On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yu Shu went to Huixing Street and strolled around Autumn Osmanthus Square. She went to the Fu An Escort Agency in the village to pay a visit.
Zhao Qinghui's uncle and nephew were both there. When they heard from the front yard that Mr. Yu had arrived, they hurriedly came out to invite him to the living room to talk. Knowing that Yu Shu had participated in last year's examination, Boss Zhou asked about her situation with concern.
Yu Shu said, "I did well. I will tell you the good news on the day the results are released."
Boss Zhou saw that she was relaxed when she spoke, so he knew that she had done well in the test. He quietly asked someone to withdraw 50 taels of silver from the cashier. He was afraid that Yu Shu would be embarrassed to ask for it, so he found an excuse. "I will talk to Qinghui about this marriage. Can I trouble you to check the horoscope of both parties? Are you free now?"
Since Yu Shu was here, she was embarrassed to not help, so she said, "Yes, let me have a look."
Boss Zhou asked the servant to put the paper and ink on the table. He went to get the horoscope and gave it to Yu Shu.
There was a marriage between a man and a woman in the Eight Gates Life and Death Art. Although Yu Shu was not proficient in it, it was enough for her to see through it. It was not a problem for her to see through it. She calculated it on the spot and told boss Zhou one by one.
Boss Zhou took out a bag of silver and gave it to her, saying that it was a red envelope and a monthly payment. Yu Shu hesitated, but still accepted it.
They stayed for lunch and went back after dinner.
Zhao Qinghui asked his uncle, "I couldn't find Mr. Yu before. Didn't you ask someone to check the horoscope? Why do you want to check it again?"
Boss Zhou laughed, "This is the way of the world. It will be good if you learn it."
With a bag of silver in her hand, Yu Shu didn't go anywhere else. She went straight home. When she was near the door, she saw Lao Chui waiting by the roadside with a carriage. Yu Shu passed by him, but Lao Chui didn't recognize her.
Yu Shu laughed and stopped to greet him, "Lao Chui, what are you doing here?"
Only then did Lao Chui recognize her. Seeing that she was wearing women's clothes, he hurriedly gets down from the driver's seat and shouts: "Miss."
He then said, "I am waiting for Miss to return. Eldest Young Master invites you to the north of the city. Please get on the carriage."
Yu Shu thought that she was going to the newly opened restaurant, so she went home and told Zhao Hui that she was going somewhere else. She put the money in the room and went back to the carriage.
As expected, Lao Chui took her to the restaurant. Yu Shu gets off the car. Just like last time, the owner, Lin Fu, comes out from the door and invites her to the backyard.
He pushed the door open and entered. As soon as he turned his head to the left and right, he saw Xue Rui sitting by the glass window and drinking tea.
Xue Rui turned around, and he was slightly astonished when he saw Yu Shu's delicate and clean female attire. He took a few more glances before he returned to his senses, and he smiled as he said, "I almost didn't recognize you. Why are you suddenly wearing a dress?"
Yu Shu heard the teasing in his words. Seeing the smile in his eyes, she felt a little uncomfortable. These two days, Zhao Hui stared at her while she was wearing a skirt. She just got used to it. So, she didn't want to change back.
"What? Can't I wear a skirt?" Yu Shu retorted.
Xue Rui shook his head and said, "No, this is good."
The corners of Yu Shu's mouth twitched lightly. She didn't take Xue Rui's' truth 'seriously, so she asked him about the proper business, "Didn't you say that this restaurant will open after the Lantern Festival? I saw that the signboard outside the door is empty. Have you thought of a name yet?"
"Don't worry. The plaque is ready. It is placed on the second floor. It will be hung on the day before the restaurant opens." Xue Rui suggested. "Shall I take you to have a look?"
"Okay."
Xue Rui put down his teacup, stood up, and led Yu Shu out of the backyard. When they arrived at the front building, Lin Fu and the waiter were chatting idly by the counter. When they saw Xue Rui walking towards them, they hastily turned around and stood properly. There was a respectful expression on their faces.
Xue Rui pointed at them and asked Yu Shu, "Have you recognized them?"
Yu Shu said, "I recognize Old Lin. I have seen this waiter before. I don't know his name."
There was no need for Xue Rui to speak when he heard this when the young attendant stood out, and he smiled as he said, "Miss, I'm called Liu Gui. Because I'm the sixth in my clan, you can call me Gui Liu 'er."
"Gui Liu." Yu Shu nodded and asked Xue Rui. "Is there anyone else?"
Xue Rui said to Lin Fu, "Find everyone downstairs. I will see them later."
Lin Fu agreed. Xue Rui then led Yu Shu to the second floor. There were two rows of private rooms. Xue Rui opened the door and entered the first room. Yu Shu followed behind him.
The decorations of this private room were extremely ingenious. There was a screen, an immortal table, a soft stool, a flowery shelf, calligraphy, and paintings. There was even a soft couch placed against the wall for people to rest after getting drunk.
However, the person lying on the couch was not a person but a heavy plaque. It was covered with a red cloth. Both ends of the plaque could be seen.
Xue Rui walked over and stretched out his hand to lift off the red cloth. Yu Shu moved forward to take a look, and she saw a large, long, and mute yellow horizontal wooden plaque that was polished to the point of merging into one, and the words' Forgotten Mystery Pavilion 'were carved on it, and it was handsome and clear.
"Wang Ji Pagoda," Yu Shu muttered. She felt that the name wasn't bad and that there must be a story behind it. However, she didn't know much about literature and only knew how to use an abacus. She asked him, "Is there a story behind it?"
Xue Rui said, "In Taoism, 'Wang Ji Lou' means to be indifferent to worldly affairs'. There are no worldly worries and no competitive thoughts. It was taken from the Tang Dynasty poem, Li Bai. 'Passing by Mount Zhongnan, the man of Mount Husi'. There is a line in the poem, 'When I am drunk, I am happy. I forget about my plans. But I ask for wine to follow my heart.'"
Yu Shu nodded her head and pretended to be enlightened. However, she was muttering in her heart. She did not know how many people would be indifferent to worldly affairs when this restaurant opened.
After looking at the plaque, Xue Rui and Yu Shu went downstairs. Lin Fu was already waiting with more than ten people. There were men and women. Yu Shu originally thought that this restaurant only had a shopkeeper and a few waiters. Who would have thought that there would be so many people? She was surprised at first. After thinking about it, she realized that it was true. With such a big restaurant, it would be hard to serve everyone if there were not a lot of people.
"Young Master, Young Lady, everyone is here."
Xue Rui brought Yu Shu to find a table to sit. Lin Fu called everyone forward and introduced them to Yu Shu. Other than the waiter, Gui Liu, the other two waiters were his brothers. One was Gui Qi, and the other was the chef. The leader was a woman around thirty years old. Her name was Xiu Qing.
There were two accountants. One was surnamed Cai and the other was surnamed Fu.
There were two maids serving wine and dishes. They were Xiao Die and Xiao Qing.
There were two rough workers who swept the floor and washed the dishes. They were Ah Xiang and Ah Ping.
There were two zither players, a man and a woman. The man's surname was Gong and his name was Wen. The woman was Bai. They were husband and wife.
Including Lin Fu, there were a total of fifteen people.
Ha, this time, she was not a commander without an army!
After Lin Fu finished the introductions, Xue Rui looked at Yu Shu's expression and said, "There is no rush. I will remember their names later."
He took another sip of tea and said to the group of people, "This is Miss Lianfang. She is a good friend of mine. Since you have met her today, remember her carefully. In the future, if anything happens in this restaurant, if I am not present, listen to her instructions. Do not think of slacking off or deceiving others. Do you all remember?"
The people in front of him replied in unison, "Young Master, we all remember."
"Good." Xue Rui turned his head and asked Yu Shu, "Do you have anything to say?"
Yu Shu secretly rolled her eyes. He did not even say a word before pushing her out. Fortunately, she was mentally prepared on the way here. Clearing her throat, she smiled and said, "I have been entrusted by your owner to take care of this restaurant. I have been paid to do the job, so I am the same as you all. In the future, we will meet every day. I am a straightforward person and do not like to beat around the bush. If I have done something wrong, feel free to tell me. If you have done something wrong, I will tell you directly. Let us not regard each other as outsiders. "
Finished speaking, Lin Fu took the lead and replied, "Don't worry, Miss. We understand.
On the first day they met, Yu Shu did not talk much nonsense. Seeing that this group of people were obedient, she did not intend to show them her strength and walked over in a friendly manner.
Xue Rui was very satisfied as he listened from the side. Yu Shu was steady in handling matters. Even though she was young, she had a sense of propriety when she spoke, and her methods were sufficiently ruthless. He wasn't worried that she would be put in a difficult position when he handed this group of 'miscellaneous people' over to her to manage, but he was afraid that someone would fall into her hands.
Returning to the backyard, Xue Rui took Yu Shu up the building. From the west staircase, he pointed to the backyard for her to see, "Later, I will give you the key to the restaurant. During the day, if you think the front is messy, you can enter from the back. I have prepared a guest room for you upstairs. When you come here, you can rest here. You can read or sleep. If there is anything, let them report to you."
"You've really thought it through." In fact, Yu Shu did not mind showing her face in public. As a female customer, she was different from the girls who were waiting to be married. What she wanted was not to help her husband and teach her children, but to learn how to change. Therefore, people would not be harsh on them. In fact, they would even look up to them.
Of course, she was more than happy to have a dedicated office. She did not need to work at the counter outside.
This was a room with two rooms. The layout was more comfortable than the private room in the front building. In the outer room, there was a tea table and a book shelf. In the inner room, there was a bed, a wardrobe, and the window was also sealed with glass. What caught Yu Shu's attention the most was the small glass screen in front of the bed. In the green water plants, a group of golden and red fish swam happily.
Yu Shu stood under the screen and touched the cool glass with her hand. She joked, "This restaurant doesn't waste money. If you can't pay me later, you can use this screen to pay me back."
As soon as he raised his head, his eyes met with a pair of pitch-black eyes in the crystal glass.
Xue Rui was standing at the side of the screen since an unknown time, and he was looking at her with a gaze that seemed familiar to her, causing Yu Shu's heart to jerk, and she instantly stood up straight in vigilance before taking two steps back and saying embarrassedly, "It's getting late, I should return."
Xue Rui took back his eyes and said, "Don't rush. Stay for a while. I will take you to try the signature dishes of this restaurant."
Yu Shu hesitated, "But I did not tell my family that I will eat outside tonight. They will be worried if I go back late."
Xue Rui was clearly aware that this was her excuse, yet he didn't expose her, and he said in a very reasonable manner, "Alright, I'll ask Brother Chui to send you back, and you can come back tomorrow. You have to look through the accounts of this restaurant in detail first."
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