At night, alone in the room, Yu Shu moved a small stool and squatted by the stove. She really has no way to burn the turtle shell. In the blink of an eye, Jing Chen has been missing for more than ten days. She has searched everywhere he could have gone, but she could not find him. Although she has Xue Rui and Pei Jing to help her inquire, she still can't rest assured. She does not know Jing Chen's date of birth and eight characters, so there is no way to calculate his safety. She can only use the most ancient divination method to see if he is safe or not.
The method of turtle divination is very simple. Fire burns the turtle shell, and from the cracks on the shell, you can see good or bad luck. No matter what kind of wish, purpose, or request, you can get a revelation. The book "Turtle Strategy" says so. It seems easy, but if you really want to do divination, the key is to look at the quality of the turtle shell.
The shell on the back of an ordinary turtle is almost impossible to use. It needs to be at least twenty years old for it to have a little bit of accuracy. After every ten years, it will be more accurate. White-headed turtle, red-tailed turtle, and yellow-footed turtle are the most accurate. Usually, a twenty year old turtle shell can be sold for hundreds of taels of silver. After burning it once, it becomes useless. If you are not rich, you really can't play with this. Therefore, although turtle divination can predict everything, few people rely on it. After all, a hundred year old turtle is much harder to find than a master.
The turtle shell that Yu Shu bought is about thirty years old, but relatively speaking, it is not easy to burn. She carefully roasted it for almost an hour before she saw a crack, making a 'pu pu' sound.
Using a pair of pliers to hold the burnt turtle shell under the lamp, Yu Shu carefully observed the lines on it. It is not difficult to see the hexagram. She distinguishes the most obvious characters and writes them down on a piece of paper. Then she matches it with the turtle divination incantation in the book. After struggling for a long time, she can only vaguely guess that Jing Chen is safe and sound.
As for whether this speculation is mainly based on the hexagram or her mood, only she knows.
In any case, Yu Shu felt much more at ease. She put away the broken turtle shell, extinguished the stove, washed her hands, and went to bed. She thought to herself that she would buy another one the next day and calculate where Jing Chen was so that it would be easier to find him.
In the morning, Yu Shu goes to Wangji Tower. Xue Rui gives her a few detailed accounts and leaves in a hurry. Yu Shu spends half a day to check the accounts of Wangji Tower, including the price of food and drinks, the monthly purchasing quota, including taxes, and the expenses of a group of employees.
Yu Shu had never been involved in business in her previous life, but she was not called the Senior Sister in the actuary industry for nothing. Especially in the insurance industry, she had developed a pair of sharp eyes. After flipping through the account book twice, she found a few loopholes.
Firstly, the restaurant's monthly cash flow for purchases was a thousand strings of coins. If it was insufficient, it could be made up for, and if it was excess, it would be handed over. Lin Fu was responsible for all of this.
Purchasing was a lucrative job, and it was risky to hand it over to one person. In addition, there was no fixed price for the ingredients and pots and pans. It was up to one person to decide the price. If Lin Fu was not greedy, it would be fine. If he was slightly greedy, he could deduct one or two hundred taels of silver a month. Nobody would be able to find out.
Secondly, there were three types of taxes. The first was the land tax, the second was the head tax, and the third was the sales tax. The land tax depended on the land. For example, Xue Rui chose this bustling street, so he had to pay fifty strings of coins every month. The head tax was the total number of employees in the restaurant. It was one tael per person, so it would be fifteen taels per month. Lastly, there was the sales tax, which was the so-called transaction tax. According to the restaurant's account book, it would take 40% of the profit, which was about 13% of the tax. This was not a small amount.
There was no problem with these. The problem was that Yu Shu found two accountants for questioning. She found out that they were responsible for the total monthly expenses and profits, but none of them was responsible for the clear accounts!
The so-called clear accounts, to put it bluntly, were fake accounts. Usually, businesses would have two accounts, one for the government, and the other for themselves. In ancient times, there were no invoices. How much profit was earned depended on the account book. Although it was convenient to make fake accounts, Yu Shu didn't believe that the ancient people were so stupid that they didn't know that there were two accounts. Presumably, many businessmen took advantage of this loophole. However, Xue Rui had such a big business, but he didn't make any arrangements. How much more money would he have to pay in a month!
Yu Shu sent the accountant out and put down the account book. She was wondering if Xue Rui didn't plan to take advantage of the tax at all. He just wanted to do his business with a clean conscience, or he had other plans.
"Miss, the meal is ready. Would you like to have your meal in the front room, or would you like me to bring it upstairs?" Lin Fu's voice came from outside the door.
Yu Shu wasn't very hungry. She had been sitting here for the whole morning. Xiao Die and Xiao Qing had brought tea and snacks at least three times. Because the food was too delicious and exquisite, she accidentally ate a few more pieces.
However, the meal was ready. It would be a waste if she didn't eat it. It was good to take the opportunity to look at the dishes in this restaurant. Yu Shu got up to open the door and said to Lin Fu, "Don't bother. I will eat in the front room."
The restaurant hadn't opened yet. It was closed for the New Year. The front room was very quiet. On the east side, there was a big round table made of jujube wood. There were more than sixteen dishes. There were all kinds of delicacies. There were chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, deer, raccoon, and the most eye-catching dish was a big turtle cooked in a white porcelain pot.
Yu Shu grinned and said to Lin Fu, "Why did you cook so much? You overestimated my appetite.
Lin Fu smiled, "Young Master told me to cook all the signature dishes of the restaurant for you to try. It's just that the table is not big enough. The chef still has seven to eight dishes."
In her previous life, Yu Shu was a person who had seen grand occasions. However, she didn't have the experience of enjoying such a sumptuous meal alone. Moreover, in the future, it was against the law to eat wild animals. It's not like in the ancient times where all kinds of animals could be eaten with wine.
Moreover, this table was full of food. It must cost more than a hundred taels of silver. It's such a waste!
It's better to give it to her.
"Where are the others? Have they had lunch? "Yu Shu turned her head and saw Lin Fu and Gui Liu 'er.
Lin Fu said, "Miss, please eat first."
Yu Shu sat in front of the table and said, "Gui Liu, go and find the others. Let's have a taste together. Don't eat alone. I won't have an appetite."
She wasn't being pretentious. She was just using the table as an excuse to test everyone's character.
Gui Liu looked at Lin Fu. Lin Fu hesitated, "Miss, this is not a good idea."
After glancing at him, Yu Shu straightened her chopsticks and placed them on the table. She picked up a piece of white bamboo shoot and tasted it. As expected, the taste was great. She knew that Xue Rui wouldn't just put up a show. Since he opened a restaurant with such a grand appearance, the food and wine would definitely not taste bad.
Lin Fu is a smart person. Seeing that Yu Shu did not say anything, he knew that he did not say the right thing. He changed the topic and said to Gui Liu, "Go and get Gong Qinshi and his wife, you two brothers, Xiao Die and Xiao Qing to eat with Miss."
Gui Liu ran to get the others. In a short while, there were six more people at the table. The accountant went home and the two handymen could not sit at the table. Yu Shu asked them to sit down. Seeing that there are still some empty seats, she said to Gui Liu, "Go and get the chefs to come. Tell them to stop cooking. This table is enough for us."
Gui Liu ran another errand and got three kitchen maids to return. Now the table was full.
On Yu Shu's left sat Lin Fu, and on her right sat the cook, Xiuqing. She picked up the wine pot and filled their cups first. Lin Fu hurriedly picked up his cup, but Xiuqing's expression was indifferent. She thanked Yu Shu in a neither humble nor humble manner.
"Come, pour the wine. Let's drink a cup to celebrate today's gathering." Yu Shu stood up and raised her cup.
Everyone gave him face and they all stood up to raise their cups and clinked glasses with each other. Gui Liu 'er giggled and said, "Thanks to Miss Lotus Room, I haven't had the chance to drink with so many people."
"Hehe, sit," Yu Shu put down her cup. Seeing that no one moved their chopsticks, everyone looked at her and waited for her to give orders. She was instantly happy. She realized that she was a leader now. This feeling was not bad.
"Don't just stand there. Start eating. The chefs are on the table. If you eat less, you will offend them. Haha."
Yu Shu made a joke. There was laughter at the table and the atmosphere became more relaxed.
As they ate, Yu Shu would raise her cup from time to time to get them to drink. After three rounds, someone showed signs of being drunk. She would test them and observe everyone's reactions.
First of all, Lin Fu was a tactful person who knew how to read the situation. The cook, Xiu Qing, didn't talk much. Gong Wen was as gentle as his name suggested. His wife, Madam Bai, was shy. Gui Six was quick with his words, while Gui Seven was simple and honest. The other two chefs seemed to follow the cook, Xiu Qing's lead.
In general, this group of people was quite interesting. They could be called elites of all walks of life. She did not know how Xue Rui managed to gather them.
A single meal wasn't enough for Yu Shu to figure out their background and win over their hearts, but at least he had left a good impression on them and gained a temporary victory.
After the meal, Yu Shu returned to her resting room. She tidied up the account books and locked them in the cabinet under the bookshelf. She took the key and went downstairs to say goodbye to Lin Fu. Then she left through the back door with a bunch of keys.
Xue Rui not only gave her the account books this morning, but also gave her the keys to all the rooms in Wangji Building, including the small treasury in the backyard, to show his trust.
Yu Shu knew that Xue Rui was not stupid. He trusted her because he knew where her nest was. He would not abscond with the money. After all, the monk could run away, but the temple could not run away.
On the fourth day of the New Year, there were still not many people on the street. But everywhere was decorated with lanterns and colored banners. Everyone wore new clothes and was full of joy. It was at least more festive than the New Year 500 years later.
Yu Shu drank two bowls of tortoise soup for lunch. At this moment, her body was full of warmth. She strolled around the nearby streets twice and found an open shop. She wanted to buy a turtle shell and burn it at night. She wanted to find out which direction Jing Chen went and try her luck there tomorrow.
After choosing a turtle shell, Yu Shu painfully took out a large banknote and secretly gritted her teeth. She regretted that she did not ask the old man Qing Zheng to teach her a way to find people, especially to deal with people like Jing Chen who ran around with long legs. It was in the afternoon when she returned home.
He Fangzhi went out with Yu Xiaoxiu and was not there. Zhao Hui and the maidservants were warming the fire and playing with needlework. Shen Ma was also there. Yu Shu had not told her that she was going to help Xue Rui open the restaurant. Firstly, she did not know how to explain Xue Rui's identity. Secondly, she still wanted to enter Taishi Shu Garden.
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