Chapter 179 The Mediocre Big Shot
Since there was a shop, Su Ruojin listed all the morning tea and hot pot recipes to Zhao Lan's manager Siping, but he refused to leave after taking them.
"Does the Fourth Steward have anything else to do?"
Siping bowed respectfully and smiled: "Whether it is a morning tea shop or a hot pot restaurant, I have never seen one before, so I am unsure. I hope the second lady can help me with some advice."
"What do you mean by idea?"
"Whether it's renovating the shop or pairing the dishes, please give me some guidance, Madam."
"The fourth steward is too modest."
Siping still bowed and asked her for help.
However, Su Ruojin did not want to participate. First, she was too young, and second, she could flatter Zhao Lan, give him a meat grinder, and give him a recipe, but she always kept her distance and did not get too close to him.
Su Ji Breakfast Shop on Wenshan Street asked Zhao Lan for help, which was an act of currying favor and letting those wealthy customers know that Su Ji is not someone to be trifled with; but now asking her to participate in Zhao Lan's daily affairs, what is this, giving orders?
Seeing that the young lady was hesitant, Siping smiled again and said, "The young prince said that whether it is the morning tea shop or the hot pot restaurant, it will be split 30% and 70% with the young lady."
The scale of Zhao Lan's two stores is much bigger than Mrs. Fan's, and she actually gave 30%. Wouldn't that make her a small wealthy woman?
Su Ruojin had no way to refuse.
"Okay, I'll go check out both stores tomorrow."
Seeing that she finally gave in, Siping breathed a sigh of relief as if he had accomplished an important task, "Then I will come to pick up the second lady tomorrow morning."
Su Ruojin nodded and agreed. So come and pick it up!
After seeing Siping off, Su Ruojin turned and walked into the yard, but was stopped by his left neighbor, Lord Xue, "Ajin——"
"Master Xue?"
"Why call me sir?" Mr. Xue smiled like Grandma Wolf, "Just call me Uncle Xue."
She is not Little Red Riding Hood.
Su Ruojin asked with an innocent smile, "What's the matter, Uncle Xue?"
Mr. Xue asked, "Is the faucet still working? Do you want to make a few more?"
As soon as she heard it, she knew what Lord Xue was trying to do. Although it was finally discovered that the theft of the blueprints had nothing to do with Lord Xue, the investigation did affect his situation in the Ministry of Works. From what Xue Liuniang inadvertently revealed, Lord Xue was marginalized in the Ministry of Works and felt that he was having a hard time.
If Su Ruojin guessed correctly, he was now eager to have a particularly eye-catching achievement to reintegrate into the Ministry of Industry, to borrow the power of the tap for his last promotion and salary increase, and to get something rare from her to return to his glory days.
Even if she has rare items, she has to choose the right time. If she just casually brings modern things over, at her age, she will be burned as a freak.
She shook her head. "No."
Lord Xue, who came expectantly, was full of disappointment.
Su Ruojin shrugged her shoulders to show she was helpless, "Uncle Xue, I'm going home."
Without the help of the young lady, Xue Changcheng felt listless and turned back home.
On the second day, Uncle Hua Ping, who had not come to the Su family to teach boxing for many days, finally showed up and caught a large group of enemy spies. He was obviously in a good mood and pulled the lazy Su Sanlang out of bed.
"You little brat, you've returned everything you learned a while ago to your master, haven't you?"
Su Sanlang had been being pulled by Su Ruojin's ear. He had rarely been lazy today, but he did not expect to be caught by his master. He tried to explain, but Hua Ping did not believe him. Not only that, he also gave the lazy apprentice a severe beating.
Su Sanlang was tormented by him until he screamed like a pig being slaughtered, causing everyone to go to the corridor to watch, and the six-year-old Su Ganzhi's face turned red.
After breakfast, Su Ruojin and Siping went out. Su Sanlang felt embarrassed to stay at home and insisted on going out with them.
Su Ruojin didn't want to take him with her, as she wasn't going out to play, but Su Sanlang insisted on going. Once he got attached to someone, his sticky attitude was really something that not everyone could handle. So she had no choice but to take this follower with her.
It's September, the weather is clear and cool, it's nice to go out for a walk. The brother and sister are looking at the busy streets outside, chattering, it's so lively.
Half an hour later, Siping took Su Ruojin to Xuji Restaurant which was confiscated by the government.
"It belongs to the young prince now." Siping pointed to the building next door and said, "That one also belongs to the young prince. It's empty now and is used as a morning teahouse."
They are all small three-story shops! Su Ruojin was jealous. He was indeed a descendant of the royal family. He casually bought two more shops. If it were an ordinary person, who would dare to take it?
Su Ruojin suppressed her surprise and quickly got down to business. She didn't even see a penny from the share of the money, but just started working.
She took out an eyebrow pencil and started writing and drawing on the paper, while Su Sanlang jumped around beside her. Although they were only three years apart in age, it felt like they were thirteen or even twenty years apart.
Time passed quickly in the morning. Before she had even finished tidying up the lobby, Siping came over to ask her, "Second Madam, the young prince has ordered lunch at Fengle Tower. He asked me to take you there."
Su Ruojin: ...
It only takes less than an hour and we can have lunch at the best restaurant in the world?
Siping invited him with a smile.
Su Ruojin had no choice but to follow the host's wishes.
I went out today with three people, Mao Ya, Qiu Yue, and Uncle Hua Ping.
She held her third brother's hand and walked out of the shop with Siping, got on the carriage, and arrived at Fengle Building half an hour later. Siping took them directly to the private room on the fifth floor.
Su Sanlang had never been here before. It was his first time to be on such a tall building. He was so surprised that he leaned on the window and looked out. "Sister, it's so high. Look, is that the imperial palace?"
But you can't point at the palace casually, Su Ruojin quickly held his hand down, "Look if you want, but don't point, or you'll get beheaded."
"Ah!" Su Sanlang was so scared that he quickly retracted his hand.
Zhao Lan stood by and watched the brother and sister playing around. He didn't ask them to come to the table to eat until the dishes were almost served.
The table was full, and Su Ruojin couldn't help but remind him, "Little Prince, we are all children, we can't eat so much."
Are they all children?
Hua Ping almost rolled his eyes when he heard this. Prince Zhao was already a fifth-rank officer in the Investigation Department at the age of fourteen, and Madam Su was only nine years old and had been doing business for three years. It was estimated that she could easily earn a thousand taels a month now.
Can these two be considered children? Su Sanlang was tired and hungry after playing, his eyes lit up when he looked at the food. Only he could be considered a child.
It's not wrong to say that he was a child. Zhao Lan didn't ask anyone to serve him any wine, but fruit drinks. He was just asking the waiter to pour them when someone at the door smiled and bowed, "Young Prince Zhao, can my son come in and have a meal?"
Everyone in the private room looked towards the voice.
Su Ruojin and her brother don't know each other.
When Zhao Lan saw the servant at the door, he immediately put down his chopsticks and left his seat.
Su Ruojin realized that the person who could make Prince Zhao stand up to greet him must be of higher status than him, so he pulled his third brother down and followed him.
The attendant came in and made way. A young man in his twenties put his hands behind his back and smiled, "Jinzhi, I hope I didn't disturb you."
“That’s not true, Fourth Brother.” Zhao Lan extended his hand in invitation.
The man called Fourth Brother smiled and did not move. "I seem to have seen the young lady and young man behind Jinzhi somewhere before?" He turned to look at his followers.
A servant who was about the same age as him said, "Sir, you have a good memory. These two are the young lady and young master who stood beside Prince Zhao during the Dragon Boat Festival."
Dragon Boat Festival?
Su Ruojin immediately understood who the visitor was. It was the Fourth Prince—Zhao Jing, the prince who was in charge of the Ministry of Works and was considered the most mediocre by the court.
No matter how mediocre the Fourth Prince was, to someone like Su Ruojin, he was a nobleman and a big shot. A person of such a high status actually remembered the two children. Either he had a really good memory, or he was always paying attention to Zhao Lan and the other girls, so he also remembered the brother and sister.
In front of important people, Su Ruojin, like Su Yanli, tried every means to reduce their presence, and even made themselves invisible.
Seeing the young lady lowering her head and eyes with her brother, making herself look like a quail, Zhao Lan inadvertently took a step to block the Fourth Prince's sight, "Fourth Brother, please——"
The fourth prince was quite approachable: "Are these two little ones your teacher's children?"
"Yes, Fourth Brother."
"My Dalang is about the same age as your teacher's son, right?"
Zhao Lan pulled a chair for the Fourth Prince and helped him sit down. "Yes, he is six years old, just like Yao'er."
Upon hearing that they were the same age as his son, the Fourth Prince became more approachable, "Jinzhi, bring them to the palace to play with Yaoer when you have time."
Su Ruojin: ...
Hearing this, it felt like the palace was just like an ordinary home that allowed her and her brother to enter.
Brother, you are the emperor's son, and that is the royal palace. The highest-ranking official I have ever seen in my previous life was probably the director of the county education bureau, and I was lucky enough to see that only when he visited the school.
As expected, it was because of his close relationship that he was able to see the emperor's son.
Uh...it would be better if I could leave after watching. I've been busy all morning and I'm hungry. How can I let such a big shot feed me?
Perhaps it was because the Fourth Prince was too approachable, and he wanted to introduce his son to Su Sanlang, so Su Sanlang ate without any restraint. Su Ruojin was influenced by this and slowly relaxed, just filling her stomach.
There was no wine on the table. Zhao Lan asked someone to bring some wine, but was stopped by the Fourth Prince. "I came out to do some work and came to have a meal. I have to go to the store in the afternoon."
Zhao Lan was no longer polite. Instead of ordering wine, he poured him some juice and asked, "Is it about the house renovation?"
"Yes." The fourth prince said, "Winter is coming soon. If the roof and walls are damaged, I'm afraid they won't be able to withstand the heavy snow."
"The weather forecast says there will be a lot of snow this winter, so public housing needs to be repaired early."
Zhao Lan agreed with him and the fourth prince Zhao Jing smiled and said, "I heard that you took over two shops and want to renovate them too?"
He nodded, "Yes, now that you are going to renovate the public housing, I guess you may not be able to find the right people."
"How can it be that fast? I'll have to look at it again, apply for approval, go through all the government offices, and when it comes to my father, it will probably be before the New Year."
What a typical bureaucracy! Su Ruojin almost laughed out loud when she heard the Fourth Prince's faint words, "It's probably New Year's Day soon." Fortunately, she lowered her head into the bowl and did not lose her composure.
I didn’t expect that it would be so difficult for a prince to do his job, let alone ordinary people. It turns out that everyone has their own difficulties.
I'm sorry, the King of Jin was set to be the official's younger brother. In Chapter 98, he was mentioned to be his uncle, which was wrong. Binghe wanted to change it, but it was locked and there was no way to change it. I'll talk to the editor tomorrow and change it once it's unlocked!
(End of this chapter)
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