I'm going to become rich after being dressed as a five-year-old woman

Chapter 102 Fried chestnuts

"Mother! Mother, look what we found!"

Gu Yanyi ran over happily carrying a large basket of things, probably because the things were too heavy and it was very strenuous for him to carry them.

A group of children followed behind him, running over as fast as he did.

"Hoohoo, mom, look, what is this?"

Gu Yan came to Zhao Qiqi panting, his whole face red and covered with sweat from running.

He placed the basket in front of Zhao Qiqi, and it was chestnuts!

"Mom, we shook these down from the tree. If they were left for a few days, they would all have been picked up by someone." Gu Yanyi looked at Zhao Qiqi with an expression that seemed to be asking for praise.

"Great! How about I make you some sugar-roasted chestnuts?"

Can chestnuts be fried? Gu Yanyi touched his round head and laughed happily. Judging from his mother's expression, sugar-fried chestnuts must be very delicious.

Gu Damao and others said goodbye to him. After all, there were so many chestnuts that they could last for several days, so they had to be sent back home quickly.

Put the basket in the open space in the yard and pour out all the chestnuts. At first, it seems that there are a lot of them in the basket, but there are not many when you pour them out, and there are even fewer after peeling them.

Several children were quite interested in this and were eager to try it.

"Xiaowu, be careful."

"I know mother."

Gu Zhaoyun picked out a hairy chestnut from among them and pressed it a few times with a wooden stick. The skin of the chestnut broke open, revealing the round dark brown chestnuts. He continued to press hard on the broken opening with the wooden stick, and a few chestnuts came out.

One, two, three, four. There are four of them.

Gu Zhaoyun happily picked up the chestnuts and put them into another empty bamboo basket, and then opened the next one happily.

"Xiao Wu, why do you have four, but I only have three, and one is not ripe yet."

Gu Yanyi opened three chestnuts, one of which was a small, off-white chestnut.

While the commotion was going on over there, Zhao Qiqi was a little troubled. She didn't quite know how to make the sugar-roasted chestnuts.

Nowadays, chestnuts are roasted in an air fryer, but there is no oven here, so just putting them in the pot probably won’t work.

Oh, right! Zhao Qiqi remembered that when he went out before, the vendors used sand to stir-fry.

I don’t know if river sand will work, but… it’s easier to fool people by just buying a few pounds of sand and gravel in the system.

"Mom, some chestnuts have already opened. Do you think they are enough?"

Gu Yanyi put a bamboo basket of opened chestnuts on the stove, and it was enough for the whole family to have a taste.

"Okay, but you guys should open the rest too to save the trouble of opening them again."

Gu Yanyi nodded. The chestnuts were indeed fragrant, but they were troublesome to open and pick. If you were not careful, you would prick your hand.

Boil water in a pot, put in the steamer and cover it with a lid. When the water boils, put the chestnuts in to steam.

The chestnuts had been washed. Zhao Qiqi took them and tried to cut a hole in them with the tip of a knife.

"Mom! Let me do it."

Looking at Zhao Qiqi's posture, Hu Lan felt inexplicably unsafe and hurriedly stopped Zhao Qiqi.

She skillfully followed Zhao Qiqi's request and used the tip of the knife to cut a hole in the chestnuts, one after another, and soon all the chestnuts were ready.

Put them all in the steamer and steam them for about ten minutes. Zhao Qiqi opened the lid and the steam immediately dissipated. If it were in modern times, her glasses would definitely be covered with a layer of fog.

She took out the steamer and scooped out the water. At this point, she was a little undecided. Should she coat it with sugar first or fry it first?

I’m afraid that the sugar will burn when I put it in for frying, but if I add the sugar at the end, I don’t know if it will be able to fully blend with the chestnuts.

"Hu Lan, do you think we should put sugar in the sugar-fried chestnuts first or last?"

Hu Lan was a little confused. Her mother actually asked her opinion. No, the point was that her mother actually wanted to use sugar to stir-fry chestnuts? Sugar is such a precious thing!

"Should...should put the sugar first."

Hu Lan was also a little hesitant. What if she was wrong and her mother scolded her? She couldn't help shuddering when she thought about the past, and subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter.

"That's right. Sugar-roasted chestnuts should indeed be roasted with sugar."

Zhao Qiqi nodded in agreement, put the sand and gravel into the pot, and stir-fried it for a while. When it felt hot, he added some oil and stir-fried it for a while, then put the chestnuts mixed with sugar in the pot.

"Don't use too big a fire, or it might get burnt."

Hearing this, Hu Lan hurriedly took out a piece of firewood that she had just put in. She originally thought that the fire would need to be bigger for frying chestnuts, after all, it was frying. Now, after hearing what Zhao Qiqi said, she quickly took it out.

It didn't take long for the sugar to melt, and Zhao Qiqi's taste buds instantly whetted as he looked at the shiny golden chestnuts.

Everyone could smell the burnt aroma. Hu Lan looked at it from time to time and sniffed. It smelled really good.

Gu Yanyi and Gu Zhaoyun ran over to look at the golden roasted chestnuts that looked so appetizing. They kept sniffing, they smelled so good.

"Mom, is this the sugar-roasted chestnuts you mentioned? They smell so good. How about frying the rest of them?"

Gu Yanyi looked greedy, staring at the chestnuts in the pot. They were just cracking the chestnuts and missed the process of his mother frying the chestnuts! They should have watched it, it smelled so good.

"Mom, when can we eat?" Gu Zhaoyun couldn't help but ask. Just now, Gu Yansui and others went to the workshop next door to plan and build a more formal workshop.

After all, nowadays, the wind will shake when it blows past.

"Eat if you want." Zhao Qiqi picked out a few chestnuts with a shovel and put them on the stove.

Gu Yanyi was about to start cooking, but Zhao Qiqi stopped him: "Don't be so quick, the freshly fried chestnuts are very hot."

He said in a sheepish voice, "Mom, let me blow it on you, it will be cool soon."

In order to get it into his mouth quickly, Gu Yanyi was very anxious and blew it quickly.

"Xiaowu, this is for you." Gu Yanyi put a sugar-roasted chestnut that was no longer hot into Gu Zhaoyun's hand.

Because the chestnuts have already opened, they will be smaller after frying, and there is some sugar oil coated on them, so they are very easy to peel.

Seeing Gu Yanyi's satisfied look, Gu Zhaoyun couldn't wait to put the sugar-roasted chestnuts into his mouth. The dense and soft taste instantly spread in his mouth. Not only was it moderately sweet, but it also had a hint of caramel to enhance its flavor.

Gu Zhaoyun looked at Zhao Qiqi with sparkling eyes and said, "Sweet!"

"Mom, it's delicious." Gu Yanyi wanted to eat another one after eating one, even more eager than before he had eaten it. It was so delicious! Steamed chestnuts used to be delicious, but now after frying for a while, the moisture is removed, and the outer layer of the chestnut is firm, while the inside is soft and sweet!

"Look at how greedy you are." Zhao Qiqi pinched Gu Yanyi's chubby little face and laughed at him: "But, mother just wants you to have a taste first, it's ok once you have tasted it, and we can eat together later when your eldest brother and the others come back."

"I can't taste it either." Gu Yanyi muttered in a low voice that no one else could hear.

Zhao Qiqi put a chestnut that was not that hot in Hu Lan's hand and said, "Wife Dashuan, you should try it too."

Hu Lan saw that Gu Yanyi and Gu Zhaoyun were eating with great relish and had wanted to eat some for a long time, but her mother-in-law did not offer it to her and she was too embarrassed to ask for it.

The chestnuts were still hot and felt warm in her hands. Hu Lan put the chestnuts into her mouth and felt very happy. She didn't know why, but she had been very sensitive emotionally since she became pregnant.

Now she wants to cry when she eats something delicious.

"We can fish them all out now. Yanyi, bring us that bamboo basket."

But there is no tool to filter out the sand and gravel.

Zhao Qiqi had no choice but to stir the pot. The chestnuts were turned over and scooped up with a shovel and poured into a bamboo basket, but inevitably, a lot of sand and gravel were also present.

It doesn't really matter and doesn't interfere with eating, it just takes up some space.

"What smells so good?"

Gu Yantang came over from the workshop and said, "I've already smelled a fragrance from here. Fatty Gu, tell me, have you been eating anything secretly?"

Gu Yanyi stiffened his neck and tried to break free from Gu Yantang's restraints: "Second brother, please let me go. I didn't eat it secretly. Mother just let me taste one, and the eldest sister-in-law and Xiaowu also tasted it. We are waiting for you to come back and eat it."

Gu Yantang put him down: "Well, you have a conscience and wait for us."

"Stop messing around, wash your hands and come over to try it."

"Hey." The three of them responded and went to the spring to wash their hands.

The bamboo basket was placed on the table in the yard, and each person sat on a bamboo stool. It was not yet dark, and the setting sun was shining obliquely. The whole air was filled with the smell of dusk and the sweet fragrance of chestnuts.

Zhao Qiqi picked up a chestnut. She hadn’t tasted it yet, so she didn’t know if it tasted good or not. Gu Yanyi and the others thought everything tasted good, so she had to try it herself to see if it tasted good or not.

Sweet and fragrant! Strong chestnut flavor, the chestnuts are very easy to peel and you can't stop eating them one by one.

Everyone was eating happily, except Gu Yanyan who was eating absentmindedly.

"Mom, I think we should catch that man as soon as possible. Otherwise, if he stays in the workshop, he will definitely be a disaster."

Zhao Qiqi knew this, but the question was how to catch him?

In the end, it was her own fault that she was too young and inexperienced, and was too eager to succeed, which allowed others to take advantage of her.

"So do you think there is any way to catch him?"

Gu Yanyan was also a little troubled, with his head lowered, not knowing what he was thinking.

He looked up and said, "Mom, we can gather everyone together first, and then tell everyone the price of the missing soap. That person will definitely panic."

The lost soaps were worth a lot of money, but the person who stole the soaps might not know that, and might not know whether he kept them for himself or sold them.

No, it's too risky to sell, it's too conspicuous, and there's nothing like it anywhere else.

That person most likely kept it for himself. If Zhao Qiqi was that person, he would definitely not be able to resist using the soap. So... there is a way to find that person.

"Mom, we didn't know that the soap came out of the warehouse before, but now that we know it's easier to find the person. There were only four people drying the soap in the warehouse, two men and two women. I saw the person's feet, and it was a man, so it must be one of the two people."

People working on other processes are not allowed to enter the workshop...that is to say, only those doing the finishing work of drying and drying the mud have the opportunity and time to do it. After all, it takes a certain amount of time to paste the mud back on the wall.

Seeing his confident look, Zhao Qiqi knew that he was definitely not fully focused on building the workshop. He was thinking about finding the people as soon as possible. He must know who the two men were.

"Who are those two people?"

"Gu Laixi, Gu Dewang."

"Then just observe the two of them. After this incident, the management of workers must be stricter, and everything must be done according to the regulations. Your second aunt may not be able to consider these things, so you should communicate with her more."

"Yes, my son knows."

The next day

Gu Yansui called all the workers together.

"Dashuan, what's wrong?" The villagers are more accustomed to calling him Dashuan.

"That's right. What's the matter? Don't delay us from work."

Everyone's salary is based on attendance, working hours and efficiency.

"Don't be anxious, this little delay will not affect your wages. Please be quiet and listen to me." Gu Yantang made a quiet gesture, and the workers gradually stopped talking, wanting to hear what Gu Yansui wanted to say.

"Recently, a very, very bad thing happened in the workshop, and my mother was also very angry."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Gu Yansui, wanting to know what had happened. You know, Aunt Zhao had been very friendly since they started working, and looking at the current situation, something serious must have happened.

"Ahem, my mother has always said that everyone should get a satisfactory wage and not do too much tiring work, so she didn't blame many bad things too much. But some people did unforgivable things, which caused my mother to be unwilling to come to the workshop today."

Everyone looked at each other, wanting to know if anyone knew what had happened, and reflecting on whether they had done anything wrong. Some of the cunning ones felt guilty and lowered their heads silently, while some diligent people looked confused and wanted to see who had done what.

"Everyone, don't read it. Let me tell you what happened. My third brother kept the accounts and found that soap bars were missing almost every day. Sometimes one bar, sometimes two bars. Later on, it became even more rampant, and four or five bars were taken."

Gu Yantang glanced around to see if anyone was guilty, and continued, "Perhaps everyone doesn't know how much this bar of soap is worth. A bar of soap can be cut into ten pieces, and each piece can be sold for dozens of coins. So, if anyone is found to have stolen the soap, my mother will report it to the police directly."

"Maybe some people think that this thing is not theirs and has nothing to do with them, but I want to tell you that the workshop is just starting out and has not made any money yet. If the loss is too much... this will of course be closely related to your wages. I also hope that everyone can see who stole the soap. If the workshop cannot be run at that time, everyone will be forced to work in the town, which will be even more difficult."