Farmhouse life after traveling back to ancient times

Fortunately, Yue Niang was not a petty person. When she mentioned the watermelon and soybean paste, she was just jealous of the huge profits made by Chen's restaurant and was just making a few sarcastic remarks.

Now that the two had reached a consensus, they went out to buy pork belly, soaked the mushrooms, cut them into dices, and set them aside for later use.

Chop the garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant, then add the minced pork and stir-fry, and add some wine to remove the fishy smell.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you are really particular about your cooking. How can ordinary people be willing to use so much oil and even add wine for seasoning?"

Yue Niang watched as she made smacking sounds. She could already smell the aroma of the meat, which was enough to make one drool.

Du Wenxiu smiled slightly and did not answer. He put the diced mushrooms in and stir-fried them. He then asked Yue Niang to filter out the impurities in the water used to soak the mushrooms and pour it in.

"Okay, let's lower the heat and wait until it's done." Du Wenxiu added the seasonings and mixed them evenly. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat that flowed from his forehead to his chin, and said with a sigh of relief.

Yue Niang took out a few pieces of firewood from the stove and simmered the food over low heat.

"It's not ready yet, but the fragrance alone is irresistible." Yue Niang said with hope.

Du Wenxiu glanced at her sideways and said, "If you take these, it will be easier to enter the palace."

“However, one must have strong connections. No matter how good the food is, if those people don’t want to give it to the emperor, he won’t be able to eat it…” Yue Niang’s voice came faintly, and the firelight danced on her face.

Du Wenxiu stopped laughing and shut up.

No matter how much the emperor truly is, the supreme ruler, he will still be fooled by those below him, right?

"Well, are your family's connections strong enough?" she asked tentatively.

Yue Niang looked up, her eyes rippling.

"If it's not hard enough, why should I be jealous of the watermelon bean paste?" He took the handkerchief handed to him by Du Wenxiu and wiped it on his face randomly.

Yue Niang added, "That person just needs some excuse to earn money from the palace. We just need to ship the goods. You don't have to worry about the route at all."

"Now that the meat sauce is ready, why don't we make some other meat sauces for the palace, and then sell this pork sauce in our own way, what do you think?"

"This is of course the best." Du Wenxiu nodded repeatedly.

I originally didn't know whether this meat sauce, after being supplied to the palace, could be sold among the people. Now, from what Yue Niang said, it actually cannot be sold.

It would be better to replace pork with beef or chicken, as the quantity is small and it is easier to handle.

After working for half a day, they finally finished making the sauce. They served it out and set it aside to cool. Then they left the kitchen one after the other.

At this time, an old man named Yang came over to report that the wife of the shopkeeper of Jinyi Pavilion had sent someone to deliver clothes, and Du Wenxiu hurriedly invited her in.

"This is a plain Hangzhou silk skirt in the color of Tianshui Blue, paired with a gauze dress in the color of Yuanshan Blue."

Madam Cheng from the Jinyi Pavilion presented a set of clothes to Du Wenxiu. Just by looking at the color, Du Wenxiu knew it was made for Du Wenchan.

"That's good now. She has gone to the workshop. I'll ask Qiuyue to call her over." Du Wenxiu smiled and called Qiuyue over and asked her to make the trip.

"This is a moon-white skirt with bamboo and orchid embroidery, paired with a pea green linen jacquard summer cloth robe, and a light green gauze dress. Grandma, you can wear whatever you like."

Because Du Wenxiu and her sister were still in mourning, they chose some plain and elegant colors. The Jinyi Pavilion was used to doing business in the inner palace, so as long as they stated their needs, they could match them immediately.

"You should also make some nice clothes. After all, things are different from the past when you had to buy cloth to make clothes yourself." Yue Niang sighed.

But Du Wenxiu laughed and said, "It's not because I want to wear nice clothes, but because I'm going to send an invitation to the flower-viewing banquet of Grandma Zhao next door. Such a sophisticated family invites us, so we can't lose face. Maybe we should make some nice clothes for going out to visit guests."

Yue Niang then understood the reason and hurriedly asked Du Wenxiu to bring the post to her.

"It's a pity that I'm late, otherwise I would have gone with you to make it more lively."

Du Wenxiu smiled and said, "She just sent an invitation, but she didn't say that you can't bring anyone with you. I'll take you and Chan'er with me, and no one can say anything. Aunt, do you think this is okay?"

The last sentence was asked to Qi Sanniang.

Qi Sanniang was holding Haisheng beside her while she looked at clothes. When she heard her question, she smiled and nodded, "Of course it's OK."

Madam Cheng took out a few more dresses and introduced them one by one. However, Madam Qi looked at the misty grey silk dress and said:

"This color doesn't suit you. Even in the mourning period, it's too old-fashioned."

Du Wenxiu grinned and said, "These are not for us to wear. The two aunts work hard every day, so these sets are prepared for them."

Qi Sanniang was stunned for a moment, her heart felt like a jar of seasoning had been overturned, with mixed feelings, and her eyes were immediately covered with a layer of mist.

Du Wenxiu reached out and hugged Haisheng, teasing him: "Why don't we let grandma try it on for Haisheng to see?"

Qi Sanniang came back to her senses and waved her hands repeatedly: "How can I wear these? Now I have food to eat and clothes to wear, which has already caused a lot of trouble for the young lady..."

Du Wenxiu pretended to be unhappy: "Cousin, do you think that I, your daughter, can't support you? If you don't wear all the clothes that have been made, who can you give them to?"

Yue Niang also stepped forward to persuade her, and finally Qi Sanniang wiped her tears and took her clothes into the inner room to change.

"All old people are like this, they are afraid of spending their children's money." Yue Niang said with a smile, but saw that Cheng Niang just smiled and said nothing.

"What's the matter? Madam Cheng, do you think what I said is wrong?" Yue Niang asked puzzledly.

Mrs. Cheng smiled slightly and said, "Some elderly people are reluctant to spend money because they love their children, while others would like to sell all their children so that they can enjoy a better life at home."

Du Wenxiu couldn't help but think of Du Xiucai's family. Although it was Le who wanted to sell them sisters, if Du Xiucai said no, how could this matter be accomplished?

He just covered his face with words saying that the woman was too strong and he had no choice, and then he pushed the blame on her, saying that no matter who did it, it was not his fault anyway.

He couldn't help but sigh again. Mrs. Cheng didn't say anything, just sat aside and listened. Suddenly she said:

"Everyone said that Madam Du's workshop was good at standing up for the women. Even if a woman in the workshop was bullied by her family, she could seek shelter in Madam Du's workshop."

Du Wenxiu was shocked and said hurriedly, "I dare not say that, but some sisters originally wanted to rebel, but they had no place to go, so they all relied on the workshop to make a living. If others asked for help, we would naturally accept them."

To be honest, she didn't dare let her reputation of being the master of women spread everywhere. If she did, it would be nothing more than a topic of conversation for others after dinner, but she, a weak woman, would become the focus of everyone's attention.

In this day and age, the right thing to do is to make a fortune quietly, and being the first to stick out is not a good idea.

Now I have the county magistrate secretly protecting me, but if I seek death and offend the official taboo, it is hard to say whether he will still care about me.