The next day, Jiayin handed over the wound medicine she had made the night before to Yeshan.
Gu Li came to the old house to see him!
This page of Mr. Jiang remained silent and diligent after arriving at Suijintan.
When Baiyunjian opened a branch two years ago, Chen Xi took the lead, bringing four apprentices and some other staff to various locations.
Upon hearing the news, Mr. Jiang took a three-month leave from his village and took Guli with him to travel outside and broaden their horizons.
When they returned, the account books submitted by the four branches were all written and organized by Gu Li. They were not only well-organized, but also perfectly accurate in their calculations.
Jia Yin valued talent, but was also short-handed, so he poached Gu Li from Mr. Jiang's side and made him the manager.
He was specifically in charge of managing the accounts for the main store and branches of Baiyunjian, essentially acting as an accountant.
Occasionally, Gu Li would visit the branch stores to inspect and check the accounts.
In short, with Gu Li as a great helper, Jia Yin could confidently become a hands-off boss...
Fortunately, Gu Li is indeed reliable, and there haven't been any problems in the past two years.
This time, he returned from the branch store in the southwest border region, which is Lu Zong's hometown.
It was Lu Zong who strongly invited me to open a branch there.
According to him, he wanted his parents and siblings to be able to enjoy the delicious snacks from Baiyunjian.
Even if he leaves Kyoto in the future, he won't have to shed tears because he misses the white cloud cake...
Regardless of the reason, Baiyunjian's branch successfully opened in the border region, and business was indeed quite good.
Jiayin flipped through the account books for the past six months and was very satisfied to see that the income was a full two thousand taels.
Gu Li told them about the interesting things happening in the southwest, and Grandma Li, Tao Hongying, and the others listened in, passing the time for the whole morning.
After lunch, Tao Hongying urged her daughter to go to the city as soon as possible.
“Your eldest brother and sister-in-law are living at home now, and only your second uncle stays at the Earl’s mansion occasionally. I don’t know how messy it is. Go and help tidy it up.”
"It's perfect timing since we're going to the Gu family's banquet tomorrow, saving us from having to get up early and rush to the city."
Jiayin didn't mind and said, "Then I'll stop by the pickle shop while I'm at it?"
"Okay, it's good for you to go and take a look. I'm busy at home, and I'm too lazy to make another trip." Tao Hongying was quite relieved, having completely left the business to her daughter.
With elderly people, young children, and a pregnant woman in her family, she dared not leave easily.
Jiayin tidied herself up and then took Granny He and Shuiling into the city.
Zheng Sanjiang was the one who took the carriage this time.
Ye Shan had to go to the dock to deliver medicine for injuries, and Dong Mei had to go to Zhengjiazhuang for some business.
Zheng Sanjiang remained taciturn, but after living in the large family of Suijintan for several years, the deathly look in his eyes had dissipated, and he would occasionally smile.
However, he was used to having a blank expression, so when he suddenly smiled, it was somewhat frightening...
The Earl's mansion was built in a proper and grand manner, enough to serve as the face of the Li family.
However, compared to the courtyards of Suijintan, it lacks some of the warm and lively atmosphere.
There were more than twenty servants in the mansion, five or six of whom were Wan'er's dowry servants.
Five or six veterans were responsible for guarding the house.
The remaining ten people were all bought by Wan'er from human slave traders and signed life contracts.
Wan'er, as expected of a young lady who has been in charge of the household for many years, has an excellent eye for choosing people.
These ten people were all honest, hardworking, and diligent. Even though their master didn't come back often, they kept the courtyard clean and the flowers and trees tidy.
Lord Li, now that he has plenty of manpower around him, kept Ye Tong in the mansion as the head steward after he built the mansion.
Ye Tong was born into a noble family and was familiar with the inner workings of various families in Xindu, making him a perfect fit for the role of head steward.
Moreover, since Jiaren resides at the Earl's mansion, he can consult Ye Tong for advice on interpersonal relationships if he has any questions.
Jiayin came over to stay for one night, and since she had nothing to do, she went to bed early.
The next day, Ye Tong personally arranged a carriage to take Jiayin to the Gu family.
The area in front of the Gu family's house was bustling with carriages and horses, indicating that most of the guests had arrived.
Shui Ling searched around but couldn't find Bao Zhu, so Jia Yin went inside first. After all, the Earl's mansion's black lacquered flat-topped carriage was quite large and would be very conspicuous if it were blocking the entrance.
In the main courtyard of the Gu family, Old Madam Gu, along with Madam Gu and Dean Gu, were entertaining the ladies from various families.
The refreshing and sweet pre-rain Longjing tea, various snacks on an eight-petal lotus plate, and diced peaches on a white porcelain plate with an exquisite silver spoon.
One woman tasted the diced peach and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, where did you buy these peaches? They're so sweet and have such a rich peach flavor!"
"I suppose the peaches from the legendary Queen Mother of the West's Peach Garden must taste pretty much like this?"
Everyone laughed upon hearing this, and out of curiosity, they all tried it and praised it.
"It's really good."
"Yes, are these white peaches from Jiaozhou? They don't look like them!"
"Aren't peaches out of season? It's rare to find such fresh ones!"
The host is naturally happy when the guests are satisfied with the fruit.
Madam Gu smiled and said, "These fruits weren't bought from outside. My Qingqing is on good terms with Princess Kangle of Suijintan."
"The princess specially sent it yesterday. I thought it looked good, so I had the maid cut it up and let everyone have a fresh taste."
Princess Kang Le?
The group exchanged glances, none of them daring to speak.
It wasn't that they had any dissatisfaction with the Li family or Princess Kangle; they simply didn't know how to evaluate it.
While the Li family may be considered arrogant and ignorant of manners, they are actually very thorough in their actions, have done a lot of good deeds, and enjoy extremely high favor from the emperor.
But speaking of the Li family's good points, anyone who opposes them never ends well, and in many cases, it seems the Li family is too ruthless...
At this moment, the woman who had previously praised the peaches for being delicious chimed in, "The old lady is truly blessed!"
"I've heard that the Princess's residence has a glass greenhouse where fruits and vegetables are available all year round. Even the Emperor often sends people to pick some."
"So, the peaches the old lady offered us were tribute fruits! I must eat a few more to share in her good fortune!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
Two women, remembering their daughters playing in the garden, lamented that without the princess's intervention, their families would not have such peace. So they chimed in, echoing her sentiments.
"Yes, Suijintan is truly a blessed land; the fruits and vegetables grown there are exceptionally sweet."
"Speaking of which, the Jade Melon should be ready for harvest in a few days, right?"
This piqued everyone's interest, and they all responded.
"Yes, my youngest son has been thinking about it for a long time."
“My family ordered a hundred of them, and we plan to send some to our clan as well.”
“My mother likes to eat golden nuts, so she ordered three hundred this time.”
"We acted pretty early; if we had waited a few more days, they would have all been snatched up."
"I heard that the palace has also ordered a lot, almost half of the melon fields in Xincun. Perhaps what we got can only be grown by the other three villages."
"Yes, even though they are all grown from the same vines, the ones grown in the new village always seem sweeter."
The woman who had initially praised the peaches interrupted again, saying, "I think so too, the melons from the new village are the sweetest."
"I guess those melons are blessed by the princess; they're just different from the melons grown elsewhere."
"I heard that the people in Xincun fled from the north during the famine, and they were able to survive thanks to the princess's blessing and protection."
"The village was almost wiped out when the barbarians chased them outside the dock. At the critical moment, Marquis Xinting arrived and protected everyone."
"But Marquis Xinting was only willing to protect the people of Xincun because he liked the princess and treated her like his own daughter."
No one thought much of it, after all, it was just gossip, and no one said anything bad about the Li family.
Someone replied, "In that case, the princess is indeed blessed!"
Outside the door, Jiayin followed the old woman leading the way along the left-hand corridor and happened to overhear this conversation.
She frowned slightly.
It's not that I dislike being the subject of gossip, it's just that I instinctively feel that these compliments seem a bit off...
My darlings, chapters 750-754 have been adjusted! Remember to go back and check them out! Don't panic if today's three chapters look familiar—there are three chapters you haven't read yet! Now that we've finally sorted this out, I'm going to generously ask for your votes again! I want all the must-read and recommendation votes, and don't forget to urge for more updates and give positive reviews (five stars or "like"!)!
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