The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

Manager Wan recognized the VIP jade pendant in Xiao Bao's hand. It was something Madam Meng had asked him for, saying she wanted to give it to a young lady who was Miss Baozhu's savior.

"Miss Su, who is this young master? And where did he obtain this jade pendant?"

"This is my younger brother. The jade pendant was a gift from Madam Meng."

Manager Wan finally realized that Miss Su, who supplied chestnuts to the shop, was actually Miss Baozhu's savior. He regretted not offering Miss Su a higher price for her chestnuts.

Miss Su was clearly the young lady's savior, yet when she went to Meng's shop to sell chestnuts and pastry recipes, she didn't mention knowing the young lady at all. She was truly a good girl with excellent character.

Manager Wan quickly instructed his assistant, "Go, pack two portions of each of our shop's eight signature pastries and send them to Miss Su to try."

Meng's Dim Sum Shop targets high-end customers and is expensive, but business has always been good. Many wealthy families send their servants to buy pastries.

Granny Lin, the steward of the Tang family, was also selecting pastries at Meng's shop.

She felt that since she was from the county magistrate's household, she would definitely be the most popular customer at Meng's restaurant.

After all, the county magistrate was the most powerful official in Qinghe County.

But she was wrong. The shopkeeper and the staff were all vying for the attention of a little girl, and they even offered to give her their signature snacks for free.

I've never heard of Meng Ji's pastries being given away for free. I've heard that even the ladies of the imperial palace had to pay for them.

The owner of Meng's restaurant is backed by the Meng family, one of the five great families of the Great Qi Dynasty, and has a very high status. Why would he fawn over a young girl like this?

Could it be that the little girl has an unusual background?

But judging from the girl's attire, she doesn't look wealthy.

This was truly strange. Since Granny Lin happened to be very close to the landlady, she whispered to her, "Do you know who that young lady is?"

The landlady said proudly, "Little sister, you've come to the right person. That's my Miss Su."

"Your home?" Granny Lin asked the landlady with a suspicious look.

This old woman has a full head of silver hair and a kitchen knife at her waist. She looks quite rude, but her hands are covered with jeweled rings, so she seems to be quite wealthy.

If even the servants are this rich, this Miss Su must be even more wealthy!

I've heard that some people like to pretend to be poor. This little girl must be one of them, since the manager of Mengji Restaurant wouldn't bow and scrape to a poor person.

But I haven't heard of any mansion with the surname Su in Qinghe County. Oh right, it seems that the girl who went to the Tang Mansion yesterday was surnamed Su.

Although Granny Lin wasn't present at the time, the news spread throughout the household. It was said that Miss Su was quite formidable, managing to extend Miss Yue Rao's confinement from three days to three months.

The county magistrate also specifically instructed the servants in Miss Yue Rao's courtyard not to provoke Miss Su.

Could this Miss Su be the same Miss Su from before?

The landlady is a loyal fan of Mengji and never misses any of Mengji's new products.

She quietly pulled aside the shop assistant and asked, "Um, I came with that VIP, Miss Su. Can we get the 40% discount?"

The shopkeeper had just reminded the waitress that Miss Su was the savior of Miss Baozhu in the mansion, and that the guests who came with Miss Su should also be treated well.

"Of course, you are a distinguished guest of Meng's Shop."

The landlady was so excited that her hands were itching to take out the kitchen knife from her waist and brandish it, but she was afraid of scaring the shop's employees.

She could only withdraw her hand from the kitchen knife, excitedly sharing with Granny Lin, "Little sister, let me tell you, never underestimate my Miss Su. Have you heard of the VIP jade pendant here? My Miss Su has one, and it gives her a 40% discount on everything she buys here."

Granny Lin often came to Meng's to buy pastries, so she naturally knew that the VIP jade pendant could get a 40% discount, but the threshold was also high; one had to deposit 5,000 taels in advance to obtain this jade pendant.

I heard that no wealthy family in the entire Qinghe County had deposited five thousand taels of silver in advance, and Mengji hadn't issued a single VIP jade plaque in Qinghe County.

Moreover, I heard that Mengji only issued eight such jade plaques in a wealthy place like the capital.

Just think about it, in a place like the capital, a single tile falling could hit a high-ranking official of the third rank. Princes and imperial relatives are everywhere.

Only eight VIP jade plaques were issued.

So it's quite impressive that Miss Su has a VIP jade pendant.

The landlady tried Mengji's new chicken cake, and it tasted absolutely delicious.

She bought ten taels of silver worth of pastries in one go, saving four taels of silver with a 40% discount, which was five times the monthly rent for Gu Huai's newly rented courtyard.

Miss Su really saved her a lot of money.

The landlady was secretly very proud; as a successful landlady, saving money was the key.

The more money you save, the more houses you can buy to rent out, and the more rental income you can earn.

The landlady walked out of Meng's shop with her head held high and humming a little tune. She even generously stuffed a bag of pastries into Madam Qin's hand, saying, "Madam, these are free for you."

Madam Qin's face was flushed; she was still not used to being addressed as "Madam."

After Su Qianqian and her group had eaten and drunk their fill, they didn't forget their important business and continued looking for a shop.

After running around five streets, I finally found a shop that suited my taste on Fuxing Street.

Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry knows that location is extremely important when opening a restaurant, as foot traffic directly impacts the success of the business.

Fuxing Street is relatively close to Qingqingsong Academy, and most of the scholars here are quite wealthy, so business here should be good.

"Uncle, if you like it, then make it a deal."

Gu Huai stood at the shop entrance, shaking his head vigorously. "It's not suitable. The landlord is asking for too much. He wants ten taels of silver a month and won't budge an inch."

Su Qianqian suggested, "I saw a red paper posted on the door of this house that says it's for both rent and sale. Why don't we buy the shop?"

Qin shook her head vigorously, "It's not suitable. The renovation will cost a lot of money. Let's wait until the business is on track before considering buying a shop. Let's rent first and then buy."

She didn't want her sister-in-law's investment to go down the drain, so she had to be extremely careful this time about opening the restaurant, making sure her sister-in-law's family made money.

The landlady was also standing outside the shop, eating a sponge cake, her eyes darting around.

Since this shop is both rented and sold, she could easily become the landlord.

You can't own a stake in the restaurant, but you can collect rent from it.

"Mr. Gu, you're planning to sell this shop? I'll buy it and rent it to you at 8% off."

The landlady was a true foodie, thinking that once the restaurant opened, the rent would be discounted, so she should at least offer a good discount on meals.

Gu Huai felt that the landlady's decision was too casual and wanted to advise her, "Grandma, you need to be careful when buying a house."

"Master Gu, my greatest talent in this life is being opportunistic and sycophantic. My greatest wish is to make a lot of money and become the biggest landlady in Qinghe County. I'm buying this shop. When the restaurant opens, I'll definitely get the lowest possible discount when I come to eat here."

Gu Huai nodded, "Of course! When you come to eat, I'll definitely give you the biggest discount."

The landlady was a woman of action; once the price was agreed upon, she immediately dragged the original landlord to the county government office to transfer the property.

The landlord had originally planned to go the next day because it was getting late, but when he saw the landlady brandishing a gleaming kitchen knife, he dared not disobey and was forcibly dragged onto the carriage.

That very night, the landlady took the new deed to the Gu family's courtyard, signed the lease at 8% of the original rent, and shamelessly ate dinner at the Gu family's house.

Su Qianqian cooked dinner. Her uncle's family had never heard of pickled fish, so she taught them how to make it herself.

The landlady was completely won over by the sauerkraut fish; in her sixty-plus years of life, this was the first time she had ever tasted such delicious fish.

It was both sour and spicy, and it was incredibly delicious.

"Mr. Gu, when are you renovating the shop? I can help. I don't need wages, just meals."

The landlady's request was really not unreasonable, and Gu Huai had no way to refuse. His sister's family was investing in his restaurant, so it was certainly a good thing to save money. The more money they saved, the more dividends his sister's family would receive in the future.

The renovation required a lot of manpower, so Gu Huai went to the old tenement and asked Tang Rending, who was sometimes hungry and sometimes full, to help with the renovation of the shop tomorrow.

"I'll pack you some sugar cubes."

The young girl next to Gu Huai also spoke up, "In addition, I'll give you the normal wage of fifteen copper coins a day in the county. If the restaurant is busy and short-staffed in the future, I'll give you priority to work as a waiter. Thank you for the sugar painting, it was delicious."

Sugar Man Ding never expected that giving away three sugar paintings for free would lead to such a good relationship.

Thanks to the landlady's advice, the guest who came to the Gu family was indeed a benefactor.

After Gu Huai and the little girl left, Sugar Man Ding knelt down in the courtyard with a thud and kowtowed to the heavens several times.

"May God bless Mr. Gu's business so that he can afford to hire employees."

That way he can get a job as a waiter in a restaurant.

Sugar Man Ding sells sugar figurines because he can't find a stable job. It's not easy for craftsmen to make a living, and they often can't even afford to eat. That's why he's already 27 years old and still hasn't gotten married.

I dream of having a stable job.