Gu Jinli looked at Qin San Lang’s smile, moved a few steps forward, and got closer to Qin San Lang, scaring him into taking two steps back and creating so distance.
Gu Jinli narrowed her eyes and asked, "Am I a shrew? Am I that ugly?"
Qin San Lang shook his head: "No, Xiao Yu is a good-looking young girl."
Gu Jinli: "Then why are you avoiding ? Co over here."
With that said, she reached out and grabbed his lapel, pulling him closer to herself.
Qin San Lang didn’t dare to openly resist, he could only put his hands behind him and secretly hold onto the doorknob, then he reminded her softly, "Xiao Yu, after the new year, you’ll be a year older..."
So rules had to be followed.
"So what?" Gu Jinli rolled her eyes at him and looked at his lapel.
Qin San Lang felt like he wanted to die... Why was Xiao Yu becoming more and more fierce?
"Why are you wearing only two layers of clothes? Are you trying to freeze to death?" Gu Jinli expressed her concern; she didn’t have any intention to peek at Brother Qin’s physique; she just saw that Brother Qin was wearing too little and wanted him to wear more, lest he catch a cold.
Qin San Lang breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this; she wasn’t trying to strip him, she just noticed he was underdressed.
He laughed and said, "It’s not very cold right now, these clothes are enough, but when it snows, I’ll put on a padded jacket."
It’s much colder in the Northwest; by November, there would be heavy snowfall, and his father was hardy, dragging them brothers to live in the snow for a few days each winter to build their cold resistance; he was used to it and no longer afraid of the cold.
"My father says we shouldn’t wear too many layers in winter, otherwise when we go to battle in winter, we might not be able to hold our weapons due to the cold and get killed by the enemy."
After listening, Gu Jinli nodded and agreed, "Your father is right."
She didn’t ask Qin San Lang to put on more clothes, but instead gave him two bottles of pills: "Take these, they are a new Convenient dicine I made for treating common colds, coughs, and fevers... This is a trial product, but the effect is quite good, you take it first."
"Trial product?" Qin San Lang was puzzled: "What does that an?"
He felt like he was going to be bamboozled.
Gu Jinli smiled sweetly: "It’s just a trial product, it’s too much trouble to explain, just rember, I would never harm you."
She had an expression that said, "Young man, you must trust ," which made Qin San Lang even more nervous.
"It’s not poisonous, is it?"
"Of course not, I wouldn’t let you take it if it was poisonous, silly."
In the end, Qin San Lang chose to trust Gu Jinli.
And with the arrival of Xu Dexian and Steward Zheng, the town beca lively once again.
"Oh my God, what kind of fortune do those families who fled the famine have? When they opened their shop, County Magistrate Xu sent them a signboard, and just as County Magistrate Xu was about to leave, the newly arrived County Magistrate Zheng sent a congratulatory gift to their tavern!"
"Yeah, who knows what kind of luck this is, both of the County Magistrates have taken such good care of their few families. I bet their ancestral graves aren’t just emitting green smoke; they must be on fire!"
Passing by, Aunt Cai from the town overheard this and retorted, "What’s it to you whether their ancestral graves emit green smoke or catch fire? The Gu Family People are blessed with good fortune, and now they can’t make acquaintances with nobles? Stop gossiping here and hurry up with your basins to Yanfu Building. It’s their grand opening today, and they’re giving away those osmanthus crystal cakes. My goodness, you haven’t seen those crystal cakes, such a beauty! I’ve lived half my life and never seen anything so pretty before, they’re absolutely stunning."
Everyone perked up with interest, "Old Cai’s wife, are those cakes really that pretty?"
Aunt Cai replied, "Of course, not only are they nice to look at, but they also taste delicious. Each person can only take one piece, so hurry up. If you go late, there won’t be any left."
Nobody wants to pass up free stuff. Upon hearing this, they all sward to Yanfu Building, and everyone was astonished upon seeing the osmanthus crystal cake.
"Indeed, it looks so fancy, all shiny with flowers inside."
"Hey, everybody sniff this, what’s that sll? Why is it so fragrant?"
As this was said, everyone started to sniff, and sure enough, a delectable aroma wafted out from Yanfu Building.
The waiter Xiao’er saw the crowd and quickly brought out two baskets filled with small plates of various dishes from the restaurant, "Co and try, uncles, aunts, these are our restaurant’s signature dishes, you won’t find them anywhere else. It’s a big holiday for Dongzhi, so buy so to take ho and eat with your family. It’s a discount, a discount! All dishes start at 20% off. Ba Fu cos to your doorstep today. If you don’t buy now, you’ll be missing out on the blessings!"
The Great Chu people have no resistance to such auspicious phrases, and after tasting the dishes from the plates, they found them novel and delicious. Considering it was Dongzhi, it indeed made sense to add a dish, and imdiately soone said, "Xiao’er, what’s this called? Give one to take ho."
Xiao’er with the surna Lu replied, "This uncle has good taste! This is our restaurant’s signature dish, the squirrel fish. It’s both delicious and auspicious, and during New Year’s and festivals, the nobles in the Prefecture love to eat this dish."
Soone then asked, "Didn’t you say these are your restaurant’s signature dishes and can’t be found elsewhere? How co people in the Prefecture all love to eat them?"
Xiao’er: "..."
That’s not the point, just hurry up and buy the food.
Yanfu Building’s dishes were indeed fresh and tasty, and there were also free trial pieces of crystal cake. Plus, with the stewards of the last two County Magistrates and the son of County Magistrate Xu inside, families from the town, neighboring Shang Family Village, and the nearby well-off households all flocked to buy dishes.
Gu Daya and the others were so busy they barely had ti to drink water.
Fortunately, Gu Jinli knew how busy it would be at the grand opening and had called over Qiu Lang and Feng Jin for help, with Nanny Tao in charge. Despite the business, chaos was averted.
When Du Family People ca by, they were greeted by the bustling scene of everyone eagerly buying dishes.
The Du Family People were a bit startled and didn’t dare enter, standing with their congratulatory gifts for a while, just about to turn around and head for Xuanhu Fang to find Doctor Du when he saw them and hurriedly ca down from Yanfu Building.
"Qianzi, I’m right here, don’t go!" Doctor Du called out quickly.
Hearing this, Du Qian and the others stopped in their tracks, looking at Doctor Du as if he were a lifesaver, "Fourth Brother, it’s great to see you; we were just panicking."
Doctor Du smiled, "What’s there to panic about? I told you, the Gu Family People are easy to get along with. As long as you don’t do anything bad to the Gu Family, they won’t treat you badly."
Du Qian and Doctor Du were from the sa clan, and back in their hotown, their family had had a rather comfortable life. But ever since they fled the famine, they lost everything. After suffering for so long, enduring hunger and living al-to-al, any arrogance they had was ground away. Seeing so many people in Yanfu Building competing to buy dishes, they understood that the Gu Family had prospered and felt it inappropriate to impose on their fellow townsn uninvited.
"Fourth Brother, have you ntioned us to the Gu Family People? If not, us barging in like this might offend soone."
Doctor Du said, "I’ve told them, I’ve told them, I’ve spoken with Third Brother Gu. Just go in with confidence."
He added, "The real decision-maker in the Gu Family is Gu Family’s daughter, the one who got hit on the head by the Niu Family brothers during the famine. She has always been fierce, so you need to be careful how you speak. Don’t offend her, or the matter will fail."
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