Baozi Xishi's Struggle

Chapter 478: Wealth rises, lifelong events are on the agenda

Time flies, and in the midst of everyone's busyness, it is already March with its pink peach blossoms and green willows.

Since the Chinese New Year, the inns and restaurants have been doing good business.

The monthly income amounts on Shen Yu's money slips began to become considerable.

When they went to the familiar shops, the shopkeepers became more and more polite and warm to Shen Yu and Li, as if they were treating the two people from the Shen family as rising wealthy businessmen.

As more and more customers came to the shops on both sides, the original staff could not handle it, so Shen Yu went to the dental shop and found four more assistants.

Two are at the inn, and two are at the restaurant.

Because Jiang was gentle, calm and literate, Shen Yu asked her to work as the manager of the inn.

The four waiters at the inn are divided into two shifts, morning and evening, and take turns working.

Because there were ready-made management regulations, the two new guys who came to work got the hang of it quickly. Within two or three days, they were able to provide attentive reception to the guests who checked in.

Every day, Jiang is responsible for receiving guests in the lobby of the inn, checking them in, assigning rooms, settling room charges, etc., while the waiters are responsible for running errands and providing various services in the guest rooms.

The two new waiters at the restaurant are responsible for waiting and delivering meals.

Zhou Dalang, Zheng Sanniang and Yutao were only responsible for the kitchen, while Li helped out and was mainly responsible for collecting money from guests.

Shen Yu became the busiest and most leisurely person at both the restaurant and the inn.

Because she built up both sides bit by bit from scratch and is familiar with all the links.

Therefore, she is often there to fill in wherever there is a shortage of manpower.

If there is no shortage of people anywhere, she will stay in the kitchen in the backyard of the restaurant and cook some fresh food.

But recently, Shen Yu was often dragged by Li to the restaurant to act as the accountant, responsible for collecting bills from diners.

Li, who was originally busy in the restaurant every day, had more free time after hiring two more waiters. He began to think about Shen Yu's lifelong affairs.

From time to time, she would disappear from the shop and run away. In the past few days, Li was nowhere to be seen at dawn, and sometimes she did not come back until noon.

At first, Shen Yu didn't know what Li was busy with. He thought that Li had some free time and started to be interested in Buddhism again, so he didn't pay too much attention to it.

Until one day Yutao accidentally overheard Li, Jiang and Zheng Sanniang discussing which man was better and which one to meet first.

She became curious and secretly listened for a while, only then did she find out what Li had been busy with these days.

Yutao was on Shen Yu's side, fearing that someone might say something nice to Li and she would arrange an unreliable marriage for her sister.

He hurriedly told Shen Yu about this so that she could be mentally prepared.

Shen Yu realized belatedly that as the business improved and the family fortune grew, Li's position became more confident.

Finally, he started to put into action his frequent talk of finding a good husband for the two sisters.

In this age where marriages are arranged by parents and matchmakers, she, as a woman, felt inexplicably panicked.

But he still pretended to be calm, patted Yutao's hand and said with a smile: "Then let's take a look first."

"If the people chosen by mother and others are suitable, you may as well meet them."

"If you feel it's not suitable, just refuse it. I don't think my mother would arrange a marriage without my knowledge."

In fact, although Yutao is young and it is not her turn to get married, she is still a little scared.

She saw with her own eyes the joy her sister felt when she was first engaged, and the humiliation she suffered after the engagement was broken off.

She was determined in her heart that she must help her sister find a suitable family this time.

If her sister thinks it is not good, she will firmly stand on her sister's side and help oppose mother.

Putting aside the sisters' whispers, Li's side has already started happily preparing.

On the evening of the second day of March, after everyone had dinner, the guests at the inn went to pursue their own nightlife.

Shen Yu and Jiang inspected the inn together and checked the door locks and lights.

After instructing the night waiter to keep an eye on the door and lock it only after all the guests had returned, everyone returned to the small courtyard in front of the restaurant.

The restaurants still close according to the market hours.

When Shen Yu and Yu Tao came back, Li couldn't wait any longer. She happily pulled the two sisters Shen Yu and Yu Tao into her room, pointed to the two new sets of clothes on the bed and asked the sisters to try them on.

The style of the clothes was the spring shirt style that was popular on the street recently. The material was delicate and soft, and the workmanship and embroidery looked very fine under the bright candlelight. One set was a delicate peach pink, and the other was a refreshing willow green.

Shen Yu already had a rough idea in his mind, so he didn't say anything and just wore it.

She was used to wearing plain clothes and didn't like bright colors, so naturally she reached out to take the light willow green set.

Mrs. Li patted her hands and said, "A girl in her prime years should wear bright pink."

"That willow green set is for your sister. A girl will look good in such a cute and fresh color."

Shen Yu held Li's arm and said, "Mom, you know me. I don't like to wear such bright clothes. I don't feel comfortable wearing them."

Li always listened to what Shen Yu said.

This time she shook her head firmly and said, "Tomorrow is the Shangsi Festival on March 3rd."

"All the girls of the right age in the county will go to the Peach Blossom Lake in the western suburbs of the county for an outing. How can they not dress nicely?"

Shen Yu knew that the ancients attached great importance to the Shangsi Festival, but he had no idea why.

Now when I heard Li mention the March 3rd Festival and mentioned girls of marriageable age, I thought of the conversation between Li and the others, and guessed in my heart that this so-called outing might be a large-scale blind date event.

She hurriedly asked Li what would happen tomorrow, why the girls were going out to play, and if anyone else would go?

Li saw that Shen Yu had guessed it almost right, and fearing that she would refuse, she evaded the question by saying, "Why don't you change your clothes first and go out to let us all see if it looks good. I'll tell you then."

"This is the dress that I, your Aunt Jiang, and Aunt Zheng spent several days selecting. It cost a lot of money."

"Don't be fooled by the bright peach pink color; it's the candlelight that's reflecting it."

"In fact, the color is very light under the sun. It will definitely look good on you."

"If you don't wear it, it would be a waste of money."

Li half coaxed and half persuaded her for a long time.

However, Shen Yu was not moved by her persuasion at all, and just kept asking what would happen tomorrow.

She knew Shen Yu always had her own opinions, and she would definitely not go if she didn't explain clearly, so she had to confess: "This Shangsi Festival is also called the Daughter's Day. In fact, it is for the ladies of each family to go and look after their sons and nephews."