Divorced woman with child travels through time

Chapter 294 The Number One Chef

The young shop assistant was beaming so hard his eyes were practically closed. "Buying so much, you must be a big customer!"

Shopkeeper A said, "Madam, take a look at this pheasant. Was it delivered this morning?"

"Let me see, it's alright, let's keep it then." Chen Wenfang looked at the chicken's brightly colored feathers, thinking it could be used to make a shuttlecock.

Chen Wenfang casually picked through the ginger, saying, "This ginger looks good, I'll buy some."

"Yes, garlic will do too."

"Give me a little more scallion, too." After all that preamble, Chen Wenfang asked, feigning interest, "Boss, don't you have chili sauce? Green chilies would be fine too?"

"My lady, you have such good taste!" Shopkeeper A flattered. "This chili sauce came from Linxia. It was all the rage last year, but it was all sold out after the New Year. I heard there will be a lot more this year."

"Oh, I see." Chen Wenfang then deliberately reminded him, "But I heard that over there, there's a kind of chili powder, or you know, chili flakes? That stuff is really good, could you get me some? I really like to use it when I cook."

"No problem, I'll keep an eye out for you, and if you find any, I'll send them over in a couple of days." Shopkeeper A smiled broadly.

“Okay, money is no problem.” Chen Wenfang was particularly happy. “I prefer the spicy flavor. If you have any, send it to me as soon as possible. I’m willing to pay any price.”

The waiter, A, said happily, "Sure, sure, ma'am, please sign here and pay the money!"

"Okay!" Chen Wenfang paid the money readily, and the two shop assistants brought the goods inside. The girl watched the whole thing, occasionally taking a bite of fruit.

The rice and vegetables arrived, and Chen Wenfang began her arduous and diligent life as a cook. On her first day, she delivered a truly perfect meal: braised pheasant, braised pork belly, pickled fish fillets, duck and vermicelli soup, stir-fried lotus root slices, stir-fried cabbage, and a pot of cooked rice. Ru'er was amazed to discover that rice could taste so delicious. She wanted to ask Chen Wenfang for the secret recipe but hesitated, considering her status. After finishing two bowls of rice, she excused herself, saying that it wasn't good to eat too much that evening.

Needless to say, Qian'er preferred braised pork and pheasant, which were very oily and flavorful. She ate four bowls of rice with the dishes before reluctantly leaving the table. Indeed, Madam Chen was a good cook. It was a good thing she wasn't killed.

Chen Wenfang and her daughter ate in the back. Chen Wenfang was getting older and wanted to maintain her figure, so she ate a little at night. Her daughter, however, wouldn't do that. She devoured the leftovers by herself, and she could eat a lot...

The four women managed to finish a whole pot of rice. Chen Wenfang had cooked three jin of rice, thinking that if Qian'er got hungry later, she could make fried rice with eggs.

Chen Wenfang couldn't help but click her tongue in amazement...

In Lijia Town of Linxia, ​​the villagers continued to live in dire straits. Although some people followed suit and went to Yangshou Town in an attempt to reduce taxes, the situation had become chaotic due to the large number of people seeking refuge. Today they collected poll tax, tomorrow land tax, seed tax, livestock tax, and even taxes on raising chickens. The taxes were so exorbitant that every household was exploited, and there was widespread suffering. Many tax collectors were secretly beaten, but it was all in vain. The taxes were still collected, just less.

Some people got smarter and joined Wang Hanyang's group. They got a share of the money from bandit suppression and didn't have to pay taxes. In just one month, Wang Hanyang's army grew to more than 300 people. Of course, there were more than 60 people on the surface. Yang Shouzhen suffered heavy casualties last time, so this time he expanded his army to more than 200 people. Wang Hanyang took the opportunity to put some of his own people in, about 20 or so. They were all trustworthy brothers, so that if they ever turned against him, he could break through from the bottom.

Thanks to Wang Erniu, the Wang family village only received a few hundred taels of silver out of the eight thousand taels distributed from the last bandit suppression. This was divided among the men, who each received ten taels. The rest was managed by Brother Nie and his wife, who stored grain in the village. Before Wang Erniu left, Chen Wenfang had specifically discussed this with Aunt Liu and Sister-in-law Nie. With chaos approaching, the most important thing was to stockpile grain and supplies and not be stingy with money. So they never gave up their business. They had been ordering 500 catties of sugar every seven days without interruption. Unfortunately, due to the unsafe roads, they often ran out of stock, but they would pay as soon as the goods arrived. The price had also risen to 120 wen per catty. The same went for rice and flour; they would accept the goods as soon as they were delivered and pay upon delivery.

Sugarcane has already been planted on the village, covering about twenty acres. Chili seedlings have also been cultivated, and they can be sold once they grow a little bigger. The winter wheat is growing well, which is also very gratifying. Brother Nie is the busiest; he's already turning Wangjiazhuang into a fortification site. Not enough wells? Drill some! There's still wasteland; reclaim it! Not enough manpower? Buy more people!

Since the beginning of the year, many migrants have come to Linxia. Some brought their entire families, while others were young and strong men looking for trouble. In Hu Chengxin's words, the number of migrants visiting the town is almost greater than the number of tourists.

Brother Nie was a kind-hearted man. When he came to town with Hu Chengxin to reconcile accounts, he saw several families looking for work and couldn't help but pay attention. When the young men from these families posted free jobs in exchange for a meal, he finally couldn't resist and brought them back to Wangjiazhuang.

There were three households in total, all three being refugees. One household consisted of Zhang Liang and his wife, with two daughters: Zhang Lan, who was thirteen, and Zhang Cui, who was nine. Another household consisted of Tian Shi and his wife, with a son named Tian Zhuangzhuang, who appeared somewhat thin and unwell. The two elderly people were both in their fifties. The third household consisted of Tian Hua and his wife, who were cousins ​​of Tian Shi. They had three sons named Tian Qi, Tian Ba, and Tian Jiu. Overall, the men seemed quite sturdy, like people who had worked in the fields for a long time.

Brother Nie was a clever man. He took a cart directly to Wangjiazhuang, first bringing out a basket of steamed buns to feed them. After waiting for half an hour, he made them work. Normal people would be sleepy after being hungry for a long time and would slack off, let alone resist their physical instincts to work. Brother Nie did this to see if they were honest people.

As it turned out, he was right. The families were all very down-to-earth people. After eating and drinking their fill, the men, women, and children of the families put their food aside and left it to the weakest, Tian Zhuangzhuang, to watch over. Everyone went to the fields. The weaker ones carried small stones, picked up branches, pulled weeds, and turned the soil. They were all very capable and hardworking.

Brother Nie was satisfied and accepted the three households. After all, they only needed to eat, so it would save him a lot of money on labor.

Little did he know that this was the first time these three families had encountered such a kind customer. They were so eager to give him their lives. What kind of kind family would let someone eat before they work? The whole meal was delicious, made with mixed grains, and it didn't even cut his throat. He almost ate until he was moved to tears. Not to mention the elderly and children, each of them received three substantial, fist-sized steamed buns. Even the children, who were usually very hungry, could only eat two before they were full. These thick steamed buns proved how kind this family was.