Shooting stars occasionally streak across the sky, some drifting lightly, others shooting straight down or sweeping across, bringing people a unique kind of joy.
"Duoduo, I have no concubines."
After the pleasure subsided, Jin Jinzhi whispered in Yun Duoduo's ear, his voice gentle and sincere.
"Um?"
Yun Duoduo didn't react for a moment. Her body was still immersed in the tenderness just now. After a while, she looked up at Jin Jinzhi and wondered why he said such a sentence out of the blue.
"Before you, I had never even held a woman's hand."
Yun Duoduo understood. It seemed that Qingdai knew the questions she had asked Qingdai and the servants during the day.
"I wouldn't even glance at the other women."
"In the northern Xinjiang region, I hardly spoke to any women. There, the wind and sand were everywhere, and everyone wore hoods, so you couldn't even see people's faces clearly."
"I...don't believe it..."
"Oh? You don't believe me?"
Jin Jinzhi smiled, took her hand, and placed it on her waist.
"All my skills were honed on your body..."
Yun Duoduo's body slumped down, and she closed her eyes.
...
At noon, after having lunch, Yun Duoduo opened the box the gatekeeper had given her and took out the Buddhist scriptures she had prepared to give to the Empress Dowager, flipping through them one by one.
Qiuju brought in tea for Yunduoduo.
Yun Duoduo picked up her teacup, took a sip, and immediately realized that this tea was different from the ones she had before.
"Hmm? Qiuju, your tea-making skills have improved quite a bit!"
In the past, when I brewed tea with chrysanthemum, I could only taste the flavor of the tea.
But this time, not only could I taste the aroma of tea, but I could also smell a delicate tea fragrance.
"Your Highness, I dare not take credit. This tea was brewed by Awen from the tea room," Qiuju said, pointing outside.
“We drank the tea he brewed during our break, and it tasted better than ours. So, I just went to find Awen to brew tea for the Princess.”
"Awen?"
Yun Duoduo tapped her fingers on the teacup. She didn't recognize the man's name. "Bring him to see me."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Qiuju responded and turned to call Awen.
"Oh, let's invite Uncle Fu over too."
Qiu took Awen and Uncle Fu to find Yun Duoduo. Awen brought in a pot of tea, placed a blue-and-white porcelain teacup on the table, poured a cup of tea for Yun Duoduo, and said softly, "Your Highness, please have some tea."
"This tea is really good," Yun Duoduo said with a smile, picking up her teacup, taking a sip.
"Uncle Fu, Uncle Fu, you should try some too."
Uncle Fu smiled and picked up his teacup. He first smelled the aroma of the tea, then took a sip. "Yes, it leaves a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth."
"By the way, Uncle Fu, I think Awen knows a bit about tea ceremony. Have you ever thought about having him open a tea shop?"
“We have a tea plantation in our household, and we can make money by selling tea in large quantities, but the profit margin is too small.”
"It's far less profitable than directly serving end consumers."
"terminal?"
"What do you mean by 'consumer'?" Uncle Fu asked, somewhat puzzled, as were the others.
"That's right, reduce the middlemen. We'll sell the tea from the tea garden directly to our customers, instead of selling it to the tea shop owners, who will then sell it to the people of the capital."
Yun Duoduo suggested, "I just looked at the land deeds and house deeds a few days ago, and there are still a few empty shops. They're just sitting idle anyway."
"A tea shop?"
Uncle Fu thought about it for a moment.
"Yes, although I have seen some tea shops in the capital, they are not very large and are scattered and do not yet have a scale."
"Moreover, most tea shops do not sell high-quality tea; some even sell broken leaves and stale tea."
Yun Duoduo shook her head.
"Now that we have such a talented Ah Wen in our household, if we find a good manager, we can open a tea shop."
“Awen knows how to brew and prepare tea. We can also sell some Yixing teapots, chicken cups, Mansheng well-curtain teapots, and Jizhou kiln wooden leaf teacups…”
"I believe that our customers are willing to buy things from Awen, who understands tea."
"So, how about we let Awen help manage the tea shop and sell tea and teaware?"
Uncle Fu thoughtfully recalled the land deed. "Alright, I see there's a shop on Rizhao Street, right next to Xishui Street. It's perfect for opening a tea shop."
Uncle Fu paused, as if he had suddenly thought of something, "However, we still need to ask Awen if he is willing."
“I think Ah Wen might prefer brewing tea and studying tea leaves and teaware, so why not find someone with more experience to be the manager of this tea shop, specifically responsible for taking care of customers and maintaining relationships.”
"Yes, what the princess says makes sense."
"Awen, what do you mean?"
Awen was a little stunned. Only then did he realize that the matriarch was recommending him to go into business.
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Highness! Thank you, Uncle Fu!"
Awen knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Yun Duoduo. If he were a servant in the mansion, he would only ever see the sky in the four corners of the mansion.
But if he could go to the capital to do business, he believed that he could make a name for himself with his own hands.
Yun Duoduo saw that Awen's eyes were full of anticipation, longing and light for the future: "Well, we can prepare for this slowly. You can also take advantage of this time to take over the teahouse outside and have a look."
"Yes, this servant understands!"
Yun Duoduo picked up the teacup, held it to her nose, and smelled it. "Hmm, this tea smells very fragrant."
"By the way, Uncle Fu, when you have some free time these next few days, could you send someone to the Ministry of Commerce to process the operating documents for the tea shop?"
"Don't wait until the last minute before opening to realize that the paperwork isn't complete."
Yun Duoduo vaguely remembered that when the money exchange first opened, some competitors came to cause trouble, but fortunately they had already made preparations in advance.
"Yes, Your Highness, this old servant will go and prepare immediately."
...
Thanks to Yun Duoduo's meticulous treatment, Jin Jinzhi's leg has basically recovered.
Today is the Empress Dowager's birthday, and the royal family is holding a banquet. The two are changing into their palace attire, preparing to enter the palace.
"Brother Jinzhi, would you like to wear that navy blue palace dress?"
"Then, Duoduo, will you help me change?"
Yun Duoduo gave her a helpless look, removed all of Jin Jinzhi's clothes, revealing her bare, muscular chest, and picked up the dark blue palace dress on the table.
Jin Jinzhi grabbed Yun Duoduo's hand and placed it on his waist, then pulled her into his arms.
Yun Duoduo's cheeks flushed, and she suddenly felt a warm breath on her ear. She looked up and met Jin Jinzhi's expressive eyes.
Yun Duoduo felt his breath and warmth. Jin Jinzhi held Yun Duoduo's hand and intertwined their fingers.
Yun Duoduo gave her a "I knew it" look. She planned to wear her light blue palace dress today, which was why she wanted Jin Jinzhi to wear blue too; they would look better together.
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