Chapter 12

The next morning, the sound of snowflakes hitting the window and the howling wind could be heard outside. Xu Qinyu lay on the bed, contentedly rolling over.

Since arriving here, she had rarely slept well. During the journey of exile, she was constantly on edge. Now, in the border town, knowing that her culinary skills could be put to use, she felt secure and at ease.

Pei Jianing and Yuan Jie’er were already awake and not on the bed.

Xu Qinyu stretched lazily, slowly sat up, and pulled on her padded jacket. She got out of bed, slipped on her cloth shoes, and quietly opened a window to look outside. The world was covered in a thin layer of snow, with rooftops and treetops blanketed in white.

The snow wasn’t heavy, just a thin layer.

Xu Qinyu had gone to bed early the previous night. She didn’t make dinner; Chef Zhou did, and she ate a bit with the Pei family.

With a patient in the room, keeping the window open for long wasn’t good. After a few glances at the snowy scene, Xu Qinyu closed it.

Everyone else in the room was awake. Xu Qinyu greeted them and went to the kitchen.

The bone broth had been simmering since night and kept warm on the stove. Xu Qinyu began chopping meat, seasoning the filling, and wrapping wontons.

To make delicious wontons, the ratio of fat to lean meat and the method of chopping the filling are crucial. Good wonton filling is juicy and flavorful.

These tasks were not difficult for Xu Qinyu. Once the filling was ready, she started kneading the dough. The wonton wrappers were equally important. They needed to be thin yet slightly chewy for a good texture. She mixed, kneaded, and rested the dough, then divided it into small portions and began rolling the wrappers.

Xu Qinyu rolled the wrappers quickly and skillfully, pressing several small dough balls into flat discs and then rolling ten discs together.

Chef Zhou watched in amazement. He had never seen wonton wrappers rolled like this, with a stack of dough discs rolled together into paper-thin wrappers.

Her wonton-wrapping technique was even faster, leaving Chef Zhou speechless with admiration. He thought to himself that this young lady was incredibly talented, with knife skills and culinary expertise that was extraordinary for someone only fifteen or sixteen years old. Her cooking skills were probably on par with those of the imperial chefs.

The wonton wrappers were so thin that the texture of the filling inside was visible. Chef Zhou worried that the wrappers might break during cooking.

By this time, most of the inn’s guests were up and washing.

Xu Qinyu began cooking the wontons in a large pot of boiling water. The cooking time was crucial, and she also prepared the bowls with a bit of seaweed, dried shrimp, and a pinch of salt. She ladled hot bone broth into the bowls, releasing a fragrant aroma that drew the guests out in search of food.

Seaweed and dried shrimp were not cheap, and other wonton stalls didn’t use them, only adding green onions and lard.

In the pot of clear water, the wontons floated up in a swirl. With a gentle flick of her wrist, Xu Qinyu scooped up about ten wontons with a large slotted spoon and placed them into the bone broth bowl, finally garnishing them with green onions.

A bowl of delicious wontons was ready.

Naturally, Xu Qinyu prioritized feeding herself and the Pei family first. She cooked six bowls of wontons, all with bone broth, without adding spicy oil or vinegar. They hadn’t eaten well on the journey, and their stomachs couldn’t handle heavy food, so they needed to eat lightly for a while.

She made the spicy oil herself by frying Zanthoxylum and Sichuan pepper in an iron pot until fragrant and dry, then crushing them and pouring hot oil with sesame seeds over them, creating a simple version of spicy oil.

Xu Qinyu tasted it and found it very good: fragrant, spicy, slightly numbing, and very appetizing.

Carrying the wontons back to the room, Xu Qinyu called the Pei family for breakfast.

Pei Jianing came over to help her place the food tray on the table and brought Feng Ge’er and Yuan Jie’er over. “Fourth Sister-in-law, you eat first. I’ll feed them.” She knew her sister-in-law would soon go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for the guests.

Madam Wen also came over and took Yuan Jie’er, helping Pei Jianing feed the children.

Xu Qinyu didn’t stand on ceremony, nodded, and handed a bowl of wontons to Pei Weixuan. “Fourth Brother, you eat too.”

“Okay.” Pei Weixuan responded, but his gaze fell on the girl’s wrist, where the marks from his grip had deepened. His hand paused slightly as he took the bowl.

After handing over the bowl, Xu Qinyu didn’t go to the table but sat on the small stool where Madam Wen had been sitting and started eating. She ate with her cheeks puffed out, eyes slightly squinted, looking very satisfied and content.

Pei Weixuan hadn’t had much appetite, but seeing her like this, he couldn’t help but take a wonton. He was amazed at the first bite. The wrapper was thin but intact and chewy, and the meat filling burst with juice and flavor, with fresh broth and tender meat. He ate one after another, finishing the bowl.

As soon as he finished, Xu Qinyu also finished. She naturally took his bowl and was about to leave when her husband suddenly spoke, “Yuniang, may I borrow one string of cash?”

Xu Qinyu was stunned for a moment, then said, “Fourth Brother, wait a moment.” She ran over, took a string of cash from her wooden box, and handed it to Pei Weixuan without asking why he needed it. She had given the fifty taels to Madam Wen, who paid the settlement fee and kept the remaining ninety taels. She had earned almost three strings of cash the previous day.

After giving him the money, Xu Qinyu returned to the kitchen with the empty bowls.

The inn’s dining hall was already full of diners, mostly regular customers from the previous day, including Liang Yi.

Xu Qinyu returned to the kitchen and began cooking wontons. Soon, the entire inn was filled with the aroma of the wontons, attracting even more diners.

The dining hall was filled with praise from the diners.

“These wontons are really delicious. I’ve never had such tasty wontons before.”

“Indeed, the young lady’s cooking skills are exceptional. How does she make them? They’re just made with flour and meat, but the taste is so different.”

“They are a bit expensive, though. I can’t afford to eat them every day.”

Liang Yi couldn’t help but nod in agreement. He had a big appetite, and one bowl of wontons wasn’t enough to fill him. He needed to eat seven or eight bowls and bring two portions home for his wife and daughter, which would cost two hundred wen. Although his monthly salary was several taels of silver, he couldn’t spend money like this and still needed to save for a big house for his family.

Liang Yi decided to come back in a few days. He wouldn’t be coming back for the next few days.

Chef Zhou listened to the diners’ conversations and felt a bit depressed. He wished Xu Qinyu’s family could stay in Raozhou City for a few more days, but he knew that Xu Qinyu’s family was exiled from the capital and their household registration was in Yuanbao Town. They could stay in the city for at most ten days. Without a Raozhou City household registration, they could only stay there for half a month or longer if they had official documents from their household registration place. Otherwise, they would be breaking the law and could be punished.

So, in a few days, Xu Qinyu would have to leave.

Xu Qinyu was kind-hearted and had been teaching him how to cook. He was reluctant to see her go and wanted to acknowledge her as his master.

Xu Qinyu didn’t stay busy for long, just about an hour. Once the wontons she had wrapped and the bone broth she had prepared the previous day were used up, she closed up shop.

Making wontons was easy, so she planned to continue making them for breakfast the next day. However, before she could go to the market to buy more bones and ingredients for the next day, Pei Weixuan came into the room with a bag of medicinal herbs, looking serious. He said, “We will set off for Yuanbao Town today. Once we get there, we should settle down as soon as possible.”

His words took everyone aback. Madam Wen came over and said, “But Xuan’er, your fever has just subsided. How can your body handle the journey if we leave in such a hurry? We can stay in the city for a few more days. You should rest and recover for a few more days.” She had planned to consult a famous doctor to check her son’s poisoning and hadn’t intended to leave for Yuanbao Town so soon.

Xu Qinyu couldn’t help but ask, “Fourth Brother, why not wait a few more days?”

They could still stay in Raozhou City for a few more days. She wanted to earn more money. If it weren’t for the household registration system, she would have considered staying in Raozhou City to rent a house and do business. Business in the city would definitely be easier than in the town. However, the city also had its own troubles, and doing business would be more complicated than in the town. Now, she could make money, but it was only because she was using Innkeeper Zhou’s inn.

Pei Weixuan looked outside and said, “It’s going to snow heavily. If we don’t leave today, the roads will be closed tomorrow.”

He had planned to go out and buy some medicinal herbs to make a hemostatic and pain-relieving ointment for Yuniang. On the way, he observed the weather and saw that a heavy snow was coming, which would last for at least ten days to half a month. They might be trapped inside if they didn’t leave the city now.

“Fourth Brother, you can predict the weather?” Xu Qinyu exclaimed, surprised that her husband had such a skill.

Madam Wen and Pei Jianing were also stunned, clearly unaware that their son and brother had this ability.

Since it would snow heavily, everyone had to pack up immediately and prepare to leave the city. Xu Qinyu took her wooden box to bid farewell to Innkeeper Zhou and Chef Zhou. She also exchanged the copper coins she had earned over the past two days for small silver pieces with Innkeeper Zhou, who was happy to oblige. When Innkeeper Zhou learned that they were going to Yuanbao Town, he said, “Miss Xu, are you leaving already?”

Xu Qinyu didn’t reveal her husband’s ability to predict the weather, only saying that her husband had woken up and they planned to go to their household registration place early.

Innkeeper Zhou nodded, “It’s good to go back and settle down early. Da Qing can drive the carriage and take you to Yuanbao Town. Thank you for teaching him how to cook these past two days.”

Da Qing was Innkeeper Zhou’s son, Zhou Daqing.

In these times, craftsmen tightly guarded their recipes. Once a teacher, always a teacher. Teaching culinary skills was a generational inheritance, and they were reluctant to teach outsiders. Chef Zhou’s cooking skills were taught by Innkeeper Zhou, but they were just average.

Xu Qinyu was naturally willing. She actually had other plans in mind. Yuanbao Town was near Raozhou City, the closest of all the villages and towns. In the future, she might continue cooperating with Innkeeper Zhou, but she needed to think carefully about how to do so.

Zhou Daqing was pleased to hear this and hitched the carriage to take the young lady’s family to Yuanbao Town.

Raozhou City was about half a day’s journey from Yuanbao Town. Besides the silver, Xu Qinyu had nothing else to pack.

The family squeezed into the carriage, which swayed as it headed towards Yuanbao Town.

On the way, Xu Qinyu saw her husband still holding the bag of herbs and couldn’t help but ask, “Fourth Brother, what herbs did you get? Do you know how to treat illnesses?” She could smell the herbs. Many ingredients were also medicinal, but she hadn’t encountered most medicinal herbs and couldn’t identify them by smell alone.

“I know a bit.” Pei Weixuan glanced at her wrist, “Your wrist needs ointment. I planned to use the inn’s kitchen stove to make some, but now I’ll have to wait until we get to Yuanbao Town.”

He usually didn’t talk much, and today, he had already been forced to say a lot. After answering Xu Qinyu, he lowered his eyes slightly.

Xu Qinyu immediately thanked him happily, “Thank you, Fourth Brother.” Her wrist still hurt a lot, but she could endure it. She often got injured in the orphanage and had to endure it herself.

Madam Wen and Pei Jianing were stunned again, clearly unaware that he knew how to use medicine.

Pei Weixuan naturally hadn’t told them. If he didn’t know how to use medicine, he would have died in the cannibalistic harem long ago. However, he had never shown his abilities in front of others and couldn’t reveal them.

Two hours later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of Yuanbao Town.

The entrance to Yuanbao Town was similar to other towns. It was marked by a large stone tablet inscribed with the words “Yuanbao Town.”

Xu Qinyu and the Pei family exited the carriage at the town entrance. Xu Qinyu told Chef Zhou to hurry back to the city. Raozhou City’s curfew was late, and he would make it back just in time. After thanking him, she said, “Once we settle down, I’ll send someone to the city to inform you.”

Zhou Daqing was happy to hear this, knowing they would continue to stay in touch. He scratched his head and said, “Miss Xu, you should hurry and find a place to stay in the town.”

After parting with Chef Zhou, Xu Qinyu and her group entered the town and found it quite lively. Despite the light snow, people were still coming and going, and many small vendors lined the streets.

They first had to report to the yamen and have the county magistrate stamp their household registration documents. Only then would the documents be officially valid, and they would truly be considered residents of Yuanbao Town.