coobybook Chapter 226 A little famous
Chapter 226 A little famous
The winter snow falls, and thousands of pear trees are in blossom.
In a blink of an eye, it is the twelfth lunar month, the end of the year.
"Brother Zhang, where are you going in the snow?"
"It's because that woman at home insisted that I go to the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion to buy some new snow plum cream, saying that if I go too late I won't be able to get it. There are so many things going on every day."
The man in the cotton-padded jacket complained, shook off the snow on his umbrella, and waved to the person opposite him, "I have to go shopping. Let's drink together tomorrow."
"Okay, the roads are slippery in the snow, be careful not to fall."
The man hurried to the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion holding an umbrella.
It snowed heavily last night, and a thin layer of ice formed on the road. Although a lot of it had been broken up by early risers, the coldness had not diminished at all.
The cold wind blew, making people's faces red and their necks hunched.
But this does not prevent the long queue in front of the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion.
"Everyone, don't be anxious." Madam Lou led the shop assistants to serve hot soy milk to the men and women in line. "Drink a bowl of hot soy milk first, and you will be warm when you go in."
Soy milk is not expensive, a bowl costs only two copper coins, and if it is not enough, you can get more.
Most people are willing to spend money to have a bowl of hot drink on a very cold day.
Madam Lou discovered a business opportunity and took advantage of the customer flow of Lingyao Pavilion to sell ice jelly, jelly and sour plum soup in the summer, lung-moistening and body-saliva-promoting pear soup in the fall, and hot sweet soy milk in the winter.
If we encounter customers who come during lunch time, we can bring a lot of business to our store.
What? You said there are so many restaurants on this street, why don’t others follow suit?
Why else? Because Madam Lou has a good relationship with Manager Shang of Lingyao Pavilion. Not only can she get inside information, but sometimes she can also give out a few spots for the internal testing of Lingyao Pavilion's new products.
Have you seen other restaurant owners or their wives do this? Do people pay attention to them?
The Yurong Powder and Baiyu Paste produced by Lingyao Pavilion were in short supply in Suzhou and Hangzhou, especially the Baiyu Paste. Almost every young girl and wife had a box of it. Some people even traveled thousands of miles to the small Dongning County to buy it, and then were attracted by other things in Lingyao Pavilion and bought them in bulk and took them back to sell.
As a result, the reputation of Lingyao Pavilion spread, and it became well-known not only in the Jiangnan area of Suzhou and Hangzhou, but also in the capital.
The medicines in Lingyao Pavilion are all good, whether you take them or use them on your face or body.
Being able to use Lingyao Pavilion's new products before others will make many people envious if you tell them about it.
At this time, inside the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion, unlike the ice and snow outside, it can be said to be warm like spring.
Knowing that the winters in Dongning County are cold, Shang Wan made special arrangements when renovating the shop, and had the east and west walls of the shop turned into fire walls. In winter, charcoal would be burned and the smoke would circulate in the hollow walls along the flue, which not only kept the cold out but also warmed up the whole room.
At first, Shang Wan wanted to build all four walls into fire walls, but if he wasn't careful, the whole shop might turn into a steamer or cause carbon monoxide poisoning. After weighing the pros and cons, he only built two fire walls.
Even so, the heating effect is still significant.
It just consumes more charcoal.
Fortunately, Shang Wan stockpiled some charcoal when the weather was hot, so he can still afford it now.
Every guest who stepped into the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion sighed uncomfortably and even stretched out their frozen necks.
"Boss, Mr. Duanmu, please come over later." Liu Cheng came back after delivering medicinal materials to two clinics and strode to the counter.
"Got it." Shang Wan was recording the bills behind the counter and asked without even looking up, "Have all the gifts been given out?"
Liu Cheng smiled and nodded: "I guess the return gift will arrive soon."
"There are a lot of people in the store today. You guys better keep an eye on them and don't let anyone take advantage of the situation." Shang Wan finished the last entry, closed the account book and came out from behind the counter.
She was wearing a silver-red jacket embroidered with a crabapple pattern. A circle of white rabbit fur at the collar made her skin look jade-white. Her eyebrows and eyes were as delicate as a painting. When she stepped out, she was a living signboard of the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion.
No wonder women are so keen on the things in the Spiritual Medicine Pavilion.
The men secretly sighed in regret, wondering how come the beautiful shopkeeper was already taken?
Shang Wan got on the carriage from the back door and said to the driver, "Let's go to the farm."
The driver was a villager named Liu Zhong, an honest man. Because Shang Wan's medicine saved the lives of his wife and child, he volunteered to be Shang Wan's driver without asking for any wages.
He was good at taking care of animals, raising horses to be shiny, fat and strong, and his driving skills were also good, so Shang Wan kept him. Of course, Shang Wan still paid him.
Liu Zhong agreed, raised the whip and gently hit the horse's butt.
The obedient horse pulled the cart out of the city.
Shang Wan was about to take a nap when he suddenly thought of something. He raised his hand and knocked on the carriage wall, "Uncle Liu, let's go to the county school first."
It's the end of the year, and the county school will start its holiday from this afternoon and will not end until the tenth day of the next year.
It was almost time, so Shang Wan thought about picking up Lu Chengjing from school.
The carriage turned a corner and headed towards the county school.
There were several carriages parked not far from the county school. Shang Wan lifted the curtain and looked outside, and found that the carriage from the Qiao Mansion was also there. It should be here to pick up Qiao Yu'an.
Just as I was thinking this, two figures, one purple and one white, walked towards me side by side.
The purple-robed young man smiled and said, "Let's go to Baoyuezhai for dinner. I'll treat you."
"I..." The young man in Yuebai had just said one word when he suddenly saw a familiar carriage and the people getting off the carriage.
"I have something else to do, you go by yourself." Lu Chengjing walked quickly towards the carriage, leaving Qiao Yu'an behind.
"Hey, why are you walking so fast?"
Qiao Yu'an chased after him without knowing why. When he got closer, he saw Shang Wan getting off the carriage. He couldn't help but mutter, "He values women over friendship."
Lu Chengjing, as long as his wife is around, he won't care about other people. It's not like they're newly married, but he's really getting clingy. Why didn't I see him like this before?
Even though he thought so, Qiao Yu'an still raised his hand to greet Shang Wan.
Shang Wan smiled back at him.
Qiao Yu'an invited, "It's just right. Let's go to Baoyuezhai for dinner together. Bring Yuanyuan over as well. I haven't seen her for a while."
"Not today, I have to go to the farm." Shang Wan said, "The day after tomorrow, I'll treat you, still at Baoyuezhai."
"That's settled."
"Ah."
Just then, A-Le came over with an umbrella to pick someone up, and Qiao Yu'an said goodbye and left.
The curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a piece of black clothes flashed by.
"Qiao Yugui is in the carriage." Shang Wan retracted his gaze, tiptoed to brush the snow off Lu Chengjing's hair, and pulled him into the carriage.
Lu Chengjing exhaled a breath of white air while speaking, "He has been quite quiet recently."
Shang Wan picked up the copper kettle on the small stove and poured him a cup of hot goat milk.
Lu Chengjing lowered his eyes and drank slowly. The hot steam softened his cold brows.
The goat milk was a little hot, so he puffed up his lips and blew gently. His cheeks suddenly felt warm, and a white, warm hand fell down.
His eyelashes trembled and he slowly raised them.
Shang Wan smiled, her eyes curved, and looked at him with her chin in her hand.
"There's some flesh on my face."
He pinched the soft flesh on the cheek of the person next to him with two fingers.
Three meals, two snacks and one midnight snack a day are enough to keep me healthy.
Still has the feel of meat.