Chapter 1065 - 1067: Someone Comes to Sell Poetry_1
Bai Ruozhu figured out the situation at the Bo Residence, and seeing that Bo Jiajue was punished with twenty strikes of the rattan stick, she realized it must have been taken very seriously. She suspected Bo Jiajue had never before received such a severe punishment.
She nodded in thanks to Jiu Sheng, then entered Bo Qun’s room.
The Madam of the Bo Family was patting Bo Qun’s back gently, her eyes filled with worry and pain. It was clear that she genuinely cared for and cherished her husband.
"The Marquis must have been quite upset, right? You should be more careful these days; move gently, speak softly so that the injuries can heal faster," Bai Ruozhu advised.
Lady Bo scolded Bo Qun with a glance, "Isn’t it because he was too hasty? At his age, he’s still acting so impulsively."
Although Bo Qun was a man of steel, he softened in the face of his wife’s tender scolding. He chuckled twice and said, "I will certainly be more careful in the future."
Bai Ruozhu barely held back her laughter as she examined Bo Qun and found that all was well. She then bid farewell to Lady Bo and left the Bo Residence.
Jiu Sheng trotted behind her, having shed his lofty Imperial Doctor demeanor, eagerly asking her a few questions about treating external injuries. He then happily returned to the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Bai Ruozhu also rode the horse carriage back home, planning to spend the next few days with her father, hoping to help him forget those unhappy matters sooner.
To her surprise, she saw a strange horse carriage parked at her house’s entrance. At the door, she learned that Miss Leng had come to visit.
Leng Wanhua was very excited to see her, laughing as she said, "I should have sent you a note, but I haven’t seen you for so long, and I was too anxious, so I came by myself."
"We’re so familiar with each other, it doesn’t matter whether you send a note or not. I couldn’t be happier that you came to see me as soon as you got back," Bai Ruozhu replied with a smile.
"I hope I haven’t disturbed your parents. They’ve given me quite a lot of delicious Dimsum," said Leng Wanhua, expressing her gratitude with a smile to Lin Ping’er and Bai Yihong.
Bai Ruozhu glanced at the table, which was laden with many plates of Dimsum. Her parents were indeed very hospitable to their guests.
Lin Ping’er gave Bai Yihong a look, signaling that they should let the young ones chat while they went out to look at the Toy Shop.
Bai Ruozhu thought that if her father kept busy, he wouldn’t brood over things and might adjust his mood better. She let her parents take the carriage while instructing Cui Fan to have someone follow them.
"You’ve been in the Capital for a while now. Are you getting used to it? I heard your business has been thriving, your speed of amassing wealth is really too fast," Leng Wanhua said enviously. Her straightforward personality meant that though she hadn’t met Bai Ruozhu many times before, their similar dispositions quickly brought them close together.
Bai Ruozhu smiled at her and said, "It’s not as much as you’ve collected from your tenants."
Leng Wanhua burst into laughter, "How can that be the same? That’s just attending to family matters, and I’m just reaping the benefits. But you’ve built up your own business from scratch, I need to learn more from you in the future."
"Don’t be humble with me. You are also a skilled businesswoman; you think I don’t know?" said Bai Ruozhu with a smile.
The two began to chat about recent events, and Leng Wanhua shared her experiences from collecting rent along the way. Bai Ruozhu listened with great interest, finding the stories particularly amusing.
She used to think she had encountered quite a few troubles after her transmigration, but hearing Leng Wanhua’s stories, it seemed like just the act of going out to collect half a year’s rent brought plenty of its own problems.
There were issues like the tenant farmers not paying rent on time, deliberately stalling and playing tricks, or some manager threatening the tenants and secretly embezzling a portion of the rent for themselves, which she discovered. There were even times when her people fell ill due to the climate on the road, with a third of them getting sick. Once, they even encountered a thunderstorm out in the wild, and she watched as lightning struck worryingly close to the back of Leng Wanhua’s carriage—almost hitting it.
As they talked, it was nearly noon. Bai Ruozhu proposed to treat Leng Wanhua to a meal at the Welcoming Guests restaurant. Leng Wanhua laughed and said, "I know you have a stake in Welcoming Guests. I’ll definitely have to eat more today!"
"Good, you mustn’t be polite with me at all!" After all, she didn’t have to pay.
Before leaving, Bai Ruozhu called Fang Guizhi to join them and introduced her to Leng Wanhua.
"Wanhua, Guizhi used to manage the Beauty Pavilion in Beiyu City very orderly. Now, I plan to open another Beauty Pavilion in the Capital, and Guizhi will be in charge. You’ll have to look after her when the time comes," Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.
"Having eaten your food, how could I not agree to such a small favor?" Leng Wanhua replied, then paused in thought, "In a few days, I’m hosting a banquet at home. Come with Guizhi, and I’ll introduce you to some people. Relationships in the Capital are intricate and complicated; I’ll whisper the details to you then."
Her expression was not that of someone about to discuss social relations, but rather someone eager to share gossip and scandals. It seems that no matter the era, the nature of women’s love for gossip never changes.
The three of them went to the private room and ordered a variety of dishes. Since there weren’t many of them and they didn’t want to waste food, they ordered half-portions of each dish. This was an idea Bai Ruozhu had just proposed to Shen Lu at the beginning of the month: customers could order half-portions at half the price, with a slightly smaller quantity, served in very elegant and delicate bowls and plates. This solved the problem for some women who wanted to try a variety of dishes without wasting food.
Moreover, the half-portions were very delicate, and the tableware was also chosen for its beauty and ambiance, making it even more popular among the ladies. This month, the half-portions at Welcoming Guests sold exceptionally well, and even some of the men liked to order them.
"This is really a good idea. You get to taste more variety without wasting any, and the dishes are so pretty I almost can’t bear to pick up my chopsticks!" Leng Wanhua praised aloud while secretly feeling more convinced of her grandmother’s claim that Bai Ruozhu was good at business.
The three ate quite a bit, also ordering some top-quality osmanthus wine. Since Bai Ruozhu had previously made a fool of herself by drinking too much, she dared not drink too much this time. Even though osmanthus wine wasn’t very intoxicating, she only drank three cups.
"Madam Jiang, please excuse me for interrupting," the shopkeeper’s voice suddenly came from outside the private room.
"Alright, I’ll be right there," Bai Ruozhu got up and told the other two to continue eating, "I’ll be back shortly; don’t save any dishes for me. If it’s not enough, we’ll order more."
She stepped out of the private room and saw the shopkeeper holding a piece of paper with some writing on it.
"Madam Jiang, since Old Shen isn’t here, I had no choice but to seek your advice," the shopkeeper said, smiling very cautiously as he didn’t want to disturb Bai Ruozhu’s meal.
"It’s okay, tell me and let’s see if I can help," Bai Ruozhu said.
The shopkeeper unfolded the paper to show her, explaining, "Just now, a scholar who tried our new dish suddenly wrote a poem and offered to sell it to our shop for thirty taels of silver. I think the poem is quite good, but as a simple man, I really didn’t dare to make a decision."