The arrival of Qi's mother and daughter made Qi Ning let go of his hands and feet and put on the braised eggs, and also ordered three roosters every day from the stall of the seller's poultry, chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken necks were marinated and sold, the chicken body was cooked and torn into strips, and the cabbage and spinach were made into cold chicken, which was placed on the tray in front of the window with the lo-mei. Now Qi Ning asks Qi to make dozens of steamed buns every day, two cents a piece, give what you want, and roll out some noodles, which can be boiled and poured on the old soup to eat, eight cents a bowl. I also bought a jar of sorghum wine and a jar of rice wine from the wine shop next door, and those who were willing to drink were sold in a white porcelain wine jug, ten cents a pot, about two taels. After that, it will work until the evening, when there is no one or there is no food.

On the afternoon of this day, Qi Ning was chatting with Aunt Wu, who was leaning outside the window, and saw a group of officials hurriedly running towards Wang Zhutou's house with a door panel, and the pale face lying on the door panel was Wang Zhutou, who had not seen anyone for nearly a month.

Qi Ning hurriedly beckoned the eldest girl to watch the door, followed by the Wu family, who was running and shouting, and ran over to help open the street door, and when the officials carried Wang Zhutou into the house and settled down, Qi Ning stood in the courtyard and asked, "Brother Zhou, what's wrong with Brother Wang?" ”

Qi Ning, the official who started the head, knew that he was the son of Master Zhou, and was responsible for bringing people to collect taxes every month. This didn't just bring him back from the infirmary. We still have to rush to the construction site, girl, can you find someone to help take care of Brother Wang for a while? I'll pay for it. ”

"Is Brother Wang seriously injured? The doctor said it doesn't matter? ”

"Fortunately, Brother Wang is good, the injury is not serious, but there are some bone cracks in the calf, and he can go to the ground after a month or two, and he will not delay walking in the future."

"Then you don't need to hire someone, I am Wang Zhutou's neighbor, and I rent his shop, and I will take care of it in the morning and evening in the future." Aunt Wu is enthusiastic about it.

"Aunt Wu, I'll help you, the food I eat there is ready-made, and I'll deliver three meals in the future."

"Then there are two Lao, we really have to hurry back, don't dare to delay more, this will Brother Wang fall asleep, please come over and watch often, and let him drink medicine when he wakes up." Zhou Ya said and handed Wu a bundle of boxy paper packets: "These are seven pairs of medicines, each pair of which is drunk twice a day. After the instructions, the four officials left quickly one after another.

"Aunt Wu, this big brother Wang is changing or something, it's inconvenient for our two daughters, and I have to bother your uncle, I will send three meals a day on time, and we can help with other other things, it's only a month or two."

"Don't worry, I asked the old man to come over every day to change and wash him, and I will boil the medicine for him. You're busy there, so just take care of three meals a day. ”

It wasn't until the sun set that Qi Ning beat his waist, and used a tray to carry a bowl of pork belly porridge made by Qi's family, a plate of stir-fried rape, and a plate of cold chicken shredded with sesame oil to Wang Zhutou's house, Wang Zhutou was leaning on the cabinet of the kang head and looked directly at Qi Ning who came in.

"Brother Wang, you're awake." Qi Ning put the things on the kang table and brought them to Wang Zhutou: "Let's eat." This is what my aunt made for you, so you don't have to worry about gossip. Qi Ning deliberately looked at Wang Zhutou playfully.

"I'm tired." Wang Zhutou nodded.

"Well, wipe your hands first." Qi Ning wrung the cloth towel with the water in the basin and handed it over. Wang Zhutou didn't say a word, wiped his face and hands, and then returned the cloth towel to Qi Ning. Qi Ning neatly took the basin to the yard to wash the cloth towel, washed the dirty clothes in Wang Qingyuan's baggage, and put the basin of water on the ground in front of the kang with a wooden bench.

Qi Ning wiped the tables and chairs in the room with a rag, Wang Qingyuan finished eating, Qi Ning went into the back room to clean up the dishes and chopsticks, and moved the kang table back: "Brother Wang, you can rest first, and Uncle Zhu will come to help you wash up." In the future, I will bring you three meals a day on time. ”

When Qi Ning walked to the door, Wang Zhutou wanted to say something, but found that he didn't know what to say. He squeezed out a smile and said to her back, "Miss Qi, go slowly." ”

Qi Ning turned her head and smiled, and saw that Wang Zhutou's ears were red in a trance, she thought she had seen it wrong, and gently closed the door and left.

Summer followed closely with the tail of spring, the days were long and the nights were short, time passed quickly, there was no cloud over Qing'an City, and it had not rained for a long time. As the days went by, Qi Ning's small shop became famous, and the business became more and more prosperous, even the passing shippers on the wharf outside the city and the wealthy families in the city often sent people to buy three catties and two catties of side dishes. Nowadays, the people of Qing'an City know that the small dishes made by the Qi family taste good, seeing that she sells well, some people also quietly start to make the braised goods, although they are also done, but because they don't know the formula, the taste is naturally not as fragrant as the Qi Ning family, gradually, some people don't do it, they want to eat the lo-mei, and basically go directly to buy the Qi family, because the taste is called authentic. Even the master and the servant of the yamen have become frequent visitors to Qi Ning's house, and those ruffians and scoundrels on the street dare not come to eat white food and make trouble. Later, I heard Master Zhou say that the day after Qi Ning didn't do hot sauce business, Wang Qingyuan went to talk with the county master for a long time, and the county magistrate returned to the back office with a pale face, and it didn't take long for the cry of the lady to be heard, and Steward Wang was also driven back to his hometown. Qi Ning's heart that she had been carrying was completely let go.

It was raining lightly in the afternoon of this day, Qi Ning took advantage of the leisure to sit behind the counter, took out the account book and counted the running water, in just a few months, in addition to the money from selling recipes and hot sauce recipes, Qi Ning earned more than four hundred taels of silver, with an average net income of four or five taels of silver per day. Qi is busy working in the backyard every day, and the eldest girl helps to deliver it to the front, and sometimes helps to look after the store. These days, the Qi family and the eldest girl eat well every day, and there is no trouble, their complexion is much ruddy, and the eldest girl's face is full of flesh. Qi Ning gave all the cloth left by Xu Xiucai to Qi Shi, and the two of them each made a few clothes, and Qi Shi also made clothes and shoes for Qi Ning. Now the days are warm and satisfying.

Wang Zhutou has been able to move out of bed on crutches, and now he only needs Qi Ning to deliver three meals, and with more and more contact, the two slowly became familiar with each other. Occasionally, Wang Zhutou would ask Qi Ning about some business matters, and Qi Ning would also help Wang Zhutou clean up in his spare time. Qi Ning knew from the Wu family that Wang Zhutou was not a local, he was originally a soldier, and he only came here five or six years ago to be a catcher, bought this house, and has been alone all these years, no one knows where his hometown is and who else is in the family.

On this day, Qi Ning sent lunch to Wang Zhutou and came out, and saw a group of people noisily surrounding the door of his shop, Qi Ning hurriedly pushed aside the crowd and went in.

"I'll beat you shameless prostitute." An old woman with a disheveled hair grabbed Qi's hair and kept tearing it, and the big girl ran out of the house and beat the old woman with a rolling pin.

"Lady Zhong, you unfilial money loser, dare to beat your grandmother, I'm tired of you." A figure dressed red from head to toe tore the big girl, and the four of them scuffled together.

"Stop." Qi Ningqi shouted angrily: "Who dares to come here to be presumptuous." ”

The old woman raised her head to look at Qi Ning, and with a forceful hand, she tore a strand of hair from Qi's head. Qi Ning looked at it, isn't this the old shrew of Zhong Su's family! The woman dressed in red must be Zhong Erniang.

"What for! Let go! Qi Ning pulled Zhong Erniang's hand, pulled her up from the eldest girl, and kicked her to the ground.

Zhong Er screamed angrily, and rushed over at Qi Ning, but fortunately, the Wu family and a few familiar neighbors stepped forward to hold the Zhong family's mother and daughter.

"I'm sorry, isn't it to pull the bias frame, let go of the old lady." Zhong Sushi turned around and scolded at Wu.

The Wu family is not easy to mess with, so he scratched Zhong Su's face easily, and the little Wu family of the tofu shop was afraid that the Wu family would suffer a loss and joined the melee.

Qi Ning helped the eldest girl and Qi Shi up, and looked them up and down carefully, but fortunately, there were no major injuries. When a woman fights, it is nothing more than scratching her face and hair with her nails, the eldest girl is not a vegetarian, the rolling pin in her hand is still clutched, and the old thief of Zhong Su's wife seems to have grabbed several blood marks on Qi's face with both hands, and her hair is also messy.

Qi Ning didn't fight in one place, and slapped Zhong Erniang five or six times, Zhong Erniang looked at Qi Ning with murderous intent and was stunned, and didn't scold. Qi Ning secretly said in her heart: I don't dare to beat the dog of the county order, and I don't dare to beat you?

"The dead cheap hoof, it's against you, dare to beat the old lady's daughter, eat the bear's heart and leopard and gall you." Zhong Sushi broke away from Wu's pull, looked at Zhong Erniang's red and swollen face, and immediately became calm, and raised his hand at Qi Ning to fight. Seeing that Zhong Su's hand was about to hit Qi Ning, a thick hand clamped her hand and shouted coldly: "Who is it? Dare to come to Qing'an City to beat people on the street! ”

Since the Qi family got married, Zhong Su's family has never done housework, and he is pampered every day, and when he is bored, he will go to the door and pull his wife's tongue, where does he get any strength. At home, carrying water and cooking, washing clothes and planting vegetables, all of them are done by Qi's mother and daughter, and she hasn't done the hard work for many years, and the strength of Zhong Su's hand is very heavy, and the pain makes her grin and scream in pain.

"Ouch, you let go, let go, it hurts me to death." Zhong Sushi withdrew his hand vigorously, pointed at Wang Zhutou, who rushed to hear the sound, and shouted: "Where are you a wild man, dare to come to take care of the old lady's affairs." It's not like you have a leg with Qi's slut. I told me how she came to the city without making a sound. ”

"Qi's family, you hen who doesn't lay eggs, how can you discipline your children, even grandma and aunt dare to beat, and you don't understand humility?" Zhong Erniang came back to her senses and crossed her waist and pointed at the Qi family.

Qi Shi panicked and pulled the rolling pin that the eldest girl raised: "Eldest girl, let go quickly, this is an elder, you can't do it." If you have something to say, it's good to say. ”

The eldest girl shook off Qi's hand: "What elder, you still don't understand, mother, you have been divorced, we have nothing to do with her." Why do you still bully people. ”

Zhong Su crossed his waist and pointed at the crowd: "Okay, you guys rely on the number of people to bully the less, let's go, let's find the government to evaluate it." ”

Zhong Erniang rubbed her red and swollen face and attacked: "That's it, my mother hurriedly reported to the official to arrest and kill these unfilial things." ”

Qi Shi saw that Zhong Erniang was not fair-skinned and even red and swollen, and heard her say this, he was a little panicked in his heart, what should he do, regardless of the pain in his body, he was scared and trembled.

As soon as Zhong Erniang's words fell, Qi Ning's anger came up: "Brother Wang, these two shameless shrews want to report to the official, who did you say that the yamen should be punished?" ”

"Of course, those who are beaten by the board are making trouble and beating people on the street." Wang Zhu's eyes leaked and he looked directly at Zhong Su.

"What are you, who you don't beat, it's up to you to say what a wild man says!" Zhong Sushi looked at Wang Zhutou, who was wearing regular clothes, and secretly guessed the origin.

"Haha, old lady Diao, you are asking today, this is the head catcher of this city." Wu said gloatingly while covering his mouth and laughing.

Zhong Sushi gritted his teeth with a pale face: "What's wrong with head-catching, head-catching can't just arrest people." He turned around and grabbed Zhong Erniang's hand and ran away.

The crowd erupted in laughter.