The Second Sister of a Farmer's Family's Path to Imperial Destiny

Guyue Tower, riding on the popularity of fresh winter vegetables, has become the most popular restaurant in Suining City.

Guo Xin was wandering around the city looking for a suitable gift when he suddenly saw a long queue in front of a restaurant.

"Young lady, you are here to eat too, right?" A woman saw Guo Xin standing in front of the door for a long time without moving, and asked, "I don't know where this restaurant got the fresh lettuce from. I love it, so I came here specially to eat it."

Guo Xin had not expected that this lettuce would actually bring such a huge profit to the Hu Mansion. She was somewhat curious about how attractive this dish was, so she asked, "Is this dish really that delicious? Isn't it just ordinary lettuce?"

Seeing that Guo Xin didn't seem to believe it, the woman hurriedly said, "In winter, we usually eat vegetables stored in the ice cellar. Not only are they not as delicious as fresh ones, they are also expensive. In the past, we could only eat lettuce in spring. Now we have it. What a novelty!"

Hearing this, Guo Xin also became curious and waited for a seat at the door as well. However, there were still many people there and the seats didn't arrive quickly.

She was also thinking about Guo Zhi's going to school, so she asked, "Aunt, do you know any school in the city that accepts female students?"

The woman's eyes lit up when she heard this, and she said happily, "Oh, you really asked the right person.

My husband is a professor at the Yuanlin Academy in the prefectural capital. They not only recruit male students, but also female students. They teach separately and have separate dining halls. There is no need to worry about the difference between men and women.

After that, she happily added, "Thanks to the dean, I also teach some embroidery and arithmetic courses there."

Guo Xin was interested. How could such a college really exist in this era? He asked, "What are the courses for women like?"

“If you go into detail, there are really a lot of things.

Generally, teachers teach the "Book of Filial Piety", "The Analects", "The Book of Songs", "The Book of Rites", "Biographies of Women" and "Instructions for Women". Students can then choose additional courses such as arithmetic and embroidery according to their needs.

Guo Xin couldn't help but frown when she heard about "Biographies of Women" and "Instructions for Women". Influenced by advanced ideas, she didn't want her sister to be baptized by these oppressive books about women, so she asked, "I wonder if I can choose not to attend certain courses in the academy?"

This was the first time the woman had heard such a statement. After all, being able to read and write was something many young ladies dreamed of.

I had no choice but to say, "It shouldn't be possible, but you can go to the academy to learn arithmetic, embroidery, cooking and other courses. These are courses specially set up by the dean for young ladies from ordinary families."

If she only studied these courses, she would not be able to learn to read and understand. Thinking of this, Guo Xin could not help but feel troubled: "I wonder if the academy has any special courses for young ladies to learn to read and understand?"

Seeing that Guo Xin seemed to have a special request, he said, "I wonder what kind of class the young lady wants? Maybe I can ask my husband for her when I get back."

"I can learn to read and understand, but I don't want to learn the Biographies of Women and the Instructions for Women, and then learn some arithmetic and other skills that are needed to be a shopkeeper."

The woman was a little surprised. These two books were compulsory for women. It was strange that the girl didn't want her family to read them.

However, she saw that this young lady was really compatible with her. She only attended classes and had nothing to do. It would be nice to make a good relationship with this young lady, so she said, "I will go back and ask. If I get the result, I will send you a letter."

Guo Xin took out a hundred coins from his pocket and handed them to the woman, saying, "Then I'll come to the city to see you later this month?"

The woman took the silver and said, "When you get to the city, go to Yuanlin Academy and tell the gatekeeper that you are looking for someone named Ying Niang."

……

Guyue Tower normally prides itself on being elegant, but now this noisy restaurant lobby is somewhat inconsistent with Guyue Tower's usual style.

"Sir, what would you like to eat?" asked a waiter wearing a cotton and linen shirt and a white towel on his shoulder.

Guo Xin listened carefully and found that most of the noise in the hall was about the lettuce. However, it was just a simple lettuce. Even if it was made into a flower, it shouldn't attract so much attention. "I heard that your lettuce is very famous. I want to have some to try."

When the waiter heard that they were going to order lettuce again, he thought of the other tables that had quarreled over the limited quantity and couldn't help but sigh, "Stir-fried lettuce with salted fish, 35 cents per portion, limited to one portion per table, is that acceptable to you?"

Thirty-five cents? Limited quantity?

No wonder the lobby is so noisy. Thinking of Mrs. Hu, I couldn't help laughing. Mrs. Hu is truly a business genius.

"Try one, and some rice."

Seeing Guo Xin was so easy to talk to, the waiter said a few more words: "Oh, young lady, you are so nice.

The tables in front of me either came to make things difficult for me because they heard it was so expensive, or they didn't want to order just one portion. They explained for a long time, but I'm not the boss, so how can I make any decision?

A few days ago, because the daily limit was fifty, my mouth was worn out, but I still couldn’t win over the guests. "

Guo Xin nodded and smiled, and was also cautious in his heart. If Mrs. Hu could come up with so many ideas, she would indeed be suitable to be a business partner. If he could get her help in opening supermarkets in the future, he would probably get twice the result with half the effort.

But you have to be careful when cooperating to avoid being cheated.

Soon, a dish of stir-fried lettuce was served. It was bright and attractive, and the aroma was fragrant.

Pick up a piece with chopsticks and put it in your mouth. The mellow taste of salted fish and the sweet taste of lettuce blend perfectly, which is comparable to the stir-fried lettuce with black bean and dace in the previous life.

If people of the current dynasty ate this dish, they would simply feel that the thirty-five cents were well spent.

If fried lettuce with salted fish is so popular, then it seems that there is no need to spend a lot of effort to develop dace with fermented black beans. After all, in this era of material scarcity, preservation is also a problem, and the result may not be as popular among the people as fried lettuce with salted fish.

After leaving the restaurant, Guo Xin walked towards the East Market, where there were the best clothing shops in Suining City. Guo Zhi and Guo Xi both had to go to school, so naturally they had to dress better to avoid being bullied.

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. No matter how good your inner qualities are, you are afraid that others will have preconceived notions about you and not see your inner beauty.

She naturally believed that Guo Zhi and Guo Xi were both people of excellent character, but she also had to leave a good impression on others first, so as to prevent those unscrupulous people who judge people by their appearance from bullying her younger siblings.

Thinking of this, he became a little worried. At that time, sending Guo Xi to Donglin Academy was still very embarrassing, and he could not afford silk and satin, so he had to buy some clothes made of hemp, but they were also novel in style. He didn't know if he would be bullied because of this.

From ancient times to the present, people have always judged people by their appearance, and some even went so far as to bully someone because of their appearance, clothing, or family background. Even in an era as advanced as in the past, this was still a common practice. Therefore, Guo Xin was somewhat worried about Guo Xi's situation.