"Is this called Qiuli paste?"
Han Ning opened his eyes wide and looked curiously at the brown liquid in the small clay pot. He went up to it and smelled it. There was a faint sweetness of pear.
"Yes, I got the prescription from a medical book, but I forgot which medical book it was. I have read too many and too many books in the past few years."
"But don't worry, Brother Han, this is indeed a prescription from medical books. It can produce body fluids and moisturize the lungs, and the effect is very good. The ingredients are very simple. It only contains sour pears, red dates, ginger, and rock sugar. Pears are cool. It’s natural, and ginger and red dates are put in to remove the cold. There are no messy things added to it, so you can drink it with confidence.”
Li Qiao did not bring the Qiuli paste that contained Luo Han Guo and Sichuan clams. What he and Tao Zhu got from the Han family was the ordinary version of Qiuli paste.
"In this season, people have to sit around charcoal pots during the day and sleep on fire beds at night, so many people's throats will be dry and itchy, and their bodies will also be hot and dry. Qiuli paste can moisturize the throat and remove dryness, clear away heat and relieve internal heat. Drinking Qiuli paste can improve the condition. These symptoms.”
"If you still have more severe cough symptoms, you can add cough-relieving medicines such as monk fruit and scallops to Qiuli ointment. The effect is very good."
Li Qiao explained it in detail. After all, it is a medicinal diet, so you have to be careful.
"I trust Brother Li, so I'll ask someone to bring warm water." After Han Ning ordered the boy, he looked at Li Qiao with a look of emotion on his face: "It's just a few baskets of pears, Brother Li, you are so caring. For you to spend time doing this, as a brother, I feel uneasy."
"I just happened to remember this recipe, and it didn't take much time. The imperial examination is not something that can only be done in one or two days. Besides, if Brother Han hadn't been here along the way, how could I have studied with peace of mind."
The Han family had always been in a hurry when taking the official road before, but this time in order to cooperate with him, they not only put their own business on hold temporarily, but also checked out the rivers, villages and towns along the way in advance so that he could have hot meals every day.
He does not need to worry about routes and other issues at all. He only needs to rush, read, and wait for meals every day.
When I entered Beijing for the first time, it was all thanks to the Han family that I could be so comfortable on the road.
Although the Han family has been relieved about this batch of sour pears, these pear trees cost more than 3,000 taels of silver and occupied a small hill. Over the past few years, the Han family has lost a lot of money because of these sour pears. Thousands of taels of silver, and the Han family had made some mistakes. Now that he had the ability to turn these sour pears into treasure, he naturally wanted to help.
And for him, it's just a matter of mouthing, and it doesn't take much time.
After hearing Li Qiao's words, Han Ning was even more moved. He didn't know how to praise Li Qiao for being such a good person.
When he gave Li Qiao pears, he just thought that Li Qiao would have pear soup to drink in the cold winter, but who knew that Li Qiao regarded his family's difficulties as his own and spent time solving these sour pears before the test.
How could there be such a good and smart person like Li Qiao in the world!
At this time, the waiter brought a bowl and warm water over. After drinking the Qiuli ointment, Han Ning smacked his lips and then nodded: "It tastes good, slightly sweet, and my throat is indeed better after drinking it than before."
Li Qiao smiled when he heard this: "Yes, it is a medicinal diet after all. However, Qiuli ointment is not suitable for everyone. People with weak spleen and stomach should drink less because pears are cool in nature."
He went on to elaborate on some taboos.
Seeing this, Han Ning quickly took a pen and paper and wrote them down one by one so as not to forget them.
"Brother Han, this autumn pear paste can be stored for a long time after it is made. Your sour pears can be made into autumn pear paste. It is excellent for eating at home or as a gift to relatives and friends."
"Of course, if you have extra, you can sell it in your stew restaurant. However, you have to tell diners in advance who should not eat it."
Li Qiao said again.
These words touched Han Ning's heart. As a businessman, when he sees a new item, he will subconsciously estimate its commercial value.
Now that Li Qiao had said this, he quickly asked for some more details. What he put into his mouth was still under the banner of medicinal food, so he had to be careful.
The notes were densely written on five pieces of rice paper before he put down the brush in his hand.
He said with a serious face: "Brother Li, my family still has more than 20,000 kilograms of sour pears and can make a lot of autumn pear paste. Let's follow the rules. You can make three or seven of these autumn pear pastes. You have helped my family a lot." , I can’t let you get the prescription in vain.”
"...Okay."
Seeing Han Ning's resolute look in his eyes and his tone full of ambiguity, Li Qiao didn't waste any time on this issue.
Next, he and Tao Zhu went to the Han family's kitchen and taught Han Ning and the Han family's cook how to make Qiuli paste.
The production of Qiuli paste is very simple, but there are many small details. If you don't pay attention, the taste will not be good. For example, you cannot use an iron pot to cook Qiuli paste, which will smell of rust and affect the taste.
Li Qiao and Tao Zhu stayed at Han's house all day, and even had dinner at Han's house. By the time the couple returned, it was already late at night.
Small snowflakes were floating in the sky, and it was snowing again.
Tao Zhu's right hand held Li Qiao's hand together. He stretched out his left hand to catch the snowflakes. The snowflakes fell on his palm, feeling cool. He was a little lucky: "Fortunately, we are already in the capital."
If it snows on the road, it will be very difficult.
Li Qiao hummed and stretched out his hand to catch the snow. The auspicious snow heralds a good year. I hope the snow this year will be just right, no more and no less.
“I wonder if it’s snowing in Sanliu Village.”
Tao Zhu raised his head and looked at the small snowflakes dancing in the wind. He missed the big yard of Sanliu Village and the people in the village.
Hearing this, Li Qiao couldn't help but hold his hand tightly: "Tomorrow we will write letters to our families to report that we are safe. They must also be concerned about us."
"Yeah!" Tao Zhu nodded heavily.
The Han family's caravan has not returned to Pingcheng yet, so they must seize the time to write a letter.
The next day, Li Qiao wrote several letters in the morning before starting to read.
Tao Zhu also wrote letters. He didn't need to study, so he wrote slowly. He wrote down in detail what he saw and heard along the way and in the capital.
For Zheng Qianqian, for Baiyou, for Li Ping...
In addition to the letter, he also asked the Han family to buy some Shengjing specialties. He himself would not go out because he had to take care of Li Qiao's food, clothing and daily life, just like when he was in Fucheng or the capital, so he could only do shopping. Leave it to the Han family.
The same was true for the banker, Xu Yingchenhua, and the Meng family. They wrote letters, bought some specialties, and asked the Han family to take them back with them.
After the snow stopped, it was past Laba, and the Han family's caravan set off back to Pingcheng.
Han Ning didn't go back, he was busy making Qiuli ointment.
In the past few days, he gave the first batch of Qiuli paste to his relatives and friends to try, and everyone said it was delicious and effective.
It's snowing and the weather is getting colder. Everyone wants to tie charcoal basins and fire pits to their bodies, and the food they eat is hot and spicy. As a result, the body will inevitably become hot and hot, which will be accompanied by many uncomfortable symptoms.
There are two versions of his Qiuli ointment. One is for minor symptoms such as dry and itchy throat, and does not contain any medicine.
One version is added with cough medicines such as monk fruit, Sichuan clamshell, and licorice.
But no matter which version it is, the response is good.
Under such circumstances, Han Ning was naturally full of energy. Who would have thought that the sour pear that opened his shop to make a loss could turn into such a magical autumn pear paste.
He must thank his elder brother for his persistence.
In the past few years, the family business has suffered losses and even the ancestral property has been sold, but his eldest brother is reluctant to cut down those pear trees. He must thank his eldest brother for his unwillingness.
He also had to thank him for his decisiveness.
If he hadn't decisively sold his ancestral property and gone south to Pingcheng, there would have been no chance of improvement.
Of course, the person who should be most grateful is Li Qiao.
His family was in ruins, the imperial examination failed, and his marriage was rejected. He was so sad and disheartened that he really planned to commit suicide if he failed.
Fortunately I met Li Qiao!
Now that his family has a braised restaurant and Qiuli Paste, he will definitely run it well and earn back the lost family business bit by bit.
In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, Hanjia Braised Cuisine Restaurant launched a new product: Qiuli Paste.
Han's Braised Restaurant is on the main street in the north of the city. It is in a good location and has many diners.
His stew is actually not cheap. A bowl costs 88 cents, and there is only one or two vermicelli in it. The rest is common ingredients such as pork, tofu, cabbage, and kelp.
Ordinary people can't afford this price, but most of the people living in the north of the city are petty officials and wealthy businessmen. These people are reluctant to go to Yunxiao Tower to eat a bowl of stew for 500 renminbi, but they can't afford a bowl of stew for 88 renminbi. Affordable.
Compared with those big restaurants in Yunxiao Tower, his braised dishes are really close to the people.
Last year, the sweet potato harvest in Pingcheng was poor, and the vermicelli production was reduced. In addition, long-distance transportation was not easy, so the price of vermicelli increased sharply after arriving in the capital, with a pound of dry vermicelli reaching as high as 500 yuan.
However, the merchants transported the vermicelli all the way back to Beijing, and of course they had to squeeze out the maximum value from it. The merchants made the vermicelli into cooked food and sold it.
Just like at his house, a pound of dry vermicelli costs 500 renminbi, and one tael of vermicelli is 50 renminbi. His stewed dish with only 1 tael of vermicelli sells for 88 renminbi a bowl. The extra 38 renminbi can be used His family earns more than selling dried vermicelli.
Of course, net profit is the result of deducting costs, but no one can deny the huge profits from vermicelli. With the help of vermicelli, it only took his family one year to earn back half of their losses.
He was really satisfied with the vermicelli.
His diners are quite satisfied with the price, so his chowder restaurant is always full every day.
There are many diners, so there is no need to worry about selling Qiuli paste.
Like shopkeeper Wang, he selected a few diners and sold Qiuli paste to them. After these diners tasted the Qiuli paste, they thought it tasted good and paid for it.
After eating it for a few days at home, I found that the effect was as Han Ning said, so I repurchased it and promoted it to my relatives and friends.
So the market for Qiuli ointment suddenly opened up.
After offering sacrifices to the stove, the New Year approaches day by day.
This is the fourth New Year that Li Qiao and Tao Zhu have celebrated together. Now they are in the capital, far away from Sanliu Village. The lively atmosphere of the previous two years is not here.
But the New Year's goods still need to be prepared, and with the banker, Shen Hua, Xu Ying, and the Meng family here, there are actually not a few people there.
On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, clean the house.
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the windows were glued.
On the twenty-sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, stew meat.
Early in the morning on the 26th of the twelfth lunar month, Tao Zhu took Li Ershan, Shen Hua, Zhuangquan Manor, and the eldest brother of the Meng family to the vegetable market to buy meat.
After buying the meat, everyone goes back to their respective houses to stew the meat.
At almost noon, Shen Hua came, carrying a basket in his hand containing the ribs he had stewed himself.
During these days in the capital, because he was unfamiliar with the place and had no one to go out with, Shen Hua followed Tao Zhu to learn how to cook various delicacies.
This braised pork ribs dish was something he had learned from Tao Zhu a few days ago. He stewed it today and thought it tasted good, so he gave it to Tao Zhu to try.
Tao Zhu bought some mutton today and planned to make cumin mutton and mutton skewers. When he arrived, several skewers of mutton skewers had been grilled, and the aroma filled the entire kitchen.
But he couldn't smell the fishy smell, but he didn't want to go back, so he stood at the door of the kitchen and talked to Tao Zhu.
"Is the Xu family here?" Seeing this, Tao Zhu asked directly.
Hearing this, Shen Hua sighed heavily: "Yes, it's so annoying."
"Then you stay for dinner later. We will go back to the main room to eat and leave the mutton in the kitchen." Tao Zhu said.
Hearing this, Shen Hua hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."
The Xu family has gone too far recently.
On the way to the capital, the Xu family often interrupted Xu Ying's study, and seemed not to take Xu Ying's exam to heart at all.
On the second day after arriving in the capital, everyone went shopping together. Only Xu Ying's two brothers and one sister-in-law came from the Xu family, and the rest of the family disappeared.
