Becoming the Villain's Discarded Wife
Chapter 278

Chapter 278: Chapter 278

For a moment, the young maid was taken aback by her words, merely observing her mistress’s actions with a surprised look.

She never expected that her mistress, who used to obey her master without question, would eventually utter such words.

"Your contract of indenture sits in my hands. If you choose not to leave, don’t blame me when you end up dead," threatened the beauty, her stunning eyes staring defiantly. Swinging her package over her shoulder, she prepared to leave.

Upon hearing the words’ contract of indenture,’ the young maid snapped out of her daze and scrambled to gather her belongings.

"Mistress, wait for me!" she pleaded.

Meanwhile, Peng Xin was oblivious to the proceedings in the courtyard, as he was busy discussing countermeasures with Lady He.

After informing her about the ins and outs of the matter, Lady He’s gaze turned somewhat disdainful.

For the sake of eight hundred taels of silver, the consequences of being caught had been underestimated. Lady He, however, chided herself for overestimating her cousin.

Although the dispute had escalated considerably, there was still a chance to rectify the situation. After all, the worst that could happen was that the restaurant’s reputation would be damaged.

The patient could be compensated with some silver, settling the matter outright.

Her visit was merely to extricate her cousin from this situation.

What happened to the Zuitingxuan was none of her concern, as long as the instigator was unrelated to her.

All she needed to do was protect her position as Lady He.

...

Nanzhi strolled through Sanweiju before heading up to the second floor with Shen Miaomiao.

The decorative elements of the second floor were tastefully arranged as well. A small rearrangement would suffice to spruce up the place.

Half a month’s worth of dust had however, settled on the floor.

"Sister Nanzhi, can we open this second floor next month?" Shen Miaomiao inquired, her heart laden with anxiety.

They were already finding it challenging to manage the main hall. If they were to open the second floor, she couldn’t imagine the workload.

"It is doable. The second floor will exclusively host private rooms for banquets, which are usually frequented by individuals who prefer privacy. Other than serving up orders, two more servers would be enough," reasoned Nanzhi, scanning the private rooms on the second floor. In total, there were seven rooms divided between the right and left, with the largest room facing the main entrance. Towards the back near the courtyard, there used to be a large room which Nanzhi had disassembled.

If their menu were confined to stir-fried dishes, there wouldn’t be an issue. However, they now had a stove in the backyard for making roast skewers and mutton.

She was concerned that the kitchen smoke would waft into the rooms, even with chimney ventilation. Furthermore, she was worried that ill-intentioned individuals could exploit the convenient location for nefarious purposes.

Oftentimes, the act of stealing trade secrets was the lesser of two evils. A slip-up in their management of the well in their courtyard could spell disaster for the entire restaurant.

Although some alterations had been made, things seemed to be in a satisfactory state upon closer inspection.

"We still need to hire two more boys though." she commented.

"I’ll head over to Yahang later. We need to buy seven more bells," said Nanzhi, after contemplating her surroundings in the private rooms.

Shen Miaomiao was a bit puzzled. Were the bells supposed to be ornamental for the restaurant?

Driven by curiosity, she asked, "Sister Nanzhi, why do we need to buy bells?"

"The customers in the private rooms would not appreciate servers hovering around while they’re dining and chatting. If we install a tiny bell inside each room, the customers could just pull the silk thread attached to the bell to ring it, whenever they need service. The servers stationed outside could then go in to ask what the customers need," explained Nanzhi.

Shen Miaomiao’s eyes lit up, her gaze filled with admiration for Nanzhi.

"Sister Nanzhi, how did you come up with this idea?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. Nanzhi smiled warmly in response but did not elaborate further.

Of course, she learned this when she was working part-time at a fast-food restaurant.

"All right, let’s head down. I need to check up on Little Zhiyu," decided Nanzhi.

Shen Miaomiao, no longer probing, began to consider the purchase of the bells.

The bells couldn’t be too big, because the noise would disrupt neighboring rooms. They couldn’t be too small either, or the servers might not hear them. The chimes shouldn’t be too dull or too bright.

As Nanzhi came down the stairs, she saw Shen Zhiyu happily gobbling up a stick of Toffee Caramel. Upon seeing her, Zhiyu broke into a grin and came skipping to her.

"Mom, have some Toffee Caramel." The little one offered the Toffee Caramel in his hand to Nanzhi, his tiny mouth smeared with sticky sugar.

"Zhiyu, you eat it yourself." Nanzhi smiled as she picked up the little one. In a soft voice, she asked, "Who bought Zhiyu’s Toffee Caramel?"

"The, the old grandpa bought it." Zhiyu pointed at the beaming Uncle Ping. Seeing him smile at her made her blush shyly.

He had not thrown a tantrum for the Toffee Caramel, but the old man had said that he was well-behaved and went to the market to buy it for him.

"Have you said thank you?" Nanzhi asked gently, without reproaching him.

"Zhiyu said thank you." The little guy grinned, looking rather smug.

"Owner." Uncle Ping directed a nostalgic gaze at Little Zhiyu in Nanzhi’s arms. He thought the child was good-looking and well-behaved.

"Uncle Ping, thank you for the Toffee Caramel."

"Oh, it’s nothing, it’s nothing. I just saw how well-behaved the young master was and couldn’t resist rewarding him," Uncle Ping replied, an expression of melancholy in his eyes.

Again, he was reminded of his deceased wife and their unborn child.

After he had brooded for a while, Uncle Ping found something peculiar. The owner looked to be only sixteen or seventeen, and she didn’t have the hair styled in a mature woman’s style. Why was this child calling her "mom"?

Although he was curious, Uncle Ping didn’t ask, for it wasn’t a slave’s place to question their owner.

"Uncle Ping, have you noticed anything unusual lately?" Nanzhi seemed to recall something and raised her head to look at Uncle Ping.

Their home-grown aniseed was bound to attract attention, considering its affordable pricing.

"Err..." Uncle Ping furrowed his brows in thought for a while before shaking his head and replying, "I haven’t noticed any odd individuals or incidents lately. Everything seems to be pretty normal."

While he was speaking, Liao Da hesitated for a moment before deciding to speak up.

"Owner, there’s something that felt strange to me."

Nanzhi looked at him with surprise, signaling him to continue.

Liao Da swallowed his saliva before speaking, "Owner, a few days ago, I saw people from Zuitingxuan."

Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao shared a look, both reflecting a sense of uncertainty in their eyes.

"I used to work at Zuitingxuan and know some of the people there. The person I saw a few days ago seemed to be Peng, who is in charge of procurement at Zuitingxuan."

As Liao Da spoke, he observed the reaction of Nanzhi and Shen Miaomiao. Unaware whether the information he had just shared would be useful, he noted that Uncle Ping, not being from Yan City, might not recognize the individual. Liao Da, however, was extremely familiar with the person.

"Did he do anything unusual?"

"Not really. He ordered several dishes and some skewers after he came in. However, when he was halfway through his meal, another man, whom he seemed to not know, approached his table. After exchanging a few words, the two men left."

A wave of unease washed over Nanzhi.

"Maybe I’m just being overly suspicious," said Liao Da, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Do you remember what dishes he ordered?" The seriousness suddenly seeping into Nanzhi’s face caught him off guard.

"He ordered a stir-fried mixed mutton dish, a pot roast mutton, and then some other skewers."

"Okay." Nanzhi nodded, refraining to inquire further.

However, Shen Miaomiao was wearing a worried expression as she looked at her.