Stepmother in charge: Making a fortune through farming and raising her children to fight back

As they were strolling, they arrived at the gate of the town government office.

Only then did he realize that there were noisy people gathered around watching the fun.

Some people had just arrived and were just as confused as the two of them. They asked in confusion, "Why are there so many people gathered here making such a commotion? This is right in front of the county government office. No one would dare to cause trouble here, right?"

Someone kindly replied, "Didn't the verdict of a theft case come out a few days ago? I heard those two thieves are going to be paraded through the streets."

"Aren't they usually just locked up for a few days? Why are they being paraded through the streets?" someone asked curiously.

"It's because the thief's stolen goods were taken back. But this behavior is still bad. The stolen goods are gone, so we can't just put him in jail. We have to drag him out and parade him through the streets to teach him a lesson."

"Is that so? But it's certainly fitting. Maybe he stole the hard-earned money of an ordinary family throughout the year. It might have been a casual theft, but that family might have starved to death."

Yun Zhenzhen and the other two understood. It turned out that the person being paraded through the streets today was her own second brother.

She was about to make a joke when she suddenly heard a noise from the other side. It turned out that Yun Erge and his son Yun Dengdeng were being pushed out by the yamen runners.

When he was in the Yun family, Second Brother Yun could be considered clean and unrestrained. The household affairs were taken care of by Old Lady Yun and Second Sister-in-law Yun, and they would give him a few copper coins from time to time to tidy himself up.

But now, after several days of suffering, he looked like a complete mess, with dark circles under his eyes, chapped lips, and messy hair. He looked half dead.

Yun Dengdeng seemed to be in good spirits. Perhaps because he was young and heartless, he didn't look like he had suffered any torture.

The leading bailiff led them along while shouting to the surroundings, "The Yun family father and son broke into someone's home and robbed property, resulting in the theft of a large sum of money. Fortunately, the lost property was recovered and no serious offense was committed. However, their actions were extremely egregious, so they are being paraded through the streets."

This person must have been specially trained. His words were cadenced and the people around him applauded. Their eyes showed a deeper disdain for the Yun family father and son.

There were even some honest neighbors who took out the rotten vegetable leaves they were about to throw away and threw them over, hitting them on the heads.

But Yun Zhenzhen observed and found that no one threw away the eggs because they were too expensive. They were reluctant to eat them at home, so how could they give them away for free?

After the crowd gradually walked away, some of the angry people followed and continued to insult them, while others went home to prepare dinner. Only then did peace return to the entrance of the government office.

After being here for the morning, both mother and son's stomachs started to growl, so Yun Zhenzhen took him to the Yaoyue Restaurant.

Shopkeeper Xu happened to be there today. When he heard that Madam Yun had arrived, he immediately went downstairs to greet her. "What a rare guest! Madam Yun, how did you find time to come here today? Do you have any new dishes to teach us?"

Yun Zhenzhen smiled and said, "I saw a shop in town and came here today to take a look. I'm thinking of renovating it and then opening a tavern."

The restaurant will open soon, and she has no intention of hiding it from others.

"But don't worry, I won't steal your business. By then, I should focus on selling expensive dishes. Since our customer bases are different, we can still get along peacefully."

Shopkeeper Xu waved his hand nonchalantly: "You're being polite. Even if you opened the same restaurant as me, I wouldn't have any objections. After all, there are so many shops in this town, and I wouldn't be able to object to them all."

"But do you have any fresh dishes you can sell us? It's almost the end of the year now. If you make a few more dishes, you can get a share of the profits, Madam Yun."

Shopkeeper Xu smiled meaningfully. After all, businessmen value profit. Every dish of Yun Zhenzhen was very popular, but there were too few dishes. If more dishes could be served during the Chinese New Year, wouldn't the restaurant's business be better?

Yun Zhenzhen didn't expose him. After all, he was right. It was almost the end of the year, and he had recently bought a shop, so it would be good to get a little more money.

"It just so happens that I've learned two new dishes recently, so I'd like to share them with your master chef." Yun Zhenzhen put the backpack at the door and turned to walk into the kitchen.

It is winter now, and there is no Dapeng technology in this era, so out-of-season food is really scarce.

The most common ones are bok choy and white radish, so generally at this time, restaurants will default to making meat dishes, often selling big fish and meat, and few people will make vegetarian dishes.

Today, Yun Zhenzhen did the opposite and specially made two vegetarian dishes for him.

The first dish was Mapo Tofu.

First, blanch the freshly cooked tender tofu in light salt water for a while to remove the bitterness.

Then cut the pork into small pieces, stir-fry in hot oil, sprinkle with some strong seasonings, add a little water and bring to a boil, then slide in the blanched tender tofu.

Cover and simmer for a while to absorb the flavor, then add some water starch to thicken it and add a rich taste.

Finally it is ready to be served. The secret of this dish is that the tender tofu should be blanched in salt water to remove the astringency, and a small amount of minced meat is added for garnish. When you eat it, take a spoonful and the minced meat and tender tofu will slide into your mouth without chewing. It is a good dish suitable for all ages.

The main ingredient of the second dish is potatoes, a recently discovered crop.

Some time ago, many farmers from the surrounding villages came out to sell potatoes. After keeping enough for their own consumption, they could sell the rest for money.

Yun Zhenzhen had informed him in advance and asked him to purchase potatoes in large quantities so that they could be used to make special dishes in the future.

Peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces and steam them. Then take them out and mash them into a paste. Then add some milk and salt, stir well, and finally use a spoon to pile them into the shape of a small hill on the plate.

The side ingredients need to use some freshly fried minced meat, add appropriate amount of sugar for seasoning, and garnish with some chopped green onions. Stir-fry it briefly, pour in water starch, and when the soup becomes thick, you can remove it from the pot and sprinkle it on the hill-shaped mashed potatoes.

Both dishes use minced meat, but because the main course is vegetarian, it doesn’t feel greasy.

Although the cooking methods are somewhat similar, the minced meat tofu has a tender and smooth texture, and is spicy and fragrant.

Volcano potatoes are a combination of sweet and salty, which is a very novel taste in this era. This complex taste makes many people unforgettable and linger in their dreams.

"Okay."

When Yun Zhenzhen brought out two dishes, not only Manager Xu, but even Qin Li's eyes lit up.

As soon as the dishes were served, a group of people gathered around and started to taste them.

Qin Li couldn't help but give a thumbs up after taking the first bite: "Mom, this is delicious. You have never made it at home. Can you let your younger brothers and sisters try it when you get home?"

"Okay, I'll make it for you when I have time."

When Shopkeeper Xu took his first bite, surprise flashed in his eyes: "This tastes so strange, sweet and salty, but I can't forget it after taking one bite. I keep wanting to have another bite. Madam Yun, you really opened my eyes again."

Even the chef behind her nodded repeatedly. Maybe Yun Zhenzhen's cooking skills were not as good as theirs, but these fresh dishes were enough to make them far behind.

The group of people couldn't help smacking the food in their mouths until the end.

There were only two small plates of food in total, and a group of people gathered around to eat them. They were gone in one bite each. Shopkeeper Xu was a little reluctant and thought that once the dishes were decided, he would make them first so that he could eat his fill.

Thinking about being able to eat such delicious dishes in the future, he couldn't help laughing in his heart. Fortunately, when Madam Yun asked him to buy potatoes, he went quickly and without hesitation.

Sure enough, if he believed in Madam Yun, he would definitely succeed.