Harem Daily Life

After having a meal in Yingyue Pavilion, Eunuch Qin waited for a while before returning to Changchun Palace with satisfaction, bringing pickled pepper chicken feet and prepared candied haws.

The Queen Mother, who was getting impatient, had a quick lunch and sent people to check the palace gate three or four times before finally getting the person she was expecting.

"What did you cook? It takes so long!" The Queen Mother watched eagerly as Eunuch Qin opened the food box, took out a plate of chicken feet, and then took out two strings of candied haws.

"Is this all you got back?" It's not even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth.

Eunuch Qin explained, "Lady Tao is of such high status that she doesn't have that many ingredients. She even exchanged the chicken feet for meat. Your Majesty, please try it. It's sour and spicy, and very delicious."

The Queen Mother asked suspiciously, "How do you know? Did you eat it secretly?"

Eunuch Qin was so frightened by the Queen Mother's death gaze that his legs went limp. He quickly knelt down and said, "Queen Mother, please calm down. I didn't cheat on you. It's just... just..."

The Queen Mother narrowed her eyes and said, "You wouldn't...eat directly in Yingyue Pavilion, would you?"

Eunuch Qin said in panic: "It was just dinner time. Lunch was served and I ate a little." His voice became lower and lower, for fear that the Queen Mother would be jealous.

Yes, it’s jealousy! I’m not afraid of the Queen Mother being angry, I’m just afraid of her being jealous.

If the Queen Mother is angry, she can be fine after a while by just begging for mercy. But if the Queen Mother is jealous, it will take days to make trouble.

Don’t ask Eunuch Qin why he knew this, because he will burst into tears if you ask!

The empress dowager raised her eyebrows and said, "Isn't it just a meal? Look how scared you are." After saying that, she washed her hands, picked up the pickled chicken feet and started eating as if nothing had happened.

Eunuch Qin waited on the sidelines for his fate.

As expected, he said, "Reorganize all the things that the late emperor gave me as a reward, and check them all according to the booklet. Take advantage of the good weather these few days and finish them as soon as possible."

Eunuch Qin wanted to cry but had no tears. He had to check all the things in the three warehouses and dry everything that needed to be dried. He didn't have to do any other work!

But what could he do? Who could have resisted the temptation of delicious food and had an extra meal at Yingyue Pavilion without the Queen Mother's knowledge? The Queen Mother wished that it was she who went to Yingyue Pavilion today!

Eunuch Qin went down to work with a miserable look on his face.

The Queen Mother finished a plate of chicken feet with pickled peppers, still not satisfied, and picked up a small string of candied haws and said, "A beauty's status is indeed too limited in terms of ingredients. Look at this candied haws, it's not even half as long as those outside the palace!"

But after taking a bite, it tasted really good, and there was even some osmanthus sprinkled on it, which instantly filled my mouth with fragrance.

Little Jinan was lost in thought as he looked at the mini version of the candied haws. He stretched out his hand and compared them, and asked suspiciously, "Sister, why are the candied haws I saw on the street so long and big, but the ones made by Caiyun are so small?"

Caiyun giggled on the side: Of course, that was what Lady Tao specifically told us. The young master can't eat too much or he will get tooth decay, so he has to be a mistress.

Tao Yanyan brainwashed him seriously: "Jin'an, look at your little hammer, little shovel, and little wooden bucket, aren't they all small?"

Xiao Jinan nodded in approval.

"Look, isn't the small bowl that your sister prepared for you also small? And your small spoon, small chopsticks, small plate, small school bag, small pencil case, all your things, are they all tailor-made according to your small body?"

Xiao Jinan's brows relaxed a little and he nodded.

"Because Jinan's stomach is only as big as your fist, the candied haws that sister prepared for you are also custom-made, just enough to fit into your stomach." Tao Yanyan clenched little Jinan's fist and compared it in front of him.

Little Jinan seemed to understand: "I know, I am a small baby and can only eat small candied haws."

Tao Yanyan affirmed with great certainty: "Yes, Jin'an is really smart. Adults eat big strings of candied haws, and babies eat small strings of candied haws."

Xiao Jinan scratched his head: "Then why are the candied haws for the empress dowager also in small bunches?"

Tao Yanyan blinked and continued to fool around: "That's because the candied haws were specially prepared for Jin'an. They belong to Jin'an. When you take a few of Jin'an's candied haws out and give them to the empress dowager, the empress dowager will know that this is Jin'an's intention, so sister didn't specially replace them with large candied haws."

Xiao Jinan was happy. The Queen Mother would definitely understand his feelings after eating the candied haws. She might even praise him non-stop!

Wow, another happy day.

No longer worrying about the size, Xiao Jin enjoyed his candied haws peacefully, and even generously gave one to Xiao Quanzi.

Looking at the two children eating, Tao Yanyan gave Caiyun a look, and the two of them quietly went to the kitchen. Caiyun took out the big string of candied haws that she had prepared, and Tao Yanyan hid in the kitchen and ate them.

After finishing a bunch of snacks, Tao Yanyan returned to the main hall, called Dong Fang, and asked him about the opening of the restaurant yesterday.

"Reporting to the beauty, Xiang Man Yuan was so popular after its opening that we were almost overwhelmed. Fortunately, Madam Qi was prepared and hired two people to help. In addition, I also helped with some work in the store, so we were able to cope with it. Madam Qi has already registered the account book. She said that the turnover yesterday was 435 taels of silver. After deducting the cost of the ingredients, she made more than 200 taels, which is a considerable profit!"

Tao Yanyan did some calculations in her mind and after deducting labor costs, shop costs and other miscellaneous items, there should be a 40 percent profit, which she would split equally with the Qi siblings, leaving herself with 20 percent. She was very satisfied with such a high profit.

"Well, what about the product? Do customers have any feedback?" The core competitiveness still lies in the product. Only by making a good product can you retain customers.

"I made all the food according to the recipes given by the beauty. I saw that almost all of them were sold out, so they should be very popular."

Tao Yanyan thought that one day would not reveal anything, and it would take a long period of sales to know which items would become the store’s signature products, the star products, and the king of traffic in the future.

"As long as the business is good, you can go and take a look when you go out in the future. Just copy a copy of the account every month and you don't have to ask Madam Qi how much she sold and how much she earned every time. Since she is fully responsible outside, just let her have the power and don't ask about everything."

Dong Fang immediately said, "Yes, I know. By the way, when I left the palace yesterday, I saw Eunuch Zhengrong from Concubine Shu's palace. I hid in the crowd so he couldn't see me. He went into the pharmacy across from Xiangmanyuan. Before I went back to the palace, I went to ask about it. The owner of the pharmacy said that Eunuch Zhengrong gave me a prescription that was good for women to get pregnant and bought top-grade medicinal materials. I thought it was strange. If it was medicine for Concubine Shu, shouldn't it be taken from the Imperial Hospital?"

Tao Yanyan no longer had a good impression of Shu Fei. Thinking about how he once tried to make friends with her, he really wanted to despise himself now.