Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

There is a reason why Zhong's mother loves her daughter. She herself had a hard childhood, and she always felt that if she did better and better, her parents would notice it, but this never happened.

Her parents treated their sister-in-law who married into the family better than her, because their daughter belonged to someone else's family, while their daughter-in-law and their son would provide for them in their old age.

When she grew up and married Mr. Zhong, she thought that if she gave birth to a daughter, he would raise her well and would not let her suffer like she had when she was a child. She had also seen how families who loved their daughters spoiled them.

At that time, she thought that she would do the same when she had a daughter, because daughters are born to be loved.

......

When they got home, Zhong's mother put the pig's offal in a basin and soaked it with water. She added a handful of salt. Zhong Ruyi called her, "Mom, add another spoonful of vinegar."

Watching Zhong's mother add a spoonful of vinegar, he thought for a moment, then ran to the kitchen to get some flour, poured it in, and stirred it with his hands.

They squatted down and started to deal with it. When Zhong's mother came out of the toilet, Zhong Ruyi had already started. "My daughter, this pig offal is not easy to deal with. Just leave it there and let me do it!" She rolled up her sleeves and started to work. The two of them worked hard for more than half an hour before they finished it.

Mother Zhong glanced at her daughter and said, "Daughter, how do you want to eat it? How about I ask your sister-in-law to stir-fry some pickled cabbage and large intestine? Your sister-in-law cooks this dish the best!"

"Mom, put it aside for now. Didn't you say you were going to town to visit my second brother and his wife at noon? I'll go with you and buy some things while I'm there."

After lunch, Mother Zhong took Zhong Ruyi and Cuicui and set off, while Father Zhong and Big Brother Zhong went to the mountains to collect firewood.

Mrs. Zhong took a few children to cut grass for the pigs. They cut more grass so that the pigs would have something to eat in the winter, otherwise the pigs would starve and become thin due to lack of grass.

The three of them hurried and finally arrived at the town. In the morning, there was an oxcart carrying people from the village to the town, but they did not set out until noon, and had to wait for the people who returned to the village later to go back together before they could ride on the oxcart.

The three of them went to buy what they needed first. When they were on their way to their second brother's shop, they passed by a herbal medicine shop. Zhong Ruyi remembered that she had not bought the spices, such as star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves needed for the braised meat.

Nowadays, these things can only be bought in herbal medicine stores. You may not be able to find them in seasoning shops. I will buy some when I go back later.

My second brother’s store is not big, but it has a good location and a large flow of people on this street, so it took him a lot of effort to rent the store.

Mrs. Zhong's surname is Liu. Her maiden family is from the town. Her family is well off. She has an older brother and a younger brother. The younger brother is still young. Her older brother works as a constable in the yamen. The eldest brother of the Liu family is a good person and does well in the yamen. He is highly regarded by the county magistrate.

As soon as he entered, there were several tables in the store. Brother Zhong was wiping the tables. When Mother Zhong and others came in, Brother Zhong thought that there were guests. But when he looked up, he found that it was his mother, sister and niece. He was so surprised.

"Mother, little sister, Cuicui, why are you here? Yu Niang! Come quickly! Mother and little sister are here!" He turned around and called out to Mrs. Zhong who was cleaning the kitchen.

When Mrs. Zhong heard the sound and came out to take a look, she was also surprised. She hurriedly asked if they were full and wanted to go into the kitchen to cook a few bowls of noodles for them, but was stopped by Mrs. Zhong and the others.

"We just came to see you today and buy some things for the home." Mother Zhong shook her head, indicating that she was just here to take a look.

Hearing this, Brother Zhong sighed, "Mom, you've seen that business has been slow recently. Before you came, only two customers came today."

Zhong Ruyi took the opportunity to walk inside while they were talking to take a look. As soon as she entered, she saw the kitchen. Further in was a clean bedroom. This should be where Brother Zhong and his wife usually rested. Further in was the utility room. Next to the utility room was a thatched hut. There was also a jujube tree in the small yard.

She walked to the kitchen and took a look. There were two stoves in the kitchen and firewood piled next to them. They were all brought from home by Brother Zhong.

She had just noticed outside that half of the street was occupied by food vendors, and unless they could sell something that other shops didn't have, it was understandable that the business was so poor.

After looking around along the way, I found that no one was selling braised food in the shops on the street. I can ask Brother Zhong and the others later. It is a good thing to make money that everyone should work together and cannot be monopolized by one person.

Just then, Mrs. Zhong came in with her mother and Cuicui, so she started talking, "Sister-in-law, have you finished the chili sauce that we brought from home last time?"

She had picked some peppers on the mountain before. After her family had eaten them once, the next day Zhong's mother took her and Cuicui to the mountain again to pick a basket of peppers. She also dug up a few plants and planted them in the space when no one was paying attention.

Zhong Ruyi explained how to make chili sauce and made a jar and a half of it. When Zhong Erge came back to town to do business, he brought half of the jar with him. The remaining jar was left at home and was almost eaten up.

"After I finished eating, I shared some with the tea shop next door. His boss's wife wanted to ask me to buy more after she finished eating!" Mrs. Zhong was smiling happily. The sauce made from the red fruit was fresh, fragrant and spicy. It was delicious with porridge, rice or noodles!

Zhong Ruyi thought this was a new business opportunity! She could make chili sauce and sell it! "Sister-in-law, I have an idea. We can make this chili sauce and sell it. I just saw that no one is selling it on the street."

Mrs. Zhong thought this idea was feasible, but, "The lady boss next door told me that her family loves this sauce. They have never eaten it before and it is very fresh. But her old lady doesn't like it because she thinks it is too spicy."

Although this hot sauce is good, not everyone can accept it. Some people like it while others cannot accept it.

"We will make more hot sauces with other flavors when the time comes, and see which one has more buyers." Zhong Ruyi said, thinking of the braised pork, "I also want to make cooked food, sister-in-law, why don't you and brother go back with us today, I will try to make cooked food tomorrow, I need your advice."

Mrs. Zhong went out to discuss with her second brother. Mother Zhong pulled Zhong Ruyi aside and asked her, "My daughter, will anyone really buy the hot sauce you mentioned?"

"Mom, it's okay, as long as we don't make too much. Let's make some first and try it out. If it sells well, we'll make more. If it doesn't sell well, we'll keep it for ourselves." Zhong Ruyi put his arm around her mother's shoulders and comforted her.

Passing by the herbal medicine shop, Zhong Ruyi remembered that he had not yet bought the spices needed for the braised meat, so he hurriedly took the money with Zhong's mother and went into the herbal medicine shop, "Young man, I want to ask if the store sells star anise, bay leaves, fennel, cinnamon, and cardamom. I'm not sure if they are called by name, but I have seen what they look like. Could you please take out something similar for me to see?"

The guy thought for a moment and said, "We have bay leaves, cinnamon, and grass fruits. There are some that I haven't heard of. I'll take them out and show you if they are what you want." After that, he went to find them and put them on the table for her to see.

When she looked at it, she realized that what was taken out was indeed star anise.

I ordered two packets. Because they were medicinal herbs, they were a little more expensive. I spent fifty cents for two packets.

On the way back to the village, I happened to meet a ox cart and took a ride on it. I hurried back home. Smoke was already coming out of the chimney and my sister-in-law had started to make a fire in the kitchen to cook.