Wanjin Lady

Chapter 356 Red Mansion
The enthusiastic Sister Zhu was already helping to count the gifts. She excitedly pulled Miss Cao's hand and said, "Oh my, has the Wen Family Winery gone crazy? These things add up to almost one or two taels of silver. Isn't this just giving them to you for free?"

Miss Cao was a little confused by the pie that fell from the sky. She hesitantly asked Shopkeeper Xiao Lei, "Are these all given to me? Do they belong to everyone?" She was still worried, "Won't your shopkeeper lose money if you do that?"

"With a distinguished customer like you supporting us, how can we possibly lose money?" Shopkeeper Xiao Lei said tactfully, "Not everyone has it, but since you're the first to place an order, the treatment is naturally different."

"Oh my, Shopkeeper Wen is so generous! There are so many things, they must be worth a lot of money! If I had known, I would have bought a few pots! Drinking them during festivals and holidays would be a very prestigious thing!"

"You want to buy some? Miss Cao's husband is capable and considerate. If your husband knew you were buying some wine, wouldn't he throw a tantrum?"

The neighbors laughed in good faith, but their eyes turned red when they saw the full gift boxes on the stone table in Miss Cao's yard.

If I had known earlier, I would have bought fruit pulp that night!
Miss Cao straightened her back even more under the jealous gazes of the crowd. She only spent one or two taels of silver to buy the most popular Ruiguo syrup in the city and received so many gifts in return. Rounding it off, it was equivalent to not spending any money!
It is said that the price of Ruiguo pulp will increase in the future. She can drink the same wine as the ladies in the city. This life is worth it!

Miss Cao suppressed her excitement and said calmly, "Thank you, Shopkeeper Lei. If your Ruiguo syrup tastes good, I will definitely take care of your business in the future."

Sister Zhu was a little unhappy and secretly rolled her eyes.

We have been neighbors for several years, and everyone knows each other's financial situation.

Why should we learn to speak in a pretentious manner like those ladies?

Shopkeeper Xiao Lei took out another gold-stamped invitation and said, "Ms. Cao, since you are one of the first customers of Ruiguo Pulp, Shopkeeper Wen would like to invite you to a gathering at the Red Mansion in the 20th day. This is the invitation, please be sure to keep it safe."

"Invitation?" Miss Cao was confused. When she took the invitation, she immediately realized its value. She frowned, "This...this is gold-sprinkled paper?"

Sister Zhu knew that Miss Cao was knowledgeable and she immediately came up to him and asked, "What is sprinkled gold paper?"

Shopkeeper Xiao Lei smiled and bowed, "Ms. Cao is an expert..."

Miss Cao shook her head, but a hint of well-hidden pride was on her face. "My father was once invited to a banquet by the Ministry of Rites, and he had the honor of coming into contact with this sprinkled gold paper."

Sister Zhu's eyelids twitched. She only knew that Miss Cao's ancestors had been glorious, but later the family fell into poverty. She never thought that her words were so close to those of the adults. Sister Zhu didn't dare to speak.

"That's right. This gold-sprinkled paper contains gold powder and is very valuable. The edges are decorated with floral, bird, and cloud patterns. It's time-consuming and delicate to make." Shopkeeper Xiao Lei took in the faces of the onlookers, and recalled the shock and discomfort he felt a few days ago when he heard that his eldest brother wanted to use gold-sprinkled paper for invitations. At this moment, he was completely soothed by the envious and jealous looks of others.

"But the value of this invitation is far more than just the paper itself." Shopkeeper Xiao Lei paused, deliberately raising his voice. "There are only thirty invitations in total. Five were given as gifts to those who made reservations that day, and the remaining twenty-five were all sent to the wives of officials in the city. The one you hold is one of the few that went to ordinary people. Please keep it carefully. I invite you to join in the fun on the Red Mansion's opening day."

"Red Mansion?" Miss Cao's heart was burning with anger when she heard this. "What kind of place is this? Could it be a banquet for the ladies? This...this...is it appropriate for me to go?"

The neighbors nearby have already started chattering.

"Red Mansion? It sounds like the name of a restaurant!"

"No! Didn't I just say that they invited all the wives of officials?" Lin Lingtong, who had inside information, immediately showed off. "You guys don't know about the Red Mansion?" Actually, he had only glanced at it when he passed by yesterday, but he described it so vividly that he immediately attracted everyone's attention. "That's the restaurant that Manager Wen just opened in the West City! When I passed by there yesterday, people were going in and out, and they even said they were hiring female workers!"

"Shopkeeper Wen? Which Shopkeeper Wen?"

Someone scoffed, "You don't even know who Shopkeeper Wen is? Did you watch the fireworks display on Qiqiao Festival for nothing? Did you watch 'The Legend of Jiaojiao' for nothing?"

"That's right! These days, there are still people who don't know Shopkeeper Wen. The Legend of Jiaojiao is being performed in various teahouses every day. Wasn't it originally performed at the Wen Family Winery during the Qiqiao Festival Lantern Festival?"

Someone corrected him, "It's not 'The Story of Jiao Jiao'! It's 'The Story of Ying Ying'!"

"Then you're wrong! The original 'Legend of Jiaojiao' and the ones that followed were all copied from Shopkeeper Wen's storybook. They didn't even change the names of the characters, they just changed Rui Guojiang's name! Tell me, how is this different from stealing? Don't these businessmen have any conscience?"

Seeing that the topic was getting more and more off-topic, Shopkeeper Xiao Lei was getting anxious. Today he not only had to deliver goods to customers' homes, but also had to promote the Red Mansion!

So he calmly brought the topic back, "This Red Mansion is also owned by Shopkeeper Wen. It's where they sell Ruiguo syrup! But only women are allowed in and out. From the cooks to the accountants, to the waiters and even the security guards, they're all women!"

Miss Cao immediately became interested when she heard this, "Is this restaurant full of women?"

Some people laughed disdainfully, "Only women? What was Shopkeeper Wen thinking? How can this restaurant run without us men? And they're even using women as security guards? Oh my... this is really a case of thinking one thing after another. It's all caused by too much money. What a mess! Fortunately, Shopkeeper Wen is not my wife. If she were my wife, I would definitely break her legs!"

These words immediately caused the women in the yard to mock, "Jiang Liu, you are a man, why don't you go out to work, but rely on your wife to support you?"

"That's right, without women, how can there be men? If you look down on women, then get out from under your mother's crotch! Get out from under your father's eyes!"

Jiang Liu was so embarrassed that she couldn't even lift her head. She just walked away, "You old woman, your words are too vulgar! I won't bother with you bunch of ignorant women!"

The women all spat in unison at Jiang Liu's back, and Sister Zhu also became a little angry. "Humph! How can a restaurant run entirely by women not succeed? We women have strength and means. If men can do it, why can't we? Shopkeeper Lei, that damn Red Mansion... can ordinary people like us even go there?"

Shopkeeper Xiao Lei smiled and said, "Of course you can go! We're all open for business, and we definitely won't chase customers away!"

"Okay! Then, sisters, those who have money can support us financially, and those who don't can support us physically! This is the first restaurant in Bozhou City to serve women, and we can't let it fail!"

Shopkeeper Xiao Lei had never expected that a little Jiang Liu could unite the women in the alley. Although these people were not the customer base of the Red Mansion, at least... it had spread its fame.

From now on, whenever the word "Red Mansion" is mentioned, all the people in Bozhou will know that, oh, it is a restaurant that specializes in serving women!

Shopkeeper Xiao Lei also asked his elder brother Lei Zexin why they didn't give the restaurant a more elegant name. However, his elder brother said that Shopkeeper Wen said that the place where men go is called a brothel, so the place where women go is called a red building, right?
wonderful!
excellent!

Both vulgar and elegant!

Very vulgar and very elegant!