After making the arrangements, she left everything alone and went to take over the two newly acquired shops. One specialized in tea and was formerly called Baiji Tea Shop. Bai Zhiyue renamed it Jiupin Tea Garden.
The other one is a store that sells novelty items, mainly various decorations, specializing in things brought back by ships. Now Bai Zhiyue does not have any shipping business, and she does not want to do it. She plans to turn it into a dim sum shop after disposing of the existing goods, and name it Caixiangzhai.
There are a lot of equipment in the space. It is easy to cultivate and make some baking powder or shortening. The oven can be made of clay.
Guan Chun Yuan’s dim sum is very popular, so if we make something different at home, sales will definitely be better.
She then went to the surrounding county governments to look over several farms. The land was all good, and the ones given by the emperor were even better, all fertile land. She roughly estimated the output this summer, and would drive away any farm manager who tried to deceive her.
He did not return until the palace examination was over and the new batch of Jinshi were announced.
"Mom, let's go watch the number one scholar's horse parade."
"Okay, let's go see who's more handsome, the top scholar or the second best scholar."
"What if it's the old man?"
"Then let's see who is more handsome."
"Haha, let's go, we can't find a good seat if we're late."
The streets were crowded with people, and many young girls and wives were standing on the side of the street watching the fun.
Bai Zhiyue and her friends found a restaurant and asked for a table on the second floor, a pot of tea and some snacks, and waited for the parade of the first-class Jinshi.
There were shouts from downstairs
"No. 1~No. 2~No. 3"
"Mom, they're coming."
"Madam, this year's top scholar is so young, younger than both the runner-up and third place."
Bai Zhiyue stretched her head and looked down. Sure enough, the top scholar looked to be about twenty-two or twenty-three years old, with a fair, fresh and handsome complexion. He was wearing a red robe and a red flower on his head. He had an extraordinary temperament and was a handsome young man.
Although the second and third place winners were not old and had decent looks, they were far inferior to the first place winner. This time, the first place winner completely defeated the third place winner.
His appearance caused the little girls in the crowd to scream,
"My dear champion, I am interested in you. I am from the Liu family in Nancheng. You can come and propose marriage!"
"Top Scholar, look this way, look this way!"
There are also cases where the elders in the family have taken a fancy to the top scholar and want to bring him back to be their son-in-law.
"My dear number one scholar, I have a daughter who is 28 years old. She is young, beautiful, clever, and a perfect match for the number one scholar. Why don't you come to my house and meet her?"
"Go away, your daughter has been in love with at least six or seven people. If she had chosen a good one, she would have gotten it long ago. You can't fool the top scholar."
There were also those who were brave enough to throw the handkerchief in their hand with force at the number one scholar. Some people even wrapped a few copper coins or small silver bars, or something they had on them, in order to make it easier to throw.
The young man who was hit had red marks all over his face and there must be some on his body as well.
"Haha, if being the top scholar means being criticized like this, it's better not to be one."
"You want to be one, but you can't even get it. You think it's so easy to pass the exam, just like the civil service exam in some provinces."
"It's indeed much harder than the college entrance exam, but as long as you become a Jinshi, you can get a job at any level."
Looking at those who were close by, no matter how old they were, they would chase the horse and force the items such as wooden hairpins, silver bracelets, or even red ropes into his arms, taking the opportunity to take advantage of him.
"Look, Mom, the smile on his face is about to disappear."
Anyone who is treated like this will be embarrassed.
"Everyone's enthusiasm is hard to handle."
Some even recited sarcastic poems to him, which made the runner-up and third place winners grit their teeth to prevent themselves from laughing.
"Women these days aren't reserved!"
"Reservation is not as important as reality. Those are girls from ordinary families. If you like them, they will be promoted to wives of officials immediately."
"But how do they know that the number one scholar hasn't married yet? Aren't they afraid that he has already married?"
"If you already have a wife, then being a concubine is fine. She's young, handsome, and talented, and has a promising future. Who wouldn't love her?"
Not only girls from ordinary families like him, but even daughters from official families are attracted to him. After all, young top scorers are rare, and those who are so handsome are even rarer.
"Is the princess satisfied?"
"Your Highness is absolutely right. The number one scholar, Wan Shanting, is truly a man of outstanding talent."
In a private room on the third floor of Jun Youlai's house, there sat a young lady. She was the daughter of Prince Rui, Princess Jiayang Qin Yijia. She had always looked down on the young men in the imperial city and had been picking and choosing but had not found one that satisfied her.
Seeing that she was about to turn eighteen, Prince Rui and Princess Princess were extremely anxious, but their daughter was spoiled by them and said that if the marriage was arranged without her consent, she would rather become a nun.
You have to find someone you like.
As for the standard of what she likes, it is entirely up to her. There are many powerful, rich and good-looking people in the imperial city, but she just doesn't like him.
I don't know what her standards are.
"not bad!"
The maid was delighted to see that she was satisfied. The young lady's marriage was promising, and the prince and princess could finally rest assured.
"Princess, let's go back and tell the prince to invite the top scholar to come to the mansion for a meeting. If he is taken away by someone else, it will be too late. I saw the daughters of Minister Sun's family, Master Wen's family, and the daughter of Hanlin Zhou's family are all there."
"Tsk, can they compare with this princess?"
"Of course they can't compare, but I'm afraid they've already made up their minds. Even if the champion likes the princess more, it would be difficult for him to change his mind, and the princess would miss out on a good match."
"Humph, if you agreed to marry another lady so easily, then let him marry her. This princess doesn't care."
He said he didn't care, but his movements quickened.
"Let's go, let's go back!"
Unexpectedly, the top scholar Wan Shanting did not accept any invitation. After thanking his teacher, the first person he visited was Bai Zhiyue.
"You mean the new number one scholar is visiting?"
The doorman sent a servant to report that the top scholar had sent a visiting card.
"yes"
"Did you tell me why you came?"
They didn't know each other, and suddenly they came to her house as a widow. It was a bit unreasonable!
"The number one scholar said he was able to pass the imperial examination thanks to his wife's help. She provided him with free housing, which allowed him to eat and wear warm clothes, and also gave him the opportunity to study with everyone. He is grateful for your kindness and has come to your house to express his gratitude."
"Oh, well, I didn't just provide it to him. Besides, everything was earned through their own labor, so there's nothing to thank them for.
Go and tell him that I accept your gratitude and congratulate him on his top score in the high school entrance exam. I hope he will understand, but I can't see him.
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Mother, what do you mean by him coming to our house? He must know your situation and that it's not suitable for you to meet with men."
"Who knows? Maybe he thought I was using my financial support to get something from him, so he came here to find out?"
"Think we're trying to win over the new rich?"
"That's possible. I did it with that in mind. While helping others, I also wanted to build up some connections for you in the future without attracting attention. However, since he came to my house in such a high-profile manner, it's hard to say.
It could be that he was afraid I might repay him with something in return, so he did it on purpose. Of course, it could also be that he was genuinely just expressing his gratitude.”
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