Chapter 17
Yu Wan was preoccupied with how to expand and strengthen her restaurant, and paid no attention to the young man beside her. At this moment, she vaguely smelled a faint scent of blood and couldn't help but feel suspicious.
She was already very familiar with the smell. When she first took the boy in, he would vomit several mouthfuls of blood, but now he had taken some medicine and it had eased up a lot.
Looking up at the boy, I realized that he seemed to have grown a little taller.
The boy had handsome features and bright eyes. He tilted his head slightly, letting his high ponytail hang down his shoulder. His sword-like eyebrows were slightly furrowed, revealing a hint of doubt between his brows.
"Are you really alright?"
The matter of the fabric shop is indeed over for Yu Wan. There's no need to dwell on something that's already happened; she doesn't have that much energy for it.
However, the faint smell of blood on the boy aroused her curiosity.
She tiptoed and whispered in his ear, "Where have you been? You didn't go and kill someone, did you? I'm warning you, don't get me into trouble."
You can't let your mother and brother hear these words; they'll be terrified.
Since taking in the boy, Yu Wan has always adhered to her principles, never revealing his identity or background, and rarely interacting with him, only giving him instructions when it was time to work.
But she felt it was still necessary to ask a few more questions.
The girl's sweet breath wafted into the boy's ear, like a spring breeze gently caressing his face.
The boy's ears turned bright red instantly, and he instinctively took a half step back, 'N-nothing.'
Yu Wan sensed a hint of guilt in his eyes. "You must have gone to see someone."
He Jing's eyes darted away, neither denying nor admitting: "Don't worry, we signed a contract, and I will definitely not put you in danger."
Yu Wan pressed on, "Then what's with the bloody smell on you? Did your old problem flare up again and you vomited?"
However, she didn't press the issue further. This young man was no pushover; if she pressed him too hard, he would turn hostile, and she wouldn't be able to clean up the mess.
Furthermore, she had been secretly observing the other party for over a month and found that he did not seem to be a particularly wicked person. He was usually law-abiding and quite efficient at his work. Apart from his tendency to show off his skills, there was nothing particularly suspicious about him.
This was a routine warning, reminding the other party to be more restrained if they were really going to do something.
Just then, the waiter knocked on the door, opened it, and came in, greeting everyone warmly.
"These are the signature dishes you ordered: Linglong Peony Fermented Fish, Eight-Treasure Duck, Beef Soup, Vegetarian Skewers, Steamed Sugar-coated Crispy Cheese, and Wensi Tofu. All six dishes are served. Please enjoy your meal. If you need anything, please call me. I will take my leave now without disturbing your meal."
Yu Wan secretly praised the hotel's service, noting that the waiter was very polite and even poured them hot tea as soon as they arrived at the private room.
He Jing breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the girl's attention had shifted away from him, and secretly tugged at his shirt and sniffed it.
Yu Wan invited everyone to sit down, as they were all in a relaxed mood today.
Since coming into this world, she has been constantly on edge, working tirelessly to earn money, fearing that one wrong step would lead to complete failure.
"We didn't really celebrate the New Year properly. After the holiday, we've been busy making money. Today is a celebration to mark the day our restaurant is finally up and running. We're a bunch of women, kids, and patients, so let's skip the alcohol and have some tea instead. How about we have a toast?"
Yu Cheng asked with a smile, "Sister, shall we say a few auspicious words?"
Yu Wan followed his words: "That's right! I have to say it! Acheng, you go first."
Yu Cheng scratched his head in distress, regretting that he had brought up the topic earlier.
"Huh? I'll go first? But I don't know how to say anything."
Yu Wan gently encouraged, "You may not know how to use words, but you can still speak, right? Just say something nice to make your older sister happy."
Yu Cheng rested his chin on his hand, pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up—he had an idea.
"Then I wish Mother a speedy recovery, and I hope my older sister can earn more and more money in the future! I hope I can grow as tall as Brother Su, no, even taller than him! I also hope Father and Brother have returned safely soon. Am I saying too much? What if the gods ignore me?"
Yu Wan smiled helplessly: "We're not asking a god for a favor. We have to rely on our own hands to get everything we want."
He Jing's eyes flashed, revealing a hint of surprise as he looked at her with astonishment.
Yu Wan noticed him looking over and met his gaze: "Would you like to say something too? You're the first employee I hired, and you live with us, so you're practically family. Although I don't know when you'll leave, we'll take it one day at a time. I hope we can get along well during this time and have no regrets when we part ways."
He Jing picked up his teacup, looked at the girl's calm and sincere smile, and pursed his lips.
May your business flourish like clouds and your wealth increase daily.
Yu Wan's almond-shaped eyes crinkled as she laughed heartily, "Good! Very good! I love hearing that!"
He Jing was stunned. Seeing the girl's bright smile, he couldn't help but curl the corners of his lips into a smile as well.
Yu Cheng clapped his hands and said, "Brother A-Su, you smiled! I thought you never smiled since you were little. This is the first time I've seen you smile like this. Sister, I've never seen you smile so happily either. Even when Father and Brother are at home, you've never laughed this loudly. It seems you're really happy!"
Yu Wan's career has achieved some success now, so how could she not be happy? Besides, who doesn't like to hear nice things?
"Things will only get better and better for us in the future."
A smile played on Yu's lips as she wiped away her tears, trying hard to hold them back so as not to affect her children's mood.
"Then let me say a few words. I never imagined we'd have such good days today. Even when your father and brother were home, and we were discussing opening a restaurant, we never dreamed of such a wonderful life. Buying a carriage, buying cloth—two or three hundred taels of silver just flew by. When I heard it, I was scared. I thought, 'Do we really have that much money?' A-Wan, you're really amazing. I'm so happy, Mother..."
Before she could finish speaking, tears streamed down her face.
Yu Cheng wiped away his mother's tears with his little hands, "Mom, why are you crying again? Don't cry, don't cry."
Yu Wan took out a brocade box from her sleeve and coaxed her mother.
"Mother, look what this is!"
Mother Yu wiped away the tears on her face and looked down at the exquisite brocade box in her hand.
"This is……"
Yu Wan smiled and opened the box. Inside lay an exquisite hairpin, made of silver and inlaid with crystal-clear jade.
Yu's mother exclaimed, "Awan, when did you buy this?"
Yu Wan stuffed the brocade box into her mother's hands, "Didn't you like it when you saw it at the market? So I secretly bought it to give you a surprise."
Mother Yu smiled through her tears and sighed, "My child, I only glanced at you a couple of times. This must cost two taels of silver, right?"
Yu Wan knew all too well the family's past circumstances. Her mother had no jewelry at all, only a wooden hairpin, which her father had bought for her when they got married.
"Why do we make money? Of course, it's to have a better life. Money is meant to be spent. Making money is a bittersweet experience, and spending money is also for the sake of happiness."
Yu Cheng raised his little fist: "I understand, sister. I will work harder in the future to help you earn more and more money. As long as we earn money quickly, we will never run out of money."
Yu Wan clapped her hands, "You're right! Let's eat!"
Enjoying delicious food is a truly blissful experience.
The chef at Zuixianlou is indeed quite skilled; each of their signature dishes has its own unique characteristics and an excellent taste.
Not long after, I heard several people come into the next room and talk loudly.
"Brother Zhang, do you have any money-making schemes up your sleeve lately? How about we brothers try to make a little fortune together?"
"Brother Li, you jest. How could I dare to take any action so easily now? Since General He killed the Crown Prince of Liang, he himself has also disappeared. Liang is in chaos. I heard that the matter of choosing an heir in the palace is not going smoothly, so they have no time to worry about anything else. That's why there has been peace for a while. Once a new heir is chosen, I'm afraid they will be at odds with our Jin Kingdom again."
"Sigh... If that's really the case, we'd better hold onto our money tightly, otherwise we'll lose everything if the war breaks out."
"I wonder what happened to General He. Could it be that he perished together with the Crown Prince of Liang, or is it just a rumor we're spreading to scare Liang?"
"I hope General He is safe and sound, otherwise we are no match for the Liang Kingdom."
"Who can argue with that? Over the past few decades, the Liang Kingdom has gradually grown stronger, and even our neighboring small countries have found it difficult to resist."
"Let's talk about it privately. We don't know why we're at war. When the late emperor was in power, we had good relations with the Liang Kingdom and things were always peaceful. Why are we facing such a big change now?"
"I also have some inside information. I heard that several small neighboring countries have received hints from Liang and are also planning to take action against us. If this continues, the situation may become dire!"
"Stop talking, stop talking! Illness enters through the mouth and disaster comes from the mouth. Everyone, be careful what you say."
After listening to their conversation, Yu Wan sighed softly. Seeing that everyone had finished eating, she prepared to leave.
After leaving the private room, the waiter led us downstairs to the counter where we settled the bill.
Yu Wan said she was going to buy some pastries before going home, and He Jing drove the carriage to Fu Rui Fang.
As soon as Yu Wan stepped off the carriage, she saw a long line of people queuing to buy pastries.
She had inquired and found out that this was the best pastry shop in the entire county.
Currently, Yu Family Eatery's menu doesn't include pastries, so she wants to see what other shops sell. She can combine the locals' preferred tastes with her skills in both Chinese and Western pastry making to develop foods that differentiate themselves from other establishments.
He Jing frowned as he looked at the line of over a hundred people and said, "I'll go join the line. You guys rest in the car."
Yu Wan didn't want to just wait around; she had finally gotten out and wanted to wander around.
"Mom, Cheng, you two rest in the car, I'll go take a look too."
Yu's mother told the two of them to be careful, and then she and Yu Cheng took a short rest in the car.
When Yu Wan and her companion arrived at the end of the line, they overheard two young women chatting in front of them.
"What do you want to buy later? I want to eat osmanthus cake, pine nut cake, water chestnut cake, there are so many things I want to eat."
"Don't overthink it. Just buy whatever comes along. Look at all these people queuing up; when it's our turn, we probably won't have anything to choose from."
"Huh? Really? What if they leave me with food I don't like? Wouldn't all that waiting have been for nothing?"
"There's nothing we can do, this store is just too popular."
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