Misty Rain of the Old Times

During the meal and casual conversation, it was clear that Erdan seemed a little reserved, probably because Su Roujia was there. He had suffered a lot since childhood, and was always the one being bossed around. Having such a pretty young girl like Su Roujia serving him made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Realizing this, Chen Xuan simply asked Su Roujia to go and check the account books with the shopkeeper, and Erdan readily agreed.

Despite the fact that the family has no business, the young girl is actually a little uneasy. She has understood the principle of "sitting idle and eating away one's savings" since she was a child. Although she doesn't rely on the income from the restaurant to make a living, having her take over this business in the future will at least give her something to do and make her feel a little more at ease.

Chen Xuan invested 10,000 taels of silver in Erdan back then. He didn't expect much income from this place. It was purely out of a desire to share hardships and to help out Erdan in any way he could, even if it was just for a small favor.

Forget about getting rich and powerful; that would only harm Erdan. A peaceful and safe life with no worries about food and clothing is the best thing for him.

After the little girl left, Erdan was indeed much more relaxed. Chen Xuan chatted casually, "Is everything settled at home?"

"Yes, based on the clues you provided, Ah Xuan, I spent some money to check with the government and found my family. My parents are still alive, my grandfather is still alive, and I have younger siblings. They couldn't get used to city life, so I built them a house, bought them land and oxen in their hometown. They are living a good life now," he said with gratitude. Family reunion and harmony make even dying on the spot worthwhile.

Chen Xuan was genuinely happy for him, raising his wine bowl and saying, "Congratulations! I'll try to visit your uncle and aunt when I have some free time."

"Then I'll be waiting. I'll slaughter chickens and sheep to treat you then," he said expectantly. It was no longer a time when he couldn't even afford to eat. He wasn't good at expressing himself, but he always remembered Chen Xuan's kindness. Chen Xuan had rescued him from Niushou Mountain, guided him to reunite with his family, and helped him make a living. He could never repay that kindness.

Taking a small sip, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "I'm glad you don't mind me bothering you."

"You should be overjoyed."

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "By the way, Ah Xuan, I'd like to hire someone literate to teach in the village, so my younger siblings can learn something too. Then we can arrange for them to work in the shop. What do you think?"

"You can make your own decision. You are the boss here and you are in charge. You don't need to worry about me. Besides, the idea is good. If you can study and learn to read and write, it would be even better if you could pass the imperial examinations in the future," Chen Xuan said with support.

Their family were farmers, good citizens. If they could study, they could take the imperial examinations. Those of low social status were not eligible for the imperial examinations for five generations. But usually, poor families couldn't even afford to eat, so how could they have the opportunity to study?

Now that Erdan's circumstances have improved, he naturally wants to help his family and fellow villagers.

Erdan immediately shook his head and said, "I dare not aspire to fame and fortune. Being able to read and do simple arithmetic is enough. There are hardly any people in our village who can count."

"Don't always think about others, you need to think about yourself. Now that you have the means, have you thought about studying more? By the way, you're not getting any younger, are you? You have a career now, so if you meet the right person, settle down, have a bunch of kids, and live a prosperous life, that's better than anything else," Chen Xuan joked.

The two are about the same age, both of them are at the age to get married.

"Hehe, no rush," he actually started to act coy.

Raising an eyebrow, Chen Xuan chuckled and said, "Tsk, looks like you already have someone in mind. Tell me, which girl is it? You'll have to invite me to her wedding."

"It's hard to say if it's something that hasn't happened yet," he said, blushing and stammering.

Without pressing for details, Chen Xuan changed the subject, saying, "I see everything's on track here now, how's business?"

"It's alright, not the best but not the worst either. Especially in the first few months, we had a lot of customers and made quite a bit of money," he said with a happy expression.

Nodding, Chen Xuan said, "That's because you're good at cooking."

"No, I just followed your advice and tried to make the food tastier and the portions bigger so that we'd have more repeat customers. Actually, most of the people who come here to eat aren't rich; they'd stretch every penny they have," he said with some emotion. Having experienced hardship, he knew very well what people needed.

When people say Chen Xuanzhen has good skills, they're not just being polite. It's unclear whether he inherited his skills from his adoptive father or honed them under the oppression of the bandits. Perhaps he can't compare to some famous chefs, but in this small place like Yang County, he's truly excellent.

With a smile, Chen Xuan said, "Although I don't know much about the restaurant business, I do know that simply offering affordable food isn't enough to make money; you need something more appealing."

"A gimmick? Ah Xuan, you're smarter than me and you've even been to school, can you tell me about it?" he asked curiously, clearly intending to run the restaurant well, as long as it didn't go bankrupt, it could be passed down as a family business.

After a moment's thought, Chen Xuan said, "It's complicated. How about this, I'll ask the top scholar to put up a calligraphy and painting to hang in the shop. Are you worried about not attracting business? You'll probably be so busy you won't have a moment to spare."

"Ah Xuan, you can even ask the top scholar to write calligraphy? That must cost a lot of money, it's unnecessary," he said, his head buzzing. That level was beyond his reach, and he clearly didn't know the relationship between Chen Xuan and Gao Jingming.

Waving his hand, Chen Xuan said easily, "No problem, I've got it covered. Besides, we can just say that the top scholar raved about the restaurant. How about this, I'll bring him here for a meal sometime; that would be even more convincing."

"You can do that?" Erdan was dumbfounded, but considering his strength, it didn't seem impossible. Without dwelling on that, Chen Xuan asked, "By the way, how many months has the restaurant been open? Has anyone come looking for trouble?"

Chen Xuan was also involved here, so of course he had to inquire about it.

"This..." he hesitated for a moment.

Seeing this, Chen Xuan was speechless and said, "Speak freely."

"Actually, it's alright. The government pays its normal taxes as it's due, and occasionally government officials come to eat and drink and write IOUs. There are also some street ruffians who collect protection money. Overall, it's been relatively stable, and there haven't been any major problems," he said, without hiding anything from Chen Xuan, after all, Chen Xuan was the big boss here.

Nodding, Chen Xuan smiled and said, "Is that so? It's no big deal. I'll invite the magistrate to dinner when I have time, and you can accompany him. I think those greedy fellows will naturally know what's good for them."

That's just how things are these days. Let alone running a proper restaurant, even a street stall—which one isn't subject to extortion and bribery by government officials? Which one isn't exploited by thugs? It's just normal. It can be easily resolved. There's absolutely no need to get angry over such a small matter, much less to the point of killing someone.

"That's good. Ah Xuan, you're very capable. I'll listen to you," he said with a sigh of relief. This shop was opened by the two of them together, so it wasn't just his business. Actually, he was a little worried that Chen Xuan might kill him in a fit of anger, since the scene of the massacre at Niushou Mountain was still vivid in his mind.

After finishing their discussion of the minor matters, Chen Xuan chatted casually over food and drinks, asking, "It's said that inns, restaurants, and taverns are the easiest places for trouble to arise. Have any interesting things happened in the past few months?"

"It actually happened once, last month. Around that time, a lot of people came to Yang County because of the Zhuangyuanlang (top scholar) program, and business was good. One of the tofu workshops that supplied us had some quality issues, so I switched to another one. But the first one wouldn't let it go, and when they delivered to the second one, they actually caused trouble for them, saying that they were stealing their money."

Chen Xuan found it amusing; some people are just like that, never looking for the cause within themselves, always blaming others.

Then Erdan continued, "The second tofu maker I found was truly excellent. Their soft tofu, firm tofu, and dried tofu were all superb. Uh, I digress. The second supplier was a woman in her forties living alone. I don't know how she manages to manage all that alone, but she always delivers on time. The first supplier, seeing she was all alone, thought she was easy to bully and even tried to hit her because they outnumbered her. I was about to step in and help them, but the woman beat them up in no time, leaving them bruised and battered. They slunk away afterwards and never dared to cause any more trouble."

Chen Xuan was surprised that such a thing could happen. He just listened to it for amusement. There were countless similar trivial matters in the world, which were perfectly normal.

As he spoke, Erdan pointed out the window to the street and said, "Ah Xuan, look, that's her. I told Lao Wang, who was in charge of grocery shopping, that we didn't have enough tofu today, and she brought it over."

Erdan then lowered his voice and said, "You know what, if you hadn't seen her hitting people that day, you wouldn't have guessed she was such a kind person. She can be quite ruthless when she beats people up. She didn't suffer any loss herself, and those guys were beaten like grandsons. She swung that carrying pole with great force, and she was no less formidable than many of the thugs back in the mountains."

He spoke his last sentence so softly that no one several meters away could hear him.

As he spoke, Chen Xuan's heart stirred, and he looked out the window with a strange expression.

On the snow-covered street, a middle-aged woman was carrying a load of tofu, wearing a patched cotton coat and a headscarf, looking as simple and unassuming as could be.

However, Chen Xuan almost burst out laughing at just one glance.

At this moment, the other person also looked up shyly. Chen Xuan nodded, looked away, and said to Erdan, "If her tofu is really as good as you say, then let's keep using it. Our restaurant relies on its reputation; let's not ruin it."

"Chef Luo is entertaining guests, I've brought the tofu," a woman on the street greeted him timidly.

Nodding, Luo Ergou said, "This isn't a guest; this is Chen Xuan, the real owner of our shop. Take the tofu to the kitchen; I won't bother you anymore. It's snowing heavily, so take it easy on the road."

"Okay, I won't bother you two any longer. Thank you for the meal," the woman smiled, picked up the tofu, and went around to the back of the restaurant.

Turning around and seeing Chen Xuan smiling, Er Gou asked curiously, "What's so happy about Ah Xuan?"

"It's nothing, come on, let's keep drinking," Chen Xuan said, shaking his head.

He was puzzled. Why was that beautiful woman in Yang County? She was even disguised and selling tofu, doing it quite convincingly. Could it be that she had someone she was after in Yang County?

It's no wonder Chen Xuan thought that way; the other party was an assassin.

He hadn't paid much attention before, but after Erdan reminded him, he recognized her at a glance. It was none other than his beautiful neighbor from back in Mo City.

How could I run into this?
Since it's her, the farce Erdan described is quite normal. I guess it's because of the pills Chen Xuan left her after he left at the beginning of the year. Now she's a Xiantian master, so dealing with a few ordinary people shouldn't be a problem.

What kind of target could the Shadow Assassins possibly have in Yang County, such a small place? Why would she travel all the way from Mo City to be considered? Should we keep an eye on it?
She's clearly an ice queen, with a great figure and beautiful face. Although she's only just entered the Innate Realm, her cultivation level is enough to allow her to travel the world freely. Yet, she's disguised herself as an inconspicuous woman and even started a legitimate business. It seems she has a long-term plan to lie low. It looks like she's plotting something big!
...(End of chapter)