Blissful Days After Widowhood

by Usui Takumii

not mine, word drain.

11. 181 to 200

Hanxiang Hall launched a new VIP benefit, and within a few days, Manager Zhou got the news and passed it on to Gu Yin.

After that, Food of Heaven's business really declined a bit. However, after inquiring again, to their surprise, the lost customers did not go to Hanxiang Hall, but Full Moon Hall.

Full Moon Hall quietly launched Mala Tang along with Food of Heaven, but the price of the same thing doubled several times when they arrived at his restaurant. His restaurant's plan to copy from Gu Yin gained frown not once or twice, each time there was no good end. That time it was actually successful, and the business was full, which was really unexpected.

Manager Zhou went to inquire about it, and when he came back, he said, "Full Moon Hall has neither launched any new food, nor has it changed any great cooks. I also specifically asked former regular customers, and they said that the Mala Tang in Full Moon Hall seems to be delicious. Just thinking about it makes people drool, as if they can't eat enough."

Hearing that, Gu Yin couldn't make up her mind, "Could it be that they got some secret recipe to hide it so that no one would know?"

Manager Zhou didn't know, so he ordered someone to buy one to taste.

Several people shared a bowl, heavy oil and spicy, and the soup was so thick that it overwhelmed the taste of the food itself.

Gu Yin vomited after taking a bite. Manager Zhou and Chef Xu couldn't eat it. For them, who had a particularly keen sense of taste, that food was not only bad, but unpalatable.

However, that was not a bad situation for Food of Heaven. After all, among their customer base, there were not many people who could eat expensive Mala Tang in a big restaurant. Although there were fewer people, it was only about a small number. With one or two percent of the turnover, the vast majority of the customers that Full Moon Hall was robbing were Hanxiang Hall's customers.

The most important thing was that Mrs. Wang could go to Wang Dafu to ask for the account.

Seeing that the twelfth lunar month was coming soon, Wang Dafu still owed two hundred and fifty taels of silver, Mrs. Wang had long been muttering that she couldn't let him celebrate.

Mrs. Wang had asked him several times before, but Wang Dafu had shied away pointing it to the bad business, and his restaurant was indeed doing a mediocre business. In addition, Mrs. Wang also had her own work to do, so she didn't have time to mess with him. So she didn't ask for the follow-up money back.

But since his business had declined a bit, she gave him more time, and when she heard that the business of Full Moon Hall was booming, she naturally had to ask for that large sum of money back.

It happened that Gu Yin also wanted to check the situation of Full Moon Hall, so the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went straight to Full Moon Hall when they were free.

Full Moon Hall was packed, and the waiters were too busy.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang stood for almost half an hour, and finally someone had time to greet them.

It wasn't a stranger who came, it was Li Cheng.

"Guests, please come in…" Li Cheng said his usual opening remarks, and when he saw that it was Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin, his half-bowed back immediately straightened, and he said angrily, "What are you doing here?"

Mrs. Wang immediately said, "Where's Wang Dafu? Let him come out for me, I came to ask for the account!"

Gu Yin didn't answer his words, she just looked at him from head to toe, her eyes were full of teasing.

Not long ago, that person boasted that he had been a small cook at Full Moon Hall, but he was just doing the work of a server. Although Gu Yin didn't take this character to heart, she was quite happy to see him like that.

Mrs. Wang shouted loudly, and Wang Dafu came out of the back kitchen not long after.

Seeing it was her, Wang Dafu waved Li Cheng away with a bitter face, and said, "Sister, what's the matter?"

"Did the sun rise from the west? You are working in the kitchen?" Mrs. Wang sneered, "No trouble, just pay back!"

"Oh, you also know that your two nephews mortgaged our Full Moon Hall at that time, and the money was intercepted by the bandits. Later, we emptied our property and mortgaged the old house, and then we redeemed the restaurant. It's not easy to run a restaurant, on one side is Hanxiang Hall, and on the other side is your restaurant. We are trying to survive…"

Mrs. Wang was tired of hearing the rhetoric. In the past, what Wang Dafu said was not all lies, but at that moment she would be a fool to believe his words.

"Don't talk about those who have or don't have, you call this bad business?" Mrs. Wang pointed to the guests and sneered, "Anyway, I have to see the money today, and if you don't pay it back, I'll go to the yamen. The magistrate and Officer Caotou would call the shots!"

A trace of panic flashed on Wang Dafu's face, and he hurriedly said with a smile, "Why disturb the people in the yamen? It's not that you don't know, our business has only improved in the last half month, and the book is really…"

He took out an account book and looked fakely.

"Look at the account book," Mrs Wang pulled out the account book in his hand and stuffed it into Gu Yin's hand.

Gu Yin had learned from Manager Zhou to read the account book and plan of the era. Just after turning two pages, Wang Dafu had hurriedly grabbed the account book back.

"Fifty taels, shall I pay you back fifty taels?"

That went smoother than Mrs. Wang expected, but she still said, "No, the bad debts are not kept on new years, and they must be paid off!"

"We really don't have that money! Your grand-nephews still need to study. Your children also study, so you should know that it costs a lot of money. I really want to give you all the money, not to mention that my sons, their wives and grandsons are not doing well. In the coming year, I am afraid that the whole family might have to eat bran and veggies, and they would not be able to study…"

After some bargaining, Mrs. Wang asked for one hundred taels of silver, and immediately wrote a receipt to Wang Dafu.

After they walked out of Full Moon Hall, Mrs. Wang looked around vaguely to see that no one was following, and then laughed, "One hundred taels! Wang Dafu is not too bad. With the fifty taels we got before, half of the account has been paid."

She got one hundred taels, so she was very happy.

Gu Yin pondered, and Mrs. Wang stopped laughing and asked her in a low voice, "What's wrong? Is there something tricky about their accounts and tax evasion?"

Gu Yin laughed when she asked, "I took a look at it twice, if I can tell that their accounts are wrong, I'll be too good. It's not that the accounts themselves are tricky, but something else is wrong. The price is ten times ours. A vegetarian dish is ten coins. But the business is really good, and I can't see the end of the VIP list for that Mala Tang deposit."

"My darling, it turns out that his family's business is so good! If I knew earlier, I shouldn't only take a hundred taels, I should have all of them back."

It was not the first time that Full Moon Hall was doing good business, but that time, they overtook Food of Heaven, which was too abnormal.

The endless stream of guests came to the door, and when someone arrived at the door and heard that there was no room, he sniffed, "How can there be no seat in such a big restaurant? Oh, forget it, your Mala Tang is really delicious. I will panic if I don't eat it for a day."

Then Li Chengyi pointed out, "Our Mala Tang is all spicy and the taste is very good! It's not like some small restaurants, it costs more money to add seasonings!"

The guest didn't answer him, but just stretched his neck and looked inside, waiting for his turn.

"Bah!" Mrs. Wang spat, "At a price like yours, our family would have already made a lot of money."

There were more guests queuing outside the Full Moon Hall at the back, and the door was so crowded that there was no place to stand.

Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang didn't stay much.

When they left, Li Cheng immediately went in and informed Wang Dafu.

One hundred taels was not a small sum of money for anyone. Wang Dafu was heartbroken, and he could only comfort himself that business was good at the moment. According to this trend, he would soon be able to earn it back.

Before the Laba Festival, Gu Yin cooked Laba congee.

In the twelfth lunar month of the previous year, her Laba congee caused a turmoil in Full Moon Hall, and its deliciousness could be imagined.

She did a tasting event in the store, and it was unanimously praised, and she got hundreds of orders before Laba. On the first day of Laba, one or two hundred bowls were sold effortlessly.

On that day, Gu Yin was greeting guests by the large half-height window, and when she looked up, she saw Bai Zixi walking past the window.

She quickly put down the work in her hand and went out, "Guest, do you still remember giving a sum of money as a deposit in the store in April?"

At that time, Bai Zixi was the first person to take the lead in depositing silver, and it could be said that it was because of him that her store got through the initial turnover difficulties. Gu Yin was so impressed with him that she specially made five dishes for him the next day. However, Bai Zixi, who had promised to arrive earlier the day before, did not come.

Not only did he not come that day, but when the two big restaurants launched VIP discounts, all the customers who deposited money came for refunds, and Bai Zixi didn't come either. Gu Yin still kept in mind the taels of silver for the first half of the year.

Bai Zixi stopped when he heard the words, "It's the little lady."

As he spoke, he raised his head and looked around blankly, and then mumbled to himself, "How did I get here?"

"Today our store has newly boiled Laba congee. Would you like to come in and drink a bowl to warm up your body?"

The wind was cold, and when she reminded him, Bai Zixi also felt cold. He shrank his neck and walked quickly into the restaurant.

The hot, fragrant Laba congee was brought into the hand, the entrance was fragrant and thick, the aroma of various ingredients burst on the tip of the tongue, and after warming up in the stomach, Bai Zixi sighed comfortably, "Your congee is really good."

After he finished speaking, his eyes fell on the other customers in the store.

In such cold weather, Food of Heaven's attendance rate was still 90%, and there were only a few vacancies in the entire store.

Thinking of his own restaurant, since Full Moon Hall followed the trend and made a spicy Mala Tang, the number of guests at Hanxiang Hall had been decreasing. Although his uncle followed suit, the price was still cheaper than that of Full Moon Hall, and he also did not hesitate to add a lot of bell peppers, but with little success. In that month, Hanxiang Hall launched Laba congee, which was considered to have achieved some business, but that was only a return to the light, and after all, it would return to the state of being left out in the courtyard.

Although the restaurant was run by the eldest brother's household, it was an industry run by several generations of the family. When it reached that low point, it was always embarrassing and unpleasant.

"This porridge is accounted for, and save the rest of the money for me first. I will visit again when I have time," Bai Zixi let out a long sigh and left with his thoughts in mind.

After he left, Mrs. Wang went to clean up the table, only to find that he had left the food box, and hurriedly chased him.

Bai Zixi had already gone out. When he saw her, he simply waved his hand and said, "I don't want it anymore, please help me throw it away."

The food box contained the Mala Tang he bought from Full Moon Hall. He had already bought it several times on and off, but every time he ate it, he didn't think it was delicious. He really didn't understand how Full Moon Hall could suppress Hanxiang Hall by using it.

He was treating a dead horse as a living horse. (to resort to desperate measures in desperate times)

He went to buy it again, but he couldn't find the reason, so he didn't want it.

"What a good food box," Mrs. Wang didn't want to throw it, so she put the food box next to the counter first.

Not long after, Wu An and Gu Ye returned to the store one after another.

In the evening, the sky was overcast, and it was about to snow heavily. There were few pedestrians on the road, and there were no customers in the store. Gu Yin simply closed the door of the store and let the guys set the table together, open the meal ahead of time, and eat hot pot.

The two little guys helped with the bowls and chopsticks. Seeing that there was a beautiful food box in the corner of the counter, Gu Ye squatted down and opened it curiously, and then coughed violently because of the spicy smell.

Gu Yin pulled him up with one hand and put the food box on the counter with the other.

Gu Ye muttered uncomfortably, "It choked me to death!"

Looking at the probe, Mrs. Wang explained that it was something that Bai Zixi didn't want, and said regretfully, "Full Moon Hall is written on the bowl. Is this the Mala Tang that Full Moon Hall's sell for hundreds of coins?"

Those words caught the attention of everyone else in the store.

Unlike the Bai family, they had a small business and could buy a bowl to taste at any time. Last time Gu Yin and Manager Zhou bought it and once they tasted it, they stopped buying it. The rest of the people in the store were even more reluctant. They only heard of it, never tried it.

"It's cold, take it to the back kitchen and dump it," Gu Yin said.

Song Shiliu, who had always regarded herself as a maid, rushed to do the work.

There were two small red clay stoves on the two tables, and two large casserole pots on the stove, one type of bone broth and one type of pickle soup base.

Her business was on track, especially since it was still a holiday, Gu Yin was not a stingy boss, so everyone could eat with an open belly.

As soon as those words came out, the guys cheered and scrambled to get the side dishes and seasoning.

Chef Xu put chili oil first, then poured sesame paste into his bowl and mixed it up. He didn't count it after mixing, and shouted, "Shiliu, come, I'll get you more chili oil."

Song Shiliu and Chef Xu were a generation apart in age, but they were equally able to eat.

After adding her to join, 'Food of Heaven' just dumped the leftovers to them, so the two of them ate it all together. They also got some friendships to grab food and eat.

Song Shiliu shook her head and said, "I don't seem to be very hungry today."

Chef Xu didn't care about her anymore and joined the army of grabbing vegetables.

The cold wind was blowing outside, and everyone in the store was sitting together. The hot soup was boiling in the casserole. Cabbage, bean sprouts, green vegetables, potato chips, and tofu were neatly stacked in the pot, and then put sausages, chicken balls, and fish. Egg dumplings, and hot dishes that were full of soup were put into their own seasoning bowl, mixed with delicate sesame paste and chili oil added according to their personal taste.

After a hot pot meal, everyone was sweating.

It was also dark outside, so Gu Yin let everyone off work.

Manager Zhou and Chef Xu lived in the backyard and were responsible for the final finishing work, while Mrs. Wang took the female workers back to Jinyi Alley with a donkey cart.

After a busy day, they all took a rest after taking a bath when they got home.

Gu Yin slept until midnight when she was awakened by the sound of "bang bang" in the yard.

She got up, and met Mrs. Wang who also got up to check.

The two went to the yard to take a look, and it turned out that Song Shiliu was chopping wood in the yard.

"Why are you chopping wood in the middle of the night, girl?"

Song Shiliu blushed and said apologetically, "I thought there was a strong wind outside and it wouldn't disturb you."

The sound of the wind whimpered. People might not hear her chopping wood in other their houses, but Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang were used to being alert, so they could hear it naturally.

"Go back to the room, you have to get up and go to work at dawn!" Mrs. Wang stomped her feet in the cold, confiscated the ax in Song Shiliu's hand, and then pulled Gu Yin back to the house to sleep.

The next day, when Song Shiliu got up as usual, she looked dizzy and had no appetite to eat.

Seeing that, Mrs. Wang inevitably nagged, "I let you sleep well at night, and the firewood in our house has been chopped up into a small mountain. There is no shortage of firewood to burn. Don't do this again! Also why don't you eat?."

Song Shiliu was speechless. In fact, she didn't know what was going on, but in the middle of the night, she felt in a panic, and it was uncomfortable not to do anything. She obviously liked the food in the store very much in the past, but it felt tasteless, like something was missing.

After two days, Song Shiliu still did not recover.

It snowed heavily that day, and there was no one in the store. Gu Yin felt that she could not let it go, and was going to take the little girl to see a doctor.

However, after looking around in the store, she didn't see the girl.

She also regarded herself as a maid, rushing to work in the store, and had never been lazy to find anyone. Gu Yin didn't think about it, she just thought that the girl went out temporarily.

After waiting for about fifteen minutes, the little girl came back from outside in a panic.

She was young and had a sincere personality, so she almost wrote the words guilty of conscience on her face.

When she saw Gu Yin waiting at the door, she was even more frightened and pale.

"I was looking for you, take off your coat…"

Since they were going to see a doctor, she must change her working clothes.

However, when Song Shiliu heard that, she knelt down with a thud and begged, "I am wrong, I will never go to Full Moon Hall again. Madam, don't send me…"

She called out to Mrs. Wang, and when she saw her kneeling outside, Mrs. Wang stepped forward and pulled her up, and said with a smile, "What are you saying? You don't want to eat, so we are taking you to the doctor. Why would we send you away?"

Gu Yin asked her, "What do you mean when you said to never go to Full Moon Hall again?"

Hearing that, Mrs. Wang became stern. She had already figured out Song Shiliu's "cooperating with the enemy and betraying the country", she immediately released her, and asked in a cold voice, "Have you been in contact with the people over at Full Moon Hall?"

Song Shiliu first breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately shook her head and said, "No, I have no contact with the people over there!" She lowered her voice as she spoke, "I just went to buy food from their restaurant."

"You girl!" Mrs. Wang pinched her ear, "Why are you so greedy? I thought you were so good."

Mrs. Wang didn't exert any effort, Song Shiliu didn't feel any pain, she just panicked and explained in a low voice, "I just panic if I don't eat a meal, and eating anything else doesn't taste good. I know I'm wrong, and I won't go there again."

She was always greedy, so Mrs. Wang didn't find it strange, and Song Shiliu used her wages to buy food from other places, and it wasn't a big crime.

Gu Yin still felt that something was wrong. Although Song Shiliu was greedy, she was also loyal. When she mentioned Full Moon Hall and Hanxiang Hall every day, she spurned them more than anyone else. She knew before that Full Moon Hall launched Mala Tang and made a lot of money. The little girl was so angry that she wanted to smash them. She was like a replica of Mrs. Wang. And she was also frugal, but she was willing to buy such expensive Mala Tang?

It was not that Gu Yin was arrogant, the food in Full Moon Hall was really not worth the price in her opinion. Song Shiliu who ate all the good food of 'Food of Heaven' could not even have the basic ability to taste?

Of course, the most suspicious thing was her description of feeling unwell when she didn't eat a meal.

Gu Yin called her to the back kitchen and asked carefully.

Song Shiliu then explained that on the day of Laba, Gu Yin asked her to help her pour out the Mala Tang in the food box. She knew that it was expensive and was not willing to throw it away, so she ate it in the back kitchen. At the time, she thought it was delicious, and she wanted to eat it again later. In the previous two days, she couldn't eat anything else, so when she had time, she sneaked to Full Moon Hall to buy food, and she felt comfortable after eating it.

"It cost me hundreds of coins in two days, and I'll never go again," Song Shiliu lowered her head, looking like an obedient child

"It's not your fault."

Gu Yin had already guessed what it was. Later, she asked people to go to Full Moon Hall to buy a few Mala Tang. Instead of simply tasting it, she poured out the soup and vegetables, and filtered them out with a strainer to check the final soup base residue.

Straining all the way to the tenth bowl, Mrs Wang and Chef Xu were watching and they were so distressed that they gasped. Gu Yin finally saw the brown husk in the residue—

D-mn Wang Dafu. He actually put opium in the food!

…

The county magistrate had been very worried those days.

He knew that he had no ability, and just wanted to work hard to be a good official with integrity.

The county magistrate's annual salary was forty taels of silver, which was enough to feed the three family members.

But there were also many places to spend money in the town. The people in the previous Mid-Autumn Festival gave a hundred pieces of moon cakes to the sky and let him distribute them to welfare homes, which had greatly reduced the burden on the yamen.

Especially when the Chinese New Year was coming up soon, there were more places to spend money. The people below came to report that a strong wind had damaged a wooden bridge in a nearby village. The rebuilding of the bridge was a huge expense.

Although there were many wealthy squires there, there was no county seat. They were all towns and villages. Every time they raised money, they had to run around everywhere. He had to subsidize part of it from his salary.

Just as he was in a daze, the county magistrate found that his wife had been sneaking out those days.

After some inquiries, he found out that she was fascinated by the food in Full Moon Hall.

The business of Full Moon Hall had been booming recently, and the county magistrate had also heard about it.

He also heard about the expensive prices over there, ten coins for a small serving of vegetarian dishes, thirty coins for the same meat dish, and sold a serving for fifty coins.

The county magistrate and his wife had been together through thick and thin. In the past, she was more frugal than the county magistrate, and she had to think before buying new clothes and new jewelry. Even last time she ate the moon cakes Gu Yin sent and thought it was very delicious, when she heard that it cost eight coins a piece, she was not willing to buy it again.

The county magistrate didn't have the heart to scold her, but she herself slapped her face, and said in regret, "I know best that our family is not well-off, and I was not a greedy person before. But since I have eaten it once, I kept thinking about it… I spent hundreds of coins before I knew it, so please scold me."

"Don't be like this." The county magistrate held her hand distressed. "You rarely have something you like. You can eat it if you want. In fact, our family is not so poor."

After comforting his wife, the county magistrate looked at the remaining money and was so worried that he didn't sleep well for several nights. A meal was for dozens of coins. With that kind of cost, let alone repairing bridges and paving roads, there would be problems with food in the future.

It was at that time that an officer came to report that Gu Yin came to see him, and said, "Not only Miss Gu, but also the respected old doctor in our town, both of them have serious expressions on their faces."

The county magistrate immediately paid attention and asked the officer to bring them in.

Gu Yin brought the poppy husk found in the Mala Tang residues, and also invited the old doctor who visited the family on a daily basis.

The old doctor had seen it in advance and confirmed that it was the poppy husk, opium.

The two came together to sue Wang Dafu for putting opium in the food.

The county magistrate was born from a serious imperial examination, and he was also a scholar when he was young. He thought for a while and said, "I vaguely remember that this substance can be used as medicine. Various medical books say that it is non-toxic, has the effect of astringing the intestines and the lungs, and can be used to relieve cough."

After speaking, the county magistrate frowned and tried to recall, "As for putting it in food, it was said in "Compendium of Materia Medica" that it can be used in a porridge, and it can be used with mung bean flour, which is especially good. "Canon of medicine", "Materia Medica Yanyi", "Compendium of Materia Medica", etc., all classify them as grains, as in "Grand View Materia Medica" it is very delicious to cook with bamboo leek as porridge and eat it'. So adding this in food doesn't seem to be a crime either."

When it came to medical books, the old doctor naturally knew more than the county magistrate. He cupped his hands and said, "Although this substance has medicinal properties, if it is used improperly, it would cause endless troubles. Mr. Danxi said that although its healing power is fast, it is like a sword, and one should be deeply abstained from it!."

The two discussed medical books based on the classics. Although the county magistrate still thought that medical books would not deceive people, he thought that the appearance of his own wife was very abnormal, and he didn't know for a while whether he should believe what Gu Yin and the old doctor said.

Gu Yin heard the two discussing. Seeing that they stopped talking, she said, "Can the eldest master listen to me?"

The county magistrate nodded and asked her to speak, and Gu Yin said, "This thing naturally won't let people get poisoned on the spot, its poison is as stated in the medical book, the toxicity is small and very slight. What I want to say is that this thing is addictive. Just imagine eating the same food, if it makes people addicted to it, if you can't eat it, you would be restless, you would not think about working, isn't it another kind of 'poison'?"

The county magistrate said sternly, "If food is addictive and you can't control yourself, it is naturally a 'drug'."

"I got a plan. I don't understand medical books, so I will only tell the facts. The Mala Tang of Full Moon Hall is addictive. Of course, there is no evidence to say that, so we can do a withdrawal experiment."

"How to do what you call 'experiment'?"

Although many people in Hanshan Town had become addicted to the Mala Tang of Full Moon Hall, if they went to those people who ate there, they would definitely leak the news and startle the snakes. As long as Wang Dafu destroyed the opium and did not add it later, it would become a dead end.

And with the insight of the county magistrate, he felt that eating opium was not a problem. Because of that, if they invited diners to come over, they couldn't be sure if they had eaten it. Not to mention that even Wang Dafu himself did not know which guests were the most addicted and could be the test subjects.

So Gu Yin continued, "Sir, you can choose the prisoners in the prison, let them eat the Mala Tang of Full Moon Hall for a few days, and then cut it off. You can naturally know by looking at their reactions that what I said is true or false."

The county magistrate frowned, not because he thought that method was infeasible.

It was just that the Mala Tang was several tens of coins, and his wife ate it alot, which was about to empty out his meager savings. He really didn't have the capital.

Gu Yin looked at him in a dilemma, and guessed that. She could afford the money, but there was actually a better candidate for funding.

So she said, "Why don't you invite Master Bai from Hanxiang Hall over here?"

As for who wanted to hit Full Moon Hall the most, it must be Hanxiang Hall, which got deserted. That amount of money was naturally nothing to Hanxiang Hall. They wouldn't miss the opportunity.

The county magistrate agreed, and before he asked the officer to look for him, he asked Gu Yin again, "Little lady, have you thought about it? If you start an experiment and the result is not as you said, you would be making a false accusation."

Gu Yin nodded and said, "If it proves to be a false accusation, I will take the punishment.

In Hanxiang Hall, Mr. Bai was looking at the account books. He was so devastated when he heard that someone came from the yamen. His heart skipped a beat, and he inevitably said in his heart that misfortunes did not come singly.

However, he heard that they just called the person who was in charge of Hanxiang Hall to ask questions, and was not involved in any case, so Mr. Bai breathed a sigh of relief.

But his restaurant was in a troubled time. He was discussing with the manager and the steward how to turn losses into profits.

Although the person from the second household was not the main operator of Hanxiang Hall, the restaurant's income was divided in half to the second household.

Zhu Kuai took Bai Zixi back to the yamen.

Before Bai Zixi met the county magistrate, he naturally had to report to his family first.

"Bai Zixi has seen the master, but I don't know why you called me here."

The county magistrate ordered Gu Yin to talk to him about the ins and outs of the matter.

The two of them knew each other, but they didn't expect to meet again in the county government.

Although Gu Yin was surprised by his identity, she didn't show anything on her face, and explained to him the reason for inviting him there in a succinct manner.

Bai Zixi's face was flushed. At first, he went to 'Food of Heaven' to spy on the enemy's situation. Later, he was taught a lesson by her and then he realized that his approach was stupid. He didn't have the face to go back.

He thought that it would be okay and even if he accidentally went to eat and drink a bowl of Laba congee that day, Bai Zixi still thought that as long as Gu Yin didn't know his identity, he would not be embarrassed.

So, when he saw her there, it made him so embarrassed that he wanted to dig a hole in place and bury himself.

But after hearing Gu Yin's words, Bai Zixi didn't care about being embarrassed, and said angrily, "I have bought the Mala Tang from Full Moon Hall no less than ten times, and I have tasted it repeatedly, I really didn't understand how this thing is delicious. I didn't expect it to be addictive!"

Although the experiment had not been done yet, it was clear that Bai Zixi believed Gu Yin's statement.

Without hesitation, he donated his fifty-two silver notes, willing to support that experiment.

Gu Yin didn't have to worry about the next thing.

The county magistrate acted resolutely, and immediately selected some prisoners who had committed serious crimes.

Of course, the experiment was not in vain, and those who participated could also receive an additional two taels of silver to subsidize their household. The prisoners had families outside, and the experiment would not cost their lives, of course they were willing.

Then it was to let those people eat the Mala Tang of Full Moon Hall three times a day.

Those with poorer physiques, after eating it once, immediately appeared strange, and before the next meal, they were already thinking about it.

Those with a better physique became addicted a bit late after a few meals.

Ten days later, the county magistrate removed everyone's Mala Tang and replaced it with other delicious meals.

Those dozen people were the same, and they couldn't take another bite of other meals. The prisoner with a weaker physique was not only restless, unable to think about eating and drinking, but also a maniac with tears flowing through his eyes.

…

The business of Full Moon Hall was really booming, and there were hundreds of taels more in a month.

After Wang Dafu finished the account in the previous few days, he was so happy that he couldn't even stop smiling.

But he also knew that it was not a long-term solution, and he was already planning to wait until the end of the New Year to put away the seasonings and sell them in winter every year.

The guy said that the soup base in the back kitchen was not enough.

Wang Dafu was in charge of the soup base alone. He nodded to show that he understood, rolled up his sleeves and went to the back kitchen.

After dismissing all the cooks, Wang Dafu took out a small bag from the bottom of the stove and shook it all into the pot.

A pot of soup had to be boiled for an hour, Wang Dafu dared not leave, until he confirmed that the taste of the soup was enough, then he picked up the strainer and prepared to take out the contents, and then put the peppers and other heavyweights flavored seasoning.

At that time, suddenly, a voice came from behind him, "What are you adding?"

Wang Dafu was furious and said, "Didn't I say that no one is allowed to come in while I'm making the soup base?"

After he finished speaking, he turned around and saw Li Caotou, who was holding the saber and looking at him.

He was startled, his hands trembled, and the colander fell directly into the pot.

At the same time, the shackles were also put on Wang Dafu's hands.

A team of arresters filed out from Full Moon Hall. It was such a big scene, and it was Wang Dafu who was handcuffed.

The people in the town had little entertainment, but they haven't forgotten what happened before.

Before Wang Dafu arrived at the county office, word of mouth spread so much that the people who came to watch blocked the office again.

The county magistrate went to court for interrogation. The witness was Li Caotou, and the physical evidence was the soup base brought back from the scene. They got evidence and Wang Dafu could not deny it at all.

Wang Dafu was not ready to deny it at all. He also began to recite medical books, citing scriptures and scriptures, saying that this opium could be used as medicine, so why couldn't it be eaten?

The county magistrate laughed at his rhetoric, "Is it with a good intention that you added this opium into the food at the price of selling food?"

Wang Dafu hurriedly said, "I don't dare," and added, "It's just that this thing is extremely delicious as a seasoning, and the medical book also says that it can be eaten in porridge."

This opium was bought from the state capital at a great price. He knew before he bought it. The dynasty did not prohibit it from being used as medicine or food, so he dared to add it to his restaurant's food on a large scale. As for the seller who told him that eating too much of it would make it addictive, in Wang Dafu's view, that was not a big problem – drinking would lead to alcohol addiction. Why didn't the imperial court list alcohol as a prohibited product? Anyway, as long as it was not sold to people all year round, there would definitely be no problem.

If they didn't experiment, that lawsuit wouldn't really be easy to judge.

The county magistrate didn't talk to him too much. He had the prisoners brought up in court.

They hadn't eaten the Mala Tang from Full Moon Hall for two or three days. All the food felt tasteless, so they lost a lot of weight.

After being brought to the court, several people smelled the familiar smell, and when they looked at the spicy soup base, their eyes glowed like hungry wolves.

The prisoner with the most severe symptoms even broke free from the officer in court and rushed to it to bury his head and drink.

After drinking several sips in a row, the man slumped to the ground with a soothing expression on his face.

The county magistrate then announced the process of the experiment to the people, and the people were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

"D-mn Full Moon Hall, actually doing such a damning thing again!"

"That's right! I persuaded our boss, saying that the people in Full Moon Hall are black-hearted, and it was better not to eat the food they made. But my boss insisted that the previous thing was not done by the owner, and now those people are still locked. Thinking that Full Moon Hall has been operating for many years and can still be trusted, he has been eating Mala Tang for several days. If he eats it again, he would turn like this prisoner…"

"If you really become like that, wouldn't you be a ghost if you didn't eat a meal?"

The people were angry, and the county magistrate took a shot of the hammer and shouted, "Silence", and then he asked for witnesses to testify in court.

They all knew that eating too much opium would make people turn into madness like the prisoner in the hall, and no one cared about losing face, they only wanted to let the county magistrate judge.

As Gu Yin had expected before, there were still the majority of people with mild symptoms. They were just like Song Shiliu. They didn't want to eat anything, they just wanted to eat the Mala Tang from Full Moon Hall. But there were some with severe symptoms. There was a wealthy family's young master with a poor physique.

That little young master started to eat Mala Tang when the winter started. After eating it, he would sometimes become manic and sometimes depressed. Many doctors were called, but they had not been able to diagnose it, nor did they suspect that it was due to Full Moon Hall. So many people ate it, and they had never heard of anyone going crazy after eating that food.

It was not until the prisoner of the experiment had the same symptoms that the family knew that it was due to Full Moon Hall. They carried the young master to the hall to testify against Wang Dafu together.

The situation was more serious than the previous sale of kitchen waste, especially when the magistrate interrogated where Wang Dafu bought the opium from Fucheng, and he did not dare to take it lightly.

Within two days, people came from the palace city. Needless to say, it was to take credit.

The county magistrate and Officer Caotou put Wang Dafu on the prison carriage again, preparing to send him to trial.

As soon as he heard that he was going to Fucheng again, Wang Dafu was stunned that day. He didn't have his eloquent manner like he had in the court that day. He knew that even if he didn't die this time, he would have to lose his skin. He got as honest as a quail, and started to recite the confession spontaneously and consciously.

Before they set off, Gu Yin became a tiger mother once again and chained Gu Ye to the restaurant, for fear that he would go to Fucheng again without her knowledge.

Gu Ye was helpless and assured, "I've been to Fucheng, it's not fun, I really won't go."

Gu Yin didn't care what he said, anyway, she wanted to tie him to her waistband for two days.

Gu Ye didn't go, but the other people who were deeply affected by opium went to Fucheng to listen to the trial.

In just two days, the news came back to Hanshan Town – the prefect's trial style was as rude as always. He put Wang Dafu in the prison in Fucheng, confiscated all his property. He also reported the matter to the imperial court, saying that eating opium would be addictive and harmful to people's health. As for Wang Dafu's follow-up, they had to wait for the orders from above.

Although that case did not seem to be large, it actually pushed the issue that opium couldn't be eaten to the public.

Of course, the credit was also taken by the prefect, and not the county magistrate. He just thought that if the whole country could know that eating opium was extremely harmful, it would be a great thing that would benefit future generations.

The county magistrate was not greedy for credit, but that time he specifically asked for credit for Gu Yin.

The prefect had been immersed in the officialdom for many years. Although he was happy to grab the credit, he also knew that he couldn't just eat meat and not give others soup. The county magistrate gave him the credit twice, and he also accepted his favor and agreed.

Hearing the news ahead, Mrs. Wang was screaming at home that Wang Dafu's property had been confiscated, and he still hadn't given her 150 taels of silver.

They were hundred and fifty two taels! Even though they had a restaurant, Mrs. Wang was so distressed that she had not slept for several nights.

However, that situation did not last for a few days, because on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, the county magistrate and Officer Caotou returned to the town.

They brought back a plaque, which was written by the prefect himself, "Chivalrous and Righteous", to commend Gu Yin who once again made suggestions and complained about others' injustice.

In the past, Gu Yin offered advice because her family was involved in the case. Her help this time was purely because of injustice, and she really hated Wang Dafu's harmful behavior.

The plaque alone did not count, and the prefect also gave Gu Yin the old house of the Wang family.

The old house was previously jointly owned by the Wang Family eldest brother's household and the second brother's household. Later, something happened to Wang Dagui and Mrs. Zou, and the second brother's household's property was also looted by the officials of Fucheng. The people in the second household had no face to stay in Hanshan Town anymore, so they simply sold their half of the property to Wang Dafu. They exchanged some money and went to another place to make a living.

Therefore, the old house was already Wang Dafu's property. The county magistrate helped Gu Yin to ask for credit, and the prefect wrote a plaque himself, but he was not willing to give other valuables. The Wang family's old house was big, but it was too old and couldn't be sold. It was useless for him to put it into the public account, so he just gave it to Gu Yin.

That was really great news for Mrs. Wang. It was her parents' ancestral home. After going around and returning to her, she was happier than picking up silver coins in vain.

The magistrate asked Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang to go to the yamen for a contract. Gu Yin was busy with the business in the store – the Full Moon Hall was gone. The diners knew that she was the one who reported this time, and they were grateful to her. Her business had never been better than before, so she let Mrs. Wang go.

It didn't take long for Mrs. Wang to come back and hand over the title deed to Gu Yin.

Gu Yin didn't take a closer look at that time. When she got home at night, she bathed and then she remembered that the deed was still with her.

When she opened it that time, she found that something was wrong—the owner of the old house on that deed was not Mrs. Wang, but herself.

She immediately went to look for Mrs. Wang next door. Mrs. Wang was doing housework with Song Shiliu. As the new year was approaching, she had to clean the house carefully.

Seeing her, before she could speak, Mrs. Wang said, "Although this house is my parents' property, it was confiscated by the official, and the official master gave it to you, naturally it is yours. Besides, what's the difference between me and you? Could it be that if the owner of the house was changed to you, would you not let me live there in the future?"

"Of course not." Gu Yin took Mrs Wang's hand and shook it gently, "I just think this house is more meaningful to you than me."

"It does make sense, after all, it's where I grew up. But I still say that, what's the difference between yours or mine?"

As she said that, she suddenly laughed again, "Besides, I have already seen it today, the house had been separated into two, and the partition has not been demolished. If you start a family in the future, we will live on these sides. I promised to buy you a store, and now that there is no store yet, let's have a big mansion first. With it, who would dare to underestimate you?!"

Gu Yin: …

Well, now she knew what to do, first she needed to break the partition.

The next day, Gu Yin took Manager Zhou to the old house.

The official messenger from Fucheng had already come again, and all the valuable things in the house had been taken, except for the basic tables, chairs and benches.

After Gu Yin and Manager Zhou checked it out, she asked him to contact someone to help repair it.

In the afternoon of the same day, the county magistrate invited Gu Yin to the county government again, and said that he wanted to reward her.

Gu Yin declined and said, "I have already acquired a huge house. I really don't dare to ask for more."

The county magistrate clenched his fists and coughed, "Those were all given to you by the city prefect, and I have yet to award you."

What leaked out of the prefect's fingers was a large mansion with a market price of several hundred taels. The county magistrate was poor. In terms of wealth, he was not as good as the current Gu Yin, so naturally he couldn't compare with the prefect.

He thought for a while and said, "If not, how about the competition between you and Hanxiang Hall in the next year's official restaurant?"

After saying that, the county magistrate was a little embarrassed, there really was no other reward that could be taken on the table.

Gu Yin was puzzled. Officer Caotou explained to her that the so-called official restaurant was equivalent to a restaurant designated by the official family in cooperation with the imperial court. If other people from the imperial court came over, the county magistrate would go to that restaurant to entertain them.

There were not many people of high status coming to Hanshan Town, so in fact, there was no need for such hospitality. But there was another great benefit. Restaurants that cooperated with the imperial court and entertained officials had to pay less tax.

Of course everyone wanted that kind of good thing, but there were also restrictions. The restaurant must have been in business for many years, have an excellent reputation, and have quality assurance. In previous years, the official restaurants in Hanshan Town had always been selected between Hanxiang Hall and Full Moon Hall.

Full Moon Hall was gone, and the county magistrate gave 'Food of Heaven' and Hanxiang Hall a chance to compete for the spot.

Gu Yin's eyes lit up. When she first opened the store, the taxation of the imperial court was still within her acceptable range. In the past six months, she heard that the war was tight outside. According to the new regulations of the imperial court, she had to pay 10 taels of tax.

When she thought of that in private with Manager Zhou, she sighed. And someone handed her a pillow when she was drowsy (m. help arrived when in need of it), which was more pleasing than giving dozens of taels of silver directly.

On the day of the cooking competition, the county magistrate would invite all the rich and squires of the county to do the tasting.

After returning to her store, Gu Yin immediately announced the good news. Although the county magistrate only gave her a chance, with her as white cuisine chef and Manager Zhou in the red cuisine, it was almost impossible to lose.

The rest to worry about was what they were going to cook.

Manager Zhou had his own specialty, and he also helped Full Moon Hall compete for the spot, but Gu Yin couldn't think about what to do. Of course, she was best at cooking porridge and soup, but if she really wanted to talk about a certain skill, she really couldn't think of it for a while.

At the end of her dinner business that day, Gu Yin was cleaning up the tables and chairs with her buddies, when she suddenly saw a familiar figure through the window.

Bai Zixi hesitated for fifteen minutes at the entrance of Food as Heaven. In the end, he put a paper bag on the window sill, and left as if he was afraid that he would regret it.

Gu Yin was very surprised, took a look at the paper bag, and saw the words "Special Seasoning for VIPs in Hanxiang Hall" written on it.

She had heard that Hanxiang Hall was also tinkering with some overseas seasonings, and that there was an opium placement in Full Moon Hall before, so she and Manager Zhou naturally paid attention to it.

"I'm afraid that this young master of the Bai family also suspects that his own seasoning is not right, and he won't be honored when he wins, so he just sent a sample of this seasoning to inform us. But even if he didn't come, I was going to get a sample from him."

Gu Yin nodded solemnly when she heard Manager Zhou's words.

The two opened the paper package as if facing a major enemy, and they saw crystal particles as white as snow inside.

Gu Yin tasted a little bit—D-mn it, MSG!

MSG was a very common household condiment in modern times. According to legend, in modern times, a Japanese professor discovered that the kelp soup made by his wife was extraordinarily delicious, and then extracted it from kelp.

Of course, there were also rumors that the thing had long been discovered overseas, but it was only regarded as a treasure at the bottom of the box by the cooking family, and it was only passed down from generation to generation. It was not shown to the outside world.

It was conceivable that it took a lot of effort for Master Bai to buy it.

"This seasoning is so delicious!" Manager Zhou exclaimed, and then seeing Gu Yin's face, he asked carefully, "But is this thing also harmful?"

"Eating too much of this thing is indeed bad for people, but it's not accurate to talk about toxicity without the dose, so this thing is harmless to people when used properly," Gu Yin shook her head amusingly as she spoke. She was also frightened by Wang Dafu using opium, and she thought that the Bai family would behave like that as well.

But this was really tricky. The reason why monosodium glutamate could approach the whole world in later generations was that its deliciousness was beyond doubt.

During the cooking competition, the Bai family would definitely use it to improve the freshness.

Gu Yin thought about it and said, "It's okay, let's make a fresh seasoning too."

She took shiitake mushrooms, rubbed them in clean water a few times to remove the floating dust, and then cut them into strips. In addition, she prepared shrimps three times the amount of shiitake mushrooms, and washed them.

Then she fried the shiitake mushrooms over a low heat until the mushrooms could be gently crushed, and then cooked.

In the same way, she fried the dried shrimps on low heat, added the shredded seaweed, and then stir-fried until the dried shrimps could be crushed by hand.

Afterward, she mixed the dried shrimps and shiitake mushrooms together, crushed them completely, sifted them once and then crushed them until they became powdery.

As soon as the homemade monosodium glutamate was made, the fragrant taste rushed to their noses.

"Master made this, it's so fresh!" Chef Xu, who was in charge of grinding this step with a stone mortar, had already reached out and tasted the remaining powder in the stone mortar, "Why did Master hide it? If you had made this earlier, the two restaurants would have no place to fight."

Gu Yin looked at him helplessly.

Did she deliberately never do it?

This was because mushrooms were expensive in that era. Not to mention seaweed, it was a precious seafood, and it could also be used as medicine. When she was selling wontons in the early days, Gu Yin thought about putting seaweed in it, but after inquiring about the price, she never dared to think about it again.

A small jar of homemade MSG cost her twenty taels of silver.

If it wasn't for the fact that Hanxiang Hall bought MSG from overseas and they were fighting for a tax reduction quota, she would really be reluctant to make it.

When she finished making the seasoning, Manager Zhou also started making his own specialty dish.

Every cook would have a few dishes as secret recipes, and Manager Zhou was no exception. Chef Xu and his two young apprentices were Manager Zhou's disciples, so they could naturally stay. Gu Yin took off the apron very interestingly and prepared to leave, but Manager Zhou said, "Boss, you don't need to leave. I have not cooked this dish for a long time, so I need you to point out if anything is wrong."

That was naturally a polite remark, and Gu Yin also stood aside obediently.

Manager Zhou made stuffed bean sprouts, which according to him was a palace dish.

The steps were very simple. He just scalded the bean sprouts, immersed them in cold water, drained and hollowed them. After that, he stuffed the shredded ham into the hollow bean sprouts, then poured them in the hot oil and fried them in the pan.

The production process of those few steps was difficult in actual operation.

After just a few steps, Gu Yin and Chef Xu were dumbfounded. What was cooking? They were simply engaging in artistic creation.

Manager Zhou said with some embarrassment, "Actually, I haven't cooked this dish for many years. This time, in order to support the boss, naturally I can't hide it."

The business in the store was booming, but seeing that half of the net profit every month had to be paid for tax, no one would be willing to hide it.

After speaking, Manager Zhou took out a set of treasures, including a long needle five or six inches long, thinner than the silver needle used by the doctor.

He held the boiled bean sprouts in one hand and a long needle in the other, and quickly hollowed out one.

If it was raw bean sprouts, Gu Yin felt that she could do it too, but the bean sprouts after being scalded could be broken with a little pinch, so it was absolutely impossible for her.

But Manager Zhou looked solemn and said to them, "This step must be fast, because the bean sprouts would become soft after some time, and they would lose their crispness. And this dish focuses on the freshness of the shredded ham and the crispness of the bean sprouts. "

After that, he moved faster, and in a quarter of an hour, he took out a small plate of bean sprouts. Then he uses the long needle to fill in the shredded ham.

Until it was out of the pan, the whole process did not exceed three quarters of an hour.

Gu Yin and Manager Zhou witnessed the whole process. They looked at the stuffed bean sprouts as if they were looking at handicrafts, they weren't willing to be the first to use the chopsticks.

In the end, Manager Zhou tasted it himself. After tasting it, he sighed, "I'm getting old, my eyesight is poor, my hands are unstable, and I'm slow."

Gu Yin just followed and tasted it. The first thing in the mouth was the bean sprouts, which were crunchy and fragrant, but there was no beany smell. After that, the shredded ham was fragrant. The whole dish had distinct layers, but it was fresh and crispy.

And because the method was extraordinarily rare and delicate, she couldn't help but feel a bit of awe when tasting it, and the very delicious food became an art.

"Don't worry, boss, I will practice a few more times, and on the day of the competition, I will not fail Food of Heaven."

Gu Yin was ashamed of the craftsman's attitude of pursuing excellence.

(This dish is cumbersome and not made, or the chef would need a magnifying glass, hehe. It's like the favorite food of the Empress Dowager Cixi.)

After Manager Zhou decided what to do, it was Gu Yin's turn to determine her competition menu.

Gu Yin actually didn't have a special dish in her mind.

Afterward, Chef Xu comforted her and said, "Master, why do you think so much? You are not competing with Manager Zhou, he belongs to our restaurant. You are competing with Hanxiang Hall. The two chefs are indeed famous. But they're not that great. Otherwise, when we first opened, how could you grab several of his regular customers at once?"

Not to mention, Chef Xu also asked his two young apprentices to buy some snacks from Hanxiang Hall for her to eat.

Gu Yin also tasted many famous chef's dishes in modern times. After eating Hanxiang Hall's dim sum, she had a comparison in her heart, knowing that the other party's cooking skills did not reach an invincible height, and her heart settled down.

On the day of the event, Gu Yin and Manager Zhou went to the arena early in the morning to report to Hanxiang Hall.

Gu Yin also finally met the famous white cuisine chef in Hanxiang Hall – a fat middle-aged man who was smiling and looked very friendly.

"Oh, it's been a long time since we met, Manager Zhou," he smiled when he saw Manager Zhou. Although his accent was a bit strange, they could still understand it.

Manager Zhou also cupped his hands and said, "How are you, Chef Yuan?"

"I'm fine." Master Yuan smiled and waved his hand, turning his head to see Gu Yin, who was very small compared to them, he smiled even more kindly, "This is the owner of Food of Heaven? You are so young."

As he said that, he stuffed a handful of melon seeds into Gu Yin's hand, "Little lady, eat some melon seeds."

Gu Yin thanked them with a smile, and then Master Yuan gave them half of the kitchen.

Manager Zhou's stuffed bean sprouts were ready to eat soon, so he just waited on the side.

What Gu Yin wanted to make that day was seafood casserole porridge.

She first boiled water in a casserole, washed the rice while the water boiled, and then put the rice in and stirred when the water boiled. After that, she washed the abalone in hot water, took out the internal organs, removed the shell, and cut the meat slices with the same thickness with a vertical knife. Afterward, she started processing the shrimps— she held a bamboo skewer in hand, picked out the shrimp shell neatly, removed the shrimp whiskers, and cut the shrimp into two with the kitchen knife.

Then, Gu Yin held the knife on the crab's legs with one hand, held the crab shell with the other hand, and then with some cuts, removed the ends of the the crab legs, pulled the top of crab shell, then took out the internal organs in the middle of the crab shell, and removed the crab meat. She cut the meat vertically in the middle, divided it into two, and put the crab meat aside.

After cutting the shrimps and crabs, she rinsed them, put them together with the abalone and scallops, and added in the winter vegetables that she had marinated in advance- she made it by cutting the core of the cabbage into slices, drying it until it was half dry, and then added salt and garlic. That thing was made when 'Food of Heaven' pickled pickles before, and it was perfect for making seafood porridge.

Then she added oil, shredded ginger, and salt, stirred and marinated them in the porridge for a quarter of an hour.

After waiting until the rice porridge was boiled, she took out 70% of the rice, then crushed the soaked scallops, and put them into the casserole with the marinated abalone, shrimp and crab. After boiling, she sprinkled it with some pepper, stirred them well and immediately turned off the flame.

During the interval between Gu Yin's porridge, someone had already come to inform the county magistrate that a group of rich squires had arrived, so Manager Zhou also started making a small plate of stuffed bean sprouts.

Both of them were quick, but Master Yuan of Hanxiang Hall had been guarding the stove and eating melon seeds on the ground.

Seeing that they were well, Master Yuan also stood up and lifted the lid on the urn.

In an instant, the fragrant smell that made people swallow their saliva wafted throughout the kitchen.

Mr. Bai, who was guarding outside, also came in. Like adding some treasure, he carefully added several packets of special seasonings from his restaurants in. Master Yuan urged him to put in less, but didn't stop him.

Gu Yin couldn't help but mutter to Manager Zhou with a bitter face, "Is this the Buddha jumps over the wall (shark fin soup)? No wonder you asked me not to be stingy with the cost when preparing the dishes."

If they had used the cheap food of 'Food of Heaven' to fight against 'the Buddha jumps over the wall', then they would have lost more than half of the fight before it started.

But even though Gu Yin had already prepared seafood porridge, she still had no idea what to do with more than a dozen kinds of meat and seafood.

But it was useless to think about it at that time. When Gu Yin and Manager Zhou brought the seafood casserole porridge and stuffed bean sprouts, Master Yuan lifted his own urn and went out together.

A group of judges headed by the county magistrate were already waiting in the wing of Hanxiang Hall.

There were seven judges in total, including Gu Yin's acquaintances.

While chatting with the county magistrate, Mr. Wen gestured to Gu Yin, who had just entered the door.

Then came the tasting session. Everyone first tasted the seafood casserole porridge and the stuffed bean sprouts.

The seafood porridge was still steaming. Before it came out of the pot, there was a little Gu Yin's homemade MSG. There were three small plates next to it, with chopped green onion, coriander and celery, so that diners could add them according to their own tastes.

Several people filled a small bowl in turn. The porridge was delicious and smooth in the mouth. Even if it was no longer accompanied by vegetables, it was sweet and smooth, very delicious.

The stuffed bean sprout that Manager Zhou had worked hard for several days was only a small plate, which was obviously not enough for a few people, but because of the seafood porridge, the fermented bean sprout was a side dish that went with the porridge.

Tasting a mouthful of fragrant and crunchy stuffed bean sprout, and a mouthful of delicious seafood porridge without fishy smell, no one dared to underestimate Food of Heaven, which had been in business for less than a year.

Old Master Wen was the first to say, "I like the porridge with this dish." Several others also nodded.

Then there came Master Yuan's dish, which was really fragrant when the lid was lifted.

In addition, there was sea cucumber, fresh chicken, and duck, together with thick soup. The color and fragrance were all excellent, and it made people's mouths water.

Even for people like Old Master Wen and the county magistrate present at the scene, such precious dishes were rare delicacies.

Everyone ate it separately, and Gu Yin smelled the ingested fragrance, and her heart raised to her throat.

But she didn't get nervous for a long time, because after tasting it, Mr. Wen frowned and said, "Why does it feel so greasy and fishy when I eat it?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at the others, and the others nodded and said, "It's a bit fishy."

The results came out soon, and 'Food of Heaven' won, winning the tax-free quota for the coming year.

Grandpa Bai was also waiting to hear the result. He couldn't believe it when he heard the words and said, "How is it possible? This is Buddha Jumps Over the Wall! How can it not win against the seafood porridge and fried bean sprout? Is it because the old man has a friendship with 'Food of Heaven'?"

Old Master Wen first pointed to the stuffed bean sprout Manager Zhou made and said, "Do you call this fried bean sprout?" Then he pointed to the Buddha Jumps Over the Wall Master Yuan made and continued,, "If you didn't believe me, try it yourself."

After the results came out, the old man didn't bother to talk to him, and left after letting everyone know.

The county magistrate had other business affairs—he wanted to raise money for bridge repairs and paving with the rich squires. That competition was just a way to invite people there, so he took everyone to the county office.

Master Bai still reluctantly tasted all the food on the table again, and after tasting it, he sat down slumped.

It didn't matter if he was depressed. How would he know that Manager Zhou still had such a unique skill? Otherwise, even when he was fighting for the family business, he wouldn't push that person away!

Master Yuan, who was still there, sent Gu Yin and Manager Zhou out.

"Little lady has the ability, congratulations!" Master Yuan congratulated her with a smile.

Gu Yin hurriedly said that she didn't dare, and only said, "I was lucky."

"It's not just luck." Master Yuan said in a low voice, a little aggrieved, "My Buddha Jumps Over the Wall is terrible. I'm not good at doing this, but the owner insisted I do it, and added a lot of that kind of VIP seasoning. I told him it was too fresh, and may worsen the fishy smell of the ingredients, but he didn't listen."

Gu Yin couldn't help smiling, and she didn't know whether to praise Master Yuan for his good mentality, or to say that he was defeated by MSG.

"Master Yuan, listen to me, that seasoning if used too much, makes the mouth dry. So just add a little fresh ingredient before eating."

Master Yuan smiled and nodded, "Thank you for the reminder. But don't worry, that much seasoning is worth ten taels of silver, and the owner will not be willing to put more of it."

"Ten taels?" Gu Yin was shocked. Before that, she was still in pain because of a jar of homemade flavor she made for two taels, but she didn't expect that the MSG that Mr. Bai bought from overseas was so expensive.

Thinking of Mr. Bai's dejected appearance after losing, Gu Yin didn't have the courage to mention the matter of homemade MSG, which was like rubbing salt on people's wounds.

But what she couldn't bear to do, someone did it for her.

When she and Manager Zhou returned to Food of Heaven, they saw Bai Zixi who was waiting to hear the news.

Seeing Gu Yin and Manager Zhou smiling, Bai Zixi let out a long breath.

Chef Xu, who was working in the front hall instead of Gu Yin, laughed and said, "Which restaurant does Mr. Bai belong to?"

Bai Zixi blushed and muttered, "I don't want my uncle to win because he relied on overseas seasonings. If he won, it wouldn't be by his own hard work. But since the little lady has won, then I don't have to worry."

He specially presented Hanxiang Hall's VIP condiments in front of him. Even if he didn't send them, Manager Zhou would have purchased them. Nevertheless, in the end, he accepted Bai Zixi's favor

Gu Yin went to participate in the competition that day, and there was no food in the store, so she asked Chef Xu to go to the back kitchen to get some of that thing she made to give it as a gift, then she went to tell Mrs. Wang the good news that they could pay less taxes in the coming year.

Chef Xu went to the back kitchen, thinking that Gu Yin meant the homemade MSG.

Moreover, Bai Zixi also brought seasoning from his restaurant for them, and it was also suitable to give that as a thank you gift.

He wrapped some in a paper bag, and specifically said to Bai Zixi, "Young Master Bai, be careful. This thing is expensive. There are several taels in a jar, and it costs more than ten coins."

Bai Zixi took the paper bag back to his family's restaurant. Mr. Bai was banging his abacus with great anger, calculating how much less income he would have after the tax cut in the coming year.

Master Yuan's chubby body shrunk beside the counter.

Although Master Yuan was not young, he had devoted his whole life to studying food. He was not as pumped as a middle-aged man, and his temperament was similar to that of a young man. When Bai Zixi was over ten years old, the two became friends.

Seeing Bai Zixi coming over, he raised his eyebrows and smiled at him, then immediately lowered his face, looking like he was also reflecting.

Bai Zixi suppressed his smile and helped Master Yuan beg for mercy.

Mr. Bai said impatiently, "Don't talk about others, how many times did you go to Food of Heaven? Did you become a regular customer in their restaurant? What's the matter, you let the eldest brother's household take care of Hanxiang Hall, are you not the young master in the Hall?"

The atmosphere in the Bai family was still peaceful, but because the old man's health suddenly deteriorated, the two people in the two households were fighting for the right to housekeeping, and the swords were drawn. After the dust settled, the eldest brother's household managed Hanxiang Hall, and the second household was responsible for accounting and sharing the money, and the relationship eased up again.

Bai Zixi had a pure and good character. Even when he was fighting for power, Uncle Bai did not deal with the child.

So Bai Zixi didn't dare to be stubborn after being reprimanded by his uncle, and explained in a low voice, "I deposited ten taels there before and obtained a VIP seat. I've deposited the money, so I must use it."

He was embarrassed to let 'Food of Heaven' know his identity before, but since his identity was revealed, Gu Yin didn't change her attitude toward him, and still respected him like an ordinary guest.

Bai Zixi was no longer embarrassed. He had long wanted to try Food of Heaven's new winter food. Recently, he had been obsessed with pickled fish.

If his biological father was there, he would definitely be stunned. Although Master Bai was angry, he merely glared at him and asked both him and Master Yuan to stand by the counter and reflect.

Standing still was not a problem for Bai Zai, but he still tried to ease his uncle's anger, "Don't be angry, uncle. The black-hearted Full Moon Hall has collapsed. We used to fight with them, but now we are the only restaurant. As for Food of Heaven, although it is good, they are focusing on ordinary customers…"

Hearing that, Mr. Bai felt relieved, and then he heard him continue, "Also, the people of 'Food of Heaven' do things upright. They also made a new seasoning. I heard that it was not for sale, but they gave some of it to me."

As he said that, he took out the paper bag and opened it. Mr. Bai also put the abacus aside, thinking in his heart that it was this seasoning that made him loose.

Master Yuan was a connoisseur, so they naturally let him taste it first. But after tasting it, he didn't say anything.

And then Master Bai and Bai Zixi tasted it after him.

Master Bai hummed, "It's not that bad, but it's not as good as our seasoning!"

Bai Zixi echoed, "Indeed, it's no wonder that it is worth a dozen coins."

Uncle Bai: "…"

That was only half of his delicious seasonings, the price was only one thousandth of what he bought.

Mr. Bai couldn't stand it and fainted.

Bai Zixi and Master Yuan were frightened and quickly carried him to the doctor.

Fortunately, Mr. Bai was usually strong. But that day, he was so angry that he couldn't breathe. He had to rest for ten days.

He fell, and the two sons of the Bai family's eldest brother's household were on the top, but in the end they couldn't stand it as they were young, and it was when the business in the hall was at its best, so Mr. Bai had to go back and temporarily manage the kitchen.

Because Second Master Bai lost the management rights of Hanxiang Hall, he was bored at home those days, and even asked Bai Zixi to check the accounts.

When he went out, the more he saw his son, the more he liked him. If Bai Zixi was a few years younger, he would like to hug him and kiss him a few times.

In the end, Hanxiang Hall returned to the way it was when Mr. Bai was still alive.

On the food side, the New Year was approaching, and Full Moon Hall didn't exist anymore. In addition, Gu Yin and Manager Zhou had won the title of the official restaurant, and the business had improved to a higher level. The delivery team headed by Gu Ye had been re-established to help deliver the durable snacks.

They had been busy until New Year's Eve, when every family was reunited at home.

Gu Yin and Manager Zhou spent an afternoon to settle the accounts, and the entire store made a total of three hundreds taels of net profit that year.

It was a pity that there was no tax levy that year. The taxation of the imperial court was terrifyingly high. They had to give the imperial court one hundred and fifty taels.

Gu Yin also gave each official employee a tael of silver to celebrate the New Year, including Gu Ye and Wu'an who had been helping all the time. Half of the remaining one hundred and thirty-seven taels was reserved as working capital for the coming year. The last sixty-eight taels were the money they could use.

Twenty taels were given to Manager Zhou as a bonus, but he pushed back the money and said, "I get enough every month. I have food and lodging in the store, and I have saved a lot of money in a year. The one or two New Year's expenses you gave are enough to spend."

"This is what you deserve," Gu Yin insisted.

When Manager Zhou was in Full Moon Hall, he only had to do some things like entertaining distinguished guests himself. When he arrived at Food of Heaven, he cooked a large pot every day. Although he said that he was not tired, the workload was definitely much larger than before. Not to mention that in order to fight for tax reduction for the restaurant, he repeatedly practiced fermented bean sprouts. She did not know how much mental effort it took.

It was the salary a year that Gu Yin could afford.

Of the remaining forty-eight taels, half was naturally distributed to Mrs. Wang, who was also a shareholder, and the other half was kept by Gu Yin.

At that time, she had twenty four taels of bonus in her hand, and the wages she had saved earlier—except that in April she didn't count the wages for herself, and every month after that, she also received twenty two taels every month, just like Manager Zhou. It was one hundred and sixty taels for eight months. Most of the time, she had nowhere to use the money. It cost more than fifty taels to repair Mrs. Wang's ancestral home, and because it was written under Gu Yin's name, she must pay for it herself.

In other words, she still had one hundred and thirty taels of silver.

A year or two ago, who would have thought that their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, who had fled, could earn so much money?

They needed to improve their quality of life after making money.

On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, Gu Yin gave everyone a half-day leave, and she was going to move out with Mrs. Wang, Song Shiliu, and the two kid.

The house in Jinyi Lane had been cleaned on new year, and it was returned to the owner, Mrs. Xu.

The clothes which were too comfortable and usable were all packed up and put into the donkey cart. Mrs. Wang drove the cart. After a quarter of an hour, the family arrived at the Wang family's old house.

After two raids by officials, the Wang family's ancestor home not only had no valuables, but the door and walls of the house were also damaged. Fortunately, it had been repaired, and overall there was no change.

Gu Yin got out of the carriage first. On reading it, she found out that the plaque on the door was changed – from Wang's house to Gu's house.

The plaque was naturally not as good as the one Old Master Wen gave her when 'Food of Heaven' opened, but the material was smooth and the handwriting was very familiar, and it seemed that it came from the old man.

Seeing her staring at the plaque, Mrs Wang smiled and said, "What's the matter? You don't dare to recognize it?"

As soon as she said that, Gu Yin guessed that she did it.

"You didn't let me pay for the repair. You said that it was your house, so you should spend money. Isn't it just right now? I secretly asked Carpenter Feng to do it, and it was also written by Old Master Wen. It's good-looking, right?"

The relationship between the two became increasingly close. Gu Yin did not thank her, but smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Come to my new home!" Gu Ye jumped down, "I'll choose a room first!"

The valuable things in the original house were raided by the officials, and there was only some furniture that was inconvenient to move or worthless, but it was enough for their not very picky family. So Gu Yin decided to buy a new bed for each person.

At that time, after hearing her words, Gu Ye muttered unhappily, "I think our kang is very good."

Their kang was so spacious that Gu Yin could sleep on it with him and Wu'an.

After muttering, he himself blushed. Because Fan Jinsong and Xiao Pang wouldn't sleep with their parents since they could talk, he was embarrassed to tell them that he was still sleeping with his mother.

Knowing that he was going to sleep by himself, Gu Ye thought that he must choose a room closest to his mother.

As soon as he said that, Wu'an also hurriedly jumped down from the cart, "Wait for me, I want to choose too!"

Gu Ye deliberately teased him, and while speeding up his steps, he said, "First come, first served!"

The two kids ran to the front, and Mrs. Wang asked Gu Yin to follow them to take care of them, while she and Song Shiliu took the cart to the back.

As soon as they entered the door, they saw an old man with white hair and beard. He was the loyal uncle who served Old Master Wang, whom they had met once earlier.

Uncle Zhong was no longer crazy, and had cleaned himself up properly. When he saw Mrs. Wang behind, he quickly walked up to her and cried, "Miss is back, old slave… This old slave is sorry."

"Uncle Zhong, what's wrong?" Mrs. Wang was happy at first, but felt wrong when she heard what he said, "What do you mean by that?"

Gu Yin asked them to go in first and then talk.

When they arrived at the main house of Mrs. Wang, Uncle Zhong tremblingly knelt down to her, "Earlier, the old master and the old lady died unexpectedly, and the eldest master and the second master were eager to divide the family property, and the old slave felt that something was wrong. I wanted to check it carefully, but I happened to hear the second master and the second wife talking, saying that I might know something, so why not send me on the road with the old master and the old lady (kill him). I was afraid, and didn't dare to check again, and have been pretending to be crazy all these years…"

Uncle Zhong continued to say, "The case in front of us has come to light, and I know that the eldest master and the second master took your property. If it weren't for me being greedy for life and fear of death, you would not have to suffer those hardships outside! I have no face to see you, but when I came to know that you have taken the old house back again, I, this old slave, wanted to apologize to the young lady in person. "

That involved too many secrets of the Wang family, so Gu Yin took her two children and Song Shiliu to choose rooms.

She or Mrs. Wang must live in the main rooms. In addition, there were two wing rooms in the yard, and one with a back cover for everyone to choose from.

"It's so big!" Gu Ye and Wu An exclaimed in unison.

Not only did the house look big from the outside, the rooms were equally spacious, like the wing room they entered. One room was comparable to two rooms in Jinyi Lane.

The whole room was divided into three parts, and the middle was the place to entertain guests and drink tea. On the left was the study, and on the right was the bed. However, most of the things were gone, only a bed, an empty shelf, a set of Eight Immortals table and chairs and a large desk were left. The rest of the things were naturally taken by the officials.

"Let's sleep in the same room," Wu'an said, feeling a little scared.

Gu Ye nodded and looked at his mother.

Gu Yin naturally agreed to let them sleep in that room first, and then dispose of the beds after the new year's custom-made beds were ready. Anyway, the room was so empty, and the bed she made was in the style of later generations, not the kind of complicated stepping bed commonly used by big families in that era, and there was enough space in the room.

Then there was Song Shiliu. She hurriedly waved her hand and said, "It's enough for the slave to sleep in the servants' room."

This girl insisted on being a maid. In her opinion, if the workers did not do well, they would be fired and lose their jobs. Being a maid was different. If they did something wrong, they would be scolded and beaten at most… Of course, her master was the most kind. Although the old lady had a loud voice, she was also kind. The two young masters also played with her, and no one had ever beaten or scolded her. So Song Shiliu became more determined to keep this iron rice bowl. (secure job)

Gu Yin persuaded her once, but then she was too lazy to argue with her and just said with a smile, "There must be servants' room, but of course it is not in this yard. There are five people in the house. If I have to look for you, wouldn't I have to go to another yard to find you? Or do you want me to buy another maid and let her find you?"

Song Shiliu only wanted to be Gu Ye's maid, but later on, she wanted to be the only maid in the house.

"Then I will go to the back room, and it will be convenient for the masters to find me."

She hurriedly carried her small bag to the back room and settled in.

"Slave for a while, maid for a while, she's stupid…" Gu Ye sighed, seeing his mother's disapproving eyes, he changed his words again, and said dryly, "She's so confused."

Gu Yin helped the two children put the beds together, and after a while Mrs. Wang came back with red eyes.

"Are you okay?" Gu Yin handed her her handkerchief.

Mrs. Wang wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and said, "It's okay, I don't blame him. He has been a servant all his life, and he has been sold to the Wang family. Where could he find the so-called evidence? Even if there was evidence, if he went to the court, the slave suing the master is a serious crime. We all know my two 'good' brothers, and there is nothing they dare not do for the sake of money. It was normal for Uncle Zhong to be afraid of them."

Speaking of it, Mrs Wang sighed and continued, "Although he pretended to be crazy before, the first time we came here, he heard my loud voice from outside the wall, and ran desperately, just for the sake of opening the door for me. It can be regarded as helping us."

"Then now?"

"He has nowhere to go. He has no children. I let him act as our concierge."

Gu Yin put her arms around Mrs. Wang and said, "I just wanted to say that there are few people in the family, and this big house is empty. It will be better if there are more people to help take care of our house."

After speaking, Mrs. Wang took out another key and said that Uncle Zhong gave her the key to a hidden cellar in the house.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law went to the cellar to see it together. There were many sacks in it, and the sacks were filled with rice.

In those days, those grain deposits could still be exchanged for a lot of money. Unfortunately, because it was too old, although the cellar was still dry, the rice exuded a strong musty smell.

After all, it was what Mrs. Wang's father left, and the two brothers didn't use it and kept it as it was.

Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin had also been allocated accommodation. Gu Yin lived in the main room, and Mrs. Wang lived in the other wing. Uncle Zhong lived in the front yard house.

After all the work was done, it was afternoon. The family put a string hanging at the door, adding a touch of Chinese New Year atmosphere to the new home.

Everyone ate New Year's dinner together. The Wang family's ancestral house… No, the Gu's house location was good. .

Manager Zhou and Chef Xu went out to buy things in the afternoon, and the New Year's dinner was ready at that time.

"This is my and my disciplines' gift to you, Master," Chef Xu politely presented a wooden box.

Gu Yin opened it to find an exquisite ceramic seasoning jar. Whether it was placed in the kitchen or carried around, it was both convenient and beautiful.

Chef Xu rubbed his hands together and said, "We couldn't afford an expensive gift, and Master wouldn't accept it either. It's just a little something to show our gratitude."

"It's great," Gu Yin picked up the seasoning jar and rubbed it with satisfaction.

Chef Xu also gave a gift to Manager Zhou, Mrs. Wang, Gu Ye, and Wu'an. Although they were not expensive, they were all heartfelt gifts.

Especially for Song Shiliu, Chef Xu gave her a sea bowl just like his own, which was wide and deep. It was said to be a bowl, but it was actually more like a small basin.

What Manager Zhou prepared for everyone was a staggeringly sumptuous New Year's meal, not the ones that were usually eaten in the store, but all the good dishes he cooked that afternoon.

The Lion's Head Meatballs in thick oily red sauce were as big as a child's fist. When bitten, the sauce overflowed, full of meat flavor. The crispy roasted duck was ruddy in color, crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. It was fat but not greasy, without a trace of duck smell. The braised knuckles were rosy and oily, and the meat was crispy. It was fat meat but not greasy…

There was a large table of the meat, and even Gu Yin could eat it, let alone the others. Chef Xu and Song Shiliu ate a lot alone. After eating the two big bowls of rice, Wu'an and Gu Ye directly leaned on their mother, unable to move. Uncle Zhong's tears came out, and he apologized and thanked Mrs. Wang and Gu Yin in unison.

"It's so delicious, it's really delicious," Chef Xu saw that everyone had put down chopsticks, and took two more steamed buns. While giving one to Song Shiliu, he scraped the rest of the soup with the steamed buns to eat.

"It's delicious!" Gu Ye burped and said, "I really want to eat it everyday."

"What are you thinking about?" Gu Yin rubbed his stomach amusingly.

"We don't earn enough to eat all these everyday."

That New Year's meal not just required the skills, the ingredients alone cost at least seven or eight taels of silver.

"Can't we sell these?" Gu Ye counted with his fingers and asked, "We can make a lot of money."

Anyway, there must be more than he could count.

In fact, that was what Gu Yin thought. But like Manager Zhou, she aspired to be a master chef, but not a canteen master.

It was just a matter of time to fry dishes, make snacks every day, and many fine chores could be made by hand. Just like how Manager Zhou made fermented bean sprouts before. That kind of skill must be practiced frequently, and if it got sparse then the craftsmanship would decline.

Moreover, Chef Xu and his two young apprentices really did their best to learn, especially Zhen Ban and Cai Dao. They were very talented. They could cook other dishes in the restaurant.

As Gu Yin watched Manager Zhou's craftsmanship decline, she really felt sorry for others.

After the New Year's Eve dinner, everyone sat together.

Since there were no entertainment activities, Gu Yin had asked Wu'an to borrow two books from the Wen family and read them to everyone at the time.

Wu'an already knew a lot of words now, and the words were usually written in vernacular with thick lines, so he didn't have any trouble reading them.

Mrs. Wang's favorite activity was to watch operas, and it was also good to hear the ones in books. When everyone heard the excitement, Gu Yin called Manager Zhou aside and discussed with him, "We can make enough money this year, and we got reduced taxes. I wonder, should we also climb more carefully?"

If it weren't for the suppression of the two well known restaurants when they opened, they would have a lot of high-end customers.

Now that the business of cheap food had been firmly established, and there were no strong competitors, it was a good time to expand the scale.

Manager Zhou nodded and said, "I was going to mention this even if you didn't say anything. And I've also inquired about it. The lease term of the store next door is till the late spring. The court tax is high, business is not easy to do, so the store will be vacant soon. Let's rent it, make a small connecting door, and set up a single room for entertaining VIPs."

The store next door was small, only half the size of Food of Heaven, which could just be divided into several small private rooms, and the rent was not very expensive for Gu Yin.

The two of them agreed to wait until the end of the year, to inquire about it first, and it was best to rent it in advance before the expiration date.

After the discussion was over, Manager Zhou sat back, and Mrs. Wang approached with a smile on her face again, as if she had something to say to her in private.

"Child, tomorrow is the New Year… It's the eighth year."

In the past, they lived together in Jinyi Lane. Gu Yin and Xu Qingchuan met from time to time, but they did not develop any different relationship. Since they had moved away, if there was no longer a connection, that matter would definitely not be possible.

Hearing that, Gu Yin was really tired but also because in the past, she had never had a frank chat with Mrs. Wang, so she simply talked to her carefully.

"Who is it? Mr. Xu?"

"Qingchuan is very good, although he is a poor scholar. He did not continue the exam because the situation in the imperial court is unstable, otherwise he might already be the master of Juren. And our two families know each other well, your Aunt Xu also likes you."

"What you said is reasonable, but I don't care about him."

When Mrs. Wang asked her why, Gu Yin thought about it and said, "It's not why, it's just we are not suitable. Mr. Xu likes to read and discuss books. Forcing me to study, reading all afternoon is more tiring than working in the kitchen all day."

Because she was talking to Mrs. Wang, Gu Yin didn't feel embarrassed, and continued, "Like the last time we went to the lantern festival, Mr. Xu guessed the lantern riddles correctly. He didn't guess randomly. Every lantern riddle was solved reasonably. Many girls heard it and admired him. But I was not interested. I was wandering in my world at the time, just thinking about how much money we could make during the Mid-Autumn Festival and what new food could be introduced after the festival. I heard that there are two kinds of music, one is bright and snowy, it is very elegant, and the other is cheerful, which is easy to understand. We are two kinds of music. We can barely get together. I am afraid that we will not be able to say a few words for the rest of our lives."

"Why are you not worthy? You are worthy of the Emperor and prince!" Mrs. Wang lowered her voice and glared at her, "Why do you say that about yourself?"

Gu Yin smiled and said, "Then tell me why should I go for Young Master Xu? It's better to go to the palace to be a queen."

Mrs. Wang smiled and patted her. After making trouble, she said sternly, "What about the other people? The young manager of the Wen family is also a businessman. You two can talk freely, right?"

"Manager Wen is young and mature, and at ordinary times is more serious than me. Of course, it's not that he is bad… I still don't feel it." Seeing Mrs. Wang's gesture and raising her hand, Gu Yin quickly said, "Mother, you can't count it like this. According to you, anyone who doesn't have a family and is my age should be matched with me. Then there are Li Zhaotou and Bai Zixi from the Bai family…"

"That's not bad!" Mrs. Wang's eyes lit up and she continued, "The Bai family has a large population, so it's hard to get along with them, and maybe they don't like our family. But Li Zhaotou is really good. Moreover, he only has Officer Caotou. He is our Xiao Ye's master, so isn't this just good?"

Gu Yin hurriedly begged for mercy, "Mother, please forgive me."

Mrs. Wang stopped teasing her and asked her who she liked.

Gu Yin pondered seriously for a while, "He should just be more practical. An ordinary person like me who I can talk to, likes to eat the food I make, and it is best if he helps me in business or cooking."

She was the one who had never thought about romance in two lifetimes, so for her it was impossible.

Mrs. Wang's resentful eyes fell on Chef Xu and Manager Zhou, making them both who were listening to Wu'an's recitations to look at her.

Gu Yin quickly pulled her face back and said, "I didn't mean them! Mother, don't think about people you know."

Mrs. Wang sighed worriedly. Her daughter-in-law didn't want to get married again, so why should she push her out? But she was also a woman. She knew that the world was not easy for women, so she had to do that disgusting thing – Gu Yin was young, but she would be twenty-one years old. Girls of that age weren't chosen for marriage, let alone she was a married person.

Her husband and eldest son had been away from home all those years. Until the daughter-in-law became capable in the past two years, Mrs. Wang was the one who supported the house. No one knew better than her how much pressure a woman had to bear with a family on her own. She didn't dare to get sick nor did she dare to be shaken and depressed. No matter how big the pain was, she could only swallow it alone. It would take ten years for the two children to grow up. In the ten years or so, her daughter-in-law had to be in charge of the house. How could she be willing to let her daughter-in-law experience that?

She was very regretful as to why she was so selfish back then. Gu Yin married her son who was about to go to war. Otherwise, she would not be so eager to make up for it.

"There are also people that have gotten along despite being different." Mrs. Wang looked at her expectantly and continued to say, "I still think Qingchuan is very good, otherwise you can try again… This time, don't go for the lantern festival, and go somewhere else."

There were not so many things in the countryside. As long as they didn't meet in private before marriage, it was not a taboo.

"Is Mr. Xu willing?" Gu Yin asked.

"Definitely willing, he listens to Aunt Xu."

Gu Yin guessed that Xu Qingchuan was forced by his mother. But since the two adults still didn't give up, she nodded, "Then I will try again, but just once. It would be embarrassing to do that often. And we have to agree, if we still can't get along, don't mention it again."

Like some parents in later generations who forced their children to get married for their own good.

Most of the children of later generations couldn't change their parents' thoughts, let alone in Mrs. Wang's era. Although she was considered avant-garde and open-minded, she still couldn't escape the prison of the era. Gu Yin was not in a hurry to change her mind, and decided to slowly let her figure it out. Just like when she first transmigrated, the family followed Mrs. Wang's words, but didn't she also listen to her opinions later?

"It will be the last time!" Mrs. Wang immediately laughed and said, "I heard what you and Manager Zhou said. You will be busy in the new year, and you have to open a new restaurant and make new food in spring. Therefore, both of you can go together to the Dragon Boat Festival to see the dragon boat race. I'm sure you will definitely talk with each other there!"

The new year was a year full of expectations for Gu Yin and her family.

Gu Yin and Manager Zhou thought about expanding the size of the restaurant, Mrs Wang thought about letting her start a family, and Chef Xu and his two young apprentices thought about supporting the business of ordinary customers in the restaurant.

However, none of those expectations came true. In the spring of the following year, the imperial court was defeated, and the Emperor fled from the palace with the imperial guards. The rebel army entered the palace, ascended the throne as the Emperor, and established the country as a new dynasty and the era as Emperor Zhengyuan. (Zhengyuan: not the real name of emperor but named as Righteous Emperor).

Once the dynasty was changed, for the common people, it meant that the sun and moon above their heads had been replaced. In particular, the former Emperor who was abolished still had tens of thousands of old ministries and fled south all the way. The new Emperor issued an oath, sealing the rumored general with red scars on his face, like an evil ghost Shura, as the general marshal of the military and horses, who encircled and suppressed them all the way.

Although the location of Hanshan Town was remote, unfortunately, it was the southern end of the capital.

When the news came, the major events in the capital had settled, and there were only rumors that the abolished Emperor was dormant in their area. People were panicking. Not to mention doing business, the timid people moved overnight, and those who did not move would choose to stay at home and not go out.

Gu Yin and the others didn't move out. First, she and Mrs. Wang came from outside. And to them, Hanshan Town seemed to be a paradise. There were still people like the county magistrate and Officer Caotou to protect them. If they moved out, they would really die. They hadn't been to far away places, but there were bandits in the nearest state capital. The abolished Emperor fled to the south, and the area to the south was getting bigger.

Second, they had two children at home. How could a five or six-year-old be able to withstand a long journey? Any kind of headache could have irreversible consequences.

Old Master Wen also said the same. He was afraid that Gu Yin would not be able to stand the situation as she was young.

Although the court had changed, the old man was also a veteran of the three dynasties. His knowledge in the matter was many times better than that of ordinary people. Naturally, she should listen to him.

Food of Heaven closed down, and Gu Yin took all the employees to retreat to her mansion. Manager Zhou and Chef Xu lived in the front yard, while the female members lived in the backyard.

Although the incident happened suddenly, it was fortunate that the restaurant opened a daily hoard of food, vegetables and firewood, which was no worse than that of ordinary large families. Old Master Wen asked Wen Peifeng to send dozens of bags of rice and noodles, and the family had no problem with food.

Gu Ye was probably the one who didn't get used to it the most, from a bird without feet to a bird with broken wings.

But at that time when he went out before, his mother was so worried that she couldn't eat or sleep. So even though he was reluctant, he could only stay at home obediently.

Fortunately, Gu Yin made playing cards—that was, she cut the papers into small pieces, and wrote the symbols of the playing cards, without pictures. But there were many ways to play poker, such as fighting landlords, frying golden flowers, and playing thousand points.

Gu Ye's favorite was to play with the golden flowers. It was like opening a mind-reading plug-in. He stole and often won even with a bad deck.

Of course, they had to gamble, that was, the winner could make a request to the loser.

Unfortunately, Gu Yin was the one who lost the most almost every time. Every time she tried to steal, she would be caught by others. If she gambled on silver, then her hundred and twelve taels of silver would not be enough.

Gu Ye wouldn't make excessive demands from his mother, and he would ask her to make a snack once he won. There was definitely no condition to make exquisite dim sum, so she owed it first, and then would provide it to him when the turmoil was over.

After a month, they had eaten half of the food in the house, and Hanshan Town had been quiet.

Just when everyone thought that the so-called abandoned Emperor was dormant nearby was just a rumor, a group of people broke into the Wen Mansion, which was just across the street from Gu Yin's house.

"Old Master Wen, save me!" The arrogant young man who used to sit high on the dragon chair with eyes higher than the top, knelt down in front of Old Master Wen.

Old Master Wen stretched out his hand to help the young man up, and said sadly, "Don't do this, Your Majesty!"

Emperor Longqing looked ashamed.

"Can I be called 'Your Majesty' by Lord Wen now?"

Old Master Wen stretched out his hand to wipe away his tears, "Your Majesty visited late at night, what do you want the old minister to do?"

Emperor Longqing said, "Of course I want Lord Wen to help me fight off the rebels and restore the country!"

"The minister is an old man, and is a civil minister who has no power to tie the chicken…"

"Old Master Wen, you are a teacher of a generation of Emperors! With you here, the scholars of the world will return to their hearts, and even if the traitor sits on the throne, they won't consider him an Emperor at all! Historians, civil servants, and scholars should all write for me. It is necessary to let the world know the true face of that thief."

Old Master Wen had a moving expression on his face, and suddenly his body was shaky and he fainted under the emotion.

Emperor Longqing immediately had someone support him, and then called someone to find Eldest Master Wen.

Eldest Master Wen saluted him first, and then cried, "My father is very old, and since he lost his official position, his heart has become stagnant. His health is getting worse, and now he can't do without the medicine…"

"It's my fault," Emperor Longqing blamed himself while helping Eldest Master Wen up and asked him to fetch medicine and serve Old Master Wen to take it.

The soup had a strong taste, and Emperor Longqing frowned in disgust, and said, "Eldest Master Wen, serve Old Master Wen first. I will come back when he is well."

When Emperor Longqing left with the eunuch, the old man opened his eyes.

There was no more moving expression on his face, only frost.

He was indeed determined to be a loyal minister, but not a foolish minister. In those years when the little Emperor was absurd, he tried his best to persuade and help the court to suppress the eunuchs. What was the final result? He, the teacher of the three dynasties was finally dismissed from office and returned to his hometown. He was so old, but if he didn't pass that level in his heart, he would probably be buried in the loess.

And if the Emperor came to ask for help, he should act like a polite corporal instead of breaking through the door in the middle of the night.

He grew up watching the little Emperor, and the little Emperor knelt down to him, but the fleeting humiliation and resentment in his eyes could not escape his eyes. Even if he helped the Emperor restore the country, the first person the Emperor would kill in the future would be the "rebel minister" who had dared to make the monarch kneel.

In addition, Old Master Wen really didn't have the ability.

The hearts of the people were like water, and it was hard to get hold of water. Whoever won the hearts of the people won the world, and the new dynasty created by King Yi was what the hearts of the people wanted. It was really like a fantasy to regain the people's hearts that he had lost by himself.

Although Eldest Master Wen didn't think as much as the old man, he also understood what his old father meant. He asked aloud, "Father, what should we do next?"

Old Master Wen asked how the situation was outside, and Eldest Master Wen said, "The guards have taken over the entire town."

The old man sighed and groped for the medicine bottle from the dark grid at the head of the bed.

In the bottle was the fake death medicine that the old man found when he was still in the capital. But that drug was extremely harmful to the body. If he took it at his age, he may have died. As a last resort, that was the only way to go.

The father and son's faces sank like water, looking at each other silently.

On Emperor Longqing's side, after leaving Old Master Wen's study, he went to a place where no one else was. He took a few deep breaths and said with gritted teeth, "This useless old thing!"

After the first wife heard that, she immediately warned him, "Emperor, be careful!"

Now they had become bereaved dogs, except for old officials of the three dynasties such as Old Master Wen, there was no one else to trust.

"I know," Emperor Longqing pinched his nose irritably and said, "I'm hungry, have someone prepare meals."

They traveled in a hurry, so except for the palace maid and a few imperial doctors who served personally by Emperor Longqing's side, no one else in the palace was taken with them. Along the way, he slept in the open air. Emperor Longqing felt miserable, and he could not eat ordinary meals. Therefore, everyone lost a lot of weight.

After receiving the order, the palace servants immediately went to the kitchen in the Wen Mansion and asked them to cook some food.

The cooks were terrified when they broke the door, and then listening to the eunuch's shrill voice, they could that he was someone from the palace

Their craftsmanship was ordinary, but under fear, their craftsmanship became bad.

Eunuch Shangshan couldn't help frowning when he tasted it, and Emperor Longqing was even more furious when he ate it. He patted the table and said, "Are you humiliating me?"

The people in the room knelt and persuaded him to calm down.

Emperor Longqing forcibly calmed down his anger again, and went to Second Master Wen.

Second Master Wen was not much calmer than the other servants in the house, and his calves were shaking when he knelt down.

When the eunuch asked about the food, Second Master Wen immediately begged for mercy, "Sage, the family is in difficulty, and I don't have much money to hire a chef. The cook's craftsmanship is average, and I didn't mean to neglect you!"

Emperor Longqing was no longer angry after hearing the reason. He only asked Second Master Wen, a native of Hanshan Town, to invite a skilled cook.

The population of Hanshan Town was less than ten thousand, and ten thousand Imperial Guards entered Hanshan Town, but they took control of the whole town in half a day.

In the Gu House, Gu Yin and everyone looked solemn. The noise on the street could not be concealed, especially when the Wen family's mansion across the street the night before was broken into.

At that time, Manager Zhou and Chef Xu went out to check together.

At a distance, the two saw a number of soldiers holding torches and dressed in uniform. So they didn't dare to watch anymore and went back in immediately.

The news that the entire town was under the control of the Imperial Guards of the abolished Emperor came.

Mrs. Wang whispered bitterly, "Damn it… Forget about dying after leaving, now the man who has been driven out of the capital has come to harm us!"

Although Gu Yin didn't say anything, she actually thought the same thing.

However, as the head of the family and the owner of the house, Gu Yin comforted her, "Don't worry, since he came to look for the old man, what he thought was to ask him to come out and help him get back to the hearts of the people. We are ordinary people. If they make things difficult for us, what people's hearts will he win? There will be no hope anymore."

The waste Emperor was now a rat crossing the street, but as long as he still had a trace of reason, he knew that he should clamp his tail at that time.

Sure enough, as Gu Yin said, although the Imperial Guards took over Hanshan Town, they did not do anything else.

It was just that there were no more people on the road of the town. A town that was usually very lively was like a dead city at that time, and it was shockingly quiet.

Suddenly, the people in the house heard a knock on the door that day, and Manager Zhou and Chef Xu immediately took kitchen knives and went to check it.

Seeing Officer Caotou standing outside the door, they let out a long sigh.

When they opened the door a little, Officer Caotou rushed in.

Gu Yin and the others also gathered to listen to him.

Officer Caotou said succinctly and concisely, "They were not satisfied with the cook of the Wen family and called Hanxiang Hall's cook. But it seems that he didn't like it, so be careful."

After saying that, he left immediately.

When several people heard the news, they were all worried.

Gu Yin immediately went to change into the old dress that Mrs. Wang wore, and then went to the bottom of the stove to apply the pot ashes, evenly rubbing it on her face, and cut thick, uneven bangs with scissors, coveing the upper half of her eyes.

After some dressing up, she became a black-faced cook. Mrs. Wang's stature was already taller than her. Their family became better, she worked more and ate better, and she became much stronger, and her clothes were bigger. The half-new dress was extra loose on her body, which made her figure even smaller, even a little shriveled. If it wasn't for the fact that her family was very familiar with her, she would be unrecognizable even if she was dressed like that.

The atmosphere at home was heavy, and her interruption made everyone laugh.

After laughing, Manager Zhou sternly said, "Don't worry, boss. If someone really comes, I'll go."

"I'll go too!" Chef Xu also said, "I look like someone who can cook, and I'll help Master Zhou fight."

Gu Yin smiled, and said worriedly, "I'm afraid we won't be able to call the shots at that time."

Afraid of what was coming, that afternoon, an eunuch with a guard knocked on their door.

Although Gu Yin and the others were reluctant, they had to open the door.

The eunuch said sharply, "You are the cooks of Food of Heaven? Come with us quickly."

Manager Zhou had been prepared for a long time, and immediately stood up and went out.

Since Emperor Longqing was born, he was pampered. After he left, he never had a satisfactory meal.

Now outside the palace, although he also brought an imperial doctor, there were not so many precious medicinal materials in the end.

He had already explained to the eunuch that he must find a new cook that day.

Before he came, the eunuch had asked someone. Although the restaurant called 'Food of Heaven' had only been open for less than a year, the reviews were surprisingly good, especially the owner, Ms. Gu, who had worked as a helper in the Wen family earlier, made delicious porridge soup named after Old Master Wen. She was even more whimsical, and new products were launched every season.

In their opinion, the cooks outside the palace couldn't be compared with the royal cooks in the palace. But if Ms. Gu could cook something that people didn't know before, that would be another matter of course.

"You're Chef Zhou, right? You're one of them." The eunuch looked around and said, "I also ask Ms. Gu to come with us."

Mrs. Wang was in a panic. She just wanted to move, but Gu Yin immediately stopped her with her eyes.

"Mom, take good care of the children at home, I'll be fine."