Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 76

Aunt Yi suddenly said, "This matter is actually very simple, we are not afraid of him at all."

Jia Dongxu quickly asked, "Master's wife, what should we do?"

Aunt Yi glanced at Qin Huairu with a grin, then said, "Why don't you two consummate your marriage today?"

Some people may not know what "rounding up the house" means. In the past, when people got married, entering the bridal chamber to perform the rites of marriage was also called "rounding up the house".

Many couples who marry at the age of thirteen or fourteen, although they are young, do not consummate their marriage until they are seventeen or eighteen.

Qin Huairu was very surprised and blushed immediately. She lowered her head and remained silent. She had only told her mother-in-law that they had already consummated their marriage to deceive her.

But... does this really mean she and Jia Dongxu should consummate their marriage before getting married?

Jia Dongxu suddenly said, "Qin Huairu, don't worry, my mother has already agreed to our marriage."

Qin Huairu simply hummed in response, lowering her head even further.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Since Sister Zhang has agreed, then you should get your marriage certificate tomorrow and set a wedding date. I think August 12th is a good date, as it is the tenth day of the seventh lunar month, which is auspicious for weddings and travel."

Aunt Yi's words enlightened Yi Zhonghai, sweeping away his previous depression.

Yes, as long as the two of them consummate their marriage and get their marriage certificate as soon as possible, He Yuzhu will be nothing but a clown and won't be able to use this matter to cause trouble.

Aunt Yi said, "I think it's fine, let's settle on this."

Qin Huairu breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that Jia Dongxu would deny everything after sleeping with her, which would ruin her life.

If they get their marriage certificate tomorrow, there's no going back on it.

After all, finding a worker in the city isn't too difficult right now, but finding someone as good-looking as Jia Dongxu is hard to come by.

Although Jia Dongxu has no father, with the help of Uncle Yi and Aunt Yi, he should be able to live a good life.

Blushing and with her head down, she said, "I have no objection."

Jia Dongxu also wanted to consummate the marriage as soon as possible and marry Qin Huairu, so he said, "Then it's settled."

Yi Zhonghai said, "You all wait here, I'm going to talk to Aunt Zhang."

In the tavern.

Yesterday's booming business gave He Yuzhu a lot of confidence, so today he simply moved a section of his braised food counter out and placed it directly on the roadside in front of his shop.

The rich aroma wafted everywhere, attracting the attention of passersby after get off work.

Many people's appetites were whetted, and they stopped to buy some pig's head meat, wrapped it in lotus leaves, and took it home.

Some people go home and invite a few friends or even their family members to come over for a meal together.

In the blink of an eye, the dozen or so tables set up at the entrance were almost all occupied.

Yesterday, the braised meat wasn't displayed, so no one knew it was there; it was only sold for dine-in.

Today was different. He Yuzhu had set up his braised meat stall early and placed it by the roadside. Many workers who were passing by on their way home from work saw it, smelled the aroma, and couldn't resist buying half a catty or eight taels of it to take home as a snack with their drinks.

He Yuzhu took a closer look and noticed that the number of braised meats taken away today had increased significantly. In the beginning of a business, it's all about building a reputation. As long as people accept it, the brand's popularity will gradually spread.

What made He Yuzhu and Xu Huizhen even happier was that many of the guests who came to drink today were regulars from yesterday, and they were all neighbors from the surrounding area.

When it came time to settle the bill that evening, He Yuzhu calculated that he had made five or six yuan profit from the braised meat alone, so it seemed that the braised meat was the more profitable part.

The next morning around four o'clock, He Yuzhu got up without disturbing Xu Huizhen and Xiangcao, who were far away, and tiptoed to the front to open the door.

A moment later, two middle-aged women came over. He Yuzhu said, "Aunt Lü, Aunt Fang, the filling for the buns is ready. One of you knead the dough, and the other of you come with me to prepare the spicy hot pot and porridge."

"OK, all right."

That's the downside of making breakfast; you have to get up around 4 a.m.

It's already August, the weather is really hot, and there's no refrigerator, so of course we can't prepare the fillings in advance.

I had to get up at 4 a.m. to prepare early.

Aunt Fang, who was in charge of directing the cooking, cooked millet porridge in a large pot and made soy milk, while He Yuzhu was in charge of making spicy soup.

The commotion quickly woke Xu Huizhen and Xiangcao. Xu Huizhen came over yawning and complained:

"Brother Zhu, why didn't you call us?"

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "I just wanted you two to sleep a little longer!"

As Vanilla watched the two interact, she suddenly felt a pang of resentment that she had been born a few years too early.

Who told me I was two years older than He Yuzhu?

Although there's a saying that a woman three years older than her husband is like holding a gold brick, He Yuzhu didn't want to hold a gold brick, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She sighed softly; her love had died in the womb.

Fortunately, I only had these thoughts and didn't reveal them to anyone.

Xu Huizhen washed her face and turned around to look. Xiangcao was a little stunned. She stepped forward, nudged her with her elbow, and asked with a smile:

"Sister Vanilla, are you thinking about some handsome guy?"

Vanilla thought to herself, "I was just thinking about your Zhuzi brother, but unfortunately he's not my Zhuzi brother. For the sake of our sisterly bond, I won't argue with you."

However, her face was already flushed with embarrassment, and she reached out to tickle Xu Huizhen's armpit, scolding, "I told you not to talk nonsense."

"Ah, murder!" Xu Huizhen was suddenly attacked. She giggled and turned to run away.

After the two girls had been arguing for a while, they both came to their senses. Then, Xu Huizhen followed He Yuzhu to learn how to cook spicy hot pot, while Xiangcao went to make steamed buns.

Just like yesterday, a stove was set up at the door today, and buns were steamed directly on it.

Last night, a notice was posted stating that starting today, steamed buns, spicy hot pot, and millet porridge would be sold in the mornings, thus advertising in advance.

After the steamed buns were ready, customers started coming in to buy them.

At that time, pork was cheap, and meat buns were also inexpensive. Five steamed buns weighing one tael (approximately 50 grams) cost only 12 cents.

Spicy millet porridge and soy milk cost only three cents.

These are all market prices. At first, He Yuzhu simply made the buns slightly larger than those of other vendors to give buyers a better deal.

As it grew brighter, more people came to buy steamed buns. He Yuzhu told Xu Huizhen that there were no problems, and then rode his bicycle to buy meat.

After returning, I ate steamed buns and drank spicy soup, then went out to the moat.

Tie Dan was practicing with his apprentices when He Yuzhu came over, greeted them with a smile, distributed the steamed buns he had brought to his fellow apprentices, and then joined in the exercise.

Exercise can only be sustained when there are many people involved and mutual encouragement; otherwise, it's easy to slack off and become too lazy to exercise.

After practicing for a while, He Yuzhu also caught 200 jin of fish. When he took a break, he said, "Master, brothers, I'm treating everyone tonight. Everyone has to come."

Tie Dan asked with a smile, "Great! I heard from Tian Zao that you're already a stove master at Taifeng Restaurant?"

"Yes, this is what I've been eating since elementary school. It's alright for stir-frying."

Tie Dan nodded in agreement, then asked, "When will you officially open for business?"

He Yuzhu said, "I opened the business in a daze, and I will have to wait a while and pick a good day before officially opening."

He Yuzhu originally thought that even if business was slow after opening, he mainly wanted to train his team. Who knew that business would be booming on the first day of opening.

I belatedly realized that the braised meat made with seasoning level six was far superior to that of other braised meat stalls, and the aroma it emitted could continuously attract people to place orders.

The braised meat shop, which hasn't officially opened yet, is already bustling with customers and doing booming business.

So there's no rush to open immediately; they want to pick a good day for a lively celebration.

"Okay, don't forget to let us know when the time comes."

"How could that be? You are my grandmaster."

He Yuzhu said with a smile that becoming Tian Zao's apprentice was just a joke. He usually calls her "sister" and "brother-in-law," but sometimes he jokingly calls her "master" and "grandmaster."

Tie Dan shook his head and laughed, "You're such a chatterbox, we're not even married yet."

He Yuzhu chuckled and finished his morning practice.

On the way back, I stopped at the butcher stall and bought half a pig's shoulder and pig's head offal again.

The butcher said, "Zhu Zi, how about we deliver it to you every day from now on?"

"No need, I still need to buy groceries, it's just on my way."

As the afternoon approached, He Yuzhu had some free time to rest and play with Yushui. Unexpectedly, he encountered an unexpected guest.

Hong Jinyan entered the backyard and said, "Zhuzi, an old man is looking for you."

"Looking for me? Who is it?" He Yuzhu was surprised. He stood up and walked outside as he spoke.

Hung Chin-yen said, "I don't know him, he has a square face."

"A square face? Could it be Lao Yi?"

He Yuzhu muttered something to himself and went to the lobby in front, where he saw Yi Zhonghai standing by the roadside, looking at the signboard.

How did you find your way here?

Yi Zhonghai said, "I went to Taifeng Restaurant, and they told me that."

"What do you want from me?" He Yuzhu asked.

Yi Zhonghai said, "Jia Dongxu and Qin Huairu are getting married in a few days. Can you cook for them?"