Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 443 Miss Shen, can you help me with food?

This made Li feel that it would be best if she could find a scholar as a husband for Shen Yu.

After the New Year, Yuzhi will be sixteen years old. It will be too late if she doesn't get engaged.

After all, between engagement and marriage, sufficient time must be left to prepare the dowry.

In the families of relatives and friends she knew, it was very common for their daughters to get married after one or two years after being engaged.

She never treated Jiang as an outsider, and Zheng Sanniang was even more of a family member. However, Yutao was also in the room at the moment, so it was not appropriate to discuss these things openly in front of the girl.

She could only think secretly in her heart: "When I return home this time, I will ask my two brothers to help me keep an eye out for any good men they know to settle down with."

"If it goes on for another two years, Yuzhi will be looked down upon for being too old."

Early the next morning, Li asked Shen Yu and Zheng Sanniang to greet customers in the store.

She, Jiang and Yutao stayed in the backyard, busy distributing cut cloth and cotton to the ladies who came.

Yutao was responsible for recording it in a notebook, and then she would use this record to collect the sheets and quilts made by the ladies, and also use it to pay the ladies their wages.

After everything was divided, Zhou Dalang loaded all the divided and bundled cloth onto a small cart, and taking Xiaobai with him, he followed the women to deliver the cloth to each house.

The two parties agreed that they would go to each store to collect the finished products after seven days.

By the time all the work was done, it was almost noon.

While doing the work at hand, Shen Yu was thinking about the various dishes to be made.

He planned to write down the dishes and the ingredients needed after noon and send them to the county government office, and then ask Lu Lang to go to the money house to transfer the money to him.

Unexpectedly, when I rushed to the county government office after lunch, the county magistrate and Lu Lang were not there.

Master Qian told Shen Yu that the master and the young master had found a rare copy of calligraphy when they went to a bookstore yesterday.

After lunch today, I took the young master to Guang'an Temple to ask the abbot for advice on calligraphy. I don't know when I will be back.

Shen Yu had no choice but to hand over the written list of dishes and ingredients to Master Qian, and informed him of his schedule to return to Dongxi Village, and then returned to the restaurant.

A few days passed like this, and Li was busy every day buying gifts for her two brothers, and stocking up on food and other items needed for the New Year.

Whenever they had free time every day, Jiang and Zheng Sanniang would go to the backyard to sew sheets and quilts, while the work in the restaurant was left to Shen Yu, Zhou Dalang and Yutao.

Fortunately, it is nearly the end of the year and everyone is preparing for the New Year. People are in a hurry to come to the market, and there are fewer people eating in restaurants every day.

Because Shen Yu is here, even though there are only a few people, we can still handle the work.

There are many more mobile vendors on the streets, hawking their wares of peach charms, peach boards, and door gods. There are also more and more young boys carrying baskets along the streets, hawking maltose and sesame candy.

With their shouts, the festive atmosphere in the county town became stronger and stronger.

Shen Yu was thinking about paying back the money to Lu Lang, but because everyone was busy, she had to stay in the shop.

She thought that she would wait until Li finished shopping before going to the county government office, or Lu Lang would come to the restaurant again, and then they would go to the money house to transfer the money.

But as the days passed by, Lu Lang never came to the restaurant again.

Shen Yu was worried that Lu Lang had already returned to the capital, and he couldn't help but feel anxious.

It was the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. After finally waiting for Li to sort out all the gifts she had purchased, Shen Yu had some free time, so he took the money and went to the county government office again.

Only when Shen Yu met this busy man in Lu Lang's study in the back court did he feel relieved that he had finally managed to return the money to him before the New Year.

After the two greeted each other, they found out that Lu Lang had been busy buying gifts and packing luggage for his family members according to the gift list written by the county magistrate.

I was preparing to return to Beijing for the New Year, so I didn't have time to go to the restaurant.

Shen Yu saw that all the books on the bookshelf against the wall in the study had been taken down and were being sorted and packed. He knew that after Lu Lang returned to Beijing this time, he would stay in the capital to study and prepare for the examination in April next year.

Before taking the exam, I will definitely not come to Anping County again to help the county magistrate with his affairs.

Although he saw that Lu Lang was very busy, Shen Yu still firmly demanded that the money be transferred to his banknote.

Shen Yu said jokingly: "Mr. Lu, you can't let me owe you money for the New Year."

"Are you planning to take a huge interest from me when you come back for the exam after the New Year?"

"You know how much money I have on my wallet, so don't take too much."

Lu Lang believed it to be true and thought that Shen Yu really thought so, so he quickly explained that he had no such intention.

Shen Yu waved his hand and said seriously: "Mr. Lu, this is just a joke, don't take it seriously."

"But that's just who I am. I don't like to owe money to others."

“Although these several hundred taels of silver are nothing to you, they are a big deal to me.

"If you really don't have time, you can ask Master Qian to go to the bank with me."

Lu Lang really didn't need money, so he never took Shen Yu's repayment as a serious matter. Since he didn't go that day, he just put it aside.

Seeing Shen Yu's serious attitude, he realized how important this matter was to Shen Yu, and apologized hurriedly, "I was slow, please don't blame me, young lady."

"I will ask Master Qian to come over and ask him to accept the money from the young lady today."

As he said this, he called Qi Xi in and asked him to go and invite Master Qian over.

Qixi agreed to go.

Lu Lang hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Miss Shen, I was planning to visit you tomorrow, but I didn't expect you to come here. Could you please do me a favor?"

Shen Yu couldn't help but laugh and said, "Besides cooking, I don't know much about other things."

"I wonder what Mr. Lu needs my help with. Tell me first and see if I can do it."

Lu Lang smiled and said, "That's exactly what I need your help with regarding food."

"In four days, I will be leaving for Beijing. Miss Shen, can you help me make some southern-style food? I want to bring it back for my grandmother to taste."

Shen Yu said puzzledly: "Mr. Lu, I heard that if you take a car, Anping County will take about five or six days to get to the capital."

"There's plenty of good food in the capital, why do you have to go back from Anping County to eat?"

"It's such a long journey, it's not new to bring it with you."

"Although the weather is cold now and food doesn't spoil so easily, Anping County is a small place. What we have here must be better in the capital."