Soft and crispy waist

The next day.

Before dawn, Shuangjiang's indenture contract was already in Xia Zheng's hands.

Soon after, Nanny Liang came with her people.

There were not many people, only seven or eight, and they were basically all old women. The two maids were also older, smart and well-mannered. It was obvious that they were veterans of the mansion, and they all did their job without being told.

She didn't add any new maids to her room, but all the furniture in the house was replaced with new ones.

New in the truest sense.

They were not taken from the housekeeping office, but were all brand new and had never been used. Even the quilts on the beds were made of this year's new cotton.

A screen was used to separate a small study room in the southwest corner. Although the desk was not big, it was fully equipped with pens, ink, paper and inkstone. There were only three rows of antique shelves filled with dozens of books and various early calligraphy copies, and a piece of Taishan stone with the word "diligence" engraved on it.

No matter how you look at it, it looks like a smaller version of Gu Yizi's study.

"The prince asked me to give this book to you this morning before the court session, asking you to read it carefully."

Xia Zheng took the book and didn't recognize the title on the cover. It was obvious that there were long passages of text inside. If she wanted to read it, she had to recognize the words first. This was a punishment for her.

But her heart was completely at peace.

If she was punished, he would just be angry, but he would not abandon her.

"Yes, I will read it carefully."

After Nanny Liang nodded and left, she never entered Xia Zheng's room again. Just like when she was in Soseki Residence, she only managed things outside the courtyard. However, the entire courtyard was in good order. Except for some noises during the busy times before and after meals, it was extremely quiet on weekdays.

Xia Zheng likes quietness, so it's okay for her. But Chef Yang is almost sick after a few days.

"What kind of sin have I committed? I thought I'd be free after leaving Fanghua Courtyard, but then Madam Liang showed up, bringing all those saw-mouthed gourds with her. No one pays any attention to me when I say something, and if I make a mistake, those people come up to me and stare at me without saying a word. Now, whenever I see them move, I tremble inside. And that Madam Liang, every time I bring food over, she looks at me and my legs go weak."

Looking at Chef Yang stroking her chest with a sad look on her face, Xia Zheng and Shuangjiang couldn't help laughing.

"You're still laughing! You heartless person! You can still hide in the house, but I don't even have anywhere to hide." Not daring to go to Xia Zheng, Chef Yang snarled at Shuangjiang.

"Then I'll let you go out and hide for two days, Master?"

"Hide?" Chef Yang understood something and immediately glanced at Shuangjiang.

Without waiting for Xia Zheng to speak, Shuangjiang had already gone out sensibly and was standing outside the door not too far away.

"What do you mean by asking me to hide? What news are you trying to find out? Didn't you tell Yang Xun to stay quiet for the time being?"

"I'm not trying to gather information, but I want Master to go back home and discuss something with your brother."

"My brother?" Chef Yang didn't understand. Her brother was just a chef in the restaurant. What was there to discuss with him?

"I want to pay your brother to help me open a food shop. He can be the owner, and I will provide all the recipes. We will split the profits 30% and 70%. You can take 10% when you go home to settle the bill every month."

"Why did you suddenly think of opening a shop? This is not a small amount of money. My brother is just a cook, how can he be a boss? Besides, Auntie, you don't know that there are so many restaurants and food shops in Kyoto City. Some of them close down every day due to losses."

Chef Yang felt that Xia Zheng was just thinking it was too easy.

Doing business is not that simple. All the shops that can succeed in Kyoto are backed by big families and have enough money to invest and sustain them year after year. If a newcomer with no foundation enters the market, it is like a canoe entering the sea, which will be capsized by a wave.

Before the profit was even divided, I lost every cent.

"I made this after careful consideration. With your brother's skills, I think it will not be a loss. It depends on whether Master is willing to help me persuade him."

"My whole family is tied to you now, so why would I hesitate?" Chef Yang rolled her eyes, thinking Xia Zheng was hopelessly naive. "Don't blame us for not doing our best when the time comes."

"Never will."

She gambles herself and never blames others.

But Xia Zheng felt that she probably wouldn't lose with the help of that cookbook.

She had thought a lot in the past few days. Relying on Yang Xun to inquire about those trivial information was no longer of much use to her. If she wanted to gain a foothold in the Duke's Mansion, she would need money in many places. Relying on the monthly salary alone was far from enough, and she could not just sit back and eat up all the money she had with a few hundred taels in her hand.

She needed to be able to have a steady income, and she saw a way from the book that Gu Yizi gave her.

Use your strengths.

Her strengths aside from her looks, her skills are her craftsmanship, but since she can't go out herself, she'll have to settle for the next best thing: share her recipes.

With a shop and food to sell, there will be a source of money. In the future, when my mother and Tuan'er leave the Marquis' Mansion, they will have a place to stay. I also need to pay for their medical treatment, and Tuan'er still has to go to school. The more I think about it, the more I need money everywhere.

So, while she was out of Tao Yurong's surveillance, she had to do this immediately.

The next day, Chef Yang went home to visit her relatives with the dozen or so food shops written by Xia Zheng. However, she did not go home directly. Instead, she walked around the West Market for a few times, bought some things, and then went to the townhouses in the back alley of Changheng Street.

"Where's the silver? Did you steal it and gamble it away again? That's Tuantuan's life-saving money! Don't leave, give me the silver!"

As soon as I walked into the dark alley, I heard a woman crying.

Chef Yang stretched her head to look over and saw a middle-aged man in short clothes walking out of the door. Behind him was a woman with gray hair, thin body and a hunched back. She grabbed his arm and was dragged out together.

Without waiting to see whether the door number was the same as the one Xia Zheng said, the man kicked the woman in the stomach, and she hit the door panel and slid down without a sound.

"Bah! The money is mine if it's in my house. I can do whatever I want with it."

"Mother! Mother!" A little girl's urgent cry came from inside the door. After a while, a skinny little girl who looked to be four or five years old ran out and threw herself on the woman, crying and shouting, "Mother, wake up, mother! Look at Tuan'er! Tuan'er won't take the medicine anymore, he won't take it anymore, mother, please don't abandon me!"

"Cry, cry, cry! My good luck was ruined by you two, mother and daughter! You useless losers, you only know how to spend money, not even as good as your sister. If you were half as pretty as your sister, I could sell you for a good price. You two should have died earlier and gone to find your depressed sister who died early."

With a flick of his sleeves, the man left without looking back.

Tuan'er was still holding onto her mother's clothes and shaking her, tears streaming down her face, not knowing what to do.

If only my sister were still here.

"He's still breathing. Go call a doctor for your mother."

A purse suddenly fell from above my head.