The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

When the county magistrate arrived, the men knelt down tremblingly.

They looked at each other, their faces showing fear, and some of the more timid ones were already trembling.

Seeing that they were so frightened that they couldn't even speak properly, Aunt Li gritted her teeth in anger.

The county magistrate asked, "Were you the ones who just caused trouble?"

The men nodded in fright.

"Hmph! Who threw the stones?"

The group of people looked at each other in confusion. They hadn't thrown anything, had they?

Aunt Li, who was standing to the side, felt a little guilty.

An older man spoke up, “Reporting to you, sir, how could we dare to throw stones? Those things can easily kill someone.”

"We came here to seek justice from Shen Cao, how could we possibly do that?"

"that is!"

"yes!!"

Those people started to argue back all at once.

"Quiet!" Seeing the magistrate frown, a bailiff beside him spoke up to stop their discussion.

The surrounding area immediately became quiet.

"Didn't you just say you'd take someone down with you even if you died?" a deep voice rang out.

Only then did the county magistrate notice Ji Lingfeng standing next to Shen Cao.

"Who is this?" He looked at the man who exuded a chilling aura.

Shen Cao patted him gently, then turned to the county magistrate and said, "This is Ji Feng, my friend."

Feeling the warmth emanating from Shen Cao's palm, Ji Lingfeng's chilling aura slowly dissipated.

Ji Lingfeng looked up at the county magistrate but did not speak.

The county magistrate, standing nearby, didn't mind his neglect; he saw something in this man that was the same as in Shen Yu'an.

That kind of aura that only young masters from aristocratic families possess.

He turned around and asked in a serious voice, "Did you ever say such a thing?"

The person on the other end, feeling guilty, spoke timidly in a low voice, "Reporting to Your Excellency, those were just words spoken in anger when we were in a hurry!"

"Some people did see the stones being thrown from your side."

"As for who it is, I will investigate thoroughly."

“You have gathered a crowd to cause trouble. You will all be taken to the government office later.”

The county magistrate walked up to Shen Cao. "Miss Shen, what do you think?"

Shen Cao leaned down and whispered in the county magistrate's ear, "Sir, after you take these people back, you must thoroughly investigate them. I suspect they have been misled."

The county magistrate nodded.

"Take this opportunity to explain the situation at the docks to them properly."

Shen Cao had the same idea.

She took a step forward, getting closer to the crowd, and said, "I know that many of you have a lot of opinions about renting stalls at the dock."

"Today I'll take this opportunity to explain it to you in detail."

“I reserved one-third of the space. If you don’t want to rent my stall, you can set up your stalls in these places as before.”

“I rented a stall from each vendor, and I taught them how to cook a different dish.”

"I guarantee that the seasonings for the food are unique, and that no other restaurant can make the same taste."

"The rental fee is only the money you pay for the seasonings from me; another part is paid to the people who manage this place."

"These management fees are for hiring people to maintain order at the dock and prevent what happened today from happening again."

"Also, I believe you have all seen the water channels and water tanks on both sides of the dock. With these, you stall owners can wash dishes and vegetables at your own stalls without having to go so far."

"And someone will fill the water tank for you, so you don't need to worry about any of that."

Upon hearing this, the people below immediately understood, and some who were interested asked, "So, how much is the monthly rental fee?"

"I've tentatively set the fee at one tael of silver per month."

"It's too expensive!"

"That's right, what can you do to earn one or two taels of silver a month?"

"Quiet! Quiet, everyone listen to me!" Shen Cao waved his hand.

"This fee is not the final amount. I have set two levels. If you can earn three taels of silver or more a month, then the rent will be one tael of silver per month."

"If you don't earn a single tael of silver, I will only take 30% of what you earn."

"That's not cheap either!"

……

Shen Cao continued, "Now is the opening day for the dock stalls. You can pay one month's rent upfront. The first month is free; you only need to pay a deposit."

"Then you can enjoy everything we offer."

“If we don’t make any money in the first month, you can take your deposit back, and I won’t charge you any rent.”

"But once you make money, you have to pay the rent."

"As for whether or not to rent it, that's up to you."

"We only have one hundred stalls in total, and only fifty kinds of food. First come, first served."

Upon hearing Shen Cao's words, the people below began to discuss among themselves.

In that case, it's actually a good deal.

[This girl seems to work at Shen's Restaurant. I've eaten there before, and the food is indeed delicious.]

If the food I sell tastes the same as his, I can definitely make money.

【…】

Shen Cao pulled Wei, the steward, over and said, "You only have three days. If you want to do it, go to the red house in front of the dock and find Steward Wei."

Butler Wei, whom Shen Cao had just invited, stepped forward and said, "If you have any questions, you can ask them now."

"You can go to the Red House to ask someone if you have any questions."

Shen Cao saw that many people were eager to try, but also very hesitant.

But doing business inherently involves taking risks, and she had already minimized the chances of them taking those risks.

It will only take a month, or maybe even less, just a few days.

Even if they don't rent a stall, they still need to cover the cost of those ingredients.

As for which of these eager individuals are actually willing to take the risk, that's none of her business.

As business took off at the docks, they became anxious when they saw people making money.

Seeing that she had finished dealing with the matters at the dock, the magistrate left with his constables and the people who had just caused trouble.

Seeing that there was nothing more for her to do here, Shen Cao took Ji Lingfeng to the Hundred Herbs Garden.