Shu-Ning sat in the carriage and looked at Jin-jin for the twenty-seventh time. From the beginning, Jinjin had a strange flush on her face, and she didn't talk much, just sat there quietly, with a smile on her lips.

"Sister Zhenzhen, what's wrong with you? Why is your face so red? Shuning couldn't help but ask.

Zhenzhen was a little flustered: "It's nothing, is your face very red?" Maybe it's too hot. She waved her handkerchief and fanned it twice, "Could it be that it will rain again?" Why is it so hot? ”

Shuning looked at the curtains blown by the breeze speechlessly, and once again affirmed that there was something wrong with Zhenzhen.

Soon, Duan Ning's voice sounded outside the carriage: "It's time to go to the General's Mansion, sister, let's go back directly to the carriage, and don't bother in the mansion anymore." Shuning responded, only to find that Zhenzhen's face was even redder.

Hurriedly saying goodbye to Zhenzhen and Chongli, Shuning got into her carriage and was about to leave, but she heard Chongli ask her sister, "Is my sister very hot?" It's heat stroke, right? I told you not to go out a long time ago. ”

"The second brother will take care of me all day long, and you will follow me every time I go out, saying that I want to protect my safety, but where were you when the carriage rushed over? If it weren't for Brother Duanning's desperate efforts to protect me, I would have been injured. ”

"Haven't I been pushed away? This time it's mine no, and there will never be a next time. ”

Then I heard Jinjin snort and went to the door. Shuning glanced at the two small abrasions on Duanning's hands, looked up at him and smiled: "Oh, why do I think my brother has big peach blossoms on his face?" ”

Duan Ning pinched her sister's nose and said, "You're dazzled." Then he gently pushed her into the carriage, lowered the curtain, and shouted at the coachman to leave. Shuning snickered in the car. I'm the dividing line back home

When I got home, it was already evening. Shuning hurried Chunxing to the kitchen, and went to the main room with Duanning to say goodbye to her mother. Tong frowned slightly: "Why is it so late?" Today, Chef Lin is on leave, and Chunxing is not there. There was almost no one to cook, but luckily Ah Yin came. Offered to help, otherwise what about dinner? ”

Shuning forgot: "It's me who was wrong, I'll definitely come back early next time." Why is Sister Ah Yin here? Tong said: "I came to borrow silver." Her stall has been collected, and I heard that her father is too honest, and others came to ask how to make the noodles. He told people one by one, and as a result, other noodle shops and restaurants learned it. Her family is just a small business, where can she beat others, she can only rely on regular customers to earn some money, a few days ago it was difficult to do business, Ah Yin simply closed the stall. Now she has her eye on a storefront with an excellent location, and she has placed a silver order, but the capital is not enough. And he came to me. ”

Duan Ning thought about it for a while, and then said, "Did she come to borrow money alone, or did she ask us to buy shares?" It doesn't hurt if you borrow money alone. But forget about it. ”

Tong nodded: "I said the same thing, so I promised her three hundred taels of silver." But she was not allowed to buy a shop and open a store under the banner of our family. You, Amma, have just become prefects. There are still several adults pressing on the head, so don't let people grab the handle. ”

Shuning asked: "Don't play the flag." Isn't it okay to buy shares alone? Tong smiled: "You look at it so easily? You're not alone in the city, so it's better to save trouble, Ah Yin just opened a small ground store, how much money can you make? Forget it. ”

Shuning thinks about it, opening a noodle stall will be tricked by someone to go to the secret recipe, and opening a noodle shop is probably just a small fight. Ah Yin has outstanding cooking skills and is also a smart person, but he is really not very good at business management.

The dinner was very rich, Ah Yin's craftsmanship became better and better, and the whole family ate happily. Ah Yin got the silver ticket, although he was a little regretful, he still happily said goodbye and left.

A few days later, the seven sisters will meet, and all the ladies will do their best to make the most exquisite handiwork to compete. Shuning's embroidery screen has a total of four, embroidered with Meilan chrysanthemum bamboo, because of the use of some bead thread, and embedded with various colored beads on the top, it is also ingenious, very well received, Tong Shi in the ladies feel that there is light on the face.

However, in the end, it was Zhenzhen who won the championship. She used extremely fine copper wire and golden glass beads to make a model of a Western clock more than a foot high, exactly like the tribute clock that she showed to Shuning that day, even the vines and precious stones of the upper hut were strung out with colored beads, and the windows could be opened, and there were bird's nests and small birds inside. The whole model is already a rare work of art in itself.

There are a few girls who have heard that Zhenzhen is not good at female popularity, and they have a contempt for it, and they are dumbfounded when they see this golden pearl Western clock. Many people gathered around to watch and marveled. Shuning saw that her friend won the championship, and she was also happy for her, so she took Zhenzhen's hand and said, "It's really good, if you really be a beauty, it's not as good as this." Zhenzhen smiled a little proudly: Of course, I was tired after three days, but now looking at their appearance, I feel that the hard work of these days is worth it." I was the dividing line for the next day

The next day, Shuning took Qin to Zhenzhen's house for lessons, but saw that Zhenzhen and Wen were both sitting in the flower hall, and that Bian Cai was also there, discussing something. Jinjin beckoned Shu-in-yeong over and asked her to sit down and listen together.

It turned out that Bian Cai proposed that Zhenzhen make a Jinzhu Western clock, so that she would win the championship at the Seventh Sister Meeting, and both Wen and Zhenzhen would reward him, but Bian Cai made another suggestion, wanting to borrow the two apprentices of the dim sum master in the house, and ask for a sum of money to open a teahouse in the city, and ask them for permission.

Zhenzhen whispered in Shuning's ear: "His son is the head of the family, in order to show fairness, he has always had to suppress his son, and now that he is in his thirties, he has only mixed into the position of deputy steward, and he must be thinking of finding another way to get ahead." ”

I only heard that Bian Cai persuaded Wen's family: "The slave has no intention of mixing money in the name of the house, but the expenses in the house are not small, and the adults always want to prepare military funds for the emperor, so whatever benefits they receive, they are all kept for the emperor." The slave has no other skills, but he still has some experience in business, and he also opened a restaurant when he was young. It was only to wait in the house that it was resold. Now the minions have touched all the large and small restaurants in the city, and they have long been confident. Ask the second wife to let go and let the slave give it a try. With the heirs of the imperial chef in the palace, are you still afraid that there will be no business? ”

Wen hesitated. It is not uncommon for people like them to do business through slaves, but Guangzhou is a strange place for them, and it is still a question whether they can do it.

Zhenzhen looked at Bian Cai and said, "If you are only given a sum of money, you don't tell people that you are from the General's Mansion." Can you really do business? How much silver can a teahouse make? ”

I and the officials and wives of the matter Bian Cai hurriedly said: "I must be able to, the servants have been watching for a long time, and the local rich and noble families love to go to teahouses and restaurants, drink tea and eat, and discuss business." The slave saw that there were so many rich people in the area of the Thirteen Lines, and it was best to open a shop around there. Besides, if you can eat the snacks in the palace, how can those rich people not come to the land? ”

Zhenzhen sneered: "Are you really planning to fool people with the dim sum in the palace?" Those snacks are good, but they are laborious to make. You have to use countless good materials, you have to really follow the recipe in the palace, and giving you 5,000 taels is not enough to compensate. If you don't do that, you're deceiving. Not to mention those two dim sum apprentices. Kung Fu is not yet home. Even if those guests look fresh for a while. Come and patronize you, and forget about it in a few days. Erniang lost money, but who did she go to complain to? ”

Bian Cai was in a cold sweat when he heard this, and said with a smile: "Even so, dim sum is not feasible, just make a restaurant, there are dozens of restaurants in the city, more than half of them are making money every day, and the servants who open restaurants are also familiar." Zhenzhen frowned again: "Where can I find a good cook?" Is it difficult to use the land at home? Come less, there are the most seafood and aquatic products here, and the cook at home makes the one unpalatable, so that people know, but laugh at our family. ”

Bian Cai didn't dare to speak again, just stood and didn't speak. Wen felt pity when he saw him like this, so he said to Zhenzhen: "Forget it, he is also thinking about his family, so he helped you win a lottery, why do you scold him so ruthlessly?" He turned his head to Bian Cai and said: "What you said also makes sense, I see, it's good to open a teahouse to sell some tea and snacks, but the capital I can give is not much, only 1,000 taels, if you can find someone who knows the local area well, I will allow you to go, but first say okay, you are not allowed to use our signboard to suppress people." ”

Bian Cai was overjoyed and responded immediately. When Shuning heard this, she was a little moved, and thought of what Ah Yin said, so she said to Wen: "Shuning has a lot of words here, a local cook used by our family in the past, with excellent craftsmanship and good at making dim sum. She has now booked a storefront, and I heard that it is in the area of Lychee Bay, but the capital is not enough, and she is not good at operating. The steward might as well ask her, and it would be nice if they could work together. ”

When Zhenzhen heard this, she asked, "Is she doing the same as you usually do?" Shuning nodded: "There are many that I came up with with her, I will do it, she will do almost everything, she will, I don't know how to do it." ”

Zhenzhen stopped talking, and Bian Cai saw that there was a chance of six or seven percent, so he kowtowed and thanked the two masters, and thanked Shuning.

Shuning finished taking piano lessons at Zhenzhen's house, and after returning home, she reported the incident to her mother, and said: "Last time, E-Niang said that Ama was pressing people, and it was not good for our family to come forward to do business, but if the general's mansion is really a partnership with Ah Yin, let's follow one or two shares, not for that money, my daughter thought, it would be good if our two families were closer." There is one thing that E-Niang probably doesn't know......" She whispered in her mother's ear and told her about the carriage collision accident that day, and then secretly smiled: "Today, Zhenzhen secretly asked her daughter about her brother's affairs, and her daughter looked at it, which was a little interesting." ”

Tong Shi was a little moved: "Zhenzhen is a good girl, she looks good and has a good temper." What is rare is that she can be exempted from the election, and half of the marriage can be decided. General Wu Dan has always admired your brother, and the disciple is also worthy of the land, if he can really succeed, it is a rare good family matter. She thought about it, and she was already seven or eight points willing in her heart.

But she still has some concerns: "But if our family comes forward, it is too conspicuous, in case someone makes trouble...... Shu Ning thought for a while and said: "If it is inconvenient for Eniang, it is better to do it in the name of Aunt Liu." First, it is reliable, and secondly, she has no other income except for the eight taels of silver a month on weekdays, and she only uses the public school for food and clothing, saving money to give Xiaobao. If Eniang calls her multiple sources of wealth, it will also make her feel better. ”

Tong Shi was thoughtful, waved her hand to let her daughter out, she had to think about it herself. On the second day, he took a sedan chair to the general's mansion to discuss with Wen for a long time.

Bian Cai and Ah Yin were introduced by Ah Song and Chunxing, and it can be said that they hit it off. Ah Yin and the dim sum apprentice of the General's Mansion are in charge of the back kitchen, while Bian Cai specializes in business, using the shop ordered by Ah Yin. The Wen family contributed 1,500 taels of silver, and the Tong family contributed 500 taels in the name of Xiao Liu's family, plus the 300 taels lent before, which is the second largest shareholder, and Zhenzhen and Shuning also took out some private money to buy shares. Zhenzhen just has a fun mind, but Shuning is going to make some extra money, although she is not short of money, but as a member of the crossing army, she should also make a small fortune. She knows that she is not good at management, and she does not give full play to the management philosophy of modern people, and ignores the operation of the store, just sitting on the dividends.

The younger sisters paid for it, and it was not good to be an elder brother without a single expression. Chongsi took the lead, and Chongli and Duanning both contributed some money, but two or three hundred taels, which means that it is for the two female elders. However, Xiao Liu's was a little overjoyed by the sudden benefits, knowing that Tong's wanted to add some private room for her, and he was very grateful to her in his heart.

For the Tong family, this investment can not only make the family and the Wu Dan family closer, even if the husband leaves the Guangzhou prefect or Wu Dan no longer serves as the general of Guangzhou, the friendship between the two families will not be interrupted, but also can increase the family's income. As for Xiao Liu's private house, she is not worried, the money always has to pass through her own hands before it can flow into Xiao Liu's hands, she will not deduct from it, but Xiao Liu will not have the opportunity to sit big, she is very relieved.

After a series of preparations such as expanding the shop, renovating, recruiting shop staff, purchasing utensils, and researching recipes, the teahouse did not open until around the Chung Yeung Festival in September, just in time for the peak of a wave of merchant ships coming to Guangdong, and business was excellent.

The teahouse, named "Cyclamen", is divided into three floors, with small tables two feet square in the lobby on the first floor, and if there are too many guests, two or four are put together. The second and third floors are private rooms, with excellent sound insulation, which are specially used by guests to talk about life and friends. Guests in the lobby can enjoy Ah Yin's Cantonese dim sum, congee noodles and various sugar waters, but the signature palace dim sum can only be enjoyed by guests in private rooms. Although Bian Cai promised not to play the name of the General's Mansion, the rumor still spread, but the teahouse was delicious, the price was reasonable, and the environmental services were good, so many people came to patronize it willingly, and in less than three months, it was returned.

At the end of the year, the accounts were settled, and all shareholders of all sizes had dividends. Shuning saw Xiao Liu take a hundred taels of silver from his mother with tears in his eyes, looked down at the forty taels of silver tickets and a few taels of broken silver in his hand, and felt that this investment was not bad.