Chapter 70: The celebration after passing the imperial examination and...
The celebrations and social interactions following the passing of the imperial examinations lasted until nearly October.
Life returned to normalcy, and Qiu Yuruo finally had time to expand her business.
However, before expanding his business, there is one more thing to figure out, and that is Su Yunting's worries.
Logically speaking, having passed the imperial examination, he shouldn't still be burdened with worries, given his mindset.
But Qiu Yu could sense that his worries were even heavier than before the results were announced.
After dinner, the couple returned to their room. Su Yunting fixed his wife's hair, and their eyes met in the mirror. They both saw something unsaid in each other's eyes.
Su Yunting smiled, hugged his wife, and asked her, "Did you figure it out?"
Qiu Yuruo hugged him back: "You've been preoccupied since the day after you came back from the imperial examination. Haven't you figured it out yet?"
Su Yunting didn't know whether to be happy or worried. He was happy that his wife cared about him; she could sense his worries immediately.
What worries me is that if there are any more troubles in the future, I might not be able to hide them from her, and I might have to make her worry along with me.
Su Yunting: "After passing the imperial examination next spring, I will directly enter officialdom. Before entering officialdom, I want to travel and study in the south."
Qiu Yuruo: So you wanted to go on a graduation trip.
Qiu Yuruo could completely understand his idea of taking a graduation trip. In this era, there is no retirement system. Once you start working, you work until your health fails or until you die.
She laughed and said, "Go if you want to. Once you become an official, you won't be free anymore. Even if you take up a local post, you won't have the same leisurely mood you have now."
Going is fine, but you must be fully prepared for safety!
Su Yunting smiled bitterly to himself. It was precisely because the task he was about to undertake was somewhat dangerous that he had been struggling with this decision until now.
If his safety was related to his own, Su Yunting would not hesitate to go to the south.
However, he now has a beloved person and younger siblings, so his safety is no longer just his own concern.
Especially now that his lover is in his arms, he really doesn't dare to let anything happen to him.
He couldn't bear to part with her, nor could he bear to see her heartbroken because of him.
He remained silent for a long time, only hugging himself tighter and tighter.
Qiu Yuruo's heart also tightened slowly. If it were just a simple study tour, why would she need to be so conflicted!
Countless possibilities flashed through her mind, and she tried asking, "If you can't bear to part with me, you can take up a post in the south. We'll leave as soon as the transfer order comes through. There's plenty of time on the road, and the journey will be almost like a trip."
Su Yunting said with difficulty, "I still want to go before I enter officialdom."
Qiu Yuruo slowly exhaled. She had no doubt about Su Yunting's feelings for her.
Putting aside romance, the other things that have troubled him for so long are actually quite easy to guess.
Thinking of that possibility, she couldn't help but hug him tightly, but she didn't say a word to stop him from going.
The woman tightened her arms around him, and Su Yunting knew that his lover had figured out why he was going to the south.
Su Yunting sometimes wondered why he was able to receive God's mercy and be given a second chance at life!
It must be related to the countless days and nights spent working tirelessly for the country and its people in my past life, and it must also be related to the beneficial policies implemented because of me...
At the moment he closed his eyes in his past life, Su Yunting felt regret, but no fear.
In his life, apart from causing the death of an innocent girl, he owed no one else the slightest debt.
He lowered his head and kissed the top of his lover's head, saying, "Don't worry, I owe you something that I need to spend my whole life to repay. The debt hasn't been paid off yet, how could anything happen to me?"
Qiu Yuruo suppressed her worries, looked up at him with a smile, and said, "You said it yourself, you can't go back on your word!"
Su Yunting felt a pang of sadness in his heart and solemnly replied, "Yes."
...
Su Yunting went on a study tour, and he first invited Sun Ruimin to go with him.
Su Yunting decided that if he could protect himself with the help of the Sun family this time, he would protect them in the future if they encountered any trouble.
Sun Ruimin wanted to go with him, but his parents objected, saying that he had already gone out once before and hadn't passed the autumn hunt this year, and that he should stay home and study hard.
Since the Sun family didn't want this opportunity, Su Yunting had no choice but to go to Lu Yide.
Lu Yide passed the autumn imperial examination this year, but he doesn't plan to participate in the spring imperial examination next year.
He had plenty of time, and agreed on the spot after hearing the offer.
When the two were discussing their trip, Lu Yide tried asking Su Yunting, "Yunting, what do you think of Xiao He?"
Lu Yi was humble, hardworking, and polite, so Su Yunting gave him a very good evaluation: "His character is noble."
Lu Yide laughed after hearing this: "Then what do you think of him as a match for your sister?"
Lu Yide was able to ask this question only after being instructed by Lu Tongzhi.
Lu Tongzhi believed that Su Yunting was exceptionally capable, and even if his career path was not smooth sailing, his family would not hinder him from demonstrating his abilities.
Lu Tongzhi's wife did not object to his decision. Although she said she would not marry a woman without a mother or daughter, Su Jingshu lived with Qiu Yuruo, whose reputation was excellent throughout Mingshun County.
Because Su Jingshu has a sister-in-law with a good reputation, no one will say that she has lost the Cissori Society.
Moreover, Madam Lu had met Su Jingshu before and was very fond of her reserved and quiet nature.
The Lu Tongzhi couple wanted to arrange a marriage between Su Yunting and his wife. Su Yunting was at the height of his power, and his sister was beautiful. The Lu family didn't know if he had other plans for his sister, so they sent their nephew to ask first.
Su Yunting laughed after hearing this. He had never thought of marrying his second sister into a wealthy family in the capital.
The second sister was too kind-hearted and had no experience of life in a large family. There were no experienced servants in her own household to guide her. Marrying into a high-ranking family was not a good thing for her.
Su Yunting had considered the marriage alliance with the Lu family, and now that they had asked, he said, "If the two children have no objections, we will arrange it for them when they return next year."
After listening, Lu Yide said, "Why wait until next year? They're not ten or eight years old. At fifteen, many people are already married. It's not too early to settle down now!"
Su Yunting explained that he would go until next year because he couldn't guarantee that this trip would be absolutely safe.
He could only laugh and say, "I dare to agree to a marriage proposal, but I wouldn't dare to agree to one at such a rushed time, otherwise my sister-in-law would be angry with me when I get home!"
Such seemingly henpecked remarks can only be uttered a few words to close friends.
Lu Yide laughed along after hearing this, and then naturally changed the subject.
...
Ever since Su Jingshu was frightened by the domestic violence that Su Dani suffered, Qiu Yuruo has been providing her with psychological counseling whenever she has free time.
In fact, Qiu Yu Ruo herself didn't know how to tutor. All she could think of was to give her second sister enough confidence. She would tell her two younger sisters gossip about marital conflicts when she heard them, and then the three of them would discuss how to resolve them.
After more than a year of guidance, the second sister is no longer afraid of marriage.
Qiu Yuruo felt that it was because of her guidance that Su Jingshu was no longer afraid. Her guidance did have some effect, but the reason why Su Jingshu was no longer afraid was actually because she saw how her brother and sister-in-law got along, which made her feel longing for it.
So when Qiu Yuruo asked her second sister, the Lu family, if they wanted to marry her, she didn't refuse directly. Instead, she blushed and asked about the other party's situation.
The Lu family had long wanted to arrange a marriage between the two families, so they had arranged for them to meet beforehand.
Su Jingshu had a very good impression of the refined and polite young man.
She trusted her elder brother's judgment in judging people, so when her sister-in-law pressed her for answers, she said, "I'll follow my brother and sister-in-law's arrangements." After saying that, she left with a blush on her face.
After the two families verbally agreed to the marriage, Su Yunting and Lu Yide went to study there under the protection of guards arranged by Lu Tongzhi.
...
Because Su Yunting's trip was somewhat dangerous, Qiu Yuruo didn't even have time to be anxious.
She hoped for his safe return, but in practice, she prepared for the worst.
In Mingshun County, his current reputation is enough to ensure that no one will bully him at will. All he needs to do is earn enough money.
So the restaurant that Ping An had always longed for finally opened on a relatively bustling second-class street in Mingshun County.
In the past two months, Qiu Yuruo had Su Huai select six more boys from the village, making a total of eight boys, including the two boys from before.
Among the eight, one was fortunate to be talented. Ping An had been keeping him by his side these past few days, and Qiu Yu Ruo had taken this boy as her apprentice before the restaurant opened.
Of the eight boys, the last three stayed in the workshop, while the other five worked with Ping An in the restaurant.
Ping An's culinary skills have been recognized by Su Yunting. While he might not dare to say that he can rival the imperial chefs, his skills would definitely earn him a place in the capital if he opened his own restaurant.
With such skills, the restaurant became an instant hit upon opening.
The booming business made the restaurant famous. At first, it was just ordinary people who came to patronize it. As its reputation spread, many people of status also came to taste it and then became customers of the restaurant.
That day, the restaurant welcomed another young master accompanied by several servants.
After the young master finished his meal, he asked to see the head chef.
It wasn't mealtime. Ping An came over from the kitchen and was taken aback when he saw the person who wanted to see him. Then he went over to greet him.
The young man thought he looked familiar and asked, "Have we met somewhere before?"
Ping An smiled and said, "Two years ago, at the entrance of Sujiazhuang Village in Qingshi Town, you ate noodles made by my master at a food stall there."
The young master laughed heartily after hearing this: "It seems that I am truly destined to meet you and your master!"
Ping An laughed after hearing this. Back then, he was just an ignorant country boy who had never seen the world. Because of his master, he saw the man serving the female lead for the first time. Ping An still vividly remembers the shock he felt at that time.
The two reminisced, and then Ping An learned that he was from the Xu family of the prefecture. The Xu family was a large merchant family, mainly engaged in the fur trade.
This young master Xu lost the battle for the next head of the family. In the past two years, he has been targeted in the family business. He simply withdrew from the family business and prepared to start his own business.
He heard from his subordinates that there was a wildly popular restaurant in Shun County, so he came here specifically to see if the head chef there had the ability to work as a head chef in a restaurant.
Having failed to recruit Qiu Yuruo initially, Young Master Xu changed his mind and proposed a cooperative approach.
He wanted to poach him to work for him, which Ping An naturally wouldn't agree to. However, since he proposed a collaboration, Ping An said, "Young Master needs to discuss the collaboration with my master."
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