Jiang Yanyi chose to relocate her shop two days before the Laba Festival.

The tea house had a new sign with a black background and golden lettering at the entrance, and since this area was called Ruyi Lane, she named her tea house “Ruyi Lou.”

Both the first and second floors served antique soup pots, with lamb pot and mushroom pot being the main offerings for the clear broth.

Although the red broth didn’t have as broad an audience, there were already a group of spice lovers.

Now that the place was bigger and Jiang Yanyi had more funds, Ruyi Lou’s decoration was more elegant compared to the previous antique soup shop, although the style still followed the old design.

She hired five waiters for each floor and added more staff in the kitchen.

Jiang Yanyi was in charge of the recipes for the clear and spicy broths, making sure to prepare the stock and the base in advance.

The new hires were mostly kitchen helpers and assistants.

Before the grand opening, she had the staff wear new uniforms made of appropriate fabric.

With everyone dressed uniformly, the place appeared much more upscale.

Jiang Yanyi even briefly trained them, demonstrating how to serve dishes and the respectful language to use when speaking to customers.

The staff managed to follow her instructions, and without realizing it, the service in her establishment began to stand out compared to others.

On the opening day, Jiang Yanyi used all her strategies to attract customers, and many diners came to the shop.

However, the place was so large that most of the customers went upstairs, making the downstairs lobby look empty and giving the illusion that the place was deserted.

The old scholar originally intended to perform storytelling on the stage downstairs, but because there were so few customers, he felt embarrassed to start.

Jiang Yanyi felt a headache coming on; it was indeed her oversight.

She could only instruct Yang Xiu, “Go buy a folding screen to put at the entrance.”

Setting the screen at the entrance could block the view while also being visually pleasing, achieving a balance of both.

The success of the first day of business greatly affected the shop’s reputation.

If there were few patrons on the opening day, others would think less of the place.

As she was worrying, a few ruffians swaggered into the building, loudly asking what good food they had.

Although the group’s attitude was arrogant, the trained waiters greeted them politely, introducing the various soup pots and dry pots, as well as Chef Yao’s specialties.

“This food doesn’t look appealing, yet the prices are so much higher than other places?” The leader of the group looked around the lobby and sneered, “No wonder there are so few customers.”

On the table, there was a plate of osmanthus cake offered for free.

The man picked up a piece, took a bite, and immediately spat it out, shouting, “Is this something people eat? It has a rancid taste. Did someone sneak mouse droppings into the steamed cake?”

The waiter’s expression turned ugly, realizing that the man was looking for trouble.

He said, “Oh, this esteemed guest, our flower cake has been well-received even by the nobles. You’re the first to say it’s bad.”

The man directly knocked the plate of osmanthus cake onto the floor, crushing it underfoot. “I say it’s bad, so it’s bad! Running a business doesn’t allow me to say the food isn’t good? What kind of rule is that?”

The man’s loud voice could be heard clearly at the entrance.

Jiang Yanyi hadn’t gotten angry yet, but Chu Shubao couldn’t stand it any longer.

She slammed the counter and stood up, “This osmanthus cake is free from our shop. You didn’t spend a dime and yet you waste the shop’s goods. What face do you have? Do you believe I will report this to the authorities?”

The man looked Chu Shubao up and down, his gaze lewd. “Who doesn’t know that this place is leased by your Chu family? Third Master Chu has quite the authority, so I am certainly terrified.”

“You!” Chu Shubao was so angry she wanted to roll up her sleeves.

Jiang Yanyi held Chu Shubao down and said to the man, “If our food doesn’t suit your taste, please go elsewhere.”

Initially, she worried that the trouble was coming from the Fulu Restaurant, but since the man knew they were from the Chu family and that the news about Feng Shuo’s marriage proposal had spread throughout the city, he still dared to cause trouble, indicating that the person behind him must be formidable.

The man stood up, and his ruffian companions kicked the stools and stood as well.

The man said, “I ate your shop’s cake, and now my stomach hurts.”

Jiang Yanyi instructed the waiter who had attended to them earlier, “Go get a doctor for this esteemed guest.”

The shop assistant was about to run outside when the man teased, “No need for a doctor; the boss could just rub it for me, and maybe it won’t hurt anymore.”

His flippant words not only drew a crowd at the door but even customers upstairs, who heard his nonsense, couldn’t help but come to the railing to look down.

Jiang Yanyi’s expression turned icy.

The best fighter in the shop, Yang Xiu, was absent, but Aunt Guo had been following Jiang Yanyi.

She immediately shouted, “You filthy thing, why aren’t you throwing him out!”

A few shop assistants went over to push the man, but unexpectedly, he and his companions knew a bit of fighting, and the assistants were completely outmatched, being thrown to the ground.

Aunt Guo was about to step in personally when a female voice shouted from upstairs, “Bastard!”

Immediately, a girl dressed in heroic attire leaped down from the upper floor, unsheathing a whip from her waist and giving the troublemakers a good thrashing.

The few big men didn’t dare to retaliate; one had his face cut and fled in a panic.

The girl put away her whip.

She appeared to be around sixteen or seventeen years old, with a pretty face that carried a sense of bravery unlike ordinary young ladies.

The guests upstairs applauded.

Jiang Yanyi stepped forward to thank the girl. “Thank you for your help, miss. May I ask for your name?”

The girl glanced at Jiang Yanyi and replied with a bright smile, “My surname is Yang.”

She placed a ten-tael silver ingot on the counter, then glanced at Jiang Yanyi and the Chu sisters.

After thinking for a moment, she felt it wasn’t enough and pulled out two more ten-tael silver coins, adding, “Your place has delicious food! The cosmetics are beautiful too; I’ll buy two boxes.”

Before Chu Jiabao could wrap the rouge boxes in a beautifully embroidered bag, the girl casually picked two boxes of rouge and left the shop with a lighthearted step.

Jiang Yanyi exchanged glances with Chu Shubao, both feeling something was off.

Although there had been an unpleasant incident, business still had to go on.

Jiang Yanyi sent a shop assistant to follow the few men who had been beaten to see where they ended up.

Manager Xu of the Laifeng Restaurant might have heard about the disturbance at Jiang Yanyi’s place, pretending to come over to enjoy a meal.

When he saw Jiang Yanyi, he clasped his hands in greeting, saying, “I heard that Chu manager is moving the shop today, so I came to congratulate you.”

He scanned the lobby downstairs and curiously asked, “Why are there so few tables occupied? Is no one listening to stories in your establishment?”

Feigning regret, he added, “The business was so good when Chef was at the Ancient Soup on Guardian Street. It’s easier to run a small shop; not everyone can open a restaurant.”

Jiang Yanyi smiled coldly, “Thank you for your concern, Manager Xu. Our business is doing well.”

Xu replied, “I truly care for you, Chu manager. If you find it hard to run this restaurant, you might as well transfer it to me. It’s better to stop early than to end up losing your capital.”

Before Jiang Yanyi could respond, Yang Xiu hurried back from outside, calling out, “Boss, hurry and prepare the dishes in the kitchen; the old lady An is celebrating her birthday, and she wants to hold the feast in our restaurant.”

Upon hearing this news, Manager Xu’s mind went blank, and he felt a bit embarrassed.

The An family was a prominent household in Xizhou, and for Old Lady An’s birthday, they would need at least thirty tables for the feast.

Jiang Yanyi said, “See, I’m quite busy now, so I won’t talk to Manager Xu for long. If you want to eat something, just tell the shop assistant.”

Manager Xu felt as if all the diners in the restaurant were pointing and laughing at him; he certainly couldn’t eat anymore and almost fled in embarrassment.

The large hall on the first floor was just right for the An family to hold the birthday banquet.

They said they wanted hot pot, but this was the first big business the shop had received, and Jiang Yanyi wanted to make a good impression.

She decided to go to the kitchen personally and planned to make longevity noodles for the birthday celebration.

While she was busy, Chu Shubao suddenly rushed into the kitchen, pulling Jiang Yanyi outside and whispering mysteriously, “Do you know who the girl who helped just now was?”

Jiang Yanyi shook her head.

Chu Shubao’s expression was complex as she said, “She is the county princess of the Duke of Xing’an. I just heard someone say that on the day Uncle San returned to Xizhou to celebrate his achievements, the Duke proposed that the Liaonan Wang marry her.”

Now Jiang Yanyi finally understood why Feng Shuo had rushed to propose to the Chu family.

However, if that girl was indeed the county princess of Xing’an, her behavior when leaving didn’t seem to be targeting Jiang Yanyi.

Instead, it felt a bit like a gift for her, Chu Shubao, and Chu Jiabao.

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In the inn where the Duke of Xing’an was staying.

The men who had fled from Jiang Yanyi’s shop were kneeling in the room, and the Duke of Xing’an pointed at them, angrily scolding, “Useless! You can’t even handle a small matter!”

The leading man said, “My lord, it was the county princess who intervened, forcing us to retreat.”

The Duke kicked the man and shouted, “Zheng’er has a straightforward personality, but the Liaonan Wang dares to humiliate my son like this; I absolutely cannot let this go!”

In another room of the inn, Yang Zheng was rolling on the bed with laughter, hugging an embroidered pillow.

Her maid looked puzzled and asked, “County princess, what are you laughing about?”

Yang Zheng sat up, resting her chin on the embroidered pillow, grinning from ear to ear. “I helped his sister today; he’ll surely appreciate me, right?”