Chapter 56 Good Man

Si Li listened to Xiao Qi's narration of the past as if she was listening to a story. She grew up in the northwest with her uncle and would only return to the capital during the Chinese New Year. This year, because she was about to come of age, she officially returned to her mother. When she talked about the northwest, it was as if she was talking about her other hometown.

As she spoke, Si Li seemed to have arrived in the lush and green northwest. Who would have thought that five years ago, the northwest was still plagued by wars and chaos, with the Diluo people burning, killing and looting, until the prince personally led the army, entered the grassland, forced the Diluo people back thousands of miles away, and completely pacified the northwest.

"...From my uncle to any soldier, if you ask anyone in the northwest, they will say that His Royal Highness is the god of war in Daning, brave and good at fighting, and he keeps the area safe. When His Royal Highness came, I was still young and never really met him, but everyone's respect and admiration for him were not fake, and the peace in the northwest was not fake either. Whether it was me or others, we were all very grateful to him."

But these stories were almost not circulated in the capital. Heroes are worthy of respect, and the stories of heroes are worth passing on, but this prince has none of the honors he deserves, as if he was deliberately covered up and erased. The original owner only had memories of a person who was made a prince since birth, and only remembered that he was recognized as good-looking, and only remembered that he was disliked by the emperor a few years ago and was not allowed to enter the palace to meet the emperor.

Si Li felt upset. "How come there are no rumors about such a person?"

Xiao Qi curled her lips, "The only battle your Highness lost was when he heard that the Queen had passed away, so he turned back from the grassland and gave up the pursuit. However, it was too late when he returned. Your Majesty took this opportunity to vent his anger on him. Not to mention the honor of the battle, he didn't even get any reward at all. If no one is allowed to mention him and no reward is given, he will slowly be forgotten."

The conflict between the emperor and the crown prince was very obvious, and the smell of unrest was overwhelming.

Si Li showed some worry and curiosity. Xiao Qi looked at her and chuckled, then opened the door. "Well, the prince is the Crown Prince's number one supporter. If you still want to ask, just ask him. I have to go back to the academy this afternoon." The girl moved closer and lowered her voice. "I'll let Tao Tao help me keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't get any chance to do anything he wants!"

Si Li's thoughts were interrupted and she was instantly pulled to another place. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry when she saw the look of "Jiang Lang" in the upper courtyard who looked up at her when she was mentioned. She bowed awkwardly, and when she saw that the other party didn't seem to take it seriously, she lowered her head and pushed Xiao Qi, "Go away!"

"You like my brother?"

As soon as Xiao Qi was pushed to the front hall, Si Li heard a slightly surprised question from behind. The Prince of Yue had no expression on his face, but raised his eyebrows slightly, with a rather subtle look.

Si Li didn't care what he was thinking. She scratched her head in embarrassment, recalled what she had just said to Xiao Qi, and said confidently, "Yes, great hero, who wouldn't like him?"

"Really?"

"Jiang Lang"'s voice was a little hoarse. Si Li looked at him in surprise and noticed that the young man's fingers on his knees were slightly curled up, as if he was a little nervous.

Jiang Hengyun met her gaze and his voice returned to normal, as if he was talking about an unrelated person, "Big brother has killed many people. Since he was born, Master Buku of Guangji Temple has said that he has a murderous aura that cannot be concealed and has brought disaster to all his relatives..."

"Pfft." Si Li couldn't help laughing, "You don't believe this, do you? Ah Qi also said that you are your eldest brother's loyal supporter, why do I feel that you are saying bad things about him? Aren't ghosts and gods all lies? How can a newborn baby have any murderous aura? What's more, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince killed invaders like Di Luo, he is not a perverted murderer, he is a hero for protecting his country."

Even though she encountered such an unscientific thing as time travel, from the very beginning, the system was introduced as a spiritual body contract, with AI-style interactive responses, plus various progress bars and proportional calculations. The sci-fi interface was far from the stories of ghosts and gods, and was more like a high-tech technology, which made Si Li believe in science even more.

Si Li thought about why the system appeared, and suddenly found that the prince of Yue had not continued to speak, and the courtyard was extremely quiet. She suddenly remembered the wanton methods of "Jiang Lang" when facing the servants of Si Mansion before, and her heart skipped a beat.

In history, there were many people who pretended to be good brothers or good friends and then plotted to usurp the throne. This prince doesn't seem to worship the crown prince as Xiao Qi said. Could he really have other intentions?

"...Did I make you unhappy?" Facing those dark eyes, Si Li asked in a rush. Those eyes looked deeper, staring at her intently. Si Li didn't know what kind of answer she wanted, and her back felt cold, so she took a step back subconsciously.

"Kill...no..." Jiang Rufei said with difficulty. Although it was still a little unclear, it was much clearer than the last time she spoke.

Jiang Hengyun averted his eyes, held his sister who was looking up at him, and said, "It's getting late. Let's say goodbye now." The two of them walked through the curtain that separated the front hall and the back yard. The noisy coming and going made the front hall quiet for a moment.

After the two disappeared, Si Li's heart finally returned to where it should be. She picked up the bowls and spoons that were left behind, and suddenly realized something was wrong.

The reason why the gate between Wanglaiju and Qiyunlou was opened was because Princess Jinhe was not used to the crowds before, so she made it easier. After the courtyard gate was built, they passed through there every time. How did they go through the main gate this time? Thinking about the girl who was almost dragged away, Si Li silently covered her face.

A customer turned evil like this? She couldn't have guessed it right, could she? But guesses are just guesses after all. She couldn't go to the East Palace and tell the prince that your brother wants to usurp the throne, right? If she did that, she would be locked up as a lunatic.

How the upper class nobles make noise has nothing to do with her except whether there is noise or not. If there is no noise, there will be a peaceful day. Seizing the time to expand influence and make money has become the first priority for development.

Everyone saw Si Li being lazy in the past two days after the injury. When Tang the shopkeeper was approached by Si Li, he was surprised. After all, he was injured and money could be made at any time, so he naturally did not raise any objections. Unexpectedly, it was not laziness, but preparations for something big!

"...Now that I have the straws, I can provide the ingredients and production methods for silken tofu milk tea, taro ball milk tea, and glutinous rice tea. Just like before, 30% profit plus my signature on the cup. Uncle Tang should be able to accept that, right? Now other restaurants in the city have started to copy them, and we can't fall behind in introducing new products. I think it's enough to launch a new product every five to ten days to keep the customers' enthusiasm."

Si Li talked a lot, looking at the silent shopkeeper Tang in surprise, "Uncle Tang, what do you think?"

"You're asking too much." Shopkeeper Tang wiped his face and laughed. "I was thinking about making money slowly. You are really ambitious. If we keep going like this, unless we are short of manpower, how can other dessert shops in Beijing survive? You are young and you dare to dream!"

In life, eating and drinking are the two things that matter. Tea and wine culture has always been popular. Now, milk tea, which is like sugar water, has filled the gap in beverages and opened up another market besides fruit juice. In the past, people only knew to cook milk and tea together, and at most add some salt and pepper. Si Li has seen all kinds of modern milk tea. Although it is difficult to realize all of them in Daning, the fact that they can make them is enough for them to occupy this blank market.

Si Li smiled, "I just want to hire someone to work in the shop. Can Uncle Tang handle it? Do you want to hire some people to help?"

Shopkeeper Tang shook his head, a bit of pride on his face, "Well, don't tell me, my brothers have been telling me about this these days. My nephews and nieces are grown up now, and they are afraid that I will be tired, so they are clamoring to come and help. In my opinion, it is more convenient to have people working in my own shop, which is better than asking outsiders to help."

The traditional concept of father and son fighting together made family ties the original structure of the business. Si Li had seen many news stories about lazy people trying to steal family property. Seeing that Shopkeeper Tang was happy, she was a little worried. "It's good that someone cares about Uncle Tang, but you have to pay more attention to the control of taste and ingredients. This is the root cause. Once something goes wrong, it will be terrible."

Si Li was not in a position to mention other people's family affairs, and was afraid of thinking too much, so she simply gave a simple reminder and let it go.

Shopkeeper Tang left happily. Si Li handed the signing of the new contract to Meng Taotao, and saw Ah Fu, who had changed a lot, in the backyard.

After mentioning the matter of hiring someone to Meng Taotao, Si Li originally wanted to find a dental office, which was equivalent to half a talent agency, to introduce some handymen to do the job. Unexpectedly, Meng Taotao thought about it and recommended Ah Fu.

"I remember that you lived well with your master. Why did you want to work for me? Carpentry and masonry are not needed here. Besides, Wanglaiju can't pay you much."

Si Li got straight to the point and put the problem in front of the two people. Wanglaiju was now looking for apprentices to support the store in the future. According to the old custom in Beijing, apprentices were only given food before they became apprentices, and no extra money was given. The conditions were obviously much worse than Ah Fu working with the masons or doing odd jobs in places like paper mills. What's more, Si Li didn't know whether Ah Fu had become an apprentice from the masons, so she couldn't do anything to steal someone's apprentice out of thin air.

Ah Fu was much thinner than when she saw him last time. He pinched the corner of his clothes nervously. "No, it's not me. He, they all like this place very much."

As Ah Fu spoke slowly and stutteringly, Si Li understood who were the people who really wanted to apply for the job.

Ah Fu was born in Yuyingtang, which is the orphanage of Ning Dynasty. After winter, his younger brothers and sisters kept getting sick. Therefore, he and several older children kept looking for work to earn money. Ah Fu, who had learned the craft from a bricklayer early on, already had two jobs. Others ran errands for others, cut firewood and dig herbs to earn some pocket money. Because a child died of being beaten, scolded and abused while serving as an apprentice, the children did not dare to be apprentices easily. This time, they heard that Wanglaiju was recruiting people. With the good reputation of the previous cooperation, Ah Fu came to try his luck.

"Meng, Sister, she's a good person." Ah Fu said slowly, "Miss is also."

Even if orphans without parents are harmed, it is difficult for them to make a way forward. Si Li understands their concerns and sympathizes with their experiences, but Wanglaijubi is not a charity after all, and only useful people can stay. She can only promise not to harm them and let them get the wages they deserve.

Si Li looked at Ah Fu's expectant eyes and nodded, "How about this, we only recruit talented apprentices. You can let your friends come over and start with small jobs. We can get to know each other a little bit, and then you can decide whether to become our apprentices or not. We'll discuss the salary and work content later, but you don't have to stay overnight, and you don't have to worry about us doing something bad."