Shen Zhiyan was reading in the study.
Shen Manman came running in: "Father."
Shen Zhiyan didn't even look up: "You're back."
Shen Manman placed the food box on the coffee table by the window, and carried the bowl of soup to Shen Zhiyan's desk: "Father, look, this is Xu Yu chicken soup."
Shen Zhiyan looked up curiously: "Xu Yu can make soup?"
“Mm.” Shen Manman nodded. “Auntie said that they call it coconut, or coconut chicken soup. And it’s very delicious…it looks delicious! This soup was specially made for you by your auntie, Daddy, drink more.”
"Really?" Shen Zhiyan raised an eyebrow.
"Of course it's true!" he patted his chest.
Shen Zhiyan looked at her oily lips and found it amusing: "This soup has arrived just in time, let's have dinner now."
Shen Manman glanced at the water clock beside her: "It's only the second quarter of the hour of You (5-7 PM), isn't it... too early!"
The main problem is that she hasn't digested it yet!
There was a lot of meat at the bottom of the soup, and she ate it all.
Shen Zhiyan said, "It's getting late, let's go."
Shen Manman followed Shen Zhiyan out of the study, looking dejected.
The little girl kept chattering: "But... there's no rice at home?"
"That's easy. For the Dragon Boat Festival, just go to a restaurant and get two meals."
Duanwu, who had been following behind, turned and left.
The two arrived at the dining hall, where the maid placed the dishes from the food box onto the table one by one.
The food container keeps the food warm quite well; the food is still hot.
Sweet and sour pork ribs, stir-fried pork with mushrooms and...
"What is this?" Shen Zhiyan saw a dish with several large pieces of meat, sprinkled with a little bit of black and white stuff that looked like salt.
"I don't know. I went to play with Jin'er and Huan'er. When I came back, my aunt had already packed the food into a food box."
Soon, Duanwu returned carrying a small wooden basin of rice, and then ladled rice for the two masters.
Shen Zhiyan picked up a piece of meat that he didn't recognize, took a bite, and said, "This is pork."
"Why is the pork cut into such big pieces?" Shen Manman also picked up a piece, took a bite, and said, "What's on top? It has a very unique flavor."
Shen Zhiyan said, "Black pepper?"
This is the first time I've ever seen someone use black pepper in cooking, especially sprinkled on fried meat. But I must say, the texture and flavor are quite unique.
Shen Manman ate with a blissful expression: "Delicious!"
Unfortunately, she was already quite full after eating just one piece. She should have known better than to drink so much soup.
The other two dishes were also delicious: sweet and sour pork ribs and stir-fried pork with mushrooms. They were very ordinary dishes, but she made them better than others.
Shen Zhiyan liked all three dishes, especially the black pepper fried pork.
Shen Manman said, "I never imagined that Auntie is not only beautiful and good at business, but also makes delicious desserts and cooks such delicious dishes."
Seeing that Shen Zhiyan didn't react, Shen Manman puffed out her cheeks: "Most importantly, she's also good at fishing."
Shen Zhiyan: "..."
...
Ye Caiping's family had already had dinner.
Ye Caiping, the elderly couple Ye, Ye Daquan, and Madam Du gathered in the main room to discuss matters concerning the furniture workshop.
"What? 200 taels!" Madam Du nearly fainted. "I just paid back my younger sister's 40 taels a few days ago, and now... I have to come up with another 200 taels..."
That's a statement that evokes a sense of bittersweet joy.
Grandma Ye rolled her eyes at her: "So, are you taking it or not?"
Mrs. Du quickly sat up straight: "I'll take it! It's just... we don't have any..."
Even if you borrowed from everyone you knew and sold all the house deeds, you still wouldn't be able to get 200 taels.
Ye Caiping said, "I'll borrow the money from my elder brother and sister-in-law first, and then deduct it from the dividends once we make money."
Ye Daquan and Madam Du looked at Ye Caiping with gratitude.
They all knew that with her abilities, she could easily afford to set up two or three furniture workshops, let alone one.
But the younger sister brought them in, giving them the shares and dividends that she was entitled to, which was practically like giving them money for free.
Du's eyes reddened: "Little sister... I really don't know how to thank you... I used to always pick on you."
Ye Caiping said, "The past is the past, it's over, there's no need to bring it up again."
At this moment, Xiao Yan came over and said, "Auntie, my eldest cousin and second uncle are back."
Just then, Ye Yong and Ye Erquan walked in together.
Ye Caiping told Ye Yong to wait at the village entrance and call Ye Erquan over when he saw him.
Ye Erquan, covered in sweat, chuckled and said, "Little sister, what do you want? I smell terrible. Should I go home and take a shower before coming back?"
Grandma Ye said, "What's so smelly about it? We farmers are all like this. Come on, sit down."
Ye Erquan chuckled, pulled up a stool and sat down, then took the large cup of tea that Xiao Yan handed him and gulped down half of it.
Ye Caiping then said, "I was planning to start a furniture workshop with my eldest brother and Uncle Wang. I originally reserved seven shares for my second brother. But when we discussed it at noon, my second brother had already gone out, so I called my second sister-in-law over. But she said she wouldn't participate."
"What?" Ye Erquan almost choked on his tea. "Why isn't she participating?"
That was an opportunity that my younger sister gave their family, and that woman actually refused it?
Ye Daquan raised an eyebrow: "Things were fine at the time... I told her I'd give her seven shares, but she said it wasn't enough. Then she said she'd have to pay more... maybe she felt it was too much, so she refused."
It wasn't that he was gossiping about his sister-in-law behind her back, it's just that... these things have to be said!
"How many?"
"70 taels!"
Ye Erquan almost vomited blood. He earned more than 90 taels a month from building outhouses and delivering spicy soup. Now he was only taking out 70 taels, which was only a month's income for his family. How could she not agree to it?
Even if we don't make a profit, and we do lose money, it's only a month's income! How can we possibly lose everything by risking a month's income?
Ye Erquan was so angry that he jumped up, but before he could take two steps, he turned back, and finally reached into his sleeve and pulled out two silver ingots:
"Here, one ingot is worth 20 taels, for a total of 40 taels. I'll pay you now. I'll pay the rest in a couple of days."
Ye Daquan said, "Ha, you can just reach out and pull out 40 taels. No wonder you're a wealthy household. Impressive!"
Ye Erquan rolled his eyes at him: "It's all thanks to Manager Lin, our big boss. The outhouses at Baiweilou in town are very good. When Boss Su found out, he told us to build them for all the branches of Baiweilou. At least the ones in the nearby prefectures should have them built."
"Because it's too far, and we have to leave the prefectural city, there's an extra 2 taels of silver for each outhouse. This is the final payment from the previous customers, plus the deposit from Master Su."
"But..." Ye Erquan thought for a moment and sighed softly, "Don't tell Peng'er's mother about this, or she'll start nagging again."
Ye Caiping nodded: "Alright, let's not tell anyone. These seven shares belong to Second Brother."
Ye Caiping didn't want Ye Erquan to keep it a secret from Wei Shi, but Wei Shi held Ye Erquan back.
Although it seems good at the moment, with an income of over ninety taels a month, neither the hot and sour soup delivery business nor the outhouse business is very stable and not a long-term solution.
These seven shares were her guarantee for Ye Erquan.
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