13 Aww
"Did you change into new clothes?"
The next morning, Xu Youcai, unusually, grabbed a comb and tidied up his messy hair.
He was tall and strong, with bulging muscles all over his body, and you could see the explosive power hidden in his clothes.
Before leaving, he went to the training ground in the backyard to inform Xiao Pingchuan.
"General, I'm off."
Xiao Pingchuan was practicing boxing when he heard this. He glanced at him, stopped, and asked, "Did you change into new clothes?"
These clothes were bought for them by Xiao Pingchuan after they arrived in the capital. They had been keeping them in their trunks, saying they would wear them during the New Year.
“You noticed,” Xu Youcai said casually as he turned around. “I figured I couldn’t scare the little girl.”
"Play a match with me first, then we'll go," Xiao Pingchuan said.
"No, you're being ruthless, you'll ruin my new clothes again."
"Are you going to fight or not?" Xiao Pingchuan asked threateningly.
Xu Youcai was most afraid of him lowering his voice to speak to people, "Fine, I'll hit you, okay? Let's make it clear first, you're not allowed to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Xiao Pingchuan swept his leg and knocked him to the ground.
Xu Youcai: "......"
After a short while, Xu Youcai touched his new clothes, which were covered in dirt and had half a sleeve torn off, with heartache and said, "I told you not to touch my clothes."
"Aren't you going yet? It's getting late."
"Oh dear!" Xu Youcai exclaimed, noticing the sun was already high in the sky. "I'll go first and come back to talk to you later."
The General's Mansion was some distance from Xingyuan Restaurant. Xu Youcai went there on horseback, and because he was in a hurry, he knocked over several stalls along the way.
From afar, Shen Suqin, who was in a private room on the second floor, saw Xu Youcai riding a tall horse galloping towards them, causing chaos and commotion along the way.
"It seems that General Xiao doesn't really discipline his subordinates," Shen Suqin said.
Ju Tao stood beside her and looked out the window with her. "It is indeed a bit too flamboyant."
"Go and help him clean up the mess."
Why did Sister Qin help him clean up the mess?
“Xiao Pingchuan is heading south, and many eyes are watching him. If things aren’t handled properly, he could be charged with murder on horseback tomorrow. I don’t want to be tripped up by these trivial matters before I’ve even married into the family.”
"Sister Qin is so thoughtful."
Shen Suqin waved his hand, "After the discussion, I will arrange a meeting with the head of Jiaozhou, Su."
"yes."
A short while later, there was a knocking sound at the door.
Ju Tao walked over and opened the door.
Xu Youcai, standing outside the door, almost completely blocked the entrance.
"Miss Ju Tao," Xu Youcai greeted her first.
Ju Tao smiled and said, "General Xu, please. Our young lady is inside."
After saying that, she stepped aside to let the person in, then went out and closed the door behind her.
At this moment, the man and woman were alone in the private room. Xu Youcai took two steps back awkwardly and greeted Shen Suqin in a rough voice, "Miss Shen."
Shen Suqin's voice came from behind the screen, "General Xu, please come in and speak."
Xu Youcai then hesitantly went inside.
"General, please have a seat." Shen Suqin rose slightly to greet him.
Xu Youcai walked in and saw a woman in a plain dress, backlit by the light. Her clothes fluttered in the breeze, and she seemed so delicate and graceful that he was afraid his loud breathing would frighten her.
"General Xiao must have explained to you why he came, right?" She poured tea for Xu Youcai.
Xu Youcai sat down, his two thick arms neither on nor under the table.
"I did say that."
“Then I won’t beat around the bush,” Shen Suqin pushed the teacup in front of him. “I have a warehouse in Ningyuan, the capital of the Northern Border, with 300,000 shi of grain stored inside. General, you can use this token to go to the Xingyuan Restaurant in Ningyuan and find the manager, who will give you the grain.”
Xu Youcai took it with both hands, carefully tucked it into his bosom, and waited to hear her next instructions.
"I will have them arrange for people to personally deliver it to the Shule River. The general only needs to accompany them. If there is any discrepancy in weight, the general should tell me directly, and I will hold you accountable and make up for it."
Xu Youcai nodded repeatedly.
"That's all, nothing else," Shen Suqin said.
Xu Youcai was a little stunned, not realizing that this meant to see the guest out. He sat blankly on the stool, his mind filled with the phrase "the Black Flag Army fights on an empty stomach."
Seeing that he didn't move, Shen Suqin smiled and asked, "Is there anything else, General Xu?"
Xu Youcai snapped out of his daze, scratched the back of his head, and quickly stood up. He looked down awkwardly and said, "Miss Shen, if you need any help in the future, just tell me. I will treat you like my own sister from now on and I won't let anyone bully you."
Shen Suqin was somewhat surprised, wondering why he would suddenly say these things, but she could tell he was sincere. "Then thank you very much, Brother Xu. I'll need your help in the future."
"Hey, just tell us what to do. There are plenty of us, we'll definitely get it done for you."
Seeing his serious expression, Shen Suqin wanted to tease him, so she deliberately asked, "How many people are there?"
"Ten thousand, ten thousand Black Flag soldiers will protect you."
Shen Suqin was stunned.
Xu Youcai thought she didn't believe him, so he quickly explained, "That's what our general said too. His words carry more weight than mine, and everyone listens to him."
Shen Suqin nodded, her voice slightly hoarse: "I believe you."
She had always known that the North only nurtured kind-hearted people; otherwise, the Black Flag Army wouldn't have endured so many years of hardship without seeking anything in return.
“I will see the general downstairs,” she said.
Xu Youcai nodded repeatedly.
Reaching the top of the stairs, looking down at the crowd of diners and at the owner's respectful expression, he suddenly asked in a low voice, "Is this your restaurant?"
As soon as he said that, he quickly covered his mouth and said, "Don't answer me, I asked the wrong question, I shouldn't have asked it."
Shen Suqin chuckled: "What's going on here?"
Xu Youcai: "The general instructed me last night to come here and ask as little as possible."
"Why?"
"Because the general said you don't want others to know."
Shen Suqin was stunned for a moment. There were so many surprises today. "Let's go. I'll have the kitchen pack a meal for you to take back with you, so you won't have to cook lunch."
She was indirectly telling them that Xingyuan Restaurant belonged to her, but unfortunately, Xu Youcai, that big dummy, didn't realize it.
After seeing the people off, Manager Qian, who had been waiting for a long time, came over and said, "Master, the congratulatory gifts from all over have arrived. Would you like to take a look?"
Manager Qian said that the managers of the various branches of Xingyuan Restaurant sent wedding gifts to Shen Suqin. Shen Suqin had previously told them not to come, as she thought it would be too noisy, so they only sent gifts and did not come in person.
To be honest, all of them owe their current situation to the jobs provided by their employers.
I heard that in earlier years, Xingyuan Restaurant was just a thatched hut in a small town at the foot of Fuliang Mountain. It had a straw mat roof sticking out of four wooden stakes, and an earthen stove that simmered spicy and sour vegetable soup and rice all year round, so that passing merchants could have a hot bowl of it.
Because of its large portions, delicious taste, and reasonable prices, it gradually gained fame, and some people even made a special trip to eat that bowl of rotten vegetable soup rice.
Later, as their resources accumulated, they were able to properly build a tiled house and open a restaurant, offering a wider variety of dishes, including cold dishes, hot dishes, soups, and rice.
Perhaps it was because Xingyuan Restaurant was honest and upright in its business dealings that it was able to open branches all over Daliang in just a few years.
Today, Xingyuan Restaurant has branches in the capitals of various prefectures and counties. If you count carefully, there should be hundreds of branches nationwide.
In addition, there is an unwritten rule in the restaurant that those who are poor and have nothing to eat are given priority when hiring managers and waiters.
Many people have been able to keep their lives afloat thanks to this job.
Qian Jin himself was the same. He did make some money in his early years, but his family was poor. His parents fell ill several times, which depleted their savings and they passed away, leaving him with four open walls.
He had some business acumen, but no matter how good he was at business, it was all for naught without capital. Just when he was about to starve to death, his employer gave him capital and a restaurant, letting him run it himself.
Today, Xingyuan Restaurant in the capital has four floors and handles tens of thousands of taels of silver every day, truly making a fortune every day.
Thinking back to the first time I met her, the mistress was a pretty little girl, sitting at the table with a smile, fiddling with the abacus beads, calculating the year's income, smiling like a little kitten. This time, when I saw her again, she was about to get married.
He was about twenty years older than his employer. Perhaps because they had been interacting more frequently lately and had become closer, he treated her like his own daughter. However, this girl was incredibly capable, and he would often be startled by her.
“Those gifts are piled up in the storeroom in the backyard. I saw them; there were little tigers made of gold, abacuses, gold hairpins, and gold bracelets,” he continued. “The craftsmanship and designs are exquisite; you can play with them for a while.”
Their employer likes anything made of gold.
"Gold!" Shen Suqin perked up immediately. "Quickly, take me to see it. You guys are so much better. Giving gold is so festive. My teacher only gave me a picture of a hundred children, which is so boring."
"Master Ji's paintings are priceless. If the owner doesn't want them, you can give them to me. Hanging them in your home will bring honor to your humble abode." Even Manager Qian dared to joke with her now.
"I'd better not. If the teacher finds out that I gave away his painting, he'll scold me for a whole day and night."
Qian Jin smiled.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
