As soon as the carriage and horse stopped, Xu Hanliang took out a few large coins from his pocket and handed them to Li Zhongwen to count as his carriage fee.
After some humiliating prevarication, Li Zhongwen accepted the money.
With all his money gone, Xu Hanliang couldn't help but smile bitterly, and now he has become a real breath of fresh air.
When you open the wooden door, the first thing you see is a young lady busy washing clothes.
It was already the twelfth lunar month of winter, and the warm water in the tub had long since lost its heat, and even formed some ice.
As the saying goes, twenty-eight years of age is the most beautiful age.
The young mother's hands were soaked in ice water, and they had turned red and her fingers were swollen.
Seeing this, Xu Hanliang couldn't help feeling a little sad, and quickly walked to Zhongniang's side.
"Lang Jun, are you back?"
After the young lady saw Xu Hanliang's figure, she raised her hand and brushed the broken hair from her face, and asked with a smile.
"Why not use warm water?"
Xu Hanliang squatted down and asked distressedly.
"The price of firewood has gone up again. Save as much as you can. It's cold outside, sir. You'd better go back to your room first."
The young lady held her head high, with an indelible smile still on her face. She didn't care about her swollen hands at all, but instead she cared about Xu Hanliang.
Suddenly she seemed to remember something again, and said rather arrogantly: "By the way, Lang Jun, actually the twelfth lunar month in the cold winter is not bad, and Master Zhu's is not bad either. Because of the cold weather, I have been paid more for this month's wages.
A few big guys."
Hearing what Zhimiang said, Xu Hanliang was angry and funny.
He is really useless as a scholar. He was so older than a man before, but all the money-making work is done by women.
When he first arrived, Xu Hanliang didn't feel anything was wrong.
But when I saw Zhimiang working hard, I felt an indescribable sadness in my heart.
My heart tightened, I took off my cloak and put it on my young mother's shoulders.
Feeling the warmth coming from her body, the young lady's body trembled slightly.
He turned around hurriedly: "Mr. Lang, what are you doing? You have just recovered from a serious illness. You should pay attention to your health."
Xu Hanliang waved his hand, took the little girl's little hand that was red from the cold, covered it to her mouth, and breathed out.
"Leave these to me. You go and boil some hot water. Don't worry about money. I'll take care of it."
Xu Hanliang looked at Zhimiang with an extremely serious expression.
Hearing this, Zhongniang's face suddenly changed, as if she had something in her mind, and tears already hung on her peach blossom eyes: "What does the gentleman mean by this? Does the gentleman want to sell the slave family to others?"
Xu Hanliang burst into laughter: "Where did you think of it? I am a man, so I don't need you, a charming girl, to worry about money matters. You go boil the water and I will starch these clothes for you first."
When she heard that Xu Hanliang was not going to sell herself, Zhimian breathed a sigh of relief.
However, his brows were still twisted like a hemp rope, and he refused to say anything: "As a maid, I cannot share the worries of the master's family. Your husband is the hand of Wen Quxing, how can he touch these dirty things."
Unable to shirk it, Xu Hanliang could only get up and go to the kitchen and boil some hot water.
As Zhimiang said, this firewood is only enough for two or three meals, which is indeed not enough.
A hole was blown out of the paper window by the cold wind, and the howling cold wind blew in through the window with a whistling sound.
After adding hot water, the speed of washing clothes was much faster.
By the time the sun sets, these clothes are almost washed.
While Zhimiang was sending the clothes back to the Zhu family's house, Xu Hanliang was preparing the materials for making MSG.
How can the seasonings of this era compare to modern technology?
By the time Zhimiang returned, Xu Hanliang had almost prepared the materials.
Under Xu Hanliang's explanation, Zhi Niang helped Xu Hanliang extract the MSG together with half-understanding.
Naturally, she didn't understand what MSG was, but he understood that Xu Hanliang smashed all the good beans.
There was not much food left at home, but Xu Hanliang had more than half of it in one go.
The young lady talks little, and even if she feels distressed, she just stares at the beans with her eyes.
But how could Xu Hanliang not see that little thought?
…
In the early morning, Xu Hanliang got up early.
There really isn't much nightlife in this world. As a night owl, he went to bed early every night.
Now the body has recovered a lot, but it is still a little weak.
This is not something that medicinal stones can remedy. If you want to become stronger, you can only rely on exercise.
He didn't want to become fat after eating one meal, so he started with jogging.
Xu Hanliang, who is more or less a Sheniu, doesn't care about the eyes of passers-by, admiring the beautiful scenery by the river and taking care of his body.
In a city that has not experienced industrialization, the air in the morning is slightly fresher.
Five kilometers is Xu Hanliang’s current morning running requirement, neither far nor close.
Half an hour later, Xu Hanliang returned home.
As soon as I opened the creaking wooden door, I heard a male voice coming from home, which sounded a little familiar.
"Lang Jun, you are back. Shopkeeper Sun is here to see you."
When the young lady heard the door open, she rushed over to greet it.
Seeing Sun Chengde, Xu Hanliang was not surprised. After all, everything was planned by him.
Sun Chengde walked up to him and bowed his hands politely: "I came here early in the morning to disturb you, please forgive me Mr. Xu."
The expression on his face was a little flattering, and he could tell at a glance that he wanted something from me.
Just as Xu Hanliang thought.
The small can of MSG he gave yesterday was not enough to stir-fry a few dishes.
After running out of MSG, he started cooking the same way again.
But who would have thought that those people who used to praise their home-cooked dishes would start complaining again and again.
Everyone was clamoring that this dish was tasteless and that the mysterious seasoning should be added.
It was not easy to calm down the grievances of those old customers.
However, the delicious taste remains in the hearts of many customers.
Sun Chengde also started out as a small cook, and relied on his keen sense of business to become the second-in-command of the Red Mansion.
Naturally, he knows how attractive Xu Hanliang’s family-style condiments are to customers.
I was a little worried in my heart. If other restaurants learned about the family spices and asked Xu Hanliang to buy them, it would be troublesome.
Depending on how popular the family-herited condiment is, it might really be a punch to the Red Mansion for them.
Since you don’t want to be an enemy, you must become a friend.
Because of this, he hurried over while buying food while it was still dark.
"Shopkeeper Sun, what do you want me to do?"
Xu Hanliang returned the favor and pretended not to know.
Sun Chengde smiled bitterly, but he didn't hide it: "I want to ask, Mr. Xu's family biography was deleted yesterday, do you still have it in your house?"
"There are quite a few." Xu Hanliang nodded and asked doubtfully: "Is this what Shopkeeper Sun is doing?"
"Mr. Xu, to be honest, I came here just to buy the secret recipe of that family's condiment."
Hearing Sun Chengde's words, Xu Hanliang pretended to be surprised.
But in his heart, he was secretly complaining about Sun Chengde's greed.
Want to buy out a treasure that can generate wealth at once? There is no way!