Chapter 151

Jiang Sheng was puzzled, but Xu Mo still took two steps back and politely invited the prefect to inspect.

Auntie Zhang was an agile woman, and Jiang Sheng had also specifically instructed the workshop workers to keep things clean, so there was no way any problems could occur.

In fact, Prefect He did not find anything wrong during the inspection either.

He wandered around the workshop with a group of government clerks. His expression went from satisfied to dissatisfied before he finally frowned and stood in front of a rotten wooden table.

"Sir..." Xu Mo had not even asked his question yet.

He Chengzhang kicked up his leg and the rotten wooden table instantly shattered into pieces all over the floor.

Xu Mo was slightly startled, his face pale and brows tightly knitted.

But He Chengzhang was extremely satisfied. He stared at the pieces of wood on the ground and shouted, "This rotten wood does not meet regulations. It poses a risk of mold. Get rid of it immediately."

Then he swaggered out with the government clerks.

The doors of the Hairpin Courtyard were closed again and Xu Mo finally came to his senses, pondering He Chengzhang's every move.

When the children came back that evening and saw the wood debris, they all stared with surprise.

"Big brother, come quick and see, this table is finally rotten," Jiang Sheng pulled Zheng Ruqian over. "I said last time we should get a bigger table. Can we change it now?"

"Change, change, change to a better one," Zheng Ruqian nodded like a woodpecker, his mind clearly not on the table.

Only then did Jiang Sheng happily let him go and stood to one side, considering whether to buy one made of redwood, yellow wood or black wood.

"Jiang Sheng, let's just buy another rotten one," Chang Yan earnestly suggested.

The little girl almost jumped up. "Why?"

"Because..." Chang Yan tilted his head. "We won't feel bad if it breaks again."

But how could a brand new table break again? Jiang Sheng mumbled, not understanding. The few brothers smiled at each other, the corners of their eyes and mouths lifting lightly.

At dinner, Auntie Zhang brought out one new and interesting dish after another.

Ever since the smoked pork belly had received Jiang Sheng's approval, her mind seemed to have opened up — if pork belly could be smoked, what about trying it with other things?

As long as it was cured, stuffed into casings, then wind dried, it should all have that smoked flavor.

So Auntie Zhang had made smoked chicken, smoked chicken legs, smoked fish, smoked chicken claws one after another. She stuffed casings for those that could be stuffed, and for those that couldn't, she smoked them like the pork belly, then rinsed thoroughly before steaming to eat. The taste was unexpectedly delicious.

Especially the smoked fish, with its lightly oily surface, had a terrific texture and unique smoked flavor when eaten. It made little Jiang Sheng exclaim in satisfaction.

"Auntie is so amazing. She can make so many delicious foods by herself. Can we sell this smoked fish in the workshop too?" The little girl's eyes shone brightly, clearly already plotting.

Auntie Zhang smiled demurely. "Of course we can."

She had made so many not just out of her own curiosity, but more for the workshop.

"Then we'll have to recalculate Auntie's wages," Jiang Sheng counted on her fingers. "Auntie already contributed with the smoked sausage. The smoked fish was entirely researched by Auntie alone, so how much should we pay her?"

Auntie Zhang could not help grinning. "Little Jiang Sheng, you don't have to pay Auntie. I make these because I want you to earn money."

To see the little girl who had wandered to the village entrance previously become fatter and living better, she was sincerely happy.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Sheng insisted, "Auntie made contributions so she should be rewarded. If Auntie doesn't take the reward, Jiang Sheng won't sell smoked fish either."

There were daylight and nighttime in this world. Contributions naturally deserved rewards.

After repeatedly weighing and considering in her heart, Jiang Sheng solemnly took out fifty taels worth of silver notes from her little safe and placed them in Auntie Zhang's hands. She said earnestly, "If the smoked fish sells well, I'll give Auntie more money."

This was a full fifty taels of silver!

Most able-bodied men earned at most one tael of silver a month. A regular family of three could live for a year on half a tael of silver, yet the Zhous with their huge family had not saved fifty taels of silver in decades.

And now, it floated lightly in Auntie Zhang's hands.

So as long as one worked hard, persevered and did not give up, even a day laborer earning five wen could receive a huge salary.

Auntie Zhang's eyes reddened as she quietly sobbed.

Jiang Sheng scratched her head, not knowing how to comfort her.

It was Liu Cui who stepped forward and patted her shoulder, joking, "Sis has finally earned so much, you'll have to treat us to a good meal." "Eat, definitely eat," Auntie Zhang smiled through her tears. "Everyone can eat their fill."

The next day, smoked fish was added to the production line.

They initially only made the basic cure, simply wind drying until the fish became oily. It was already very tasty when taken out like that.

But Auntie Zhang was excited to research various seasonings on this foundation, such as adding Sichuan pepper, or other spices, to see if new flavors could be created.

Small quantities of smoked chicken and smoked chicken legs were also made. They would be sent to the Leisure Residence to test the reaction before deciding whether to mass produce.

At the same time, Zheng Ruqian was also very busy.

With the arrival of December, north and south regions had entered the bitter cold period. Other than a few places that could still produce fresh vegetables, most areas couldn't even dig up a wild vegetable root.

Opening up the thousands of catties of dried string beans hoarded could be expected to be welcomed at this time.

But for Zheng Ruqian this was not enough. He wanted to go to new counties and prefectures to look for new vegetables.

To use this guy's arrogant words: the world is so big, but the farthest I've gone is Anyang County. There are even more vegetables out there.

Anyway the weather was cold, so they could transport as many vegetables back as they wanted. It would be foolish not to go.

After discussing with Wang Xiaosong, the master and servant wore thick padded coats, packed light bundles, and set off on the road to the distance under the tearful gazes of their respective younger sisters.

At the entrance of Hairpin Courtyard, Jiang Sheng watched the carriage gradually disappear into the distance, her small face full of worry. "The workshop and dried beans already earn enough money. Why does big brother still have to run farther out when the new year will be here in just over a month? Who knows if he can make it back in time."

"Don't worry," Xu Mo reassured her. "Second brother knows what he's doing. He'll be back."

Fang Heng also frowned. "I said early on to let second brother bring Jiang San and Jiang Si. Their martial arts skills have peaked and won't improve any further even with more practice. Bringing them along would at least protect them in case of danger."

But Zheng Ruqian just refused to.

"Maybe second brother feels the most dangerous place is still Anshui," Chang Yan said softly. "It's already been over a month since the incident with the Suns."

And one month was precisely the time for a letter to go from Anshui Prefecture to Fengjing and back.

With Fang Heng here, the Fangs were like a blade hanging over their heads that could fall at any time.

The few suddenly fell silent and exchanged a look without a word as they returned to Hairpin Courtyard.

Fang Heng walked at the back, his steps rather slow.

Abruptly, a small paper ball was flung over. His eyes flickered and he raised a hand to catch it.

Unfolding it, there was only one sentence: Meet at the end of East Street.