SEC Chapter 36 Raising the Beam
Chapter 36 Raising the Beam
Time flies, and soon it was time for Song Jiaojiao's new house to have its roof beam raised.
According to local custom, red envelopes must be scattered on the day of the roof-raising ceremony. Therefore, the night before, Song Jiaojiao and her three siblings prepared a lot of red envelopes. Of course, each red envelope contained only one or two coins, just for good luck.
Early in the morning, the villagers arrived at Song Jiaojiao's new house, afraid of missing the auspicious time for the roof-raising ceremony. Seeing that it was almost time, the village chief called Wang Hefan onto the roof to scatter the prepared red envelopes. Amid cheers, the ceremony was completed. Song Jiaojiao also prepared individual red envelopes for each worker, ensuring everyone could share in the joy.
After the main beam was installed, only the roof tiles and windows remained to be installed. The tiles were prepared when the house was halfway finished. Fortunately, the weather cooperated and it didn't rain. At this rate, Song Jiaojiao will be able to move into her new house in less than a month.
The persimmons that were dried last time were ready a long time ago. The villagers saw that they were really edible and went all over the mountains to look for persimmons. Unfortunately, the season had passed, so they could only hope to get some next year.
Song Jiaojiao washed the offal she bought a couple of days ago and planned to prepare it tonight. Tomorrow she would go to town to ask if any restaurants needed it. Of course, how could anyone resist this braised meat that was popular all over the country in the last century?
The next day, Song Jiaojiao took the braised pork intestines and pig stomach, as well as the prepared persimmon cakes, and boarded an oxcart to go to town.
Realizing she wasn't familiar with the town, Song Jiaojiao brought the persimmon cakes to Huichuntang.
Before even entering the hall, we saw Manager Liu looking around at the door, as if he was waiting for someone.
"Manager Liu, are you waiting for someone?" Song Jiaojiao stepped forward to greet him.
"Oh, it's Madam Song! It's been a while since Madam Song last visited. What good things have you brought for this old man today?" Manager Liu said with delight upon seeing Song Jiaojiao.
"How about we go inside and talk?" Song Jiaojiao didn't say anything else, thinking that the doorway wasn't a good place to talk.
"It was my oversight. Please come in." Manager Liu thought that it wouldn't look good at the entrance, so he and Song Jiaojiao went to the backyard. "Second Manager, you wait outside."
Upon hearing Manager Liu's words, Song Jiaojiao wondered if she had arrived at the wrong time. "Did I delay the manager's business?"
"No delay, no delay, whenever Madam Song arrives is the most important thing," Manager Liu said with a smile. The two sat down in the backyard, and Manager Liu didn't beat around the bush with Song Jiaojiao, asking directly...
"I wonder what wonderful things Lady Song has brought me today?"
Song Jiaojiao took out the dried persimmons directly and said, "These are the dried persimmons I made. I brought them for Manager Liu to try. I came here today mainly because I have a favor to ask of you." Song Jiaojiao pushed the dried persimmons towards Manager Liu as she spoke.
Upon hearing Song Jiaojiao's words, Manager Liu knew that there might not be any good medicinal herbs available today, but he didn't show it at all. "Madam Song, just speak your mind. As long as I know it, I will tell you everything without reservation."
"If it were me, I would have been shameless enough to ask. I recently developed a new dish and was thinking of asking the restaurants if it could be sold, but I don't come to town often and don't know much about the situation. So I thought I'd come to Manager Liu to find out more."
Upon hearing this, Manager Liu laughed, "To be honest, I don't know everything about the town, but I do know a fair bit about it."
In our Yunshui Town, there are two large restaurants: one is Yuan's Restaurant, opened by Yuan Yuanwai, and the other is Sifanglou.
Speaking of the two restaurants, I would recommend you try Sifanglou. Although Sifanglou hasn't been open for long, only three years, its success within that time demonstrates its deep roots in the mainland.
Manager Liu paused for a moment, then continued, "Speaking of which, I just remembered something. Three months ago, for some reason, Sifanglou suddenly closed for half a month. Many people were wondering if Sifanglou was going to go out of business."
Eventually, it opened anyway. At first, Sifanglou was quite popular because of its large quantity of dishes, and its head chef was supposedly a descendant of imperial chefs. However, after a couple of days, the place became deserted. Those who had dined there remained silent about it, and to this day, no one knows what happened.
"If no one eats at a restaurant, isn't it close to closing down?" Song Jiaojiao asked. If no one eats at a restaurant, what's the point of keeping it open? It costs money to maintain manpower and resources.
"It's normal for you to have this idea; most people think the same way. But as I said before, the fact that Sifanglou has been able to develop so rapidly in just three years shows that the strength of the owner behind it is not to be underestimated."
Regular customers still frequent Sifanglou Restaurant for meals, and most importantly, these regular customers are mostly well-to-do people in the town; even the town mayor has been there several times.
Manager Liu stroked his beard and said mysteriously, "Because Yunshui Town is too far from the county, the county magistrate sent someone here to manage Yunshui Town."
Upon hearing this, Song Jiaojiao pondered, "What about Yuan's Restaurant then?"
"Speaking of the Yuan family, that's true. But over the years I've heard some rumors, and I don't know if they're true. They say that the Yuan family will try to talk things out nicely at first, but if they can't reach an agreement, there might be other consequences."
The most recent incident was last year. A hunter caught a robe and went to sell it at Yuan's Restaurant. When he arrived, the hunter came out looking furious. Later, rumors spread that the hunter had broken his leg in the mountains, and everyone said Yuan's Restaurant was responsible. However, there was no evidence, and the matter was dropped.
Upon hearing this, Song Jiaojiao thought to herself, "Luckily, Manager Liu helped me today, otherwise I don't know how many detours I would have taken. I wonder where these two restaurants are?"
"These two restaurants are easy to find. Just walk along the main street of town, and they'll be the two restaurants facing each other in the center of town," Manager Liu said with a smile.
"In that case, I won't bother you any longer. Thank you very much, Manager Liu." Song Jiaojiao stood up, thanked Manager Liu, and took her leave.
"Of course, of course. As long as Madam Song has any good medicinal herbs, just think of Huichuntang first." Manager Liu stood up to see her off, smiling as he spoke to Song Jiaojiao.
"That's for sure. There's nowhere else as fair as Manager Liu." Song Jiaojiao smiled and played coy with Manager Liu.
"Then I won't see you off, Madam Song, please wait."
"Please wait, shopkeeper." Song Jiaojiao bowed to Shopkeeper Liu and walked out.
A handsome man dressed in fine clothes, followed by two guards, walked in through the door. The second manager of Huichuntang was also following behind him, his face showing a cautious and ingratiating expression.
Song Jiaojiao and the man exchanged a glance, then she left. Behind her, she heard Manager Liu's cautious and respectful voice.
"Boss, you've arrived."