Chapter 32 Half Moon 4
◎Who doesn’t have a backer? ◎
The two people who were leaving paused.
Yan Yue was furious and she pinched her waist, about to open her mouth to refute.
Nan Qing stepped forward and asked loudly, "How have I offended the Shen family? My salary for the past two months is enough to pay for more than ten days of casual work. These ten days are enough for you to find two more long-term workers and dishwashers."
"At the beginning of the year, I was forced to stay in the Shen family, so I was willing not to sign a work contract and reduce my wages. In the past year, I worked three jobs and only got paid for one. I worked diligently and without any complaints. I really don't know how I have let down the Shen family."
The shopkeeper was stunned again. It turned out that she was not stupid. She knew everything!
"A servant of the Shen family dares to speak so arrogantly under the banner of the Rongshan Shen family?"
Seeing that the shopkeeper was choking, Yan Yue continued what she had been interrupted before: "I'm going to make this clear today! From now on, Nan Qing will be the shopkeeper of my Banzhang Mingyue Teahouse! If the Shen family is dissatisfied——"
"Just come and find me!"
Yan Yue's flawless white face was as cold as ice, her dark pupils were fierce, and the black robe on her body exuded an oppressive majesty that shocked everyone in the room!
She uttered harsh words in a menacing manner, grabbed Nan Qing's wrist, and strode away with her head held high.
After everyone in the store recovered from their shock, they looked at each other. The shopkeeper asked the waiter in a low voice, "Ban Zhang Ming Yue Teahouse? Whose is it?"
The waiter looked confused: "Never heard of it?"
Nan Qing followed Yan Yue without saying a word until they got on the carriage. Yan Yue stuffed a piece of snack prepared for the road into his mouth and a happy smile appeared on his face. Only then did the pressure completely dissipate.
Nan Qing couldn't help but ask: "Why do you want to provoke the Shen family? Aren't you afraid?"
"Why are you afraid of them?"
Yan Yue swallowed the snack in her mouth and said confidently: "I'm not in Rongshan!"
Nan Qing was stunned for a moment before realizing that the teahouse was in Linjiang City.
Yan Yue smiled with a sly look in her eyes: "Let them go around the city and ask around! They won't be able to find the location of this Banzhang Mingyue Teahouse even if they die of exhaustion!"
Nan Qing was a little amused and said, "Rongshan and Linjiang are adjacent to each other and have close ties. Aren't you afraid that they will find Linjiang?"
Yan Yue was not afraid at all: "Tsk!"
"Do you think I'm famous in Linjiang City?"
Nan Qing: ...
For the first time in two days, Nan Qing's calm and composed face showed a look of breakdown.
Yan Yue quickly added: "Don't worry, don't worry! I have supporters in Linjiang City! The second son of the Zheng family in Linjiang, Zheng Yi, and the son of the Feng family, Feng Jian, have very close relationships with me!"
She took a piece of dessert from the oil-paper bag and handed it to Nan Qing, comforting him: "Don't worry, we have people behind us!"
Nan Qing curled the corners of his mouth slightly, took a piece of dessert and ate it slowly.
*
Soon, Nan Qing saw Yan Yue's backstage.
The two returned to the city and went straight to the teahouse. When they entered the shop, Chu Zhi was not telling stories. Instead, a group of people gathered in the middle of the lobby, surrounding them in three layers inside and outside.
"Oh!"
"Hey!"
“Oh…”
Various exclamations continued to be heard from within the circle.
Nan Qing thought something had happened and was about to ask Yan Yue, but she saw her also dive into the crowd with a curious look on her face, listening intently.
"This mother-in-law is too outrageous. I have never heard of such a thing! You should either persuade your son to stop flirting with other women, or allow him to divorce his daughter-in-law! What kind of thing is it to find a lover for your daughter-in-law?!"
"Why not? I think the mother-in-law is right! The son is so unreasonable. He ignores his wife and children at home and hangs out with a widow all day long. He helps the widow fetch water and chop firewood, and the only thing missing is helping her raise her son! Shouldn't the mother-in-law try to keep her daughter-in-law?"
"That's right! The son is stupid, but the mother-in-law is not stupid! The daughter-in-law is in charge of everything in the house. If the daughter-in-law takes the child away in anger, will she leave her own grandson alone and help the widow take care of the child?"
Chu Zhi's voice came out: "I think that the mother-in-law is also a woman, and she will feel sorry for her daughter-in-law for having such an unreliable man. Putting aside the relationship between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, it is normal for women to feel sorry for women and for women to help women!"
"That's true! Didn't the daughter-in-law feel sorry for her mother-in-law who had been widowed for many years and found a companion for her?"
"That's right! How did you think this incident started? Didn't the son just go home early one day and unexpectedly find that his wife and mother each had someone who understood them and accompanied them, and he immediately went crazy?"
"After asking around, I found out that his wife's lover was found by his mother! And his mother's lover was found by his wife because she felt sorry for her mother-in-law! What a lively scene!"
"Wow! And then? What happened?"
Yan Yue's excited question scared Chu Zhi and the waiter.
The two men stood up suddenly, with a look of being caught in the act, their heads lowered very low: "Dong, Dongjia..."
The people gathered in the three inner and outer layers suddenly scattered like birds and beasts, leaving their tea money behind and leaving. But in just a few moments, all the people in the room dispersed!
Yan Yue couldn't help but shout, "Hey, don't go! What happened later? Why did you all leave?"
"Sister Yue, I know!"
Nan Qing saw a boy of about seven years old jumping and explaining: "When the man made a scene, his wife felt ashamed and insisted on going back to her parents' home. His mother scolded her son and asked him to divorce his wife. After the divorce, he was kicked out of the house by his mother and wife! The widow didn't want him either, and now he has nowhere to go!"
Yan Yue pinched the kid's nose and said, "Zheng Yi, did you skip school again?"
The little boy pulled her hand off and said, "No! I had a day off these two days, and I came to play with you early yesterday morning, but I didn't expect you were not here!"
Nan Qing was dumbfounded, pointing at the little boy and asked Yan Yue: "Is this the second son of the Zheng family?"
"Your...backer???"
After getting a definite answer, Nan Qing rubbed his forehead and sighed silently: "Second Master, you have caused me a lot of trouble..."
Yan Yue introduced Nan Qing to everyone, and Zheng Yi called her sweetly, "Sister Nan Qing."
Nan Qing just nodded in response and asked Yan Yue: "So, Chu Zhi is the only storyteller and this waiter in the entire teahouse?"
Yan Yue said quickly: "And me! I also do odd jobs. I make peanut and sesame crisps. I also made walnut crisps before, but later they were not selling well and I stopped making them..."
She looked embarrassed, feeling as if she had cheated Nan Qing. Fortunately, Nan Qing didn't care about it and started cleaning directly.
Chu Zhi and the waiter collected the tea money left by the guests. Yan Yue said excitedly, "There's so much?"
Seeing that Yan Yue was not angry at all, Chu Zhi boldly said, "Yesterday, when there were no customers, I told Zheng Yi a ghost story. Unexpectedly, some people came to listen, and more and more people came! In the end, the tea money more than doubled compared to the day before!"
Zheng Yi said hurriedly: "So we decided to continue telling ghost stories today, and I came here early in the morning to act as a stand-in!"
Chu Zhi said a little embarrassedly: "I don't know why, but a guest started talking about the widowed mother, her son, and her daughter-in-law, and then he went off topic..."
There were few customers in the store, so Nan Qing and the waiter quickly cleaned up the mess on the table and picked up the account book to start looking through it.
Chu Zhi asked Yan Yue in a low voice: "This Shopkeeper Nan looks quite powerful! Will she replace me?"
"Won't!"
Yan Yue responded casually, and then followed up with some hesitation: "...right?" ? ? ?
Chu Zhi was horrified, grabbed Yan Yue's arm and said, "Boss, you can't leave me!"
Yan Yue whispered, "Don't worry, let's see how she arranges it. After all, being a waiter shouldn't be a problem!"
The teahouse had no business at all and the accounts were very simple, so Nan Qing finished looking at them quickly.
She took the stack of papers handed to her by Yan Yue, and the more she looked at them, the more familiar they became. She asked, "This, isn't something you came up with yourself, right?"
Seeing her frowning brows, Yan Yue said tentatively, "It was a well-known wealthy businessman who gave the idea."
Nan Qing sighed helplessly, put the paper away and said, "These plans are not applicable to our shop at the moment."
"Teahouses come in two types: high-end and low-end. High-end teahouses are for people to drink tea, play chess, and discuss important matters; low-end teahouses are for people to rest, drink water, and listen to books for entertainment."
Standing on the second floor of the teahouse, she explained to Yan Yue, "An elegant place must be close to mountains and rivers. Even if you can't see the river, at least you should dig a pond. And hang some calligraphy and paintings by famous people so that those scholars can show off their elegance. This location does not have the innate conditions."
"The street is not wide, and there are densely populated houses on both sides. Most of the shops on the whole street sell rice, flour, grain, oil, daily groceries, and ready-made clothes and cloth, which means that the people who come and go here are residents living nearby. Since you are near home, there is no need to come to the teahouse to drink tea."
"But this place is not close to the dock. Merchants who want to have tea and rest will only drink tea near the dock, or find a teahouse nearby after delivering goods. They will not go all the way here."
The more Yan Yue listened, the colder her heart became: "Then, isn't it hopeless..."
Nan Qing said: "Since the boss just wants to make a living, I have an idea. I wonder if the boss is willing to try it?"
Yan Yue asked quickly: "What's the idea?"
Nan Qing said, "We are neither high nor low right now, so why not try something new and open a teahouse that tells interesting stories and strange rumors. People are curious, and those people today are an example. No matter which of these two types, people love to listen and are even willing to pay to listen."
Yan Yue understood, and said with twinkling eyes: "Then let's tell them!"
Everything was packed up and it was already dark.
Nan Qing asked Yan Yue: "Boss, where do I live?"
Yan Yue was stunned. How could she have forgotten about this? I haven’t found a place for Nanqing to live yet!
"The room next to mine is still empty..."
Before Chu Zhi could finish her words, Yan Yue covered her mouth. She smiled and said to Nan Qing: "Wait a moment, let's discuss it."
She pulled Chu Zhi out of the door and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about? You are heartless and you are not afraid of Zhou Lin, Jiang Lao, Shen Erye and others. Do you think everyone is like you, happily getting close to ghosts?"
Chu Zhi was unhappy: "We can't see it, what is there to be afraid of?"
Yan Yue said, "Living in the same courtyard with the three back rooms sealed tightly, it will always arouse suspicion. And you keep whispering to them, what if you scare them away? Do you know how much effort I put in to invite her here?"
Chu Zhi scratched his head and asked, "What should we do? If we rent a house for her to live in, it will cost a lot of money, right?"
Yan Yue sighed and said, "There's nothing we can do about it! You see, he solved the problem as soon as he came. He's much more reliable than Mr. Shen! We have to accept the fact that we have to spend a little more money. If the shop does good business, we will be able to make it back sooner or later..."
"Is it inconvenient for the boss?"
Nan Qing suddenly opened the curtain and came out, and asked humbly, "I heard Chu Zhi say earlier that she lived with you. Is it because Nan Qing's status is humble and the boss doesn't trust her, so the boss doesn't want to live with me?"
"No, no!"
Yan Yue quickly denied: "That's not true! I just think that the house is simple and there is only one wing room left. After all, you are the owner of our teahouse, you should find a yard and live in the main house facing north and south!"
Nan Qing bowed respectfully and said, "I am so grateful for your kindness, sir. If you don't mind, I will let you stay in the wing room first. We are busy these days, so it will be more convenient for us to go in and out together. It won't be too late to discuss the future when the business really picks up."
Yan Yue looked at Chu Zhi and smiled awkwardly: "Well, okay..."
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