Even knowing that resistance might be futile and her struggles might be ineffective, Liu Xiaodie still wanted to fight for her future.
After all, it was a matter of her entire life. Even if she were to become a concubine, she would still want to find a man who was pleasing to the eye and whom she liked.
"Do you think Wang Yan is a pushover? Or do you think Mu Yurou is inferior to you?"
Liu Xiaodie's face turned pale instantly. Of course, she knew she was inferior to the two of them. They were legitimate daughters of the first wife, and even among business families, the difference between a legitimate daughter and a concubine's daughter was like heaven and earth.
But... she didn't want to crawl out of an aunt's belly either, did she?
"Hurry up and get dressed. Come with me to see Magistrate Wang in a bit. Magistrate Wang is a bit old, but he doesn't have a proper wife right now. With your brother here, maybe I can get you the status of a proper wife?"
Liu Xiaodie gave a bitter smile. It turned out that in her brother's heart, she truly was dispensable. She had never considered becoming an old man's principal wife. Besides, that Magistrate Wang had already lost several wives, and his sons were all older than her.
What's so good about being the legal wife of this kind of person?
...
The clinic definitely needed to be renamed, and Han Luoxue came up with a very down-to-earth name: Le'an Hall.
Old Li was very satisfied with the name. Peace and joy, it's a good name, and the meaning is also good.
Even though they run a pharmacy, they still hope that fewer people will come in for treatment.
"The name Madam chose is excellent; it's much better than our previous names!"
"If you like it, that's fine. We'll start by selling medicine. As for the medicine we just made, let's call it Le'an Ointment."
Zhou Jie frowned and tugged at Han Luoxue's arm, pulling her aside to avoid the crowd. She whispered, "Xue'er, I think the name you suggested for the shop is good, but is it a bit inappropriate for us to use it now?"
"Don't forget, there are quite a few people in the capital who know you're the Lady of Le'an County. I'm worried that if they connect it to your business..."
Han Luoxue frowned; she hadn't thought of that.
"Then how about we change one character and keep calling it Fu'an Hall?"
"Fu'an Hall means happiness and peace, which is a good meaning. I think this is quite good."
Zhou Jie's eyes lit up when she heard the name.
“Okay, then we’ll call our ointment Fu’an Ointment. We’ll try to sell this ointment all over the country. When people hear ‘Fu’an Ointment,’ they’ll think of Fu’an Hall.”
When Old Man Li heard that a word had been changed, he didn't ask any further questions. In his opinion, both names were fine, much better than the names they had given each other before.
The shop's interior decoration was arranged according to Han Luoxue's design, the windows were reopened, and the space was slightly expanded.
With the windows larger, the shop is much brighter. While the light transmission is certainly different now without glass, it's still much better than when Han Luoxue first came in.
Looking at the bright and cheerful shop, Han Luoxue smiled with satisfaction. Next, they would need to do a good job of advertising outside, and the shop would be open for business in three days.
"Miss Mu, I'd like to find some young and strong people here, preferably those who know some martial arts."
Fatty Liu is not someone to be trifled with, and it's obvious he won't let her open for business peacefully. Han Luoxue's side still wants to make preparations in advance.
"I can ask around for you."
“Our family does have guards, but my father doesn’t want to offend Fatty Liu. Sorry, Madam Han!”
Han Luoxue didn't say much about it. After all, they were just outsiders, and it was normal for people not to want to offend others for their sake.
"Mrs. Han!" Han Luoxue and Mu Yurou both frowned when they saw Wang Yan approaching again.
"Mrs. Han, I've come here today to ask you for a favor. I wonder if it's convenient for you?"
Wang Yan considered several methods, but in the end she decided to state her purpose directly.
Since her relationship with Han Luoxue couldn't possibly be good, she might as well just settle it with money.
"It's inconvenient!" Han Luoxue refused directly, and Wang Yan's smile almost vanished. Normally, wouldn't someone say, "Sure, why don't you tell me?"
But what's wrong with this woman in front of me? She's so clueless about social interactions.
Mu Yurou almost couldn't hold back her laughter, and Wang Yan's face turned bright red. In the end, she couldn't help but say, "Mrs. Han, I thought we were already friends!"
"Really? I don't feel anything?"
Wang Yan almost vomited blood. Didn't Han Luoxue accept her gift last time? This woman is really something, only caring about accepting gifts and not doing anything in return.
"I want to do business with you!"
Wang Yan could barely contain her anger; this was the first time she had ever encountered a woman like this.
"Oh, then you can tell me!"
"The last time I smelled your food, it smelled really good. I was wondering if you used any special spices or if you have any secret recipe?"
Hearing this, Han Luoxue raised an eyebrow. She had thought this woman was acting a bit strangely; it turned out she had her eye on her spices.
However, several of her spices were unavailable at that time. Even if Wang Yan knew her recipe, she couldn't possibly recreate the exact same thing.
As for finding other alternatives available in this era, Han Luoxue hadn't paid attention to that.
The main issue is that during her time here, and among the people she's met, most of them struggle to even have enough to eat and drink. For them, being able to fill their stomachs is the greatest happiness; why would they be picky about the taste of their food?
"Hehe, I was wondering why Miss Wang suddenly came. Did your father send you here?"
Mu Yurou covered her mouth and chuckled. She then turned to Han Luoxue and explained, "The Wang family mainly runs a food business. They have quite a few restaurants. If they had such fragrant roasted meat, their business would probably be even better."
Han Luoxue only just realized that the Wang family was actually in the food business, but she didn't have their spices or recipes, so if she wanted to buy the finished product, the price would definitely not be cheap.
"Mu Yurou, what do you mean by that? I'm discussing business with Mrs. Han right now, please don't interfere!"
Hearing this, Mu Yurou chuckled lightly: "If you're thinking of using spice as a weapon, I think you should forget about it. Miss Wang, don't forget that our Mu family also owns restaurants. I even tasted their barbecue last time. If Madam Han wants to get involved, our Mu family is willing to cooperate!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yan's expression changed. She and Mu Yurou disliked each other, not only because of their vastly different personalities, but more importantly because of their families' businesses.
The two families were originally competitors, but now they have fallen behind again.
Upon hearing this, Han Luoxue couldn't help but raise an eyebrow: "Does your family also run a food business?"
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