Chapter 148 Brother, when did you start eating pastries with your meals?

Sheng Dahe's boat had already headed south; he had traveled with Boss Shi.

His dock warehouse is also being rebuilt.

Sheng Dahe left more than a hundred people to be assigned by Qing Ling, who then placed them under the management of Lin Shiyuan.

These people are strong, and they had skills before they became bandits, so it's not difficult for them to do things.

Without Sheng Dahe keeping them in check, some people always try to cheat and shirk responsibility, while others aspire to be the second-in-command.

But none of that mattered to Lin Shiyuan.

He's skilled at leading troops in battle; there's no reason he couldn't handle this gang of bandits.

He kept watch at the dock, so Hui Bafang didn't go there much anymore; Yao Qingling was looking after the shop, and now she had some money and was preparing to open a second shop.

With the second shop open, Qingling would have a reason to approach the prefect and request another batch of household registrations.

These extra household registrations can be used to deal with random checks by dock officials and soldiers.

They were both busy with their own things, and she and Lin Shiyuan seemed to have drifted apart without anyone noticing.

When Qingling was busy, she would occasionally space out and look at the railing of the left corridor. There stood a tall figure, dressed in a blue cloth robe, silently watching the people coming and going downstairs with his hands behind his back.

With him around, the shop was always orderly, and no one dared to cause trouble.

The maidservant handed him tea, but he remained unsmiling, took the cup and drank it all in one gulp. He then turned to look at the other side of the room, where he and she gazed at each other through the window lattice.

Qingling then went over to him and talked about the shop's operation, or about a local specialty she had seen in her notes that she wanted to bring to the shop to sell.

Most of the time, he listened silently, and when she had nothing to say and looked at him with reproach, he would say a few words of his opinion.

"Lin Shiyuan, I plan to open the rice and oil shop—" Qing Ling had just opened her mouth when the tall figure in front of her suddenly disappeared.

She blinked; the other side of the corridor railing was empty.

She was hallucinating.

Qingling silently tugged at the corner of her lips, lowered her head to turn a page, and continued writing her household registration application.

Xia Chan came in and placed a bowl of lily and lotus seed soup on the table: "Miss, take a rest. You can't work so hard."

Qingling rubbed her forehead and gently stroked her belly with her other hand: "I'm due in two months, so I need to make all the necessary arrangements."

The cicada asked, "What kind of arrangement can be considered foolproof?"

Qingling paused, then gave a wry smile: "Yes, no one can make all the arrangements."

She slowly sipped her soup, then suddenly looked up at Xia Chan.

Peach Leaf has already become capable of standing on its own; Summer Cicada is next.

"Have you chosen a location for the shop?"

Xia Chan nodded: "I've already talked to the owner, and the price is about right. Would you like to go take a look, Miss?"

Qingling said, "No need. I plan to leave the new shop entirely to you."

Xia Chan gasped, "Miss, you're entrusting such a big matter to me?"

Although she also longed to be able to stand on her own like Taoye, she ultimately spent little time with her mistress.

Taoye was Qingling's personal maid, and she had seen a lot of the world through her, while Qingling had always done odd jobs in the new mansion. They were different.

But I was also very excited.

The young lady trusts her and entrusts her with such an important task.

Qingling also considered taking it slow, as these maids lacked experience.

But time waits for no one.

She can still keep an eye on things now, and if anything happens, she can fix it. But if something goes wrong when she gives birth, it will be a real problem.

Besides, experience cannot be replicated; she herself was feeling her way across the river, forcing herself to grow.

The pressure she was under was unimaginable to others.

Moreover... after thinking it over, Qingling realized that she had already made a good start, and now she should focus her energy on cultivating relationships with powerful and influential people.

Only by finding a powerful patron and associating with influential people can she protect those behind her, even if they do something wrong, she can shield them.

This is what it means to support them.

Furthermore, if the owner behind Jin Mantang is indeed Zhou Zhining, then in this struggle... Qingling is now at a disadvantage.

But Qingling doesn't need to be afraid of Zhou Zhining yet.

She merely stole Hui Ba Fang's top-tier customers, yet she herself remained timid and hesitant, not even daring to show her face. She must still be wary of Qing Ling.

Zhou Zhining's advantage lies in the fact that she has the support of Prince Xin and his associates.

Lian Chengtai was, after all, a member of the royal family. When such a big incident happened back then, he just traveled around to avoid the limelight.

Nowadays, Lien Cheng-tai flaunts himself like a peacock in Beijing.

If only... he could be sent to a fiefdom.

But Qingling also knew that the princes were reluctant to go to their fiefdoms. For the royal family, they would only send them to their fiefdoms if these princes threatened the stability of the imperial power.

The current Prince Xin is nothing more than a playboy who only knows how to eat, drink, and have fun, and the emperor doesn't care at all.

Qing Ling snapped out of her daze and stared intently at Xia Chan: "I told you, follow me and I'll make sure everyone can become a head manager."

"Xia Chan, your strength lies in your meticulousness. You are smarter than others, better at thinking, and learn things quickly. Therefore, I am willing to entrust such an important task to you to try."

"But this attempt is not child's play; it's a gamble on your future."

"I believe in you, so do you believe in yourself?"

Xia Chan clenched her fists tightly, bit her lip, and nodded vigorously: "Miss, I can do it!"

Qing Ling smiled slightly: "Go do your work."

The cicada was happy, but tried to calm itself down.

She turned around and walked out with steady steps.

Qingling suddenly called out to her, "Where did Lin Qiao go?"

Xia Chan turned around: "When we get to the dock, should we call her back? Miss, are you going out?"

Qingling pursed her lips and shook her head: "No."

"Oh." Xia Chan glanced at Qing Ling again, her eyes shifting slightly. Why did Miss suddenly mention Lin Qiao, even though she didn't need her...?

Could it be that Miss wants to see General Lin, not Lin Qiao?

Speaking of which, General Lin hasn't been to the shop for quite some time, and I wonder how things are at the docks.

...

pier.

Lin Shiyuan held the blueprints in his hand, gazing at the outline of the warehouse that had been erected.

Yao Qingling had high standards; the warehouse not only needed to store dry goods, but also ice.

She ordered that the warehouse be dug down one floor.

Piles of soil were dug out.

Lin Shiyuan was a little worried. This place was close to the dock, and there was a lot of water. If they dug this deep, the groundwater would seep in, and it would probably turn into a large pool.

Lin Qiao ran over carrying a bamboo basket: "Brother, brother!"

The man rolled up the blueprints and turned around: "Why aren't you with Madam Yao? What are you doing here?"

Lin Qiao placed the bamboo basket on the table and took out several plates of food from it: "Miss is in the shop. I didn't have anything to do there, so I came to bring you food. Brother, eat quickly, Sister Louyue's cooking is delicious."

The Marquis's residence didn't have a small kitchen, which limited Lou Yue's culinary skills, but the shop had a large kitchen that took care of all the meals. Whenever Lou Yue had nothing else to do, she would cook in the kitchen.

Lin Qiao followed behind her, helping out, and ate a lot of good food, growing much taller.

Holding the blueprints, Lin Shiyuan looked at the dishes, but then remembered something else.

He looked again, slightly disappointed: "Aren't there any pastries?"

Lin Qiao stared at him with wide eyes: "Brother, when did you start eating pastries with your meals? Are you still a child?"

None of her children asked for snacks.

The little girl pouted in disgust: "You're so spoiled, what a problem."