Lou Yunchun quickly took a handkerchief to wipe her mouth, cleaned the table, and poured her tea again.

Xu Jiang's face flushed red, she couldn't tell if it was from coughing or being embarrassed. She thought to herself: This guy not only has good eyesight, but also sharp ears. How come he listens to everything I say?

After Lou Yunchun finished packing, he asked with concern, "Are you okay?"

Xu Jiang stared at him sadly.

Lou Yunchun blushed and felt hot under her stare, but he still held her hand tightly.

"You..." Xu Jiang had no way to deal with him. Thinking that he had heard what Yilale said later, he felt restless again.

Lou Yunchun put her hand on his face and rubbed it with a hint of flattery.

Who could resist this? Xu Jiang was about to approach.

"Madam Xu!" Shopkeeper Wang pushed the door open with a bang, and the two of them quickly separated.

Because of the hasty movement, the teacup on the table was knocked over. Xu Jiang hurriedly straightened the teacup, and Lou Yunchun went to find a rag.

Seeing that he had disturbed the little mandarin ducks, Shopkeeper Wang placed the return gift his wife had asked him to bring on the nearest table, quickly retreated, and considerately closed the door for them.

"Excuse me, please continue."

Xu Jiang stared at the tea spilled on the table for a moment, then burst out laughing and couldn't stop laughing.

Then, a pair of hands came from behind her and hugged her in a broad embrace.

Lin Hongchu slowly entered the bookstore. When Xu Jiang saw her sad look, she knew that she had failed to hide the secret from Master Lin and had learned a lesson.

Fortunately, Master Lin didn't come after her to beat her up. She breathed a sigh of relief and patted Lin Hongchu, "Just drink less next time."

Lin Hongchu's eyes lit up, and he immediately became more energetic. "Next time?"

Xu Jiang slapped her mouth and said, "Bah! You heard it wrong. What do you mean by next time?" Then she asked her to go to Old Wang next door to borrow a mortar to pound the materials she bought yesterday.

She is going to prepare the pulping and binding.

She rubbed her hands, eager to try.

The binding process begins with folding the printed paper. After folding, it is stacked, aligned, fixed, and cut. Finally, the backing paper, bookmarks, and book covers are cut. Each step requires careful and meticulous work, and no mistakes can be made.

Lin Hongchu and Shopkeeper Wang carried the stone mortar over together and went into the shop together to see Xu Jiang folding the printed paper.

Lin Hongchu looked at it a few times and got the hang of it. Shopkeeper Wang didn't dare touch it and could only sigh at the side, "This must have taken a lot of effort. It's really not an easy job."

Xu Jiang smiled, "I don't think it's easy for your rice shop to come here."

Shopkeeper Wang nodded. "Who says not? Selecting seeds, sorting, collecting and selling, and being the comprador—all require a lot of hard work and effort. But doing all of this well is only half the battle; the other half depends on fate. If the harvest is poor, grain is expensive and scarce, then not only will the people suffer, but we'll be destitute and miserable too. If the harvest is good, the price will be low, but if we pile up too much, we're worried about the wind and rain, and it will infest the crops with insects and mold. If we want to profit from it, we have to plan ahead, using good years to prepare for bad years, but that wastes a lot of manpower and resources. In short, everyone has their own difficulties."

Having said that, Manager Wang managed the rice shop very well, ensuring that his family had enough food and clothing, that his children could go to school, and that the family lived a peaceful and harmonious life in the capital.

Xu Jiang also sighed: "Everyone has to be thrifty and diligent to live a good life."

"Exactly." Shopkeeper Wang admired Xu Jiang for this: her practicality and hard work. Despite her youth, she was thorough and experienced. She was also cheerful yet composed, unlike him, who had been impulsive and irritable when he first started his business, and who had suffered many losses and taken many wrong turns.

It's hard not to like someone who is so flawless in every way. It's no wonder that Hu Xu and Lou Yunchun are deeply in love with her.

He felt a little embarrassed when he thought about the scene he accidentally saw last night. Lou Yunchun seemed a little dull, but unexpectedly, he was actually a proactive person.

Hu Xu's defeat was not unfair.

Seeing that the two were busy, Shopkeeper Wang didn't want to disturb them. As soon as he went out, he ran into Xu Jiang's regular customers. He greeted them politely, told them that Xu Jiang was in the shop, and then went back to his own shop.

The visitors were none other than Du Hui, Yuan Zuzhi, Li Tongxue, and Lou Jing. It was a day off, and they had planned to go boating on the lake, but as soon as they stepped out, they were struck by a freezing cold wind. They immediately decided to back out and unanimously decided to go to Yonghefang instead.

Although Xu Jiang's bookstore is small, it is warm, and the fragrance of books and tea is leisurely, and it is also full of human touch. Isn't it more comfortable than enjoying the cool breeze outside?

Xu Jiang heard the voices in the inn and went out to greet them.

"You all came in good order today." She smiled and welcomed them into the bookstore, and asked Lin Hongchu to bring water to boil tea.

Du Hui walked ahead and, seeing the binding supplies piled on her desk, he naturally sat down and took the job. Yuan Zuzhi also came over, and because of Hu Xu's rivalry with Du Hui, he also insisted on folding the book. Du Hui saw that he was folding it crookedly and quickly sent him aside to avoid having to fix it later.

Yuan Zuzhi couldn't persuade him, so he got up and went to look for books.

Lou Jing knew he was clumsy, so he took a quick look before sitting down by the fire and casually picked up the "Qing Zhai Shi Yu" that was lying on the table. Xu Jiang had wanted to put the book away, but no matter where he hid it, Lou Yunchun would find it, so he just left it there.

Lou Jing turned over and found it quite interesting, they were indeed father and son.

When Li Tongxue arrived, Yue Nu finally found her master. Once he caught her in his hands, he never let her fall to the ground. He stroked her from head to tail, and from tail to head, and it seemed that she was enjoying it very much.

Lin Hong's position as a hoe was occupied, so she ran to the stove to serve tea. Xu Jiang sat down in her place and folded and bound the papers with Du Hui.

A room full of leisure.

Xu Jiang saw that Du Hui was doing his job very well and said with a smile, "If Mr. Du came to the shop and took charge, there would be no more trouble."

Du Hui's face lit up, "You're not bad either."

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It will be even more exciting later!