CH 67.1

For the New Year’s Eve dinner in the evening, Wang Qing and Nizi, who had already eaten many delicacies, still couldn’t help but exclaim. Shao Yunan prepared a hot pot, the kind of copper pot style hot pot, and a table full of various dishes. Chicken, duck, fish, pig, sheep, deer, and fresh vegetables produced from the warm room, with bean curd and wine made by Shao Yunan himself. Shao Yunan also made authentic roast duck, together with roasted chicken. While the fish was pickled, there were a variety of pork dishes. For lamb he prepared shabu-shabu, a braised version.

With the sweet rice wine sliding down his throat and the delicious food ready to be eaten, Master Cen as the guest of honor looked at the table full of dishes and hurriedly said a few words of blessing before picking up his chopstick ready to eat. Wang Qing and Wang Nizi while eating, put food in Jiang Moxi’s bowl, who ate it without lifting his head.

Jiang Kangchen ate with a flushed face and said, “Yunan, this shabu-shabu lamb is so delicious. This roasted duck is also delicious. You really should open a restaurant in the capital. This rice wine also tastes good and the brew is also very delicious. It’s just a pity that it’s made from rice.” Making wine from rice was something that the court actually explicitly prohibited, so this rice wine could only be drunk in private and not made into a business.

‘If Brother Kangchen wants to open it, I will write down the recipes for the sesame sauce and base. When you return to the capital, you can discuss opening the hot pot restaurant with Lord An. This hot pot is most suitable to be eaten in cold weather and the best match is lamb. When the weather warms up, the hot pot store will sell special snacks, while the roasted duck can be sold directly in the restaurant. I will write down the recipe, but it will be hard for you, Brother Jiang. Even when you bring some rice wine and brew to the capital, you can’t do business with them. You can only eat and drink it in private.”

Jiang Kangchen said, “As long as we can get money, nothing is hard. This hot pot and roasted duck is something I have never seen in our Great State of Yan before. It would be hard to not earn money with it.” Jiang Kangchen seemed to have seen an opportunity to earn money again. Completely free from the Wu family and being able to help the Empress, Jiang Kangchen had found the goal and focus of his life. But someone didn’t like it.

“You lazy bastard, why don’t you open a restaurant in the county town? When you open this restaurant, you will definitely be more prosperous than Yizhang Xuan.”

That person was the resentment-filled Master Cen. Shao Yunan shook his head. “Then forget it, I don’t want to steal business from Yizhang Xuan restaurant. I also don’t believe their big boss won’t find out that the tea and wine is related to me and Shijing. If I try to steal business from them, I would only be inviting enemies.” 

“If you or madam want to eat, you can come here any time. Even living at my place is fine. If you are too lazy to come over, I’ll let Qing and Nizi send it over to you, so why would you need to go to the restaurant to eat? But I did think about giving the sesame sauce craft to the Wang patriarch.” 

“Wang Shuping, the son of patriarch Wang, has always been good to me and Shijing, and he also has the intention to inherit his father’s position. Shijing and I had already sold a craft to the Zhao and Sun clans. The Wang clan should also be able to sell something. But I will wait until Wang Shiping becomes the patriarch, then having another better idea might also be possible.”

Wang Qing and Nizi concentrated on eating, not paying too much attention to what the adults said. Their Little Father said before that when adults talked about business, children should not interrupt and not pry into it. As for Jiang Moxi, he always didn’t pay attention.

Jiang Kangchen finally made the decision, “It doesn’t matter. The most that they can do is within the province. We also can’t cover the entire Great State of Yan with our business, even if our business is bigger. But this hot pot restaurant must be opened and roast duck must be sold.”

Shao Yunan thought about it for a moment and replied, “Let’s just write down a plan and write down all the deals I think can save money. When you go back and discuss it with Lord An, we don’t need to just stick with food. But I do not know how to write a lot of words, so I will need Big Brother to write it down for me.”

Jiang Kangning nodded his head. “That’s okay, but it would still be better if you tried to write it yourself. I will teach you from the side. If you can’t write a word, I will teach you. Shijing should also follow.”

“Good, hmm.” The meal was so satisfying that Elder Cen decided to spend the entire New Year day here, not caring how many people would visit his own house to pay their respects during the New Year. On the night of the 30th, Shao Yunan was busy making dumplings, while Wang Shijing took out firecrackers for the children to play, making a large family made from different surnames happy. During this period, Jiang Kangning called Guo Ziyu to the small hall alone and talked to him for a while, after Guo Ziyu came out, the corners of his eyes were red.

In the corridor of the courtyard, the wooden toy in Jiang Moxi’s hand was replaced by a simple wooden mechanical bird. He, Wang Qing, and Wang Nizi each had one. Shao Yunan found them in his space. Don’t even ask how he had such things in his space, even he himself could not remember it.

Jiang Moxi looked at the firecrackers that exploded in the open space, holding the simple mechanical bird with both hands. His wooden expression did not show the slightest sight of a child’s innocence. Only his pair of black eyes were full of seriousness.

After the firecrackers were all released, Wang Qing and Nizi ran back to Jiang Moxi with eyes full of joy, but Jiang Moxi lowered his head and started playing with the mechanical bird again.

“Brother Moxi, let’s go inside, it’s cold outside.” Nizi took Jiang Moxi’s arm and brought Jiang Moxi, who didn’t respond to her words, into the house. Jiang Moxi also didn’t resist, silently letting Nizi drag him along. Wang Qing saw Jiang Moxi walking while playing with the mechanical bird and after a moment of thinking, he took out his own mechanical bird from his pocket and handed it to Moxi. “Brother, I will also give you mine.”