The mischievous boy was so happy he was practically snotting from his nose. He took the pear, bowed and thanked the boy, then stuffed it into his arms, puffed out his chest, and skipped away with the chicken stew with mushrooms in his arms.
Grandma Li and the others were amused by the mischievous boy and laughed heartily. It wasn't until they entered the old house that Grandma Li realized her granddaughter was still following behind.
Indeed, not a single person recognized him!
Old Lady Li couldn't go back on her word, so she could only say, "Go into the city if you want, but you must be back in two hours!"
Jiayin cheered and jumped up!
Soon, Jiaren, Lige'er, Lu Zong, and Jia Xu all heard the news and quickly got dressed, ready to go with the car to be "protectors of the flowers".
Jiayin carefully repaired her disguise, striving to make it more realistic, before getting into the carriage with her brothers.
To avoid being discovered, she didn't even bring Shui Ling and Shui Yun with her.
Fortunately, Jiaren had Zheng Sanjiang stay with his sister, and Yeshan also jumped onto the carriage shaft.
With them by her side at all times, even if she were discovered, it wouldn't necessarily harm Jiayin.
Moreover, Lu Zong also brought twenty guards with him...
As the carriage left the village, Jiayin, like a bird released from its cage, pushed open the window a crack and excitedly peered around.
Jiaren and Lu Zong laughed as they watched, and it wasn't until they reached the city gate that they managed to pull her back.
The shops of the Liu and Wang families were not located in the most bustling part of the commercial street, but they were still in good condition.
Counting from the beginning of the commercial street, they are exactly the fifth and sixth shops.
If you get off the carriage at the street corner, it's only a few dozen feet to your destination.
The Wang family's shop is a single-story building with three neat storefronts and a large courtyard at the back.
It can be used as a place for living and for storing grains, oils and dried goods.
The Liu family's shop next door had two floors; the first floor sold fabrics, and the second floor was an embroidery shop where clothes could be custom-made.
The two-story house occupies a larger area, so the backyard is inevitably smaller, but it still has a kitchen, a well, and three main rooms that can be lived in.
Jiayin originally wanted to combine the two shops, selling fresh produce on the first floor and hot pot or barbecue on the second floor.
But after visiting the site, she changed her mind.
Why not turn the three shops into fruit and vegetable specialty stores, and convert the two-story building next door into a restaurant that combines barbecue and hot pot?
In this way, fruit and vegetable specialty stores may have a slower business in the summer, but they will make a fortune in the winter.
Restaurants that combine grilling and hot pot offer grilled skewers, various braised dishes, and cold dishes in the summer, and hot pot or barbecue in the winter.
Regardless of winter or summer, as long as a gentle breeze blows, the aroma wafts through the air, making everyone's mouths water, and money flows into the cash box like water...
Seeing his younger sister standing in the yard, drooling and grinning foolishly, Jiaren quickly stepped forward to block her and whispered, "Fu Niu'er, what are you thinking about? Hurry up and measure and survey, and we'll go home when we're done."
Jiayin quickly wiped the drool from her mouth, looked around to make sure there were no outsiders, then took her elder brother's arm and said with a smile, "Brother, these two shops will definitely be our family's treasure trove in the future!"
Jiaren couldn't help but laugh at his sister's greed, but he still flicked her nose and corrected her, "This is your treasure bowl, not ours."
"Now that the shop is in your name, we won't be able to help you with the business. All the profits will naturally be yours."
"Don't even think about giving any to us. Keep it for yourself, and you can put it on your dowry list when you get married."
Jiayin smiled and didn't say anything.
The shop can be hers, but she should still buy some nice things for her brother as a thank-you gift when she makes money.
Without my brothers attending the poetry gathering, these two shops wouldn't exist.
However, it's not appropriate to argue about these things while we're out here. We can talk about it when we get home.
Lu Zong and Jia Xu were also wandering around, listening to Jia Ren and his sister talking, and they couldn't help but feel envious.
They also have siblings in their family. Although they have never harmed each other, there is competition when it comes to matters of legitimate and illegitimate children, family property, and the favoritism of elders.
The more you argue, the less close you become.
The brotherly love and sisterly respect shown by the Li siblings is something they can only dream of; it's simply unattainable for them...
It took Jiayin almost half an hour to finally survey both shops.
She stuffed the notebook she had been keeping into her bosom, then said to her brothers with a grin, "I'm sorry to have troubled you all with me today. Come on, let's go home for dinner. I'll cook two delicious dishes myself!"
Cat Bro was the first to cheer, "Great! I want to eat meat! My legs have gotten so thin these past few days, I need to eat some more."
Everyone laughed, and Lu Zong spoke up to defend his sister, "Your legs are naturally thin, so you can't blame it on your sister."
Jiaren instructed Zheng Liu to tidy up the carriage. After checking the shop and finding nothing missing, he led everyone out.
Jiayin bent over, reverting to his servant form, and followed his brothers behind.
The group chatted and laughed as they left, and Zheng Sanjiang quickly locked both shops.
Something happened on the street corner, attracting a crowd of onlookers and creating a lot of noise.
Out of curiosity, Jiayin stood on the steps and peered out.
As it turned out, she didn't see anything interesting, but she did hear someone next to her ask a question quietly.
"Sister Jiayin?"
Jiayin was startled and turned her head to see Baozhu standing just a few steps away with a maid.
Perhaps recognizing her completely, Baozhu abandoned her maid and ran forward in surprise.
With a look of surprise, she grabbed Jiayin's hand and asked in a low voice, "Sister Jiayin, why are you dressed as a servant? I almost didn't recognize you!"
Jiayin rolled her eyes, turned around to look around and saw no suspicious people, then pulled Baozhu to stand behind her brothers.
She asked in a low voice, "You're one to talk! Didn't you also dress up as a servant? What's going on? Did you also sneak out?"
Baozhu giggled and shyly touched her nose. "My mother won't let me go out to play. I had no choice but to disguise myself as a servant, sneak out to buy some good food, and then hurry back so my mother wouldn't find out!"
Jiayin looked around and realized this wasn't a good place to talk, so she said to Jiaren, "Brother, let's go back to the shop and sit for a while. There are too many people here."
Jiaren nodded, and the group opened the shop door and then went back inside.
In the backyard of the two-story building, the three main rooms are close to the alley behind. The tables, chairs and benches in the rooms have been left behind, so you can take a rest there temporarily.
Jiayin tugged at Baozhu's clothes, her eyes filled with helplessness.
"If you're going to pretend to be a servant, at least do it convincingly."
"Whose servant makes clothes and trousers out of silk?"
"Also, do any servants wear gold earrings?"
"Does the servant look so fair, plump, and clean?"
Baozhu felt a little ticklish from being pulled, and laughed as she dodged and weaved, quickly begging for mercy.
"Oh, Sister Jiayin, don't take it so seriously. I'm just out having fun, I'm not doing anything bad!"
"Even if others recognize me as a girl, it doesn't matter. In broad daylight, who can kidnap me?"
After saying that, she changed the subject and asked, "Sister Jiayin, my mother said you were supposed to stay at home to avoid disaster, so why did you come out? I was thinking of buying some delicious food and having someone deliver it to you!"
After saying that, she hugged Jiayin and acted coquettishly, but her stomach started rumbling.
As if it were contagious, Jiayin's stomach also started growling.
Then came Cat Brother's, and Li Brother's...
Jiaren found it amusing and said, "I see a row of stalls selling snacks in the back alley. Why don't we buy a few bowls of wontons or something to fill our stomachs first?"
Before the words had even finished, someone outside the courtyard wall called out, "Fresh pork glutinous rice balls! Freshly made fresh pork glutinous rice balls!"
Cat Bro immediately jumped up and shouted, "I'll go buy it!"
Jiaren instructed, "Take Uncle Zheng with you and be careful."
Two updates today, as usual. I'll make up for it with four updates tomorrow. I need to speed things up. The outline is a bit messy, so I need to catch my breath and sort it out.
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