Upon hearing this, Shen Yuan smiled and thought, "Little Tiger is such a filial child!"
By the time this filial piety is delivered to Jian'an City, it will probably have soured and gone bad.
She gently advised, "We can only set off tomorrow. Considering the journey, it will be three days before we see your mother. By then, the duck meat will have gone bad."
"Ah..." Little Tiger sadly lowered his head, losing all interest in eating the roast duck.
Because he can eat such delicious duck, but his mother can't.
Shen Yuan handed the rolled-up duck meat to Xiao Huzi, "Eat up! You'll have the energy to work and earn money! When you've earned enough, you can bring your mother here to eat next time!"
"Enjoy fresh and delicious Nanjing roast duck!"
Little Tiger's eyes suddenly lit up when she heard this. That's right! Although she couldn't share such delicious food with her mother right now.
But as long as he works hard, one day he will be able to bring his mother to eat with him!
As the two were talking, the diners at the next table suddenly slammed their hands on the table.
"Shopkeeper, it's been so long, why haven't we received our food yet? We've been sitting here for almost two hours!"
Shen Yuan's dining area was in a large hall of the restaurant, where there were twenty or thirty tables, all occupied by people waiting for lunch.
Hearing the noise, Shen Yuan turned her head to look at the source of the sound.
Then the restaurant manager came over apologetically and said, "Please wait a moment, sir! The roast duck is taking a while to roast. I'll go to the kitchen and urge them to hurry up for you!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than the guests at the other table started shouting.
"I only ordered a plate of stuffed tofu and a plate of chicken and eggplant casserole, just two dishes. There's no roast duck either. Why hasn't it arrived yet? Are you trying to kill me with my meal?"
"Yes! We're waiting to discuss business this afternoon! You're not serving the food, which is delaying our meal and making things difficult."
"I'd really leave if I hadn't already paid after waiting this long!"
"Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go and urge them!" The innkeeper apologized and then walked away.
Shen Yuan noticed that the restaurant owner's apology was superficial, clearly indicating that he was already used to this situation.
This explains why customers who come to the restaurant to eat often complain to the manager and waiters because they have to wait too long.
She wasn't the only one waiting for her food; the restaurant's service was incredibly slow.
Thinking of this, Shen Yuan jumped up from the stool.
She's got it!
Besides its affordable prices, Huajian Restaurant has another obvious selling point!
This selling point allows her to take a gamble in Nanjing!
Seeing Shen Yuan get up, Xiao Huzi quickly put down his bowl and chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and said, "Sister Yuan Yuan, I'm done eating! Are you leaving?"
"Mm." Shen Yuan nodded.
After leaving the restaurant, Shen Yuan took Xiao Huzi to visit several other restaurants in the city.
As Shen Yuan had predicted, the restaurants were slow to serve food; waiting half an hour or an hour was common for them.
Having confirmed this, Shen Yuan went straight to the shop she had previously chosen.
The landlord of the shop happened to be there as well. After Shen Yuan explained her purpose, she was welcomed inside.
Shen Yuan followed the landlord, walking from the first floor to the third floor, inspecting the shop inside and out. Only then did Shen Yuan make up her mind and say, "I'll pay you this year's rent now, and we'll write a contract! Is it okay if it's for five years?"
"You're so straightforward, young lady! Okay, I'll go get some paper and pen right away!"
After the landlord finished speaking, he brought out a pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, and wrote a contract according to Shen Yuan's wishes.
He had just finished writing when someone suddenly stepped through the door.
"Old Li, are you there?"
The landlord, surnamed Li, heard someone calling him and hurried to the door.
After recognizing who it was, he chuckled with his hands behind his back, "Sorry, Young Master Jiang, you're too late! My shop has already been rented out!"
"What? Someone rented your shop?"
"Yes! The annual rent is three hundred taels, not a penny less!" Old Li grinned, his tone full of pride.
Shen Yuan frowned as she overheard their conversation. Was there something wrong with this shop?
Shen Yuan didn't rush to sign the contract. Instead, she went outside to ask what was going on.
She had just lifted her leg when she heard a voice: "Let me see who this idiot is?"
Then, a chubby boy dressed in bright gold entered Shen Yuan's field of vision.
The boy had a red dot between his eyebrows, bright and piercing eyes, a high nose bridge, full lips, and a rosy glow on his round cheeks, clearly living a good life with good food, sound sleep, and a happy heart.
Shen Yuan lowered her eyes, her gaze suddenly fixing on a golden pendant at the boy's waist.
The pendant was somewhat similar to Xiao Ling's waist token, as both were made of gold.
The difference is that the boy in front of us is wearing a gourd-shaped belt, which is larger, heavier, and more ornately carved.
Shen Yuan estimated that it should weigh about five jin.
Besides the golden gourd, the boy also had a jade ruyi hanging on the other side of his waist, which was also particularly large, green, and smooth.
Shen Yuan clicked her tongue. Luckily, the child was chubby and had a thick waist, otherwise there wouldn't be enough room to hang so many things.
Jiang Yuchen walked in and saw Shen Yuan. His folding fan snapped shut. "It's actually a girl!"
He paused for a moment, then added, "No wonder they rented your shop!"
Shen Yuan frowned slightly. "What do you mean by that?"
Jiang Yuchen snorted, "Can't you tell? It means you have long hair but short brains and are stupid."
"Don't talk about my sister Yuanyuan like that!" Little Tiger glared angrily at Jiang Yuchen, wanting to fight him.
Shen Yuan stopped Xiao Huzi, her tone calm: "We don't know each other, and we have no grudges. Are you spouting nasty words because you're still upset?"
"Are you unwilling to accept that I beat you to it and rented the shop you wanted?"
Jiang Yuchen's expression hardened at being hit the nail on the head, and he couldn't help but glance at Shen Yuan a few more times.
Upon seeing this, his gaze deepened.
She turned out to be a girl with long hair, short brains, and a dull mind, but still... quite pretty!
Bright eyes and white teeth, her gaze sparkling.
His mother was right after all; he couldn't marry a girl who was too beautiful, because she was either stupid or bad.
Jiang Yuchen curled his lip and said, "You're mistaken. I just think you're stupid. After all, I almost got this shop for 250 taels, but you spent 300! You didn't even know how to negotiate the price. You'll have to spend an extra 50 taels every year from now on. Isn't that stupid?"
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