Everyone lamented Liao Shi’s evil thoughts, her strange behavior, and even more lamented Ren Jianbai’s pity.

Such a young talent ended up with such a mentally abnormal and psychologically dark mother. In order to satisfy her perverted mentality, she didn’t hesitate to spend all the money that Ren Jianbai gave her as filial piety and even disregarded Ren Jianbai’s future prospects.

Ren Jianbai’s originally bright future, including next year’s provincial examination, was abruptly cut short.

“Ren Xiucai, you are really a pitiful person…”

This was a sentence that people in Qinghe County often sighed about recently after meals and during leisure time.

They not only sighed when they saw the mansion where Liao used to live or when they saw the county school, but even when they flipped through books or glanced at any words, they sighed.

It was truly pitiful to have such a mother!

“Hey!” Ai Cao also let out a long sigh.

“Why are you sighing like this? Do you think that the scholar Ren is pitiful?” Mother Liu glanced at Ai Cao while choosing leeks, and then paused. “But then again, speaking of it, Ren, the scholar, is indeed pitiful too, having such a mother.”

“In our dynasty, the imperial examination system has always been strict. If there are any criminal offenders within two generations of direct blood relatives, they are not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations. I heard that Ren, the scholar, ranked in the top ten in this year’s examination. He was sure to pass the provincial examination next year and become a Jinshi, entering government service. But now, it’s all over for him.”

“Hey…” Mother Liu sighed.

“Why is Mother Liu lamenting this?” Ai Cao scratched her head, “Liao Shi has a vicious mind. Since Ren Xiucai is her son and the court’s laws and regulations are such, there is nothing he can do. Although he looks pitiful, it has nothing to do with us.”

“If we think about it carefully, Liao Shi wanted to harm our Miss. Since Ren, the Xiucai, is Liao Shi’s son, it’s already generous of us not to hold a grudge against him. Where is the reason for us to feel sorry for him?”

“I thought you were just feeling emotional about this matter, but it seems I misunderstood?” Mama Liu’s expression turned somewhat embarrassed. “In the end, it seems I’ve been overthinking it.”

“Speaking of which, your face is wrinkled into a bun, what’s the reason for it? Isn’t it because you didn’t eat enough of the steamed meatballs that Miss personally cooked at noon today? Or is it because you didn’t feel full after eating two of the multi-grain pancakes that Dayong sent you in the morning?”

Ai Cao, “…”

“How am I someone who talks too much?” Ai Cao scoffed. “But I can’t help but notice that Miss is constantly busy with the tavern affairs every day, and she’s lost weight. Plus, after the winter set in, Second Master hasn’t visited again. It really weighs heavily on my heart.”

“Your mind finally cleared up. Are you expecting the Second Master to come?”

“Of course! Not to mention, if the Second Master misses our Miss as much as she misses him, she’ll feel more confident, and she won’t have to work so hard to make money. And whenever Second Master comes back, our daughter’s face lights up like a peony in bloom.”

Ai Cao frowned, “Except when the second master comes, when else can you see our Miss smile like a flower?”

“Miss doesn’t say it, but in fact, she is still looking forward to the Second Master’s arrival.” Mother Liu also nodded in agreement.

Su Yujin, who had just left the house, said, “…”

She was looking forward to He Yanxiu’s arrival…

There was nothing wrong with what she said, and it was even more true.

After all, only when He Yanxiu comes, could there be any hope of getting back Ai Cao and Mother Liu’s deed of betrayal, as well as her own deed of betrayal.

“As for when Second Master comes, she smiles like a flower every time…”

When He Yanxiu came, he didn’t need her to warm the bed, he was kind to her, and he was very generous with her, giving her two to three hundred taels of silver as pocket money.

Although it was still difficult for Su Yujin to accept the identity of an outside room, the feeling of getting money for nothing was really delicious.

Sure enough, she was still a money-loving person!

However, there was nothing wrong with loving money!

Su Yujin took a step forward with a smile, “Remember to put some vermicelli in the steamed stuffed buns stuffed with leek, tofu, egg, and a little dried shrimp skin. It tastes very fresh.”

“By the way, when Dayong came to deliver the egg-filled buns in the morning, she said that they would stew big bones in a sauce for dinner in the afternoon, and they would give us half a pot. So, in the evening, we will just have vegetarian buns to eat.”

“Then tonight, I’ll prepare some celery and lotus root slices for a cold dish. Yesterday, Miss had me make pigskin jelly, and it’s already set. I checked on it just now, and it’s formed perfectly. We’ll cut a piece tonight and serve it with some vinegar for a refreshing taste,” Mama Liu agreed.

“Okay.” Su Yujin nodded.

“Okay, okay, okay.” Ai Cao bobbed her head like chickens pecking at the rice.

——

The three dishes of the restaurant were quickly decided.

The first thing was what Su Yujin calls a high-quality and low-priced dish that would attract people – Mapo Tofu.

The white and tender tofu was blanched to remove its inherent tofu smell. It was then cooked with the minced pork sauce specially prepared by Zheng Mingyuan. When stir-frying, red oil was produced using dòubànjiàng. Finally, when served, it was drizzled with Zheng Mingyuan’s homemade chili oil and Sichuan peppercorn oil.

Scooping up a spoonful of the dish, the tofu was tender and fresh, the minced pork sauce was rich and fragrant, and the numbing spiciness from the red oil and Sichuan peppercorn oil was just right. It tantalized the taste buds perfectly, making it incredibly delicious without being overly spicy to the point of discomfort.

It could be said that it truly achieved the eight characteristics of numbing, spicy, hot, fragrant, crispy, tender, fresh, and lively.

If you poured mapo tofu like this on top of rice, you could definitely eat two bowls of rice in one go, making it a perfect meal companion.

Such a dish was priced at ten wen per plate when made by Su Yujin and Zheng Mingyuan.

The plate did not need to be very big, but the total of various ingredients used in such a plate of Mapo Tofu, plus the labor cost of the restaurant, was almost enough to make a slight surplus.

Even so, compared to the price of a plate of braised tofu or homemade tofu in nearby restaurants, which started at more than 20 yuan, this price was already very low.

Su Yujin even had a sign made, standing at the entrance of the tavern, with large letters stating “Ten wen per plate.” They even placed a plate of Mapo Tofu at the entrance, truly achieving a “what you see is what you get” approach.

The plate didn’t need to be very large, but the various ingredients used for a dish of Mapo Tofu, along with the labor costs at the tavern, almost covered the expenses, leaving just a tiny surplus.

As for the signature dish that Su Yujin said was suitable for all ages and was delicious and suitable for all ages, Zheng Mingyuan finally settled on the braised lion head.

Qinghe County was located in the north. The main meats eaten normally were chicken, fish, pork, and mutton. Chicken and fish tended to be bland and thin. Although mutton was fresh and tender, many people were not used to it. Only this pork is fat and tender. The reason was that it was really suitable for all ages and was loved by everyone.

The fatty and lean pork belly was diced into clearly defined but sufficiently minced meat filling, mixed with minced shiitake mushrooms and various seasonings. It was then combined with crispy chunks of yam. After thorough mixing, the mixture was shaped into small balls, fried first, and then simmered. Once plated, a thick sauce was poured over it…

(End of this chapter)

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