Chapter 86 Business is Booming
Xu Jinnian noticed Sheng An's unusual behavior but didn't need to ask any further questions.
"An'an, dreams are illusions. You can't take anything in a dream, whether good or bad, seriously."
Xu Jinnian kept kissing Sheng An, trying to relax her: "I know some basic dream interpretation. An'an, can you tell me about your dream?"
Sheng An took a deep breath, looking at the concern and worry in the man's eyes. She hesitated for a moment and finally shook her head: "As you said, dreams are illusions, and they should not be taken seriously, whether they are good or bad."
At this point, Sheng An forced a smile: "Perhaps it's because I've been anxious about Shengyuan's business lately, so I've been thinking about it day and night. Now that Shengyuan is finally making some money, I have nothing to worry about."
Xu Jinnian stared intently into his wife's eyes, and after a long while, a gentle smile appeared on his face: "So that's how it is. I was too careless and didn't notice your feelings in time."
Sheng An gently shook her head: "It's none of your business."
Xu Jinnian's eyes were dark, but he took Sheng An's hand and said in a relaxed tone, "Grandma has prepared dinner, including your favorite shrimp. Let's go eat first."
Sheng An's face lit up with joy at the right moment: "Grandma's cooking is much better than yours. Your cooking skills haven't improved at all these past few months."
Xu Jinnian put his arm around her shoulder and walked downstairs with her, keeping pace with her: "Yeah, I'll practice more when I have time."
Winter days are long and nights are short. As darkness fell completely outside, the family sat down together for dinner.
The three elderly people chatted about today's business and income, preparations for tomorrow's opening, how many new customers they had recently gained, and whether they should close the shop for a couple of days to rest.
Sheng listened quietly to these trivial matters, looking at her grandparents' kind and gentle faces, and her heart gradually calmed down.
Regardless of what happened in the past life, since the tragedy has not yet occurred in this life, there is always the possibility of change.
After discussing the matter of closing the shop for a break, Xu Chenglin looked at Xu Jinnian and said, "The clan leader knows that you passed the imperial examination. When is a convenient day for us to go back together?"
Xu Jinnian placed the peeled shrimp into Sheng An's bowl, then picked up another one from the plate and continued peeling: "The teacher won't be teaching the day after tomorrow, so let's do it the day after tomorrow."
Xu Chenglin had no objection: "Okay, I'll go over after breakfast, and come back as soon as possible."
After saying that, he explained to Sheng An, "Go to the ancestral hall to burn paper money and incense. There's nothing else urgent. You can rest at home."
Sheng An hurriedly replied, "The journey is too far, I don't want to go."
Xu Chenglin laughed and said, "That's right, we don't need to go back except for holidays."
Now that Jin Nian has become a scholar, his reputation is even more important. No matter how much he dislikes those few people in the village, he can't keep fighting with them all the time; he can only reduce the number of times he meets them.
If they can't see each other, they naturally won't fight.
On the day they were to return to the village, the Xu family father and son hired an oxcart to go to Xujiaba.
Grandpa and Grandma Sheng couldn't bear to close the shop, so they went to work at the wonton stall as usual.
Sheng An also came to the main kitchen, where she prepared roast chicken while explaining the details and techniques to the four children.
Before long, a fresh roasted chicken came out of the oven, and the aroma filled the air above the entire Shengyuan. People queuing in the front yard to get their roasted chickens couldn't help but stretch their necks and sniff the air.
"No wonder it's a roast chicken that costs two taels of silver; it smells amazing!"
"It smells delicious, and it tastes even better! My young master once gave me a chicken leg, and the taste was absolutely amazing. I even dreamed about eating roast chicken that night."
"You're lucky, kid. I only had a few sips at the Fang family's banquet with the master, and I didn't even get to taste it."
"Hehe, if you can take a few more sips today, maybe you'll be full and won't crave your master's roast chicken anymore."
"Tch, don't get cocky, kid. Once I get my monthly paycheck, I'll come and buy a whole chicken!"
"..."
The room was noisy, with everyone bickering and swallowing hard, finding the aroma unbearable.
Before the group could finish taking the roast chicken and leave, several more carriages stopped at the entrance. A man who looked like a manager was led in, and Shuqi immediately went forward to greet him.
The steward looked Shuqi up and down, then glanced at the lively scene inside the room, and stated Shengyuan's purpose directly: "I'm reserving a table for my master, to be served at noon the day after tomorrow."
Shuqi was overjoyed and immediately took out the carefully bound menu, handing it to the steward with both hands: "Please take a look."
The manager opened the menu, not paying much attention at first, until he saw the price listed after each dish and secretly gasped.
Stewed turtle soup, five taels of silver.
Eight-Treasure Black Chicken Soup, five taels of silver.
Grilled lamb chops, five taels of silver.
...
Even the most unassuming rice costs fifty coins a bowl.
They could have just robbed them, but Shengyuan insisted on giving them a free banquet in return!
The manager's lips twitched violently as he looked at Shuqi, who was smiling amiably. He trembled as he rattled off a series of dish names, his heart aching as if it were bleeding.
Forget it, it's the master who paid the bill, and the master's money isn't his money. He's just an ordinary little steward, so isn't it just plain stupid to feel sorry for the master over the money?
Doing his job well is what he should be doing.
That's what he thought, but after finalizing the dishes and taking out a deposit of twenty-five taels of silver, the manager still couldn't help but feel the pinch. He was even more worried that when he got back, his master would blame him, thinking that he had embezzled the money.
As if guessing the manager's concerns, Shuqi immediately wrote down a receipt with a bright red stamp, and the words "Shengyuan" were clearly visible: "Please keep this receipt safe. You can enter the garden for a meal the day after tomorrow with this receipt."
Seeing this, the manager immediately felt relieved, took the receipt and nodded repeatedly: "Not bad, not bad, Shengyuan will get things done."
I've never been to such a formal place to eat at other restaurants before. This Shengyuan is truly extraordinary. No wonder Master Ding keeps praising it to his master.
After politely seeing off the first customer who had placed an order, Shuqi suppressed her excitement and began having the people inside collect the freshly roasted chicken, and then settled the final payment according to the order.
While Sheng An was extremely busy, the Xu family father and son had just arrived at Xujiaba when a lively firecracker sounded at the village entrance, and almost the entire village was waiting there.
Including the three Xu brothers.
The clan chief's face beamed with joy. Before Xu Jinnian could even get out of the carriage, he quickly approached, supported by his grandson, and firmly grasped Xu Jinnian's hand: "Top scorer in the provincial examination! You have brought immense glory to the Xu clan!"
It is no exaggeration to say that this was an immense honor. Xu Jinnian was the top scorer in the provincial examination at a young age, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he would become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial examination) and thus qualify to become an official.
For the remote and impoverished Xujiaba, passing the imperial examination at the county level was a great joy, a sign of good fortune for their ancestors. The fact that a member of their family had become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations) was something they never dared to dream of.
Xu Jinnian smiled and naturally took the other side of the clan leader, walking slowly towards the ancestral hall: "The path of the imperial examination is long and arduous, and the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) is nothing."
Seeing his composure and humility, the clan chief liked him even more: "Yes, you are right. You have a long way to go. Whether the Xu clan can prosper depends entirely on you younger generation."
The villagers present knew very well that as long as Xu Jinnian's surname was Xu and he came from Xujiaba, the further he went in the imperial examinations, the more the Xu family would benefit.
That's why they say that when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.
The most direct benefit is obvious: as long as Xu Jinnian passes the imperial examination and becomes a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination), the Xu family can be exempted from taxes and corvée labor.
In the future, when the villagers go out into the world, no one will be so foolish as to cause them trouble.
Even more so, in the competition for resources between villages, Xujiaba has an absolute advantage, and no one dares to confront Xujiaba head-on.
Seeing Xu Jinnian surrounded by a crowd, enjoying the limelight, Xu Laoda and the others, who were lagging behind in the crowd, had gloomy expressions.
Xu Laosan was the most anxious, grabbing Xu Laosi's arm: "Laosi, Huaining has talent, he will definitely be more successful than this bastard, right?"
Xu Laosi said helplessly, "Third brother, Jinnian is your own son. Blood is thicker than water. Now he is a scholar. Why do you compare Huaining to him?"
Xu Laosan stared at Xu Jinnian's back, his face contorted with resentment: "He's a cursed star, I don't have a son like that!"
As if trying to convince himself, he kept muttering to himself, "That's right, he's a cursed star, he's not my son, I will never acknowledge him in this lifetime, I will never let him bring disaster to the Xu family..."
Xu Lao Si concealed the mockery in his eyes and looked up at Xu Lao Da with an anxious expression, saying, "Big brother, Third Brother has too much prejudice against Jin Nian. We still need to find a way to resolve the conflict between father and son."
Xu Laoda didn't want to get involved at all. He waved his hand impatiently and said, "That kid was adopted by Lao Er, so he's Lao Er's son. Besides, he doesn't even see Lao San as his father. How am I supposed to resolve this?"
He must be bored to do something so thankless.
But Xu Jinnian is showing great promise, shouldn't he try to mend the relationship between the two families and rekindle their broken brotherhood with Xu Lao Er?
Although Huaining is a good boy, he is not even a student of the first level. Even if he becomes a scholar of the second level someday, he will not be able to achieve the glory of being the top scholar.
Xu Laoda regretted it more and more. He ran towards the ancestral hall, not forgetting to tell Xu Laosi: "Keep an eye on Laosan. Don't let him ruin the important event of offering sacrifices to the ancestors, or the clan chief will not forgive him."
Xu Laosi agreed verbally, but a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
They're all fence-sitters!
Under the guidance of the clan chief, Xu Jinnian completed the sacrificial ceremony.
The clan chief chuckled and said, "Good child, the family has prepared a meal. Eat your meal before you return to the city."
Xu Jinnian said apologetically, "Thank you for your kindness, clan leader, but the master has granted me half a day off, and I need to get back before noon."
The clan chief was extremely disappointed and could only nod: "Studies are more important, so I won't keep you any longer."
Xu Chenglin glanced at his son but said nothing.
As soon as the group stepped out of the ancestral hall, Xu Huaining rushed over.
The face, which bore a striking resemblance to Xu Jinnian, was covered in fine sweat, his hair was crooked, and his trouser legs were stained with mud, clearly indicating that he had run all the way back from the town's school.
Upon seeing Xu Jinnian, Xu Huaining was a little reserved, but mustered up her courage and stepped forward: "Jinnian, congratulations."
Xu Jinnian glanced at him, her expression indifferent and unreadable: "Thank you."
Xu Huaining sensed his cousin's coldness, and his expression dimmed for a moment. He tried to maintain his smile and said cautiously, "Jin Nian, I... I will be participating in the competition next year. I wonder if I could come to your house to ask you for advice?"
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