Li Ying dragged on her shoes, wrapped her robe around herself with a yawn, and walked out of the courtyard gate. Sure enough, huddled on the blue stone steps outside the door was a tiny figure in ragged clothes.
Who else could it be but the little beggar?
She was so cold that her lips were blue. One of her shoes was missing, nobody knew when it had been lost. Her thin, bony feet were completely red, and her hands were as cold as ice. Presumably, she had sat solidly outside the Li Mansion all night.
Li Ying sighed inwardly, thinking it was really a pity. In the end, she helped the little girl up together with Granny Sun, and found an old cloak to wrap her up for warmth.
The little beggar sat in the room by the warm charcoal fire for a while before she finally caught her breath. Her lips trembling, she only glanced at Li Ying before staggering to her knees.
"Master, A Gou is at your service!"
Granny Sun was startled by this sudden scene. It was Li Ying who rubbed her temples and explained the whole story to her.
Granny Sun sighed, "Poor child! What kind of father... would give a girl such a humble name!"
She originally wanted to scold Zhou Da for having no sense of father - daughter relationship at all, but seeing the little beggar looking dejected, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
"Master, please keep A Gou! You've already bought A Gou. I'm very dexterous. Since you're going to open a restaurant, I can do all kinds of jobs, like waiting on customers, lighting the fire, chopping wood, feeding the pigs, and washing the slop buckets!"
She pleaded in a hurry, as if only in this way could she repay Li Ying a little.
Li Ying saw that she seemed determined to kneel to death outside the Li Mansion if she didn't agree. This girl had a rough life and was really a poor soul. Since the restaurant was about to open and she was in need of help, she didn't hesitate anymore and readily nodded in agreement.
"The guest room is still empty. Go and clean it up and live there. Then go and boil a bucket of hot water and take a good bath. Your rent will be deducted from your salary, and I'll pay you two taels of silver every month. How about that?"
The little beggar never expected that her new master, Li Ying, would be so kind and reasonable. She was even more touched, with tears welling up in her eyes.
"Master, don't worry. You've bought A Gou. My life belongs to you from now on!"
Li Ying was really not used to her whole - hearted devotion. She waved her hands hurriedly and said, "Do you have a formal name? It's not appropriate for a girl to be called by such a humble name all the time."
The little beggar blushed and whispered, "I've never had a name... Please give me one, Master!"
Li Ying sighed, "We're not that different in age. There's no need to use words like 'Master' or 'Employer'. Just call me sister. As for your name... how about Ruyi? It may be a bit plain, but I hope everything will go as you wish from now on."
A blush spread across Ruyi's face, and there was finally a sparkle in her eyes. It was obvious that she liked the new name very much.
While Ruyi was taking a bath, Li Ying took a fresh lamb shank, removed the bones, and stewed it to warm her up.
After heating the pot, she added the mutton fat and stir - fried it over low heat. Then she added chopped scallions, ginger, and yellow rice wine to get rid of the muttony smell, leaving only the clear mutton fat. Next, she added spices like star anise and galangal, as well as a second batch of scallions and ginger. The blanched mutton and lamb shank bones were also put into the pot and stir - fried over low heat until they gave off a fragrant smell and the meat pieces turned a light brown color.
Then she added water. After bringing it to a boil over high heat, she skimmed off the foam. After boiling for about fifteen minutes, when the lamb soup turned milky white, she transferred it to a clay pot and simmered it over low heat.
For traditional lamb noodles in soup, one must first stir - fry the mutton fat, then the meat and bones, and finally simmer the soup. Boil it over high heat until it turns white, over medium heat to make it fragrant, and finally over low heat to get the right flavor. Only then is it considered authentic.
After stewing for half an hour, season it with salt and pepper. In this steaming lamb soup, you can also add soaked sweet potato vermicelli and hand - rolled noodles according to your preference.
The mutton was lean and fat in good proportion, fragrant but not muttony. The sweet potato vermicelli absorbed the freshness of the lamb soup, and it was slippery and easy to eat. Sprinkle a handful of scallions and coriander leaves on top, and add a few drops of vinegar. The soup was white, the meat was tender, and it was not greasy at all. When you drank it while it was hot, the spiciness of the pepper made your whole body warm.
Granny Sun's hand - rolled noodles were chewy and elastic. When cooked in the lamb soup, they filled the stomach and warmed the body. Ruyi gobbled up the big bowl of noodles in soup in one go. The fatigue from days of wandering was swept away, and she burped contentedly.
Seeing that Li Ying and the others were eating slowly and gracefully, she covered her mouth embarrassedly.
Granny Sun didn't mind. Instead, she asked with concern, "Are you full? There's still more noodles in the pot. You can go and get some more!"
Ruyi waved her hands repeatedly. Li Ying guessed that she might be afraid of eating too much and being disliked by the master. She said casually, "I really hate washing dishes. You can eat as much as you want. Just wash the dishes and chopsticks after the meal, and that will offset the cost of the meal."
Only then did Ruyi feel relieved. She ate another bowl and then quickly went to clean up.
Seeing her being so diligent, Li Ying felt a bit more at ease.
It seemed that keeping her in the restaurant wasn't a bad idea.
However, there was a constant stream of people in the capital. The customer flow was completely different from that in a small fishing village. Relying on only Ruyi would definitely not be enough.
Li Ying didn't know the details of the previous waiters in Yunlaixuan. She didn't know how many of them were still loyal to Li Yun.
As the saying goes, if you use someone, don't suspect them; if you suspect them, don't use them. To avoid future troubles, Li Ying simply decided not to use any of them.
Granny Sun gasped in surprise, "A Ying, we've just arrived here. The capital is different from the village. Where can you find a group of reliable people in such a short time? How about asking A Xun and Mr. Su?"
Li Ying shook her head when she heard this.
It was true that as long as she asked, Lu Xunguang and Su Buchi would surely help her take care of everything in the restaurant.
But since she had made up her mind to start her own business, she shouldn't rely on others for such trivial matters.
"Auntie, don't worry. I've already got a perfect plan in mind."
Seeing her so confident, although Granny Sun didn't know what was really going on in her mind, she finally nodded and allowed her to make preparations on her own, still a bit skeptical.
Li Ying wasn't in a hurry to recruit people. Instead, she calmly went to the market, selected a fat and strong black - haired pig, and personally directed the butcher to clean and butcher it. She divided the pork into large pieces according to different parts and carried them back in a grand manner.
Counting the days, the pickled Chinese cabbage in the jars that day was already edible.
She opened the jar and carefully took out a piece. Each leaf was golden yellow, sour just right, very appetizing and refreshing. It was really a top - notch dish for relieving greasiness.
With this pickled Chinese cabbage as a foundation, half of her plan was already in place.