Exile at the start? The princess is no ordinary woman.

He needs to be absolutely loyal to her.

So that evening, Gu Nanzhi met with the two of them alone.

"Leng Yun, Leng Yue, there is no one else here. I will ask you one more time: did you do this willingly? If not, I can let you go back."

"Madam, I am willing to follow you."

"Madam, before we came here, Lord Ye had already told my sister and me some stories about you. We have the utmost respect for you. It is our honor to have this opportunity to follow you."

The two sisters maintained the same level of respect and deference as when Jun Yanchen was present.

"Alright, then stay. Before that, I'll just say one thing: I don't keep people who are good at two things at the same time around me."

Leng Yun understood.

"Leng Yue understands"

The two sisters were startled; for a fleeting moment, they seemed to feel a sense of oppression emanating from their mistress.

Lady Guozhen is indeed no ordinary person...

"Alright, get up. Now that you're mine, you don't need to hide in the shadows anymore. Just stay by my side."

Stay by my side?

The two sisters assumed that coming here would also mean remaining in the shadows to protect their mistress, but little did they know that their mistress intended to bring them into the open...

"lady......"

"Hmm, what's wrong? Still have questions?"

"no"

The two shook their heads, feeling honored nonetheless.

"By the way, how old are you?"

"Reporting to Madam, your subordinate is nineteen."

Gu Nanzhi nodded.

"Alright, go and rest. If you need anything, you can ask Xiahe."

"Yes"

The two left and went to find Xia He.

Xia He was naturally happy to see these two sisters; they would probably be taking care of their young mistress together from now on.

That's great, she'll have two more sisters now.

However, judging from their appearance, they should be older than her.

Xia He not only arranged accommodations for the two of them, but also warmly introduced them to the area. The gentle Leng Yue was more talkative, and after chatting with Xia He, they quickly became good friends.

Leng Yun was a bit aloof, but Xia He didn't sense any malice from her, which was fine.

The main reason is that both of them know martial arts, and with them by her side, they can better protect the young lady in the future.

Otherwise, she would only be a burden to her mistress. However, after this period of time, she has learned a couple of tricks...

------

A few days later, on the second day of the eleventh lunar month, Gu Nanzhi and Jun Yanchen led a group of people to the city again. The renovations of the restaurants in the city were almost complete.

I'm here today to inspect the premises and then choose an auspicious day to open for business.

Wu Huiwen also accompanied them this time. Because of her addition, Xia Zhinan and Xia Luoluo looked eager, and Gu Nanzhi even invited the two siblings to come along.

The brother and sister rarely had the opportunity to go to the city; they had almost forgotten when they last did. Now that they were inside, they were extremely excited by the bustling scene.

Gu Nanzhi also generously bought a string of candied hawthorns for each of the children in the group.

But in the end, Wu Huiwen and her two daughters were the most terrified.

"Nanzhi, I don't need it. I'm already this old, why would I want to eat candied hawthorns?"

"What's wrong with being this age? You can eat at any age! Sister Wen, Luo Luo, Zhi Nan, eat up! Look, we all have some. It's my treat today, no refusing!"

Gu Nanzhi is truly extravagant; she treated everyone with a wave of her hand, making the old man selling candied hawthorns a real bargain—he bought so many candied hawthorns from him all by himself!

As she spoke, Gu Nanzhi had already taken a bite of the candied hawthorn in her hand.

Wu Huiwen and her two children could only keep this kindness in their hearts and think about how to repay it.

As they spoke, they arrived at the location of the restaurant. The original teahouse signboard had long been taken down, and now all that was left was to hang up a new one.

"This is it, let's get off."

"Miss"

"Master"

"lady"

Ren Shuyi, Cang Ling, Bai Cang, and the others, who had been busy in the city, were already waiting at the gate to help lead the horses.

"Okay, let's go in and take a look."

"Yes, miss,"

Gu Nanzhi and Jun Yanchen looked up first, while the others remained quite calm. Wu Huiwen and her son, however, seemed a little hurried; this three-story building was truly impressive.

Next, under Ren Shuyi's guidance, everyone toured the restaurant's layout. The central area on the first floor had open seating, while the areas near the windows were separated by screens.

For those seeking more privacy, there are private rooms upstairs...

The interior layout of the restaurants is largely the same, with no major changes. The only difference lies in the furniture used, as the items sold are different.

Instead of rows of square tables, each table now has a brazier-like structure embedded in the center, which can be used to hold charcoal.

There are three protrusions to support the hot pot...

Without electricity or gas, we could only eat charcoal-fired hot pot.

"Shuyi, is everything in place? Chef? Waiters?"

"Miss, all the custom-made items will arrive in three more days. We've hired two cooks, two vegetable choppers, four waiters, and two vegetable washers..."

"Hmm, well done. Is everything confirmed? Have the employment agreements been signed?"

"Everything is signed and fingerprinted. The two cooks should be here in about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, just as you requested."

"Little Shuyi, not bad! You have the makings of a boss. You're so young, yet you've organized everything so well."

These children in ancient times are so clever and capable. They can manage so many things at such a young age. We've struck gold!

"Have you bought all the ingredients I asked you to?"

"I've bought them. I went to buy them early this morning, and they're all very fresh."

"it is good"

Besides the inspection, the main purpose of today's visit was to check on the work of the two cooks, so everyone sat down in the hall.

When the two cooks arrived, Ren Shuyi introduced them to Gu Nanzhi.

"Miss, these are the two chefs we've hired. They both worked at the restaurant before..."

"This is Miss Gu, the manager of the restaurant."

The two cooks looked everyone over and greeted them repeatedly.

"The shopkeeper is very kind."

Several people in this group possessed an extraordinary air about them; no wonder they were able to manage this restaurant at such a young age. The person before them would be their future employer, and they hoped to earn a living under her wing...

They didn't look very old, probably in their early thirties, and both looked quite robust; they seemed like the kind of people who could do manual labor.

He looks honest and simple...

"Master Zhang, Master Chen, I'm sure Shuyi has already told you the purpose of our visit today. We'd like to ask you two to demonstrate your skills,"

"Yes, yes, shopkeeper, I understand."

"Understood, understood, please wait a moment, sir."

Of course, I mentioned wanting to try their cooking, and as chefs with several years of experience, they weren't afraid of that.

"Okay, Shuyi, take them to the kitchen."

"Yes, miss"