In the years of ancient traders

The watchman's footsteps came from outside the courtyard wall, knocking on his clapper, and shouting in a drawn-out tone: "It's freezing cold."

Fourth watch, the deepest time of night.

There is no one on the street in Fangnei.Chu Ning pushed open a wooden door at the back of Chu's house and slipped out.

Yesterday he accompanied A Niang to the street to buy cloth. The shopkeeper Wang, the owner of the cloth shop, happened to be there. He was also a well-known family in Datu County. They all knew each other, and his A Niang exchanged a few words with him.

During the conversation, he talked about the moon cakes that have become popular in the city recently.

Mooncakes are only sold by Wanghailou's family, and the high price of two hundred cash discourages most ordinary people.Shopkeeper Wang said proudly that he has a good relationship with Song Silang, and ordered [-] pieces directly from him, which will be sold in his scallion pancake shop soon.

His mooncakes don't use wooden box and satin surface, and they cost six cents a piece, so ordinary people can have a fresh taste.

It was already too late when he ordered, and the price of mooncakes had risen to two yuan each, which was much more expensive than the ones bought at Wanghailou in the beginning.Shopkeeper Wang felt a little regretful, but he didn't complain too much. With this order of mooncakes, his scallion pancake shop can really shine again.

"I heard that Song Silang was rushing to work day and night, and the workers had invited several waves. It was really an unprecedented event." Shopkeeper Wang sighed with his mother when he directed the staff to pack the cloth they bought.

Chu Ning was just listening to something new before, but he was aroused by his words. When he was young, he had seen the imperial dining room in the palace. More than 200 people were busy and busy, which was very spectacular.I don't know what the mooncake workshop in the mountains is like.

If he reported to A Niang and A Weng, they would definitely not let him go, so he simply packed a small package and slipped out of the house in the dark.

Inside the package was a change of clothes and his favorite kitchen knife.

"Are you going to Xianghe Village?"

It was the first time for Chu Ning to go out of the county by himself. He only knew that Xianghe Village was to the east of the county, but he didn't know how to get there.There were very few people going out in the dark, so he lingered at the gate of the city for a long time, only to see a young gentleman pushing a stall cart, and hurriedly stepped forward to ask.

Zhou Dalang almost always lives in the county town now, and he found an inn for small vendors and porters from outside to rest, and a full bed costs two yuan a night.He no longer sells steamed buns but fritters, and sometimes soybean oil. He goes home once a month and gives the money he earns to his mother.

The Mid-Autumn Festival was coming, Zhou Dalang planned to go home for a few days, so he pushed the cart back at night, and happened to meet Chu Ning.

"Yes." Zhou Dalang said.

The young man in front of him was about the same age as him, wearing a robe with a round collar, the material looked like he came from a wealthy family.During the days when he was doing business in the city, he met a lot of people of all kinds, and he gradually developed the ability to judge people's origins by their clothes.

"That's great, I'll go with you. It's my first time going, and I don't know you." Chu Ning was still young at heart, and didn't know how to guard against others, so he went up to help Zhou Dalang push the cart, and chatted with him at the same time.

Although the two teenagers came from different backgrounds, they got along very well, especially when they talked about scallion pancakes, deep-fried dough sticks, stir-fried vegetables, moon cakes, etc. that are emerging in the city, they talked endlessly.Zhou Dalang likes to figure out which one is more profitable, while Chu Ning pays more attention to how to cook. The two talked about their experience, and they felt fresh after listening to each other, talking back and forth.

"My aunt sorted out our west house and made it a guest house. If you have no place to live, you can come to my house. It costs only a penny a day, which is cheaper than other houses." Zhou Dalang said.

After he gained a firm foothold in the city, Zhou's daughter-in-law didn't work as hard as before. She took her daughter, Zhou Niang, back and made steamed buns for sale at home.After Zhou Dalang left, the west room was tidied up, six bunks were spread out with straw mats, and they were rented to the small vendors who came to Xianghe Village to do business, which could also provide a lot of subsidies.

After the silk was rolled up, Zhou's daughter-in-law began to dry the silkworm bags again, but she didn't make steamed buns anymore.

When they arrived at Xianghe Village, the sky was already dark and the morning light was twilight. Zhou Dalang took Chu Ning into a yard where two rows of silkworm bags were drying.It was the first time Chu Ning saw this, and he kept asking Zhou Dalang. Zhou Dalang explained to him, and also talked about the benefits of silk quilts. escape.I hope Aunt Aunt will not be too angry when she sees his letter.

Before Zhou's daughter-in-law woke up, Zhou Dalang decided to give an empty bunk to Chu Ning. After walking all night, Chu Ning was already exhausted, so he put the burden under his head, and soon fell asleep.

Song Shu was so busy for most of the night that he didn't even have time to sleep.

After Wanghailou added [-] more, shopkeeper Wang came to him again and bought [-] more.Later, Yang Jian and Li Erjie also came to Xianghe Village, and even Fuhu Zhang ordered [-] of them from him.

Later, some merchants from other places came upon hearing the news, Song Shu didn't dare to pick up any more, and asked Song Anan to block them all from the door.

Moon cakes are different from silk quilts.

Although there are many reservations for silk quilts, but if you are not in a hurry, you can make them bed by bed, and people always have to cover them with quilts.However, mooncakes are sought after by everyone as a gift for the Mid-Autumn Festival. If it passes the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month, it will not have such a great meaning.

So Song Shu had to invite many people to work day and night to deliver on time.

Other people on the assembly line are easy to find, and the work is not complicated. Those who can make pasta and know flour can get started quickly.It doesn't take too much effort to make bean paste stuffing, and one person can watch several pots at the same time, but the work of chopping meat and mixing stuffing is always short of manpower.

Originally this was done by Cheng Erniang, but later the list became more and more, and Cheng Erniang could not be kept busy from morning to morning, Song Shu Anan Sanniang and others also took turns to help.But they have to watch the oven and manage the bun shop, so they don't have that much free time.

Song Shu wanted to recruit another person to help Cheng Erniang.But these days, people rarely have the opportunity to eat meat, and most of them know how to chop meat and mix stuffing. Song Shu didn't have time to teach it slowly, so this matter was put aside.

After another pot of minced meat was mixed, Song Shu had lasted the whole night and morning, and couldn't stand it any longer, so he threw the things away and got ready to go to sleep.

"Master!"

Suddenly, a person jumped in front of him, Song Shu was taken aback for a while, and it took him a while to realize that it was Chu Ning, the grandson of Mr. Chu.

"Why are you here?" Song Shu looked around, he wanted to sell more mooncakes to earn more money, but like an ostrich, he didn't want to see these people at all, for fear that they would place additional orders.

Chu Zhai hasn't placed an order yet, so Chu Ning is probably here to do this, right?

Song Shu looked back at the three big bowls of minced meat that he had mixed. He was chopping and mixing the meat, and his arm was almost useless.

"Master, I heard that you are recruiting, can I do it?" Chu Ning asked.

"Huh?" Song Shu stayed up all night, his brain slowed down, and he couldn't understand for a moment.

"Can I work in your mooncake shop? I escaped from home and have no money with me." Chu Ning laughed, a little embarrassed, and looking at Song Shu expectantly.

Oh, it turned out to be Qiaojia.

Song Shu wanted to ask him if Mr. Chu knew, and the family was worried about what to do, and wanted to urge him to go back quickly.But Mumu's mind turned too slowly, and before he could speak, Chu Ning had already rushed into the wooden shed for making mooncakes, holding the meat filling he had mixed, and picked up a little bit with his fingers to taste it.

"Master, I know how to make this, let me do it!" Chu Ning had eaten mooncakes and knew that one was filled with meat. He had tasted the baked ones before, and now he tasted the raw ones. He has a basic understanding of the seasoning of the meat fillings. .

He will tune?

That's right, he is the grandson of Mr. Chu, the queen of the royal chef.

Song Shu, who was too sleepy, decided to hand over this annoying job to Chu Ning in just half a second.

"Do it well, I'm going to sleep." Song Shu said, arms hanging down, footsteps sloppy, drifting home like a wandering soul.

"Leave it to me, master!" Chu Ning shouted at his back. He had slept in Zhou's house for a long time and had a bowl of corn porridge. Beloved kitchen knife, start chopping meat.

Chu Ning is worthy of being a primary school cook. No matter the skill of mincing meat or the precise control of seasoning, he is superior to Song Shu.Sanniang, who was watching the oven instead of Song Shu, came to try it. Although she didn't know this young gentleman, she was full of praise for his craftsmanship.

"My master is Song Silang." Chu Ning explained this to everyone who came to ask about his identity. Everyone was a little surprised at first, but quickly accepted that Song Silang had an apprentice.

In less than half a day, everyone in Xianghe Village knew that Song Shu had an apprentice who was very good at swordsmanship.

With Chu Ning, the minced meat was finally solved smoothly. In the next few days, he and Cheng Erniang took turns, and sometimes Song Shu made a guest appearance, and finally got the orders for mooncakes before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

On the morning of the fifteenth, the last batch of mooncakes was delivered.

Song Shu did the math, and they made a total of 1 mooncakes in more than ten days. If someone told him so ten days ago, he would not believe it ten thousand and ten thousand times, but he didn't think that he and these workers would actually make mooncakes. survived.

At the beginning of this wave of mooncake business, the salary was one penny, and later it rose to two pennies, and Song Shu did not make less money.More than 4000 Wen, because the materials are all paid by customers who come to order, he only needs to pay the workers' wages, and after careful calculation, he has earned [-], many of which have been exchanged for gold by him and hidden in space.

In just ten days, the money earned can be used to buy a fine horse or a house in a county town.Compared with his other workshops, this business is really crazy.

The wages of the workers are settled daily, and after working hard for a long time, Song Shu added a lot to each person in addition to paying today's wages. Everyone held copper coins and said that Song Silang would have some work next time, so he must rush to it as soon as possible. Come.

Chu Ning also got a salary.

He is different from others, Song Shu didn't get married with him, and he didn't even talk about whether to pay wages at the beginning. He didn't lack money and didn't care about it since he was a child.At this moment, Song Shu handed him a bunch of copper coins strung together with straw ropes, and he was stunned for a moment.

"Thank you." Song Shu said.

Chu Ning was holding the money, and the copper coins were lying in his palm, which weighed heavily.

He was born in a family of imperial chefs, and he loved cooking since he was a child. His biggest dream is to become an imperial chef like Ah Weng.But at this moment, holding the heavy money earned by his own hard work, he suddenly felt that these few days of chopping meat and mixing stuffing until his arms were sore and even numb were so precious.It's no worse than making those exquisite court dishes.

It would be nice to live like this.

After that day, Chu Ning stayed on with a stern face, like a hard-working dog's plaster, and he couldn't be driven away.

Song Shu saw that it was useless to drive people away, and it was a pity not to use such a great resource, so he simply arranged for him to be in the steamed bun workshop, continued to chop meat and mix it with stuffing, and took this opportunity to launch meat stuffed steamed buns.

Chu Ning talked a lot, Song Anan talked less, but the two were very harmonious.

Chu Ning: "Master Nan, the minced meat is used up, will we buy new ones tomorrow? The meat quality of the one yesterday was not good, but the one five days ago was good, and the wheat is almost used up, do you want to buy it together?"

Song Anan: "Ten stones."

Chu Ning: "Okay!"

Song Shu: ...

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Thank you for your support, okay~