Breeding Mermaid Cubs

The pearls refracted under the sunlight shone with a soft white luster. The shopkeeper of Zhenbaozhai held the little finger-sized round beads and looked at the sun again and again. Even though there are countless treasures, pearls of such good quality are still rare.

What is really rare is that there is still a box with a total of [-] pieces.

"Where did Lang Jun pick this pearl? It's really rare."

Business people always like to belittle the goods to buy things at a lower price, but seeing such pearls, the shopkeeper of Zhenbaozhai is not willing to tell lies.

"Collected from the sea."

"No wonder." The shopkeeper of Zhenbao Zhai carefully put the pearls into the box: "On weekdays, those who come to sell pearls are collected from the river, and the quality is not as good as those in the sea."

"Mr. Lang, are you sure you want to sell?"

Wang Qingyeyuan didn't want to sell it either, after all, it was Xiao Yuzai who worked hard to collect it and gave it to him, and kept it as a memory, but Xiao Yuzai urged to sell it, resolutely expressing that such pearls are really not good, in the future He will bring him bigger and better ones, don't keep those of this quality.

He couldn't resist him, and also thought that money was really tight recently, and it would be great to exchange a sum of money, but Wang Qingye was reluctant to part with the pearls collected by Mianshu, so he only took out some small ones and kept the big ones.

He nodded, and the shopkeeper heaved a sigh of relief.

The price of pearls in the dynasty was high, unlike the later generations where pearls were everywhere, the pearls of this era were collected one by one in the rivers and seas. It can be said that they were collected with their lives. Naturally, the degree of preciousness is not the same as that of later generations.

Wang Qingye exchanged five taels of silver for one piece, and 150 taels for thirty.

Immediately becoming rich, Wang Qingye wondered if he could exchange all his family's money for nearly a thousand taels of silver. Thinking of this, he let out a sigh of relief. He was used to living a hard life, and he almost forgot the feeling of having a lot of money.

He found that Mianshu is a small money-maker, good-looking and attractive, and can fish and pick pearls. Whoever raises one is really a good food~

On the first day of the twelfth lunar month, that is, the last month of winter in a year, Wang Qingye's restaurant finally opened!

Facing the river and looking forward to spring, Wang Qingye chose a somewhat earthy name——Jiangchunlou. The so-called vulgarity is elegant. The name was appreciated by everyone when it came out, and everyone said that it was a good name.

The restaurant's main business - Linhai, is naturally seafood, but it is a style of seafood. How can I put it, Wang Qingye also considered a lot. People in the dynasty lived and worked in peace and contentment, and their lives were fairly affluent. In fact, the requirements for eating, drinking and entertainment were quite high. At present, there are not a few restaurants selling seafood in Xiacheng, so how to stand out?

In response to this problem, first of all, there are ingenious dishes in the restaurant, such as the sukiyaki pot of later generations. In addition, there are also unique seasonings for sashimi. Secondly, he talked about a small cooperation with Tang Suxiao. There are rich children from other places who come to watch the sea. These people from inland or other counties are very interested in going to sea and eating in Xiacheng.

He suggested that Tang Suxiao open a fleet of cruise ships for foreign tourists to board the boat and experience fishing. The things they catch can be sent directly to Jiangchun Tower for processing and made into meals. After the cruise ship returns, they can go to Jiangchun Tower eat and drink.

The Tang family charges tour fees, and the Jiangchun House charges cooking fees, so both ends earn money.

Tang Suxiao agreed very readily. Not only did Xiacheng not have this kind of one-stop service, it was very novel, but the most important thing was that he also opened a big inn in Xiacheng under his name. After eating upstairs, you can go to the inn to rest.

Wang Qingye nodded approvingly, as expected of a family of merchants, earning money at both ends, he is really cunning and cunning.

"Not slippery, not slippery, in the end it's Mr. Lang who made me admire him. He was still setting up a stall a month ago, and opened a restaurant suddenly. How many people in this city can match." Tang Suxiao said with a smile: "It's thanks to me. I'm friends with Mr. Lang."

The restaurant hired three cooks and five assistants. There were many customers on the opening day, and Zhou Zhu also came to help. The manpower did not seem cramped.

Wang Qingye watched the chef cook in the back kitchen. Although he had been trained early in the morning, it still took a lot of effort to prepare the dishes on the first day.

Many things in the later generations were not available in the Lin Dynasty, and many foods that were eaten by oneself were not allowed to be eaten casually, such as beef. It was originally a kind of meat with many methods and good taste. Because it was an important livestock cultivated by the people, so The strict management of the imperial court made it difficult to buy beef.

The most important seasoning and meat of sukiyaki is beef. Because of scarcity, the sukiyaki of Wang Qingye restaurant is not authentic, but it is more inclined to stew in a small hot pot.

The ingredients used include mutton rolls, shrimp, shiitake mushrooms, tofu, eggs, carrots, baby vegetables, etc., which are actually some very common vegetables and meat.

Fry tofu until golden on both sides, cut carrots and shiitake mushrooms, it is very important to arrange the dishes in sukiyaki to make a good-looking plate, but the red and white snowflake mutton roll, orange carrots, and golden baby vegetables , The round shiitake mushrooms are beautiful in color and shape, and with a little guidance from the cook, you can make a pot of good-looking dishes.

What makes these dishes delicious is not only the taste of the meat itself, but also the seasoning as an aid. Soy sauce, mirin and sugar are mixed in proportion as a sauce. After brushing the bottom of the pot with oil, fry the mutton rolls for a while, then Then set the plate, pour the sauce and put it on the table.

The food is slowly cooked under the charcoal fire, and the diners can see the sukiyaki that has just been placed on the plate, which increases appreciation and arouses interest. While waiting for the food to be cooked, the rich aroma of the food gradually emits, which opens up the appetite of the diners. With a bowl of rice, how can you increase your appetite.

Wang Qingye didn't want to waste his tomato juice. There were no tomatoes in Linchao yet. Now that he had such a seasoning, he also used it widely in restaurants. Stewed fish head soup in a tomato pot, put shrimp slippery, fish balls, a few slices Young leaf lettuce, full of color and fragrance.

As for the sashimi, he didn't need to worry too much. All the chefs hired were very good at knife skills. On the day of recruitment, one of them embroidered the sashimi for him and put it on the plate. He only needed to add a plate of mustard sauce, and the rest was left to the diners.

Naturally, for the sake of business reputation, Wang Qingye specially trained the waiters to teach the diners how to eat mustard when they serve the dishes. Otherwise, they would look at the novelty and put a big mouthful in their mouths. It is estimated that they will not come to Jiangxi again in a year or so. It's spring.

The township examination is over, and the results are coming out one after another. The academy is very lively today. Both the master and the students are waiting to see the results of the examination. The students who have not participated in the examination are left unattended and idle.

"Mianshu, the academy is on holiday for half a day in the afternoon, what are you going to do?"

Jiang Yu saw Mianshu tidying up her books in a hurry, as if waiting for the bell to ring before running away.

"what about you?"

"I don't know, maybe I should go to the theater to listen to the music. It's winter, and I don't have to go out of the city to play. It's the most boring."

The bell rang outside, and she stood up softly: "Since there is nothing to do, why don't you go to the restaurant with me for dinner?"

Jiang Yu raised his eyebrows: "Really?"

"Are you going or not? I'm leaving."

"Go, wait for me."

Mian Shu glanced at Tian Yuchen: "What about you?"

"Let's go, I have nothing to do with you."

The three of them packed up their things and ran out together.

"Mianshu, where are we going to eat? Why don't we go to your stall? The other day I went to my uncle's house for dinner, and my aunt ordered some snacks outside. I tasted very good. I only found out when I asked. It belongs to your stall."

Mian Shuwu went to Dongnan Street: "The food at the stall has already been sold out at this time, and the family is busy today, so the helpers I hired have also gone to help, and the food prepared at the stall is even less."

Tian Yuchen took a step forward and said, "Then can I order food at your place and send it to my home in two days?"

"It's ok. When the time comes, tell me what you want and how much you want. I'll tell the helper. When the time comes, your family can go to the stall to get it, or I can send it to you."

"Then why don't you come to my house as a guest in the future, and Jiang Yu will come too."

Mian Shu shook her head: "Let's talk about it later, after school, I'm going home to show my brother the shop."

Speaking of which, Mian Shu raised her chin proudly: "My brother asked me to make a plan for him."

"Ah?" The little prince of the Jiang family who was doted on by Suri's family was surprised: "Study is so tiring, Mianshu, you have to go back to help the family look after the shop after school, which is too hard."

On the contrary, Tian Yuchen has some experience: "Those who can do more work, my elder brother went out to do business with his father when he was ten years old, and now he manages the family business for his father, but I don't know anything. Shu is better than us."

Mian Shu snorted and laughed, and then the three of them heard a string of firecrackers: "Quick, we're here."

The Jiangchun Building is lined with red silk and is located at the end of the street, a festive scene can be seen from a distance, and there are many diners coming and going, making it even more lively.

"When did a new restaurant open here? Isn't it Jianbuzhuang?"

"It's only opening today. There are so many people, I'm afraid there is no place."

Mian Shu only said: "Let's go."

He hurried upstairs, the hall was full of people at the moment, sukiyaki was cooked on the table, and the whole hall was full of fragrance.

"Little brother is here?" Zhou Zhu was greeting the guests, and at a glance he saw Mianshu and the two young masters together. The three of them were still wearing the uniforms of Meditation Academy, and they obviously went straight to the restaurant after school: "Little brother I must be hungry after staying in the academy all morning, there is a small private room upstairs, my brother and classmates go up together, the innermost one."

"Brother Zhou Zhu, go and get busy, don't worry about me."

Mian Shu took the two of them up the stairs, the last private room was a little smaller, but it had a big window, you could see weeping willows by the river in spring, cool with the breeze in summer, and warm in autumn and winter.

"Look at the menu yourself. Just order what you want. I will charge it to me today." Mian Shu threw the schoolbag she brought back from the academy onto the stool, then squatted down and opened the wooden cabinet in front of the door. There were three rows of drinks, neatly placed, Mian Shu had drunk all of them, and knew what each bottle contained, he turned his head and asked the two people who were looking at the furnishings in the room: "You guys come to see what you want to drink? "

Hearing this, the two hurriedly put down their schoolbags and squeezed together in front of the wooden cabinet.

"The brown bottle is what I brought to the academy to drink during my search for the sun. My brother said it was a black sparkling drink, and the white pottery jar was milk and some messy tea drinks." Mian Shu suddenly opened the top floor of the wooden cabinet: " By the way, there is also a wheat wine, I tasted bitter and stuck my throat, if you drink alcohol, you can try it."

The two young scholars were about the same age as Mian Shu, and the family was spoiled with a lot of children's dispositions. Seeing these novel drinks, they liked them very much, and suggested them to watch one by one.

Wang Qingye came upstairs, opened the door of the private room, and saw the three of them huddling together and digging through the wooden cabinet. He gave a dry cough, Tian Yuchen and Jiang Yu looked up and saw a person standing at the door, felt impolite, and quickly stood up Get up.

"Have you found something you like? If not, there are others in the storage room downstairs."

Mianshu raised her chin: "Why did you come up?"

Wang Qingye picked up the schoolbag that Mian Shu left on the stool and patted the dust: "Just now when Zhou Zhu said you were back, I came up to have a look. Since I invited friends, remember to treat them well. Order whatever dishes you like. If you need it, go to the storage room and get it, you can find it."

Tian Yuchen and Jiang Yu heard the familiarity between their words, guessed that the man in front of them was Mian Shu's elder brother, and quickly saluted.

Wang Qingye exchanged some polite words with the two of them, and didn't stay long, so as not to embarrass them.

Hearing that the person went downstairs, Jiang Yu was relieved.

Mian Shu picked up a few bottles of drinks and put them on the table, seeing the expressions of the two of them: "Why, are you all afraid of my brother?"

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's just that your elder brother is tall and powerful, much taller than ordinary men, and it's inevitable that he will be oppressed when he walks in front of people."

"Really? But he's been nice to me."

"I can see that I treat you well."

Mianshu was very happy when she heard this.

"Mianshu didn't tell you that this restaurant is owned by your family." Jiang Yu opened the menu: "Then I should order more dishes."

"Just order, the sukiyaki pot and vermicelli scallops are delicious."

........

In a few days, word spread about Jiangchunlou, the food was novel and the drinks tasted unique, wave after wave of guests went to taste new ones, most of them wanted to buy some drinks before leaving.

Wang Qingye didn't have a lot of drinks in stock, so he set the price of the drinks high from the beginning, like the black sparkling drink he told Mianshu was only [-] cents a bottle, many people didn't think it was too expensive, but they did. Most of them had to be taken home, so he told the waiter not to sell drinks alone, otherwise the supply would be insufficient.

As the days approached day by day, many lanterns to welcome the spring were slowly hung up in Xiacheng. At night, the lanterns on the main street lit up very beautifully. The whole street was illuminated brightly. more and more.

Mian Shu loves to play, but he didn't go to the main street to watch the lights tonight. After school, he stayed honestly at the front desk of the restaurant, counting his income for half a month with his abacus.

X: Zai Zai is awesome, he can even calculate the abacus, I am a waste.

Yichichun: Ah, Yuzai’s way of setting the abacus is too cute, and it’s also a day for crying for Zaizai.

Interstellar Balabala: How did Xiao Mianshu learn to dial the abacus!

Mian Shu set the abacus and kept accounts, and proudly said to the people in the live broadcast room: "Wang Qingye sent me to the academy. Master Xu gave these to me alone, and I learned them in two days."

Zhou Shi: So if you don’t come to watch our live broadcast, have you studied hard?Zai Zai is really a good boy with good character and learning.

Interstellar 123: You have to eat more when you go to school, the little one has lost weight, and my heart aches.

"Wang Qingye said it was a stroke, so he looked a little thinner than before."

X: Zai Zai, can you not mention that man, just talk with us, and tell brother what you want to drink.

Orange: I don't envy mandarin ducks or immortals, I envy Wang Qingye every day.

Muhai has entered a fishing moratorium. Wang Qingye bought some crabs at the sea market today and took them to the restaurant. After the cook got off work, he went to the kitchen to steam the crabs. I took out the crab meat and cooked two bowls of crab roe noodles for supper.

The hot noodles are topped with tender and fragrant crab meat and plump and oily crab roe. The taste is long and lingering, and a bowl of happiness is bursting at night after a busy day.

He carried the noodles to the living room, looked at Xiao Yuzi who was still interacting with the live broadcast room, and said, "Come over and eat the noodles, it will be lumpy later."

"I'll finish the calculation here."

"Forget it for half an hour, be careful and hurt your hands."

Mian Shu put down the paper, pen and abacus, followed the scent and sat in front of Wang Qingye, took a long breath: "It smells so good~"

"Eat quickly. They say you've lost weight."

"Didn't you say I've grown taller?"

"I have grown a little taller, but I can grow faster by eating more food."

After eating supper, the two of them took out the red lanterns from the restaurant and hung them on the branches outside the door. The red lanterns were warm and festive, giving it a Chinese New Year atmosphere.

The wind was blowing by the river and the hands were cold, and the bones were a little stiff. Wang Qingye let out a sigh and rubbed his hands. He took a round plush hat and put it on for Mianshu. The hands touching the little guy were colder than before. It was still cold inside, so he rubbed Xiao Yuzai's hands again, closed the restaurant, and the two went home together.

As soon as the two arrived at the gate of the courtyard, Zhang Wu called to stop Wang Qingye.

"It's so late, Uncle Wu hasn't rested yet?"

Zhang Yan'er also followed Zhang Wu with a smile on her face: "I'm specially waiting for you to come back."

"But what's the matter?"

A rare smile appeared on Zhang Wu's face: "I'm afraid Yan'er won't be able to continue to help Lang Jun after this year."

"Why, but what happened?"

"No, the previous township examination is over, and now the results are out. The Qin family boy is doing his best, and he has already been admitted as a scholar. I came to tell you yesterday, and we will get married in a good day in the next year."

Both father and daughter had smiles on their faces, the smiles of sincerely yearning for a better life in the future.

Although a scholar may not have a high reputation, scholars are valued at the time. A scholar is paid a monthly salary, and his social status is higher than that of ordinary businessmen. He is the best choice for getting married. Yan'er has been waiting for so many years. The next can be regarded as the end of all hardships.

But I will not go to work after the new year, and it is only a few days before the New Year. Wang Qingye asked: "Congratulations, I don't know when the wedding banquet will be held? I will have a glass of wedding wine at that time."

"It's about the first month. The day is good. Yesterday Qin Lang also said that it is the first month. When I go back this time, the family will discuss and prepare. When the time comes, I will invite a matchmaker. Wang Lang will definitely be invited to the banquet."

Speaking of these, Zhang Yan'er's face was dyed a thin layer of red.

"Okay, the Chinese New Year is coming soon, I also want to give the employees annual leave, and I will settle the wages to Yan'er in two days."

"It's really troublesome Mr. Lang these days."

Wang Qingye said with a smile, "Uncle Wu can only speak politely."

There was a gust of cold wind in the alley, and he hugged Mianshu: "It's getting late, Uncle Wu and Yan'er should go back to rest earlier, and have a good New Year then."

After the two said their goodbyes, Wang Qingye took Mianshu back to the house. It was really cold when the wind blew up in winter nights. It would be much better to close the door and light the lights. Sometimes hot water was boiled, and it is still hot nowadays.

Wang Qingye took a bucket of hot water to soak his feet, Mianshu took off the little felt hat and hung it on the clothes hanger, his hair was flattened, he scratched it a bit, and said to Wang Qingye: "Hair has faded again. Yes, I have to dye my hair when I come back early tomorrow."

"Is it troublesome? It's not too troublesome for me to get up every morning to comb your hair."

Wang Qingye wiped his feet and was looking around for slippers by the bucket. A pair of newly bought Narong slippers were handed to his feet in time.

"Don't pour the footwashing water!"

"I'm asleep, I'll get up and clean up tomorrow."

Wang Qingye fell on the bed, wrapped the quilt tightly and didn't want to move. In the winter, he could only lie comfortably on the bed. After a while, sleepiness hit him. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep. Cool, he shivered, turned over and saw a hairy head.

He lowered his eyes to look at the little fish cub who was smiling at him, and said angrily, "Why are you climbing on the bed? I won't go back to sleep in your big bathtub."

"The bed is warm."

"No matter how warm it is, you won't be warm when you come up." Wang Qingye lifted the quilt and wrapped it around himself again: "Go to bed soon, I'm sleepy."

"You'll be warm if you hug me to sleep for a while." Mianshu pulled the corner of the quilt, pouted and shouted, "I was just pouring water for washing your feet, and you're killing a donkey!"

"After going to the academy for a few days, you can speak."

Wang Qingye sighed, let the cub get into the bed, his frozen feet stretched out on his stomach, and the cold man shivered again.

Mian Shuwo went to Wang Qingye's wrist, blinked her eyes, and asked, "Sister Yan'er and that scholar are going to get married?"

"Well. Didn't you hear everything I said earlier? When they get married, I'll take you to a wedding."

Mian Shu thought about it and was a little excited: "I haven't attended a wedding banquet yet, I don't know if it will be the same as our mermaids."

"Then what do your mermaids look like?"

"As long as...they communicate with each other, then we are together." Mian Shu suddenly raised his eyes to look at the man surrounding him. The man looked sleepy and closed his eyes.

Mian Shu pursed her lips, and said again: "But they all look younger than you~"

"What do you mean?"

Wang Qingye opened his eyes, Mianshu widened them: "What do you think?"

"Good for you."

Wang Qingye got angry and turned his back on the boy.

The author has something to say: Mian Shu: Wang Qingye is old, lazy and has no date!