. He was about to taste it.

After returning to Hanshan Town, Old Master Wen spared his children and grandchildren the etiquette in Beijing. But Elder Master Wen went there because he still cared about his father's health.

Seeing that the old man had eaten it, his brows loosened. He picked up another pair of chopsticks on the table, and tasted the oily noodles.

"It's so spicy!" Eldest Master Wen hissed, but he couldn't stop eating. He finished a whole bowl in a short while.

When the father and son both put their chopsticks away, the old man suddenly said, "No, didn't I hire a little cook who cooks porridge? How can you bring me noodles, what about the girl? Did people bully her, so they specifically wouldn't let her cook for me?!"

There was no doubt about Gu Yin's skill in cooking porridge. It was not easy for her to master that subject at her age. The old man never thought that she was proficient in all dishes.

When the little servant went to take the food, the two bowls of noodles were already packed. He also took the things and left. He didn't know what lady the old man was talking about, but most of the servants in this house were from the second son's household. There was no need to say more.

Old Master Wen went to the kitchen in person. On the way, he was already thinking about how to help Gu Yin to defeat the servant who bullied her.

At that time, Gu Yin was teaching Master Xu how to pull the noodles.

Master Xu could do meat and porridge dishes, but he did not have a mentor. He followed people around as an apprentice. He was not particularly proficient in craftsmanship. When he saw Gu Yin pulling the noodles, he was curious and embarrassed.

In the end, he couldn't hold it any longer, and came to ask for advice with a red face.

Although he had put on a face, she was always more tolerant toward people who were like her. She also didn't have the stereotyped idea of handing down the craft to her own family members like the people of the time. Also the Wen family had only that kitchen, where she would cook three meals a day. So she couldn't hide her craftsmanship.

Gu Yin showed him another way.

Master Xu followed suit. Even with years of experience in cooking, the noodles he made for the first time were still unsatisfactory, with different thicknesses and disconnections.

Gu Yin advised him, and he nodded, but after he wrote it down, he couldn't try it again – if they could eat something like white noodles, it would be the master's generosity.

The damaged noodles should not be wasted. After Chef Xu cooked it, he decided to give Gu Yin a bowl first, then a large bowl for himself, and the rest would be given to the two little apprentices to eat.

Hua Mama still ate the noodles that Gu Yin made before. She stayed for a while because she was afraid that Gu Yin would be bullied by Master Xu. Later, seeing that they got along well, she said goodbye and left.

When Old Master Wen went to the kitchen, what he saw was Gu Yin sitting on the only bamboo chair in the kitchen, and Master Xu and two young apprentices squatted in a circle beside her with big bowls.

Master Xu's body, like a mountain, stood in front of Gu Yin, and he was quietly holding the chopsticks to pull beef from the pot.

"That's not good!" Gu Yin ducked with her bowl, and said hesitantly, "It's fine to eat white noodles, but it's a little bit too much to eat meat…"

Master Xu also lowered his voice, "There's nothing wrong with that, the little master can eat it at ease. The bosses won't come to the kitchen for ten thousand years, will they care about this half bite meat? If I don't eat it, can I grow so fat?"

Gu Yin had to refuse, and when she looked up, she saw Old Master Wen standing at the door.

The old man put his hands behind his back, and said without a smile, "Chef Xu, you dare to have such a fat body?"

Master Xu was so frightened that he sat on the ground, and the fat on his face trembled.

He was about to plead for mercy and ask the old man not to let him go. In that Hanshan Town, there was no such a generous and rich family as the Wen family!

But Old Master Wen didn't look at him. He raised his chin at Gu Yin, "Come with me."

Master Xu exhaled, and watched Gu Yin get up with a tragic expression. He almost wrote the words "have a good journey" on his face.

Gu Yin: Not really, not really.

Old Master Wen took Gu Yin to the study room.

In the study room, Elder Master Wen learned that the old father had a good appetite, and after eating a large bowl of noodles, he left with satisfaction.

Old Master Wen sat on the top and gestured toward the chair below.

Gu Yin thanked him, and the two started talking across the table.

"You shouldn't be surprised about the previous incident."

While talking, Old Master Wen looked at Gu Yin's expression. He invited Gu Yin, of course, to repay the past.

But it was not uncommon for the strong to bully the weak since ancient times.

If Gu Yin was dissatisfied with the status quo. Naturally, Old Master Wen would not keep such a person by his side. He may just give her some money and send her away.

Gu Yin's expression was natural, "It is just a misunderstanding, nothing to be surprised about. Thank you for giving me this opportunity."

The one who threw her out that day was Second Master Wen, who was so angry that he couldn't vent. It had nothing to do with the old man. And because that day was delayed, she and Mrs. Wang worked together to catch the little brat she was thinking of.

As for Old Master Wen's worry of repaying back the favor, Gu Yin didn't think there was anything worth repaying for that day – after all, if Mrs. Wang and Mrs. Xu hadn't pulled the old man off the stage and quarreled with him, the old man might not have fainted. He gave her a job opportunity, so he already repaid her.

Old Master Wen touched the goatee on his chin and nodded, "That's right."

Gu Yin didn't know his meaning, but the little old man in front of her was her immediate boss, so she smiled back.

The servant brought two cups of hot tea, the old man took a sip, and then said, "I was worried that Chef Xu in the kitchen would bully you, and I just went to have a look, but he actually changed his attitude. You are quite sharp."

Gu Yin hurriedly said, "It's nothing great, it's just that Master Xu asked me how to make noodles, and I gave him a few pointers."

There was an old saying that a craftsman couldn't starve to death in a famine year, which was enough to see the preciousness of craftsmanship.

People at that time had a taboo toward the disciples without a master. Like Chef Xu who did not have a master.

"You direct others, are you not afraid that your master would be unhappy?"

Gu Yin thought of her grandfather. Their ancestors were not prominent, unlike other culinary families in the future, who had been royal chefs. There were more than a dozen generations in their family, all of them were ordinary people, and they had accumulated various recipes by being apprentices from all over the world.

When her grandfather was in good health, he was very willing to take apprentices. Regardless of his qualifications, as long as anyone wanted to learn, he was willing to teach.

But there were too many job opportunities for future generations. The income of cooks was not great, and not many were willing to study further.

So much so that her grandfather taught apprentices for half his life, and only his son and granddaughter were really left to the end.

At that time, Gu Yin didn't understand, and asked him of the reason he was teaching for half his life without charging tuition fees.

Her grandfather said that if a craft was only passed down in his own family, how could it be carried forward? Moreover, if their ancestors encountered teachers who did not teach with dedication, how could there be an inheritance to their family?

Thinking of her grandfather who had been open-minded all his life, Gu Yin said with certainty, "No."

Old Master Wen jumped off the chair, pointed at her and smiled, "You girl, last time I asked you about your master's inheritance, and you denied having a master. Now you are telling me you learned how to cook porridge from a master? You really lied to me!"

Gu Yin didn't expect that Old Master Wen was actually inquiring about that in circles.

"Well… I'm not lying, I did have someone guiding me, but it's more of giving a recipe."

In her previous life, when she officially started to learn to cook, her grandfather was already old, and it was not easy to guide her every day. He couldn't teach her hand-to-hand like ordinary people with apprentices, and Gu Yin relied on recipes.

"If everyone is like that then in this world, as long as you can read and write, you can practice your skills according to the recipe."

Gu Yin didn't argue with him, but said seriously, "I didn't lie to you this time."

Old Master Wen became stubborn.

He had a large collection of books in his study room, and even had a collection of food recipes.

Old Master Wen took out a copy and flipped through it, pointed to Gu Yin and said, "Then you can make this cake."

Gu Yin took a closer look, and saw the ingredient list; rice flour, pine nuts, walnuts, sesame seeds and peanuts. Walnuts have to be undressed, and sesame seeds have to be fried until fragrant. After they are fried, mix it with crushed peanuts and pine nuts. For sweetness it needed neither honey or sugar, and you can't put diced oranges.

Although Gu Yin had never done that, she had written the materials very clearly with only a few words in front of her.

So she nodded and said, "Okay, then I'll give it a try."

The old man looked strange, and immediately followed her to the kitchen.

In the kitchen, Master Xu was talking to the two little apprentices with a bitter face.

Seeing his fat bitter face, his apprentice persuaded, "You have been following the second master for many years, and there is some affection in the end. If you are really afraid of being punished by the old master, then you should go and tell the second master."

The other said, "That's right, you, don't worry, how can anyone who works in the kitchen not eat and drink well? If you don't eat and drink well, how can you make delicious food for the family?"

Master Xu smacked them on the head, "You guys know sh*t! I'm not worried about myself, but about the little master! You two are lucky, as you met me. I am willing to teach you everything. I have never met such a master who is willing to teach outsiders. What a wonderful person! If I were twenty years younger, I would be willing to kowtow and recognize her as a master! Such a good person is fired like this… don't you feel bad?"

Just as he was talking, Gu Yin came back.

Master Xu quickly stepped forward and asked, "How are you? What did the old man say? Did he do anything?"

Gu Yin pursed her lips, "It's alright, the old man didn't embarrass me."

Master Xu was about to take a long breath when he saw Old Master Wen who came along with Gu Yin.

Gu Yin went to look for the glutinous rice flour in the kitchen, but the old man still didn't look at him, just followed Gu Yin.

Master Xu thought to himself that the old man had been stalking the kitchen, so that was nothing to worry about. This was the old man who was the teacher of the late Emperor and the important minister of three dynasties. He heard that the Emperor was half his height when the old man stared at him. Wasn't it embarrassing to be stared at by someone like him?!

Later, Gu Yin found glutinous rice flour and asked Chef Xu for dried fruit. Ordinary people didn't always have such things as dried fruits, but big families like the Wen family did have them. Plus, it was the Chinese New Year, so these things were around for entertaining guests.

Walnuts, pine nuts, peanuts, and sesame should be available. Gu Yin also found a box of raisins and started to make them.

She first mixed glutinous rice flour and ordinary rice flour in proportion, then added water and made a dough, wrapped it, and steamed it in a steamer.

Then, while steaming the glutinous rice for more than a quarter of an hour, Gu Yin smashed the walnuts with the back of the knife, got them out the kernels, and then used hot water to remove the covering, put them in a pan to fry them, and then put the sesame seeds in the pan and fried them until the fragrant came out.

For the filling, she chopped pine nuts and peanuts, and mixed them with chopped walnuts, black sesame seeds, and raisins.

After the rice balls were out of the pot, she added a little sugar and mixed it well, then kneaded various dried fruit pieces into the dough, and finally rolled them into long strips, cut them into small squares, put them in the pastry mold and pressed lightly, forming a small flower-shaped pastry.

The prepared cake was presented to Old Master Wen.

Old Master Wen was already surprised to see a set of movements that were so skilled that they couldn't be more proficient. After tasting it, he was even more shocked, "It's soft and delicious, glutinous but not sticky. All kinds of dried fruits are fragrant. They didn't affect each other, but they seemed natural!"

Gu Yin also tasted a piece, "It's really good. Thanks to what the man said clearly in the recipe, this dried fruit sweet cake was not complicated to make."

Mr. Wen stood up again and told her to go with him.

Gu Yin followed him to the study room again, and Mr. Wen fetched the book next to him and ordered three kinds of food; milk cake, crystal fresh milk jelly, and lotus seed paste.

These pastry steps were more complicated and would take a long time, so the old man did not follow her.

When Gu Yin returned to the kitchen, she saw Chef Xu staring at the sweet cake in a trance, wanting to eat but not daring to eat it.

She couldn't help smiling, and said, "Just now, I just tried it, and the old man had already tasted it, so it would be up to me. Can you help me taste it?"

When Master Xu heard the words, he reached out his hand, ate two pieces by himself first, and then asked the younger apprentices to divide the rest.

After tasting it, Master Xu sighed, "How can the little master make thin noodles and wide noodles? Although these two are noodles, their methods and tastes are completely different. Obviously, they are eaten in two different dishes. I know how to make this pastry. I ate this pastry in Jiangnan. I didn't expect the little master to be able to do so much at such a young age."

In that era of underdeveloped information and communication, it was very important to be able to master a local cuisine. It was almost impossible for one to cook all kinds of dishes.

"No, this pastry was the food recipe that the old man showed me. I have never made it before."

Master Xu was stunned and said after a while, "According to the recipe?"

Gu Yin was already making the remaining three cakes, but it was not bad for having someone to talk to relieve the boredom. So she first repeated what she read, and said, "It sounds very simple, doesn't it?"

Chef Xu said, "Sounds simple, but if I saw these words for the first time, I might not be able to think of what to do."

"Steamed with glutinous rice flour for more than a quarter of an hour to make dim sum, the taste is the best, right?"

"Yes!"

"Walnuts have to be undressed, and sesame seeds have to be fried until fragrant. After they are fried, mix it with crushed peanuts and pine nuts. Isn't it the filling?"

"Yes!"

"It's not honey or sugar, and you can't put diced oranges, so it's better to put less sugar and use raisins instead, right?"

"Yes!"

Gu Yin tilted her head and said, "If you have the rice cake and the stuffing, put them together and knead them. Then it would be done? Didn't you also get to know how to do it?"

Yeah…that was a fart! In that way, all cooks in the world would be master chefs as long as they could read and find two food recipes.

Master Xu couldn't come back to his senses for a long time, so he looked at Gu Yin's side and kept talking, and he also helped out.

The steps for the three dim sum dishes were a little complicated, and they were made in sequence until lunch time.

Gu Yin went to Old Master Wen. After tasting it this time, he had to believe that there really existed such a person in the world – one could give her twenty or thirty words about the method and ingredients, and she could almost make the same thing.

The two ate it separately, and Gu Yin's tongue was more stubborn than the old man's. After eating, she reflected, "This fresh milk jelly has a milky smell, I'll try to add more tea next time."

The old man nodded casually, his mind was actually no longer on the food.

He didn't sleep after lunch, but taught Gu Yin how to read.

Gu Yin was stunned, and Mr. Wen said, "You are talented and smart, and it would be a pity to only study cooking skills. Come on, take a look at this 'The Analects of Confucius'."

After Gu Yin repeatedly said, "I can't, I really can't," Old Master Wen forced her to read the book for half the afternoon.

In her previous life, when she went to school, Gu Yin's Chinese grades were average at the middle to lower level. Although she barely knew the traditional characters, that book was still in vertical version from right to left, and there was no sentence to read.

It was exhausting to read, and she was asked to draw inferences from one thing, only if she could figure it out.

Of course, thanks to the nine-year compulsory education, Gu Yin still had some understanding of the book, but that understanding was naturally nothing in front of an old scholar like Old Master Wen.

In the end, both of them were sweating. Gu Yin read the vertical version of the book, and Old Master Wen was helpless. How could someone who learned without a teacher be so bad at studying?

At dusk, Old Master Wen was too tired to look after Gu Yin, so he let her leave work early, and asked her to put the remaining pastries in a food box and let her take it back.

Carrying the food box, Gu Yin returned to Jinyi Alley. Mrs. Wang didn't expect her to come back at that moment and was collecting clothes in the yard.

Seeing her collapsed face, Mrs. Wang put the clothes back on the shelf, took the food box with one hand, and led her into the main room with the other.

She went to the kitchen and poured hot water for her, and said distressedly, "I was thinking why they pay ten taels, it must be a tiring job! Look at your pale face, are you exhausted?"

Gu Yin drank a bowl of hot water, pinched her aching eyebrows, and said, "Actually, it's not that I'm tired, it was quite relaxing at first."

She had always liked to study recipes, and she had never seen the food recipes given by the old man, and it was too fresh. Moreover, she only made four kinds of food in one morning. While waiting for them to get ready, Chef Xu gave her his chair. It was easier than making hundreds of buns at home when doing business.

"If you're not tired, why do you look like this?"

Gu Yin couldn't explain that in a few words. She glanced at the house and saw no child. She hurriedly asked Mrs. Wang seriously, "What about the child? Didn't he make a fuss during the day?"

Mrs. Wang waved her hand and said no, "Children are easy to take care of!"

Just as she was talking, Wu'an came home with the child.

The child put on the cotton robe that Mrs. Wang sewed for him earlier, and put on the small cotton shoes sent by Aunt Ge. Although he looked thin and small, he was full of smiles.

Wu'an didn't look so good. His face was flushed red, panting and sweating profusely, as if he had just run 800 meters.

That boy had a quiet personality. Gu Yin had never seen him play in such an embarrassed state, so she laughed and said, "How can you sweat so much in such cold weather? Just wipe it off and be careful not to catch a cold."

When the child saw her, he was about to pounce on her, and when he moved, Xiao Wu'an moved as well.

Only then did Gu Yin notice that the hands of the two little guys were tied together by a half-meter-long rope.

She finally understood what Mrs. Wang meant when she said that children were easy to take care of, because it wasn't her taking care of it at all, it was Wu'an taking care of the kid.

Mrs. Wang explained, "He woke up in the morning and didn't see you, so he made a fuss. I explained to him for a while as you said. Although he didn't look for you anymore, he just wanted to go out. I didn't dare to let him go out alone, and I couldn't keep him locked up. It just so happened that Wu'an told me that last night you tied your hand to the child's hand, so I followed suit and found a rope to tie them together."

Well, the source of the co-authorship was still Gu Yin herself.

Speaking of which, Mrs. Wang pulled her son to her, wiped his sweat and said, "Didn't you take him with you? Where did you go?"

Xiao Wu'an was almost out of breath. He held the water bowl on the table and drank a large mouthful of water before he said, "I have been to many places, the wharf, the market, the big restaurant… the whole town. Fortunately, fortunately, I told him that my sister-in-law will come home in the dark, and he finally agreed to come back with me. "

Hearing that, Mrs Wang clicked her tongue, "This little brat is too good at running. Don't complain, Wu'an, what's wrong with running two steps? You usually don't like to move, but you get sick when seasons change, and being active is good for you."

Although Xiao Wu'an was tired, he was actually quite happy.

In the past, although his mother and sister-in-law were in the house, they all had their own affairs. He helped with the housework since he was a child and seldom went out to play. Also because he was thinner than the average person and couldn't climb trees to dig out eggs, other children in the village didn't like to play with him.

But the new kid took him, and he realized that it was such a joy to have someone to play with. They went to the pier to chase birds, went to the market, and sat in a small shack to rest in the back alley of the restaurant. …all in all, it was a very pleasant day.

Later, Gu Yin untied the rope for them, and opened the food box to let them eat.

Xiao Wu'an consciously took the child's hand and took him to wash his hands by the sink in the kitchen.

The child was still a little afraid of Mrs. Wang, but maybe because he had been with Xiao Wu'an for an afternoon and had eaten lard from his hands before, he had gotten close to him.

The two little kids sat on a bench, shoulder to shoulder, each holding a small snack and eating contentedly.

When Gu Yin and Mrs Wang saw them, they couldn't help laughing.

Not long after, it was time for the evening meal, the two children had eaten enough pastries, and Gu Yin had no appetite. So Mrs. Wang cooked two bowls of plain noodles, one for Gu Yin and one for herself.

After nightfall, Mrs. Wang boiled a pot of hot water and bathed the sweaty two children.

Xiao Wu'an blushed and held up his trousers. His mother was not allowed to help him with the washing. The child followed suit, covering his trousers tightly.

Mrs. Wang was just outside the door, listening to them screaming and laughing inside, she scolded them, and turned to look for Gu Yin.

Gu Yin had already washed and was soaking her feet in her room, she was so sleepy that she couldn't keep her eyelids open.

When she came to her senses, Mrs. Wang had already wiped her feet with a towel, and took out frostbite cream to apply it on them.

"If you're tired, just say it, don't hide it." Mrs. Wang rarely had such seriousness, "What kind of work can make you so tired? Could it be that you were told to cook meals for hundreds of people by yourself?"

Seeing that she was worried, Gu Yin did not hide it. First, she said that the employer who hired her was Old Master Wen, and then said, "The old man is very kind and didn't care about the previous things. Later, he asked me to make food according to the food recipes. I only made four snacks in the morning. The Chef Xu in the kitchen is also kind and gave me the back chair. I was not tired in the morning, but in the afternoon…"

"What happened in the afternoon?"

Gu Yin remembered the fear of being dominated by vertical traditional characters again, and said with a headache, "In the afternoon, the old man insisted that I was smart and asked me to study. Oh dear, reading a book for half an afternoon was more tiring than wrapping two hundred buns!"

After listening to the ins and outs, Mrs. Wang relaxed and smiled, "Qingyi said the same thing back then, he would rather farm and hunt than study. At that time, I thought that his schooling was so expensive, and he was the only one who could learn. It was too wasteful to let him teach you at home when he's off school, and you looked like the sky was falling."

Gu Yin frowned helplessly.

Seeing that she was really uncomfortable, Mrs. Wang said again tentatively, "Then it's still…"

While talking, the two children came in after taking a bath.

The child got onto the bed like a gust of wind and wrapped the quilt like a cocoon. From the end of the bed to the head of the bed, a little fluffy head stuck out. He looked at Gu Yin anxiously and asked her to go to bed quickly.

Xiao Wu'an stood in front of the bed and looked at the child, then at Gu Yin, twisting his fingers and saying, "I…"

Mrs. Wang picked him up and said, "What are you doing today?! You wet the bed last night, and before dawn, your sister-in-law had to get up and wash the bedding. You go back to the room and sleep."

Xiao Wu'an's face suddenly collapsed, Gu Yin looked amused and said, "Mother, forget it. It's just right for the two of them to sleep together. If they urinate separately, we have to wash the two beds."

Mrs. Wang also thought about it. It was not easy to dry the mattress in that weather, and if they wet the bed two more times, there would be no more mattress at home.

"You two are not allowed to drink water before going to bed. Go out to pee."

Xiao Wu'an burst into laughter and waved at the child. And without waiting for Mrs. Wang to speak, Xiao Wu'an urged him to take out the rope and tied their hands together.

After a while, both of them snorted.

Mrs. Wang smiled, and put the ointment on the child again, but she didn't forget half of what she said before, and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter whether you are tired from cooking or tired from reading, if it is really tiring, you can quit. There are other chores for the New Year. If you take care of the two children at home, I can make some money by going out to sew and wash."

Gu Yin nodded and added, "Old Master Wen knows that I am not a student, and tomorrow would definitely not be like today. This work is very worry-free."

However, on the second day, Old Master Wen said to Gu Yin, "You can do what is in the book, and you would definitely be able to do other existing things. Otherwise, let's do something that I've never heard about today!"