Song Liyun is doing the accounting.
The opening meal consisted of roasting half a sheep and over a hundred catties of vegetables, earning seven taels and four mace of silver.
The mutton was borrowed from the garrison, and money had to be paid for it.
The vegetables were picked from our own garden; we keep public and private matters separate, and the money should still go to Song Zhenping.
Add to that the cost of seasoning packets, cardboard boxes, charcoal, and wages for each waiter; and considering the size of the restaurant, it would take at least eight taels of silver a day to break even, which seems like a loss.
Song Liyun smiled so hard her eyes curved into crescent moons.
Today is a promotional day; most of the ingredients are being given away for free, and the prices are half price.
Once the price returns to normal, we can still earn more than twenty taels of silver from these ingredients.
Having learned from the first day's experience, Ye Hua, who was in charge of the kitchen, already knew what to prepare.
These employees are all seasoned veterans, and now they are willing to work at Tianxiang Restaurant. Song Liyun doesn't need to say anything more to arrange things; they will find work on their own.
The restaurant closed, and before it got dark, Song Liyun, dressed in a light blue fitted outfit, rode a chrysanthemum-green horse and, under the protection of Zhou Xiang and his four companions, left the city to go home, just like she had done in the previous ten days.
On the city wall, Jiang Feng, dressed in plain clothes, stood leaning against the wall, watching the figure disappear down the official road, a smile appearing in his eyes.
He already knew that the restaurants in the city wanted to squeeze out Tianxianglou, but the government couldn't easily intervene in such matters of private business.
Today, Tianxianglou opened, and even the usual rascals didn't go to join the fun.
He thought it would end quietly, but the rich aroma alone attracted people from half the street.
Everyone loves to sample food for free. No matter how resourceful a chef is, they can't just shut people up and prevent them from enjoying their food.
And those convenient cardboard boxes, held in your hands, look much nicer than leaf packages; without even saying a word, people along the way will ask about them.
Yixi said many times after she came back: It smells so good, and there are so many people!
Jiang Feng recalled the Third Young Master's evaluation of Song Liyun that day.
Although he didn't say much, he still noticed something.
The third young master has taken a liking to this girl.
The Third Young Master left a gift box at the county government office when he left, asking Yixi to deliver it as a congratulatory gift when Tianxiang Restaurant reopens.
But when I opened it today, I found that it contained a bright red heart-shaped stone.
He would have had his servant deliver ordinary gold and silver items, but that was a heart-shaped stone... No way!
Jiang Feng shook his head.
He kept the gift box a secret!
If the Crown Prince ascends the throne, the Third Prince will be a true member of the imperial family, and there is a possibility that he will marry a noblewoman from the Wu Dynasty.
Moreover, the fifty cavalrymen of the Uda tribe are not enough to expand into a large tribe within three years; they will also need the assistance of tribal intermarriage.
Once the Third Young Master returns to the grasslands, Lady Uya will surely handle this matter.
A wife is chosen for her virtue, while a concubine is chosen for her beauty. Regardless of their social status, given this girl's temperament and looks, she is unlikely to be a concubine, nor would she be willing to be a mistress, which would only cause trouble.
Jiang Feng came from the family of a high-ranking official in the Court of Judicial Review, and he had seen many such behaviors of noble young men in the capital.
He would be very affectionate when he met a special girl, but when it came to actually getting married, it was his parents who made the decision.
This woman from a military household is no ordinary girl. Rather than harboring resentment later, it's better to distance yourself from her early on.
Song Liyun was unaware that Lord Jiang on the city wall was already planning her future and was on his way home from get off work.
Everyone had a tough day, and she just wanted to go home early to wash up and rest.
Now, peddlers travel between Qili County and Suijin Town every day, and the road between the two has been repaired.
The official road, which was originally covered with gravel and overgrown branches, was much easier to travel on. Song Liyun rode her horse back to Suijin Town in just half an hour.
As dusk settled, the flickering lanterns cast an aura of warmth over the town of Suijin.
Stones were scattered haphazardly across the market; these were where vendors displayed their goods during the day.
In a bright, open space, a few people were building a wall by piling stones, taking advantage of the cool, quiet environment.
These are townspeople who couldn't wait for the autumn chill and wanted to set up a small shop as soon as possible to facilitate their business.
Upon hearing the sound of horses' hooves entering the town, the men stopped and greeted Song Liyun: "Miss Song, you're back a little late today. Ping-ge'er has come to the town entrance several times already."
Song Liyun smiled in response: "Something came up, I'll head back now."
She didn't tell Song Zhenping and the others about the opening of Tianxianglou today.
In this situation, she doesn't know what will happen, so rather than having another person worry and be anxious, she'd rather say nothing.
Hearing that Song Zhenping had come to wait for her several times, she said no more and told Zhou Xiang and the others to go back to the garrison to rest, and that they only needed to go to Qili County together the next morning.
She whipped her horse and hurried off to Baolin Residence alone.
Perhaps it was because she was in a good mood, but Song Liyun felt that Baolinju was particularly different today.
Looking out from afar, lanterns of all sizes hang from the branches of trees outside the courtyard, with the tallest ones even perched on the tips of the branches, swaying in the wind.
Before they even got close to the orchard, Black Gold darted out of the woods and ran towards Song Liyun with a strange "hehe" sound.
She chased after Xiao An, calling out as she ran, "Second Sister, Second Sister is back!"
A small yellow and white dog was chasing after Xiao An. It couldn't outrun the man and the monkey, and kept barking anxiously.
Song Liyun's heart melted at the way she was called "Second Sister".
Now she understands even more that it is a blessing to have someone to rely on, and it is also a blessing to be relied on.
Song Liyun dismounted, patted Hei Jin's head, and went to greet Xiao An, smiling, "Xiao An, why are you so happy today?"
She goes home every night, and although Xiao An will come out to greet her, she's never as excited as she was today.
"Go home, you'll find out when you get home!"
Xiao An reached for the reins, but Song Liyun brushed his hand away, saying, "Don't come any closer, both the horse and I are covered in dust."
She was exhausted after a long day, and when she rode back on horseback, she was covered in dust.
"Don't worry, Xiao An will lead the horse for Second Sister!" Xiao An smiled and pulled on the reins; he hadn't seen Second Sister for another day.
As they entered the carriage road, Yunniang, Han Ming, and Song Zhenping were all waiting outside with smiles on their faces.
Seeing the two red lanterns hanging at the gate, Song Liyun became even more surprised: "What happened today? What are you doing?"
Song Zhenping was wearing a new outfit and dressed up very formally.
He came up to her with a smile and said, "Yun'er, today is your birthday. How could you forget? I told you this morning to come home early."
"Oh!" Song Liyun slapped her forehead, realizing she had actually forgotten.
Because it was opening day, she tidied up the vegetables in the backyard before dawn, and hurriedly went out after Zhou Xiang brought half a sheep from the garrison.
As for Song Zhenping telling her to go home early, she didn't remember it.
It turns out it was my eighteenth birthday!
The family banquet had been prepared long ago, but Song Zhenping didn't tell anyone else; it was just a few family members celebrating.
Song Liyun went to wash up and change her clothes; everyone was already waiting inside.
On the table were chicken, duck, fish, meat, various side dishes, and a clear mushroom soup.
There are no cakes or red candles here, but there are smiling faces all around.
Song Liyun never expected that she would have to celebrate her eighteenth birthday again.
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