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Chapter 139: Stir-Fried Pork with Chili 3/4
“Yes.” Li Qingzhi smiled.
Zhu Qian asked, “How is Magistrate Zhang doing?”
“Magistrate Zhang is doing fine.” Li Qingzhi briefly explained Magistrate Zhang’s situation.
“It’s really great that Magistrate Zhang is fine.” Zhu Qian was very happy.
With Magistrate Zhang safe and becoming the governor of Jiang’an Province, Magistrate Gou would probably have a smooth career ahead.
And naturally, he would benefit from it as well.
Zhu Qian had always been very cooperative with Magistrate Gou, even losing some money for it.
But unlike others, he was thinking more long-term.
Losing a bit of land was worth it to gain Magistrate Gou’s favor!
Li Qingzhi chatted with Zhu Qian and mentioned that Zhu Xunmiao could go to Chongwen Academy to study.
Zhu Qian was delighted to hear this, repeatedly thanking Li Qingzhi and even saying that he would send a big gift to Li Qingzhi tomorrow.
Li Qingzhi was helpless, “Uncle Zhu, Xunmiao could have gone to study anyway, I didn’t really do anything, you don’t have to send me a gift.”
“I want to, it’s just a small token, nephew, don’t mind.” Zhu Xunmiao smiled.
Li Qingzhi felt a little helpless.
Zhu Qian had indeed helped him a lot…
After chatting with Zhu Qian, Li Qingzhi went to buy some things with Chang Zhan.
This includes paper, pens, and some food. The paper they had in stock had been mostly used up when he was writing the story of Magistrate Zhang.
When Li Qingzhi arrived home, the female workers hired by the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery in the town were preparing to go home in groups.
Li Qingzhi was quite well-known in the county town, but these female workers often saw him, so they didn’t find it unusual anymore. After greeting him, they hurried home.
And as Li Qingzhi entered, he saw Li Damao and Li Ermao burning… well, not really burning, but lighting moxa grass in the courtyard.
Chongcheng County, being a water town, had developed transportation due to numerous rivers, and consequently, business was relatively prosperous, making life quite comfortable for the common people.
But water breeds mosquitoes… In summer, there were indeed a lot of mosquitoes.
There were also many flies, so much so that they had to constantly wave their hands to shoo them away while eating.
“Dad!” Li Damao and Li Ermao saw Li Qingzhi and immediately rushed over, each hugging one of Li Qingzhi’s legs.
“Damao, Ermao, do you miss Dad?” Li Qingzhi squatted down and asked them.
“Yes!” Li Damao and Li Ermao chorused, each giving Li Qingzhi’s face a little kiss.
Beside them, Chang Zhan imitated them, squatting down to talk to Chang Cui, and then Chang Cui, following Li Damao and Li Ermao’s example, also gave Chang Zhan a little kiss.
Chang Zhan exclaimed, “Wow, Cui Cui, you’re so obedient! Uncle really likes you!”
Li Qingzhi: … Chang Zhan plagiarized what he often said to Li Damao and Li Ermao!
“Ah Qing, you’re back, I’ll go make another pot of porridge.” Jin Xiaoye saw Li Qingzhi and spoke more directly.
They were going to have porridge tonight, but since Li Qingzhi came back… there wouldn’t be enough porridge!
Li Qingzhi said, “No need, Xiaoye, I bought some food back.”
He had considered this and had deliberately bought some buns and steamed bread.
Jin Xiaoye fried some peanuts, fried some eggs, and added pickled vegetables and pickled cabbage. Li Qingzhi was very satisfied with this dinner.
After bathing, he went back to his room early.
Not long after, Jin Xiaoye also came back.
Li Qingzhi told Jin Xiaoye about the situation in the prefectural capital, then said, “Xiaoye, you need to cultivate some trustworthy manpower next. For most things in the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery Workshop, it’s better to let others handle them. You should free up your hands and focus on controlling the overall direction…”
Their family had undergone quite a few changes this year.
They had moved from the village to the county town, and they had hired many female workers, expanding the business of the Jin Xiaoye Embroidery…
Now, they have even opened a braised pork shop.
The braised pork shop was started by Li Qingzhi, but he didn’t intend to continue managing it.
His top priority next was still studying.
Regarding business matters, Li Qingzhi wanted Jin Xiaoye to handle them.
“The braised pork shop too? Isn’t that the Chang family’s?” Jin Xiaoye was somewhat surprised.
“Chang Zhan said the recipe was given to us, so it’s ours,” Li Qingzhi said, “Xiaoye, you handle it. I may need a lot of money in the future.”
“Okay!” Jin Xiaoye agreed.
She enjoyed managing the shop!
Although she didn’t have much confidence in herself and didn’t know if she could manage the shop well, she didn’t mind giving it a try!
“Xiaoye, you’re amazing.” Li Qingzhi went to kiss Jin Xiaoye.
“My stomach hurts today,” Jin Xiaoye reminded Li Qingzhi.
Jin Xiaoye said her stomach hurt, which actually meant she was menstruating.
She always had the habit of referring to menstruation as “stomachache.”
But it was strange… ever since Li Qingzhi came back and their family’s condition improved, her menstruation didn’t hurt anymore.
“Let me massage your stomach for you,” Li Qingzhi said.
Jin Xiaoye lay in Li Qingzhi’s arms, allowing him to massage her stomach, while Li Qingzhi occasionally kissed her.
After all this time, why did Li Qingzhi still like to touch her so much?
Unconsciously, Jin Xiaoye fell asleep.
Li Qingzhi’s abilities were also depleted, so he held Jin Xiaoye in his arms and fell deeply asleep.
Jin Xiaoye was always well-behaved when sleeping, and when she had her period, she lay still, probably instinctively afraid of dirtying the bedding.
Fortunately, they had money now… When she first arrived, their family was poor, and Jin Xiaoye could only use grass and ash in a cloth bag for her period, and then tie it around her body.
Now, it was lined with cotton cloth inside, which could be washed and dried after use, and could be reused next time.
Compared to modern times, ancient times were really inconvenient.
Because of her period, Jin Xiaoye woke up much later than usual the next day.
Li Qingzhi had been holding her all along, waiting for her to wake up before getting up together.
“Xiaoye, I’ll cook something for you in the kitchen,” Li Qingzhi said.
He planned to stir-fry some pork with chili again.
Pork itself was delicious, but when stir-fried with chili, it became even better!
After being fully rested, Jin Xiaoye smiled. “Okay.”
Li Qingzhi went to buy some meat in a very good mood, and then stir-fried a plate of pork belly. This time, he used less chili powder than last time.
Sure enough, Jin Xiaoye liked it after tasting a bite. “This tastes really good.”
Chang Zhan also liked it even more. “Yes, it’s even better than last time!”
However, it was different for Li Damao and Li Ermao.
After taking a bite, their faces immediately changed color. “Dad, Dad, it’s bitter!” They didn’t know it was spicy and simply called it bitter.
At the same time, they couldn’t wait to put the uneaten pork slices into Li Qingzhi’s bowl.
They absolutely wouldn’t eat this meat.
Children’s reactions were really strong. Li Qingzhi thought that the meat he cooked today didn’t have much spiciness left…
Thinking this, Li Qingzhi saw Chang Cui crying from the spiciness.
Li Qingzhi: …
Over the next few days, Li Qingzhi did a lot of things.
He had previously taught Jin Xiaoye Arabic numerals, and these days he consolidated Jin Xiaoye’s knowledge. He also taught Jin Xiaoye a set of accounting methods so that she could manage both shops well.
In addition, he bought a large piece of land near Miaoqian Village from Magistrate Gou, and hired a few people from Miaoqian Village to help him plant chili peppers.
Li Qingzhi didn’t know when chili peppers should be planted. Worried that it was too hot now and the chili peppers wouldn’t survive, he specially had someone build sheds on the two pieces of land where chili peppers were planted, cover them with straw, and occasionally spray water to cool them down.
The two plots of land he planted seeds on were relatively small, so covering them was quite simple.
Li Qingzhi planned to wait for the chili peppers to sprout and grow seedlings before separating and planting them, but that would take some time.
After Li Qingzhi finished these two things, the new wharf was completed.
The newly built wharf was very large, making it more convenient to load and unload goods here. With this new wharf, Chongcheng County would be more prosperous in the future.
Building the wharf also put money in the hands of many ordinary people, and there were also more shops around the new wharf… Infrastructure development has indeed stimulated the economy.