Pastoral Splendor

As dusk slowly descended, the golden sunset and vibrant afterglow shone brightly, illuminating the people returning home with their hoes, their bodies edged in gold. Peach blossoms drifted down from the courtyard gate with the spring breeze, gently landing on people's clothes, their delicate fragrance refreshing and delightful.

When Xiao Laoda brought Erhua back, he smelled the delicious aroma filling the house and couldn't help but sniff: "Sanhua, what delicious food are you making?"

Yan Ying was cooking by the stove, while Jian Yifei and Liu Hua were squatting under the stove tending the fire. The water tank in the kitchen was filled with clear water, and Si Hua and Wu Hua were sitting at the door peeling bamboo shoots, surrounded by a pile of tender green shells.

"Father, Father!" Sihua stopped what she was doing and shouted happily to Boss Xiao, "Third Sister earned twenty-five taels of silver today!"

Boss Xiao's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the hoe: "Twenty-five taels of silver? A reward from Young Master Xu?"

"No, no!" Liu Hua poked her little head out from behind the stove, excitedly saying, "Third Sister sold the pickled bamboo shoots we made!"

"Pickled bamboo shoots can sell for so much silver?" Boss Xiao could hardly believe his ears. These bamboo shoots weren't anything precious; they grew all over the mountains. A light drizzle was enough for them to sprout from the ground and grow incredibly fast. These bamboo shoots…were more valuable than meat? Meat only sold for thirty copper coins a pound!

A while ago, Yan Ying called Xiao Laifu's mule cart to Yuzhou City and bought more than twenty ceramic jars in one go. When Xiao Laifu saw them, he felt sorry for her and pulled Yan Ying aside to nag her: "San Hua, you can't just spend a few taels of silver recklessly. You have to be careful with your money. You can't just spend it like this!"

Yan Ying just smiled at him: "Father, don't worry, I'll definitely sell all these ceramic jars!"

Now it seems that Yan Ying was absolutely right, and the product was indeed sold!

"Sanhua, over twenty jars sold for twenty-five taels of silver? One tael of silver per jar?" Boss Xiao grinned so wide his mouth stretched to the back of his head: "They really sold for a good price! Nobody wanted those little bamboo shoots, but they actually made money!"

"Father, Third Sister didn't sell more than twenty jars! She only sold five!" Sihua grinned from ear to ear: "How could more than twenty jars only fetch this much money?"

"Five jars?" Boss Xiao felt dizzy. He couldn't believe that these unwanted bamboo shoots could sell for so much silver. He walked to Yan Ying's side in confusion: "San Hua, don't lie to people. Bamboo shoots are bamboo shoots. You can't trick others into thinking they're precious!"

Yan Ying didn't look up at Xiao Laoda, her hands busy cooking: "Father, don't worry, of my twenty-five taels of silver, ten taels were used to buy a recipe, and the pickled bamboo shoots were three taels a jar. I didn't sell them for too much. The other person who bought them made more money than us!"

"Oh, is that so? No one else suffered a loss?" Boss Xiao smiled憨厚ly. "That's good, that's good. I was just worried that someone might have wasted money."

Yan Ying found it amusing. She took the food out of the pot and called to Jian Yifei, "Brother Jian, we can eat now. There's no need to add any more firewood."

"What?" Boss Xiao craned his neck to look, and then saw Jian Yifei sitting behind the stove with Liuhua in his arms. He was so shocked that his voice was a little slurred: "Young Master Jian, come outside quickly! How could we let you do such a thing!"

Jian Yifei smiled and said, "It's nothing, it's nothing. Prince Xu is still chopping wood in the backyard. What's it to me starting a fire?"

Old Master Xiao's legs went weak and he almost couldn't straighten up. He actually made the young master chop wood! Oh dear, what a sin! He hurriedly took a step towards the backyard, but Jian Yifei called out to him, "Old Master Xiao, please sit down. The young master needs to practice his arm strength, and chopping wood is the best way to do it."

"Oh, oh." Boss Xiao responded blankly, stopped in his tracks, and stood in the middle of the room. He didn't know whether he should stand or sit. The atmosphere in the room was really strange when he came back today, making him dizzy and unable to come back to his senses. It was as if this was not his own room anymore.

The table was laden with dishes. Yan Ying pointed to the large plate in the middle and said, "Father, try this dish. I made ten taels of silver from this recipe today."

Upon hearing that it had been sold for ten taels of silver, Boss Xiao became solemn and respectful. He held his chopsticks in his hand, not daring to reach out, and looked at Xu Yixuan with a look of fear and trepidation on his face: "Young Master Xu... please eat, please eat more, it's ten taels of silver!"

Yan Ying found it amusing. She picked up a small spoon and scooped a few spoonfuls of stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots for Xu Yixuan and Jian Yifei: "Brother Jian, Brother Xu, you eat first. If you don't eat, my father definitely won't dare to eat."

Xu Yixuan laughed and nodded. He picked up the bowl and picked up a pickled bamboo shoot. After tasting it, he couldn't help but praise it: "It's so delicious, so delicious!"

Jian Yifei felt very pleased to hear Yan Ying address him first and then Xu Yixuan. Usually, people in the villa would address Xu Yixuan respectfully. Some maids and servants would only casually call him "Young Master Jian" or "Master Jian" if they wanted to curry favor with Xu Yixuan. But now Yan Ying had put him first, which made him particularly happy. While picking at his food, his eyes wandered from his bowl and saw her smilingly serving food to Xiao Laoda. He secretly praised her, thinking that Miss Xiao was truly a rare good girl. She was smart, capable, polite, and filial.

Boss Xiao picked at a piece of pickled bamboo shoot and looked at Yan Ying with surprise and suspicion: "San Hua, is this a small bamboo shoot? You're not lying to me."

"Father, it really is a small bamboo shoot." Yan Ying smiled and picked up a pickled bamboo shoot with her chopsticks. "Father, take a closer look. Doesn't it look just like a small bamboo shoot?"

Boss Xiao picked up a bamboo shoot and examined it for a long time before nodding and saying, "It really is a small bamboo shoot, but how come it tastes so good?"

"It's all thanks to Miss Xiao's skillful hands!" Xu Yixuan winked at Yan Ying, who pretended not to see it and turned to look at the stove. Da Hua and her sisters were sitting around eating happily. Yan Ying felt a pang of sadness. It was an old custom here that women could not sit at the table when guests came and could only wait until the guests finished eating. Today, it was only because she insisted that the sisters were allowed to eat by the stove.

Yan Ying took a breath. She was determined to change the Xiao family's habit so that their daughter could sit at the table with dignity! She scooped a spoonful of stir-fried minced pork with pickled bamboo shoots into her bowl and chewed it carefully. She had to admit that the dish was really delicious. No wonder Xu Yixuan ate it so happily.

"Miss Xiao, your cooking skills are absolutely amazing. Even the chefs at Ruyi Restaurant can't cook as well as you." Xu Yixuan, having eaten and drunk her fill, stretched out her legs and let out a satisfied burp: "I think you should open a restaurant instead."

"Open a restaurant?" Yan Ying shook her head. Opening a restaurant requires connections. If it's not someone from the government or a wealthy family, why would ordinary people eat at a restaurant? Although Xu Yixuan lives in a villa, he is not the Prince of Yu and is still young. Others may not necessarily give him face. Besides, he will only live in this villa for a year. In a few months, he will pack up and go back to the capital. At that time, her restaurant will be deserted and she will have to close down.

"What? Opening a restaurant isn't good?" Xu Yixuan said with great enthusiasm, "With your excellent skills, it's a real shame you don't open a restaurant!"

"That's just because Brother Xu thinks I'm good at cooking. As the saying goes, it's hard to please everyone, and one person can't satisfy a hundred people. How can I be sure that everyone will like the dishes I cook?" Yan Ying shook her head: "As for me, I'll make pickled bamboo shoots for a while, live off the land and water, and see what other ways I can make money."

Boss Xiao nodded repeatedly from the side: "Sanhua is absolutely right!" Hearing Xu Yixuan say that Yan Ying should open a restaurant, Boss Xiao felt dizzy. Opening a restaurant, how much money would that require? His own mud-brick house was about to collapse and he didn't even have the money to build a new one, so where would he get the money to open a restaurant?

Seeing that neither the Xiao family father nor daughter had this intention, Xu Yixuan's enthusiasm immediately cooled down. He originally wanted to say that he would provide the capital to let Yan Ying be the manager, but before he could even speak, they all shook their heads. He still wanted to continue.

Jian Yifei, sitting to the side, nodded: "Miss Xiao is very thoughtful. People live off the land and water. There's no way we can't make something of ourselves in this mountain and pond."

Yan Ying smiled and nodded: "Brother Jian is right, I'm going to make a fortune out of this mountain valley!" Looking up at the sky, she saw a crescent moon hanging in the dark blue sky. Yan Ying pointed to the sky: "Brother Jian, you should go back now."

“Hmm…” Jian Yifei was a little reluctant, but Yan Ying had clearly given him the order to leave, so he could only stand up and nod to Yan Ying: “If you need anything, just come to me.”

Xu Yixuan rushed to Jian Yifei's side and patted his chest: "Don't forget, I'm here too!"

Yan Ying smiled slightly, revealing two small dimples at the corners of her lips: "I know, I won't forget you!"

Xu Yixuan was delighted to hear this, and then followed Jian Yifei out. As they went out, he kept looking back and kicked the threshold, crying out "Ouch!"

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