Chapter 24: The Fire
After leaving the house, Yun Wan went to the incense shop first.
Xiangfang is located in the west of the city. It was originally a yard for drying medicinal materials. After Yun Wan took over Yunxiang Pavilion and the business started to pick up, he bought it and converted it into an incense-making workshop.
After staying in Xiangfang for an hour, Yun Wan went to Yunxiang Pavilion.
It was the Cold Food Festival, and the streets of Kyoto were bustling with traffic. Yunxiang Pavilion also welcomed a large number of customers and its business was booming.
The waiter at the door was sharp-eyed. He saw the Lu family's carriage and went in to report it immediately. After a while, Mrs. Hu came out to greet them, smiling:
"The boss is here! Please come in!"
'Boss' naturally refers to Yun Wan. Although they all know that she is the third wife of the Lu family, at Yun Wan's request, the shopkeeper and servants who run the shop under her all call her 'Boss'.
Yun helped her get off the carriage and when they stepped into the shop they saw it was full of people, all customers who came to buy incense, most of them were young ladies.
Mrs. Hu: "Boss, there are too many people here, shall we go to the back?"
She had a bold voice and looked just like him. She was a woman in her thirties, with a neat and neat appearance, her hair in a high bun, her clothes neatly dressed, and a heroic air in her every move.
Yun Wan: "Thank you for your hard work. I'll send these out later."
She pointed at what Yue Jian was holding.
When Mrs. Hu took a look, she found that they were actually green dumplings.
Each one was big, round, green, and attractive in appearance, with the small seal of "Lu Guogong Mansion" on it. Yun Wan brought them from the mansion.
In families like the Lu Guogong Mansion, the kitchen would prepare a batch of festive food during every festival and give it to the servants as rewards or gifts, such as green rice dumplings, moon cakes, rice dumplings, Laba porridge... just for good luck.
Maybe it was freshly made, the green rice dumplings were still steaming and fragrant.
Mrs. Hu felt warm in her heart and said with a smile, "It seems we are in for a treat. I will thank the host on their behalf!"
Yun Wan laughed: "Why are you being so polite to me? Go in first."
People are coming and going, and some people have already noticed this place.
The two entered the back room, and Mrs. Hu poured tea for Yun.
After sitting down, she looked at Yun Wan, her tone familiar and tinged with envy: "Master, you still look so beautiful, just as when I first saw you. If I were a man, I would definitely fall at your feet."
Before she first met Yun Wan, Madam Hu was a handyman in the medicine shop. As she was the only female worker, she was ostracized by the other male handymen and always had to do the heaviest and most tiring work.
It was not until Yun Wan bought the herbal medicine shop, converted it into an incense shop, and hired more female workers that Madam Hu stayed.
Afterwards, she performed well in the incense shop and was noticed by Yun Wan for her eloquence and was sent to Yunxiang Pavilion. Finally, she was promoted step by step to the position of shopkeeper.
Mrs. Hu was extremely grateful for Yun Wan's kindness. She was born in a poor family and had suffered a lot because of her bad marriage. It was only because she met Yun Wan that her fate was changed in her middle age.
Yun Wan glanced at her sideways and raised her hand as if to hit her, "Stop being so smooth-talking. Use your clever mouth to persuade customers and bring more revenue to our shop."
Madam Hu stared blankly: "God has mercy on me! These days, waves of people come to buy Yunyinxiang. It's a good thing, but my voice has become hoarse!"
I didn't notice it just now, but now that I hear it, Mrs. Hu's voice is indeed a bit hoarse.
Yun Wan took a few looks and asked with concern, "Is it serious? If it's serious, why don't you take some time off and see a doctor?"
Mrs. Hu waved her hand, drank a cup of tea and said, "No need, I drank a few pots of heat-clearing tea and my throat is much better now."
Seeing that although her face looked a little haggard, her eyes were full of energy, Yun Wan felt relieved.
"Just keep in mind that business is important, but your health is even more important. Don't fall ill, or people will say I'm a skinner."
Mrs. Hu couldn't help laughing: "Who would dare to believe such words coming from your mouth? If anyone says such words, I, Hu Sanniang, will be the first to rush over!"
She spoke in a hurry and missed the last few words. Yun Wan was helpless: "You'd better say less."
Mrs. Hu smiled awkwardly and said seriously, "Alright, stop making a fuss. The boss is not just passing through, right?"
Yun Wan nodded, glanced at the incense rack against the wall and said, "You're right. I want to pick some spices to take back."
Knowing her a little, Mrs. Hu asked, "Is the boss planning to come up with a new fragrance?"
Yun Wan shook her head: "Not really."
"I don't have any clue, I'm just guessing."
Yun Wan stood up and stopped in front of the display shelf, lowering her head to carefully select items. Madam Hu did not come forward to disturb her.
After picking for a quarter of an hour, Yun Wan thought to himself, as expected, and looked disappointed.
Seeing this, Mrs. Hu put down her teacup and asked curiously, "Are these all useless?"
Yun Wan sighed faintly, "I always feel like it's not quite right."
The emperor's affairs are indeed difficult to handle.
There is no way not to do it.
Seeing her so distressed for the first time, Mrs. Hu was stunned for a moment. "All the spices in the shop are here. If you want something else, I'm afraid you'll have to look outside."
After thinking for a moment, she said, "How about you write down what you want, and I'll send someone to deliver it to the Duke's Mansion when the new stock arrives in two days?"
Yun Wan was about to agree when she heard her say, "By the way, I heard this morning that the Hu merchant from Anyifang returned from the Western Regions and brought in a lot of good goods. I wonder if there's anything the boss wants..."
Hu merchant?
Yun Wan reacted, "Are you talking about Boss Luo?"
A famous Western merchant in Kyoto, with a good business acumen, settled in Anyifang. Whenever he returned to Beijing from outside, he would find all kinds of strange and exotic things, including but not limited to various precious spices.
Yun Wan had not only heard of it, but had also visited there. Several of Asui's gifts came from Anyifang.
Mrs. Hu replied, "The delivery boy passed by yesterday and saw several carts of goods being unloaded. I guess he made a lot of money this time."
Yun Wan became interested: "It's still early, I'll go take a look."
Mrs. Hu: "Then I won't keep you here, Master. Please take care."
After leaving Yunxiang Pavilion and getting into the carriage, Yuezhi asked, "Madam, are we going to Anyifang?"
Yun Wan: "Well, since I'm on my way, I'll go take a look."
It takes half an hour to drive from Yunxiang Pavilion to Anyifang. Especially today is the Cold Food Festival, and there are many people walking on the streets, so it took a little longer.
only--
Looking at the shop with its door tightly closed, Yun Wan became suspicious.
Yuezhi went forward and knocked on the door. After a while, the door opened and a burly servant dressed in coarse cloth stuck his head out.
Yuezhi: "Boss Luo is here. We are from Yunxiang Pavilion and would like to buy some spices from him."
The servant waved his hand: "Boss Luo is not here, come back in a few days!"
After saying that, he was about to close the door.
Yuezhi leaned against the door, a little anxiously: "But we heard that Boss Luo returned to Beijing yesterday. Could he be leaving again today?"
The servant said impatiently: "What are you talking about? I said I'm not here, so I'm not here!"
After saying that, the door slammed shut.
Yun Wan and Yue Zhi looked at each other with helplessness on their faces.
The two men wanted to leave, but as they turned around, they suddenly heard a sharp scream: "Murder! Murder!"
In an instant, the door opened again and someone rushed out with blood on his face, a panicked and terrified expression, looking extremely terrifying.
Yun Wan turned around and was shocked when she saw this, and quickly dodged.
When I looked up again, I saw flames shooting up into the sky and thick smoke billowing behind the gate.
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