Pastoral Splendor

"Jian Yifei, you've really grown up! You actually know to hide in the corner and not dare to stick your head out!" Yan Ying shouted at the half-face peeking out from behind the blue brick. She had a lot of things to do, so she didn't have time to play games with Jian Yifei here!

Yan Ying knew perfectly well what Jian Yifei was coming for. She had deliberately written those few words in the letter to lure him over. If he didn't care about her and found the letter indifferent, then so be it, and they could part ways as soon as possible. But if he did care about her, then of course he would rush over to express his determination to her, which wouldn't be strange at all.

Xu Yixuan, standing to the side, was startled. Miss Xiao seemed so gentle and kind, so why had she suddenly changed her personality, with a stern face and a puzzled, harsh voice? She was quite different from the Miss Xiao he usually knew. He turned around and chuckled dryly twice: "I'm going to eat spicy hot pot. Master, Miss Xiao, you two should have a proper talk."

Perhaps in Miss Xiao's heart, her master was the closest person to her, which is why she could speak to him in such a stern voice. He was just an outsider, so of course he had to be more tactful. Jian Yifei thought that this might be the reason, and his heart ached. However, he quickly made up for his hurt feelings with the spicy hot pot and ate it with all his heart.

Jian Yifei came out, a patch of dust already smudged on his white robe. He reached out and dusted himself off, looking embarrassed. "Sanhua, how did you know it was me?"

"Besides you, who else could possibly persuade Prince Xu to send a message?" Yan Ying glanced at Jian Yifei and gave a soft snort. "What's wrong? Why are you so dejected?"

“Sanhua, who in Xiaojia Village wants to marry you?” Jian Yifei gritted her teeth. “I just went to see that guy named Da Mu, and he said he wasn’t interested.”

"What? You went to find Da Mu?" Yan Ying stared at Jian Yifei, feeling both amused and exasperated. She had written it that way just to make Jian Yifei anxious, but she hadn't expected him to actually go and settle scores with him. "You didn't do anything to him, did you?" Da Mu was a dutiful servant who cut grass for her and threw it into the lake every day. Although he only kept watch at night, he would come and walk around a few times during the day when he had nothing else to do.

"I..." Jian Yifei was a little embarrassed, but he was not good at lying by nature, and seeing Yan Ying's piercing gaze, he dared not tell a lie: "I originally wanted to whip him a few times to make him give up his desire for you..."

"You're really something!" Yan Ying said, both amused and annoyed. "Shouldn't you have asked me about this first?"

“I went to your house first, but your mother didn’t seem to want to talk to me.” Thinking of Aunt Xiao’s cold face, Jian Yifei felt a little uneasy: “I thought your family had really promised you to someone else.”

"Hmph, you're going to cause trouble for others without even asking your mother first?" Yan Ying patted her purse. "Your mother sent over a thousand taels of silver, telling me not to come looking for you again!"

“If you don’t come looking for me, I’ll come looking for you.” On this point, Jian Yifei and Yan Ying were perfectly in sync: “Sanhua, don’t be angry. My mother has never met you. If she did, she definitely wouldn’t object to our marriage!”

"But what if your mother definitely disagrees?" Yan Ying smiled slightly at Jian Yifei: "Isn't it said that marriage is arranged by parents and matchmakers? Listen carefully, are you going to listen or not?"

“I…” Jian Yifei’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. What if his mother still wouldn’t let him marry Sanhua after seeing her? The thought of Sanhua marrying someone else and him having a strange woman by his side made him suddenly nervous, and he felt like he couldn’t breathe properly.

No, no, no, I will never marry anyone else in my life! Jian Yifei grabbed Yan Ying's hand: "Sanhua, you have to believe me. If my mother doesn't approve, I will try my best to persuade her. I will tell her that Sanhua is a good girl, and that I want Sanhua to be my wife for the rest of my life, and I don't want anyone else!"

Jian Yifei's loyalty is quite strong; it's a good thing that he's so persistent in standing by her side. Yan Ying is fairly satisfied with this answer, but she still wants to test Jian Yifei further: "What will you do if your mother still doesn't agree?"

"She just won't agree?" Jian Yifei looked up at Yan Ying. "No way, Sanhua is so wonderful, my mother would never disagree." He thought about it carefully, as if he had made up his mind. "If she doesn't agree, then I won't ask her to send a matchmaker. I'll just send someone to propose marriage myself. After all, it's my marriage, not my mother's."

Yan Ying smiled with satisfaction. She patted her purse and said, "Alright, I believe you. Actually, your mother should have agreed long ago. Wasn't the thousand taels of silver she sent a betrothal gift?"

Jian Yifei was somewhat confused: "Didn't I tell you to ignore me?"

"Hmph, she told me to ignore you and that's why I'm ignoring you?" Yan Ying laughed. "What's wrong with me ignoring my own fiancé?"

Feeling sweet inside after being called "fiancé" by Yan Ying, Jian Yifei stepped into the gate of Baixiang Garden: "Sanhua, I heard you're selling two new items today. What can I do for you?"

"You decide for yourself. Go wherever you're needed." Yan Ying glanced at the barbecue and spicy hot pot stall, which was already surrounded by a dense crowd, with wisps of white smoke rising towards the roof. "You'll just have to work as a helper in the shop. You can't fit in over there anymore."

Looking around Baixiang Garden again, Xu Yixuan was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, someone shouted loudly, "Meat is fifteen coins, vegetarian is five coins, and mushrooms and cauliflower are ten coins!"

Wasn't that Xu Yixuan's voice? It seemed this young master had slipped into the crowd to sell barbecue for her. Yan Ying stood with her arms crossed at the entrance of Baixiang Garden, watching people walk away with bamboo skewers of barbecue and spicy hot pot. She was very happy. Don't underestimate this business; if it's done well, she should be able to earn at least ten taels of silver every day.

Assuming two hundred people buy barbecue or spicy hot pot every day, buying ten skewers at a time, that would sell two thousand skewers. These two thousand skewers, a mix of meat and vegetables, would bring in twenty taels of silver, so a profit of half would be ten taels. She just counted a few people walking away with their barbecue and spicy hot pot skewers; about thirty people had already left. And in such a short time? She figured two hundred people a day was a low number.

"Miss Xiao, Miss Xiao!" Yan Ying looked up and saw Master Li from Ruyi Restaurant standing in front of her, holding a string of mushrooms in his hand: "Miss Xiao is truly intelligent, how did you come up with such a method?"

This is truly a lucrative business opportunity. Don't be fooled by the fact that a skewer of these mushrooms only costs ten coins; how many are on this skewer? It's a huge profit! Barbecue requires some effort, but this spicy hot pot really doesn't require much cost. Just put them in a big bucket, blanch them, and when they're cooked, take them out and eat. It's simple and convenient.

Looking at the few mushrooms skewered on the thin bamboo sticks, Master Li regretted not being as quick-witted as Yan Ying and not being able to come up with such a brilliant idea. But if he were to try to imitate it, firstly, it was unnecessary, and secondly, he might not be able to replicate Miss Xiao's flavor. Miss Xiao's seasonings were truly excellent; they smelled so delicious that he really wanted to eat them.

“When a person is poor, all they think about is how to make money. They think about it all day long and always come up with a few good ideas.” Yan Ying greeted Mr. Li with a smile as he entered. “We have a large family. If we don’t make more money, how can we support our family? It’s all thanks to your help, Mr. Li, that I was able to open Bai Xiang Yuan.”

“It’s not easy for a young lady like you to work hard outside.” Master Li’s gaze swept over and saw a young man in a white robe sweeping the floor with a broom. Then, upon closer inspection, he remembered that the woman selling spicy hot pot had a piece of jade hanging around her neck… Wait a minute, Master Li almost jumped up in surprise: “Miss Xiao, Miss Xiao!”

"What's wrong?" Yan Ying felt a little strange. Master Li was fine just now, so why did his expression suddenly change?

"Is that the one selling mala tang the heir of Prince Yu?" He hadn't paid attention to what the waiter looked like because of the crowd and was only staring at the barbecue grill and the mala tang bucket. He only caught a glimpse of him when he took the bamboo skewer, and was instantly pushed out of the way.

“It is Prince Xu.” Yan Ying nodded. “Why did Master Li ask about him?”

"No, no, it's nothing!" Master Li stammered. This Miss Xiao is really something. She actually managed to get the Prince of Yu's son to be her assistant, selling barbecue and spicy hot pot on the street, and even had that Young Master Jian sweep the shop with a broom. Although last time I heard that he was her fiancé, how can you let a man do the work while you stand by and watch the show?

Master Li glanced at Jian Yifei and saw him put down the broom, roll up his sleeves, and pick up a rag to wipe the shelves. He couldn't help but marvel at her skills. This Miss Xiao was quite capable. No matter what he thought, her fiancé seemed quite happy to do it and worked with great enthusiasm, making the shelves shine.

Jian Yifei was indeed diligent. Besides cleaning the shop spotless, he even went into the inner courtyard, rolled up his sleeves, and started sweeping up the fallen leaves. It seemed he wanted to make amends for his mother's mistake. Manager Ning stood behind the counter and smiled slyly: "Miss Xiao, Young Master Jian seems to have inexhaustible energy."

Yan Ying smiled and thought that Jian Yifei was indeed very capable, both fast and good. As she stepped into the backyard, red maple leaves drifted down from the tree and landed right at her feet. Jian Yifei rushed over with a broom and swept the maple leaves into the dustpan. She was really quick and timely.

"Yifei." Yan Ying called out to him affectionately, knowing he had worked so hard for so long, she should reward him properly.

Upon hearing Yan Ying's words, Jian Yifei's hands and feet trembled, and the dustpan fell to the ground. Half of the leaves that had just been swept in spilled out and were blown everywhere by the autumn wind.

Chapter 165 Reconciliation

The autumn sky is a clear, bright blue, like a mirror, without a single impurity. Not even a single fluffy white cloud can be seen. It is such a pure blue, just like the flawless emotions of a young man, exquisite and clear.

Yan Ying stood under the tree, smiling slightly as she looked at Jian Yifei, who was holding a broom. One sleeve was rolled up, while the other sleeve slipped down to the side of his long robe. As the autumn wind blew, the hem of his white robe rustled like white dove tree flowers.

"Sanhua, did you call me?" Jian Yifei stammered, her face flushed red, which took a long time to fade.

"Yes, I'm calling you." Yan Ying smiled and winked at him. "Yi Fei, Yi Fei, didn't you ask me to call you like that last time? Don't you like it today?"

"I like it, I like it so much." Jian Yifei secretly glanced at the door separating the backyard from the shop, but for some reason it was closed. He boldly took a step toward Yan Ying: "Sanhua, I'm so happy to hear you call me that."

"Then why are your hands shaking!" Yan Ying watched Jian Yifei slowly inching closer to her, and found it amusing. She took a step forward and stood in front of Jian Yifei: "What's wrong? Do you have some secret to tell me? How long are you going to take to walk like this?"

Jian Yifei blushed even more after Yan Ying exposed her secrets. She lowered her head and stared at her toes, not daring to say a word.

"What a fool," Yan Ying thought, somewhat troubled. What could she do to get him to take the initiative? In her past life, Yan Ying had never been in a relationship. She had only seen couples in movies and TV shows embracing and kissing. But now she lived in this era. She couldn't just pounce on him and steal his first kiss, could she? She had to make him take the initiative. If she did, who knew what he would think?

"Hey, hey, hey, tell me, what do you want to do?" Yan Ying kicked Jian Yifei with her foot. Her shoe touched Jian Yifei's toe, and he was so shocked that he quickly pulled his foot back, as if he had touched a hot iron. "No, no, I don't want to do anything..." He looked up at Yan Ying and swallowed. "I just want to be closer to you."