Chapter 37: The Wrong Line 2

◎A couple with no connection◎

It got dark early, and Yan Yue and Qi Zhaoyang came to the teahouse. Qi Zhaoyang was shocked.

In just over a month, the deserted teahouse became a uniquely lively place in Linjiang City during the winter. Before entering the door, cheers from inside could be heard through the thick cotton door curtain!

The two of them walked into the teahouse, and there was a moment of silence.

Even though Qi Zhaoyang was used to being stared at, he still paused when such scorching gazes fell on him.

Yan Yue is now truly famous in Linjiang City!

In fact, this was not the case. Even Yan Yue herself felt that the gazes of the guests today seemed a little too enthusiastic. Just as I was wondering, Nan Qing came towards me with a smile as beautiful as a flower.

"Boss, Master Qi, the snacks are ready upstairs. I know that Master Qingxu Temple has a light taste, so today I have prepared the best Baihao Silver Needle for you two. It has an elegant aroma and a mellow taste. The jasmine mung bean shortbread and lotus shortbread that go with the snacks are both sweet and not greasy. Please go upstairs and enjoy your meal!"

She was respectful and polite, and each word was pronounced crisply, moving back and forth in the quiet scene, clearly reaching everyone's ears.

The rustling sounds were dense and thin, but none of them were loud, so they couldn't hear what was being said, but they could still hear the sighs clearly.

Yan Yue and Qi Zhaoyang were both full of doubt, but they still followed Nan Qing's instructions and went upstairs and sat down.

As soon as the two of them sat down, the noise downstairs became louder, even drowning out Chu Zhi's passionate storytelling.

Zhou Lin floated over, his tone unable to conceal his excitement: "Have you heard about it?"

Yan Yue and Qi Zhaoyang looked at each other: "What did you hear?"

Zhou Lin said, "Do you remember those three ruffians who caused trouble yesterday evening?"

Qi Zhaoyang heard this and asked Yan Yue nervously, "Someone is causing trouble? Why didn't you tell me?"

Yan Yue replied, "I've already reported it to the police, there's nothing much to say." She turned to Zhou Lin and asked, "They came again today? You look so happy, were you caught by the police?"

"How can they get here?" Zhou Lin slapped his thigh excitedly. "Not long after the three of them left our teahouse yesterday, they were all swept into the river by a giant snake!"

"Ah?" Yan Yue was startled and glanced at Nan Qing downstairs.

Yesterday, Nan Qing used the excuse of going to a restaurant to order two delicious dishes to calm everyone down, but it turned out that he was going to make this.

Zhou Lin was still talking: "It was freezing cold, and we finally climbed up here, but now we are all frozen! When the officers came to arrest them, they didn't run away, but instead hugged the officers and cried, begging them to put them in jail!"

Yan Yue couldn't help but laugh secretly, it seemed that she was really scared!

Shen Xuezhou added: "It has been spread among the people today that you can really ward off evil spirits. The big snake was following your orders to punish those people. The attendance rate was less than half in the morning. I guess many people think you are an evil person."

He glanced at Qi Zhaoyang and continued, "Then Nan Qing announced that the Immortal Master of Qingxu Temple was coming to the teahouse as a guest, and asked Chu Zhi to tell some stories about the Immortal Master of Qingxu Temple exorcising demons and evil spirits, and then he started to serve customers again in the afternoon. Now that Immortal Master Qi has come upstairs to talk with you in public, the teahouse's business has been completely stabilized!"

Yan Yue was shocked, and Zhou Lin quickly explained to Qi Zhaoyang on her behalf: "Miss Yue didn't know about this, and she didn't use you!"

Qi Zhaoyang glanced at him proudly and said, "Of course I know."

Yan Yue was somewhat touched: "You trust me so much?"

Qi Zhaoyang paused when he heard this and was unable to continue the conversation for a while.

Zhou Lin seized the opportunity to provoke Yan Yue: "He wants to say that you don't have the brains for it!"

Yan Yue immediately raised her eyes and kicked Qi Zhaoyang across the table: "Who are you saying has no brains?"

Qi Zhaoyang didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "I didn't say that! Of course I believe in you! Zhou Lin said that, it's obvious that he thinks so in his heart, and he is just guessing what he thinks in his heart!"

Seeing Yan Yue glaring at him, Qi Zhaoyang also pinched out a piece of talisman paper. Zhou Lin was so scared that he flew down the stairs and cursed: "Damn Taoist! You said such a shameless thing, aren't you afraid of being punished by God!"

Yan Yue naturally couldn't hit Zhou Lin, and Qi Zhaoyang just wanted to drive this noisy guy away. He then explained to Yan Yue: "I was just thinking, no wonder when I met Nan Qing yesterday, I noticed that she had a strong demonic aura. It turned out that it was because she had just transformed into her original form."

Yan Yue said: "I told you that Nan Qing is a good demon, right? You shouldn't be so hostile to her anymore."

Qi Zhaoyang frowned: "Yueyue, a demon is still a demon after all..."

"Oh, I know. I'll be careful!" Yan Yue said perfunctorily. She looked at him eagerly and asked, "Since you are familiar with the Shen family, why don't you go to Rongshan with me tomorrow?"

Qi Zhaoyang asked suspiciously: "Why do I feel like you are feeling guilty?"

Yan Yue put on a fake smile, pinched two fingers and explained: "When I took Nan Qing away earlier, I might have been a little impolite... You are the Immortal Master of Qingxu Temple. For your sake, the Shen family will definitely not care about that little unpleasantness with me!"

Qi Zhaoyang sighed and said, "You two, master and servant, are really rude to use the name of my Qingxu Temple!"

*

Things were far from what Yan Yue had imagined.

She thought she was "wanted" in Rongshan City, but she didn't expect that no one knew her.

The two went to the three shops where Shen Xuezhou was struggling and took a look. Business did not become prosperous after the departure of Shen Xuezhou's ghost, and it was still deserted.

The shop assistants were polite and respectful. After Yan Yue and Qi Zhaoyang walked around the shop three times and bought nothing, they still bowed and nodded to see them off.

Yan Yue asked Qi Zhaoyang in a low voice: "Are they monsters?"

Qi Zhaoyang was surprised: "Ah? Why do you think they are monsters?"

Yan Yue tilted her head and thought for a while before saying, "I just feel that they are similar to Nan Qing! Their words and actions are polite and courteous, as if they have to distinguish between superiors and inferiors."

She held up the small fried dough twist she had just bought and said, "Look at how enthusiastic the shopkeeper was when we bought it just now. He praised its appearance and let me try two other flavors. How humane!"

Qi Zhaoyang paused and murmured, "So that's how it is."

When the two arrived at the Shen family, Yan Yue realized for the first time that not all guests visiting a wealthy family had to wait outside the door.

As soon as Qi Zhaoyang showed up, the doorman respectfully led them to a side hall, then someone served them hot tea and politely said that they had already informed the head of the household and asked them to wait for a moment.

Yan Yue held the hot tea in her hand, thinking of the scene when she was driven out by the Zhou and Zheng families, and couldn't help asking Qi Zhaoyang: "Does your Qingxu Temple accept female disciples? Even just a nominal one is fine..."

Qi Zhaoyang was about to answer when a middle-aged man hurriedly walked in from the side hall. Just from the similar appearance, Yan Yue guessed that this person was Shen Xuezhou's brother, the eldest uncle of the Shen family, Shen Xuemin.

"Master Qi!" Shen Xuemin politely saluted Qi Zhaoyang: "I didn't know that Master Qi would come. I hope Master Qi won't blame me!"

Qi Zhaoyang said, "Master Shen, what are you talking about? I was passing by Rongshan with my friends, so I wanted to come and say hello. Master Shen, please don't blame me for being rude."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and were invited to the main hall.

As soon as the snacks and tea were served, Qi Zhaoyang got straight to the point: "We passed by those two shops when we came here, and it seems that the business hasn't improved?"

Shen Xuemin is very good at speaking: "It has improved. But compared with other shops of the Shen family, it is still not satisfactory."

Qi Zhaoyang said: "I have a small discovery, maybe Mr. Shen can pay attention to it."

He told Shen Xuemin what he had seen and heard in the shop with Yan Yue, and Shen Xuemin suddenly understood.

Shen Xuezhou has been carrying out drastic reforms for three years, and is committed to making customers feel like they are in a superior position when they visit his shop. Although the shop returned to its original model after his death, the clerks still maintained their original habits.

But even if the Shen family is the richest family in Rongshan, Rongshan is just a small city. Most of the people who come to buy goods are ordinary people. They are not used to such a "respectful" welcome, but prefer the lively, friendly and home-like feeling.

As the head of the Shen family, Shen Xuemin was always respectful and polite to the shopkeepers and clerks no matter when or which shop he went to, so he never found any problems.

Shen Xuemin agreed with Qi Zhaoyang's opinion and felt that the clerk might not be able to change his habit in a short period of time. He was running the shop on behalf of his brother, and he discussed with his brother's wife how to deal with these employees.

Yan Yue immediately interrupted: "We will go with you!"

Shen Xuemin was stunned for a moment, and Qi Zhaoyang quickly explained: "My best friend is also quite capable. Why not let her come along to see if I missed anything last time?"

The expert took the initiative to help, Shen Xuemin was so happy that he quickly took the two of them to the carriage.

On the way, Shen Xuemin looked at the black umbrella in Yan Yue's hand and asked curiously: "It's been sunny recently, why does the fairy girl still carry an umbrella when she goes out?"

Yan Yue didn't dare to say that his brother was inside, so he said mysteriously: "This is a magic weapon."

Shen Xuemin's face suddenly became enlightened, and even the way he looked at her became more awed.

Shen Xuezhou's wife is named Han Jing. As her name suggests, she is a beautiful, intelligent, prudent and quiet woman. Except for the moment when she saw Shen Xuemin, when a flash of joy flashed in her eyes, she remained dignified.

Shen Xuezhou rarely mentioned her. After all, it was a family marriage, and there was no deep affection between them. Shen Xuezhou likes poetry and songs and pays attention to current affairs; Han Jing likes to live in a quiet corner, growing flowers and plants, and the couple has almost no interactions.

The two followed the routine and had a son and a daughter after marriage. However, Shen Xuezhou did not pay much attention to his children and spent all day thinking about business reforms. Han Jing didn't think much of him either, and was also opposed to the business reform. The couple couldn't get along with each other and moved in separately early on.

Shen Xuemin and Han Jing said, “After being reminded by Master Qi, I realized that the clerks in those three shops were too respectful and polite, but not enthusiastic, which might have made the customers feel a little uncomfortable, so I came to tell you.”

Han Jing asked: "What do you suggest, brother?"

Shen Xuemin said, "I think that since they are all trained by Xuezhou himself, they can't be abandoned. Why don't I distribute these people to other shops and transfer some of the old people who are used to working at home to come here? What do you think?"

Han Jing said gently, "Very good. I'll trouble you, brother."

Shen Xuemin and Han Jing chatted about family matters for a while, and Yan Yue couldn't help but interrupt and ask about Shen Xuezhou in a roundabout way.

She originally wanted to ask Han Jing about the sinking of Xuezhou, but Han Jing knew almost nothing about it.

According to Han Jing, the two children, one ten years old and the other eight years old, were almost entirely raised by her. The couple had lived in two separate courtyards six years ago. Although they lived in the same mansion, they had not seen each other for several days. Shen Xuezhou died suddenly at his desk and was found by a servant in the early morning.

When Yan Yue saw her mention Shen Xuezhou, she didn't show any grief at all, it seemed that she really had no feelings for him.

If Shen Xuezhou's obsession is not Han Jing, what else could it be?