Sugar-Roasted Chestnuts
Thinking back, the Crown Prince didn't seem to have done anything wrong before he was provoked into killing his father, and Zhao Ruxi still felt a little guilty.
Now, the last bit of sympathy she had left had vanished in the face of the Crown Prince's disgusting scheme against her.
If Xiao Lingyan knew about this, he certainly wouldn't let the Crown Prince off the hook, right? After all, they were from the same hometown, shared the same past, and were now in the same boat. He had to protect her.
Although she knew that Lady Zhu was a sensible person and that the old lady was not confused in important matters, Zhao Ruxi still worriedly instructed, "Grandmother, Mother, reject all these marriage proposals and write down their names. These people who have been chosen and sent to us must be extremely despicable. Be careful."
The old lady and Lady Zhu both nodded. "Don't worry, we know. We won't make any decisions about your marriage without your consent, don't worry."
Seeing the two women's indignant expressions, but fearing that others might overhear them because it involved the Crown Prince, the Emperor, and Consort Jin, Zhao Ruxi dared not vent her frustrations, worried that they might do something drastic. So she changed the subject and talked about the failures of the Egret Manor.
"Grandmother, Mother, look at these children, what should I do? How should I send the chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep back to the manor?"
"If you want to sell your grain, you can sell it at the shop at home, or you can buy a couple more shops and open a grain shop yourself. The Earl's estate has quite a few chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep. In previous years, with so many people in the manor, it was enough to supply them. Now that the family has separated, we can't even finish eating all of it, so we have to sell it. You can handle the livestock and poultry on your estate yourself; there's no need to bring them back to the manor," said Lady Zhu.
The old lady nodded, "You usually spend a lot on jewelry for me and your mother. We know you're filial. These things are fine as long as you mean them; there's no need to send them to the mansion."
Zhao Ruxi smiled and said, "Thank you, Grandmother, thank you, Mother. I will handle it myself then."
Chickens, ducks, pigs, and sheep aren't worth much money. If she wanted to be filial to her elders, she could buy more jewelry for the old lady and Lady Zhu; she wouldn't need to worry about these things.
"Alright, serve the food. Miss Xi must be hungry." The old lady instructed upon hearing Zhao Yuanxun and Zhao Jingtai's voices in the courtyard.
Lady Zhu still had something to say to Zhao Ruxi. After dinner, as they returned to the main Zhao Ruxi together, she asked, "You've been so busy lately, you hardly ever go to the academy. Haven't seen Xiaoxue in a long time, have you?"
Zhao Ruxi nodded. "That's right. I've been so busy that I haven't seen Xiaoxue for a while."
She looked up at Lady Zhu: "Has something happened to the Xu Family?" Otherwise, Lady Zhu wouldn't have brought up Xiaoxue for no reason.
Lady Zhu was grateful for the Xu Family's kindness to Zhao Ruxi. After the Xu Family moved here, she took good care of them, and would send servants to deliver some snacks from time to time, so that the Zhao Family family members would know that the Xu Family was being looked after by the Earl of Suiping's Residence and would not dare to bully them.
It was precisely because of this that Zhao Ruxi was completely at ease about the Xu Family's affairs and did not send anyone to inquire about their current situation. Xu Family, Lady Zhu would naturally tell her.
Lady Zhu said, "It's nothing serious. It's just that recently many people on the street have started selling cold dishes like the Xu Family. Although the taste isn't as good, it's a couple of coins cheaper, so many people still buy it. Some big restaurants have also started making their own cold dishes and no longer buying from the Xu Family. Tenth Madam Zhao said that your uncle has been adjusting the quantity of cold dishes these past few days, but Yousheng that he can't sell."
Zhao Ruxi slapped her forehead. "I've been too busy lately and forgot about it."
Once you've been in the cold dish business for a while, many people will learn how to make it and steal your business, causing Xu Family's business to decline. Plus, as the weather gets colder, the cold dish business will naturally suffer. This kind of business is all about being first to market and selling in season.
So Zhao Ruxi felt it was a pity that Xu Yongyi hesitated to expand his business to the capital.
The Xu Family was doing well before. But now they've rented a house in the capital, and Xu Chongwen's schooling is more expensive than before. With business declining, Madam Xie must be incredibly anxious.
"I've come up with a way to roast chestnuts for your uncle and aunt. But the chestnuts weren't ripe yet, so I didn't tell them. Could you send someone to tell them not to worry? Once I find the most crucial ingredient for roasting chestnuts, I'll teach them."
Hearing Zhao Ruxi say this, Lady Zhu became somewhat curious.
Having managed the household affairs for so many years, she has no shortage of theoretical knowledge and practical experience, even if she doesn't cook herself.
She knew that chestnuts were difficult to roast because they were so big and had such hard shells. Everyone usually steamed them.
Although she was curious, she knew it was a secret recipe and it wasn't appropriate to ask.
"How did you learn about these methods?" This was what Lady Zhu was more curious about.
She felt that her daughter knew far too many things.
"When I was little, there was an old lady living next door to my adoptive parents' house. She was half-blind and usually did housework by groping her way around. Once, she accidentally put small stones mixed with chestnuts into the pot to stir-fry. I've eaten it, and I think it's even more fragrant than steamed ones," Zhao Ruxi casually made up.
In her haste, she hadn't finished crafting her lie, which contained logical flaws.
Fortunately, while Lady Zhu was busy feeling sad about the hardships her daughter had endured in the past, she was also pleased with her daughter's intelligence. She realized that while others might not care about ordinary things, her daughter had noticed them, remembered them, and even thought about how to make use of them.
She was so proud of "my son is so smart" that she didn't ask about the details.
With capable servants, Zhao Ruxi could easily do whatever she wanted.
Roasting chestnuts requires quartz sand, Zhao Ruxi only needed to give Zhou Chun a word of instruction, then she didn't need to worry about it. Two days later, Zhou Chun delivered what she needed to her.
The quartz sand was selected as she instructed; all were the same size and had no sharp edges.
"Miss, is this it?" Zhou Chun asked.
Zhao Ruxi nodded immediately upon seeing it. "That's exactly it."
She instructed, "Have Zhaoming take this to the kitchen in Green Plantain Courtyard. Have Sister-in-law Li wash it, stir-fry it twice in oil, and then add the washed and dried chestnuts in to stir-fry. As for how to make it taste even better, let her figure it out."
Zhou Chun then left.
When Zhao Ruxi returned from her training class, Zhaoming brought her a plate of roasted chestnuts.
Zhao Ruxi peeled one open, ate it, and then slapped her forehead. "Let Sister-in-law Li add sugar and stir-fry it."
In her modern days, she had overheard someone casually mention that sugar-roasted chestnuts were made with quartz sand, and she had seen and eaten sugar-roasted chestnuts sold on the street. As for how to use quartz sand to roast the chestnuts and how to add sugar so that they wouldn't stick to the pan, that was something that professionals like Sister-in-law Li had to figure out carefully.
Without questioning or asking any questions, Zhaoming ran straight to the kitchen. Half an hour later, he brought out a plate of roasted chestnuts.
Zhao Ruxi tasted it and nodded, "It's done, that's the taste. Go and call Sister-in-law Li over."