Chapter 46 Sheng An's Grand Project
This was the first time Xu Jinnian had taken on a matchmaking job, and the client was none other than his own wife.
He mentally went through all the unmarried men he knew, then shook his head under his wife's expectant gaze: "No."
Sheng An asked, puzzled, "Is it because there are no unmarried men, or because there are no suitable men?"
Xu Jinnian said seriously, "There is no suitable one."
He has several fellow disciples, but two of his senior brothers already have fiancées, and one junior brother has an unusual background, whose future wife will also be a good match for him.
As for the unmarried men in the neighborhood, not to mention that they prefer to marry girls from the city, those men have more or less some flaws, so naturally they cannot be introduced to the good friends of the future wife.
"If you don't have it, that's fine. These things can't be rushed."
Sheng An sighed and couldn't help but complain to Xu Jinnian about the hardships women face in this world: "Getting married is like being reborn. If you don't get married well, you'll be stuck in misery for the rest of your life and won't have any freedom at all."
It was better in the past life; whether or not to get married was a personal freedom, and even if you did get married, you could still get divorced.
Are you satisfied with An'an's second reincarnation?
This was the first time Xu Jinnian had heard such words. Looking at Sheng An's slightly furrowed brows, he asked somewhat uncertainly.
"Me..."
Sheng An blinked, deliberately drawing out her words, and sure enough, she saw the tension in the man's eyes that he couldn't hide in time.
She chuckled inwardly, then, without keeping him in suspense any longer, replied seriously, "I'm quite satisfied so far, and I don't regret marrying you."
This man is considerate, tolerant, and proactive in solving problems. Most importantly, he's handsome and has a great physique.
Xu Jinnian felt relieved and a smile appeared on her lips: "Thank you, An'an."
Sheng An glanced at him: "You should thank yourself."
She didn't do anything.
The two chatted while cooking, and soon they had prepared a five-dish meal with soup, including meat and eggs, which was quite plentiful.
The aroma wafted into the courtyard, making Zhang Zhaodi, who was under the grape trellis, swallow hard. It took her strong willpower to stay there.
Looking at the bunches of sweet grapes hanging above her head, she was genuinely happy for her best friend: "An'an really married the right person!"
Putting everything else aside, the Xu family's meals are much better than hers.
The grain bin was filled with white rice and flour. Judging from An'an's plump face and complexion, she hadn't been eating a lot. Her life was better than before she got married.
Moreover, she had met An'an's father-in-law, who was a kind and generous old man who spoke of An'an as if she were his own daughter, far surpassing An'an's biological father.
As Zhang Zhaodi pondered, she ended up picking too many grapes.
By the time she realized what was happening, the bamboo basket was already full, and the Xu family couldn't possibly finish it all.
Sheng An's cooking skills are beyond question; the five dishes and one soup he prepared were a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate, making everyone's mouth water.
Zhang Zhaodi picked up her rice bowl, trying to act like a lady, but faced with the fragrant and delicious rice and the mouthwatering dishes, she simply couldn't control her hands and mouth.
Sheng An still felt that she didn't eat enough, so she picked up the serving chopsticks and put some food into her bowl: "There's plenty of food, and there's still porridge in the pot, so you should eat more."
Zhang Zhaodi kept refusing, saying, "That's enough, that's enough. You eat by yourself, don't worry about me."
She screamed in her heart, "Sister, stop pinching! Please stop pinching!"
What if her sister's father-in-law and husband give her the impression that she is a glutton, and they won't even let her in the door next time? Wouldn't she miss out on so many delicious foods?
We're smart people; we won't do something as foolish as draining the pond to catch all the fish.
As expected, Zhang Zhaodi ate until she was stuffed after being fed by Sheng An and persuaded by others.
Looking at the grapes she had picked herself in the bamboo basket, she couldn't fit even one in.
It was the hottest time of the year, the dog days of summer, and Zhang Zhaodi stayed at the Xu family's house until the sun was almost setting before leaving.
Before leaving, Sheng An gave her a basket of grapes and a few packets of pastries, and escorted her all the way to the city gate.
As they parted, Zhang Zhaodi hugged her and said, "An'an, thank you. I'm very happy today."
Sheng An smoothed her loose hair, patted her shoulder to comfort her, and said, "Come to my house more often when you have time. I can't guarantee anything else, but cooking you a nice meal is no problem."
Upon hearing about delicious food, Zhang Zhaodi recalled the tasty meal she had for lunch and unconsciously swallowed hard.
"I really didn't expect you to be such a good cook, even better than your wontons. Your cooking skills were limited because your family didn't have many good ingredients before."
Sheng An waved his hand with a smile: "Alright, hurry home, or you won't get to eat tonight even if I keep praising you."
Zhang Zhaodi rolled her eyes at her, picked up the grapes and pastries, and turned to leave.
After watching her walk away, Sheng An hummed a tune as she walked back. She hadn't gone far when she ran into Xu Jinnian, who had come looking for her.
Sheng An's mood instantly improved, and she quickened her pace to meet him: "It's just a few steps, you don't think I'll get lost."
Xu Jinnian took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from her forehead, his relaxed eyes full of smiles: "I felt empty when I didn't see you after coming home, and I just wanted to see you as soon as possible."
This wasn't the first time Sheng An had heard such blunt words, yet her heart still raced.
An unseen warmth spread from her heart, and she couldn't help but grasp the man's large hand, her eyes revealing an affection she herself was unaware of: "Saying these things in broad daylight, don't you find it cheesy?"
Xu Jinnian's smile deepened, and his low, gentle voice was like a gentle breeze: "So An'an prefers to listen at night. Tonight, your husband will say what you want to hear, word by word."
Sheng An was a little embarrassed and annoyed, so she raised her hand and punched him: "Shut up, who wants to hear that!"
Xu Jinnian looked as if he had just realized something: "So An'an doesn't like it. Then I won't say it again."
Sheng An: "..."
I really want to punch him to death!
After dinner, Sheng An took out the box given to him by Master Ding, opened it in front of everyone, revealing the house deed and two thousand taels of silver notes inside:
"Young Master Ding has recovered very well, so I don't need to cook at the Ding family every day anymore. This is the reward given by Master Ding."
Except for Xu Jinnian, who remained expressionless, the other three were greatly surprised. They took the house deed and banknotes and examined them carefully, somewhat unable to believe that Master Ding was being so generous.
Grandma Sheng's hands trembled as she counted the silver notes: "An'an, is this...is this a mistake?"
Good heavens! Two thousand taels of silver! In all her years, the most silver she had ever heard of was the five hundred taels of silver from the farmland of a small landlord in the next village.
She and her husband had been envious of this for a long time.
As a result, her granddaughter suddenly took out two thousand taels of silver, which was only the payment for cooking for someone for two months. This was too frightening!
"Yes, perhaps Master Ding is too busy and made a mistake. You can take the silver notes and ask him tomorrow."
Grandpa Sheng was also very nervous, fearing that Mr. Ding had made a mistake and that his granddaughter would get into big trouble if the matter were investigated later.
It's no wonder the two elders were so surprised. They had farmed all their lives and probably hadn't even handled fifty taels of silver in total. Two thousand taels was completely beyond their comprehension.
In contrast, Xu Chenglin remained calm and comforted the two elders, saying, "The Ding family is very wealthy; two thousand taels of silver is nothing to them."
What's even more valuable than the two thousand taels of silver is this property deed. This location is quite good in the northern part of the city, where high-ranking officials and nobles gather. Even with silver, you might not be able to buy it.
When Grandpa and Grandma Sheng heard that the property deed was worth far more than two thousand taels of silver, they were so shocked that they almost fainted. They simply couldn't understand how rich people spent their money.
Is this because they have too much money and nowhere to spend it?
The gifts that were brought in earlier are still piled up in various rooms, and not even half of them have been used.
After the two elders of the Sheng family had barely calmed down, Sheng An glanced at the four of them and then dropped another bombshell: "I plan to renovate this house and use it to open a restaurant."
Since she didn't have enough capital before, she planned to open a small restaurant first to accumulate capital and then gradually expand and strengthen it.
Now that we have sufficient capital, we naturally want to achieve our goals in one go.
Xu Jinnian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he guessed his wife's plan in a flash.
Seeing his father's anxious expression and the urge to speak, he interrupted him, saying, "I think it's very good. This house has a large area and can be used as a restaurant, as well as a chess room and tea room."
Seeing that the man had thought of it even though she hadn't mentioned it, Sheng An added with a smile, "It can also be used as a banquet hall, which is convenient for people of some status who don't have a place at home to entertain guests."
Upon hearing this, Xu Chenglin suddenly realized what was happening and looked at his daughter-in-law in surprise: "An'an, are you planning to specialize in doing business with the rich?"
Sheng An nodded: "I only have two hands. If I run an ordinary restaurant, I'll be wielding the spatula until it's smoking, and the money I make in a year will be limited. It's better to specialize in serving the wealthy, which is relatively easier and allows me to earn more."
Xu Chenglin nodded repeatedly: "That's right, your consideration is correct!"
An'an is such a good cook! She's already a hit selling wontons, let alone running a restaurant. She'll definitely make customers want to keep coming back for more.
If anyone can line up then, won't An'an be exhausted?
Take the wonton stall for example. If An'an hadn't limited the number of people queuing each day, the line would probably stretch for two miles.
Listening to the conversation between the three, Grandpa Sheng and Grandma Sheng vaguely understood some of it.
They still found it incredible that such a large house could be used to run a restaurant.
Seeing the elderly couple's dilemma, Sheng An smiled and said, "Grandpa, Grandma, we'll set aside a small room specifically for you to sell wontons."
After nearly a month of repeated learning, the two elders' wontons taste just as good as those from the century-old Yunji restaurant.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng's eyes lit up, but then a look of uncertainty crossed their faces: "Me...can we do it? Selling wontons in such a nice house, isn't that too much..."
They thought it was beneath them and were afraid it would affect their granddaughter's restaurant business.
"Of course! Good food knows no price, Grandpa and Grandma will wait."
Sheng An smiled and encouraged the elderly couple, already considering adding their wontons to her restaurant's main menu for customers to choose from.
Xu Chenglin wasn't going to fall behind: "Me too! Me too! The three of us learned this skill together, Uncle and Aunt can't leave me out!"
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng laughed heartily: "Together, together, we agreed on it before."
The father-in-law only has one child, Jin Nian, and they only have one granddaughter, An An. No matter how much the wonton shop earns, it's all for the two children's savings, so they're not worried about any conflicts arising.
The matter was settled, and the family decided to go to the North City tomorrow to inspect the house in person, so that they could start renovations and open for business as soon as possible.
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