Now that Madam Yu is gone, and Zhou Ling'an has no wife, Ma Chunyan helps him with everything when he goes out.

Now that the weather is getting colder, Zhou Ling'an's family is worried that he might get cold, so they have prepared a lot of things for him.

Logically, the provincial examination should be held around the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the weather is also more suitable. However, this year, Yuanzhou City was flooded due to rain, so the examination was postponed.

Sure enough, when we set off early this morning, it was freezing cold.

In the car, Zhou Ling'an always had a faint smile on his lips, and would glance at Song Ning every now and then.

"Er Ya, thank you for coming to see me off."

Song Ning waved his hand: "Hey, why are you being so polite with me? We agreed beforehand that I would definitely come to see you off."

She owns a restaurant in Yuanzhou City, so Zhou Ling'an can stay there. She can also check on how her restaurant is doing, which is a win-win situation.

"Oh, right," Song Ning took out another small bottle from the package, "This is for you."

Song Ning didn't know if it would work, but she figured she might as well try anything, just in case it worked.

Zhou Ling'an refused to accept it: "You got this with great difficulty, you should keep it for yourself, I don't need it."

"I still have some, don't worry. I'm only giving this to you because you've been studying so hard. I wouldn't normally give it to you."

Zhou Ling'an pursed his lips, took the things from Song Ning's hands, and then carefully put them away.

Song Ning was afraid he wouldn't drink it: "This small bottle doesn't have much, you should drink it now."

"No need, I'll save it and drink it slowly."

Oh well, it might not get better anyway, so let's just take it slow.

The two arrived in Yuanzhou City. Because the imperial examination was about to begin, many people flocked into the city at this time, which boosted her restaurant's business.

Upon entering the backyard of the restaurant, Wang Qiuhua quickly greeted them: "The owner is here? I'll go inform Manager Lin right away."

A moment later, Lin Wenlu came in from the front, grinning and saying, "What brings you here?"

"I was worried, so I came to check on things. How's the restaurant doing lately?"

"With me watching over things, aren't you worried?" After saying that, she noticed Zhou Ling'an beside her, and immediately gave him a meaningful look, whispering, "Who is this? He's different from the last one."

"Tsk, can you please stop with your filthy thoughts? This is my friend, he's here to take an exam."

Lin Wenlu then remembered, "Oh right, the provincial examination is in two days."

"Arrange a room for him and take good care of him."

"Don't worry, leave it to me?"

On the second floor of the restaurant, Song Ning reserved a room for himself. Wang Qiuhua led Zhou Ling'an to the room, and Song Ning went upstairs.

As soon as they entered, Lin Wenlu came up behind them with a stack of account books.

"Alright, now that you're here, these are yours to keep."

Song Ning: ......

They start working as soon as they arrive, so who exactly is the boss?

Song Ning picked up the top copy, flipped through it, and then his eyes widened in shock.

"You made that much?"

Lin Wenlu crossed his arms, looking quite smug: "That's right, don't you know who I am? I told you long ago, hiring me to work will definitely not be a bad deal for you."

"You're really trying to make yourself look good. Isn't it because my recipes are good?"

She left the recipes before she left last time; they were carefully selected by her.

With her recipes, you're guaranteed to have guests come back for more than once.

The restaurant earned two thousand taels of silver in just two months.

I heard that the restaurants in Yuanzhou City make a profit of about 700 taels a month after deducting all expenses, and her restaurant has directly surpassed that.

If things continue like this, won't we become rich?

Lin Wenlu tapped the table: "Hey, wipe your drool."

Song Ning quickly came to her senses. This restaurant had great potential, and it seemed she would have to introduce some new dishes.

"But don't get too excited yet. We're a newly opened business, so the profits will definitely be higher in the first two months, but they won't be this high in the future."

Moreover, while our dishes are novel, they are not unreplicable; restaurants on the next street have already started offering similar dishes.

This is inevitable, and Song Ning understands that over time, imitations will inevitably emerge.

However, when she was setting the menu for her restaurant, she specifically chose a few dishes that no one else could replicate.

The rest can be imitated, but to replicate those signature dishes, you'd need her secret recipe from her past life.

She's a cookbook person; she's grateful for the cookbook she bought when she was learning to cook. It has all kinds of cuisines, so she could eat a different dish every day for the rest of her life.

"Don't worry, I have quite a few recipes. Even if they want to imitate them, they'll have to be able to do it right. I'm leaving two more recipes for the restaurant this time."

The chefs in the restaurant were all recruited by Lin Wenlu. It is said that they were the head chefs who cooked in the canteen of the academy where he studied, and he poached them.

They all signed contracts in advance, stipulating that if the formula was leaked, they would all go to jail.

"By the way, a lot of students have come to the city to take exams recently. Starting tomorrow, our restaurant will also provide breakfast. Before we start, I'll tell you about the steamed buns, soy milk, fried dough sticks, and pan-fried buns."

"Don't worry, I've been waiting for this day, and I've been preparing for it for a long time."

"The provincial examination is a big deal. We'll put up a sign that anyone with a ticket can enjoy a 50% discount at our store."

The restaurant has been open for two months, so we'll take this opportunity to do some promotions and expand our brand awareness.

There are many guesthouses nearby, and quite a few people stay there. Sure enough, once the news was released, it attracted a lot of people.

Most of them came in groups, including local students who brought their families.

Song Ning had already had flyers for Tianxiang County placed on the table beforehand, so that anyone who came to eat would see them once they sat down.

She had someone draw those flyers herself; although they weren't as good as the printed ones from her previous life, they were still about 80% accurate.

By the time she returns from here, Xiangyunlou will be about to open, and now is the time to warm up for the opening.

By then, all these students will have finished their exams and will have time to relax.

When everything is ready, Tianxiang County will be bustling with activity.

Thinking about this, Song Ning felt that a bright future awaited her, and she needed to think about where to open a branch store in the future.

Since arriving in Yuanzhou City, Zhou Ling'an has not left his home for two days, spending his days reading. Song Ning did not dare to disturb him.

On the third day, the day of the provincial examination finally arrived.

Song Ning helped prepare the things and rushed to the carriage to send the person off.

When I got outside the exam hall, there was already a large crowd of people, all there to see their children off.

"Do your best on the exam, and don't be nervous. If you don't succeed this time, try again next time. There will always be another chance."

"Hmm." Zhou Ling'an, carrying his things, gave her a deep look before turning around and joining the queue.

Song Ning suddenly felt like she was sending her child to the college entrance examination. She was like that worried old mother who was moved to tears when she saw her child enter the examination room.