"It's over?"
Shen Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in return, "Everyone prepared for this shop for almost two months, and it's been a month since it opened. Counting from today, it's been a full three months. You've poured three whole months of your heart and soul into Huajian Restaurant. Are you really willing to leave?"
"Whether I'm willing to part with it or not, what can I do?" Hehuan lowered her head, her voice filled with disappointment and helplessness.
Shen Yuan glanced at He Huan, then at the others.
Everyone's faces were filled with reluctance. Their three months at Huajian Restaurant felt like a rebirth. Every day there was free and happy, so of course they were reluctant to leave.
But what can you do even if you're reluctant to part with it?
If they continue to stay here, it will definitely lead to the closure of the Flower Restaurant.
They didn't want to ruin the Flower Restaurant!
"I know what you're thinking." Shen Yuan looked at everyone, her tone firm: "Aren't you all thinking that as long as you leave Huajian Restaurant, its business will improve?"
Upon hearing this, everyone looked up at Shen Yuan and nodded silently.
Shen Yuan continued, "So, you all plan to just pack up and leave, leaving this mess for me to clean up?"
“Miss Chen, that’s not what we meant!” Haitang explained urgently, “We…we’re afraid that staying will only cause trouble for you and the Flower Restaurant!”
"Whether it will cause trouble or not can be discussed later. I hope that all of you sisters will get through this difficult time with me. Since we are all members of Huajian Restaurant, we cannot abandon our partners!"
Shen Yuan didn't try to appeal to emotions; on the contrary, her attitude was very firm: not a single person from Huajian Restaurant was allowed to leave!
Seeing Shen Yuan say this, Haitang pursed her lips and then nodded emphatically: "Okay, Miss Shen, we'll listen to you!"
“There’s one more thing!” Shen Yuan stood up, her sharp gaze sweeping over everyone. “No one is allowed to say such self-deprecating things as I was originally a prostitute, I used to be of lowly status, or that someone like me can’t do anything…”
"No matter what your past status was, now that the Prefect has freed you from your social status, you are now law-abiding citizens! You all know how difficult it is to be freed from social status. You have finally regained your status as law-abiding citizens, so no matter what happens in the future, do not easily give up the freedom you have finally obtained!"
Having said all she needed to say, Shen Yuan didn't waste any more words, simply saying, "Let's eat! The food's getting cold, and we shouldn't waste so much food!"
After hearing Shen Yuan's words, Haitang and the others felt even more ashamed.
But besides that, they were also deeply moved.
Even with all that has happened today, Miss Shen has never considered breaking up with them, so why should they break up?
Haitang burst into laughter through her tears and quickly stood up: "I'll go get you some food!"
Seeing that there was plenty of food, Shen Yuan came out of the Flower Garden Restaurant and called all the people from the pharmacy over to eat.
"Grandma, those two chickens weren't killed, were they?"
Granny Liu held Shen Yuan's hand and, seeing that she was alright, replied, "I was boiling water and peeling taro in the kitchen when I suddenly heard a commotion outside. I heard that you were taken to the yamen. How could you have the mind to kill chickens? Those two chickens are still tied up in the backyard!"
"Then let's not kill it yet, let's keep it alive! We'll go eat across the street today!"
"Okay, whatever you say!"
Shen Yuan brought Liu Mama, Tian Tian, Xiao Hu Zi, Tian Shi, and the pharmacy's helpers to the Hua Jian Restaurant.
But even with so many people, they couldn't finish all the food prepared by Huajian Restaurant.
Based on the customer flow during this period, Huajian Restaurant prepared enough food for more than 200 people at noon. They steamed a full 50 jin of rice, which was stored in five large wooden buckets. How could 12 mouths possibly finish it?
Seeing that less than a tenth of the food on the counter had been eaten, Haitang asked, "Miss Chen, what should we do with the leftover food? Should we throw it away?"
Since its opening, Huajian Restaurant has rarely had any unsold food. Even if the weather is bad and there are few customers, they will not save the leftover food for the next meal.
They would choose to eat it themselves.
There was just too much leftover food today; even if they ate it for three days straight, they still wouldn't be able to finish it all.
Moreover, now that the weather is warmer, leftovers will spoil overnight, and then they can't be eaten and will have to be thrown away.
Shen Yuan walked to the counter. The vegetables in the thirty porcelain basins and the rice in the five wooden buckets were basically untouched. It would be such a waste to throw away so much food!
Wasting food like this, I'm afraid she'll be terrified every time it rains and thunders in the future.
Shen Yuan was resting her chin on her hand, pondering how to deal with the food, when Tian Tian suddenly came up to her.
"Sister Yuanyuan, could you please give this food to the beggars in the city?"
Shen Yuan's eyes lit up, and she smiled, saying, "Of course!"
As she spoke, she turned to Narcissus and Hibiscus and instructed them, "Please reheat the food, sisters!"
"Okay!" Narcissus and Hibiscus brought the food into the kitchen.
Shen Yuan borrowed a cart from her neighbor and then loaded the heated food onto it.
"Sister Yuanyuan, let me pull it, I'm strong!" Little Tiger volunteered to carry the rope on the flatbed cart and pull it.
Shen Yuan nodded: "Okay!"
Tian Tian led the way, with Tian Shi and Shen Yuan following closely behind. The four of them went to a place in the city where beggars often gathered.
The beggars were starving, and when they saw the food that Tian Tian had brought, they excitedly rushed over and quickly finished distributing the food that Shen Yuan had brought.
After finishing the meal, Shen Yuan led everyone back to Huajian Restaurant.
On the way back, Shen Yuan noticed that many people on the street were looking at them, but she ignored them.
In the following days, Huajian Restaurant did not close down because of Jin Mudan's disturbance. Instead, it remained open as usual, and the quality of the food was the same as before. It did not simply cook a couple of dishes to make do because there were fewer customers.
Thirty porcelain basins were filled with all kinds of fresh and clean dishes.
Occasionally, customers would come in, and no one at Huajian Restaurant would neglect them; the service provided was as it always had been.
Five days passed in this way, and Haitang became a little impatient. "Miss Chen, should we cook less food tomorrow?"
She paused, then continued in a gentler tone, "These past few days, only three to five people have come each day, with the most in a single day not exceeding ten. The leftover food is given to beggars or to the Shan'an Hall for the homeless. While it's a good deed, the cost is too high! Our daily food expenses are almost two taels of silver! If this continues, I'm afraid we'll lose all the money we earned last month! Perhaps..."
Haitang pursed her lips and said thoughtfully, "Why don't we close for a few days first? After a while, when everyone has forgotten what happened before, we can reopen. Maybe then the business of Huajian Restaurant will pick up again."
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