Chapter 107 The Restaurant Opens

After getting all the information out of him, Sun Kan said "oh" and prepared to leave.

Li Zhengyang rebuked, "No, you're being too unfair!" Back then, he had shared all the food that Zhu Mingyue gave him with his brothers, even though it was stolen from him.

He pretended not to care, but in reality, he was staring at Sun Kan's package with such fervor that he wanted to see right through it. It would be a lie to say he wasn't tempted; this was prepared by Zhu Mingyue, it was bound to be delicious, and judging by how Sun Kan wouldn't let anyone touch it, it was definitely high-quality stuff.

Sun Kan didn't buy it at all. Condemnation was useless. He didn't even pause for a moment, leaving him only with a resolute back view and words carried on the wind: "Yours is with Zhong Kai. Go get it from him yourself."

Li Zhengyang was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter after realizing what was happening.

He knew that Zhu Mingyue and He An wouldn't forget him; if everyone else had something good, he definitely would too. Maybe his parents had even brought him something. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and he happily ran off to find Zhong Kai.

March passed in the blink of an eye, and winter arrived in no time.

The cold wind is bleak, and the mountains and forests of Ganzhou have long lost their lush greenery. Everything is withered, but from a distance, the golden fallen leaves covering the mountains have a unique artistic conception.

Zhu Mingyue is extremely sensitive to the cold, especially since she had suffered from a cold before. If she gets a fever while Xie Pei is not home, it will be troublesome. Not only will there be no one to take care of her, but if she faints at home from a fever, people might mistake her for sleeping in, which is indeed in line with her style.

The temperature suddenly dropped sharply today, colder than before. When Zhu Mingyue got out of bed this morning, she had barely stuck one foot out when she was immediately pulled back in by the cold. So, she gasped for breath and rummaged through the wardrobe, pulling out all the clothes in the box and putting on the thickest ones.

Ganzhou is great in every way, except that it gets very windy in the fall. The fox fur cloak Xie Pei gave him is perfect for wearing again; it's beautiful and warm, and he loves it.

He put on his cloak, casually tidied up his clothes and put them back in the box. His fingertips touched the neatly folded red garment at the bottom of the box, and his heart felt as if it had been gently tapped.

This garment was a gift from Xie Pei. At the time, he couldn't understand why Xie Pei would give him such a garment out of the blue. Later, he could only conclude that the garment was a local specialty of Jizhou. Now, he probably thought he was wrong. Xie Pei must have already had those kinds of thoughts about him back then.

Whenever he thought about this, he felt a dull headache.

He wasn't opposed to being with men, but the fact that this man happened to be Xie Pei put him in a dilemma. After all, he was nominally married to Xie Hong; if he were to get involved with Xie Pei as well, wouldn't that be...?

Even he himself was too embarrassed to continue thinking about it. He ran his fingertips over the red clothes, sighed softly, and closed the box.

It's better to be busy; when you're busy, you don't have time to overthink things. Zhu Mingyue ate a few bites at home, then led her horse out of the yard and headed straight for the county.

He now owns a horse, which was quite a coincidence. The horse was born from a horse in Wang Zongxiu's original caravan. It was born looking like a calf and would be excellent for pulling a carriage, so he raised it for two years.

But Wang Zongxiu's caravan had all disbanded. Although the many horses he left behind weren't of much use, they could still be ridden around the city. He had even less use for this little horse, so he thought he'd find a good family to sell it to.

However, this horse has a flaw: its appearance is not good. There is a patch of dark hair of moderate size on its mane, and a white spot on its face. Its coat is too messy and looks dirty if it is not carefully groomed, which is really not very attractive.

Wealthy families would rather pay a high price for a good horse than buy this one, so they could only sell it to caravans at a low price.

Zhu Mingyue had seen this little horse once. It was very friendly when she first saw it. Its moist nose twitched gently, blowing hot air onto her hand. No matter how much she touched it, it didn't get angry and would even turn its head to come closer for her to pet.

In Zhu Mingyue's view, isn't this just a large-sized small dog?

Later, he overheard Wang Zongxiu mention that he had found a new home for Xiao Ma, a local caravan, and that Xiao Ma would follow in its parents' footsteps, hauling goods and engaging in trade.

The little horse was just a foal when Zhu Mingyue first saw it; it was only a couple of months old now, barely two years old. Strictly speaking, it wasn't even fully grown yet, and it was already being used for hauling goods. Zhu Mingyue thought about how affectionate it had been with her the first time they met, and felt a little reluctant to part with it. So, she gritted her teeth and took the horse.

Wang Zongxiu didn't even accept silver from him. The horse wasn't fully grown and its appearance was poor; it was already a miracle if it could be sold at all, hence the low price. After all, he had a share of the profits from Mingyue Tower in Shangyang County, so it was only a matter of a word for his partner to ask for a pony.

So the horse ended up at Zhu Mingyue's house, where he fed it meticulously. In just over a month, it visibly grew much stronger and became extremely energetic.

Xie Pei had previously taught Zhu Mingyue how to ride a horse, and now it finally came in handy.

Now, Zhu Mingyue's daily routine consists of riding a horse to the restaurant, sometimes to the one in Shangyang County, sometimes to the one in Guangyang County. The little horse runs fast, saving him a lot of time going back and forth.

The little horse bent its neck and stood obediently in place, waiting for Zhu Mingyue to come up. Zhu Mingyue patted its neck and praised, "Yinxue is so good!"

Unlike the perfunctory naming of Er Ya, naming the horse took him a lot of effort. In his opinion, Er Ya looked majestic and no one would laugh at her no matter what name she had. But the pony was ugly to begin with, and if he gave it a perfunctory name, wouldn't it be disliked again?

He thought about it all night. The horse had a white spot on its face, so why not name it Yin Xue? It sounded rather cute.

Just as they were about to set off, Er Ya flew out and landed directly on Yin Xue's head. Yin Xue snorted and started riding.

The Mingyue Tower in Guangyang County was only completed at the end of last month and opened the day before yesterday. They've been very busy these past few days.

Many people in the city had never actually eaten at Mingyuelou, but they had heard of its reputation for a long time. When they heard that a branch had opened in Shangyang County, they all came to try it.

To promote the restaurant, Zhu Mingyue specially organized a three-day discount event for the first three days after its opening.

Order three liang (approximately 150 grams) of food and get a free dish; order five liang (approximately 250 grams) and get a 20% discount. There's also a riddle-guessing and prize-drawing activity. The number of riddles you get corresponds to the number of times you order food. Each correct guess earns you a chance to win a prize, and you're guaranteed to win!

Zhu Mingyue is quite adept at this, offering a wide variety of prizes, including free vouchers and cash ranging from one to ten taels.

This really created a huge buzz. People who come to Mingyuelou for a meal don't really care about the prizes, but with riddles and raffles, the atmosphere is lively and everyone can have some fun.

Today is the third day, and since it's the last day, and with the promotion from the previous two days, there are even more customers.

When Yin Xue was a few hundred meters away from Mingyue Tower, she began to slow down and slowly walked downstairs to avoid running too fast and bumping into others.

The Mingyue Tower was bustling with people and extremely lively.

Er Ya disliked crowds; she preferred to soar and play along the Ji River. She cackled twice at Zhu Mingyue before running off. Zhu Mingyue let her play, then handed Yin Xue to the guard and instructed him to take the horses to graze in the back.

Wang Zongxiu chatted and laughed with everyone along the way, making them laugh heartily. When he caught sight of Zhu Mingyue arriving at the restaurant, he quickly said "Excuse me" and went to greet her.

"My goodness! What time is it? You've finally arrived."

It was already November, but Wang Zongxiu was still covered in sweat. The guests at Mingyue Tower were all distinguished people. If he didn't treat them well and even slightly neglected them, he would lose a customer in the future.

Zhu Mingyue looked at the sun and realized that she was indeed a bit late. It was just that the weather was getting cooler, which made it easier to stay in bed! But it wasn't that late; it was only early morning.

He grinned and said, "It's not lunchtime yet, why are there so many people in the restaurant?"

Wang Zongxiu wiped his sweat, somewhat speechless: "Isn't having more people a good thing? People are eager to get more business, but you're complaining."

Zhu Mingyue: ...He's not, he didn't!

"I was just surprised."

Wang Zongxiu: "Look at them, they're all young masters. You can tell at a glance that they're all rich and have plenty of free time."

As he spoke, someone greeted him, and he immediately smiled and waved back. After greeting them, he continued, "You've done a great job organizing this event. It attracted quite a few people in the first two days. Today is the last day, and everyone who came before and those who didn't come before have come. I guess they're all bored, as they're all arriving earlier than the last. Some even came at Chenshi (7-9 AM) and booked tables at Mingyue Tower. They heard that we built a Cuju (ancient Chinese football) field here, and they've gone to play Cuju right now."

Zhu Mingyue tightened her cloak: "It's so cold..."

Wang Zongxiu secretly rolled his eyes at him: "It's only been a few months, do you think everyone looks like you!"

Zhu Mingyue dared not speak. He loved to sleep in and had left Wang Zongxiu to take care of things alone in the restaurant; he was in the wrong.

The problem is, even if he came, it wouldn't be of much use. He's not good at socializing, and he's not as good at it as He An, who is a few years younger than him.

Before the restaurant in Guangyang County opened, he considered recruiting some talented people several times. He couldn't just treat He An like a brick, moving him around wherever he was needed.

Finally, when they couldn't find him anywhere, they caught Wang Zongxiu red-handed, as he was going to a restaurant to freeload. Wang Zongxiu had traveled all over the country and was knowledgeable, eloquent, and shrewd. As a traveling merchant, he was proficient in accounting and writing, which made him exactly the kind of person Zhu Mingyue needed right now.

As a result, in just a few days, they were exhausted.

Zhu Mingyue felt a little guilty towards him, but not much. She bit her lip and said, "You entertain them first, I'll go check on the teahouse next door."

He spoke very quickly, and his legs moved even faster.

Before Wang Zongxiu could finish saying, "Don't go, stay and help," Zhu Mingyue had already walked outside.

Wang Zongxiu cursed and swore behind his back, but dared not raise his voice so that the customers could hear him; he felt utterly frustrated.

Everyone knows the teahouse next door is quite quiet.

If a restaurant is a place for eating and chatting, noisy and bustling, then a teahouse sounds like a place for appreciating tea and discussing philosophy, quiet and elegant.

Most of the guests were ladies and young women who didn't like crowds, and they came in groups.

Actually, that's not the case. There's only one teahouse in Guangyang County, which is only half the size of Mingyue Tower, but it has a whole different world inside.

The building has three floors in total. The first floor is a place for drinking tea and listening to music. Zhu Mingyue set up a stage where there are opera singers, musicians, storytellers, and more. There is also a sign outside the door that updates the program and time slots for the past week every week.

If you were to watch the opera on the first floor, the fee would only be one hundred coins per person, which was not much for the ladies and young women. The teahouse's main source of income was still selling tea and snacks. You couldn't just listen to the opera in silence. The teahouse's snacks were delicious and not greasy, and you could eat two plates of them on their own with tea without feeling guilty.

The second and third floors are different.

The second floor has been converted into a chess and card room, where people can play chess and cards and pay a service fee and a tea fee.

The third floor is the massage area. Zhu Mingyue spent a lot of money to hire a master from the Imperial Medical Academy to teach some massage techniques to women. Ladies and young ladies who have been doing housework for many years and have been staying at home for a long time generally have poor lumbar spines. A massage only takes half an hour, and they come out looking radiant.

The staff and customers on the third floor were all women. Zhu Mingyue usually didn't go upstairs. She only went up to the second floor and glanced around before preparing to go downstairs, but was stopped by someone waving her hand.

"Oh my! Manager Zhu, we've been waiting for you!"

"Yes, come and take a look, how well are these cards matched?"

Zhu Mingyue hesitated for a moment before walking over. After looking at the cards, she replied gently, "Madam is smarter than I am. This hand is exceptionally well-matched."

Zhu Mingyue was actually completely clueless; playing cards was a game from later times, and the Great Li Dynasty didn't have it. Zhu Mingyue only knew the general rules; once it was created, players would naturally create all sorts of variations based on the rules after playing for a while.

The lady looked to be in her early thirties, and she was quite pleased with herself after being praised by Zhu Mingyue.

"Manager Zhu, please stop praising her. If you keep praising her, she'll forget to eat and sleep and drag us to play cards," another lady immediately laughed.

"Yes, this card game is really novel, and it's quite addictive."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Mingyue said seriously, "A little gambling is harmless, but excessive gambling is harmful. Treat it as entertainment in your spare time, but don't let it make you forget to eat and sleep."

The group of ladies laughed, clutching their handkerchiefs: "Manager Zhu, please don't take it seriously. We can only spare a little time to relax here. At other times, we can't find the time to play even if we wanted to."

Zhu Mingyue smiled and said, "I was overthinking it."

After saying that, he prepared to take his leave.

He was afraid that if he left even a moment later, he would be surrounded by those ladies who would try to set him up with potential partners.

He was so handsome and had such a gentle personality that he was attractive not only to men but also to many women.

The ladies admired him for his business acumen even before he reached adulthood, as well as his upright character.

The girls liked his handsome face and peach blossom eyes. Although he was a bit thin, his figure just met the aesthetic standards of some women.

Every time he entered a teahouse, he felt someone secretly glancing at him. Some of the ladies had daughters or nieces of marriageable age who were extremely enthusiastic towards him, and their intentions were all good, leaving him completely helpless.

Finally, he simply told the truth that he already had a family. If this were told to ordinary people, they might believe it, but since these ladies were willing to marry their children to him, they must have already investigated the matter in private.

So what if she's been married? I heard that after the wedding, that man couldn't handle Zhu Mingyue's good fortune and died, while her uncle's career took off and he rose all the way to become a general.

Some people believe that no one is perfect, and it's understandable that someone like Zhu Mingyue has had a somewhat difficult past. Those who don't mind won't mind.

Even some more open-minded ladies would secretly wink at Zhu Mingyue when talking about how their sons only loved men.

Zhu Mingyue now only hopes that He An will teach Xiao Cui as soon as possible, as it would be more suitable for a woman to be in charge of the teahouse than for a man like him.

Otherwise, he would eventually get fed up with these one-sided matchmaking events every now and then.

Having finally left the teahouse, and before noon, he simply turned around and went through a bamboo grove behind Mingyue Tower to reach the Cuju field. Surrounded by bamboo groves, the field was well hidden, and from the outside, one could only hear the sound but not see the person.

At this moment, the Cuju field was bustling with activity. A group of young men, who were usually well-mannered and proper, were playing with great enthusiasm and threw all their manners to the back of their minds. In the midst of their excitement, cheers and shouts rose and fell.

The Cuju field is free and doesn't charge any money; anyone can come and play.

Usually, they come in groups of three or five friends. After playing until they are exhausted, they go directly to Mingyue Tower for a meal. After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, they might even book a room for a good nap.

This was also Zhu Mingyue's original intention in opening the Cuju (ancient Chinese football) field. If the supporting entertainment facilities were well-developed, the restaurant's business would naturally flourish.