The group arrived in town in an oxcart. Jiang Yuwei first had Ning Huaizhi escort everyone to the shop, and then she and Ning Huaizhi boarded the oxcart together and headed to the market.
When Jiang Yuwei passed by a jewelry shop, she got out of the car and bought some gold powder. She didn't expect that the gold powder paper would be so popular. It was in short supply. Not only was the shop sold out, but many people also made special orders for gold powder paper from Jiang Yuwei. Perhaps because of the principle that things are valued for their scarcity, Jiang Yuwei thought that she should limit the supply of gold powder paper every month.
After Jiang Yuwei finished buying the gold powder, she had just stepped out of the shop when she saw a woman around fifty years old, her face streaked with tears, holding Ning Huaizhi's hand and crying:
"Your Highness, I... I've finally found you! Please come back to the capital with me quickly! Madam... Madam... she... she's dying..."
Jiang Yuwei frowned as she looked at the old woman in front of her, wondering if this was some kind of scam. How did her husband become the prince she was talking about?
Seeing this, Ning Huaizhi was also at a loss. He quickly pulled his hand away from the woman's embrace, and the woman immediately knelt down and cried:
"Young Master, please don't be angry with Madam. If you don't want to marry the second young lady of the Lin family, you can just say so. Why come to such a poor and remote place to suffer?"
Seeing this, Jiang Yuwei quickly stepped forward to help the woman kneeling on the ground to her feet.
“Madam, you must have mistaken me for someone else. My husband is not the prince you’re talking about. He grew up in Ping’an Town, and his home is here. His wife and children are all here too.”
The woman stared at Jiang Yuwei in disbelief, looking her up and down, then turned to Ning Huaizhi and exclaimed in surprise:
"Your Highness, you are so foolish! How could someone of your status marry a country bumpkin?"
Ning Huaizhi immediately became angry upon hearing this and said:
"Wife, get in the car, ignore this crazy woman!"
Upon seeing this, the woman hurriedly cried out:
"Young Master, you must come back to the manor with me to see Madam! Young Master, please don't go..."
Jiang Yuwei boarded the oxcart, looking completely bewildered. Ning Huaizhi then drove off. Jiang Yuwei asked curiously:
"Huaizhi, why did that old woman, what was she, call you 'Young Master' just now?"
Ning Huaizhi shook his head with a helpless bitter smile:
"How would I know? I don't know her. I think we should stay away from people like her. She seems a bit crazy."
Jiang Yuwei didn't think much of it after hearing this, assuming she had just encountered a madman on the road.
When the two arrived at the market, Jiang Yuwei first got off the car and went to a pastry shop to buy some pastries, then went to a butcher shop to buy some pork belly and ribs. Seeing that there were chickens for sale by the roadside, Jiang Yuwei also bought two. Afterwards, Jiang Yuwei went to the market to browse around and did some shopping before getting back on the oxcart.
When the two returned to Moxianzhai, it was almost noon. Jiang Yuwei saw that there were quite a few customers in the shop, so she asked Ning Huaizhi to stay in front and help, while she went to the backyard to cook lunch.
Jiang Yuwei first soaked the ribs in water for a while, then boiled them and skimmed off the foam. She then added potatoes, green beans, and ribs, added water to the bottom of the pot, placed a steamer rack on top, heated the buns she had made earlier in the pot, and steamed some eggplants and green beans to make cold dishes.
At lunchtime, there were many customers, and Jiang Yuwei was eager to go to the front to help. She just needed a balanced meal with both meat and vegetables. So, after finishing the work at the back, Jiang Yuwei went to the front of the shop and said to Ning Daya and the others:
"From now on, we'll take turns eating lunch so it won't interfere with what's going on in front. Da Ya, you take Ning Zhao, Ning Wan, and the idiot to the backyard for lunch. The food is all in the pot, just take it out. You can make a cold salad with the steamed eggplant and green beans. There are spare ribs at the bottom of the pot, take them all out."
Ning Daya was busy all morning and felt dizzy. Now that Jiang Yuwei had given the order, she didn't refuse and took Ning Wan and the others to the back for lunch.
Jiang Yuwei was responsible for continuing to introduce products to customers and register members. The booklets she had printed earlier were almost sold out. Jiang Yuwei thought that with so many customers in the past few days since the opening, she should also get some novelties to sell in the store, otherwise it would be a waste of such good foot traffic.
After Ning Daya and the others finished eating, Jiang Yuwei took Ning Qiu to the backyard for dinner. Jiang Yuwei, remembering something, asked:
"Do any of you know who in our village has the best carving skills?"
Uncle Ning thought for a moment and then smiled:
“I know that your neighbor, Old Zhang, is a very good carver. When the village built the ancestral hall, some of the wood carvings were done by him. No one else could do them.”
Jiang Yuwei's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this.
"Fifth Uncle, are you talking about Zhang Tianhe's father?"
Uncle Ning picked up a steamed bun and nodded:
"That's right, he's a recognized craftsman in our village."
Upon hearing this news, Jiang Yuwei made a plan in her mind. If Uncle Zhang could really carve out her drawings, then hiring another person would not be a problem. The shop would definitely need someone who could carve in the future, and relying solely on Ning Huaizhi would not be enough.
After everyone had eaten, they went to the front to look at the shop. Jiang Yuwei stayed in the backyard and tidied up the yard and warehouse again. She took inventory of all the goods in the warehouse and was relieved to see that the simpleton was still a clean person who kept his house spotless.
As Jiang Yuwei watched the simpleton's busy figure ahead, a thought involuntarily arose in her mind: could the old woman Wang she met on the street today be here to see the simpleton?
After all, the fool and Ning Huaizhi do look nine-tenths alike, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten himself into this trouble to save the fool, a strange man.
At first glance, the two do look somewhat alike, but Jiang Yuwei knows that the idiot is taller than Ning Huaizhi, and Ning Huaizhi has a small mole at the corner of his eye, which the idiot does not. Their ways of doing things are also completely different, and the way they look at people is also different.
As Jiang Yuwei was lost in thought, she heard the fool say in a muffled voice:
"Hey, remember to bring me some fried rice with eggs when you come tomorrow, I love it!"
Jiang Yuwei shook her head helplessly after hearing this:
"Okay, you take good care of the shop. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll bring it to you. You can't go out for a stroll while the shop is closed these next few days, understand? Be careful when you're alone in the shop."
Jiang Yuwei is unsure whether Wang Ma is truly insane or just pretending to be naive. Moreover, her true identity is also questionable. After all, when traveling, one's identity is determined by oneself, and the idiot's mind is currently confused. If Wang Ma really comes looking for him, she cannot simply entrust the idiot to her without any reassurance.
Therefore, Jiang Yuwei thought it best not to let the fool show his face in the next few days.
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