October.
Li Changan went out again during this period and even spent the night in his own house.
The two Hu Ji who were guarding the house finally knew Li Changan's identity, and they treated Li Changan with even more respect.
The sales of candied haws in Chang'an were surprisingly good. A small shop made a lot of profits, but it was not entirely smooth sailing.
The process of making candied haws peas is not complicated. This novel method has never been seen before, but it has become very popular in Chang'an in the past two months since the launch of candied haws squid. To put it bluntly, candied haws berries are hawthorns coated with sugar. It is difficult for ordinary people to make. But for chefs from other pastry shops, this preparation method is not difficult to guess.
By the second month, there were already other shops selling candied haws in Chang'an.
Du Zheng and Du Qing were both furious and yelled at those people for stealing the prescriptions from their shop.
Li Changan, who had found another opportunity to leave the palace, calmly said: "We were just lucky enough to be the first to discover that hawthorn can be coated with sugar. It's not that difficult. It's normal for others to guess the recipe."
"Well, having said that, since other shops started selling candied haws, our store's profit has dropped a lot." Du Zheng said with a sad face as he flipped through the account book.
Li Changan didn't seem anxious at all. She smiled and said: "If a pastry shop wants to stay open for a long time, it must have its own irreplaceable pastries."
"That's the truth, but it's hard to find a cook who knows the secret recipe... Chef Zhao in the previous shop was good at making jujube cakes. Unfortunately, she was poached by a neighboring shop two years ago, and Du Qing and I only took care of the accounts. I don't know the secret recipe." Du Zheng sighed.
"It's okay, I'll just teach Qingzhu a new recipe." Li Changan said lightly, "From now on, on the first day of every month, let Qingzhu go to my house to find Hong Ling to learn the new recipe."
Du Zheng looked at his innocent and cute little lady who didn't know the ulterior motives of people, and then at Hu Ji who had just bought it less than two months ago, feeling worried.
After all, Du Zheng still felt that Hu Ji, who had only been in the shop for less than two months, was not as reliable as he, who had been running the shop for twenty years. Taking advantage of the fact that he and Li Changan were alone, he volunteered: "Madam, you might as well give me the recipe. I'll pass it on to these two Hu Ji."
Li Changan gave Du Zheng a strange look: "You can't."
"Why not? I am very loyal to Yingguoju!" Du Zheng thought that Li Changan was doubting his loyalty. His face turned red for a moment, and he wanted to swear a poisonous oath immediately to prove his loyalty.
"It's not because of loyalty." Li Changan coughed lightly.
The main reason is that Du Zheng has something extra on him...
"Ordinary men are not allowed to enter my back house." Li Changan hinted.
Only then did Du Zheng remember that his current master's family was different from the one he followed before. The previous master's family was just an ordinary businessman in Chang'an, and he could naturally come and go at will. Although he didn't know the current master's identity, he could alone Looking at the tall and tall bodyguard following her, one could tell that he was not from an ordinary wealthy family.
I can't tell which famous family it is.
Du Zheng immediately stopped talking. He had never eaten pork and had seen pigs run away. Although he didn't know the rules of famous families, he also knew people who served in the homes of famous families. He heard that there were many rules.
"Madam, let's teach Hong Ling." Du Zheng suddenly became nervous.
Li Changan raised his eyebrows and had a funny thought: "If you want to enter my backyard, there is nothing you can do... Do you have children?"
"Madam..." Du Zheng suddenly understood Li Changan's hint, his face turned pale, and his two breasts trembled.
"I'm just teasing you." Seeing that the old man was so frightened, Li Changan smiled and kindly let him go.
After Li Changan taught Qingzhu how to make red bean cake, he took her to his house to let her know the way.
Unexpectedly, I was told good news as soon as I entered the house.
"Madam, we found out where the man named Shen lives!"
Hong Ling happily greeted Li Changan as soon as she saw him coming in, and told Li Changan the news she had learned in the past few days.
She didn't get much information.
Therefore, there are twelve families with the surname Shen within a radius of five miles. This is what Hongling found out from the Yaren in this area. Yaren is a real estate agent. He is a native of Chang'an and is familiar with every household within a radius of ten miles. Every household.
"The two of us are not familiar with each other. If we relied on the two of us to find out the information, I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to find out the information in a year and a half. I took it upon myself to take 30 large sums of money and gave it to Yaren to ask for the information." Hong Ling was afraid that Li Changan would blame her for taking matters into her own hands, so she hurriedly explained the reason to Li Changan.
Li Changan smiled and patted Hong Ling's hand - she wanted to pat her shoulder, but unfortunately she was not tall enough and her hands were only big enough.
"You have done a good job. You will be the eldest lady in my house from now on." Li Changan praised Hong Ling.
Hong Ling's face showed joy, and she went on to tell Li Chang'an all the news she had learned.
Nine of the twelve families named Shen are ordinary people who are illiterate. Only three families have scholars. Among these three families, there is only an old woman and her three-year-old grandson. The family goes to visit relatives and friends. , there has been no one at home for three months.
There is only one family named Shen left.
"That family lives in the south. There is only one young man named Shen Chu. He is handsome and talented in literature. But I heard that his life is not good. His father died not long after he was born, and his mother died five years ago. I have not passed the imperial examination this year... He spends money lavishly. Originally, his family was considered a little rich, but Shen Chu always uses his own money to help others. He goes back and forth, and now the family does not have much money." Hong Ling said. She told Li Changan everything she found out.
A smile appeared on Li Changan's face.
He still has the same temper.
"Mingyue, I want to see this Shen Chu." Li Changan pulled the sleeve of the woman following him, his big watery eyes full of desire.
"You heard it too. He really has a knight-errant spirit. I heard my mother read a storybook to me, and the knight-errant in the storybook was so generous to the poor."
That's the bad thing about being too young. You have to get the consent of an adult first before doing anything.
Mingyue smiled and said, "Madam, the ranger is just a character in the storybook, and the storybook is all false."
"But I want to go see it~" Children always have certain privileges, such as acting like a spoiled brat.
Within a few words, Mingyue was defeated, "Then little lady, you need to follow me closely, the ranger is very fierce in using force."
Li Changan naturally agreed.
With Hong Ling leading the way, Li Changan and Mingyue happily rushed to Shen's house.
The distance is not far, a total of two miles. If it weren't for Li Changan's age and short legs, Hong Ling and Mingyue could have walked there.
But Li Changan still had to take a carriage, and he arrived at the door of Shen's house in less than a stick of incense.
Sure enough, the Shen family had once been rich. Li Changan stood in front of the Shen family's door and looked at the lacquered door, which was a little dilapidated but still showed its former glory, and motioned to Hong Ling to knock on the door.
After a while, I heard subtle footsteps, and then the door opened.
"Who are you guys here for?" A handsome young man wearing a half-worn robe walked out from behind the door. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Li Changan and the others.
"Are you Shen Chu?" Mingyue's eyes were scrutinizing, as if she wanted to find evidence of the ranger's "bravery and aggressiveness" from the slim and beautiful young man in front of her.
But it doesn't look like he can fight.
Ming Yue murmured in her heart, could it be that the stories in the book were all lies? This ranger didn't look like a character who could fight ten enemies one by one.
Shen Chu naturally noticed Mingyue's vigilant eyes. He took a step back slightly, leaving a sufficient safe distance, and then said with his hands, "This is indeed Shen Chu, from Chang'an, with the courtesy name Chengzhang."
"Shen Chu is a nice name."
The little girl who had been silent until now suddenly spoke.
Shen Chu looked down, but met a pair of excited eyes. He was startled for a moment, subconsciously wondering if he had seen this little girl before, but after thinking for a while, he couldn't figure out whether he had. This child.
If he had never seen him before, why did the child still look at him with a sense of reunion after a long separation?
"You are Wei Zhuang who wrote that poem." Li Changan's tone was certain.
Shen Chu looked at Li Changan and wondered why the little girl in front of him, who could tell she was from a wealthy family just by looking at her clothes, came to his door just because of a poem about "Weizhuang".
Li Changan just said slowly: "What do you think of Jiangnan?"
Shen Chu's expression changed, and his hands hanging in his wide sleeves slowly tightened.
"I have never been to Jiangnan, why would the little girl ask this question?"
Li Changan smiled: "I think Mr. Wei Zhuang must have been to Jiangnan. A place as good as Jiangnan should have a good poem to go with it."
Shen Chu's face showed horror, but he regained his composure after a moment.
"Yes, Jiangnan is a good place."
"I like your calligraphy and would like to buy a calligraphy from you. How about five hundred yuan for retouching?" Li Changan suddenly changed the subject to asking for calligraphy.
The afternoon sun is just right, and today is a rare warm day in October. Two sparrows squatting next to each other on the wall of the courtyard are squinting in the sun.
Li Changan felt that his mood was as good as the weather.
"Where should I send the words after they are written?" Shen Chu said softly.
Li Changan pointed at Hong Ling: "Just take it to the sixth house from the left on the street of Chen's Restaurant and give it to her."
"I understand." Shen Chu looked at Li Changan with a soft expression.
Li Changan suddenly felt a little sore in her nose. She raised her head and asked, "I heard that you often give money to poor people. Do you still have money for yourself?"
Shen Chu laughed twice and waved his hand: "Money is something you can't bring with you when you are alive, and you can't take it with you even when you die. Too much will only make you upset. A few pennies are enough for me to eat, that's enough!"
After Li Changan and his party left, Shen Chu watched Li Changan's carriage disappear at the corner of the street, then turned around with a smile and locked the door, then leaned against the door, shrugged his shoulders fiercely, and laughed loudly.
Shen Chu has never been to Jiangnan, but Wei Zhuang has been to Jiangnan. "Everyone says Jiangnan is good, but tourists only like Jiangnan." This is Wei Zhuang's poem.
"Meeting an old friend in a foreign land..." Shen Chu covered his face with his long sleeves. His eyes were closed tightly under the sleeves, but the sleeves were already wet.
