Border Soldiers: My granaries are full of grain and meat, and I guard this region.

While the two were talking, Ye Ling Shuang returned from outside, carrying two strings of dried cured meat.

Ye Ling Shuang was taken aback when she saw Qi Feng return, but then her face lit up with joy.

"My husband's back? I've taken over that shop in the north of the city. If you're free tomorrow, let's go take a look together!"

Qi Feng nodded.

Ye Ling Shuang hung two strings of cured meat under the eaves, washed her hands, and sat down. The three of them sat together and chatted casually.

Qi Feng noticed that Ye Ling Shuang looked tired after not seeing her for two days, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"You Rong, Ling Shuang, you've worked hard these past two days. Tonight, I'll give you both a good rest."

Upon hearing Qi Feng's words, Yu Yourong and Ye Ling Shuang blushed instantly. Both of them knew what Qi Feng meant, and their hearts began to race.

Seeing their shy expressions, Qi Feng couldn't help but laugh.

The next morning, Qi Feng woke up in the arms of Yu Yourong and Ye Lingshuang.

After a night of hard work, Qi Feng had recovered a lot of energy.

After breakfast, Qi Feng followed Ye Ling Shuang to the north of the city.

The shop was indeed as good as she had described.

The shop has a storefront in front, separated by a small courtyard in the middle, and three tiled houses in the back. There is also a shed against the wall, which can be used to store some sundries.

The shop owner's surname was Wu. He was in his sixties, with gray hair, and was quite shrewd.

Qi Feng walked around the house twice and thought it was pretty good. He immediately negotiated a rent of four taels of silver per year with Old Man Wu and signed a three-year contract.

Ye Ling Shuang squatted down in the yard and pressed the soil on the ground with her hand.

"This place is perfect for digging cellars to store wine."

Qi Feng walked over and touched the soil.

"The soil is indeed good and can be dug, but you need to find someone to do it. It has to be solid and not leaky, otherwise all the wine in the cellar will be ruined."

Ye Ling Shuang nodded.

"When the Yejiazhai project started, I knew an uncle in Fuxing County who specialized in laying foundations. I'll go back and ask him about it."

Qi Feng nodded. "Just pay them the market price. Don't mistreat them."

Ye Ling Shuang responded, and the two of them left the shop and walked back.

"My lord, I'm wondering if, once the shop is up and running, we'll need to find someone to specifically manage the brewing process?"

Qi Feng shook his head.

"Let's not rush this. Let's wait until the wine cellar is dug and the equipment is installed. I'll go with you to oversee it. Once the wine cellar is running smoothly, we'll find someone to take charge. It's best to find someone we trust to do this. I don't trust anyone else."

As the two talked, they returned to the Ye Family Restaurant, where Ye Zhiwan was working on an abacus at the counter.

"Brother-in-law, someone came today asking if our Qi wine can be delivered to Linzhao City."

Qi Feng frowned upon hearing this.

"Who is it?"

"It was a cloth merchant who said he had two shops in Linzhao City and wanted to buy a batch of Qi wine to sell."

Qi Feng thought for a moment and asked:

"How did you reply?"

Ye Zhiwan spoke up:

"I told them that production was tight and we weren't accepting delivery orders for the time being, without mentioning our collaboration with the Chung family."

Ye Zhiwan moved the abacus beads back to their original positions.

"But I said that once the business grows, there will be a dedicated store in Linzhao City."

Qi Feng nodded.

"That's right. The Zhong family's shop hasn't opened yet, so we can't break the rules beforehand to avoid upsetting the Zhong family. Besides, our current production capacity isn't enough."

After dinner, the four of them sat in the backyard, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

Ye Ling Shuang was wiping her longsword. After recovering, she picked up her martial arts practice again, which she hadn't done in a long time. Although the Ye Family Restaurant was very busy, Ye Ling Shuang would still practice for a while every night.

By candlelight, Yu Yourong was sewing shoe soles. Spring was just around the corner, and Yu Yourong planned to make a pair of shoes for Qi Feng to wear in the spring.

Ye Zhiwan was lying on the small table, keeping track of the accounts and checking today's accounts. This was something she had to do every day. She couldn't just become a hands-off manager just because the Ye Family Restaurant had hired a few accountants.

Qi Feng leaned back in his chair and pieced together the events of the past two days. Huang Dingyuan had sent someone to deliver a message, and there were also people in Fuxing County keeping an eye on Qi Wine's recipe. These two things seemed unrelated, but Qi Feng felt that there must be some connection between them.

The only thing missing right now is a clue to connect these two events.

Although Huang Dingyuan was dealing with the Zhong family in the Ma Shuo matter, the key figure in the Qi Jiu matter was Qi Feng. Even with the Zhong family as his backer, it was inevitable that others would have designs on him, and Huang Dingyuan was very likely one of them.

Qi Feng closed his eyes for a while, and when he opened them, he found Yu Yourong looking at him.

Yu Yourong's gaze was calm, and she didn't ask anything. She only lowered her head to continue sewing the shoe soles after seeing Qi Feng open his eyes.

Qi Feng felt a sense of relief, shook his head, and stopped thinking about those things.

......

The next four or five days passed peacefully, with nothing particularly unusual happening.

Construction has begun on the rented shop in the north of the city. The old craftsman Ye Ling Shuang mentioned brought several helpers to dig the cellar. Qi Feng goes to check on it every day, and sometimes Ye Ling Shuang goes with him.

The two stood in the courtyard watching the craftsmen ram the earth. Qi Feng specifically reminded them to ram it firmly so that it wouldn't leak.

Ye Family Restaurant's business is as usual, and the sales of Qi Wine are getting better day by day. Its reputation has spread to several counties around Fuxing County.

Ye Zhiwan happily took care of the accounting and inventory every day, and the employees gradually got the hang of it and no longer needed to keep an eye on things all the time.

Just as things were going smoothly, Qi Feng had just returned from his shop in the north of the city when Wang Chong hurriedly came to find him.

"Brother Qi, I saw those two people you mentioned last time this afternoon. They were on the street behind Zhouji Grain Store. I didn't get close; I watched them for a while before leaving."

Qi Feng frowned slightly. Ever since Yu Yourong told him that two people had come to inquire about the recipe for Qi Wine, he had specifically sought out Wang Chong and told him to be careful. He also gave Wang Chong a description of the two people's appearances.

Unexpectedly, Wang Chong actually found out the answer by asking around.

"Are they still in Fuxing County?"

Qi Feng frowned and asked.

Wang Chong nodded: "They've been there all along. I followed them for two days. They wandered around the streets during the day and stayed at a small inn near the South Gate at night. But there was something very strange about it. They stayed for seven or eight days and never bought any food or went into any restaurants. They just stayed in the inn and wandered around the streets."

Qi Feng's heart skipped a beat when he heard this. The two outsiders had stayed in Fuxing County for seven or eight days, doing nothing and not buying anything. They just wandered around the streets every day. This didn't seem like the behavior of someone inquiring about Qi Wine's recipe. It seemed more like they were waiting for someone.

Which inn are they staying at?

"The Ping An Inn near the South Gate."

Qi Feng nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

After Wang Chong left, Qi Feng stood there for a while and thought about it. The street at the South Gate was three streets away from Ye Family Restaurant. It wasn't too far, but it wasn't close either.

If those two people wander the streets every day, they'll eventually figure out the Ye Family Restaurant's schedule and night watch routine.