In the autumn of the 34th year of the Yongping reign, Duan Xinning, the legitimate daughter of Prince Pingnan, was canonized as Princess Anning for her remarkable achievements in combating an epidemic. In early March of the following year, Princess Anning's husband, Ding Youtian, was named the top scholar in the imperial examination. With a flourish, Prince Pingnan commissioned the construction of a magnificent mansion for his daughter and son-in-law, which quickly became a legendary event.
On this day, the newly crowned number one scholar, wearing a red robe, rode a tall horse and rode slowly along the ten-mile-long street. At the same time, the large restaurant, which was taken over by Lao Liu and Tian Xiaoyu and renamed Xichunlou from Sixiyuan, was officially opened.
When the sound of gongs and drums came from afar, Ah Man cried out "Oh" and ran out first, followed by Erniu, Sanniu and Ma Xiaodou, and then Dabao and Ma Xiaomi. They came to the capital with Lao Liu and his wife, and they were already studying at the Beijing Academy.
Maoqiu also followed Dabao. Dabao walked neither fast nor slow, and Maoqiu was also very steady, dragging its long tail and following Dabao's feet calmly.
"The top scholar in literature is my father, you know? He's my father!" Ah Man danced with joy and excitedly introduced the new top scholar as her father to the people around her.
It turned out that she called Ding Youtian "Second Daddy", but Ding Youtian was not happy about it and thought "Second Daddy" sounded unpleasant. People who didn't know would think that his wife had married two husbands, which was very inappropriate.
Ah Man then changed his words and called him dad.
The onlookers just thought she was the daughter of the newly crowned top scholar and praised her endlessly.
"Oh, your father won the first place in the imperial examination, that's amazing!"
"The number one scholar's daughter is so beautiful, so he must be very handsome too."
Erniu said loudly: "He is also my father. I am also the daughter of the number one scholar, and so is my sister."
The onlookers burst into praise again, saying that the number one scholar was very lucky to have three beautiful daughters. Dabao glanced at the three of them calmly, frowned slightly, as if he thought they were too noisy.
Dabao, who is almost ten years old, is becoming more mature and steady, and even Ma Xiaomi looks a lot more refined.
The sound of gongs and drums got closer, and the crowd started chattering when they saw the top scholar.
"Tsk tsk, what a handsome champion! He's even more handsome than the third place winner behind him.
"Of course not. How could Princess An Ning's husband not be handsome? Just look at the girls in their family and you'll know that Princess An Ning's appearance is also top-notch."
After the parade came over, Dabao glanced at Ding Youtian, who was in high spirits, and silently turned around and walked into the restaurant.
The furry ball flicked its tail and followed closely in.
"Father!"
“Daddy!”
Ah Man, Erniu and Sanniu jumped up and down, waving and shouting at Ding Youtian. Ding Youtian glanced at them with a smile and looked at Jian Ning who had just walked to the door.
Regardless of the fact that he was in public, he gave Jian Ning a flirtatious look in the street. Jian Ning gouged his eyes, turned back inside, and in a flash, she saw Bai Mei flying out.
The white-browed dragon flew out and landed directly on Ding Youtian's official hat. It stood majestically on his head, with an expression like that of a cold king, its eyes not looking sideways, its small body standing straight, and it actually stole the limelight from the new number one scholar.
Ding Youtian raised his eyes and said, "You flat-haired beast, you came uninvited to such a good thing without any invitation."
Baimei turned a deaf ear to it and continued to look aloof. His temperament was perfectly controlled, which amazed the onlookers.
The sixth brother was now dressed like a proper businessman, and had grown a bit stronger. He leaned against the door and watched Ding Youtian riding past, his face beaming with joy. "Look at my fourth brother. He's even more impressive than the county magistrate. I knew he was no ordinary man. I've known since he was a kid."
"Come on, you sound better than Uncle Liu. I've never heard you say that your fourth brother is not an ordinary person before." Jian Ning wiped the counter with a feather duster and glanced at him with a smile.
"Hey, you didn't tell me before because you were afraid that my fourth brother would get cocky." Lao Liu turned and came in, taking the feather duster from her hand. "I'll do it. How can I trouble my fourth sister-in-law to do all this?"
"It's quite clean. I just dusted it off when I had some free time. It's bound to be dusty here with so much traffic."
"Business thrives when there are many people on the street. Oh, I never dreamed that I would open a shop in the capital. Before I came here, Boss Zhang told me to help him find out that he would open a restaurant in the capital in the future and sell the wine and food of our Baisha Town to every corner of Dayan Kingdom."
"Compared to Boss Zhang, I'm far behind. I only think about how to make money, but he's thinking about promoting our local wine and food!"
Jian Ning smiled and said, "Boss Zhang is a man of vision, and you're not bad either. You have the advantage of age. By the time you're his age, you'll probably be miles ahead of him. Work hard and think about the dishes when you have time. We want to promote our local cuisine. When we return, we'll also keep an eye out for local chefs. I'll hire any skilled chefs who are willing to work in Beijing."
"That's great! Fourth sister-in-law is really thoughtful. Why didn't I think of hiring a local chef? There are so many restaurants in the capital. It's not good to just follow others and make dishes without my own unique signature dishes. I'll ask Fourth brother to help me come up with some fresh and bright dish names. I'm going to make dishes that are different from others no matter how hard I try."
"Just wait and see. I, Little Sixth Brother, will never bring shame to Fourth Brother and his wife. I will definitely make a name for myself!"
Sixiyuan was purchased by Min without the knowledge of Prince Pingnan. She also owned several shops. After she was imprisoned, the shops naturally became the property of Prince Pingnan. Prince Pingnan gave Sixiyuan to Jian Ning, and the remaining shops to Min's two daughters.
Jian Ning thought that if Ding Youtian passed the high school entrance examination, she would definitely not be able to run the restaurant. Even if he didn't pass, she couldn't give up her family business, so she called Lao Liu and his wife over early.
Xichunlou was ostensibly run by Laoliu and his wife, but the real boss behind the scenes was Jian Ning. Duan Xinping also gave a shop allocated to her, which was originally an inn, to Ma Fuquan, asking him to convert it into a security agency.
Now, the second brother of the Tian family has moved into the Beijing Escort Agency, and the first business order they received is the Yunshan Cuijiu from Xichunlou.
Everyone inside and outside Xichunlou was replaced. None of the original Sixiyuan staff stayed. The newly hired chefs cooked mediocre dishes, which were all available in other restaurants in the capital. There was nothing special about them. Since the business opened, it has barely managed to break even, which is far worse than when Lao Liu was in Jin County.
"I believe you can do it well. Don't worry if you don't make money for the time being. Xiaoyu is pregnant now, so don't let her work too hard. Do you think you can bring her parents over to help take care of her? If you think it's okay, I'll have Sister Tian tell them when I get back."
The Tian elder couple had been helping the sixth brother and his wife to manage the inn business in Jin County. This time when they went to Beijing, Tian's mother did not let the elder couple come with them. Beijing is not any other place, and the couple also thought that it was not the business of the sixth brother and his wife, so they did not dare to ask to come with them.
"Okay, her parents are worried about me."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
