You're leaving tomorrow?

He Qingzhu and Wang Buyou sat facing each other, several signature dishes of Fengyuelou in front of them. Young Master Wang, now unconcerned with formalities, picked up a squid and stuffed it directly into his mouth. He swallowed and replied...

"I've been away for too long, and my mother misses me. I just received her letter yesterday. Would you like to come back to Beining with me?"

"Is business in Beining alright?"

"It's alright, don't worry about me going back."

"Then I won't go. Why would I go if there's nothing else to do?"

"???"

"Okay...okay."

Looking at Wang Buyou's carriage going back, He Xiaoniangzi raised an eyebrow. She was still not rich enough. Look at his carriage, even the horses pulling it were a size bigger than hers.

"Be careful on the road, and write to me if anything happens," she instructed.

"He Qingzhu," Wang Buyou called out, lifting the curtain of the carriage.

"kindness?"

"Don't you have anything to say to me?"

"When you get back, remember to check where the paper mill would be best located, and also the face cream that Huaxuetang sells well. If you need to restock any of them, just let me know. Also, keep an eye on the location of the Beining Fengyue Tower."

Young Master Wang was so incredulous that he laughed in anger.

That's all?

That's all.

"Alright, let's go." He nodded, lowered the curtain, and signaled the driver to set off.

Inside the carriage, Young Master Wang grew increasingly angry, and lightly kicked the servant beside him, asking...

Are all women in border towns like this?

The servant nodded.

"Yes."

"Can't she understand what I'm saying?"

“Young Master, Miss He is focused on business, so we’re not in a hurry. Anyway, no one in Beining can be richer than you.”

Wang Buyou was immediately appeased; otherwise, why would the servant have stayed with him for so long? He took out a gold melon seed from his purse and tossed it into the servant's hand.

"You're the one who's right! Nobody in Beining is richer than me!"

The servant assured her, based on his years of experience in reading people, that Miss He had absolutely no idea what her young master meant, and hadn't even considered that possibility.

—The Prince's Residence in Beining

"So you finally decided to come back? Wang Buyou, do you know how worried I was about you during the battle in Pingyang County? I was so afraid you'd die out there!"

The woman, adorned with jewels, grabbed Young Master Wang's ear and wouldn't let go, while simultaneously using a feather duster in her right hand to spank his bottom.

"Alright, alright, your son is all grown up now. If you still hit him like when he was a child, he'll lose face."

"No matter how old he is, he came out of my belly!"

"Mother...Mother, please calm down." Wang Buyou used all his strength to free his ear from his mother's grasp, and then he continued...

"I brought you some excellent plum blossom ointment from Pingyang County. Would you like to try it?"

"Plum blossom ointment? Huaxuetang doesn't have it."

Young Master Wang took the plum blossom ointment from the brothel from the servant and said...

"Mother, try this. You can't find this at any other Huaxuetang. It was given to you by your son because he got along well with the owner. It's the best quality."

"And this, Father."

Master Wang glanced at the paper in Wang Buyou's hand, narrowed his eyes, and said...

"You gave your mother the finest plum blossom ointment, but you gave me this tattered paper?" If it were fine paper, that would be one thing, but the quality of this paper is really not very good; it's just enough for students to write and draw on.

"Dad, this is no ordinary paper. Have you heard of the Hou family's newly opened paper mill? Now, almost all of Beining uses this kind of paper."

The man nodded and said

"I've heard of it. I wonder where they got the recipe from. They can do it in large quantities and it's cheap. Luckily, we don't do that kind of business. The Xu family has been losing a fortune lately."

"Yes, the paper mill is opening in Beining, and your son has also invested in it." Wang Buyou was very proud, waiting for his father to praise him.

The man frowned and said

Do you know why we called you back this time?

“I don’t know…” Wang Buyou shook his head and said.

"Across from our restaurant, a new restaurant has opened and is currently under renovation."

The Wang family's most profitable business is its restaurants. Now, with someone openly attacking their rivals on their own turf, Master Wang is unhappy. Why don't you just open your restaurant on another street?

This is blatant provocation against the Wang family!

The servant ran over and whispered something to Young Master Wang. He then suddenly lowered his head and quietly approached his father, saying...

"Father, it seems like I'm the one who owns that restaurant."

"...???"

"Wang Buyou, did I throw my brain and placenta away when I gave birth to you?! Are you trying to compete with your own family?"

"Mom, Dad, don't worry, the dishes at my restaurant are different from ours, they definitely won't be able to steal our business."

"Why are you suddenly thinking of opening a restaurant again?"

Young Master Wang approached his mother with a fawning smile.

"I had some delicious food in Pingyang County and wanted to bring it back for my parents to try. But we can't send that stuff far away. Besides, what we bring back can't compare to freshly made food. So I discussed with the owner of Huaxuetang about opening a branch in Beining."

Madam Wang knew her son well. He was usually never seen with even a maidservant by his side, but today, he had only been back for a short while, and he had been muttering about the owner of Huaxuetang several times.

She had heard from the ladies that the owner of Huaxuetang was a young woman in her early twenties.

The woman looked her son up and down, then pursed her lips and asked...

"Don't worry, tell your mother, do you have feelings for the owner of Huaxuetang...?"

The young master, who was sitting next to his mother acting coquettishly, suddenly stood up and said...

"I didn't... Oh no, Mother, I really didn't... I didn't!"

The two elders were a little embarrassed by their son's shyness, which was almost overflowing from the Wang residence.

"Okay, okay, no, no, you can go out now. Your father and I have something to discuss."

"Yes, Mother."

Looking at her son, who was already in his twenties and had been skipping and hopping around picking willow branches when he left, Madam Wang sighed and said...

"I wonder if that girl has good eyesight."

Master Wang nodded in reply.

Hopefully, the young girl's standards aren't that high.

"You know, sir, sometimes I really suspect that the child was switched at birth."

"It shouldn't be. I've watched him since he was born, there's no way I would have given him the wrong baby."

"I need to go and pray to Guanyin Bodhisattva to make the owner of Huaxuetang's eyesight less good."

Madam Wang got up and returned to her room, where she burned incense and prayed before the Buddha statue.

Young Master Wang was still looking at the love letter in his hand. It was a gift from He Qingzhu, a young lady who said it was to repay him for helping with the military supplies.