Chapter 84

The next day the weather was fine and much warmer than the previous two days.

Early in the morning, after Fu Wei finished his breakfast, he hurriedly followed County Magistrate Zhou to the county magistrate's office.

After a simple wash, Yu Ying looked in the bronze mirror in the room and re-dyed the "black spots" on her face.

After everything was ready, she went out to look for Song Sanlang.

As soon as Yu Ying left the yard, she ran into the magistrate's wife.

The magistrate's wife took her child and Mrs. Qian and her daughter for a walk in the yard.

When Madam Qian saw Yu Ying, she frowned slightly.

Yu Ying stopped and bowed to the magistrate's wife. The magistrate's wife asked her, "Madam Yu, are you going out?"

Yu Ying replied, "Something happened, so I have to go out."

"It might not be safe for Madam Yu to go out alone. How about I send someone to go out with you?" The magistrate's wife was a little worried.

Yu Ying smiled and replied, "I stayed in the county seat for half a month over a month ago, so I am somewhat familiar with it."

The magistrate's wife couldn't help but recall the time when Fu's staff entered the yamen, and asked in surprise, "Madam Yu came alone?"

"That's not the case. I originally came here with my eldest brother and his wife, as well as some acquaintances from the village. We later set up a small stall in the county seat and did some small business. The acquaintances from the village stayed in the county seat to continue their business. Now that we're all in the county seat, I decided to take a look."

When she heard that it was a street stall, Madam Qian showed a hint of contempt in her eyes.

Compared to Madam Qian's reaction, the Magistrate's wife was more curious and asked, "What kind of business is Madam Yu doing?"

Yu Ying replied, "Because I can identify some herbs, I made my own facial cream. If you don't mind, I'll bring you some to try when I come back today."

The county magistrate's wife smiled gently and said, "There aren't many women who know how to use herbs and mix facial creams. How could I dislike them?"

When Madam Qian heard the praise from the magistrate's wife, her face turned a little unhappy.

After a few words, the magistrate's wife asked her to go ahead and Yu Ying left.

After the people left, Madam Qian said, "While knowing how to mix herbs and creams is a skill, setting up a stall in such a large place is hardly considered respectable. Madam Yu has truly embarrassed Mr. Fu."

The smile on the magistrate's wife's face faded a little, and her voice was gentle: "I don't think so. After all, accumulated water can become a stream. Although it is just a small stall today, who can be sure that Madam Yu can't open a shop with this stall in the future?"

Madam Qian chuckled and said, "If Madam Yu can open a shop, I will definitely give her a big gift in the future."

The county magistrate's wife smiled and said, "Then I'll remember this for Madam Yu."

*

Due to the recent cold weather, there are far fewer people on the streets now than when Yu Ying came to the county seat more than a month ago. But despite this, it is still more prosperous than Yu County.

The bustling streets are filled with the shouts of vendors soliciting business, and it is very lively.

Yu Ying found that many stalls were a little different from the previous ones.

In the past, stalls were set up wherever was convenient, but now almost all of them have signs hanging on them, and low stalls are gradually being replaced by tall stalls.

It seems that the vendors have also started to put some thought into their stalls.

Yu Ying breathed a sigh of relief and found the place where the stall was set up based on her memory.

Seeing the familiar sign, the stall that was considered quite special before is no longer so outstanding when surrounded by stalls that look similar.

Yu Ying frowned slightly, but when she saw that there were still a few people gathered in front of her stall, she breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that business is still good.

Yu Ying was walking over happily, but found that the person in front of the stall was not Song Sanlang, but a girl of about sixteen or seventeen years old.

When the girl saw her, she hurriedly greeted her, "Madam, do you want facial cream? I'm not bragging, but the two types of facial creams in our Ruyufang are both made with a variety of herbs and are more effective than ordinary facial creams."

Yu Ying looked at the unfamiliar face and asked, "I remember this stall was run by a man named Song. Why did he change his owner?"

The young girl was a little surprised when she heard this, then turned her head to look towards the other end of the street.

Yu Ying also followed her gaze and saw that the man eating noodles at a noodle stall not far away was none other than Song Sanlang.

Song Sanlang, who was eating noodles, also raised his head and looked at the stall. When he saw Yu Ying, he was surprised. Then he finished the noodles in a few big mouthfuls and walked back quickly.

When he came up to her, Song Sanlang asked in surprise, "Why are you here, Fu's sister-in-law?"

Yu Ying replied, "Erlang came to the county seat on business, and I came along too."

After saying that, he glanced at the girl in front of the stall, then looked at Song Sanlang and asked, "What's going on?"

Seeing that the two knew each other, the young girl was surprised and asked Song Sanlang: "Shopkeeper Song, who is this..."

Song Sanlang hurriedly said, "This is my boss."

The young girl looked surprised when she heard this.

Song Sanlang said, "You go ahead and get busy first."

After saying that, he looked at Yu Ying and said, "Sister-in-law of the Fu family, can you please excuse me for a moment?"

Afterwards, Yu Ying and he walked to the side of the street, and Song Sanlang began to explain.

It turned out that after they left the county seat, the business of this stall became worse and worse. Song Sanlang thought that it was because he looked too intimidating, so people were afraid to come and buy things.

Besides, this business is usually done by women, so I thought of hiring a woman to set up the stall for a few days to see how it goes.

In the alley where he lived, he happened to meet such an eloquent girl. After some twists and turns, he successfully negotiated with the girl about setting up a stall, and then paid her seven cents a day.

After Miss Su agreed, she tried it for a few days.

The effect was unexpectedly good.

So Song Sanlang asked the girl to watch the stall while he watched nearby to prevent anyone from causing trouble.

Upon hearing this, Yu Ying did some calculations.

If Song Sanlang took out seven cents from his own wages to give to the girl, then he would have to ensure that he sold three jars of good facial cream that day to be enough to cover his expenses in the county government for a month.

After thinking this through, Yu Ying's expression became a little serious: "So how about this business?"

Song Sanlang said, "Miss Su has a good eloquence. In the past forty days, you have been setting up your stall for thirty-two days and have sold more than a hundred cans of facial cream. I will send you the money tomorrow."

Yu Ying didn't expect that this business was so good, so she said, "There's no rush."

She looked towards the stall, watching the girl enthusiastically soliciting customers. After a moment's thought, she said, "I think we could hire that girl long-term."

At this point, Yu Ying saw the bustling streets and said, "This isn't a good place to talk. Let's go back to the inn we stayed at after we close the stall."

Song Sanlang looked at the stall and said, "Okay."

Yu Ying took two bottles of expensive facial cream from the stall and then returned to the inn.

When we returned to the inn, it was already noon.

As soon as she returned to the house, Fu Wei came back right after her.

Yu Ying lit the stove, heated some tea, and asked him, "How did you feel about meeting the prefect today?"

Fu Wei stood up from his wheelchair and shook his head helplessly: "There's a singing and dancing banquet planned for tonight. He doesn't look like someone who can accomplish great things."

He was supposed to report on the situation in each county, but today, the first day, he started holding a banquet and celebrating with singing and dancing. He is definitely not someone who can accomplish great things.

"So are you going?"

"Yes."

Fu Wei recalled that when he went to the prefectural governor's mansion with County Magistrate Zhou today, he was just waiting outside. However, because he was sitting in a plain carriage, he was very conspicuous, so the prefect saw him as soon as he came out of the house.

The prefect looked at him with interest and curiosity.

Obviously, this look was clearly insulting.

If Fu Wei was really disabled, even if he felt insulted, he would probably have to swallow all the pain and put on a forced smile.

Fu Wei, who had healthy legs and feet, bowed his head calmly and saluted when facing the strange look of the prefect.

Perhaps the prefect thought he could add to the fun, so he specifically asked him to go as well.

Fu Wei did not tell Yu Ying about this. Instead, he asked her, "Did you go to see Song Sanlang today?"

Yu Ying nodded. "Yes, he hired a girl to look after the stall, paying her seven cents a day. But I calculated carefully, and after paying for food and lodging, he wouldn't have much left."

The tea was already warm. Yu Ying opened two cups and slowly poured the warm tea into them. She pondered, "I think I should bear this expense. After all, I didn't give Song Sanlang a basic salary before..." Thinking that Fu Wei wouldn't understand, she changed her words, "It's just the most basic wages. I just sold the goods to him, but the profit is very small."

As he said this, he put down the teapot and picked up a cup of tea to drink.

Fu Wei pondered for a few moments and analyzed, "He should be responsible. After all, Song Sanlang must stay in the county seat. His role is not to help you sell the facial cream, but to help you keep an eye on the county seat's business. Even if that girl sells a lot of facial cream, she is still not someone you trust."

Yu Ying also agreed: "Besides, if he hadn't found that girl, business wouldn't be so good."

At this point, Yu Ying added, "Song Sanlang told me that he sold over a hundred cans of facial cream. I originally estimated that the maximum would be around eighty, but I didn't expect it to exceed this much."

When Fu Wei heard this, he was surprised by the number.

Although the profit was only a few taels of silver, it was just a small stall after all. Being able to earn so much in more than a month was already a very good amount.

"I'll talk to Song Sanlang today, but given his personality, he won't accept it so easily. I still need to think carefully about how to arrange it."

Seeing her thinking, Fu Wei simply rested his hands on the table, supported his chin, and looked at her carefully and quietly as she thought seriously.

Yu Ying was thinking seriously when she saw him looking at her quietly. She quickly raised her hand to cover his eyes: "Be more restrained and stop staring at me."

Fu Wei raised the corner of his mouth slightly: "I won't look."

Yu Ying took her hand away and glared at him lightly.

At this time, a servant knocked on the door and said, "My dear, my lady, lunch is ready."

Yu Ying looked towards the door, and only after Fu Wei sat down in the wheelchair did she stand up and open the door.

He took the food brought by the servant and put it on the table before turning around to close the door.

Although the inn did not accept money, the food was paid for by County Magistrate Zhou out of his own pocket.

There is one meat dish and two vegetable dishes, the meal is pretty good.

After lunch, Yu Ying and Fu Wei took a nap.

After getting on the bed, Fu Wei pulled Yu Ying's hand and gently held it in his palm.

Ever since the night Yu Ying announced her love, Fu Weixi has been happy to hold her hand and fall asleep.

After all, it wasn't an excessive request. Although she felt a little shy, Yu Ying decided to go along with him.

After lunch, Fu Wei went to the county magistrate again, and Yu Ying took two bottles of facial cream to visit the county magistrate's wife.

The magistrate's wife had just finished her lunch break and was about to take her two children out for a walk. When she saw Madam Yu coming to look for her, she decided to postpone her departure.

Yu Ying gave two bottles of facial cream to the magistrate's wife.

The magistrate's wife held the jar and examined it for a moment.

The porcelain jar looked delicate, not like the facial cream sold by street vendors.

She opened a can and took a look. The facial cream was a translucent orange-yellow color, which looked very beautiful.

She scooped a little and spread it evenly around her tiger's mouth, then raised her hand and lowered her head to smell it gently, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

The scent is also fresh and pleasant.

The county magistrate's wife looked up at the young woman in front of her and praised her generously, "It seems that Madam Yu put a lot of thought into this facial cream. This kind of facial cream is in no way inferior to the ones sold in the shop."

Yu Ying said modestly, "There will still be some differences."

The county magistrate's wife shook her head and said, "Even the best-selling facial cream shop in Yu County probably can't compare to Madam Yu's facial cream."

Yu Ying lowered her head and smiled faintly.

Her facial cream recipe is improved from an ancient one, so the effect will naturally be better than ordinary facial cream recipes.

In this era of scarce knowledge, most good prescriptions came from medical families and were not passed on to outsiders. This allowed Yu Ying, who had studied pharmaceutical knowledge for more than ten years, to make a living.

"If this facial cream works well, I'll try to drum up some business for you, Madam Yu, after we return to Yu County."

Yu Ying hurriedly thanked him, "Thank you, Madam, for thinking highly of my little business."

The magistrate's wife put down the facial fat and said, "Although it's a small business, the product is good. Madam Yu doesn't have to worry about not being able to sell it. You might even be able to make a fortune with this facial fat."

Yu Ying smiled and said, "Then I will accept your kind words, madam."

Because the magistrate's wife had to go out, she didn't keep her for too long. After staying for a while, Yu Ying left the magistrate's wife's courtyard.

When the time was almost up, she went out again and went to the inn to keep her appointment with Song Sanlang.

When they arrived at the inn lobby, Song Sanlang had not arrived yet, so Yu Ying ordered a pot of tea and two snacks.

After waiting for about a moment, Song Sanlang finally arrived.

Song Sanlang came in carrying a bamboo basket.

The bamboo basket was wrapped in cloth, so it was impossible to see what was inside. But when the basket was placed on the table, the table shook slightly, and it was obvious that there was something heavy inside.

As soon as Yu Ying thought about it, she realized that the basket was filled with copper coins.

She was surprised and asked, "Why is it delivered now? Didn't they say they would deliver it tomorrow?"

Song Sanlang smiled and said, "Since Fu's sister-in-law has an appointment today, I will go back and get all these."

He glanced at the basket and continued, "Our stall has become quite famous. Many people come here because of our Ru Yu Fang brand. Plus, Miss Su's eloquence has helped us sell 58 cans of the 50-cent facial cream and 87 cans of the 35-cent one."

At the end, Song Sanlang lowered his voice and said, "Because some people negotiated the price by a few cents, there are a few dozen cents less. There are a total of 5,905 cents in this basket."

Although the cost has not been deducted from the more than 5,000 coins, this amount really surprised Yu Ying.

She came back to her senses and said, "After I calculate it tonight, I will send Brother Song San's share tomorrow."

Song Sanlang said nonchalantly, "I'm not in a hurry."

Yu Ying smiled, then pondered for a moment before saying, "After all, Third Brother Song has helped me earn so much money, so I'll pay for Miss Su's work."

When Song Sanlang heard this, he hurriedly said, "No, no, this is someone I invited. How can I let you, the Fu family's sister-in-law, pay for it?"

Yu Ying said calmly, "Brother Song, don't be anxious. Just listen to me first."