Pastoral Splendor

It was just past breakfast time, not yet lunchtime. Ruyi Restaurant only opened half of its doors. A waiter was dozing in a corner when he heard footsteps. He craned his neck to look and saw a girl in a floral jacket walk in.

"Miss Xiao, oh my, you've finally arrived." The waiter quickly draped a white towel over his shoulder, bent down, and smiled like a spring breeze: "Our roast ducks are all sold out. The manager even said he would go to your place to get some more."

Miss Xiao is truly a capable person. Whatever she sells becomes a bestseller. First, she sold pickled bamboo shoots, then mushrooms, and then she came up with canned goods, barbecue, spicy hot pot, and roast duck. One thing after another, it was truly dazzling and overwhelming.

It's one thing to produce all these things, but the more important thing is that they all make money! To put it simply, even the barbecue and spicy hot pot, which look like they're only five or ten coins each, have made them a fortune. They've hired two more assistants to set up a stall at the night market, selling these things until their hands are sore, and they can't even count the coins. Every day they go out with an empty cart and come back with a big bag of coins. The owner of Huitong Money Exchange is complaining that she has to ask two assistants to count her coins every day!

It's not like there aren't people in Yuzhou City who are jealous of what they see. Everyone wants to make a little money by following along, but for some reason, the taste just isn't as good as Baixiangyuan's. There are four or five barbecue and spicy hot pot stalls on East Street, and the price is one copper coin cheaper per skewer, but everyone just squeezes into Baixiangyuan, preferring to wait in long lines rather than buy food elsewhere.

Recently, the roast ducks that Miss Xiao has been making have brought a lot of money to Ruyi Restaurant. They sell about thirty or forty roast ducks every day. With the dipping sauce, a dish costs about two taels of silver. The kitchen is always complaining of being out of stock, and the manager has to send someone to Xiao Family Village every day or two.

Originally, I thought that everyone would get tired of this dish eventually, but the roast duck has been on the menu for almost half a month, and there are still many people ordering it every day. Master Li was so happy that he stroked his beard and praised, "Miss Xiao is really too smart. There should be no smarter woman in Yuzhou City than her."

"Waiter, I'd like to see your boss. Could you please pass on my message?" Yan Ying chose a table by the window and sat down. The waiter brought her tea and melon seeds, and after a quick reply, she ran outside. The owner, with his plump body, shuffled over and sat opposite Yan Ying, his eyes narrowing into slits with a smile: "Miss Xiao, you've made a fortune from these roast ducks."

Yan Ying smiled but didn't speak. She used to supply Ruyi Restaurant with roast ducks for one tael each, but now she was selling roast ducks herself for only one tael and five mace of silver. She still needed to have a good talk with Master Li to avoid him getting upset. If she wanted to establish herself in Yuzhou City, she would still have to rely on him for many things.

Upon receiving the message from his waiter, Master Li hurried to Ruyi Restaurant. He glanced around and spotted the woman in the floral cotton-padded jacket by the window. He rushed over in a flurry, asking, "Miss Xiao, what brings you here today?"

Yan Ying stood up and gave a slight bow: "There are two things I would like to discuss with Master Li."

"Miss Xiao, please sit down, please sit down!" Master Li chuckled and sat down opposite Yan Ying. He had just become a grandfather yesterday, and his daughter had given birth to a chubby baby boy. He was overjoyed. Now he finally had some security. With a legitimate son by his side, even if Lin Qinxun was a scoundrel, he would have something to look forward to.

Lin Qinxun was dealt with once last time, and he became completely dejected. He used to strut around Yuzhou City with his head held high, but now he needs the prefect's approval to leave the city, and he doesn't have such a big entourage anymore. Before, he would walk around the streets of Yuzhou with his legs spread wide like a crab, but now he doesn't dare to act so recklessly anymore. Although his eyes still keep looking at pretty girls, he's no longer so arrogant as to say he'll take any girl he fancys back as a concubine.

Master Li agreed with Yan Ying's suggestion to his daughter: hold onto the money securely, and Lin Qinxun wouldn't be able to cause any trouble. Lin Qinxun himself had no ability; he relied entirely on his father, the prefect. Now that Prefect Lin controlled his movements and his daughter had his money under her thumb, Lin Qinxun could only keep a low profile.

“Master Li, the first thing is about the roast duck.” Yan Ying looked troubled, her dark eyes shining like two black jewels: “I’ve finally managed to come up with the recipe for roast duck recently.”

"Really?" Master Li was also delighted: "It tastes even better than before?"

Yan Ying smiled and replied, "That depends on the diner's taste. I personally think it's better than before, but..." She paused, slightly pursing her lips. A sliver of gold shone through the carved window, illuminating her lips perfectly, making her appear exceptionally alluring.

Seeing her expression, Master Li sensed she had something difficult to say and quickly pressed her for details: "Miss Xiao, is there something troubling you? Is it that you don't have enough capital? I have some here, just ask me to borrow it!"

“It’s not that.” Yan Ying sighed softly. “Mr. Li, to be honest, I originally planned to sell roast duck at Baixiangyuan Restaurant. But now that Ruyi Restaurant’s roast duck business is good, it doesn’t seem right for me to sell roast duck there as well.” She looked up at Mr. Li with a regretful expression. “But I can’t just stop supplying Ruyi Restaurant because I want to sell roast duck myself. That would be too unethical.”

Master Li was confused by Yan Ying's words, but he still understood the meaning: Bai Xiang Yuan was going to sell roast duck too. He chuckled and stroked his beard, saying, "Miss Xiao, please rest assured, there is no conflict between your Bai Xiang Yuan selling roast duck and my Ruyi Restaurant selling roast duck. You can just sell it in your shop. Actually, our Ruyi Restaurant doesn't care about it."

Yan Ying glanced at Master Li and, seeing his sincere expression, felt a weight lifted from her heart. Master Li was right; Ruyi Restaurant only served roast duck during mealtimes, and the roast duck at her Baixiang Garden was bought by someone else to take home. People who dine out wouldn't specifically travel to Baixiang Garden to buy a roast duck just to eat themselves for five taels of silver. Ruyi Restaurant had its advantages, and besides, most of those who came here were trying to curry favor with Prefect Lin; a few taels more wasn't a big deal.

"Then thank you for your understanding, Master Li." Yan Ying laughed happily. "How about we continue supplying them at the same price, one tael of silver per bird, thirty birds per day?"

“Miss Xiao, thirty might not be enough.” Manager Ning had been listening for a long time before finally interjecting, “We’ve sold over forty these past two days, and customers are saying the roast duck is getting better and better.”

"Forty then," Yan Ying thought for a moment. She hadn't expected roast duck to be so popular; she'd have to hire two helpers to butcher it. In the countryside, killing chickens and ducks was as simple as severing their necks with one stroke, scalding them with boiling water, and plucking all the feathers. But Yan Ying's requirements were more meticulous. Not only did she want all the duck blood to be released, but the feathers also had to be dried and stored away—every part of them was precious. Duck blood soup, duck blood could be used to make spicy hot pot, and duck down could be used to sew winter clothes, which were much warmer than cotton.

"Alright, alright, alright." The shopkeeper nodded repeatedly, "I reckon it's about right."

"Then it's settled. Miss Xiao, is there anything else you want to say?" Seeing Yan Ying's gradually becoming serious, Master Li felt a little strange. He had never seen Miss Xiao with such an expression before. Why did she suddenly become so serious today?

Yan Ying glanced at Manager Ning and said with a smile, "Manager, the tea in my teacup has gone cold. Could you please get me a fresh cup? Thank you so much."

The shopkeeper reached out and took Yan Ying's teacup. Touching it, he felt it was still warm. He wondered why the tea needed to be changed when it was just right. Master Li said, "Take the teacup and go back. I won't call you. Go behind the counter and check the accounts. You don't need to come back."

What a clever girl! She politely dismissed the shopkeeper with a cup of tea, without losing face. Master Li looked at Yan Ying approvingly, but also felt a little uneasy, wondering what important thing she wanted to say.

"Mr. Li, do you know the owners of Fu Lai Kee and He Fu Kee?" Yan Ying asked, making sure no one was around. "Is their surname Yi?"

“Fu Lai Ji and He Fu Ji?” Master Li thought for a moment and shook his head: “Wrong. The owner of those two shops is Princess Yu. That man surnamed Yi is just a manager. Princess Yu has more than ten shops in Yuzhou City. Some of them are out, and some are her own shops. Manager Yi is just helping Princess Yu manage the shops.”

The fact that Manager Yi was able to get this job means that he is considered a confidant of Princess Yu. No wonder he is so fearless and even came to the shop to threaten her. Yan Ying took a breath and looked directly at Master Li: "Master Li, I need you to be my witness."

"Witness? What exactly is going on?" Master Li was completely bewildered. "Could it be that Manager Yi caused trouble at your shop?" Although Manager Yi was just a servant, he was a powerful figure in Yuzhou City, relying on the name of the Prince Yu's Mansion. He didn't even bother to enter the Yuzhou Chamber of Commerce and specialized in bullying small shops. Could he have gone to bother Baixiang Garden now? Didn't he know the relationship between Miss Xiao and the Prince Yu's heir?

“Master Li, I was threatened today.” Yan Ying let out a long sigh: “That Steward Yi is threatening to put me in jail.”

"What?" Master Li was taken aback, almost jumping up: "What on earth is going on?"

Chapter 185

“Master Li, this is what happened. I was threatened by that Manager Yi.” Yan Ying recounted the whole story before slowly saying, “I’m not afraid of him doing anything underhanded, but I’m just worried that if things get out of hand, I’d appreciate it if you could be my witness.”

Master Li's eyebrows furrowed deeply. He hadn't expected Steward Yi to become increasingly arrogant. Now that Young Master Xu had left, he was threatening Miss Xiao. If he forced her to buy his goods, wouldn't she have to pay him extra? There was no such thing as a free lunch!

In any case, I must help Miss Xiao with this favor. Even if it's just to have him be a witness, or even if I have to stand up for her, I should do it. My daughter has benefited from Miss Xiao's kindness, which has made her life much smoother.

“Miss Xiao, don’t worry, I will be your witness. I will go to the Chamber of Commerce right away and talk to the vice president. If anything happens, our Chamber of Commerce can vouch for you.” After making up his mind, Mr. Li stood up and nodded to Yan Ying: “Miss Xiao, don’t panic.”

Manager Yi has been using the name of the Prince of Yu's Mansion to force people to buy and sell in Yuzhou City for quite some time now. Many merchants in Yuzhou City dare not speak out for fear of offending him and incurring his retaliation. Since this Miss Xiao wants to fight him, that's perfect. They can secretly exert their efforts and see if they can teach Manager Yi a lesson.

"Master Li, you are too kind." Yan Ying walked briskly towards the door. She didn't know what tricks Manager Yi would use, but it was necessary to make the first move. It would be passive to try to remedy the situation after something went wrong.

Back at Baixiangyuan, the roast ducks in the shop were almost sold out. She had only brought a few dozen roast ducks to test the market today. She had just visited Ruyi Restaurant recently. There were only a few lonely roast ducks hanging on the beams behind the barbecue stall, their long beaks pointing downwards, looking aggrieved.

"Gong Liang, come with me." Yan Ying called Gong Liang to the small side room next door where they deliver goods. She looked outside and then asked in a low voice, "What do you think of the new employees who have come to our shop this time?"

Gong Liang glanced at Yan Ying, somewhat surprised, and hesitated to speak. How could he possibly talk about someone behind their back? Seeing his expression, Yan Ying couldn't help but feel anxious: "Gong Liang, to be honest with you, we both know that you and my older sister have hit it off. I only called you aside to ask about this because I consider you my future brother-in-law. This is a serious matter, so you have to tell me properly, are those new guys reliable?"