The Eldest Daughter of a Rural Family
Chapter 342: Just a Concubine (7)_1

Chapter 342: Chapter 342: Just a Concubine (7)_1

They agreed to go up the mountain for fun next time Mu Xiu was free. Pei Wendong declined. The spring yellow beans at home had been sorted, and Pei Qin was going to make soy sauce. Asking someone else for help would be tantamount to teaching them the trade secrets. Pei Qian strongly disagreed, and both Pei Yuan and Pei Wendong said they could do it themselves.

With a few Little Radishes to help and the addition of two strong men, it would be sufficiently staffed. Besides, they weren’t planning to process all the beans at once, but rather continuously, so it wouldn’t disrupt sales. Pei Qin, seeing the soybean cakes coming out, got busy.

Landlord Sun Quanliang’s family could handle the early preparation work, and the siblings would take over the finer details, such as mixing the ingredients and making the soy paste, with Lu Hao and Lu Hai helping out as assistants.

The soy paste that had been made last year was also ready. After Pei Qin finished up, she extracted two vats of it. Although this fresh soy sauce, which hadn’t been exposed to a year of sunlight and dew, wasn’t as good as the native soy sauce, the beans were still a bit behind the spring yellow beans. Pei Qin set a price and took a basket of small jars to the county city while delivering peanuts.

After delivering the sugar-fried peanuts and mung bean noodles to Ju Xian Building, Pei Qin made a special trip first to Drunken Immortal Tavern.

As soon as Drunken Immortal Tavern got the soy sauce, they hurried to the kitchen to test it out. Pei Qin then delivered the soy sauce to Moon Restaurant and several other eateries. The Wang family wouldn’t pay a high price for the sauce, but if these taverns and restaurants wanted to use the sauce later, they could buy it directly from her, and she’d earn a bit more then.

The remaining two vats were delivered to the Wang family and Landlord Chang’s house.

It was too hot, so Wang Ting’s family didn’t let her skate and instead pulled Pei Qin aside to teach her how to play chess. "Since you have to wait for the reply from Drunken Immortal Tavern and Moon Restaurant anyway, and it’s pretty hot now, let’s have lunch and wait for the afternoon to cool down before leaving!"

The guard Lu Hai muttered silently to himself: The Wang family is not a cool place.

Looking at the chessboard and the black and white pieces on the table, Pei Qin felt overwhelmed. "I can’t play these brain-burning games!"

"That’s why I’m teaching you!" Wang Ting replied matter-of-factly.

"I’m not cut out for this!" Pei Qin protested again.

"That’s why you start by learning!" Wang Ting insisted, positioning herself as a little teacher.

Scratching her head, Pei Qin counterattacked by teaching Wang Ting how to play Connect Four and checkers instead of Go.

When Zhang Yan arrived, the two were immersed in their game on the chessboard, with Wang Ting persistently battling and Pei Qin finding it increasingly difficult to secure her wins.

Seeing the two playing chess with just a few pieces, Zhang Yan arched an eyebrow and settled into a Taishi Chair to watch the match.

A little maid brought up some refreshing tea.

Lu Hai was also sitting by, watching the game, having learned it by now.

Zhang Yan, after observing for a while and grasping the basic rules, realized he didn’t need to put in much effort to win easily.

Pei Qin was only slightly better at checkers and Connect Four; she wasn’t inclined to spend time on these activities when she could be working on her experiments.

After they put away the chess, Zhang Yan sipped his tea and remarked, "Ms. Pei is quite erudite and talented, isn’t she?"

"Of course! Nowadays, being a polymath is in vogue!" Pei Qin laughed. It’s not easy to get by if you’re not a polymath!

Seeing her self-satisfied demeanor, Zhang Yan’s gaze flickered, reminded of Shen Songming.

Pei Qin went to the main kitchen and looked at the braised pork being cooked, frowning slightly in dissatisfaction. However, the braised fish was rather good, and the red-cooked ribs were not quite satisfactory.

Seeing her critical gaze, the Cook woman had an expression of "If you think you’re so capable, then you cook it."

Pei Qin let them be and settled for a meal. After eating, she reminded them that to braise pork properly, one must use rock sugar or honey, and in their absence, a bit of white sugar; also, not to put too much soy sauce, for if it was combined with the regular amount of salt, the dish would be too salty. Additionally, soy sauce is a seasoning, not an actual oil; adding more doesn’t necessarily make the dish tastier.

Wang Ting wanted to have her to try cooking it, but then she thought, "Wait until Mu Xiu’s trip to Taiping Town!"

"Great!" Pei Qin agreed with a smile.