Rebirth of Private Chef Xiao Ai

Chapter 12

When the Laba Festival came, Gu Lousheng realized that it was almost the end of the year.In the twinkling of an eye, it is already the twelfth lunar month, and by counting like this, the New Year is also approaching.

During the holidays, ingredients are always more expensive.Gu Lousheng sent Douer and Gong Ping to buy the restaurant these few days, while Song Cheng went to the market to pick some good ones and sent them to Gu Linsheng and Chang Xin.

Song Cheng didn't have any special feelings about festivals before.At that time, he didn't like festivals very much, and he didn't understand why the people in the market were so happy, with dazzling smiles and joy on their faces.If we say that the thing that made him happiest during the holidays at that time was that his parents would always send him to the kitchen to get more food during the holidays, although they would sneer and scold him afterwards.At that time, Song Cheng could only think wildly, if only he could experience how other folks celebrate the festival.

"Haha..." Gu Lousheng was about to stretch, but before he could stretch his whole body, he stiffened his neck and froze.The cold wind blew through his clothes, he quickly wrapped his clothes, and rushed into the kitchen, bringing a lot of snow slag along the way.There was a lot of snow last night, which made Douer happy for a long time.So he got up early this morning and built a strange snowman with Gong Ping in the yard.The snowman's nose was made of carrots, a basin was built on his head, and the arms were inserted with spatulas instead, and the snowman was covered with a tattered shirt.

Song Cheng got up early and was cooking breakfast in the kitchen. He was planning to stir-fry a small vegetable, but he wandered around the kitchen for a long time but couldn't find the spatula.Hearing the noise of playing outside, he wanted to ask Douer where the spatula was.As a result, I went out to take a look and saw the cheerfulness of the two children making a snowman, so I reluctantly went up to get the spatula back.The two children were so playful that they had to find something to replace Song Cheng before agreeing to return the spatula to the kitchen. Song Cheng broke off a twig and told the two of them that they could just do it together, otherwise there would be no breakfast. Gotta eat.Dou'er and Gong Ping smiled and returned the spatula, much to the delight of Song Cheng.

"Why did you wake up so early?" Song Cheng bent over to do something by the stove, and when he heard the sound of the door being pushed, he raised his head and glanced, seeing that it was Gu Lousheng, he smiled, but did not stop working.He has almost gotten used to the life where Gu Lousheng comes to the kitchen every morning and the few of them eat breakfast together.A few days ago, Gu Lousheng also said that the family had breakfast in the kitchen, and they didn't have a decent table or stool. They would get a small one another day, so they could put some things on weekdays, and it didn't take up much space.

Gu Lousheng entered the kitchen and quickly closed the wooden door.The goose feather snow is still falling outside, although it is a little smaller than at night, but it is still overwhelming.Although the old people always talked about the warmth of the snow and the coldness of the melting snow, he still felt that it was still so cold and not much better.Looking outside, it was a blinding white, and I felt shivering from the cold.

Gu Lousheng stomped his feet to remove the snow residue from the cotton shoes.There was a fire in the kitchen, and the snow melted in a short while, melting the ground and wet the ground.He didn't want to get his cotton shoes wet, his hands and feet were already so cold that he couldn't feel much, he didn't want to make things worse, so he squatted next to the stove, stretched out his hands to warm the fire, quietly and didn't give Song Cheng Add chaos.

"I didn't expect you to wake up so early, and Dou'er and Gong Ping went to eat tofu flowers from Widow Li's house again. Wait a minute, the porridge will be ready soon." Gu Lousheng nodded obediently listening to Song Cheng's words, I felt finally sober in my head, I should have brought the ledger here, it's really warm here.No, there must be a stove in the lobby of the restaurant in the future!Gu Lousheng smelled the fragrance, sniffed it vigorously with his cold nose, and felt that it was necessary to make a major decision to light the stove!

"What kind of porridge?" Gu Lousheng felt something was wrong when he smelled it, the aroma was sweet, why didn't he smell like the porridge cooked by Song Cheng in normal times.He was also warmed up by the fire, stood up and patted his legs, opened the pot and took a look: "Laba porridge? Is it already Laba today? It's the end of the year, and I didn't notice it."

When Song Cheng went back to the old house alone to deliver snacks and ingredients to Gu Changxin a few days ago, he heard Gu Linsheng mention it.Gu Linsheng said that Song Cheng may not know much when he came to An, but the people in Lin'an attach great importance to the Laba Festival.Gu Lousheng doesn't like Laba rice, but Laba porridge is a must.Gu Linsheng also told him that although Gu Lousheng didn't care about these things, the customs left over from generation to generation still have to be followed during these festivals. Please let him cook Laba porridge for Gu Lousheng to drink, so he can feel good about it.

In the past few months, Song Cheng has already figured out Gu Lousheng's taste thoroughly.Lou Sheng's taste is neither salty nor bland, he eats both sweet and sour, except for a few dishes that he doesn't even know how to eat, such as celery and coriander, he is not picky about the others, he likes both the main meal and the dessert.However, Gu Lousheng's mouth is quite open, and Chang Xin once joked at the dinner table.Gu Lousheng could tell which chicken was sold in the chicken soup that Chang Xin stewed when he was a child, and whether it was a common food at home, and he could tell when he tasted it.

The Laba porridge cooked by Song Cheng was cooked according to Lou Sheng's preference.In the thick porridge made from millet, there are red dates, lotus seeds, mung beans, red beans, barley, lily, wolfberry, and no peanuts, which made Gu Lousheng feel his index finger move when he smelled it.Song Cheng put rock sugar and the guy boiled it slowly, it was sweet but not greasy.This kind of porridge uses different ingredients from the traditional Laba porridge, but it also has one purpose.

Holding the bowl, Gu Lousheng smiled until his eyes rolled up.He saw a bowl of Laba rice with chopsticks stuck in the corner of the earthen stove top, probably made by Song Cheng for the Stove Lord to "enjoy".Laba is a day for the common people to celebrate the harvest and thank their ancestors and gods. This custom has been passed down from generation to generation, and every household follows it every year.But the Gu family are businessmen, not farmers, so they don't pay too much attention to this, so they just need to offer a bowl of Laba rice to Lord Stove. Song Cheng heard Douer mention all these.

"What do you want to eat today?" Song Cheng took off the pot, took out a bowl of hot egg custard from the pot with a rag, and put it in front of Gu Lousheng.Put chopped green onion and sesame oil, Gu Lousheng ate egg custard while drinking porridge, and occasionally ate a few bites of green vegetables poured with chicken soup, so happy.On the day of the Laba Festival, people in Lin'an will not go to restaurants to eat, except for passing guests.So Gu Lousheng simply gave everyone a day off at this time of year, letting everyone go home to spend the holidays with their families, so Song Cheng is very free today.

"For the festival, eat better." Song Cheng knew that Gu Lousheng was thinking about dinner while eating breakfast.Recently, Lou Sheng would always ask Song Cheng ahead of time what dishes he would have for the next day, and if he told him what he wanted to eat, his eyes would light up, making people feel as if they were tickling.I don't know if it was because of the steam in the kitchen, or what, but Song Cheng felt warm in his heart, and a sense of satisfaction welled up spontaneously.

"Brother said that he and Chang Xin are going to Gong Ping's house today, and Dou'er will probably go too, just the two of us. I don't have anything to eat either. Just watch the cooking, you're all delicious, and I'm going to eat it." I like it." After thinking for a long time, Gu Lousheng didn't think of anything he particularly wanted to eat, but he thought that everything Song Cheng cooked was delicious, so he wanted to eat it.So you can eat whatever Song Cheng cooks, it's delicious anyway.

Hearing these words, Song Cheng's heart moved, his cheeks became hot and his ears turned red.He scooped water from the water tank in the corner with his back on his back, without turning his head to look at Gu Lousheng: "Do you want to go with me after eating?"

"No, I'll check the account later, and then I'll stop by the store outside. I heard from Gong Ping that there is something wrong with the account." Song Cheng nodded, wiped the water off his hands with a rag, and said nothing. Sitting down and serving porridge, the two ate breakfast quietly.

After eating, the two cleaned up, and Gu Lousheng put on his coat and went out from the backyard with Song Cheng.The yard was locked, and when they reached the street, the two separated.They were going in different directions, just opposite, one was going to the fish market next to the market, and the other was going to a shop not far across the river.

The shop that Gu Lousheng was going to was also a shop under the name of the Gu family, and a relative was hired as the shopkeeper to sell candles.There are only one or two candle sellers in the county, so the Gu family can be regarded as a big one, and the sky is getting darker and earlier, and the candles needed by every household are almost doubled. It is a good time for candle shops in Lin'an to sell candles. During the festival, lanterns and river lanterns are all needed, so business has been good.

"The shopkeeper." Gu Lousheng stood at the door of the shop, patted off the falling snow from his body, and then stepped into the threshold.He lowered his eyes and pretended to be stomping the snow on his feet, but in fact, he inadvertently glanced at the dazed shopkeeper behind the counter.The shopkeeper was a distant relative of the Gu family, and he defected to Gu Linsheng. At that time, the candle shop happened to be short of a shopkeeper, so Gu Linsheng let him be the shopkeeper, which can be regarded as saving the shopkeeper's family.

Worried, sad-eyed, damn it if you don't get tricky!With just one glance, Gu Lousheng was sure that his sudden visit today was right.Although Gu Lousheng is young, he has been in business for four or five years, otherwise he would not be able to support a restaurant by himself.In the business field, businessmen always care about the gains and losses of money. If the hard-earned money is tampered with, it is a great provocation.

About half a month ago, Gu Lousheng sent Gong Ping to check the accounts.He picked a few shops that he was in charge of, told Gong Ping the address, and asked him to report to himself after checking the accounts.One of them was this candle shop. Gu Lousheng had already confirmed that the books were wrong, but he wanted Gong Ping to take a look at it to check whether his recent homework was in place.Save him playing crazy with Douer all day long, which delays his study. .Gong Ping went honestly and happily. He knew that Gu Lousheng was slowly letting him take over some people, and he also knew that it was because of his relationship with Douer. The Gu family had long regarded him as one of their own. up!

Gong Ping spent several days carefully looking through the account books of several shops, and then went back to the restaurant to talk to Gu Lousheng again.Among the five stores, two are profitable, one is averagely profitable, and one is losing money. As for the other store, due to seasonal changes, the profit in the first half of the year is very good, and the income and expenditure in the second half of the year are only balanced.

Gu Lousheng nodded and wrote it down.Logically speaking, in the spring and summer seasons, the candle shop's business is not as good as in the autumn and winter seasons, and this shop has a good profit in the first half of the year, but the second half of the year is generally enough to explain some problems.The candles sold in this candle shop, in addition to the common and practical ones, also have other strange things. All kinds of candles can be used for viewing and use.That kind of candles are usually bought by rich families in the county, and ordinary people buy the most common ones, and the prices are fair, so the annual profits of candle shops are very high.

"Ah! Boss Gu..." The shopkeeper was taken aback, and quickly greeted him with a smile on his face: "Why are you here for the big festival? Is there any problem?" Since Gong Ping came to check the accounts that day, it has already passed It's been half a month.The shopkeeper noticed it at the time, the boy checking the accounts frowned and looked at the account book for a long time, with a puzzled look on his face.The child is very tender, and the expression on his face is observed by the adults, which made the shopkeeper feel restless recently.

He has been waiting for Gu Lousheng to come to his house these few days, thinking of words all day long, but Gu Lousheng just doesn't come.Now he finally put his heart back into his stomach a little bit, thinking that Gu Lousheng let him go because of his relatives, but Gu Lousheng, who had a big festival, came here!

"It's nothing, it's New Year's Eve soon, you have to check all the accounts before the New Year before you can feel at ease, Uncle Gong, don't you think so?" He stretched out his hand not to hit the smiling face, since the shopkeeper greeted him with a smiling face, then Gu Lousheng Give him some euphemism and respect him as an elder.Sure enough, as soon as the words were finished, the shopkeeper was about to break out in a cold sweat.Gu Lousheng waved his hand and asked the shopkeeper to sit down as well, so he continued: "Gong Ping is still young after all, so I asked him to come out to check, and then I will check again myself to see how he has learned."

"That's right, it's a test to see how well you've learned, so you'll be promising." The shopkeeper raised his hand and wiped his sweat with his sleeve, and when he turned around, he saw Gu Lousheng's walking towards the counter stopped, and he was smiling back look at him.The shopkeeper was startled and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Ah, it's nothing, Uncle Gong, you look very hot. It's cold today, be careful." Gu Lousheng smiled, turned around, walked behind the counter, took the ledger, and sat on the side watching it.He picked a few pages and checked briefly. The accounts were flat, but when he looked carefully, he could see that the numbers were not correct. Some accounts were false, and their whereabouts were unknown. The accounts were also strange and unclear. Chu seemed to hide it vaguely.

"It seems that the profit of the shop in the second half of the year is not very good." Gu Lousheng frowned and said without raising his head, "Thank you for your hard work, shopkeeper. If there is nothing else, I will leave first." Hearing this, he breathed a sigh of relief. What Gu Lousheng meant was that at the end of this year, he should still be given money.If this is the case, it will be great, then the vacancy in the book can be filled!

"Uncle Gong, I call you Lifetime Uncle Gong because I respect you as an elder. I started young, and you also lived outside. It’s a hard way to do business.” Gu Lousheng closed the ledger, put it aside, walked to the candle stand, picked out two candles, wrapped them for the shopkeeper, and handed over the money: “If you always want to give yourself Leaving a whole body, I used the interest money at the end of the year to fill this empty account, and paid off those usury loans as soon as possible. Uncle Gong, I think you know better than me that making a lot of money kills people. Moreover, once trouble comes to your door, the Gu family will I can't keep you anymore. You have to figure out what to do."

Gu Lousheng stood at the door of the shop holding a candle wrapped in paper, with his back turned to the shame-faced shopkeeper behind him.He looked up at the sky, the snow had stopped, but the road was icy, which was a bit troublesome, the road was too slippery.Gu Lousheng stepped on the snow and slowly planned to walk back. When he was about to leave the sight of the shopkeeper, he turned his head and looked into the shop: "If you are really short of money, ask my elder brother to borrow it. It's better than you are outside. You can’t afford to borrow it, and throw the corpse on the street in the end, you always have to think about Gu Nong, as parents, you don’t want to lose your head because you let your child have a family in the future, right?”

Gu Lousheng bid farewell to Uncle Gong, walked carefully on the road, paying attention to avoiding icy places, bought some more things, checked a few shops, and finally walked slowly towards the restaurant.When he returned to the yard, smoke was already rising from the kitchen chimney.He walked into the kitchen, and Song Cheng was throwing the cleaned mandarin fish into the pan for frying, so he took out the candle and put it on the top of the gauze cabinet, scratching his nose and waiting for lunch.

"The candles ran out two days ago. I saw you were soaking beans in the kitchen in the dark last night, so I bought them on the way today."

"Ah."

"What are you burning?"

"Sweet and sour mandarin fish, the thorns will be crispy after frying, so it won't get stuck in you."

"Dou'er told you again that I don't know how to eat fish?"

"Haha, it was Chang Xin who told me that you were always stabbed in the throat when you were a child and then you didn't dare to eat it."

Song Cheng looked at Gu Lousheng who was sitting at the side interjecting a few words from time to time, watching him cook, turned around and grinned, and continued to wave the spatula, cooking the delicious food in the pot with all his heart.