Tang Yi's expression suddenly changed. "Three thousand gold pieces? Why don't you just rob them?"
He had thought that as a county magistrate, he could ask Qiu Yan for a person, and she would probably give it to him. He never expected that she would refuse so decisively.
Could it be because of his wife?
Tang Yi knew that Qiu Yan had a very good relationship with his wife.
Hu Ying was pleased, as it was rare for her to find Qiu Yan agreeable.
"I've already stated the price. If you can't afford it, I'll be leaving now. I'm too busy at home, please forgive me." Qiu Yan's attitude was kind and impeccable.
After she finished speaking, she took her leave. Tang Yi chased after her for a few steps, then stopped.
He felt a tightness in his chest, so he sent Hu Ying away and left alone.
The wonton shops are now packed with people.
Qiu Ling'er went to study, and Qiu Xu busied himself with tasks, enjoying himself immensely.
Qiu Yumei was afraid he would get burned, so she wouldn't let him help, but Qiu Xu was very stubborn; he wasn't a delicate little girl.
As for Gu Xiaoran, she was being led by Zhu Juan for a walk outside.
Qiu Yan said that Zhu Juan would serve Gu Xiaoran personally from now on.
Gu Xiaoran was initially somewhat resistant, but after playing with Zhu Juan for a while and getting to know her better, he got used to it.
"Aunt Zhu, can you take me back to the village? The puppy is still at home."
"This..." Zhu Juan hesitated, "Young mistress, we don't know the way."
Qiu Yan had just arrived at the shop entrance when she overheard the two talking.
Yesterday, their carriage was full of people and mountain goods, so there was no room for that dog.
"Xiao Ran, wait a while, and Gou'er will definitely bring it to you."
"Miss Qiu." Suddenly hearing someone call her from behind, Qiu Yan turned around and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of her.
Qiu Yan looked him over carefully; his face was oily and he was overweight.
She asked, "Do we know each other?"
When Zhu Juan saw someone talking to Qiu Yan, she was afraid of disturbing the two of them, so she pulled Gu Xiaoran aside to play.
"I am Manager Gao of Shuangxi Restaurant. Miss Qiu, may I speak with you in private?" Manager Gao had been waiting for a long time.
Qiu Yan's attitude turned indifferent. "Manager Gao, please speak frankly. I have other matters to attend to."
Seeing that Qiu Yan spoke directly, Manager Gao didn't beat around the bush either, "Miss Qiu, we would like to hire you as the manager of Shuangxi Restaurant. As for the salary, it will definitely not be less than that of Xingyue Restaurant."
"I'm sure Manager Gao knows that I'm currently working at Xingyue Tower. As for me, Qiu Yan, I've never been one to break my promises. If Shuangxi Tower wants to hire a manager, they should look for someone else."
Qiu Yan spoke bluntly, which instantly changed Manager Gao's expression.
"Do you know what you're refusing?" He felt that no one could resist the temptation of money.
"Manager Gao, poaching people behind the scenes isn't a skill. If you want your business to thrive, you should focus on running it honestly and diligently."
Qiu Yan entered the wonton shop without saying much, regardless of who he was, she would not agree to it.
Manager Gao was seething with anger. This girl was really asking for trouble.
They've already offered such a tempting deal at Shuangxi Restaurant, yet she still doesn't appreciate it.
During busy times, Qiu Yan helped out at the wonton shop for a while. When there were fewer customers, she and Qiu Xu drove the carriage to Xingyue Tower and delivered some mountain produce there on the way.
As soon as Zhou Zifang saw Qiu Yan, his face lit up with a radiant smile.
Seeing that she had brought a lot of local produce again, people said that Qiu Yan knew how to do business.
"Uncle Qi said a few days ago that the mountain products you sent were of good quality and asked you to send some more over."
Qiu Yan smiled and replied, "Yes, I'll go shortly. Judging from how happy you are, Xingyue Tower must be doing well lately."
"Business is steadily improving, and the number of orders has been increasing recently." As Zhou Zifang spoke, he looked at Qiu Xu behind Qiu Yan, who bore a resemblance to her. "I suppose this is your younger brother."
Qiu Yan nodded, and Qiu Xu stepped forward first, "Brother Zhou, my name is Qiu Xu, we've met before."
Zhou Zifang recalled how poor the three of them used to be; he had forgotten about it if Qiu Xu hadn't mentioned it.
"Qiu Xu, we'll be classmates from now on. Don't worry, Brother Zhou will take care of you."
Qiu Xu paused slightly. It was still uncertain who was protecting whom; he wasn't some pitiful little guy who needed someone to protect him for everything.
The three of them came from the backyard to the restaurant in front. Qiu Dayu was wiping the tables in front and was a little surprised to see Qiu Xu there as well.
When he heard that Qiu Xu was coming to Baiyang to study, he wasn't surprised.
“Ah Xu, you must study hard and surpass Qiu Dazhi. Once you pass the imperial examination, your uncle will follow you. Don’t look down on your uncle for being a country bumpkin.”
Qiu Xu: "Uncle, it's too early to say these things." He himself came from a farming family, so how could he look down on his uncle?
Qiu Dayu chuckled dryly: "Your uncle says this so that you will study hard."
Qiu Dayu seemed happier than studying himself just to suppress Qiu Dazhi, since his fourth brother always had such an arrogant look on his face.
Qiu Xu is different; he's much more humble.
Qiu Dayu didn't say much and continued working.
Zhou Zifang began to chatter on and on about the recent situation at the restaurant to Qiu Yan.
"Qiu Yan, you don't know, Shuangxi Restaurant has recently started imitating our food delivery service. However, we set a precedent, and our customers have gotten used to us, so their business can't compare to ours."
"That's called preconceived notions." Qiu Yan had guessed that Shuangxilou would imitate them; hadn't they imitated Song Jiao before?
As a result, their pipa players' musical skills were not as good as Song Jiao's.
"Sigh, there's one problem that's really giving me a headache. We're running out of tableware, which is a real problem."
However, I have already sent Lin Shu to have tableware specially made.
I'm wondering how to solve the problem with these tableware?
Previously, a deposit was required for all dishes and tableware delivered, and of course, the deposit was the same as the price of the tableware itself.
Their tableware at Xingyuelou is all top-notch, and some people keep it because they think it looks nice.
Some wealthy families don't care about a few extra tableware fees and simply don't refund them.
Qiu Yan thought to herself, "It's inconvenient not having a lunchbox."
"Perhaps we could customize some wooden lunch boxes." That would be much more environmentally friendly than the plastic lunch boxes we have now.
"A wooden lunchbox? Right, how come I didn't think of that?" Zhou Zifang chuckled, surprised that Qiu Yan had solved the problem he had been racking his brains over with just a few words. "You're so smart."
After he finished speaking, he seemed to remember something, went into the backyard, and gave Qiu Yan a wooden box.
"This is for you."
Someone else gave her a wooden box?
This wooden box was much larger than the one Gu Qian had given her.
When Qiu Yan opened it, she found some longan, walnuts, peach kernels, and sweet almonds inside the wooden box.
“My mother specially sent this to me. I thought you would love it, so I saved it all for you.”
In ancient times, longan was mostly a tribute item, and only high-ranking officials and nobles could eat it. Zhou Zifang's first thought was Qiu Yan.
Qiu Yan peeled open a longan; it was a dried longan.
She casually stuffed it into Qiu Xu's mouth, causing him to pause for a moment before he began to eat.
Seeing the deep bond between Qiu Yan and her brother, Zhou Zifang felt a pang of envy; he also longed for an older sister.
"Qiu Yan, can I peel one too?"
Qiu Yan glanced at him sideways, "Zhou Zifang, the exam is in a few days, have you been studying?"
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