The second floor of the Treasure Pavilion is mainly for serving VIP customers and providing treatments. The prices are much higher than those for customers in the lobby on the first floor. Moreover, each treatment earns points that can be redeemed for wages at the end of the month. If a customer chooses to renew their subscription, the staff can also earn commissions, which are higher than those in the lobby on the first floor. Therefore, working on the second floor is both prestigious and a real benefit for the staff.
Su Meng nodded in understanding. Meng Zhao then discussed some daily affairs with several managers, as well as the year-end closing time and the employees' New Year's gifts, before getting into the carriage to go home.
Upon arriving at the Meng residence, she saw a carriage parked at the gate. Having seen many horses, she could now distinguish between good and bad ones. These two horses had glossy coats and long limbs, clearly fine steeds. Using them to drive a carriage was a waste.
She circled the carriage, trying to see whose it was. When she saw the "Xiao" emblem engraved on the carriage, she knew who it was. She pushed open the gate, walked through the courtyard with several winter plum trees in the front yard, went around the hanging flower gate, and walked along the bluestone path to the main hall.
Before even reaching the hall, he heard his father's hearty laughter coming from inside. "Youzhi, ever since we moved from Qingshi County to the capital, none of my old drinking buddies have been around. You have no idea how bored I've been these past few days! You've come at the perfect time! We two must have a good drink together!"
Then a clear and gentle laugh rang out: "Haha, good, Uncle Meng, don't worry, I'll definitely keep you company and have a good time tonight."
Then came Xu Yunrong's voice, tinged with reproach, "Youzhi, don't listen to your Uncle Meng's nonsense. He drank quite a bit yesterday on the eve of the Lunar New Year, how could he possibly drink any more?"
Meng Dashan hurriedly defended himself: "What nonsense! There was only one adult man at the banquet yesterday, and he couldn't drink. I was worried that he had official business to attend to, so I couldn't even persuade him to drink. He didn't drink much in total."
Xiao Youzhi raised an eyebrow. "It seems I came at the wrong time. If I had arrived a day earlier, I would have definitely had a good time drinking with Uncle Meng yesterday, instead of spoiling his fun."
"No problem, no problem!" Meng Dashan slapped his thigh and stood up. "It's not too late today. I'll tell the kitchen to prepare some good dishes so we can have a good get-together when Zhaozhao comes back."
He had just gotten up to leave when he glanced up and saw Meng Zhao standing outside the hall. His face immediately lit up with a smile: "Zhao Zhao is back! Come in quickly. Youzhi specially came back from Jiangnan before the New Year. You young people should have a good chat."
Although they had kept in touch through correspondence, Meng Zhao noticed that Xiao Youzhi had changed a lot since they last met. His features were more defined, his jawline more prominent, and he exuded a composed demeanor. She didn't stand on ceremony and glanced at Xiao Youzhi as soon as she entered the room. "You've only just arrived and you're already trying to get my father to drink? He's getting old and can't handle this kind of nonsense."
Meng Dashan is a good man in every way, except for his habit of drinking too much. In the past, because he was still young and had a good drinking habit, Meng Zhao let him be and would occasionally have a few drinks with him. But as he got older, Meng Zhao had to keep an eye on him, fearing that he would drink too much and harm his health.
Looking at the woman before him, Xiao Youzhi couldn't help but feel a slight stirring in his heart. It had been almost a year since they last met, and she was exactly the same woman he remembered, except that her aura was even stronger. The way she had glanced at him just now had made him, a man who had been experienced in the business world for many years, feel a little overwhelmed. He subconsciously looked to Meng Dashan for help.
Seeing this, Meng Dashan quickly tried to smooth things over: "Zhaozhao, this isn't Youzhi's fault. It was just that I was in a good mood and insisted on making him drink. I promise you, I'll stop when you say so, and I won't drink any more, okay?"
Meng Zhao knew that everyone has some hobbies, so he sighed and softened his tone: "Alright, just remember what I said now, don't forget it after a few rounds of drinks."
"Definitely!" Meng Dashan breathed a sigh of relief. His daughter's aura was getting stronger and stronger, even he, as her father, was a little intimidated. "Then I'll go arrange the meal. You and Youzhi can catch up." Seeing Meng Dashan leave, Xu Yunrong didn't stay either and followed him to the front yard.
With no elders present, Xiao Youzhi's gaze became more unrestrained. His deep eyes fell on Meng Zhao, and when his gaze landed on the water-colored cloud pattern on her skirt, the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up.
Meng Zhao noticed his gaze, looked down, and said, "You recognized it? It's those Jiangnan brocades you sent before. I thought the colors were beautiful, so I made a few clothes from them." After saying that, she asked, "But you sent so many that I couldn't use them all myself, so I gave some to others. Is that alright?"
Xiao Youzhi chuckled upon hearing this, "What's given to you is yours. You can do whatever you want with it. Besides, it's just a few bolts of cloth. You can have whatever good stuff you want."
Meng Zhao's eyes flickered, and she gave him a meaningful look: "Judging from your generous manner, it seems that my prescription has made you quite a bit of money?"
Xiao Youzhi's smile froze instantly. Before he could answer, Meng Zhao continued, "The price of brocade in the capital has skyrocketed recently, far exceeding my expectations. Since you've made such a huge profit, isn't it rather unfair of you to offer me just a few bolts of cloth?"
Xiao Youzhi had initially thought the girl might be up to no good, but when he heard about business, he became serious. "Your formula is good, but its applications are limited. Only the color-fixing method is truly excellent, and it's a great achievement. I should thank you properly, but..." He changed the subject, "If it weren't for your troublesome matter, why would I have been delayed in Jiangnan for so long? Just the fee for asking me to come would have cost a fortune."
Meng Zhao was immediately speechless with anger: "I only told you to send someone to do it, not that you had to go yourself. Besides, my color-fixing formula could probably sell for over a thousand taels of silver at any large dye shop. So, you, Young Master Xiao, are making a thousand taels of silver a month?"
Xiao Youzhi's expression turned serious: "Do you really think your matter is easy to handle?" He put down his teacup, his voice deepening: "Cassava is inherently poisonous. Didn't you know to bribe everyone before opening your workshop? Only after being accused of drug production did you think to write to me?"
Mentioning this matter, Meng Zhao also felt helpless. Although cassava is poisonous, after peeling, removing the core, washing, crushing, filtering the residue, and soaking and settling multiple times, the toxicity of raw cassava can be removed. In addition, there is a final cooking step, which makes it even safer. Who would have thought that the cassava flour had been sold for a long time, but it was inexplicably labeled as producing drugs, and the workshop was also shut down.
Upon receiving the message by carrier pigeon that day, she almost rushed to Huazhou herself. However, considering the long journey and the fact that she might be convicted by the time she arrived, she was relieved to find that Xiao Youzhi had given her a letter of recommendation when she signed the starch cooperation agreement with the Xiao family. Before Xu Ping set off, she gave him the letter and told him to seek help from the Xiao family if he encountered any difficulties.
But it was just an ordinary letter of recommendation. Meng Zhao was worried that the situation was serious and that the manager of the Xiao family in Huazhou might not do his best. She remembered that Xiao Youzhi had told her that he was in Jiangnan to consolidate the fabric business, so she hurriedly sent a letter. Her original intention was just to ask him to send a capable person to mediate.
But since it was such an important matter, it wouldn't be right to ask him to help for nothing, so he came up with two or three secret recipes related to fabric as a token of his gratitude.
To everyone's surprise, Xiao Youzhi acted so quickly. Just a few days later, she received a letter from Xu Ping saying that the workshop had resumed operations. Only then did she realize that Xiao Youzhi had personally gone to make the trip.
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