My humble days in ancient times

The next day, the four brothers and sisters came to the river, and the water temperature was no longer cold.

Several people stood by the river, and Xu Ruyi said, "Brother, you teach Qingyan, and Ruyuan and I will watch and learn by the river."

Xu Qinghe swam in the water for them to watch, and then explained the basic movements and precautions. Qingyan just didn't know how to do it, so he drank a few sips of water.

Xu Qinghe dragged his body with both hands, and Xu Qingyan swam in the water.

Xu Qinghe got tired after a while, but Xu Qingyan enjoyed it.

Xu Ruyi, who came from the modern era, could swim naturally, but it was difficult to use it suddenly. She was afraid of danger, so she asked them to come back tomorrow to practice.

The four brothers and sisters went to a place with reeds in the distance, picked some leaves and went back.

Zongzi have been particularly popular recently. Every time I open the stall, there are people who look like servants waiting for me. Sometimes a serving requires ten or eight zongzi, and they are always sold out early.

There is a big date in each of Xu Ruyi’s rice dumplings.

I closed my stall today and bought a lot of dates and a big rooster.

Wearing the apron made by Xu Ruyuan, Xu Ruyi began to make clay pot chicken.

Wash the chicken, cut into pieces, put it into the pot to blanch it to remove the fishy smell, remove it from the pot and drain the water for later use.

Heat the pan with cold oil, add onion, ginger, garlic, dried chili peppers, star anise, etc. and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken and stir-fry evenly. Add various seasonings and stir-fry evenly.

Add appropriate amount of water to cover the chicken, bring to a boil over high heat and then simmer over low heat.

Finally, divide the kneaded dough into small pieces and roll them into thin pancakes. Place the pancakes on the side of the pot and continue to simmer until the pancakes are cooked through.

The four brothers and sisters enjoyed the meal very much.

Xu Ruyi has finally adapted to this place recently, starting with the food.

After dinner, the four siblings went to the river. Xu Ruyi suddenly thought of the video he had seen before, which said that if a person falls into the water, don't panic or move your legs. Just slowly put your hands behind your head and you will float on the water.

So Xu Ruyi said to Xu Qinghe, "Brother, try falling into the water. If you can't swim, just slowly put your hands behind your head. You will slowly float to the surface, and then lie on your back in the water without sinking. Try this and see if you can do it."

Xu Qinghe tried it and it really worked. Then he asked him to try crossing his arms over his chest and it also worked.

Xu Ruyi asked Xu Ruyuan and Xu Qingyan if they remembered. The siblings nodded. Xu Qingyan was splashing around in the water. Seeing his elder and second sisters at the riverbank, he splashed water at them, startling them.

Xu Ruyuan held his clothes and said, "Are you going to spill them again? If you spill them again, they will fall into the water."

Xu Qingyan had no choice but to surrender: "No more."

After playing for a while, a few of us went back to picking leaves for the zongzi. Back home, we soaked the glutinous rice, boiled the leaves, and started making the zongzi. Since we didn't have enough time in the morning, we had to wrap them in advance. Then, we boiled them in the morning and put them in hot water to keep them warm. You can eat them cold now, since it's not cold anymore. But they're still delicious hot.

Basically, the reed leaves we picked are always used up. There is no other way, the rice dumplings are so popular and they are also unique.

As soon as the stall was set up that morning, a man in his forties came over and packed up all the zongzi. Xu Ruyi counted them—a total of 122, each costing five wen. The extra two were considered a gift. So, assuming 120, that would be 600 wen.

After the uncle paid, Xu Ruyi asked, "Uncle, why did you buy so much?"

The uncle replied, "Today is the young master's birthday." After that, the uncle got in the carriage and left.

Xu Qinghe smiled and said, "I didn't expect it to be so popular!"

Xu Ruyi was not modest either: "That's natural, don't you see who did it?"

Xu Qinghe was puzzled: "How did you come up with the idea of ​​wrapping zongzi with reed leaves?"

Xu Ruyi said guiltily, "Because when making rice balls, the glutinous rice sticks together and tastes good, so I thought that using glutinous rice to cook sticky rice would also taste good."

Xu Qinghe thought: "Then how do you know that reed leaves are so fragrant?"

Xu Ruyi's palms were sweating. "I remember one time I threw two reed leaves into my rice, and it tasted really good and fragrant. The fragrance from the reed leaves was so good, and that's when I thought of this. It can be considered an unexpected success!"

Xu Qinghe was still thinking about whether there was such an incident. Was there a time when rice smelled particularly good?

At this time, a man with pockmarks on his face came in with a steamed bun in his hand. He asked, "I've had your egg pancakes before. Your sauce and chili oil are delicious. Can you put some on my bun?"

Xu Qinghe's thoughts were pulled back, and he said, "Of course, come, I'll help you spread some." Xu Qinghe took the steamed bun and spread the chili oil and sauce on it.

The man took the steamed bun and said, "Thank you. It would be great if they had some for sale. I could eat it with this dip every day when I get home."

A word to wake up the dreamer.

Xu Ruyi thought about it and thought it was feasible.

At this time, an older man in a green robe came over and asked gently, "Can I buy the secret recipe for the rice dumplings you made yesterday?"

Xu Ruyi thought about it and said, "It's possible, but this thing won't last long. It's a seasonal thing."

The uncle quickly asked, "Why do you say that?"

Xu Ruyi explained: "It's all about the leaves. You can only wrap zongzi with them. If they turn yellow and are gone, you can't wrap them."

The uncle smiled and said, "I see. But it doesn't matter."

Xu Ruyi smiled and said, "As long as the price is fair, of course it's fine."

The uncle held out his hand. Xu Ruyi looked at it and said, "Uncle, are you talking about five or fifty taels?"

The uncle laughed out loud: "Of course it's fifty taels."

Xu Ruyi said with satisfaction: "Deal, but I have one condition. I can still sell zongzi in the future."

The uncle thought for a moment and said, "Yes, you and your shop can be sold."

Xu Ruyi nodded, but wondered in her heart whether the uncle would be stunned when he saw such a simple recipe.

Seeing Xu Ruyi agreed, the uncle smiled and said, "My shop is very close to here. I'll go write the contract. I'll be right there."

Xu Qinghe asked, "Isn't it a shame to sell it like this?"

Xu Ruyi smiled and said, "The market is so big, we can't take it all. We might as well give it to others. Besides, if someone targets us, it won't be a good thing."

Xu Qinghe felt relieved after thinking about it.

Soon the uncle came with the silver. Xu Ruyi looked at the five large silver ingots and was delighted. Each ingot was worth ten taels of silver.

Xu Qinghe: How many egg pancakes do I need to make?

The uncle took out the contract, and Xu Ruyi and Xu Qinghe looked at it and thought it was fine. Xu Ruyi wrote her name and put her fingerprint on it.

Xu Ruyi took the pen and paper that the uncle brought and wrote the prescription.

The uncle's expression froze after seeing it: It's that simple.

Xu Ruyi reminded him, "Because it's so simple, there's no guarantee someone will imitate it in a year or two. But if you have more shops, you can still make a lot of money."

The uncle thought about it and praised the handwriting, "I didn't expect the little girl to be able to read. Not only can she read, but she can also write. Her handwriting is quite beautiful. Not bad."

Xu Ruyi smiled and said, "There's a teacher in our village who teaches. Both men and women can learn. I studied there for two or three years."

The uncle was surprised: girls can learn it, the local customs are quite open.

The uncle smiled and said, "This is a blessing." Then he said goodbye and left.

After closing the stall, Xu Ruyi specially bought a beautiful lunch box.

The next day, Xu Ruyi took some rice dumplings and chili oil to the largest restaurant in the county.

The waiter looked at Xu Ruyi and showed no contempt or arrogance. Instead, he asked softly, "Miss, what's the matter?"

Xu Ruyi smiled and replied, "I don't know if your shopkeeper is here. I want to show him some food."

The child hesitated and said, "The shopkeeper just went out and is not in the restaurant now."

Xu Ruyi couldn't help but sigh: Without an acquaintance's introduction, I can't even get into the restaurant!

Xu Ruyi went to several restaurants but was still rejected.

People in the world are too prejudiced.

The idea behind bringing the zongzi was to let them taste it, primarily to recommend the chili oil. Unexpectedly, she was met with rebuffs everywhere. Xu Ruyi had hoped to build relationships with them through the chili oil, so she could recommend recipes later. Now, it seems she had oversimplified the issue.