Chapter 106: She hugged his leg, her fingers pointing upwards...
Two days later, a fast food product called self-heating rice suddenly appeared in Yuzhou Prefecture and its five counties. Then, with an extremely strong momentum, it quickly became the top-selling food product in the eight counties under Yuzhou Prefecture within just three days.
"My lord," the newly arrived registrar, surnamed Deng, reported the information he had gathered to Lord Chen, "according to my calculations, Boss Tang has earned at least three thousand taels of silver in the five days since his self-heating rice went on sale."
Earning three thousand taels in five days, including the market in the prefecture and the eight counties under it, is not much. What is unusual is that this novel product he created was so popular as soon as it came out.
Since ancient times, it has been a long process for something new to be born and accepted by people. The first group of people who tried to sell goods from the north to the south all failed because they couldn't adapt to the local conditions, and the waiting period was also very long.
However, Boss Tang's self-heating rice was immediately snatched up. Registrar Deng said, "Sir, is there some secret hidden in this rice?"
For example, whether it contains ingredients that make it increasingly addictive.
"Where's the food? Did you bring it?"
"Some adults."
"Try it first."
After finishing his meal, Lord Chen understood the situation.
The taste is naturally incomparable to that of freshly cooked food in a restaurant, but he really can't lie and say it's not good. Moreover, at this price, to be able to buy a meal of this quality and at such a convenient price, it certainly has the potential to sell well.
Lord Chen said, “You’re late, so there are some things you don’t know. Before the self-heating rice was launched, Boss Tang had been preparing for two months and conducted three or four rounds of public surveys on the streets. You see him making three thousand taels in five days, but no one knows the hard work and sweat he put in behind the scenes.”
“You are right, sir.”
"Keep a close eye on him. As long as he is operating legally and there are no major problems, don't make a fuss about it anymore. Boss Tang is now the only one who can pay taxes on time this year and next year."
Registrar Deng agreed repeatedly, then changed the subject: "Sir, the annual examinations have ended this year, and the rankings will be released tomorrow. In previous years, the young master would invite the top twenty students to go boating and drinking on the lake. However, the snow has been falling heavily these past few days, and the lake has frozen over, so boating is probably not appropriate. The day after tomorrow is the winter solstice, so why not invite the students to the manor tomorrow to celebrate the winter solstice in advance?"
Although in previous years the banquet was hosted by Young Master Chen, it was actually at the behest of Lord Chen. The purpose was singular: if even one out of a hundred could make it to the capital, that would be an achievement for him and would be a boost to his future career.
Lord Chen came from Kyoto, so naturally he should return to Kyoto.
Seeing that Lord Chen remained silent in thought, Registrar Deng thought he had misunderstood his superior's meaning and quickly tried to salvage the situation: "Young people love to play around, and they may not be able to enjoy themselves fully with their elders around. I will go and find another good place for the students to relax."
Lord Chen stared at Registrar Deng for a while, then suddenly smiled: "My term will be over in two years. Registrar Deng has the people in his heart, and he is efficient, decisive and resourceful. If he has the opportunity to rise to a higher position, he will surely be able to bring more benefits to the people. When my term is over and the position of county magistrate is vacant, I will recommend you, Lord Deng, to the higher authorities."
Registrar Deng smiled and cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you for your kindness, sir. I will take care of it from now on."
"As Lord Deng just said, young people love to play around, and I wholeheartedly agree. I also suddenly realized that I am only in my early forties and cannot be considered an old man."
This means that Registrar Deng is to invite the students to his residence.
Deng, the registrar, replied, "Sir, you look young and are in good health. If you take a long stride, those young men will be far behind."
Lord Chen then smiled.
The banquet is to be held tomorrow night, and it is indeed a bit rushed to start preparing things now. Registrar Deng made a detailed list and asked people to do it separately. He also went to the street and personally went to the Good Fortune Restaurant to invite two chefs.
Today is market day, and the winter solstice is approaching. It had snowed heavily for the past two or three days, so there were many people and the roads were slippery. After finishing his business, Clerk Deng finally had time to think about how much of what Lord Chen said about recommending him for the position of county magistrate was likely to come true. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he was not careful and was bumped into hard, falling to the ground and almost losing face.
Two men helped Deng, the registrar, to his feet. He was about to make a move, clutching his waist, when his legs were grabbed.
"My lord! I beg you, my lord, to do me justice!"
A young woman was crying with tears streaming down her face, her expression filled with fear.
She was of average appearance, but had a rather delicate temperament that could easily arouse a man's protective instincts. Looking at the two fierce men opposite him, Clerk Deng no longer cared that the woman had bumped into him and embarrassed him. He roared at the two men opposite him: "Do you want to spend the New Year in jail if you act so fiercely in front of me?"
"Sir, it's this little wench—"
The woman wailed, "Please, Your Honor, do me justice! About two weeks ago, Sister Ye's clothing shop bought a clothing design from me. We agreed that the sale was entirely free; I was only responsible for selling the design and couldn't guarantee that anyone would buy the finished clothes. Now, Sister Ye can't sell the clothes she made, and she's gone back on her word and wants to beat me! She insists that I caused her to lose money!"
It turned out that this woman was none other than Li, the daughter-in-law of Granny Wang, who used to cook at Jiaoyun Embroidery Workshop.
While sobbing, Madam Li angrily said, "Similar designs, yet Jiaoyun Clothing Shop's clothes are bought by many people. Doesn't she reflect on whether it's her own fault? Jiaoyun Clothing Shop's prices are 10% lower, the materials are better, and it's lighter, warmer, and more beautiful. What about hers? It's heavy and cumbersome, making people look 10 pounds heavier. Which girl wants to gain 10 pounds for no reason? Sir, don't you think that makes sense?"
"They still insist that I sold the same design to two different people! If Jiaoyun Embroidery Workshop wanted my design, why would I sell it to them? I would have been working there long ago!"
Li became increasingly aggrieved as she spoke, "It was clearly my own fault for being stingy and unwilling to use good materials, resulting in a huge loss of money. Whose fault is that? They even wanted to hit me! They even wanted to throw me into the river! This is broad daylight, this is Peach Blossom County, and Peach Blossom County has laws!"
The two burly men stepped forward to negotiate: "Lord Deng, this woman is talking nonsense and twisting the truth! She was the one who came into the store first to steal money, and after being discovered, she tried to frame Sister Ye. If you don't believe me, you can take her back to the yamen for a proper interrogation. Our boss, Mr. Yang, said he will accompany Sister Ye to the yamen for trial. Mr. Yang believes that the yamen will definitely clear Sister Ye's name."
Sister Ye, Boss Yang?
Lord Deng frowned. Although this Boss Yang was not as good as Boss Tang, the amount of taxes he paid every year was still considerable.
The woman then clung to his leg and started crying.
"Alright, stop causing trouble in the street, let's all go to the yamen!"
Watching Li being taken to the county government office while crying and shouting, Sister Liu smiled and returned to the shop, slipping into the inner courtyard: "Jiaojiao, you are truly a prophet. That Ye family's winter clothes have been on the market for three days and not a single piece has been sold. They are now looking for trouble with the person who sold the designs. You didn't see it just now, it was quite a scene."
Zhou Mujiao smiled and said, "It's like dogs fighting, all messy and dirty. What's so interesting about that? Alright, the accounts are reconciled, there are no problems. Just follow this standard from now on. I have something to do, so I'll be going now."
Sister Liu winked and asked, "Are you in such a hurry to go back and see your lover?"
Zhou Mujiao remained expressionless: "My lover won't be coming down the mountain until tomorrow. I'm in a hurry to go back and see my little darling."
Zhao Yunjing will be back tomorrow. The family said they would go to the foot of the mountain to pick him up. The children have been looking forward to it for a long time, especially Shiba, who insisted on wearing her prettiest dress to pick him up. Besides preparing a dress for her, she also has to prepare other things.
This was the first winter solstice she and Zhao Yunjing had celebrated together, making it exceptionally meaningful. She needed to put some thought into how to make him remember it for a lifetime.
But unexpectedly, the person he would remember for a lifetime was not her, but someone else entirely.
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