Chapter 39 Sima Zhao's

Ambition After Jiang Yanyi went out, he asked the embroiderer of the clothing shop next door and found out the most famous flower shop in Xizhou. He then went there with Qiu Kui.

The ancients loved flowers more than modern people. Jiang Yanyi has done a lot of market research these days and found that any wine and restaurant with a bit of style would have a pot of flowers on the table. Even ordinary people, who are reluctant to spend money to buy them, would go to the mountains to dig a few orchids and plant them in front of and behind their houses.

Literati and poets also wrote lyrics, "Banquets are not frequent, and the names and colors are also different. When the peach blossoms are in full bloom, we raise our cups to admire each other, which is called 'the banquet of love and beauty'". The

"beauty" here naturally refers to flowers.

Jiang Yanyi thought that she could take this opportunity to buy some flowers. After all, her hot pot restaurant is currently positioned as a mid-to-high-end restaurant, and she couldn't afford to skimp on this detail.

When she arrived at the Hu Family Flower Shop, she looked at the flowers outside that were blooming beautifully even though they were not in season, and she was impressed by the wisdom of the ancients.

Although flowers that are out of season are common in later generations, that is also due to high-tech hardware facilities and a large amount of experimental data. In ancient times, to achieve this, it all depended on the ingenuity of the florist.

The manager of the flower shop was a business-savvy man. Seeing that Jiang Yanyi's clothes were not particularly luxurious but very respectable, he immediately greeted her warmly: "Madam, what kind of flowers do you want to buy?"

For a woman whose identity and age are unclear, calling her "madam" is the safest title, just like calling a man "young master."

Jiang Yanyi wanted to see other people's flower rooms, so she naturally had to show some sincerity. She said, "I plan to open a restaurant, and I came here specifically to see if there are any suitable flowers."

When the flower shop manager heard that they wanted to buy flowers for opening a restaurant, he immediately realized that this was a big deal, and his attitude became a little more enthusiastic. He led Jiang Yanyi to see: "The red plum blossoms will bloom in a few days. Madam, you might as well buy a plum tree and plant it in the yard. The red plum is also called 'Red Feast'. It's a good omen to use it on the opening day of the store."

Jiang Yanyi nodded, but did not show much interest.

The manager of the flower shop was a businessman who was very good at observing people's expressions. He immediately introduced the flowers next to it: "It is said that crabapples are 'warm makeup', daphne 'bo cold', and peonies are 'cherish fragrance'. Take a look. Which one do you like?"①

Crabapples and peonies are not seasonal flowers.

Jiang Yanyi said: "I want to go to the flower room of your manor to have a look. Is it convenient?"

The manager of the flower shop hesitated for a while, but still nodded: "Madam, come with me."

Jiang Yanyi felt that the manager agreed too straightforwardly. Wasn't he afraid that he would steal their skills?

When he saw the flower room where flowers were grown, Jiang Yanyi was shocked that his idea was too naive.

This greenhouse is bigger than the whole yard she rented. It is tightly sealed on all sides and only ventilated at certain times. The roof is made of luxurious glazed tiles so that light can pass through. As soon as she walked in, the warm air rushed towards her.

The manager said complacently: "In autumn and winter, the ground dragon under this greenhouse has been working all the time. Thanks to this, the flowers inside are always there all year round. Looking at the whole Xizhou, except for the greenhouse in the Protectorate, there is no bigger greenhouse than this one."

Jiang Yanyi nodded calmly, feeling bitter inside.

Not to mention using glazed tiles to build a greenhouse, just using ground dragons to supply the whole autumn and winter, the charcoal money is a considerable expense.

By then, the peppers have not been planted yet, and she will be bankrupt first.

Jiang Yanyi was thinking whether she could negotiate with the manager to pay for a small plot of land in their greenhouse to grow peppers.

However, before she could say anything, an ambiguous voice came from under the cover of a Podocarpus in front of her.

"Young Master... please don't make things difficult for me. If the Madam knows, she will beat me to death..."

"My dear, I will protect you, how dare she..."

The manager didn't expect the second-generation rich man in the mansion to be here, and coughed awkwardly twice to remind the people inside.

Jiang Yanyi was also quite uncomfortable, and said to the steward: "Please take me to see this time. I have seen enough. I think the autumn chrysanthemums outside are more suitable."

The steward understood what she meant and knew that she wanted to leave the greenhouse quickly. Just as he was about to lead Jiang Yanyi out, the two people hiding behind the arborvitae came out and said, "Since you are here to see the flowers and plants, why are you in a hurry to leave?"

The man was thin and had dark eyes. Even if he was wearing a silk dress, he looked like a monkey.

The maid next to him held her clothes at the collar with her hands, and her pretty face was rosy.

Jiang Yanyi only glanced at him and lowered her head.

The steward knew the details of the maid. She was originally serving in the young lady's room. Because she was pretty, she was probably having some affair with the young master, so she was sent by the young lady to plant flowers in the greenhouse.

Fearing that the second-generation ancestor of the mansion would have some thoughts about the customers who came to buy flowers, the steward hurriedly said: "Young master, this lady has already chosen the flowers. I will take her out to get them now."

Hu Baiwan stared at Jiang Yanyi with his eyes, pushed the steward away with one hand and stepped forward and said: "What flowers and plants do you like? Take them, and the bill will be in my name."

Although he only heard Jiang Yanyi's voice just now, he had seen countless girls for so many years and immediately recognized that she was a beauty. At first sight, it was true.

When Jiang Yanyi heard the man being called "young master" by the flower shop manager, she guessed his identity.

She originally wanted to talk about renting a place to grow peppers, but now she just wanted to leave as soon as possible. She said, "Thank you for your kindness, young master. I don't think I want to buy anything for the time being. Bye."

After that, she took Qiu Kui's hand and left quickly.

Seeing that Hu Baiwan seemed to want to chase after her, the flower shop manager quickly stopped him and said, "Young Master, that is a good family girl, not a maid in the mansion!"

Hu Baiwan was almost out of his mind, and he could not hear the manager's advice. He wanted to chase after her but was stopped by the manager again. He simply grabbed the manager's collar and asked, "Who is that young lady? Where does she live?"

Jiang Yanyi and Qiu Kui were still frightened after leaving Hu's flower shop. They found a secluded place to hide and were relieved when they saw that no one chased them out.

The two of them went to other flower shops and found that they were all small workshops. Even if there was a flower shop, the off-season flowers planted in it were half-dead, which was nothing compared to Hu's flower shop.

She only had one pepper plant to grow seedlings, and it was very expensive. Jiang Yanyi didn't dare to be perfunctory about the greenhouse. If the seedlings were frozen to death, she would suffer a great loss.

But she didn't have the capital to build a greenhouse at the moment. After Hu's Flower House saw their young master today, Jiang Yanyi didn't dare to cooperate with them again.

The manager did say that there was a flower house in the Protectorate. Jiang Yanyi thought about the threshold of the Protectorate and Feng Shuo's inexplicable attitude that day, and she didn't have the courage to go to the Protectorate to discuss the lease.

She sighed. At worst, she wouldn't grow seedlings this winter and wait until spring.

After shopping for an afternoon, Jiang Yanyi didn't take a pot of flowers home in the end. She only bought a few porcelain vases for flower arrangement and negotiated a deal with the owner of a small flower shop. In the future, the owner of the flower shop would send her some freshly picked branches every few days at a reasonable price.

Hibiscus is in full bloom at this time of year, and the owner of the flower shop will have a lot of red plums later, so it won't cost much to buy branches.

The two returned to the shop, thinking that the unpleasantness in Hu's flower shop today was over, but who would have thought that Hu Baiwan would come to the door the next day.

Hu Baiwan was holding a pot of expensive white chrysanthemums in his hand, and the seven or eight servants behind him also held a pot of chrysanthemums in their hands.

When he saw Jiang Yanyi, his eyes were wide open, and his eyeballs almost didn't move: "I heard that the young lady loves chrysanthemums, so I sent some here today."

Hu Baiwan is a famous playboy in Xizhou City. He was so ostentatious today that many people gathered at the door of the shop to watch the excitement.

Jiang Yanyi opened the shop today because the plaques that were ordered before arrived, and the carpenter would come to deliver the plaques in a while, but he didn't expect Hu Baiwan to do such a thing.

She was not like any other decent woman who would be embarrassed by such a thing. She glanced at the crowd outside, her eyes were cold and calm, and she even said to Hu Baiwan calmly, "Please help me, Mr. Hu."

Hu Baiwan thought she would still be shy and refuse, saying that she didn't want the flowers, but she asked him for help. He thought that she was indeed a young lady who could open her own business. She was much more generous.

He said attentively, "Young lady, if you have any instructions, just tell me."

Jiang Yanyi said, "My shop is small and can't accommodate so many people. Mr. Hu, please ask your people to leave first."

Hu Baiwan thought that the shop was not small, so there was no way seven or eight people could not fit in, but he didn't want to offend this pretty young lady, so he made a gesture and asked his followers to leave.

His followers were about to put down the potted plants in their hands.

Jiang Yanyi said, "Take the potted plants with you."

The followers looked at each other, waiting for Hu Baiwan to speak.

Jiang Yanyi smiled at him, "Sorry for the trouble."

Hu Baiwan was dazzled by Jiang Yanyi's smile, and he didn't remember what day it was. He just ordered his men with dizzy eyes, "Do it! Do as the young lady says!"

The followers he brought all retreated with the potted plants.

Jiang Yanyi looked at him and continued to smile, "Sorry, Mr. Hu, please stand outside."

Hu Baiwan couldn't guess what tricks she was playing, but with his ability to spend money like water, there was no woman in the whole Xizhou City that he couldn't handle. This young lady was generous and generous, and more interesting than the women he had seen before, and he was willing to accompany the beauty.

He stood at the door of the shop and asked, "So?"

Jiang Yanyi said, "Step back a little further, step down to the steps."

Hu Baiwan was a little confused: "Why step back?"

Jiang Yanyi's smile deepened: "Mr. Hu will know in a while."

Hu Baiwan was mesmerized by Jiang Yanyi's smile. He stood at the bottom of the steps and asked, "So?"

Jiang Yanyi smiled and nodded, then closed the door with both hands.

With a "pop", the door of the shop closed, and even the sound of the bolt was heard from inside.

The onlookers on the street burst into laughter, and Hu Baiwan realized that he was being fooled, and his face turned blue and red.

Feng Shuo took a carriage back home today. When he was about to reach his home, he found that this section of the road was blocked. When he was forced to stop the car, he also witnessed this farce.

The corners of his lips curled up unconsciously.

Ever since Xing Yao knew Feng Shuo's feelings for Jiang Yanyi, he has also paid attention to everything related to Jiang Yanyi. He

asked a few questions to the onlookers and found out the identity of Hu Baiwan.

He quickly reported to Feng Shuo: "This Pipi is the young master of the Hu Family Flower Shop in the west of the city. Although the Hu family is a merchant, it is a local tyrant in Xizhou. The pot of chili peppers was sent by the Hu family."

Feng Shuo glanced at the closed door of Jiang Yanyi's shop, his eyes stayed on Hu Baiwan for a few seconds, and then lowered the car curtain.

A clear voice came from the carriage: "Check how she was entangled by the Hu family."

Hu Baiwan knew that he was embarrassed, and in front of so many people, he vowed to get back at the humiliation, and immediately said to the seven or eight followers: "Knock the door open for me! This shameless bitch!"

Jiang Yanyi and Qiu Kui hid in the backyard, listening to the sound of knocking on the door in the shop in front, Qiu Kui was so scared that she grabbed the corner of Jiang Yanyi's clothes.

She said in a trembling voice: "Huahua, what if they...they come in?"

Jiang Yanyi was also afraid, but she was much calmer than Qiu Kui. She said: "Damn it, he knocked on my door, and he will be the one to complain to the government!"

If this was not in the main street of the Protectorate, Jiang Yanyi would not dare to be so arrogant.

But the area around the Duhufu Street was full of powerful people from Xizhou, and the prefectural government also paid attention to patrolling this area. Basically, someone from the government passed by every half an hour. With so many people gathered outside, the people from the government would definitely be led here soon.

However, the first people to come were not from the government.

Hu Baiwan was asking his followers to break down the door, when suddenly a group of armored guards broke into the crowd. Ordinary people had never seen such a scene before, and they dared not watch it anymore, and they all scattered like birds and beasts. Hu Baiwan

's followers wanted to kick the door, but were kicked to the ground by the group of guards.

"Master, do you know who you are beating?" In the shove, Hu Baiwan also fell on his buttocks. He opened his mouth to curse, but when he found that there was a group of armored guards standing in front of him, he shut his mouth in panic.

"Misunderstanding! Master, it's all misunderstanding!" Hu Baiwan's face changed faster than turning a page, and he bowed and smiled at Xing Yao.

Xing Yao looked at him coldly: "The gangsters are looking for trouble in front of the Duhufu. Come on, take them all to the Xizhou government office!"

Hu Baiwan and his followers were tied up like pigs being taken to the butcher's house for slaughter, and were taken to the Xizhou government office by the government soldiers.

Xing Yao then returned to the carriage and said, "My Lord, why did you have to take him to the government office? Wouldn't it be easier to let the government soldiers teach him a lesson?"

It was a rule that the military camp would not intervene in trivial matters in the market.

But the government soldiers of the prince's palace could intervene.

Feng Shuo leaned his elbows against the wall of the carriage, flipping through a military book, his eyelashes sweeping a cold arc: "Since the Hu family is a local snake, I think they have businesses everywhere. Let's see how the governor of Xizhou Prefecture handles this matter."

When Feng Shuo said this, Xing Yao immediately understood what he meant. By looking at the severity of the crime imposed by the governor, he could find out what the relationship between the Hu family and the Xizhou government was.

He had reorganized the Xizhou military camp in less than half a month since he took office, and now it was time to reorganize the government.

When Feng Shuo returned to the mansion, his subordinates had also found out about Jiang Yanyi's visit to the Hu family's flower house yesterday.

Xing Yao looked at the person writing at the desk, and told Feng Shuo the news reported by the people below: "That cook... No, the daughter of the Jiang family went to the Hu family flower shop yesterday, and seemed to want to buy flowers, but she left in a hurry. She went to many flower shops, but didn't like many flowers. Instead, she asked if they had a greenhouse. It seemed that she wanted to rent a greenhouse to grow something herself."

Feng Shuo paused slightly when he heard this.

An Fu on the side said quickly: "The greenhouse in our house is idle."

Feng Shuo raised his eyes and glanced at An Fu, and An Fu shut up instantly.