novelaction Chapter 196 Charity Hall Opens
Chapter 196 Charity Hall Opens
"Yes, the shop he bought from us last time." Gu Qingyun nodded. In fact, he had thought about all this since the day the plague broke out.
But there is no way around it. On normal days, we can collect less taxes, but now we have to spend money to do these things.
He also knew that the young lady was not someone who cared about these things, but the disease did sound somewhat scary. Compared to money, she was more worried about whether she would be infected with some plague.
"Her shop hasn't even opened yet, how can it be kept there?" Xinhai also frowned. After all, they were friends.
"It's the same whether the business is open or not. She has other shops and she has to be responsible." Gu Qingyun was helpless, but this had been agreed upon long ago and there was nothing he could do.
Xinhai nodded, and the two walked out quickly. When they passed by Kyoto Restaurant, they saw the closed door.
Gu Qingyun nodded and breathed a sigh of relief for no reason.
Just like last night, I climbed over the wall again.
In a restaurant in Kyoto, An Qiao was leading people to cook something. There was a scent of medicine mixed with the aroma of chicken.
"Miss An, what are you doing?" Xinhai spoke first. It seemed that he had never eaten this dish before and was a little curious.
An Qiao seemed to have gotten used to them climbing up the wall. "I'm cooking medicinal chicken. Isn't the situation outside getting worse? I think my charity will open soon. It would be better to cook some food like this then."
Gu Qingyun smiled and said, "I knew you wouldn't think the charity hall would be a nuisance."
Unexpectedly, An Qiao looked up and smiled, "Of course I think it's a troublesome matter, but there's nothing we can do about it. If no one cares, then there's really nothing we can do about it."
They smiled in tacit understanding, and An Qiao said, "We were in a hurry yesterday. Do you want to try the medicinal chicken today?"
The two hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't resist the strong fragrance and went down to the yard.
In fact, Anqiao cooked several dishes. Some are for replenishing qi and blood, some are for cooling down, and some are for relieving coughs. Different ingredients have different effects.
Although it is impossible to use expensive medicinal materials in a charity, some simple medicinal materials can still be used.
For example, if you want to replenish qi and blood, you can buy some dried longan, red dates, wolfberry, and angelica.
These ingredients are expensive, but not expensive either.
You can cook it in porridge, add some medicinal herbs and shredded meat, and it is possible to lower the cost.
"Young lady, just cook some porridge." Xinhai looked at the food and couldn't help but said.
This smells so good that he wants to become a refugee.
"It's okay, as long as it's within my ability, I will control it." When An Qiao made the decision today, many people advised her to just cook some white porridge.
It’s not that she wanted to be a good person, but she just had enough materials and just did it.
A big pot of porridge contains less than half a pound of ingredients. In fact, if you calculate it all, it only costs a few dozen coins more than others.
"Eat quickly." Seeing that everyone was stunned, An Qiao smiled.
Everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks.
Tonight I have a medicinal chicken, a pigeon soup to replenish qi and blood, a mung bean, yam and pork rib soup to clear away heat and reduce internal heat, and a big pot of rice.
"My dear, how can you cook these bitter ingredients so deliciously? They are so fragrant." Qiufen couldn't help but sigh.
"Yes, there was a strong smell of medicine when I was soaking herbs in the morning. How did you make it so delicious, young lady?" Lixia couldn't help but praise.
"It's quite simple. You will definitely be able to do it once I teach you." An Qiao said to Lixia, and Lixia immediately smiled so hard that her teeth were showing.
"By the way, now that the restaurants are closed, we can't waste those ingredients. If the charity hall opens in advance, we can cook some of them there. If it's not open, we can eat by ourselves and eat well every day. Only by eating well can we avoid getting sick. Otherwise, if any of you lose weight, it will be easy to get sick, and then it will be bad if you infect others." An Qiao looked at everyone seriously, making sure that everyone heard what she said, and then she stopped.
In fact, An Qiao wanted to talk about immunity, but she couldn’t say it directly, so she used the idea of eating well to remind everyone.
Everyone nodded, even Gu Qingyun and Xin Hai saw An Qiao's eyes and nodded unconsciously.
……
In this atmosphere, Kyoto Prefecture finally welcomed the first batch of refugees. Several charity halls agreed to prepare meals for them, and the court only asked that they be able to eat their fill.
So apart from the medicinal shredded pork porridge made by Anqiao, the other shops either put some side dishes or made some cakes. In short, they were not too ugly.
But compared to An Qiao, it is indeed a bit inferior.
Kyoto Prefecture was under total martial law. Except for those who delivered food and those who lived at the city gates, everyone else was allowed to leave but not enter.
An Qiao was assigned to be in charge of the meals for the day. Early in the morning, he asked everyone to cook porridge in a large pot. A steady stream of yamen runners came into the backyard and carried the food out.
"Fortunately, we don't have to send him off." Dahan also helped with the cooking today, his hands were so sore that he could hardly lift them.
If we were responsible for transportation, there wouldn't be enough time to add 10 more people to the restaurant.
"Yes, today's porridge is over, and the next turn will be five days later. You will have to work hard for this day. They say they are cooking pork ribs in the backyard, and we will be ready after we have dinner." An Qiao sighed as she looked at everyone who was exhausted.
The boy was still able to stand, but the girls behind him were so tired that they looked dazed and sat by the door, fanning themselves gently.
The days were getting hotter day by day, and An Qiao had even taken off her cotton-padded jacket, as the transition from spring to summer was approaching.
The spring banquet that we had planned last year was not held because of the epidemic.
No matter how you look at it, it's a bit regrettable.
But An Qiao looked the day before yesterday and found that the locust tree at the door was about to bloom, so it was estimated that they would be ready to eat in about half a month.
By then, locust flower cakes, locust flower honey, locust flower rice...
A variety of ingredients can be served on the table.
At this moment, An Qiao only hopes that all this can be over as soon as possible so that she can have a lively banquet.
Even in late spring, there are still many edible wild flowers and vegetables.
After a short break, An Qiao reminded everyone, "Everyone should put away their fans. It was too hot just now and you all sweated a lot. If you cool down like this, you will get sick easily."
This is a special period and we cannot get sick no matter what.
The little girl obediently put away the fan, and even Lidong, who had once wanted to go outside to enjoy the cold wind, was stopped.
An Qiao took some peeled corn, poured in oil, added green peppers, and then poured in the corn kernels, and stir-fried them quickly.
The dish is ready.
Then, like flowers, she conjured up several side dishes, including blanched Chinese cabbage, carrot and cucumber salad, scrambled eggs, and cabbage and tofu soup.
I made a lot of vegetarian dishes today, they are very simple. Anqiao just wants to supplement vitamins for everyone, so that at least they will not be so easy to get sick.
This is probably because An Qiao had also experienced a terrifying plague in her previous life, so she seems to be somewhat familiar with it now.