Soon it was the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, and Yan Qingqing got up early.
Li Xiang'an, Li Xiangjian, and Wang Dong had already stayed at the shop the night before.
After tidying up, Yan Qingqing fed Li Xiangyang and changed his diaper. The little guy whimpered as he ate and drank his fill and then went back to sleep.
Yan Qingqing felt that being a baby was so wonderful; all she did every day was eat, drink, and sleep, and if she was unhappy, someone would comfort her.
Unlike her, who gets up earlier than the chickens and goes to bed later than the dogs every day, working hard to support her large family.
Just as Yan Qingqing was reminiscing, Yuan Huiniang walked in and took Li Xiangyang from her, saying, "I've already spoken with Third Aunt, and she'll take care of my sister today. Don't worry, Mother."
By the way, Mo Chen also said he wasn't going and wanted to stay home. I thought I'd just let him be.
Our family members will go over to help first; the village chief and the others might be a little later.
However, there are a few oxcarts in our village that should be able to accommodate everyone.”
Yan Qingqing nodded. Their shop was opening today, and everyone in the family would definitely be there.
However, Li Xiangyang was too young, and there were too many people in the city and the weather was cold, which was not good for the little one, so Yan Qingqing entrusted her to Xu Shi.
As for Xiao Mochen, Yan Qingqing naturally wouldn't force him to go if he didn't want to.
Seeing that there was nothing left to pack, Yan Qingqing told Yuan Huiniang and the others that they could set off.
When they arrived in the county town, it was just before dawn. Yan Qingqing went to Li Ji's shop in Canghe. Li Xiang'an and the others had already opened the shop, and the three of them were busy preparing the ingredients to sell that day in the backyard.
Several large pots and ovens in the backyard were already on fire, and Yan Qingqing quickly stepped in to help when she saw that she was too busy.
With more people working together, the work became easier. Yan Qingqing then said, "I see that the three of you are too busy. How about we hire two helpers?"
Li Xiang'an replied, "Mother, today is the first day, so it will definitely be busy. I'm thinking of waiting a couple of days and seeing how things go. If business is good, we'll hire two more; if business is so-so, the three of us will be enough."
"What if we hire more people now but don't need that many for later stages? We can't just fire them all, can we?"
Yan Qingqing thought about it and felt that Li Xiang'an's words made some sense, so she replied, "Since Mother has entrusted everything here to you, you can handle this matter yourself. If you really can't handle it, don't force yourself."
Just as the family was busily preparing, Li Yueniang came in and said, "Mother, someone has brought a congratulatory gift."
Yan Qingqing looked up when she heard this. Who is this? Sending a congratulatory gift before dawn? That's way too early.
However, Yan Qingqing couldn't be negligent when someone came to deliver a gift, so she put down her work and hurried to the shop in front.
Yan Qingqing recognized the man; weren't they the two pimps from Zuishenglou?
Upon seeing Yan Qingqing, the two quickly said, "Congratulations on your grand opening, Boss Yan! Our madam knew your shop was opening today, so she specially sent us to deliver a congratulatory gift."
Yan Qingqing glanced at the box on the ground; this gift was quite substantial.
So he asked, "Why did Sister Lin send you here so early to deliver your congratulatory gifts?"
One of them replied, "We only work at night. Our place just closed up, and our madam told us to bring over the gifts we had prepared."
Moreover, our madam said that someone of her status couldn't attend in person, so she wished you a prosperous business and abundant wealth.
Yan Qingqing knew that Lin Ning'er didn't want to put her in a difficult position. It wasn't a problem that their shop was close to the brothel, but they might be willing to eat at the same table with the brothel madam in private. However, they definitely wouldn't want to do it in public.
Lin Ning'er's thoughtfulness was appreciated by Yan Qingqing, who accepted the gift and told the two of them to go back and tell their boss, "I have received her good wishes, and I will invite her for drinks alone later."
Satisfied with Yan Qingqing's words, the two went to report back to Lin Ning'er.
Just as Lin Ning'er was about to rest, she heard the two pimps' replies and smiled, saying, "I knew I hadn't misjudged her. She's no ordinary woman."
"Alright, you two can leave now. I'm going to rest for a bit."
Lying in bed, Lin Ning'er tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Once upon a time, she had a close confidante, but that confidante turned out to be a wicked beast who had brought a wolf into her house, leading to her current predicament.
Thinking of this, Lin Ning'er's eyes revealed resentment. She wondered if she would ever have the chance to take revenge in this lifetime.
As dawn breaks, the light shines on every corner of Chengyang County.
Canghe Li Ji has already prepared the food to sell.
Li Xiang'an loaded the red bean curd ordered by the restaurant onto the carriage and said to Yan Qingqing, "Mother, I'll deliver the restaurant's goods first and be right back."
Yan Qingqing watched her spirited son wave to her.
There weren't many people buying meat in the morning; most of the people who came to the store were there to give congratulatory gifts. This included the three restaurants that Yan Qingqing and her partners worked with, Jinshengge, as well as Ding Yuanwai and Chen Liu, who all gave a congratulatory gift.
Yan Qingqing had Yuan Huiniang register them one by one, as these would be gifts that needed to be returned later.
Li Xiang'an returned quickly and was somewhat surprised to see that his family had received so many congratulatory gifts in such a short time. Had his family unknowingly accumulated so many social obligations?
However, what Li Xiang'an wanted to know most was whether the county magistrate had sent them a congratulatory gift. Although he felt the chances were slim, it had almost become an obsession for Li Xiang'an.
Around ten o'clock, their shop started to get busy.
Yan Qingqing warmly welcomed them, and one of them asked, "Boss, I heard that you have special offers and free gifts for the first three days of your opening. Can you tell me more about them?"
Yan Qingqing replied, "For the first three days after opening, our shop will offer a 20% discount on everything. For example, if you buy something worth one tael of silver, I will only charge eight qian for those three days."
In addition, for the first three days, everyone who buys something from us will receive a free serving of braised dishes.
The man thought it was a good deal and said, "Then give me a braised chicken and a drunken duck."
I've never tried either of these things before, but just hearing their names makes them sound delicious.
Li Xiangping, who was standing to the side, asked again whether it was for personal consumption or as a gift. If it was a gift, he said he could pack it in a gift box for him, but each gift box would cost an extra fifteen coins.
The man said it was for his own consumption, so Li Xiangping used ordinary oil paper to wrap it.
A braised chicken originally cost 500 coins, but with a 20% discount, it was 400 coins. Drunken Immortal Duck originally cost 550 coins, but with a 20% discount, it was 440 coins. They also gave him a side of braised dishes and two braised eggs as a gift, so he paid a total of 840 coins.
At first glance, 800 coins for a chicken and a duck does seem like a lot, but compared to restaurants, it's still far from enough.
Besides, Yan Qingqing's shop wasn't opened for the poor.
Once the first person bought it, there was a long queue. Thanks to the effective pre-sales promotion, a long line soon formed in front of Canghe Liji's shop.
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