Undercurrents Flowing Seven

Lord Zhao was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

He was so anxious he wanted to shout: "You lowly commoners, you'll all die a horrible death for offending a nobleman!" But he had to maintain the demeanor of a state ruler, signaling to his subordinates to quickly send the man away, his pupils practically shooting sparks.

Unexpectedly, the lady was helped down from the sedan chair by her maid. Looking at the crowd of people, she said, "The medicinal cuisine restaurant is not even noon yet, and there are so many people standing back to back. What are they doing?"

Lord Zhao wiped his sweat and pushed Master Su in front of the nobleman.

Master Su clasped his hands and said respectfully, “This is a lecture at the Shanhe Medicinal Cuisine Restaurant. On the first and fifteenth of each month, the doctors at the restaurant will hold a lecture to enlighten the people.”

"Oh?" Such a scene is unheard of even in the capital. The lady's curiosity was piqued, and Green Ripple accompanied her and joined the crowd.

Hongxiao turned to the two men who were groveling like dogs, looking down on them, and advised, "Lord Zhao, the lady is enjoying the commotion. You should leave two guards behind and follow her from a distance." Then, together with Lüyi, they stood beside the noble lady and squeezed into the crowd.

Tao Shuo will be talking about the treatment of acute and common illnesses today.

For example, stopping bleeding from wounds, preventing wound inflammation, heatstroke, frostbite, drowning, etc., and how to distinguish between wind-cold and wind-heat...

Having given numerous presentations, Tao Shuo was already quite adept at it. Not only was her content insightful yet easy to understand, but she also interacted effortlessly with the audience, earning praise from Wang Pan'er for her composed stage presence.

The lady was also captivated by the story, and only after the lecture ended and the audience dispersed did she realize that she hadn't had enough.

She asked Lüyi and Hongxiao, "What do you two think?"

Lvyi said, "This female doctor is really amazing. Everyone says that medical theory is obscure, but I understood it all clearly."

Hongxiao had a different perspective: "I'm quite curious about the shop owner. You can't find anyone in the entire capital running a business like this. He must be a broad-minded and far-sighted person."

The lady smiled knowingly.

As the crowds dispersed, diners who wanted to eat lined up at the counter.

Curious, Lüyi stepped forward and asked a diner, "Excuse me, what are you doing here?"

"Outsiders?" The diner, caught off guard, sized up the three of them and said warmly, "We're waiting for Doctor Tao to take our pulses. You're all dressed quite well; you've probably never seen a shop like ours before."

The diner, somewhat proud, began to chatter on: "First, they take your pulse, then based on your pulse, they serve you a customized set meal, which changes every solar term. Shanhe Medicinal Cuisine Restaurant is known to everyone in our Jinzhou Prefecture."

"Madam is from out of town, why don't you go first in line and try our unique medicinal cuisine?"

The lady was gentle and kind, and the people liked such a distinguished person. The diners had no objections and pushed them to the front row.

At noon, Tao Shuo came out of the inner room on time and sat on the examination table.

Seeing that the woman at the front of the line was a thin but exquisitely dressed lady, he only glanced at her a couple of times before quickly regaining his composure and respectfully placing his hand on her pulse: "Your pulse is weak and deep, indicating a stagnant constitution. You should avoid overthinking in your daily life."

Tao Shuo did not show any obsequiousness because the lady in front of her was dressed in extremely expensive clothes. After finishing the examination, she signaled the next person to take over.

The cashier immediately confirmed the suitable set meal for them, and after inquiring about their dietary restrictions, she even specially recommended the Qi-boosting beef tendon.

The food arrived quickly. The waitresses were very enthusiastic. Upon seeing the new faces, they patiently introduced the dishes to them before carrying their trays back to the kitchen.

The food served in the medicinal cuisine restaurant is mainly steamed and stewed, with a refreshing and light flavor. However, the restaurant skillfully uses spices and medicinal herbs to enhance the taste, resulting in an extremely rich and complex flavor profile.

The lady, who had never had a good appetite, ate six or seven tenths of her allotted meal amidst the bustling atmosphere of the marketplace. She usually disliked meat, but she even picked up several pieces of the nourishing beef tendon, which drew repeated exclamations of surprise from Lvyi and Hongxiao.

Because of the novel and amazing experience at the medicinal cuisine restaurant, even though Lord Zhao and Master Su arranged a very high-class itinerary for the rest of the trip, the nobleman lost interest and had no appetite.

When the lady mentioned medicinal cuisine in the third chapter, Lord Zhao finally regained his senses and grasped a bit of the nobleman's temperament and preferences.

His face wrinkled as he bowed and asked, "Madam, why don't you try the cakes from Shanhe Pastry Shop? It's run by the same owner."

The nobleman then relaxed his brow and nodded.

But the pastry shop was also overcrowded. When Lord Zhao brought the distinguished guest to the shop, there were only some scattered scraps left.

Hongxiao cursed him as a good-for-nothing, which frightened Lord Zhao and Master Su so much that their knees buckled and they almost knelt down.

After much back and forth, they finally managed to send the lady and her party back to the Shanhe Medicinal Cuisine Restaurant.

Unable to accompany the distinguished guest, Master Su hurriedly drove his carriage to Wang Pan'er's estate, following Master Zhao's instructions.

Master Su was the "important person" that Wang Pan'er met in Da'an Town, surrounded by the owner of Yu Shi Zhai and others.

The servant immediately went to inform Wang Pan'er, and the steward led her into the room, served her tea, and then stepped aside.

These fame-seeking and profit-driven merchants never visit temples without a reason, so their personal visit to a small merchant must mean they need something from him.

Upon meeting the host, Master Su took a sip of tea and, with an air of importance, explained the reason.

He had asked for a favor, yet his words carried a threatening tone. Wang Pan'er cursed Lao Deng inwardly, but could only smile and reply, "It is an honor for our medicinal cuisine restaurant to be favored by such an important person. I will certainly do my best to serve the Chamber of Commerce."

"Hmm." Seeing Wang Pan'er's humble posture, Master Su felt relieved, and the soreness from bowing all day subsided considerably. He turned his neck and shook his head. "If our esteemed guest is satisfied, I will grant you special permission to join the Chamber of Commerce."

Hearing that the distinguished guest had only eaten lunch at the medicinal cuisine restaurant and had been listless all afternoon, Master Su was extremely anxious. He whipped Wang Pan'er and urged her to go back to the medicinal cuisine restaurant with him immediately.

When Wang Pan'er arrived at the shop, it was already late afternoon.

Master Su found someone to pass the buck to, gave Wang Pan'er an encouraging and trusting look, and quickly slipped away.

Perhaps it was the smuggling clues that made Wang Pan'er view the Liuyun Chamber of Commerce with prejudice. Now, looking at Master Su, she saw a cowardly, snobbish air about him. She sneered inwardly and stepped into the medicinal cuisine restaurant.

The important person has already arrived at the shop.

She wore a light green outer robe, her hair was neatly styled and adorned with a lustrous gold-inlaid jade hairpin. She was tall and slender, with a cool yet gentle expression, appearing to be in her early thirties. Her every movement was elegant and composed. On her left wrist hung a string of Buddhist prayer beads, each bead round and full. However, her brow was slightly furrowed, and a shallow vertical line ran down her leg, suggesting a lingering melancholy.

She had an extremely kind face, and Wang Pan'er felt a strange sense of familiarity about her, gentle and warm, like a mother looking at her child.

Could it be that the reason these awful parents favored sons over daughters and ruthlessly poisoned their own child to obtain a dowry was because the original owner of this body was not their biological child?

She patted her face.

Wake up! You've seen too many fake heiresses. Don't assume every kind-looking important person is your mother. Treat your important person well and getting into the business association is the most important thing right now!

The medicinal cuisine restaurant was nearing closing time, and there weren't many customers left. The women split into two groups: one to look after the customers, and the other to clean the restaurant.

They treated her like an ordinary customer, not as an honored guest, but cleverly gave her space. She and her two maids were quite content in the shop.

The nobles were enjoying themselves, and Wang Pan'er didn't want to disturb them, so she went directly across the hall into the kitchen to help prepare the ladies' dinner and deal with the leftovers.

Wang Pan'er brought out the dinner and sat down with the ladies at the table in the corner to share the meal.

No more customers entered the restaurant, and Tao Shuo withdrew from her consultation table, ending her hard day's work. She was deeply impressed by this noblewoman who ate slowly and elegantly, and found it hard to understand why, despite being so wealthy, she still harbored such resentment.

Thinking of this, Tao Shuo specially brought over a cup of tea: "Madam has a very good appetite today. This cup of barley tea can help relieve greasiness and indigestion. After your meal, Madam can walk around a little to prevent indigestion."

The lady's eyes lit up, and she took a few sips from her cup: "The aroma of wheat is rich, and the taste is refreshing and smooth. Your medicinal cuisine restaurant is truly wonderful."

Tao Shuo smiled, sat back in the corner, and chatted amiably with the other girls about everyday matters.

The noble lady, who had been taught etiquette, now found the rules of not speaking while eating or sleeping cumbersome.

The elegant shop, the light yet not coarse food, the swirling smoke, and the cheerful laughter of the young women stirred something within the nobleman's heart, which had been as still as a stagnant pool.

As closing time approached, the noble lady was reluctant to leave and took a silver ingot as a reward.

When customizing the merchandise, Wang Pan'er had already considered the issue of receiving tips. Once she received tips, she would need to select equivalent merchandise for the diners, ensuring they felt they were getting more than their money's worth.

The items chosen by modern people are exquisite and full of innovation. The lady, who thought she had seen all kinds of exquisite utensils, actually had a discerning eye in this medicinal cuisine restaurant. She stood in front of the display case with herbal sachets and picked them out, and then her eyes were drawn to the large food bucket that the young ladies were carrying out of the door together.

Green Ripple asked curiously, "Are you going to the night market?"

Liu Xiaoniang and the other women carried the large bucket onto the cart and replied, "We change the ingredients in our shop every day to ensure freshness. The owner said not to waste them, so we cooked the extra pot and gave it to the poor people under the City God Temple as alms."

The noblewoman, out of curiosity, leaned closer to take a look.

It doesn't look appetizing, and the smell is unappetizing.

Caught off guard, the lady took a few steps back upon seeing the entire bucket of mixed food that resembled swill.

Liu Xiaoniang understood and knew that the lady had no ill intentions. She smiled and said, "The master said that the food given as alms must be made to be unpalatable, so as to prevent lazy people from taking advantage of the situation. Moreover, those who come to beg for food must be the elderly, weak, women and children, unless they are injured, disabled or elderly and widowed."

The lady nodded, her eyes showing appreciation. This action not only drove away those who were capable of working but also wanted to freeload, but also protected the survival of the elderly, women, and children.

The wooden buckets were taken away, the shop was tidied up, and Wang Xiaoyao led the donkey cart to the front of the medicinal cuisine restaurant, ready to pick up Wang Pan'er and leave to return to the manor.

The noble lady spent the time it takes to eat two meals at the medicinal cuisine restaurant. Even if she was interested, she couldn't come every day. So she stopped Wang Pan'er, who was about to leave, and said, "Young lady, this shop is very interesting. You must be a person with leisure. I would like to ask you if there are any good places to go in Jinzhou Prefecture."

To be honest, having stayed in Jinzhou Prefecture for so long, she hasn't really sought any entertainment within the prefecture.

The lady is of extraordinary status; neither fine food nor luxurious entertainment venues would likely meet her standards. Exploring cultural customs or natural scenery would be a much better choice.

Thinking of the cherry blossom grove on the outskirts of the city, which Madam might like, Wang Pan'er took out paper and pen and wrote a small note to Lüyi: "About four or five miles east of the city, there is a cherry blossom grove. It is currently the season when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. Madam may go and admire them. I have a friend who runs a teahouse in that grove. If you take this note there, you will be well taken care of. Madam may also bring some pastries and fruits, and we can sit around the stove and brew tea, which will be extremely enjoyable."

“Cherry blossoms?” Hongxiao’s eyes lit up. “Madam has always loved flowers and gardens. This is a good place. I’ll go arrange a carriage right away.”