Travel back to ancient times and open a Sichuan restaurant

Chapter 57

Zhong Ruyi and her daughter went out for a stroll in the market. When they came back, they met Aunt Chen from next door sitting at the door. When she saw them come back, she hurriedly called them over to talk.

"Sister Li, I was just sitting here sewing shoe soles when a young man came and asked me how much your shop can earn in a day. I said, how would I know? This shop is not owned by me. I don't know what he was mumbling to himself. He was talking nonsense."

Zhong Ruyi and Zhong's mother looked at each other and knew that this was the man who had just arrived. Zhong's mother also asked about the man's appearance and dress.

Aunt Chen thought for a moment, "He's thin and looks a little weak. He looks OK, but he looks like someone who frequents brothels, wine houses and gambling dens. In short, he doesn't look very serious. Just now, my daughter-in-law was sitting here with me sewing shoe soles, and he kept looking at her. I quickly asked her to go inside to avoid people getting angry."

Unexpectedly, the man came back after the two of them left, specifically to inquire about their revenue. No one knew for what purpose, or whether he was sent by someone else to inquire. After all, since their braised food store opened, many people have been watching it openly and secretly. The only one who came to negotiate seriously was Manxianglou, and no one knew what the others thought.

If enemies come, we will fight them; if water comes, we will block it with earth. We are not afraid of anyone. If we are really afraid, then there is no need to do business.

At this time, Mrs. Zhong did not expect that this was the gambling son of the Zhou family that Chen Dongzhi had mentioned. After hearing her daughter's words, she really thought that he was someone sent by someone else to destroy her family's business. She thought that next time this person came, she would never be as polite as today. If he asked anything, she would have to kick him out with a broom!

A few days passed quickly, and a small sign saying "closed" was hung at the door of Zhongji again, causing the surrounding diners to sigh. Zhong Ruyi said to the guests embarrassedly, "Zhongji will close twice a month in the future, two days each time. We will prepare an extra pot of braised food the day before the break, and customers can buy an extra spoonful to take home. It's cold now, and it's still delicious the next day."

After closing the shop, the few of them packed up the things they wanted to take back, had lunch, and set off back to the village pulling the cart.

On the way, they were worried that the second sister-in-law was pregnant and could not stand the bumpy ride, so they didn't dare to walk fast. From time to time, Mother Zhong asked the second sister-in-law to sit on the cart to rest. After hurrying, they finally arrived at Xinghua Village before dark.

The second brother was walking in front, pulling the cart, and Zhong Ruyi and the others were walking behind him, heading home. The villagers saw someone coming so late, and they looked closer and found that it was the Zhong family, "Aunt Zhong is back?"

"Hey, the village chief's family, are you eating?"

"Yes, why did you come back so late?"

Mother Zhong smiled and said, "We closed the shop a little late this morning, and my second daughter-in-law is pregnant now, so we dare not travel too fast."

The village chief's daughter-in-law congratulated her repeatedly. After a few words, Zhong's mother said goodbye and said she would go back first and talk to her mother-in-law tomorrow.

When they arrived at the door of the house, Aunt Zhao who lived next door heard the noise and came out. When she saw Mother Zhong, she was very surprised and asked, "Why did you come back so late?"

Mother Zhong was also very happy. Although she knew a few aunts in the town and could chat and talk to them, they were no match for the people in the village. She had been married for so many years, and although she occasionally had some minor conflicts with the villagers, her feelings were still deep.

"You haven't eaten yet, Guihua and the others probably don't know you're back yet. I have a pound of meat I bought this morning. You can take it back first." Aunt Zhao said as she was about to go back to get it.

Zhong Ruyi and the others called someone and went back first, leaving Zhong's mother alone to talk to Aunt Zhao.

"Aunt, don't be anxious. I have something to ask you." Mother Zhong followed Aunt Zhao into the house.

Aunt Zhao knew what she was going to ask, so she spoke first: "Is it about your third son and the girl from Yangliu Village?"

Seeing that Mother Zhong looked a little unhappy, she sighed and continued, "I know you will definitely ask if you come back, so I went to Xiaohua's parents' home a few days ago. Her parents' home is in Yangliu Village." Xiaohua is Aunt Zhao's daughter-in-law. Her surname is Zhou, and Zhou is a big surname in Yangliu Village.

"That family was well off a few years ago, but their gambling-addicted son squandered everything. In order to pay off his son's gambling debts, he married his eldest daughter to a wealthy man as a concubine. Now, they say she has been promoted to a concubine."

Aunt Zhao lowered her voice, "I found out something more secretive. It was said that the Zhou family had never thought of marrying their eldest daughter to a rich old man. It was their youngest daughter, the one who is now dating your third son, who proposed it. She said that her sister was born well and should marry a rich man to enjoy happiness. This would also help their family. The Zhou couple took this to heart and really asked around to see if there was any rich family that wanted to take a concubine."

Mother Zhong never expected that this girl had such a vicious mind. She even instigated her parents to marry her sister to a wealthy businessman in his fifties as a concubine. She was simply born a bad seed!

"I recently heard that Zhou's parents wanted to find a wife for their gambling son. They wanted a wealthy family so that the daughter-in-law could get things from her parents' home to subsidize the Zhou family. No one is stupid. They know that the Zhou family is a pit of fire and still push their daughter down. The girl from the Zhou family should be seventeen years old this year. She is not bad, but everyone in their village knows the situation of his family. How dare they marry his daughter? This girl is also ambitious. She doesn't like the peasants in the village. She must find a rich man who treats her well."

Aunt Zhao curled her lips and thought, you just want to find a good-looking and rich guy, but your sister can only be worthy of an old man who has one foot in the coffin?

The more Mother Zhong listened, the angrier she became, her teeth clenched tightly. Aunt Zhao was afraid that she would get hurt by the anger, so she didn't dare to say anything. She gave Mother Zhong a pound of meat and told her to go back and cook and eat, so as not to starve.

At the Zhong family, the second brother pulled a cart and knocked on the door. Cuicui was playing with Tiedan. When she heard her second uncle's voice, she jumped up excitedly and went to open the door.

"Aunt! Grandma is back!" she shouted at the top of her voice. Several people who were originally sitting in the main room heard the noise and came out, surrounding the people who came in.

"Mom, why are you here so late today? If I had known you would be coming back today, I should have cooked more." Mrs. Zhong said. Zhong's mother was not seen. Zhong Ruyi said that her mother had gone to Aunt Zhao's house to talk and would be back soon.

"Then I'll go cook two dishes first. Luckily I steamed some extra buns today. The buns will be stuffed with sauce and two more dishes will be enough." She asked a few people to sit in the main room and wait for a while while she went to cook and then hurried into the kitchen.

Father Zhong took the small jar from his daughter and said, "Dad, this was given to me by the owner of the tea shop next to our store. She said it was the wine her family brewed themselves."

Seeing her father looking behind her, she knew that he didn't hear her saying her mother was at Aunt Zhao's house. She said it again, and her father nodded and told her to wash her hands and prepare for dinner. Her third brother stood aside and called her "little sister", talking to her with a smile.

"Aunt!" Tiedan rushed over and hugged Zhong Ruyi's legs, "Aunt, I miss you so much!"

Cuicui also hugged Zhong Ruyi's waist and acted coquettishly. The three of them blocked the door of the main room. Just at this time, Zhong's mother came back from Aunt Zhao's house.

With a gloomy face, he tried to enter the main room but was blocked by three people. "What are you all doing here? Are you going to let me eat?"

Zhong Ruyi quickly took the two little ones and ran away. Her mother was so angry and she didn’t know who had offended her.

The sister-in-law fried two dishes and asked Cuicui to eat them with a basket of steamed buns, otherwise it would take too long to simmer the rice.

At the dinner table, Zhong's mother had a gloomy face. Everyone didn't know why she became like this after returning from Aunt Zhao's house. No one dared to speak and just lowered their heads to eat in silence.

Those who were full sat down and watched them eat. During the meal, Zhong Ruyi talked to her and Zhong's mother's expression barely improved. After a few words, she said she was full and went back to her room.

Everyone was left looking at each other.