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He Tiantian nodded. In Beijing, such a pen would indeed cost twenty yuan. Now it's selling for sixteen yuan a pen, which is definitely cheap.

"How about I buy four calligraphy brushes?" He Tiantian asked. "Can you give me a discount?"

The shop assistant did the math: one pen costs sixteen yuan, four pens would cost sixty-four yuan, so charging sixty yuan would still make him a profit.

"We operate on a low profit margin, so let's make it sixty yuan. That's the lowest price we can offer," the shopkeeper said. "Our calligraphy brushes are all top-quality, handmade by experienced craftsmen using the finest materials. You simply can't buy them for this price anywhere else."

"Okay, please wrap them up separately for me," He Tiantian said. Since the gifts were for the children, they couldn't all be wrapped together.

"Okay, please wait a moment," the waiter said with a smile, and quickly went to wrap it up.

After receiving the items, He Tiantian paid the money and said, "Thank you, waiter."

The waiter smiled and said, "Welcome to come again next time."

He Tiantian turned and left. A middle-aged man in his forties came down from upstairs. He looked at He Tiantian's back with some hesitation and uncertainty.

"Boss!" The waiter greeted the boss as soon as he came down.

"Who was that person just now?" the middle-aged man asked, looking towards the doorway.

The waiter smiled and explained, "Boss, that's an unfamiliar customer. He's probably not from Qijia Village. This is the first time I've seen him."

"Oh!" the middle-aged man nodded. "If you see this person again, keep an eye on him."

"Yes, boss." The waiter quickly assured him. The woman who had just left was pretty, and he knew his boss liked women, so he thought his boss had taken a liking to that female customer.

He'll keep an eye on things to curry favor with the boss. Next time this customer comes in, I'll definitely tell the boss.

The middle-aged man went upstairs, poured himself a cup of tea, and drank it quietly.

Back then, he got an opportunity in Qijia Village and became the head of the family.

However, he felt that Qijia Village was thriving, not because of the buildings and people around him, but because of the mountains behind it.

The Shenlong Temple on the mountain, along with the unusually lush vegetation and air, must be hiding a great secret.

Everyone who knew about this back then was killed by him.

Now only he knows that there are good things in this mountain, so he opened a shop at the foot of the mountain to conceal his identity.

This time, he was determined to go into that mountain again.

If there are any gains, they will be huge gains, enough to allow him to retire immediately.

Even without it, he likes the air here and considers it a place to recuperate.

The only people who saw his true face back then were two women.

One of them was a young girl with dark skin and not very good-looking, but there was another one who was very pretty, and he had some impression of her.

He thought the woman looked familiar, and it reminded him of the pretty girl from back then. Although she was scared, she still tried to protect the little girl behind her.

Is that so?

Lu Er couldn't be sure either.

It seems he needs to take the time to find out more, lest this little thing ruin his big plans.

He Tiantian strolled around outside for an hour, visiting many shops and buying a lot of things.

Not only did I buy some for myself and my child, but I also bought some for Wei Yuanyuan and my friends in Yanjing.

The local embroidery and screens, in particular, are truly beautiful!

He Tiantian strolled into a handmade cotton shoe shop and saw that the cotton shoes were very well made. At the same time, she also felt that her leather shoes were a bit cold, so she bought a pair of cotton shoes and put them on on the spot. They were both warm and light.

He Tiantian thought it was a good idea and decided to bring her child to buy it tomorrow.

It was almost lunchtime, so He Tiantian bought some snacks to take home. After lunch, she planned to go up the mountain to take another look.

The children gathered at the kitchen doorway, sniffing and inhaling the delicious aroma in the air.

Even though Huo Ruihua is a composed child, he still showed a look of wanting to eat.

He Tiantian asked curiously, "Grandma, what delicious food did you make at home that made the child so hungry?"

Grandma Qi smiled and said, "Dazhu brought over a large piece of monkey head mushroom. We have yams and free-range chickens at home, so the cook is making soup right now."

He Tiantian carefully smelled the aroma in the air, nodded, and said, "Hmm, it smells good! It seems to be monkey head mushroom..."

Old Qi said, "Old Du's cooking skills have improved even more; my mouth is watering."

A plump cook, dressed in a white cook's uniform, came out of the kitchen, smiling broadly, and said, "You flatter me. No matter how good your cooking skills are, you still need good ingredients. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the saying in ancient times that even a skilled cook can't cook without rice!"

Old Du?

He Tiantian felt a pang of emotion when she saw the chubby chef.

In her previous life, Qi Jianguo had difficulty walking and his tractor repair business was not doing well, so his family's income decreased. Therefore, He Tiantian had to find work and became an assistant to the cook in Dujia Village.

He Tiantian was eager to learn and intelligent. She learned Lao Du's skills and improved upon them, opening a braised meat shop in the city.

That shop, that craft, were the only things He Tiantian cherished in her past life.

In this life, He Tiantian also earned her first pot of gold through her skills.

“Uncle Du’s cooking skills are naturally excellent,” He Tiantian praised. “I’ve lived in Qijia Village for so many years. Even when resources were scarce, Uncle Du could still make delicious food using simple ingredients.”

Old Du was very pleased that someone appreciated his cooking skills. He laughed and said, "Sweet girl, you still have such a sweet tongue. Today, not only do we have chicken soup with monkey head mushroom and yam, but also fish balls and Dongpo pork. There are so many delicious dishes."

"Grandpa Du, you're amazing! You're much better than my family's cook. I've never smelled such delicious soup before," Huo Ruimin said, unable to wait any longer.

Old Du chuckled as he listened to Huo Ruimin's compliment, saying, "Since it tastes so good, drink more later."

"How much longer until we can have soup?" Huo Ruimin said all this just so he could have soup sooner.

The other three children were a bit more shy, and just stared at Lao Du.

Old Du glanced at his watch and chuckled, "Don't rush, don't rush, we can eat in twenty minutes. Come on, here are some fried fish balls, have some first."

"Thank you, Grandpa Du," Huo Ruimin said with a smile, then picked up the basin and personally filled it with water. "Wash your hands before you eat!"

Huo Xiaosan, who was about to grab the fish balls, quickly withdrew his hand and obediently washed his hands.

"Hehe, these kids are really sensible," Old Du said. "No wonder they're city kids."

"No, it's just that the child is naughty, touching this and that, making their hands dirty," He Tiantian said. "Come on, be good. Your sister did a great job this time. You should thank your sister and Grandpa Du for making the fish balls."

"Thank you, sister. Thank you, Grandpa Du," the children said in unison, very politely.