Chapter 100 Friction

Zhou Chengyu was no longer the impulsive skipper he used to be. He had been greatly influenced by Master Xue. Remembering Master Xue's special instructions before he came to the prefectural city, he did not devote his attention to those people.

He was thinking about how to improve his ranking. The academy held exams every month and posted the rankings. Zhou Chengyu knew that his family background was inferior to these people. The best way to shut them up was to achieve an outstanding ranking in each of the monthly exams.

There are also many students from ordinary families in the academy, but most of them are able to work hard in their studies and are well received by the teachers. As long as Zhou Chengyu can prove his strength, he will naturally have less trouble.

Song Yushu was unaware that Zhou Chengyu was being ostracized at the academy. Now, this new shop kept her extremely busy, but she finally managed to open successfully within a month.

She deliberately chose the day when the students of the academy were on their ten-day holiday to open the store.

A string of firecrackers was set off precisely at the time they left the academy, making a series of loud crackling noises that certainly attracted the attention of many students.

"A new shop has opened here, and it's a restaurant!"

"Hey! Stop looking at this and promise to come eat some plain noodles with me first. What if the noodles at this newly opened shop aren't good? It would be a waste of time!"

"But it's a new opening, everything is half price!"

The student who said he was going to eat noodles suddenly turned and headed towards Song Yushu's restaurant.

"Is this really a restaurant?" The students who entered looked around the restaurant with curiosity.

This restaurant was decorated by Song Yushu with great care. It was bright and airy inside, with uniquely designed tables and chairs, and bouquets on the tables, making it look clean and elegant.

"What would you like to drink, sir? Our drinks are free refills," Zhou Chengzhu's clear voice drew the students' attention back.

When the students saw that it was a pretty young woman asking them questions, they were a little embarrassed.

In the end, it was Song Yushu who led them to an empty seat and brought them a pot of free drinks so they could take their time selecting items on the menu without rushing them.

Zhou Chengyu naturally knew that Song Yushu had opened a restaurant near the academy, but he was busy with his studies and didn't know the exact location. Fortunately, the new restaurant was quite conspicuous and easy to find.

"Go wash your hands and eat. We're enough here," Song Yushu said, urging him to go to the back to eat without asking for his help.

Zhou Chengyu had originally rolled up his sleeves, ready to work, but Song Yushu urged him to go to the back to eat first.

"Hello, the total bill for table number nine is 230 coins. After the half-price discount, you only need to give us 115 coins. Take care, and please come again next time if you enjoy your meal!"

Zhou Chengzhu has always been enthusiastic and serious about her work. She would greet the customers every time she received an income. In the past, the customers in the county were mostly uncles and aunts, who naturally liked such a generous and enthusiastic girl. However, it was a bit overwhelming for these young scholars. Some of them were so shy that they didn't even dare to look up at Zhou Chengzhu.

Song Yushu was a little worried. She really felt that Zhou Chengzhu had grown up and was now a lovely girl. Who knew that she might be tricked away by a smooth-talking man one day? No, she, as her mother, had to be more careful.

Zhou Chengzhu was so happy collecting the money that she had no idea that a scholar was watching her, nor did she know the sense of crisis her mother was feeling. All she could think about was that box of copper coins.

On the first day of business, there were quite a few people. They didn't leave until the day after the hackers had finished cleaning up the shop, and then they returned to their lodgings.

The place I was staying was quite far from the shop; it took me almost half an hour to get to the door.

After washing up, Song Yushu began to settle accounts with Zhou Chengzhu.

Although there were many customers on the first day of opening, all their dishes were half price. The box of copper coins looked like a lot, but after deducting the cost, they only made a profit of half a tael of silver.

However, Song Yushu was not in a hurry. After all, she only planned to offer half-price discounts in the next few days to attract customers. As long as she didn't lose money, she would restore the original price in three days. How many customers she could attract depended on these few days.

To make it easier for these scholars to have meals, Song Yushu also allowed them to take food from the restaurants to the restaurants, as long as they returned the food boxes at the end. These were all scholars, and they still had basic integrity. Moreover, the food boxes from the restaurants were marked, so anyone with eyes could tell at a glance.

"I finally get a break, what are you doing here?" Song Yushu saw that Zhou Chengyu had also gone to work at the restaurant, so he wanted him to go back.

“What’s so good about being alone? You might as well come and help your mother with chores so you don’t overthink things,” Zhou Chengyu retorted without a second thought.

"What's wrong? Are your classmates at the academy hard to get along with?" Song Yushu then noticed that Zhou Chengyu looked rather thin and had dark circles under his eyes. It was her carelessness that made her not notice yesterday.

"It's alright, I can handle it myself, it's just that I'm having some trouble with my studies," Zhou Chengyu quickly reassured her, afraid she would worry.

"Tell me what's going on, and I might be able to help you figure something out," Song Yushu said, afraid that he was too proud to take responsibility for everything himself, and she didn't intend to let him get away with it.

“The prefectural city is different from the county town. The competitive spirit is much stronger here. When you first arrive, you will inevitably be compared to others. However, in the academy, academic studies should be the priority. If I rank well in this ten-day exam, these troubles will be easily resolved.”

Zhou Chengyu had his own plans. After all, it was just a verbal dispute with no real evidence. If he didn't achieve outstanding results, his teacher would only think that he was easily distracted by other things and not focused on his studies.

Upon hearing this, Song Yushu knew without a doubt that he was being targeted by the wealthy young men at the academy. There were even more wealthy officials in the prefectural city, and their competitive spirit was naturally much stronger than in their original small county town. Although the clothes she bought for Zhou Chengyu were all new, the fabric was just ordinary material, so they couldn't compare with those rich young men, and people could tell that his family background was ordinary.

"If they escalate their behavior, you don't need to be too obedient. After all, your health is the most important thing," Song Yushu reminded Zhou Chengyu, fearing that he might be too honest and not know how to resist when others tease him.

“I know, Master Xue told me about this before.”

Song Yushu raised an eyebrow, surprised that Xue Huai'an was so attentive. She thought about how long they hadn't seen each other for a month and wondered how long this long-distance relationship could last. More importantly, they had been exchanging letters all this time, and Song Yushu's handwriting was so messy it was an eyesore. If she and Xue Huai'an really broke up, her handwriting would be half the blame.

When the ten-day holiday ended, Zhou Chengyu returned to the academy with the things that Song Yushu had packed for him, which naturally attracted a lot of attention.

"Does he really think the academy is his home? Bringing so much stuff in like this, the people who live in the same place as him are really unlucky."

"How can you change bad habits brought from a poor and backward place in a short time?"