The abstinent and powerful minister is cold and aloof during the day, but he adores her in his dream

Chapter 55 I Don't Want to Make Trouble

Speaking of the shop, Zhiwan smiled and said, "I hadn't thought of it before, but after eating the pastries my cousin gave me, I had an idea. I want to open a pastry shop."

Mrs. Wei strongly agreed, "Making food is good. Generally, food shops are quite profitable, but what kind of snacks do you want to sell?"

Zhi Wan said, “I see that there are very few shops in the capital that sell Yangzhou pastries, so I want to ask someone to go to Yangzhou to invite a chef who knows how to make Yangzhou pastries to come here and make Yangzhou pastries to sell.”

Madam Wei was taken aback. "Yangzhou pastries?"

"Hmm." Zhiwan nodded, saying with a touch of nostalgia, "Yangzhou has many delicious snacks, such as San Ding Baozi, Qianceng Yougao, Guantangbao, Yangzhou Fried Rice, and Salted Goose. They are all very characteristic snacks of Yangzhou. However, my shop is not big, so I only make a few kinds of snacks."

When Wei saw that she spoke eloquently about Yangzhou pastries and had a look of nostalgia on her face, she couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

This girl was born and raised in Yangzhou, so she must miss Yangzhou very much.

But since arriving in the capital, the girl has rarely mentioned Yangzhou and has never gone back.

Although she didn't say it, she must have missed her parents and Yangzhou very much.

Thinking of this, Madam Wei held Zhiwan's hand and said, "Wan'er, you've come of age. In another month, it will be the anniversary of your parents' death. Would you like to go back and pay your respects to them?"

Zhiwan froze, her hand gripping the handkerchief tightening unconsciously. She shook her head and said, "Aunt, I don't want to go back."

Madam Wei frowned. "Why?"

"The journey is too far, I don't want to go through the trouble." Zhiwan lowered her eyes.

She had actually wanted to go back to pay respects to her parents for a long time, but in the past few years, she was still young and didn't want to trouble her aunt, so she never mentioned it.

Although she has now come of age and is an adult, going back home is not an easy matter.

She knew that if she wanted to go back, her aunt would arrange everything for her, but that would be too much trouble for her aunt.

So she planned to wait until she had found a husband to marry into her family before returning to Yangzhou.

Perhaps, in that case, she will settle down in Yangzhou.

After all, her parents' graves are in Yangzhou, and living in Yangzhou makes it convenient for her to pay respects and sweep their graves every year.

After thinking it over, Zhiwan raised her head and said, "Aunt, let's talk about this later."

Wei opened her mouth, wanting to persuade her, but swallowed the words back.

This girl must be afraid of troubling her, that's why she said she didn't want to go back.

Never mind, I'll talk to her about it when she's made the arrangements.

“Alright, let’s put this matter aside for now,” said Madam Wei, then brought up the shop again. “Whatever you want to do, your aunt will support you. Opening a shop will require a lot of money. The other day you asked Granny Fang to return the silver notes to me. I was planning to give them to you tomorrow, but since you have them with me, I’ll give them to you now so I don’t have to make a trip tomorrow.”

Upon hearing this, Zhiwan quickly stopped her, "Thank you, Aunt, but I already have enough money to open the shop. Please don't give me any more."

"What can you do with that little bit of money? Listen to me, don't be polite with your aunt." Madam Wei patted her hand, her face serious.

“Aunt, I really have enough money. Besides, I want to open this shop on my own.” Zhiwan said earnestly.

Madam Wei frowned. "Wouldn't it be better for your aunt to help you?"

She had actually prepared several shops for Wan'er, intending to give them to her as part of her dowry when she got married. She never expected that Wan'er would come up with the idea of ​​opening shops on her own.

“My aunt has already helped me a lot, but this time, I really have enough money. Let me try it myself first. If I run out of money, I will borrow from my aunt,” Zhiwan said.

"What do you mean by 'borrow'? That's too formal," Madam Wei scolded.

"I understand. I won't say I'll borrow it; I'll ask my aunt for it," Zhiwan said with a smile.

“That’s more like it.” Madam Wei’s expression softened slightly. “But don’t rush to send someone to Yangzhou to find a pastry chef. Go to the pastry brokerage first. Maybe they have someone there who is good at making Yangzhou pastries. If they do, just buy them. That’s more reliable than hiring a chef directly. You have their indenture in your hands, so you don’t have to worry about them having any ulterior motives.”

Zhiwan's eyes lit up; she hadn't thought of that at all. Her aunt was much more thoughtful.

"Okay," she replied obediently. The two talked for a while longer before Zhiwan left the Orchid Courtyard.

Having received Wei's suggestion, she decided to go out and visit the brokerage firm.

"Cousin girl."

As soon as they reached the front yard, Chen Jiu appeared.

"Chen Jiu?" Zhi Wan was somewhat surprised and subconsciously looked around. Not seeing Lu Zhan, she couldn't help but feel puzzled.

Chen Jiu was his cousin's personal bodyguard and was always by his side.

Just now at the Orchid Courtyard, my cousin clearly said he was going to the Dali Temple, but Chen Jiu is still at the mansion.

Did my cousin not go to Dali Temple?
"My master has already gone to the Dali Temple. There's nothing urgent there, so he didn't let me follow him," Chen Jiu explained.

Zhiwan suddenly realized, "So that's how it is."

"Is Miss Cousin going out?" Chen Jiu asked.

"Yes." Zhiwan nodded, not hiding anything, "I want to go to the brokerage firm and buy two apprentices who are good at making pastries."

"I'm free anyway, so I'll go with you," Chen Jiu volunteered.

Zhiwan thought that this was her first time buying people from a brokerage firm and she didn't have much experience. If Chen Jiu were with her, things would be more convenient. So she nodded and agreed, "Then I'll have to trouble you."

"You're too kind, Miss." Chen Jiu waved his hand.

“Let’s go,” Zhiwan said.

Chen Jiu personally drove the carriage and took her and Shuang'er to the brokerage firm.

When we arrived at the shop, the staff inside greeted us warmly.

"Miss, what kind of servant do you wish to purchase? Our shop has all kinds of servants."

It was Zhiwan's first time visiting the shop, but because Chen Jiu was following behind her, she wasn't shy. Upon hearing this, she asked, "Do you have any servants here who are skilled at making Yangzhou pastries?"

The young man's eyes lit up. "Miss, you've come at the perfect time. A few days ago, a group of servants from Yangzhou arrived here. There was a couple who used to be cooks for a wealthy family, but something happened to happen to that family, and all their servants were sold off. They just happened to come to our brothel."

Zhiwan was secretly pleased, but she didn't show it on her face. She simply said, "Then I'll trouble you to bring the person out so I can see her."

Soon, the man led out a young couple.

"These are the two of them," the young man introduced, giving the couple a wink.

The couple had clearly suffered a lot; although they had cleaned themselves up when they came out, their faces were thin and sallow, and their lips were chapped.

Zhiwan sized up the two of them.

"Greetings, Miss." The two bowed respectfully.

Zhiwan asked, "Do you know how to make Yangzhou pastries?"

"I can do it," the man hurriedly replied. "I am good at making elaborate dishes, and my wife is good at making all kinds of desserts, especially three-ingredient buns, soup dumplings, and thousand-layer oil cakes. Our former wives and daughters all praised them highly."

When Zhiwan saw that he could name Yangzhou pastries so easily, she was already somewhat convinced that they could make them, but she still had some reservations, so she said, "Could you make some for us to try first?"

The man then looked at the child.

The servant quickly replied, "Miss, you can rest assured. They wouldn't dare lie. They really can do it. If they can't do it, or if they do it in a way that doesn't satisfy you, you can send them back."

Zhiwan thought for a moment and felt that they probably wouldn't dare to lie, so she said, "Alright, but are there any problems with their health?"

(End of this chapter)