Chapter 94: Protecting the Great Yan Kingdom with More Surnames!
Chapter 94: Protecting the Great Yan Kingdom with More Surnames!
"This humble woman wishes to request that Your Excellency the Prefect submit the prescriptions and medical records used by the villagers of Chu Family Village to the Imperial Court, so as to protect more people of the Great Yan Kingdom and spare them from the suffering of epidemics!" Shen Yuan took out a stack of papers from her bosom and held them high above her head.
Prefect Jiang blushed as he looked at Shen Yuan kneeling on the ground. He had assumed that Shen Yuan wanted him to give her some money, as he had heard that she had used a lot of medicinal herbs to treat the villagers of Chu Family Village, and those herbs were quite valuable. Therefore, he thought that Shen Yuan wanted him to reimburse her for the cost of those medicinal herbs.
It turns out he was narrow-minded!
Magistrate Jiang looked slightly embarrassed. He took the prescription and medical records that Shen Yuan presented to him and looked them over from beginning to end. The paper was clean and tidy, and the handwriting was neat and orderly, clearly indicating that it had been copied anew.
Presumably, Shen Yuan had planned to submit these documents to the government before entering the prefect's residence.
Prefect Jiang accepted the prescription, bent down slightly, and helped Shen Yuan up: "Don't worry, I will definitely submit this prescription to the imperial court!"
After leaving the prefect's residence, Shen Yuan rushed back to the pharmacy without stopping.
She hadn't seen Granny Liu for over a month!
We only met briefly outside the city gate, without even exchanging a word.
Shen Yuan returned to the pharmacy. Hearing her voice, Granny Liu rushed out of the kitchen, "Yuan Yuan, you're back! Just in time, Grandma's cooking is almost done! Xiao Ling Tian Tian, come help me serve the dishes!"
"Okay!" Sweetie skipped and hopped into the kitchen to help get the bowls and chopsticks.
Xiao Ling followed behind, bringing out all the prepared dishes.
Granny Liu pulled Shen Yuan to sit down at the dining table, stared at her for a long time, and then said with concern, "You've lost weight! You've probably lost twenty pounds in just one month!"
Shen Yuan clicked her tongue. The past month in Chu Family Village had indeed been tough. Not only did she have to see patients and prepare medicine for the villagers, but she also had to help them with miscellaneous tasks. There were so many things to worry about that she was so busy every day that she didn't even have an appetite to eat.
She also fell ill once during that time. The month she spent in Chu Family Village did make her lose weight, but the twenty pounds that Granny Liu mentioned was too exaggerated!
She estimated it to be only about ten pounds.
From now on, we can save half a foot of fabric when making new clothes!
Shen Yuan smiled and changed the subject, "Grandma, don't just talk about me, Xiao Ling has lost weight too!"
"How dare you say that? Xiao Ling has suffered a lot following you!" Granny Liu served Xiao Ling a large bowl of rice, looking at him affectionately and saying, "Eat more, I specially made your favorite shredded pork with sauce and braised fish, they're so good with rice!"
Looking at the rich, dark sauce on the plate, Xiao Ling felt a warm current flow through his heart.
This was the first time someone had remembered his preferences, and the first time someone had prepared his favorite dishes for him to eat when he came back.
Xiao Ling smiled slightly, picked up her chopsticks, and buried her head in her food without saying a word.
As Liu Mama watched Xiao Ling eat heartily, the smile in her eyes almost overflowed. This child is so easy to feed; he eats everything with great relish!
"Although you two entered the city one after the other, at least you both made it in time for lunch."
After saying that, Granny Liu asked again, as was her habit, "Why is A-Ling riding a horse slower than Yuan-Yuan's carriage? Yuan-Yuan has been at the prefect's mansion for most of the day, and you're only just getting back!"
Xiao Ling paused with his chopsticks and looked up at Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan discreetly placed a fried lotus root cake on Liu Mama's plate and told her to eat it while it was hot.
Although Xiao Ling set off from Chu Family Village the night before, riding a fast horse, it still wouldn't have been as fast as her return to the city.
Because she made him take a detour to do the things she had asked him to do.
After the meal, Shen Yuan took out the pharmacy's account book and opened it.
Although she couldn't personally manage the shop this month, with the helper and Tian Tian there, the pharmacy continued to operate as usual without any major problems.
Moreover, the pharmacy's profit during the month she was away was over five taels of silver.
After reviewing the pharmacy's accounts, Shen Yuan went to check on the restaurant across the street.
Because of her delay, the restaurant has not yet opened.
Although the restaurant was closed for a month, Haitang and her friends learned a lot of new dishes.
Not only that, they also took advantage of the time before the store opened to clean and decorate the shop that Shen Yuan had rented. The shop was spotless inside and out, and all kinds of fresh flowers were displayed, including apricot blossoms in vases and daffodils planted in porcelain plates. In addition, a circle of azaleas was placed around the shop, which were currently in pink buds and would surely be a beautiful sight when they bloomed.
Shen Yuan had been thinking about what to name the restaurant, but now, seeing so many flowers, she suddenly had an idea.
She smiled and said, "Since all of you ladies have names that include the flower, why don't we call our restaurant 'Flower Restaurant'?"
"Flower Restaurant, what a lovely name!" Haitang was very pleased.
After Shen Yuan sat down, she opened the bundle she had brought and spread it on the table.
Upon seeing the familiar gold and silver jewelry inside, the six girls, led by Haitang, were all stunned for a moment, then exclaimed with surprise and joy, "This...this is what we were tricked out of. How did Miss Shen get it back?"
Shen Yuan smiled faintly: "Don't worry about how I got them back. Anyway, these are your things, so take your belongings back!"
Haitang and the other girls sat around the table, looking at the items on it. After hesitating for a long time, they finally pushed them all in front of Shen Yuan.
"We were deceived because we misjudged people and were foolish. We have learned a lesson from this incident and know that no man in this world, whether he is a wealthy merchant, an official, or a handsome scholar, can be trusted!"
"Since we willingly fell for the scam, we should bear the consequences ourselves. Now that the money has been taken, it no longer belongs to us! Since you're the one who got it back, you should keep it!"
“Yes! Sister Haitang is right!” The other girls echoed.
Shen Yuan lowered her eyes to look at the gold and silver treasures laid out on the table. All of this money was enough to buy a small house in a remote part of the city and settle down... She was somewhat surprised that these girls didn't want them.
However, even if they don't want it, she won't take it. Although she loves money, she doesn't want all kinds of money.
Shen Yuan pushed the things on the table back onto the table.
"This is the wealth you've painstakingly accumulated over the years at Zuichunlou. It's your money, and whoever it belongs to should take it back!"
After several refusals, Haitang took the lead and picked up a pair of jade bracelets, saying to the other girls, "Since Miss Shen has said so, why don't we accept our jewelry and use the rest of the money to invest in this restaurant? The restaurant needs a large sum of money to open, and this money will be just what we need right now!"
The other girls exclaimed, "Great idea! Great idea! Sister Haitang, that's a wonderful idea!"
After putting away the jewelry, Haitang handed over all the remaining money to Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan looked at the silver coins in her hand, her eyes softening slightly.
Last year, she spent a thousand taels to buy a pharmacy and another hundred taels to renovate the backyard. In addition, she spent money on purchasing medicinal herbs and paying rent for the restaurant. Almost all of her previous money was gone.
That's how business is. It looks like there's money coming in and going out every day, but in reality, you can't actually put out a single penny of cash that's actually in circulation.
She is now penniless; her pockets are emptier than her face.
Having these several hundred taels of silver to use for the opening expenses of the Flower Pavilion Restaurant and to purchase ingredients would undoubtedly solve her immediate problem.
Shen Yuan did not refuse Haitang's suggestion. She accepted the money and said, "In that case, this money will be considered as the initial investment for our Huajian Restaurant. I will distribute shares to you according to each of your investment shares. From now on, each of you will be an owner of Huajian Restaurant, and we will distribute dividends to you at the end of each year based on the profits!"
"Alright, Miss Shen is our biggest boss! We'll all listen to Miss Shen!"
Shen Yuan smiled and said, "Then it's settled! The Flower Garden Restaurant will officially open in three days!"
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