Seeing that Madam Jiang did not blame her, but instead seemed to agree with her idea, Sister-in-law Shen was immediately happy. "Madam, Miss, Young Master, please come in."
She led the group from the first floor to the second floor, explaining the layout of their planned opening as they walked.
They all saw that the old, dilapidated tables, chairs, and benches on the first floor had all been replaced with new ones, and the floor had been re-laid with wooden flooring, coated with tung oil, making it shiny and smooth. As long as it was kept dry, it wasn't slippery when stepped on.
However, Xiao Youran was getting very sleepy. What she was more concerned about was, "Did Sister Shen make pan-fried buns and fried dough sticks today? Are there any wontons left?"
Jiang Youchen: ...
Little sister, can't you be any more successful?
Shen Zhangyu, however, chuckled and said, "Young master, the head chef and I were just discussing the menu. We've made some samples of a few dishes, so you can try them out and see what you think."
Xiao Youran's eyes lit up immediately, and she exclaimed, "That's great!"
Jiang Youchen: ...
He suspected that this was his sister's real reason for suggesting they visit the restaurant.
They were pretending to check out the opening, but their real intention was to sample the dishes!
If Xiao Youran knew what he was thinking, she would definitely give him a big thumbs up, brother, you're right!
Shen Zhangyu prepared a clean table, invited Madam Jiang and the others to sit down, and then went to the kitchen to make arrangements.
Just then, a commotion came from outside the door.
Upon hearing this, Shen Zhangfu, who was arranging for the waiter to paste new window paper, was pushed aside by the fierce-looking man as he walked to the door and fell to the ground with a thud.
Sister-in-law Shen was terrified and rushed over to help him up, asking, "Is my husband alright?"
She looked up again and asked the five or six menacing-looking people, "Who are you?"
"How dare you! Don't you even know whose restaurant this is? Hand over that Buddha statue now! Get the hell out of here!"
Xiao Youran's heart skipped a beat. Was this place after that jade carving?
Shen Zhangfu said, "This restaurant was handed over to us by Master Yu with his signature and fingerprint. We have no idea about that Buddha statue you mentioned."
"Stop playing dumb with me! This restaurant won't be open for business until you hand over the goods!"
Shen Zhangyu, having overheard the waiter's report, ran out from the kitchen and shouted, "A few days ago, we went to the Prefect of Jingzhao to change the contract to a red one. The land deed for this restaurant has been renamed. What else do you want?"
The big man sneered, "So what if the land deed has been changed? As long as you obediently hand over that jade Buddha, the deal is done, and I'll accept it! If you don't, hmph..."
Shen Zhangyu said angrily, "In the end, you're just being resentful. You didn't want those things in the first place; you didn't know their value and sold them to us in a package. Now you want them back? That's not fair!"
The big guy slammed his fist on the newly purchased table, splitting it in two instantly. "Enough nonsense, are you going to pay or not?"
Shen Zhangyu was furious. "There's no way to hand it over! That thing is no longer here!"
"You've made your move so quickly? Fine, then just pay me! I'll give you whatever you sold!" the big guy said shamelessly.
It all boils down to money.
The Shen brothers, Zhang and Yu, stood side by side, both extremely angry.
Xiao Youran kept staring in this direction, then her eyes caught sight of the gate behind the big man, where a line of soldiers seemed to be walking past.
A surge of joy welled up in her heart. Was she really having incredible luck? Although she hadn't seen anyone walk by, her intuition told her that her savior was among them.
She jumped off the table and ran outside with a thud.
When the big man saw a four- or five-year-old girl running outside, he didn't stop her. He just kept staring at the Shen brothers, "Tell me, how much did you sell?"
Seeing his younger sister run out, Jiang Youchen, at Su's prompting, also got up and ran out the door to chase after her.
Xiao Youran took two steps and then shouted, "Brother Wang Wu!"
Clearly, the group had already gone far away, and they hadn't heard her voice.
So Jiang Youchen acted as a megaphone and repeater, shouting with great force, "Brother Wang Wu!"
The last soldier heard this, turned around, and relayed something to the front. Then, the person at the very front of the group stopped, turned around, and looked back.
Upon seeing that it was the Jiang siblings, Wang Wu was delighted and smiled with surprise as he walked towards them.
Xiao Youran was not polite at all. She stepped forward, grabbed his sleeve, and dragged him into the restaurant.
Wang Wu was puzzled. "Little girl, what are you doing?"
A group of brothers followed their leader back.
As Xiao Youran ran along with her short legs, she said in a clear voice, "I ran into Uncle Lu when I came here. He was praising Brother Wang Wu for being reliable and capable, and for being very fair and just in upholding justice for the people."
Wang Wu was overjoyed; meeting this girl was truly a stroke of good luck.
He had only happened to stumble upon this business a few days ago, and after saying a few fair words, he received a reward of two hundred taels of silver from the young master of the Jiang family. Although he couldn't keep it all for himself and had to share it with his brothers, he still received more than a hundred taels, which was equivalent to two years' salary.
Moreover, judging from what this little girl said, they even praised themselves in front of their superiors?
Isn't this good luck?
Once Wang Wu entered the restaurant, he knew what was going on.
He roared, "What? In broad daylight, before the boss has even opened for business, you can't wait to cause trouble? Old Yu, haven't you had enough of serving time in the Military Command Prison?"
The man called Yu Laosi was so frightened when he saw that it was actually a soldier from the Five Cities Garrison that he immediately lost his composure and hurriedly came over, bowing and scraping, "Lord Wang, what brings you here?"
Wang Wu looked at the Shen brothers, his voice much gentler, "Tell me what happened?"
Shen Zhangyu straightened his chest and stepped forward, saying, "The fourth master of the Yu family has come to ask us for the money from selling the jade carvings."
Wang Wu gave Yu Laosi a cold look and said, "What's wrong? Tired of being a petty thief? You've switched to robbing and plundering?"
Yu Laosi said with great grievance, "No, no, my father said that an antique item was sold at a loss, and he asked me to come and talk to him about it."
"Is this how you and your son do business? You made a mistake, sold it at a loss, and now you want it back? What about your supplier? Are they going to come after you for it too?"
"Yes, yes, I know I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again." The big man nodded and bowed, knowing that the matter was ruined again today.
Wang Wu kicked him and yelled, "Get the hell out of here! Remember this, this restaurant is my territory from now on! Anyone who dares to cause trouble, I'll show them what I'm made of!"
Old Yu nodded and bowed in agreement, his face ashen as he prepared to leave with the others.
Before leaving, Xiao Youran called out to him, "Wait."
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