Chapter 25: The cook is clearly forcing her.
When she was young, Song Baoyuan's mother personally taught her how to brew and make tea.
But now when I pick up the tea set again, I feel a little unfamiliar with it.
She sat by the window, intending to show off her skills, but when she picked up the tea leaves, she forgot what to do next.
Fortunately, Qiao Yue ran over and shouted, "Miss, a girl is here with our job posting."
Song Baoyuan pushed all the tea sets aside as a matter of course, cleared her throat, and said, "Come in."
She turned around and called out, "Xu Xiucai, please bring me some paper and pen, sit next to me, and take notes."
"Yes." Xu Pingsheng came happily.
Qiao Yue brought the person in. It was a young girl, pretty and simple, dressed neatly, and very pretty.
"This is our shopkeeper, Madam Song."
The girl bowed her head, her nervousness visible. "Hello, Madam Song. I saw you're hiring and offering housing, so I wanted to ask if you need a cook."
Song Baoyuan smiled and said gently, "You do need to be able to make pastries."
"My best skill is making pastries!" The little girl's eyes lit up. "My mother taught me."
"What's your name? How old are you?"
"My name is He Yue, and I'm nineteen."
Xu Pingsheng on the side made a note on the paper.
"Nineteen, are you ready to get married?"
He Yue hesitated for a moment and then shook her head. "I'm not married. My mother passed away a while ago, and I'm all alone."
Song Baoyuan nodded. "How about this, go to the kitchen and make a cake that you're good at for us to try. There are four of us here now. If three of us are satisfied, you can stay."
"good!"
"Qiaoyue, take her to the kitchen."
"yes."
Qiao Yue had just taken He Yue inside when Qiao Yin led two people in through the front door.
"Miss, there are many people outside. I roughly screened two people in according to your request."
Song Baoyuan turned her head and looked outside through the window. Sure enough, quite a few people were gathered around the notice posted at the door.
Qiao Yin brought in two relatively handsome young men.
On the left was a man who looked older, dressed in coarse linen, his eyes curved with a smile. On the right was a young man with sharper features, beautiful eyes, and a blank expression.
Before these two people reached Song Baoyuan, someone else crossed the threshold of the teahouse.
Qiao Yin hurriedly tried to stop them, "I told you, you can't come in without permission..."
Seeing who it was, she swallowed back all her dissatisfaction and unfinished words, her expression suddenly froze, "My dear? Why are you here?"
Song Baoyuan was suddenly startled and looked up at the door.
Jiang Keyu, who had arrived unexpectedly, had one foot still outside the door and asked, "I can't come in?"
Qiao Yin quickly made way.
Song Baoyuan was a little slow to react, and it took her a while before she stood up to greet him, "Why are you here?"
"I was investigating a case nearby and stopped by to take a look."
Behind Jiang Keyu, Chang Yunbai followed in.
Jiang Keyu looked around, naturally glancing at the three strange men in the room, taking another look at the one with the brightest smile, and finally looking at Song Baoyuan, "Why did you suddenly open a teahouse yourself without telling me?"
Although his tone was calm, he seemed to be accusing someone of something. Although Song Baoyuan didn't understand why, she was still nervous. "It's just a spur of the moment thing. There's nothing wrong with it."
Seeing that they had an unusual relationship, Xu Pingsheng asked, "Madam Song, who is this?"
"He is..." Song Baoyuan paused, "my brother."
Xu Pingsheng bowed and tactfully stepped aside.
"This is my accountant." Song Baoyuan turned around and introduced, "These two are the ones I hired. I haven't had time to ask them yet."
Jiang Keyu frowned slightly. "If you want to have fun, then you can open this teahouse. But if you need staff, just tell me. How dare you keep someone whose background is unclear around you?"
Song Baoyuan was stunned for a moment, feeling intimidated by his words. "It's not that serious."
Seeing the innocence in her eyes, Jiang Keyu became more worried. He glanced at the papers spread out on the table and recognized the notes on them.
"Did you write this notice outside?"
Xu Pingsheng's eyelids twitched, and he lowered his head and replied, "Yes."
"It's strange that waiters only want good looks."
Song Baoyuan pursed her lips, took a step to the side, and stood in front of Xu Pingsheng, "I asked him to write it like this."
Jiang Keyu was stunned. "Why?"
"Because a teahouse isn't a tea stall. The elegance of tea tasting is more important than quenching thirst," Song Baoyuan explained earnestly. "So, any decor and arrangement must maintain an elegant atmosphere. Waiters, who appear before guests, naturally need to look presentable."
"That makes sense." Chang Yunbai said suddenly, and was glared at by Jiang Keyu without leaving any trace.
Song Baoyuan pinched the corner of her clothes and said, "Brother, please don't worry about my affairs. Brother...you should go and take care of more important things."
She had never called him that before. She had always called him brother. Jiang Keyu always felt alienated when she heard the word "brother". "Are you really going to open this teahouse yourself?"
Song Baoyuan hesitated slightly, "Is it not possible?"
Jiang Keyu sighed imperceptibly, "This isn't as easy as you think. Showing yourself in public, not to mention the hardship, you don't know who you'll meet or how much trouble you'll run into. You couldn't even handle those noble ladies in the Chang Mansion before, so how can you handle this?"
Song Baoyuan stared at him in a daze, and the countless discussions that day suddenly exploded in her ears.
Was he accusing her of being cowardly?
"I, it's none of your business!"
She suddenly felt wronged and turned away.
"You..." Jiang Keyu turned her face away, not understanding why she was so stubborn.
Seeing her like this, he could only give in and said, "Forget it, just open this teahouse if you want."
Song Baoyuan couldn't be happy at all.
"Forget about recruiting. If you need any personnel, I'll have Lu'an send some people who know me well tomorrow."
"unnecessary."
Song Baoyuan returned to the table and sat down. Her fingernails were already digging into her palms as she placed her hands under the table. "Don't worry about it, brother."
She pretended to be calm and said, "Xu Xiucai, come and sit down, let's continue."
"Yes." Xu Pingsheng responded, walked back calmly, and picked up the pen and paper again.
Jiang Keyu was incredulous, "Ayuan?"
Song Baoyuan ignored her and pinched herself hard where no one could see.
She looked up at the two people who had been waiting. "What are your names?"
"My name is Zhang..."
"Zhang Lao." Jiang Keyu interrupted his answer.
Zhang Lao looked around and was very surprised. "I didn't expect Jiang Shaoqing still remembered me."
When investigating the case of the Minister of Revenue, Jiang Keyu got a clue from the noodle stall owner. He had investigated this person, the son of the old Zhang family who sold tofu.
Jiang Keyu was helpless. She asked him, "How is your father?" and walked forward, patted Xu Pingsheng's shoulder, and motioned him to move aside.
Xu Pingsheng hesitated for a moment, and seeing that the shopkeeper had no objection, he tactfully gave up his seat.
"It's still the same. I can't get out of bed." Zhang Lao replied.
Jiang Keyu took the pen from Xu Pingsheng and said, "I can't just ignore you. If you're really that persistent, then we can both take a step back. I'll screen the people for you before we leave."
Song Baoyuan didn't look at him or speak.
Jiang Keyu took it as her acquiescence and continued to ask, "Don't you have several jobs? Why are you still here?"
"Those are temporary. They're gone once they're done. Now we have to find new ones."
Jiang Keyu had suspected that this person was trying to assassinate the Minister of Revenue. The Intelligence Department of the Dali Temple had also secretly conducted a comprehensive investigation and told him that there was no problem, so he stopped asking and looked at the other person.
"What about you? Name, age, where you're from."
The young man, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke. "My name is Cen Zhou. I'm seventeen years old. I'm a refugee who fled from Zhangzhou to the capital two years ago. My family was separated during the escape, so I'm all alone."
"What have you done in the past two years?"
"I look after my family during the day and do hard labour at the docks at night to make a living."
Jiang Keyu looked at him with scrutiny, "Have you found your family?"
Cen Zhou shook his head. "No, so I want to change jobs and find one where I can interact with more people. I'll keep looking."
"Raise your hands and spread them out."
Cen Zhou did as he was told and exposed his calloused hands to others.
Song Baoyuan was shocked by the sight. At only seventeen, he had such weathered hands. He must have suffered a lot. Fleeing and being separated from his family, he looked truly pitiful.
Jiang Keyu's brows furrowed, "The calluses on your hands don't look like those from porterage, but more like those from handling a sword."
"Besides handling cargo at the dock, I also did a lot of odd jobs during that time, and even learned from Butcher Wang on West Street for a while."
Jiang Keyu's expression was indifferent. She crossed out the two words "Cen Zhou" that she had just written on the paper and said, "We can't keep this person."
"Why?" Song Baoyuan was puzzled.
"What he said is inconsistent." Jiang Keyu explained patiently, "Besides, he wasn't in the capital before. It's hard to tell whether he is really a refugee from Zhangzhou as he said."
"But he..."
Song Baoyuan wanted to say a few words for this person, but as soon as she turned her head, she met Jiang Keyu's serious gaze.
Seeing that they didn't want him, Cen Zhou quickly defended himself, "Everything I said was true! I didn't lie a single word. I can do anything, anything! And I'm very obedient!"
Knowing that he could not change Jiang Keyu's judgment, he begged Song Baoyuan, who was indeed soft-hearted.
"But he..."
"Pathetic?" Jiang Keyu raised an eyebrow, having guessed what she was going to say.
Song Baoyuan lowered her brows. "Two years ago, many refugees from Zhangzhou did come to the capital. Doesn't that make sense?"
"Jiang Chengyou knows to choose lies that are hard to expose."
"Chengcheng won't lie!"
Jiang Keyu: "..."
"You have no evidence to prove he's lying. Besides, he wouldn't go to all that trouble to forge an identity just to be a waiter here."
Jiang Keyu was left speechless by what she said.
Song Baoyuan didn't think anything was wrong, "I want to keep him."
"Ayuan." Jiang Keyu held her forehead, not knowing what to do with her. "There are so many choices, why take a risky one? There are so many pitiful people in the world..."
"Miss!"
Qiao Yue jumped out from the kitchen without warning, instantly attracting everyone's attention.
Behind her was He Yue, holding pastries.
When she came out and saw so many people, Qiao Yue's face froze from her excitement. "Why is my husband here?"
"He Yue?" Chang Yunbai, who had been sitting nearby watching the show, was stunned. "Why are you here?"
He Yue was completely stunned.
Chang Yunbai walked towards her quickly, "Why did you run out?"
"I'm bored here. After much thought, I decided to find a job and support myself."
"I can't afford to support you anymore?" Chang Yunbai lowered his voice. "Don't worry, in half a month at most, I will take you back home and give you a legitimate status."
He Yue lowered her head and said, "Actually, I never thought about going back home with you. I didn't want to disturb your life."
"What are you talking about? We already... you are already my woman, how can I watch you suffer outside?"
"I'm not suffering." He Yue shook her head. "That night, I was really desperate. Consider it my way of thanking you for helping me get rid of those demons. After that, if I can stand on my own, I won't feel suffering."
Chang Yunbai frowned, "Are you angry? Angry that I cleared your name and didn't give you a legitimate status right away?"
"No!"
"No matter what, you come back with me first."
"Bang!"
Chang Yunbai grabbed He Yue's arm and accidentally dropped the plate of pastries in He Yue's hand.
"I can't go back with you!" He Yue tried to break free, but she didn't have enough strength.
Feeling at a loss, she looked at Song Baoyuan.
"Wait!" Song Baoyuan shuddered and stood up.
Although she didn't know the situation clearly, she could tell something was amiss. "Master Chang, this is my place. If you want to take people away, you have to explain it to me clearly."
"Ask Jiang Keyu." Chang Yunbai was too lazy to explain and only wanted to take He Yue away.
Seeing the girl resisting, Song Baoyuan became anxious, "No! You can't do this!"
Xu Pingsheng, who was closest to the door, quietly blocked the door with a faint smile on his face.
"Get out of the way."
"My boss said we can't give it to him."
Chang Yunbai was annoyed and turned to look at Song Baoyuan, "This has nothing to do with you."
"This is my place. The person you want to take away is my cook. How can it have nothing to do with me?"
"What do you mean your cook? She's mine!"
Song Baoyuan clenched her fists and said, "Let her go first. No matter what your relationship is, you can't treat her like this."
It seemed like he couldn't explain the truth to her, so Chang Yunbai didn't bother to argue with her. "Jiang Keyu, you should take care of her!"
Jiang Keyu rubbed his brows, feeling tired. He turned around to look at Song Baoyuan, who was looking confused, and said softly, "Sit down, it's okay."
Song Baoyuan didn't move, but just looked over with wide eyes.
"If you really want to keep this guy from Zhangzhou, then go ahead. But forget about the cook. If she stays, she'll definitely cause you trouble."
Song Baoyuan was stunned for a moment, and gradually her eyes revealed an emotion she had never shown when she looked at Jiang Keyu.
"This is clearly coercion, and you're asking me to just let it go?"
Jiang Keyu's mind went blank for a moment.
What is filled in those eyes that always look at him expectantly at this moment?
Is it disappointment?
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