69 fell ill
"Yes, thank you."
Manager Zhao stood up, put meat and vegetables into the pot, and while demonstrating, said, "There's charcoal burning in this stove and meat broth simmering in the pot. Just throw the meat and vegetables in, cook them, take them out, put them in the dipping sauce bowl, dip them, and it's amazing! Everyone, try it."
They've been running a restaurant for so many years, and this is the first time they've ever seen a way of letting customers cook their own food. It's really novel and interesting.
They all followed suit, putting vegetables and meat into the pot and stirring them, then picking them up, dipping them in sauce—well, who knows how long it had been since they'd eaten fresh leafy greens.
And this piping hot meat is so comforting. The dipping sauce is delicious too, spicy and savory, just like Xingyuan's signature flavor.
This round pot is guaranteed to be a hit!
Moreover, it was a huge fire.
Everyone enjoyed the meal immensely, swallowing all the anxiety and trepidation of the day.
"Boss, tell us, how do you plan to sell this reunion pot?" someone couldn't help but ask.
"That's right, everyone should get a taste of this first bit of the good stuff before the New Year."
"Yes, especially these green vegetables. Where can we buy them? They can't be given to us by the gods, can they?"
Shen Suqin raised her wine glass and toasted them from afar, saying, "Don't rush, let me tell you slowly. Originally, this meal was for this dish."
“As you can see, the Reunion Hot Pot only has four essential ingredients,” Shen Suqin stood up and pointed to her. “First, the dipping sauce; second, the broth; third, the vegetables; and fourth, the pot itself. The dipping sauce and broth are easy to make; you’re all connoisseurs, so just mix your own according to your experience and preferences. The restaurant has all the seasonings you need. If you don’t want to mix your own, ask Manager Zhao to copy a recipe for you and follow it.”
"As for the pot, to be honest, I designed it and had a blacksmith make it. If you want it, you'll have to buy it from me. After all, it's a copper pot, and I can't afford to make it for free. What do you all think?"
"Of course, of course. The owner will tell us how much each one costs, and we'll buy them."
"Ten taels of silver, cost price."
"It's not expensive, that's fine," one of the shopkeepers said.
Their relationship with their employer has always been like this: even close brothers keep clear accounts.
“Alright, go to Manager Zhao’s place later to register, pay, and pick up your pot,” Shen Suqin said. “As for the vegetables, I’ll grow a little. Fifty acres, with priority given to stores at the county and prefecture level. Once I grow more, I’ll gradually distribute them to everyone.”
"I'll buy the most expensive ingredients, don't worry, I'll sell them for even more outside."
Everyone burst into laughter.
"You can take some with you on this trip. As for vegetables, I will send someone to deliver them to you four times a month."
Shen Suqin had thought of every detail for them. The shopkeepers were experienced and quickly calculated that this pot would make them a lot of money.
"Respect to the boss!"
"Respect to the boss!"
Shen Suqin raised a glass and toasted with them.
After a few rounds of drinks, everyone started chatting.
"Boss, it seems like the restaurant won't be closed for a while," someone asked.
Shen Suqin thought for a moment; "It still needs to be shut down."
"ah?"
"I won't close them all. There are over 400 stores nationwide now, which is indeed a lot. Some of them are not profitable, and I really can't keep going like this. I need to streamline them."
"But how will we survive if we close the shop?"
“Come to the North and help me grow vegetables,” Shen Suqin joked. “I will be developing in Jinzhou for the next few years. If you get tired of staying here, bring your families here. I won’t let you go hungry.”
"Ha ha ha ha."
"With a boss stationed in the northern border, Ningyuan City will surely be a different place next time we come."
When they arrived, they were truly shocked by the dilapidation of Ningyuan. Not only was there no decent city gate, but the houses inside the city were low and collapsed, the streets were full of potholes, and there were few pedestrians and residents, as well as no street vendors. It was even worse than the most remote towns.
"Thank you for your kind words, Manager Gao," Shen Suqin said with a smile. "Manager Gao has made a lot of money this year. The restaurant is packed every day, which makes me envious."
"Master is embarrassing me," Manager Gao said, raising his glass to the bottom of his mouth. "Speaking of which, Master, tell us, when everyone is reading the accounts together, how do you distinguish who is who? And how do you tell which one has a problem?"
Actually, this matter wasn't that mysterious. With Ju Tao around, Shen Suqin already knew which companies had problems before they even submitted their accounts, and she also knew exactly where the problems lay.
As for everyone in the room reporting their expenses, it was just a way she came up with when she was young to prevent these people from taking advantage of her.
This practice gradually stuck, creating an image of being pretentious and profound to manipulate these shrewd people.
“I can’t tell you,” Shen Suqin said deliberately. “If I tell you and you learn it, I’ll be in a passive position. Let’s drink.
It was already past midnight when everything was finished, and Ju Tao helped Shen Suqin out of the restaurant.
Everyone assumed she was just drunk, but only Ju Tao knew that Sister Qin was about to collapse from exhaustion.
When Xiao Pingchuan saw the two of them come out, he stepped out of the shadows to greet them and said, "I'll take you back."
Shen Suqin lifted her eyelids to look at him, knowing that it would be difficult for Ju Tao to get her back on her own, so she did not refuse and let Xiao Pingchuan pick her up horizontally.
"Has the general been waiting for a long time?" she asked.
"Not long."
"I heard you sent them all to help in the western suburbs?"
"yes."
"Sigh, why bother? I'm afraid I'll be blamed again."
“Shen Suqin, my army does not tolerate ungrateful people. I remember everything you have done for the Black Flag Army. I want to sincerely apologize to you for this incident. It was my fault for failing to manage my subordinates properly.”
Shen Suqin looked at him and asked, "Why is the general apologizing to me on behalf of Miss Zhou? On what grounds are you apologizing?"
Xiao Pingchuan had a headache and explained, "I'm not apologizing on her behalf, I'm apologizing on behalf of my brothers."
“I don’t accept it,” Shen Suqin said.
That night, Shen Suqin suddenly fell into a coma with a high fever, and her condition appeared extremely dangerous.
Xiao Pingchuan flew into a rage, and no one in the mansion dared to utter a sound.
Aunt Jiang had watched him grow up since he was a child. Apart from the time when Xiao's parents passed away, this was the first time she had ever seen Xiao Pingchuan so anxious and angry, as if the person in the bed would never wake up again.
Xiao Pingchuan stayed by the bedside without leaving for a moment.
He had been watching outside the window all night. She slept more soundly than she did today, and her fever didn't return in the middle of the night.
But today, they all came at once. I suppose they've finished what needed to be done and the tension in their hearts has eased.
Shen Suqin complained of the heat, so Xiao Pingchuan had Ju Tao bring in a basin of ice water from outside. He used the ice water to soak a towel and wiped her neck and hands little by little, and then applied a compress to her forehead.
Xiao Pingchuan knew that there were wounds on his arm, caused by agate hairpins, used to wake him up. He knew there was more than one.
That's why he felt so heartbroken and annoyed. He was right beside her, yet she still suffered so much.
Ju Tao watched as he repeatedly dipped his hands into the ice water until they turned bright red without offering to let them cool down, and she stopped being so angry.
"Go and rest," Xiao Pingchuan said to Ju Tao. "I'll take care of her. There's a doctor here, so she'll be fine. You've been working hard with her for many days, so go and rest."
"...I heard the general later went after us?"
Xiao Pingchuan had no intention of mentioning this, only saying lightly, "It's a pity we missed it."
Why would you do this?
“I,” Xiao Pingchuan glanced at the person on the bed and sighed, “I did not not want to save her. I was not in the manor at the time, and Zhao Chengchun and the others did not know the importance of Head of the House. If she had just told me, I would have acted immediately. Besides, I do have people in the southern prefectures. As for her, sigh, I will be more careful in the future.”
Ju Tao was speechless for a moment. She hadn't expected that her young lady hadn't been rejected by Xiao Pingchuan.
That general was somewhat wronged.
No, he wasn't entirely innocent. Knowing that the young lady had some disagreements with the scouts, instead of trying to help resolve them, he would disappear every few days. When he was needed, he was never there.
The weather is coldest in the twelfth lunar month. The moonlight, covered in a frosty hue, shines through the window, both cool and bright.
"Cold." Shen Suqin started complaining of the cold again. She was shivering and huddled pitifully in the blanket.
Xiao Pingchuan went to the outer room and threw two pieces of firewood into the stove. When he came back, he replaced the ice water with hot water.
The hot water was scalding, but it still made my palms turn bright red.
He looked down and used the heat from the hot towel to warm Shen Suqin little by little.
It was no use; she was crying out in pain, her voice small and soft, like a sob.
Xiao Pingchuan's heart was broken. He hadn't uttered a sound even when his bones were broken, but now his heart was clenching with pain.
"I...don't feel the pain anymore." He stood helplessly by the bedside, his tall body bent over. "I was really wrong, please don't feel the pain anymore."
"pain."
Xiao Pingchuan hurriedly climbed onto the bed, wrapped her up in his arms, and gently rubbed her back, just like his mother would do to him when he had a fever as a child.
“That hairpin,” he murmured, “I’ve been working on it for days, day and night, even while eating and training, and they didn’t know.”
"...You were right to throw it, I was wrong. Once you're better, you can punish me however you want. Just don't ignore me, give me a chance to make amends."
Xiao Pingchuan didn't consider himself a talkative person, but tonight, he said everything to Shen Suqin.
There was a constant buzzing voice in her ears. In the midst of this murmur, Shen Suqin had a dream. She dreamt that she was sitting on the edge of a high cliff, with a bottomless, dark valley below. A mountain wind blew up from the bottom of the valley, blowing her hair wildly. She reached out to grab it, but she couldn't catch it no matter what she did.
Suddenly, she fell.
She was enveloped in a cold wind that penetrated to her very bones, causing her excruciating pain.
It hurts.
It was pitch black and empty all around her, and she was all alone, falling and falling, falling endlessly.
Until a large hand grabbed hers; the hand was warm, the warmth spreading from her palm to her forearm, to her heart…
In her daze, she heard Xiao Pingchuan call her name in the gentlest way possible: "Zhaozhao".
She mumbled a response, still half asleep.
As dawn broke, Shen Suqin woke up, her body feeling sore after her high fever subsided.
She called Ju Tao over, "Did I sleep alone last night?"
Ju Tao lowered her eyes: "Yes."
"Hmm, are the shopkeepers leaving today?"
"yes."
"You can deliver this to them for me. Also, tell them that the supply of vegetables is not fixed and will increase or decrease depending on the sales volume of the first batch. In addition, ask them to let you know that there will be vegetables sold separately later after the sale starts."
"Alright," Ju Tao said. "General Xu is outside, he wants to see you. Shall we let him in?"
"Um."
Xu Youcai came to say goodbye to her.
"Things aren't finished over there yet. His Highness is waiting for me. I have to go."
Shen Suqin sighed, "Why did you have to come all this way?"
Xu Youcai said, "I can't stand seeing them bully you. It's just saving someone, and they actually made you go by yourself. I'm furious."
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "Brother Xu, thank you."
Xu Youcai scratched the back of his head: "I didn't help at all, why thank me? But in the future, if you need anything, don't try to handle it yourself. Just let me know, and I'll take care of it for you no matter where I am."
Shen Suqin smiled and said, "I've got it."
"The general..."
Shen Suqin shook her head: "Let's not talk about him."
"oh."
In the kitchen, Xiao Pingchuan was personally preparing medicine for Shen Suqin.
The doctor prescribed some mild tonics and calming medicine. The dregs of the medicine simmered in the hot water, and the rising aroma of the medicine spread with the steam.
He hadn't slept for two days and two nights. He had also made a round trip day and night before. Even though he was physically strong, he was exhausted and looked haggard.
Aunt Jiang came in carrying a vegetable basket. When she saw Xiao Pingchuan standing in front of the stove, looking like the sky was about to fall, she shouted in a shrill voice, "General, why haven't you gone back to rest yet? Look how exhausted you are!"
Xiao Pingchuan didn't say anything. He had probably caught a cold as well, and he would drink a bowl of the medicine himself after it was decocted.
Aunt Jiang was displeased: "This is for the Madam, isn't it? The General is a man of great importance; what kind of behavior is it to brew medicine for a woman!"
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