The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 973 - 952 Hosting Guests (Extra update for reader "Al Pacino"’s tip)

Chapter 973: Chapter 952 Hosting Guests (Extra update for reader "Al Pacino"’s tip)

Feng Zongping had a drink and then looked around before turning to Bai Shan and asking, "Where is Young Lady Zhou?"

"In the back kitchen."

Feng Zongping smiled and nodded, then asked, "Is this restaurant a joint venture between the three of you, or did she start it on her own?"

"She opened it on her own," Bai Shan answered. "Why do you ask?"

"No particular reason," Feng Zongping replied. "I just think it’s impressive. It’s quite rare for an outsider who has just entered the capital to be able to start a business here."

Moreover, the atmosphere downstairs was harmonious, with not a single person coming in to cause trouble.

His grandfather was now the Minister of Justice, and had earlier been the Vice Minister of Justice. Feng Zongping had grown up in the capital and had heard plenty of cases from his grandfather—big and small, especially in the capital, where the most common were fights and brawls.

Feng Zongping curiously sized up Bai Shan. It was said that the Bai Family didn’t have much of a backing, except for Bai Qi who had achieved some military merit. And there was even less to say about Zhou Man...

Speaking of Zhou Man, it occurred to Feng Zongping that he had yet to ask about her family background.

Could it be that her family was the one with the distinguished background?

Just as Feng Zongping was about to inquire further, Manbao had finished helping in the kitchen, washed her face, cleaned her hands, and ran upstairs to greet Shopkeeper Zheng.

Shopkeeper Zheng greeted her with a smile, "The food at your place is quite good, very appetizing. I believe your business will definitely do well in the future."

Manbao bowed with a cheerful smile, "Thank you for your kind words, Shopkeeper. Are you enjoying your meal?"

"Very much," Shopkeeper Zheng replied. "It’s been a long time since I’ve had Sichuan cuisine with such a rich flavor, especially today when I also met a personage such as Mr. Zhuang..."

Shopkeeper Zheng started exchanging praises with Mr. Zhuang in a bit of a mutual admiration society, and Manbao listened on the side. Once they were done, she took the opportunity to serve everyone a round, and of course, she didn’t drink alcohol, but she could toast everyone with tea in place of wine.

As she moved from Shopkeeper Zheng’s table to the table of Imperial Academy scholars, none of Bai Erlang’s classmates recognized Manbao, and neither did Peng Zhiru nor Lu Xiaofu. But Feng Zongping did, and he greeted Manbao with particular enthusiasm.

Then he asked, "Who was the friend you said you thought looked a lot like me last time?"

Manbao hadn’t expected him to still remember that matter and asked, "Why do you have to know who he is?"

"If I don’t get it clear, I won’t be able to sleep," Feng Zongping said. "From what you said, it seems I also know him? But I don’t seem to have any recollection."

After thinking for a moment, Manbao responded, "You do know him indeed."

With a radiant smile, Manbao teased, "Do you know Tang He?"

Feng Zongping: ...

Yun Xinjue and Yi Ziyang: ...

Seeing their expressions, Manbao became even more amused and asked, "You recognize him, right?"

Feng Zongping felt a tightness in his throat and coughed lightly as he asked, "How do you know Senior Brother Tang?"

"We used to study together in Yizhou City, what do you think?"

Feng Zongping turned to ask Yun Xinjue, "Senior Brother Tang was posted out to Yizhou, right?"

Yun Xinjue: "It seems so."

Feng Zongping then sighed deeply, "No wonder."

No wonder she could turn around and scheme against her. She must have been tricked by Senior Brother Tang quite a bit before. And...

Feng Zongping glanced at Zhou’s Restaurant, which was doing well and peacefully, and asked with a smile, "Are you two close?"

Manbao said, "Just average, just average."

Feng Zongping didn’t believe that for a second. When he got home, he sent someone to find out why no one had harassed the newly opened Zhou’s Restaurant that day.

It didn’t take long for the servant to come back and report, "I asked the local ruffians on that street. They said that a steward from the Yang Family has spread the word that Zhou’s Restaurant is under their protection, which is why no one dared to cause trouble."

"The Yang Family? Wasn’t it the Tang Family?"

"Which Tang Family do you mean, young master? I didn’t hear anything about any Tang Family."

Feng Zongping then asked, "Which Yang Family?"

"The one from Wutong Lane."

Feng Zongping was surprised and fell silent for a moment before he remembered. Hadn’t Scholarly Senior Brother Yang from the Yang Family gone to Mianzhou?

Feng Zongping tapped his forehead, "They sure know a lot of people."

"Young master, did Zhou’s Restaurant offend you? Should we let the patrolling constables know?"

Feng Zongping waved his hand, "Don’t talk nonsense; that restaurant is owned by a friend of mine. I was just curious. If there’s no issue, then it’s fine."

The servant understood immediately, breaking into a smile and saying, "I get it, I’ll spread the word that our family is also looking out for their shop, and that these hooligans are not to bother them."

Feng Zongping: ...No, you misunderstood, that’s not what I meant.

But seeing the smile on the servant’s face, Feng Zongping found he couldn’t say the words of refusal. After all, he couldn’t just admit that he wasn’t very close to this friend, could he?

He waved his hand, dismissing the servant.

So the servant went to pass along the word.

Consequently, Zhou’s Restaurant quickly got on the right track. Every day, their main concerns were purchasing vegetables and meat, cooking, and attracting customers.

Beyond that, they didn’t encounter any of the problems that newly opened shops usually face.

After being busy for three or four days straight, the influx of customers began to diminish somewhat, and Zhou Wulang and his colleagues finally found time to calculate the total accounts for those four days.

Previously, they had been too exhausted, waking up early and sleeping late, falling asleep as soon as they hit the bed, hardly finding a moment to tally their expenses and profits.

According to the ledger, the days they earned the most were the opening days when the guests they had invited gave congratulations money, and many strangers came in to dine.

The second day was even busier, but Zhou Wulang felt these were not ordinary customers—most were likely their rivals from nearby, coming to snoop around. Nevertheless, he had made a tidy sum from them.

With the doors wide open, passersby could see the crowd inside the main hall, which clearly indicated the quality of the food, so it drew in quite a few customers.

Zhou Lijun finished the calculations and checked the cash against the books, nodding in satisfaction, "We have indeed made a profit if we don’t count the cost of the property."

Zhou Wulang said, "Then add in the labor cost."

Zhou Lijun deducted the current labor costs and still nodded, "We have made a decent profit, about sixty percent."

"If we include the rent, then it’s not much. As people will certainly lessen over time, it’s now all about how many return customers we can get," Zhou Wulang complained while massaging his back, "It’s exhausting to have good business too, there are difficulties with being successful."

Zhou Lijun closed the ledger and asked, "Auntie said she’s recently been looking for a way to brew grape wine, should we consider brewing grape wine once she finds out how?"

"We’ll see when she finds out."

Zhou Lijun had a lot of confidence in his aunt. "Auntie had Bai Shan go to the Imperial Academy to look for books, and she also found time to search in bookshops. I think she’s really obsessed with it."

Zhou Wulang was exasperated, "You all say that she hasn’t even tasted grape wine before, so why does she want to brew it so badly?"

Zhou Lijun replied, "Auntie said that she saw a line of poetry in a book that described grape wine beautifully. What was it? ’Grapes in fine wine under the luminescent cup, urged to drink with the pipa plucking up. Drunk, lying on the battlefield, Lord, do not laugh, for from since the olden times, how many have ever come back?’"