Chapter 436: Living (Part 4)

Zhao Cheng'an and Xia Sheng slept very comfortably in the woodshed for the night. While the two of them were comfortable, Chen Qiusheng and the old servant were not comfortable at all.

The old servant's small room was just an ordinary side room next to the woodshed; it was very small and close to the woodshed. As a loyal old servant, he tossed and turned all night, climbing up from time to time to lie by the woodshed door and listen to the movements inside.

He listened to see if the two people inside were asleep, and whether that thief would ransack the house tonight.

Compared to the old servant's pure dedication, Chen Qiusheng's situation was much more complicated. Qin Huai could tell that Chen Qiusheng probably regretted bringing Zhao Cheng'an back, and he also barely slept all night.

Early the next morning, the haggard old servant and Chen Qiusheng opened the woodshed door. Seeing Zhao Cheng'an and Xia Sheng in high spirits, they looked at each other, their eyes filled with helplessness at their own anxiety from the night before.

Chen Qiusheng stared at Zhao Cheng'an: "Clean yourself up; I'm taking you to Taifeng Tower."

The old servant stared at Xia Sheng: "Go draw a bucket of water. The Young Master has a weak stomach and needs to drink millet porridge every morning."

Xia Sheng hurried to draw water. When he entered last night, he had already observed the courtyard; it was piled with a lot of miscellaneous items, including water buckets and a well.

Zhao Cheng'an's focus was completely different: "Master Chen, thank you so much. If Xia Sheng hadn't told me last night, I wouldn't have known you recommended such a good job to me. So, a cook is someone who makes food for others!"

Chen Qiusheng:...

Chen Qiusheng was helpless toward the fool before him. He didn't speak, walking straight outside to signal for Zhao Cheng'an to follow. When he passed by Xia Sheng, he said: "Follow Uncle Liu first. He will tell you what you need to do in the future; if there's anything you don't know, learn it from him."

"Mas... Master..." Xia Sheng suddenly spoke, hesitating, but still said, "Can I go too?"

"What?" Chen Qiusheng frowned, then reacted, his gaze toward Xia Sheng changing instantly. He looked Xia Sheng up and down: "You want to apply for an apprenticeship at Taifeng Tower too?"

"You are a book boy I bought; the deed of sale is in my hands, and it's a death contract. Once the human trafficker goes through the procedures with me at the government office this morning, you will be a servant of my house. No restaurant or shop will hire someone like that."

Xia Sheng realized Chen Qiusheng was somewhat displeased and hurried to explain: "Master, I will serve the Young Master well, and I will do the work that needs to be done at home. I just want to follow along and see the world."

Hearing Xia Sheng say this, Chen Qiusheng softened his tone: "Fine, follow along then."

Xia Sheng hurried to keep up.

Zhao Cheng'an asked Xia Sheng: "You've already been bought by Master Chen and have work to do, why do you still want to look for a job?"

Xia Sheng didn't speak.

Qin Huai followed behind them, trailing them all the way to Taifeng Tower. Taifeng Tower was still the same as what Qin Huai had seen in Chen Huihong's memories: a two-story restaurant, the plaque engraved with the three characters 'Taifeng Tower' looking very aged; it must have been an old object.

It was still very early, just two hours after dawn; Qin Huai estimated it was around 7:00 AM. As far as Qin Huai knew, Taifeng Tower didn't do breakfast business, so there wasn't a single guest in the restaurant, but the doors were wide open. Many workers were already busy, and several flatbed carts and horse-drawn carriages were parked at the entrance, loaded with fresh vegetables and clean spring water transported from outside the city.

Chen Huihong had told Qin Huai about this: most of Taifeng Tower's guests were noble people, and these nobles felt well water was dirty; only spring water from a certain mountain outside the city was worthy of their precious bodies. Therefore, all the water for Taifeng Tower was specially fetched from outside the city every morning, costing a significant amount.

This was also the selling point when Taifeng Tower first established itself in Beiping. Shopkeeper Lu had repeatedly urged Chen Huihong to memorize the lines well: when drinking soup, praise the taste of the soup, saying it must be made with top-quality spring water.

Chen Qiusheng led the two up the steps. Before they even entered the door, a worker carrying water greeted Chen Qiusheng enthusiastically: "Master Chen, you've arrived. It's such a coincidence; Master Jiang's wife is here too, saying today is their family's seventh child's hundredth day, and she brought a lot of red eggs. If you go in now, you can still catch the red eggs given by Madam Jiang herself and soak up some of the joy."

Hearing the worker say this, Chen Qiusheng lowered his head to calculate the date and smiled: "It really is."

As they were speaking, Qin Wan, wearing a married woman's hairstyle, carrying a basket, and dressed in thick clothes even though it wasn't winter or even autumn, walked out from the back kitchen. Her complexion was very pale, and one could tell at a glance that her health had been poor recently. Beside her followed a half-grown child carrying a food box, looking to be about eight or nine years old, similar to Xia Sheng.

Qin Huai's gaze was instantly drawn to Qin Wan. Staring at her, he discovered her complexion was truly poor, her lips almost devoid of any color; one could tell at a glance it was severe blood deficiency.

"Give the things to me. It's just a wooden food box, it's not like I can't carry it. There's a banquet ordered by the Prince's Mansion at noon today, the back kitchen must be very busy. If you help me send the food box back, it will take nearly half an hour for a round trip; don't delay your work," Qin Wan said very gently to the half-grown child beside her.

Qin Huai initially thought this child was Qin Wan's son. Hearing Qin Wan say this, he realized it should be a helper or apprentice in Taifeng Tower. In this era, there was no such thing as child labor; eight or nine-year-old children could already come out to work, and they were cheap, making them the favorite of bosses.

"Master Jiang told me to help you carry the things back. You aren't well right now and can't carry heavy objects, and you shouldn't be out; the physician said you can't be exposed to the wind," the apprentice said stubbornly. He jumped up slightly and took the basket directly from Qin Wan's hands, carrying one on each arm.

"It's not like I'm in postpartum confinement, what do you mean I can't be exposed to the wind? I'm drinking a bowl of bird's nest every morning and a bowl of chicken soup every night, I'm almost being raised like a noble lady. What do you mean I can't carry heavy objects? Today's eggs were all boiled by me personally," Qin Wan laughed, looking up to see Chen Qiusheng, and stepped forward a few paces to greet him, "Master Chen, long time no see."

"Today is my family's seventh child's hundredth day, so I boiled some red eggs and brought them over. Originally, a hundred-day celebration should have a banquet, but my health has been poor recently and expenses are a bit high. Bohe's meaning is to keep everything simple. When there's time, I'll invite you all to my house for a simple meal; that will count as having held the banquet for the seventh child."

"When you come to eat, there's no need to bring gifts."

"That won't do. Sister-in-law, you and Master Jiang are blessed with a seventh son; gifts must be brought. When the time comes, I'll bring that boy of mine along; he likes playing with your family's boys the most. It's just that his health is poor, and he gets sick as soon as he comes out to play, so I don't really dare let him go out."

Qin Wan nodded: "If his health is poor, he needs to be well-cared for. I heard my Bohe say you intend to buy a book boy for Ping'an to keep him company. I think this is a good idea; Ping'an is so young, being locked at home every day isn't the way; he needs to have more contact with children his own age."

"Already bought." Chen Qiusheng pointed to Xia Sheng, "A farm boy, knows a few characters, quite clever, and his character is also not bad. I brought him to the tower today to see the world. It's not like we're too busy recently, and Shopkeeper Lu intends to recruit another batch of apprentices and helpers, so I'll let him try as well. If he really has talent in this area, teaching him a few dishes will make it easier to take care of Ping'an in the future."

"Then this child is..." Qin Wan looked toward Zhao Cheng'an.

Before Chen Qiusheng could speak, Zhao Cheng'an took the initiative to introduce himself loudly: "Madam Jiang, hello. I'm here to participate in the recruitment. I don't have a place to stay, and Master Chen is a very good person and temporarily took me in for the night."

"Madam Jiang, can I eat a red egg?"

The apprentice beside Qin Wan glared fiercely at Zhao Chengan, likely annoyed that his voice was too loud and fearing he would startle Qin Wan.

Qin Wan smiled very good-naturedly: "Of course you can, I specially brought extra today."

"Master Chen, my fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh are still at home, and Huiqin can't take care of them all by herself, so I'll head back first."

After speaking, Qin Wan left. The apprentice carried the basket and food box, following closely by her side. Chen Qiusheng turned back and looked at Zhao Cheng'an helplessly, his face filled with the sentiment that he couldn't argue with a fool.

"I'll go get you red eggs; you stay here and don't move." Chen Qiusheng went into the back kitchen and got two red eggs, one for each of them.

Xia Sheng carefully tucked the red egg into his bosom, while Zhao Cheng'an happily started eating immediately.

Chen Qiusheng was here to work. He grabbed an older worker at random to have them keep an eye on Zhao Cheng'an, while he himself went straight into the back kitchen to work. Qin Huai also followed inside with great curiosity.

Qin Huai had been to Taifeng Tower before in Chen Huihong's memories, but he hadn't really entered the back kitchen, mainly because the distance wasn't enough. Chen Huihong was a pure diner and actor, her range of activity concentrated by the window on the first floor and the private seats on the second floor; both locations were the furthest from the kitchen, and Qin Huai couldn't get in at all.

This time, in Zhao Cheng'an's memories, Qin Huai's range of activity was quite large, and he could generously follow Master Chen into the back kitchen to observe properly.

Taifeng Tower's back kitchen was very large.

Although it was a standard old-fashioned kitchen from the last century without any modern technology, one could see it was managed very well, with strict hierarchy and everything in perfect order.

Vegetable washing, prep work, and stove stations were all separated by a great distance. Qin Huai could even tell that vegetables, poultry, game, and river/seafood were not processed in the same area.

At the same time, this was also the first time Qin Huai saw Jiang Chengde, who could make S-rank Sophora flower steamed buns with a casual effort.

As an excellent cook, Jiang Chengde's physique was undoubtedly very sturdy in this era; one could see the muscles hidden under his clothes, and he had the strength to take on at least five people. It was just that this Master Jiang didn't look like he was in a very good mood, his expression was very solemn, and he was surrounded by three youths who looked somewhat similar to him and were clearly his sons.

"Weijin, how many times have I said it? When cutting vegetables, you cannot blindly pursue speed. You must have steady hands and a calm heart. Weize has practiced for a year longer than you; what is there for you to compare with him?"

"Weiming, you cut yours; don't be influenced by my words." ===== CHAPTER 437 =====