The Little Lucky Girl

Happiness came so quickly that everyone found it hard to believe.

Feng Xu was very puzzled. "Didn't they say they would watch over us for three years? Only one year has passed. Captain Jin and his men are really neglecting their duties."

Lu Tai was so angry that he knocked his head, "What nonsense are you talking about? Are you really going to let someone come back and keep an eye on you for another two years before you are satisfied?"

Zheng Huanze looked at Master He and bowed, saying, "Please help us solve this problem."

Master He waved his hand and said, "Captain Jin didn't tell us the reason. Maybe they have new plans."

"But I think," he looked at Ming Youyou and said with a smile, "I'm afraid that the new recipe you came up with has played a big role."

The roast duck restaurant opened by Captain Jin and County Magistrate Tao did very well at the beginning, just as everyone expected. People were very curious about the way of eating with sauce and pancakes, and the taste of roast duck was much better than their local ones. Not only the rich, but also the ordinary people with some spare money could not help but come and try it.

However, no matter how good the roast duck is, it is not worth eating there every day. After being popular for a while, it gradually stabilized. When Ming Youyou and her friends go there to eat, they don’t have to wait for a long time for a table.

The last time they went there, they specially met Guard Jiayi, who is now the owner of a roast duck restaurant.

The shopkeeper Jiayi was already very skilled at calculating. When he saw the few people, he greeted them enthusiastically and even asked someone to bring him an extra plate of fried tofu.

However, Jiayi told them that Captain Jin was not very satisfied with the current revenue of the roast duck restaurant.

The store in Dayu is okay. Although not as good as the original one, it can still compete with old-fashioned restaurant like Xu's. However, the business in Daqi is a bit annoying.

Soon after the store opened, many imitators appeared around it, taking away many of their customers. After all, it was easy to find suitable ducks in Qi State. Although the dipping sauce was not as delicious as theirs, they were cheaper.

Ming Youyou thought about it, went back and collected some of the chili peppers in the yard, and brought them to the county government office to show them to Magistrate Tao.

Under her guidance, Chef Zhang cooked some dishes with chili peppers, and everyone was immediately conquered by its spicy taste. Especially those yamen runners who had gone to Daqi to pick up the villagers, who were lucky enough to taste the chili sauce dedicated by Ming Youyou in the mountains. They had been longing for the taste for several months, and now they could finally taste it again.

"So you want to use chili peppers in the roast duck restaurant as well?" Magistrate Tao asked her.

Ming Youyou nodded, "Captain Jin wants to open a store in the capital of Da Qi, right? There aren't many peppers right now, so we can sell them all there."

She snorted, "I just want to make more money from those officials in Da Qi."

Recently, she has heard a lot from the folks of Da Qi about their hard days. They have encountered bad years in recent years, with either severe floods or droughts, and some places have even suffered locust plagues. However, these damages are not as despairing as the exorbitant taxes and levies imposed by the court.

Especially after His Majesty the King of Qi fell ill and was no longer in charge of affairs, the princes' exploitation of the people in their fiefdoms became even more severe, and the local officials were busy taking sides. Not only did they turn a blind eye to these things, but some even added fuel to the flames.

The lives of the common people became more and more difficult. Selling land and children was too common, and people starved to death. Everyone was ready to flee the famine. For example, in Qiqing County, where they went to pick up people, the villagers had already decided to go to Daqing Mountain first. If they couldn't get through, they would go to the mountain stronghold and become bandits.

County Magistrate Tao smiled at Ming Youyou's childish words, but did not object.

The old emperor of Qi State has not attended court for a long time. There are rumors that he does not have much time left. Dayu is not sure whether the rumor is true or the old emperor is using it to fish.

But Captain Jin and the forces behind him clearly thought this was an opportunity that could be exploited, and Magistrate Tao was willing to help them muddy the waters a little more. The restaurants in the capital could make money and provide both sides with the latest news about Da Qi.

Ming Youyou not only helped them unlock the chili pepper, but also provided a way to eat it called hot pot.

In the freezing winter, ordering a steaming hot pot with a combination of red oil and clear soup opened the eyes of the nobles of Qi State. At one time, inviting three or five friends to taste hot pot became the most lively and elegant event in the capital of Qi State.

Unfortunately, in order to avoid suspicion, the hotpot in Dayu has not yet been spread, and Ming Youyou and the others can only follow Magistrate Tao's family and enjoy it quietly behind closed doors.

Ming Youyou accidentally ate a small piece of chili pepper, which was so spicy that she stuck out her tongue like a puppy and fanned herself with her hands.

Mrs. Tao poured her a cup of cold tea with a smile, and wiped the sweat off her head. "Don't eat too much. There will be snacks sent from Qi State later."

Ming Youyou was pleasantly surprised and asked, "Was it sent by Brother Jiaer? He wrote to me last time and said he wanted to thank me."

Originally, when they opened a new store in the capital of Qi State, they thought that they would send the more experienced Jiayi to be the shopkeeper, but Jiayi seemed unwilling to go back to Qi State, so in the end they sent Jiaer instead.

Mrs. Tao smiled and said, "Eat well first. I'll take you to see it later. Not only will there be snacks, but the dividends from last season will also be here."

When Ming Youyou heard that there was money to be won, she immediately felt full. She happily followed Madam Tao back to the main room and began to count her banknotes with great interest.

"How do you plan to spend this money?" Mrs. Tao teased her.

Ming Youyou thought for a moment, "Is Jinxiufang's caravan to the Western Regions about to be formed? Can I join in?"

"Okay," Mrs. Tao nodded. "Why not bring your facial cream with you when you go? It's small, doesn't take up space, and you can bring more. But when you come back, what do you plan to ask someone to replace it with?"

Ming Youyou scratched her head. Merchants from the Western Regions would first pass through Liang State when coming to the Central Plains. Not many people came here, so she was not very familiar with the goods from the Western Regions. "It would be fine if it was the same as what I bought from Jinxiufang, but I would like to ask someone to help me buy some more seeds there. It doesn't matter what kind, as long as it's edible."

"Could it be that you want to find seeds as useful as peppers?" Mrs. Tao laughed, "But it's not easy. Many people have tried it before. Even those seeds brought here are not adapted to the climate and soil here, and the things grown may not taste good."

"Just like these grapes," Mrs. Tao pointed at the wine pot on the table and said, "the ones we grow are small and astringent, and the wine we make from them is not as mellow and delicious."

"I just want to give it a try." Ming Youyou was encouraged by the success of Chili Pepper and looked up a lot of information. She learned a little bit about how to improve crops. Besides the problem of not adapting to many foods, they also don't know how to eat them. But she has accumulated a lot of knowledge. Zhengdao would send her a few recipes when he had nothing to do and teach her how to eat online. In the worst case, as long as she could cook the dishes, she could get practice points, which was not a loss anyway.