Chapter 76 Once she had established herself and waited until the next day, Jiang Zhenniang used the excuse of needing to purchase goods...

The next day, Jiang Zhenniang used the excuse of purchasing goods to leave the shop and head towards the pavilion stall.

Because the pavilion was close to the Marquis's residence, there were many familiar faces there. In addition, she did not want to be seen by Granny Chen and the others, so she went into the general store after walking a short distance and bought a veiled hat to cover her face.

Jiang Zhenniang lowered the brim of her hat, bent over and hunched her chest, appearing timid and reserved, as she walked along the river. There were many women like her who went out wearing veils, and she walked in the middle without attracting any attention. Even the shop where she used to buy spices and fruits did not realize that she was a regular customer.

Jiang Zhenniang gradually gained confidence and went inside.

She didn't go directly to the pavilion stall to check the situation. Instead, she looked around for a moment, thinking that she probably wouldn't get any information from passersby if she asked them. She decided to inquire at the nearby shops instead.

Whether it's good or bad, the people in the neighboring shops will certainly know more. Most importantly, Jiang Zhenniang knew one thing even when she was still in the village: not to mention that competitors are enemies, even neighbors and friends often can't stand seeing others do well.

They openly praise and compliment others, but secretly criticize and spread rumors behind their backs, hoping to ruin their businesses.

Jiang Zhenniang felt that Xiao Hong and even Grandma Chen were not getting any benefit from seeing her daughter, so they became increasingly indifferent to her daughter and guessed that they would not be polite to the neighbors either.

She turned around and carefully observed the shops near the pavilion. Most of the shops here only do business in the morning and evening, and at this moment their doors were half closed and they were not open. Only three shops were open: a sesame seed cake shop, a spice and medicine shop, and a beverage shop.

Leaving aside the incense and medicine shop, the flatbread shop, which could barely be considered a competitor, had no seats. So Jiang Zhenniang turned her attention to the beverage shop. She saw that the storefront was old and there were only three people sitting inside, which pleased her.

Most importantly, this beverage shop happened to be diagonally opposite the pavilion stall. Jiang Zhenniang went into the shop, ordered a bowl of sour plum soup from the shop owner, and then sat down inside. From her position, she could see the pavilion stall.

Just as Su Zhihan said, there was no trace of Xiao Hong at the pavilion stall; only Grandma Chen was busy. Jiang Zhenniang watched for a while, then slowly finished her bowl of drink and asked the shop owner for a bowl of lychee syrup and a plate of candied fruit.

"Madam, your lychee syrup and candied fruit are here." The shopkeeper, smiling, personally brought them to Jiang Zhenniang. Just as Jiang Zhenniang was about to pay, the shopkeeper lowered his voice and whispered, "Madam, did you come to inquire about the stall at the pavilion ahead?"

Jiang Zhenniang was surprised for a moment, then grabbed another handful of money from her purse, stuffed it into the shop owner's hand, and lowered her voice to ask, "How did you know?"

The owner of the beverage shop was a young man with huge hands. He grabbed a handful of copper coins, tossed them around, and his smile grew even brighter: "My shop has a good location. People often sit here and observe that pavilion stall."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang immediately smiled, not bothering to hide her thoughts, and asked curiously, "When did that pavilion stall open?"

"It's been open for a long time, but the previous shops didn't do very well. This one, which sells stinky tofu, braised tofu, and starch sausage, has been open since the end of last year, and it's been more than half a year now."

"What is the background of the person who owns the shop?"

"It's a family of three, a grandmother, grandchildren, and grandchildren. We usually see the younger one, but now we only see the two older ones," the beverage shop owner said, pausing for a moment.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Zhenniang knew he was hiding something and wanted more money. She opened her money bag, grabbed a handful and gave it to him. Seeing the drink shop owner happily accept the money, she said in a deep voice, "If you say too much, I'll reward you later. But if you try to hide anything from me, I'll make you spit out ten or a hundred times what you swallowed."

The drink shop owner's hand trembled slightly as he counted the money, his heart skipped a beat, and sweat beaded on his forehead. He composed himself and secretly glanced down at the woman's attire. Although the veil on her head was a common, inexpensive style found in the marketplace, her entire outfit was made of silk, which clearly wasn't cheap.

Coupled with Jiang Zhenniang's demeanor and her confident words, the smile on the beverage shop owner's face became even more genuine, and he patted his chest repeatedly: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare, madam, rest assured, everything I said is true."

“The stall was originally run by a young woman, but she has basically stopped coming since half a month ago.”

"That old man boasted about it to us."

"They say that the girl has found a master and has gone there to learn the craft. Once she's settled in, she'll bring the two old folks over to enjoy their retirement."

After saying this, the beverage shop owner said with a sour look on his face, "Look, many families have taken a liking to this stall's business and have come over specifically to look around and inquire."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang's expression darkened slightly.

Upon hearing the rest of the beverage shop owner's words, his eyes widened even more: "Come and check out the stall!?"

This stall belongs to our family!

Fortunately, Granny Chen wasn't that bold. The beverage shop owner then explained, "No, it's just that the old woman said her granddaughter wanted to learn a trade, and they wanted to go with her... There are quite a few food shops that have their eyes on them, so someone wanted to contact them."

"If that's what you're planning to do too..."

The beverage shop owner tried to discern Jiang Zhenniang's expression, but he couldn't see through the gauze curtain. He could only say dejectedly, "Let me tell you, that old woman said this stall doesn't belong to them; they rent it. As for their skills, they don't pass them on to outsiders."

Jiang Zhenniang pursed her lips and remained silent.

Fearing she would think he was lying, the drink shop owner quickly explained, "This old woman is probably not lying. Although others may not know, I saw it with my own eyes that day. A maid came to ask her for the account books and monthly wages."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhenniang knew that it was Cai Mama, the servant sent by Su Zhihan. She nodded with feigned doubt and sighed, "Is that so? Then why did this old woman spread the word? She made me come all this way for nothing."

"Hey, what else could it be but showing off?"

"Others may not know, but I do." The beverage shop owner said, a sour look on his face: "When they first set up their stall, the old woman and the young lady were dressed and used to be so poor."

"Now take a look."

"She's working at the stall. This old woman is dressed in silk and has gold in her hair." The beverage shop owner sighed and shook his head. "I don't know whose master their daughter has apprenticed under... They're taught to show off like this, they can't wait for everyone who passes by to know."

The beverage shop owner didn't know anything more.

Seeing that she couldn't get any other information out of him, Jiang Zhenniang grabbed another handful of money and asked him one last time before leaving the shop: "Speaking of which, why does that stall have the name 'Jiang's Braised Meat Shop' on it?"

"That old woman said it's a newly opened shop, and they came here to advertise," the beverage shop owner replied without hesitation, clicking his tongue in amazement: "That shop is quite clever, actually coming up with such a way to advertise."

"However, the shop is a bit far away, and I've never been there."

"I wonder how the food at that shop is."

Jiang Zhenniang's face, hidden behind her veil, darkened. She left the beverage shop and went to several other shops to inquire. She finally learned that Xiao Hong had sold herself into slavery in order to become an apprentice, but no one around knew which family she had gone to.

Jiang Zhenniang returned to the shop with doubts, and then pulled Cai Mama aside to tell her to ask the neighbors when she went to the Chen family to collect the money next month, and to ask which family Xiao Hong had sold herself to. She also told her not to tell Su Zhihan, "The young lady is busy with the banquet, so don't make her worry."

Mrs. Cai was unaware of the situation and assumed that Grandma Chen's family had rented the shop from them. Upon hearing this, she agreed and kept the matter a secret.

Two days later, Su Zhihan went to the Peng family mansion again.

Master Peng had won Xu Lang's heart at the previous banquet, and this banquet only added to his joy. Xu Lang not only praised him repeatedly but also complained that Master Peng had kept things hidden and hadn't shown off his talents before.

Master Peng apologized repeatedly, and after they had eaten and drunk their fill, he praised him again and again. Finally, he got Xu Lang to promise that when Lu Erlang of the Marquis's Mansion hosted a dinner party next time, he would take him along to pay his respects.

Master Peng was overjoyed and turned to kiss Madam Qi, saying that if he could win over Lu Erlang this time, she would definitely be the one to deserve the credit.

Qi pushed away Master Peng, but she was overjoyed. If she could get in touch with Lu Erlang of the Marquis of Zhongyong’s mansion, not only would her husband benefit, but her eldest son would also have a promising future.

She hurriedly summoned Granny Pang and instructed her to give Su Zhihan an extra five strings of cash, as well as two bolts of silk.

Master Peng thought she was stingy, so he summoned Steward Zheng and asked him to take two more boxes of fine tea, wine and powder from his private treasury, plus an additional five strings of cash, and give them to Granny Pang.

"With so many things, it's not easy to carry them all."

"You should go there yourself and take them back."

The shop assistant from the candle shop next door, who had seen Yao Lang off that day, was standing outside the door, secretly watching what was happening next door. After watching Yao Lang being seen off and asking a few questions to a familiar servant, he learned the whole story and went inside to report to the shopkeeper.

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper was filled with remorse: "You've lost such a good cook..."

"Should we spend some money to ask them?"

"Can you hire her for five strings of cash?" The shopkeeper sighed. Back then, Yao Lang had begged them, and they would have agreed to halve the price if they were willing. But after Su Zhihan performed for Master Peng a couple of times, Yao Lang was unwilling to introduce her to anyone, not even at the usual price of ten strings of cash, let alone five.

From the attitude of the Peng couple, Yao Lang became increasingly aware of Su Zhihan's exceptional skills. He genuinely lacked connections, but Yao Lang was thick-skinned, adept at networking, and had a past relationship with Steward Zheng. Through Su Zhihan's connections, he managed to establish a relationship.

Compared to the gossip circulating in the marketplace, Steward Zheng knew far more middle-class families. Moreover, many of the young men and women from these families had either tasted or heard of the reputation of the banquets at Master Peng's mansion. Within half a month, he found four banquets for Su Zhihan, each one no less impressive than those at Master Peng's mansion.

Seeing that Yao Lang had met his requirements, Su Zhihan immediately signed a contract with him. From then on, there was one more person in the capital, Yao, who specialized in introducing banquets for officials, and a cook named Su.

Let's put the banquet preparations aside for now, and besides, Jiang's braised meat shop has been doing incredibly well lately.

As mentioned before, Su Zhihan had been planning to showcase her skills at the Qixi Festival celebration, but due to the successive banquet preparations, she didn't have time to make any further preparations and instead entrusted the matter to Jiang Zhenniang.

Jiang Zhenniang's eyes lit up, and she immediately had an idea. In addition to preparing all kinds of braised duck and meat from her own home, she also made sure to prepare braised tofu, starch sausages, and other similar items.

Except for stinky tofu, which she didn't order because of its strong smell, she put everything else available at the pavilion stall on the table. She also instructed the servants and shop assistants in the shop, as well as Yao's wife, Ms. Lü, who came to help, to explain carefully to anyone who asked that her shop was the main shop and that the pavilion stall was their share of the business!

The Qixi Festival celebrations attract huge crowds, with diners wandering around looking for food, including many who regularly shop at the pavilion stalls.

When the diners learned the truth, they were all shocked. Many of them, like the owner of the beverage shop, thought that Granny Chen had just rented someone else's stall. Now they realized that Granny Chen was just a hired hand.

At first, Granny Chen didn't know, but after being teased a few times, she finally realized that her attempt to claim ownership of the gazebo stall had been exposed, and for several days she was too ashamed to set up her stall.

The more this happened, the more regular customers at the stall learned about the inside story from the shopkeepers and clerks in the surrounding shops, which is why they all came to Jiang's braised meat shop.