Chapter 82

82. Chapter 82: One Hundred Taels Deposit

"Since the business is concluded, Young Master Jiang, please." Jiang Wei stood up and tilted her chin toward the courtyard gate. "I have things to attend to at home, so I won't be seeing you off, Young Master Jiang."

"Eh? Little Lady Jiang, don't you intend to keep me for a meal?" Jiang Yu looked at the sisters Chunmiao and Chunya busy in the kitchen, looking surprised.

It was his first time seeing someone who couldn't wait to chase people away right after finishing business. Shouldn't they take this time to have a good meal, get to know each other, and enhance their relationship...

Jiang Wei said indifferently, "We country folk only have simple, coarse food. I'm afraid a body as delicate as yours, Young Master Jiang, wouldn't be used to it. We are also afraid of not hosting you properly, so please return to the restaurant to eat, Young Master Jiang."

Jiang Yu: "..."

"Young Master Jiang, have a safe journey; we won't be seeing you off." This time, even Jiang Xiaoxiao stood beside her mother, waving her small, short hand at him, as if she couldn't wait for him to leave.

This little ungrateful thing!

Jiang Yu glanced at her, thinking to himself that he would never let her ride in his carriage again...

Thus, Jiang Yu eventually left with Shopkeeper Zhou.

But not long after, Shopkeeper Zhou returned. He was carrying a red lacquer tray in his hands and said, "This is the deposit paid by Young Master Jiang."

Having said that, he placed the red lacquer tray on the table in the courtyard and turned to leave.

"Deposit?" Jiang Xiaoxiao walked up, puzzled. Having sold snow cakes and ice cream for so long, this was the first time they had received a deposit.

It had to be said that this Young Master Jiang really had a head for business. Of all the restaurants and tea houses they had cooperated with, none had ever paid a deposit in advance when ordering; only he had done so.

However, this also showed that Jiang Yu was a business partner worth long-term cooperation.

Jiang Xiaoxiao pondered as she reached out to lift the red cloth covering the red lacquer tray. The next second, she froze in place.

On the tray were ten ingots of gleaming white snow silver!

She counted them; one ingot was ten taels, so these ten ingots of snow silver were a full one hundred taels!!

Heavens, this is too much!

Jiang Xiaoxiao's mouth hung open in shock.

Jiang Wei walked over, raised her eyebrows in slight surprise, and said, "Is he giving so much at once because he's afraid we'll run away?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao: "... Probably."

After all, five thousand snow cakes and ten thousand ice creams, to be made within half a month... this was no small engineering project.

"Auntie Jiang, the meat has all been cut as you said. What should we do next?" Chunmiao walked out of the kitchen, wiping water stains on her apron with both hands. Unexpectedly, upon looking up, she saw only the Jiang mother and daughter in the courtyard and couldn't help but freeze.

Where were the noble guests Auntie Jiang brought back?

"I'll handle the rest; you all take a break." Jiang Wei said as she walked into the kitchen.

Chunmiao froze for a while, seemingly reacting, and whispered to Jiang Xiaoxiao beside her: "Xiaoxiao, you didn't keep them for a meal at home?"

Jiang Xiaoxiao shrugged: "Young Master Jiang isn't used to the food in our village, so he went home to eat."

"Oh..." Chunmiao seemed to understand, but then she said anxiously: "Then those two noble guests have left, wouldn't all that meat be wasted!?"

That much meat, probably over three jin, and Auntie Jiang even had her wash and cut it all. But now that the two guests they were entertaining had left, wouldn't there be no one to eat all this meat?

Chunmiao was a bit anxious; in such hot weather, so much meat would go bad.

"It won't be wasted." Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head like a rattle-drum. "You all can eat it together."

"Ah?" Chunmiao froze in place.

Jiang Xiaoxiao didn't say anything more and carried the red lacquer tray into the house.

As soon as she pushed open the door, the little tiger pounced from inside.

Even though Jiang Xiaoxiao had been prepared, she was still pounced on, and the red lacquer tray in her hand was almost knocked flying.

"If you pounce like this again next time, I won't pay attention to you." Jiang Xiaoxiao put down the tray and tapped its head angrily.

Ever since its leg healed, this little tiger's jumping ability had become better and better. Before, it needed her to bend down to hold it; now, it didn't even need her to bend down, pouncing directly into her arms.

"Aowu~ Aowu~"

Hearing that Jiang Xiaoxiao wouldn't pay attention to it, the little tiger "aowu-ed" and instead pressed even closer to her, looking up at her with a tiger face, full of fawning.

But those tiger claws hung on her lapels, not moving at all.

"..." Jiang Xiaoxiao was a bit helpless. This little guy was too clingy. As long as she appeared, it would use various methods to stick to her, and no matter how she tried to shake it off, she couldn't.

Jiang Xiaoxiao glanced at the one hundred taels of snow silver on the red lacquer tray and then said: "Little Tiger, you get down first. I have things to do today; I'll play with you tonight, okay?"

"Aowu~"

The little tiger then reluctantly released its tiger claws and got down from her.

Jiang Xiaoxiao covered the tray with the red cloth again, then turned and left the room, heading straight for the kitchen. "Mom, I'll help you with the fire."

Jiang Wei was making braised pork and didn't even look up as she said, "What do you want to ask?"

"Haha, as expected, nothing can be hidden from Mom..." Jiang Xiaoxiao scratched her head embarrassedly, sat on the small stool in front of the stove, broke two small branches, and threw them into the stove. "Mom, what do you plan to do about those ice cubes?"

To transport five thousand snow cakes and ten thousand ice creams to the Capital completely intact, the amount of ice required was enormous, and it had to be done within half a month. Even if they dug up the entire underground area where they lived, the saltpeter earth dug out wouldn't be enough to make that much ice...

Jiang Wei stirred the meat in the pot, adding sugar, vinegar, cooking wine, and other seasonings to stir-fry the color. Only after the braised pork was completely finished did she look up and say unhurriedly: "Xiaoxiao, Mom will take you to a place tonight."

"Ah?" Jiang Xiaoxiao froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "What place? Mom, where are we going tonight?"

Jiang Wei rarely played coy, saying: "You'll know when tonight comes."

"No, no, Mom, just tell me quietly~" Jiang Xiaoxiao couldn't help her curiosity; it felt like a hundred claws were scratching at her heart.

But Jiang Wei just wouldn't say. "Come, take the dishes out first; we'll talk after we finish eating."

However, when it came time to eat, the sisters Chunmiao saw the table full of dishes and panicked, wanting to escape: "Th-that, Auntie Jiang, I suddenly remembered there are still things to do at home. Chun-ya and I will go back first and come back later."

"Come over and sit down."

Jiang Wei simply put down her chopsticks and gave an order-like command to the two sisters: "Whoever dares to step out of this courtyard, don't come to my house again in the future."

Chunmiao, who was pulling Chunya to walk out, paused.

She turned around with a trembling face: "Auntie Jiang, actually I..."

Jiang Wei glanced at the clean courtyard and said: "You have done so much work for my family; this meal counts as your wages. If you don't eat, are you wanting me to give you copper coins instead?"