Transmigrated into the fat wife of the future prime minister

Chapter 214 Servant
When Xu Qingmeng and the others returned home, Xinting had already prepared dinner, and Zhou Yuanjia was serving the dishes.

Xinting's cooking skills are getting better and better. She stir-fried four dishes and cooked a big pot of rice, since everyone had been busy all afternoon and was starving.

For pork rib stew with potatoes, cut the pork ribs into small pieces, blanch them to remove blood and impurities, then rinse them clean and set aside.

Peel and wash the potatoes, then cut them into small pieces and put them in water to cool.

Slice the ginger and garlic, cut the scallions into small sections, and prepare some spices.

Heat oil in a pan, add rock sugar, and stir-fry over low heat until melted and caramelized.

Add the pork ribs and stir-fry until they are coated with caramelized sugar. Then add scallions, ginger, garlic, star anise, cinnamon, bay leaves, and dried chili peppers and stir-fry until fragrant.

Pour in an appropriate amount of Shaoxing wine and soy sauce, stir-fry to coat the ingredients, add an appropriate amount of water to cover the ingredients, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for half an hour.

Add the potato chunks and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, until the ribs are tender and the potatoes are soft. Add a little salt and reduce the sauce over high heat. The braised ribs and potatoes are now ready.

The ribs were flavorful and tender, the potatoes were soft and fluffy, and the rice soaked in the broth was exceptionally delicious.

One dish of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, one dish of stir-fried cabbage, and one dish of steamed egg.

Xinting prepared several dishes, and the portions were generous enough to fill you up completely.

After the meal, Madam He said, "Now that the shop has been bought, such an expensive shop, every day we delay means we'll lose a day's worth of money."

"Mother, this matter can't be rushed. I've already ordered the table and other things, but we still need to find people."

"No need, besides you, Xinting and Gu Tong can all help, right?"

“That’s not enough, Mom. I plan to have Xinting follow me around and cook the hot pot broth. Mom, you can keep an eye on the shop. I also plan to hire five people to clean the ingredients, and of course, we need at least ten waiters.”

"We need so many people? We haven't even made any money yet and we're already spending money again?"

"Mother, it's not much. Look at our shop, it's quite big, two floors combined, probably twenty or thirty tables. Those two or three tables will need at least one waiter, and there's also..."

Xu Qingmeng explained to Madam He which places required which people.

She plans to turn this hot pot restaurant into a modern version of Haidilao, and she'll be arranging things like secret codes and birthday parties in the future. She feels that even ten or so wouldn't be enough.

Except for Gu Tong, who had never eaten hot pot, Gu Yunyi and the others had all eaten it. However, this was the first time they had ever heard of someone coming to the restaurant for a birthday dinner to prepare a gift for them, or giving a small gift after matching a secret code.

They were stunned, but they were still very impressed by Xu Qingmeng's imaginative idea.

"Does that mean we should put up a job posting at the shop entrance?" Gu Yunyi asked.

"Of course, that's where Scholar Gu's help comes in!"

"Don't worry, your husband will take care of this."

Zhou Yuanjia replied earnestly, "I can do it too!"

Gu Yunyi rolled his eyes at him, as if to say, "How can you compare to me?"
Seeing his expression, Zhou Yuanjia immediately realized that he had made a fool of himself.

Xu Qingmeng and the others chuckled softly.

"However, I have requirements for the waiters. They can't be too timid. They need to be eloquent. This must be written down."

"Okay." "Yun Sheng, Yun Mo is going to the teacher's place. Yun Yi, Yuan Jia, you two take good care of her. Meng Niang is in poor health and still has to manage the hot pot restaurant, so don't bother her unless necessary." Madam He said to everyone.

Zhou Yuanjia has already started school, and Gu Yunyi, Yun Sheng, and Yun Mo will be starting school next.

Mrs. He is right. They can't help with the housework, so they shouldn't cause any trouble.

The following day, Gu Yunyi and Zhou Yuanjia took the two children to the teacher's house, where they began their painful early childhood education.

Gu Yunyi had already written the job posting last night, and Gu Tong had already posted it at the shop entrance early this morning.

After Gu Yunyi and the others left, Xiao Li arrived with a group of people.

Many people around couldn't help but mutter to themselves that the newly moved-in Gu family must have some wealth. They had a large courtyard and bought two shops. Now that the broker had come to their door, it seemed like they were going to buy servants.
Little Li has some pretty good resources. Xu Qingmeng said she wanted a few women who could work and had some cooking skills, and today he brought eight who met the requirements.

In addition, there were four maids, four gatekeepers, and four guards who knew some martial arts.

Looking at the crowd before her, Madam He asked some questions and then sought Xu Qingmeng's opinion, quickly finalizing the selection.

Of course, it doesn't just concern the Gu family; the Zhou family also needs servants, but one old woman and one gatekeeper will suffice.

The Gu family was different. Madam He selected four old women, a gatekeeper, two maids, and left two guards behind.

Among the four old women, one was literate and quite knowledgeable about etiquette in the prefecture. She had previously served as a caregiver for the young masters and ladies of wealthy families, so she was well-suited to take care of Yun Sheng and Yun Mo.

The remaining three did some rough work, mainly regular cleaning, but two of them were excellent cooks.

Xu Qing dreamed that if possible, she could teach them how to make hot pot broth.

Mrs. He made it very clear to them that her family ran a food business and that they usually had to help out, and there was a lot of work to be done. If they couldn't do it, they could bring it up now.

This applies to maids, gatekeepers, and guards as well.

Everyone quickly waved their hands, saying that they had nothing else but strength, and could do as much work as needed.

Little Li said from the side, "Auntie, don't worry, I asked carefully for you before I came. These are all people who can work. I might not be able to bring those who are not healthy or who are lazy and cunning."

Mrs. He smiled and thanked Mr. Li, and then they happily made the decision.

After receiving the money, the indenture was handed to Madam He, while the indenture from the Zhou family was given to Xinting.

No sooner had Little Li left than Da Shan, the noodle shop owner, arrived.

"Madam Gu, the shopkeeper asked me to bring over the chili powder and other ingredients."

Mrs. He was stunned for a moment, then recognized him as the waiter from the noodle shop who had visited Mengniang's house last time.

"Come in quickly, come in quickly," Madam He said with a smile, ushering them in.

"Auntie, no, I'm still busy at the shop. I'll have someone unload the goods and then rush back."

"That's right, the shop can't be delayed." Then he called over the people inside to help.

Xu Qingmeng quickly completed the handover. This time, the number was more than double that of the last time. Fortunately, this person was bought back, otherwise, even if the several people worked day and night, it would still take many days, not to mention that Xu Qingmeng was pregnant.

(End of this chapter)