Lu Wenjing chuckled beside her.

“What?” Madam Lu raised an eyebrow. “Was something I said inappropriate?”

“Nothing inappropriate at all!” Lu Wenjing shook her head vigorously. “It’s just that what Yímǔ said is the same as what I said when I came before; even the gift was a bracelet…”

Ahem!

Madam Lu coughed awkwardly, trying to smooth things over. “After all, I’m your Yímǔ, so naturally we’re alike.”

She would have to bring something different next time; otherwise it would be quite awkward.

How about a pearl necklace?

There was a string of pearls of excellent quality in the storeroom. Although the pearls weren’t particularly large, they were uniform in size, round and flawless. A long string of them would look beautiful, whether wrapped around the neck twice or around the wrist several times.

Young people would like something like that.

Ah, speaking of which, when He Yanxiu asked her for cash and gold notes earlier, it seemed he was also going to give them to Su Yujin. Perhaps Su Yujin only likes silver notes and the like?

Maybe next time she should try giving her some gold ingots or silver ingots?

….

Lu Shi and Lu Wenjing didn’t leave that night.

Su Yujin had Ai Cao and Liu Mama prepare two guest rooms for the two of them.

The next morning, Su Yujin had Ai Cao and Liu Mama grind some fresh peanuts and soaked beans into peanut and soybean milk, remove the residue, boil it, add some sugar, and serve each of them a bowl.

The fried dough sticks were fluffy and fragrant, the spinach and egg rolls were delicious, and the corn and sweet potato cakes were made with corn, sweet potato puree, and diced ham, served with pickled radishes, mustard greens, and the like—light and refreshing.

Lu Shi and Lu Wenjing ate with relish, and the two of them lingered until noon, enjoying a meal of grilled fish.

The fish was spicy and tender, with a variety of side dishes. Paired with the ox-tongue-shaped sesame flatbread from Su Ji Shop, the combination was numbing, spicy, and fragrant—utterly irresistible.

After finishing the entire pot of grilled fish and resting for a while, Madam Lu and Lu Wenjing exchanged a glance and sighed.

Good times always fly by, and even though they were reluctant to leave, they had no reason to stay any longer. Besides, if they didn’t return, He Yanxiu might find out.

Therefore, after weighing their options, Madam Lu had no choice but to take Lu Wenjing and depart.

The two had arrived on horseback, and they were leaving on horseback as well.

Both women of different generations wore similar styles of cloaks and veils, their dashing figures drawing attention.

Just looking at their backs, Su Yujin couldn’t help but gasp, “They’re so beautiful…”

“Yes,” Ai Cao nodded in agreement, “Especially Miss Lu’s Yímǔ, she’s truly stunning. It’s just that I feel this lady’s face looks strangely familiar…”

She couldn’t quite put her finger on it.

“Beauties always have some similarities,” Su Yujin said, not particularly bothered.

After all, she was just Miss Lu’s Yímǔ, with no direct connection to her, and they would only meet a limited number of times in the future, so there was no need for her to worry about her too much.

However, business was booming everywhere, and with He Yanxiu’s generosity, she had accumulated quite a bit of money. It would be a waste to let it sit idle; she needed to find a way to spend it.

To ensure a comfortable future, she needed to acquire property or invest in other businesses to generate more money.

Therefore, her next task was to find new business opportunities!

With this in mind, Su Yujin spent the next few days wandering the streets, hoping to find something she liked.

While she didn’t find any new opportunities, she had a fruitful day.

Today she bought a basket of fresh water chestnuts, which she had Ai Cao and Liu Mama wash and peel. They could make them into candied water chestnuts, mince them and mix them with meat filling to make pies, or make crystal water chestnut cakes as a treat.

Tomorrow she planned to spend the day shopping, buying some fresh taro that had been transported from elsewhere to make taro cakes or steamed taro slices with pork belly to satisfy her cravings.

The next day, just as she stepped out the door, she saw someone selling dried plum vegetables at the alley entrance. Suddenly, she craved braised pork with dried plum vegetables, so she bought all the dried plum vegetables to make braised pork with dried plum vegetables or steamed buns filled with dried plum vegetables and pork…

After several days of this busy work, Su Yujin felt somewhat discouraged.

Indeed, a cook wasn’t suited for shopping!

The sky was heavily overcast, the wind was howling, and it looked like it was going to snow. Su Yujin was too lazy to go out for a stroll, so she simply stayed indoors, using a small charcoal stove to brew tea.

When she got hungry, she placed a clay pot on the charcoal stove, filled it with pork ribs, and stewed a bowl of stew, eating it around the stove.

By the time Su Yujin had almost finished her lunch, light snowflakes began to fall, blanketing the ground.

After finishing her meal, Su Yujin sat by the hand warmer by the window, watching the snowflakes gradually turn into snowflakes, slowly covering the courtyard.

“Warm your hands, young lady,” Ai Cao said, handing Su Yujin the hand warmer and covering her with a small blanket. “It got cold early this year, and this first snowfall is so heavy.”

“They say a good snow promises a good harvest; this heavy snowfall suggests next year will be a bumper year,” Su Yujin said, holding the warm hand warmer and looking around. “Where has Liu Mama gone? I haven’t seen her for half a day.”

“Liu Mama went to buy cloth. She said it’s cold this year, and since she’s had some free time lately, she’s making several cotton curtains to cover the windows for the nights, so it’ll be warmer when we sleep,” Ai Cao replied truthfully.

“Wait until the weather improves before going to buy the cloth. Going out in this weather, you might fall again.”

Although Liu Mama was healthy, she wasn’t young anymore, and Su Yujin was a little worried. “Go and see her, and help Liu Mama with her things…”

Before Su Yujin finished speaking, Liu Mama had already entered the yard.

Ai Cao quickly took the cloth, helped Liu Mama brush off the snow, and then quickly brought over some hot tea.

After drinking two cups of hot tea and warming herself by the charcoal fire for a while, Liu Mama felt much better. “It’s so much warmer at home. It’s really freezing outside. The wind mixed with snow is like knives. I’ve already closed the yard gate. Don’t go out later. It’s important to get some rest early tonight.”

“I was just talking to Ai Cao. The weather’s bad, and Liu Mama still went out to buy cloth. It’s not too late to go when the weather is better.” Su Yujin handed Liu Mama the small quilt she had warmed herself with.

Liu Mama didn’t refuse, covering herself with the cloth. “It’s not that you should laugh at me, but we have to go when the weather is bad. If the weather is good, we probably won’t be able to buy any.”

“Oh? This cloth shop is sometimes out of stock?” Su Yujin was a little surprised.

She hadn’t heard that Qinghe was experiencing such a shortage of cloth this year.

(End of Chapter)

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