A farmer has a shrewish wife; he's busy making money every day.

Ye Qingxue had no idea that her parents shared the same thoughts as her.

I spent half a day working with Ms. Chen and the others, trying out the new products for the next five days.

Fortunately, Ms. Chen is skillful and can grasp things very quickly, even things she has never tried before.

With Aunt Lu's help, she was able to make things better and faster.

"Aunt Chen, with your skills, you wouldn't be an exaggeration to be a royal chef!"

Ye Qingxue looked at Chen Shi with a smile, her heart filled with the thought that she had truly unearthed a treasure.

Just as Chen finished cooking the last batch of sweet soup and ladled it out, she glared at Ye Qingxue.

"That's an exaggeration. Besides, the imperial chef is a man's job. What's the point of an old woman like me getting involved?"

Ye Qingxue disagreed inwardly: "Why can a man be a woman but not? Tomorrow I'll drag that guy down and ask him if he's engaging in gender discrimination!"

Aunt Lu was startled by what she heard and quickly covered Ye Qingxue's mouth, saying in a panic, "Oh dear, young lady, please don't say that, or someone will hear us!"

Ye Qingxue knew she couldn't change their minds anytime soon: "Hehe, I was just joking."

Chen placed the sweet soup in front of Ye Qingxue, her tone serious: "This is no joke!"

Seeing how serious they were, Ye Qingxue quickly scooped up a spoonful of sweet soup, blew on it, and then slurped it down: "Mmm! Delicious! Aunt Chen and Aunt Lu, your cooking is really good!"

Both of them knew she was changing the subject and chuckled for a moment.

"Glib tongue!"

"People are big devils!"

Ye Qingxue smiled and continued drinking the sweet soup.

"By the way, after these five days of new products are released, I don't plan to release any more. Our shop is small and we can't handle that many varieties."

Chen agreed with what she said.

Aunt Lu nodded, thought for a moment, and asked, "Since our business is so good, why don't we move to a bigger shop?"

Ye Qingxue nodded: "I've also considered this, but moving to a bigger shop isn't as simple as just moving to a bigger place."

"We will also face increased costs, personnel management issues, and more importantly, we will definitely encounter formidable competitors."

“There’s more than just us in Qingshui County. The Li’s Noodle Shop next door has been open for several years. We’re new here and from out of town, so it’s fine for us to open a small noodle stall. We’re not taking too much business from others. But if we were to open a big shop, wouldn’t that be blatantly going against them? We have neither capital nor reputation. If they just spread a few rumors, all our customers would be taken away.”

Although Chen and Aunt Lu were stunned, they inexplicably felt that Ye Qingxue was right.

"So let's take it one step at a time, establish ourselves in Qingshui County first, and then think about what comes next."

Ye Qingxue made the decision, and naturally, Madam Chen and Aunt Lu listened to her completely.

The group chatted for a while longer, and as the night deepened, Ye Qingxue said goodbye and went back to sleep.

The next morning, Ye Qingxue took Chen Shi and Aunt Lu to the noodle shop, gave them a few words of advice, and then left.

Since we've decided to find an opportunity to attack Tiger Stronghold, we definitely need to make some preparations in advance.

Otherwise, you'll be completely confused when you go to the birthday party in five days.

Ye Qingxue planned to go to the county government office to investigate first.

Upon reaching the gate, Ye Qingxue first tried to inform someone that she was looking for the county magistrate, but the gatekeeper refused.

Ye Qingxue wasn't too surprised. Ordinary people rarely had any problems and rarely saw the county magistrate.

So she decided to climb over the wall.

After circling around and surveying the terrain, Ye Qingxue chose a corner, took a deep breath, and jumped silently into the county government office.

I held my breath the whole way, trying not to make a sound. I walked around half of the county government office and memorized most of the terrain, but I didn't know which room the county magistrate lived in.

They encountered patrolling officials from time to time along the way, making the short journey extremely difficult for Ye Qingxue.

As we rounded a covered walkway, we finally heard voices ahead.

"Oh, boss, what brings you here today?"

It was a fawning voice, filled with false enthusiasm.

"Does Magistrate Xu not know why I have come?"

His response came from a rough male voice, as harsh as if it contained grit.

Magistrate Xu?

Ye Qingxue noticed the name and quietly peeked over there.

She saw a slightly tired young man.

He was wearing old official robes, his back was slightly hunched, as if he were being heavily pressed down by something, and his face showed fatigue and helplessness.

This must be Xu Guangming, the magistrate of Qingshui County.

Standing opposite Xu Guangming was a man with a muscular physique, dark and shiny skin, like a moving small mountain.

I just heard Magistrate Xu call him "Big Boss".

Could it be the leader of Fierce Tiger Stronghold?

"Boss, please come in."

Ye Qingxue saw Magistrate Xu raise his hand and invite the gang leader into a room.

She quietly took a few steps back, turned around and went around a few corners, and came to a window at the back of the house.

Quietly, Ye Qingxue leaned closer to listen.

"Magistrate Xu, I heard that the eldest son of the Lu family in the capital is going to hold a birthday banquet in your county?"

"That is indeed the case." Magistrate Xu's voice trembled slightly.

"Why didn't Magistrate Xu inform me of such a joyous occasion?" The bandit leader's voice carried a hint of danger.

"I just didn't have time to inform you!" Through the crack in the window, Ye Qingxue saw Magistrate Xu wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief.

Ye Qingxue sighed inwardly. It was really unlucky for a county magistrate to be like him.

"Magistrate Xu, you wouldn't be thinking of using your birthday banquet as an opportunity to secretly invite those officials from the capital for tea, and then accidentally reveal the truth about my Tiger Stronghold..."

"How could that be! Hehe, you're joking, Boss. I absolutely did not have such a thought!" Magistrate Xu's voice sounded very hurried.

"That would be perfect. Just a friendly reminder, there are officials from Jiangnan Prefecture attending this birthday banquet." The head of the gang's voice carried a hint of deeper meaning.

Ye Qingxue frowned. She had heard the shopkeeper in the grain store say that the Fierce Tiger Stronghold had dealings with officials in Jiangnan Prefecture.

Judging from his words, the person he is connected with will also be attending this birthday party.

That makes things a bit complicated.

"Hehe, Boss, you're overthinking it. I absolutely won't do anything underhanded on the day of the birthday banquet!"

"I think Magistrate Xu is pragmatic, so I'll be leaving now."

"Hey, take care, boss. I'll see you off."

"No need!"

With a bang, the door slammed shut.

Looking through the crack in the window, Ye Qingxue saw that only Magistrate Xu was left in the room.

He sat in the chair, sighing repeatedly.

Just as Ye Qingxue was about to leave, the door opened again, and a middle-aged man in official robes walked in.

Unlike Magistrate Xu, he had a square face, a righteous air between his brows, and bright and firm eyes.

"Magistrate Xu! Why won't you let me go and meet that big boss?" The man's voice was loud and clear, as if he wanted to shout into people's hearts.

Ye Qingxue stopped in her tracks and returned to the window.