Since that day, Pei Zhao had never come again. Xi Ning was quite content with the peace, spending her days with Nanny Su making fillings and preparing wontons.
The Xi family’s wonton noodles gradually gained fame in the northern part of the city. Not only did customers from Wutong Street come to eat, but people from the western and southern parts of the city also flocked to try them.
However, Xi Ning and her two servants had limited energy. Although there were more customers, the daily supply couldn’t keep up, and many people waited in line for a long time only to leave empty-handed.
Nanny Su heard many complaints from customers and worried that this would lead to a loss of clientele. Yet Xi Ning smiled meaningfully.
“Don’t worry, Nanny. The more they can’t have it, the more they’ll crave it. After all, the taste of our wonton noodles is one of a kind. Later, you can write a sign stating the daily supply limit—first come, first served.”
The overused marketing tactic of limited purchases from her past life was now being brought to the ancient stage by Xi Ning.
Nanny Su was initially worried about whether this method would work, but as she watched the increasing number of customers, she couldn’t help but marvel at her young lady’s cleverness and ingenuity. Even their Third Master probably didn’t possess such clever ideas.
Looking at it this way, the two of them were truly well-matched.
After April, the capital had completely warmed up, and many of the seeds Xi Ning had sown earlier had matured.
She had planted vegetables in the two flower beds in the outer courtyard. The seeds were bought by Ren Dong from a grocery store, but Xi Ning secretly replaced them with seeds from her wristband. After all, neither Nanny Su nor Ren Dong knew what these seeds would grow into.
Especially since the grocery store owner, upon hearing Ren Dong wanted vegetable seeds, haphazardly packed a bag with a mix of everything, which conveniently allowed Xi Ning to make the switch.
One flower bed was planted with lettuce and spinach, while the other was planted with carrots, potatoes, and chili peppers.
The seeds from her wristband had been modified for better taste and higher yield. Although only a small plot of land was planted, the harvest would be enough for the three of them to eat.
However, Xi Ning wasn’t satisfied. These seeds were life-saving food for the common people, and it would be a waste for only her and her two servants to enjoy them.
Thinking of the five hundred taels of silver Pei Zhao had left behind, Xi Ning had an idea.
Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law happened to work at a brokerage firm, so Xi Ning brought a basket of homemade thin pancakes and paid her a visit.
Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law had a round face, with her hair tied back and secured with a wooden hairpin. Her fair skin and friendly smile made her look very approachable.
When she opened the door and saw Xi Ning, she quickly wiped her hands on her apron and greeted her warmly.
“I wondered why I heard magpies chirping early this morning—it turns out Miss Xi has come to visit.”
Xi Ning’s identity was no secret among the nobility in the capital, but ordinary people didn’t know about it. However, Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law was sharp-witted, and having learned from her mother-in-law, who was a matchmaker and broker, she had developed a keen eye for people.
Miss Xi was stunningly beautiful, spoke in a delicate tone, and had two servants by her side. Moreover, they lived across the street, and Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law had seen Pei Zhao visit several times before.
She had long guessed that Xi Ning was likely a nobleman’s mistress. Even if she was a mistress, she was still someone they couldn’t afford to offend.
Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law was very attentive, and after exchanging a few pleasantries with Xi Ning, she got straight to the point.
“Is Aunt Wang at home? I have something I’d like to ask for her help with.”
Upon hearing that she was looking for her mother-in-law, Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law assumed Xi Ning wanted to buy a few servants. She had seen how busy the Xi family’s food business was, and with Nanny Su and Ren Dong unable to keep up, it was only natural for Xi Ning to want to buy more help.
With business at her doorstep, the smile on Aunt Wang’s daughter-in-law’s face grew even more genuine.”Yes, yes, Miss Xi, please come inside for some tea first. I’ll go call my mother-in-law.”
Aunt Wang was a woman with a long, narrow face, thin and wiry in build, with sharp, shrewd eyes. But having worked as a matchmaker for so long, she was very smooth in her dealings with people.
Like Madam Xu, Aunt Wang also assumed that Xi Ning wanted to buy servants. When she heard that Xi Ning wanted to buy land, Aunt Wang’s smile faltered for a moment. But despite her shock, her professionalism as a matchmaker remained intact, and she quickly composed herself.
“Miss Xi wants to buy land? Do you have any particular location in mind? What’s your budget?”
Naturally, Xi Ning wasn’t clear about this. The original host had only cared about romance and poetry, so no useful information could be gleaned from her.
She simply mentioned that she had a budget of five hundred taels and asked Aunt Wang to keep an eye out for her.
Aunt Wang nodded and thought for a moment before speaking.
“To be honest, five hundred taels is not a small sum. You could buy twenty or thirty acres of good farmland with that. But I see that you probably don’t have anyone to help manage it, so it would be best to buy a manor with an estate. As it happens, I have just the thing on hand.”
Aunt Wang was meticulous. Only after seeing Xi Ning nod in agreement did she continue.
“The owner of this manor is a kind-hearted man. He’s moving his entire family south and wants to find a good master for the servants on the estate, so the manor is being sold together with its people. Many buyers have looked at it before and were very satisfied with the manor itself, but they didn’t want to take on the servants, so the manor hasn’t been sold yet.”
Most people were used to employing their own trusted people. One or two servants was one thing, but a whole manor full of them was a hot potato—no one wanted to risk the servants becoming too powerful and bullying their master. So no matter how good the manor was, no one dared to buy it.
Xi Ning nodded. This was indeed a problem, but for her, it was also an advantage. If the servants on the estate were capable, it would save her the trouble of buying more people.
“How much is the seller asking?”
Hearing this, Aunt Wang knew Xi Ning was interested, and her smile widened from ear to ear.
“Master Liu originally asked for five hundred and thirty taels, but since the manor hasn’t been sold for so long, knocking off twenty or thirty taels shouldn’t be a problem. Miss Xi’s silver will definitely be enough.”
Five hundred taels for a manor with twenty acres of land, complete with a steward and laborers—it was a one-step solution, and Xi Ning was satisfied. However, she still needed to see the manor for herself to judge its condition.
Xi Ning arranged with Aunt Wang to go outside the city to inspect it the next day, left some flatbread, and then headed home.
Aunt Wang and her daughter-in-law saw her out, and as soon as they returned home, they couldn’t help but gossip.
“Who knows which nobleman’s mistress this Miss Xi is? With looks like hers, she could easily become a concubine in the palace.”
In all her years, Madam Xu had never seen a woman more beautiful than Xi Ning.
“No matter which nobleman it is, it’s not someone we can afford to offend. Miss Xi has a gentle and kind nature. If we befriend her, we might even be able to gain the favor of a nobleman.”
Having worked in the matchmaking business for so long, Aunt Wang knew the importance of connections better than anyone. If they could befriend Xi Ning, their family would have a powerful ally in the northern part of the city.
Madam Xu was taken aback. “Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll make sure to get along well with Miss Xi.”
“Good. Now go make dinner. Put these flatbreads away for Yuan’er and the others to eat when they come back tonight.”
“Yes.”
When Xi Ning returned home, Nanny Su and Ren Dong hadn’t finished packing up their stall yet. She picked a handful of spinach from the garden, cleaned and washed it with well water, then shelled half a bowl of peanuts, planning to make a spinach and peanut salad for lunch.
Spinach and peanut salad is a cold dish, and the secret to its deliciousness lies in the dressing—the most important ingredient in the dressing being chili peppers.
However, chili peppers hadn’t yet appeared in this dynasty. The ones Xi Ning had planted would still take another two or three months to mature.Without chili peppers, she used Sichuan peppercorns instead.
In a small white porcelain bowl, she added a spoonful of minced garlic, a spoonful of soy sauce, two spoonfuls of aromatic vinegar, three spoonfuls of Sichuan peppercorn oil, along with a pinch of salt and half a spoonful of sugar, mixing everything evenly.
After blanching the spinach, she cooled it, cut it into sections, poured the sauce over it, sprinkled peanuts on top, drizzled a little sesame oil for garnish, and tossed it all together.
Despite its simple preparation, the flavor of this dish was no less impressive than that of rich meat dishes.
Xi Ning herself could easily eat two bowls of rice with it.