Chapter 143

Chapter 143

Actually, if you think about it carefully, it's understandable. In Shangjing, where the population is a mix of nobility and commoners, a place so densely populated with nobility that even a falling brick could hit a royal, if the chamber of commerce were just an organization collecting protection money, it wouldn't have lasted this long.

Moreover, although the threshold for joining the chamber of commerce is high, it also greatly ensures that merchants like Lu Yao, who come from other regions to do business here, won't be bullied or excluded. This is indeed a positive development.

After the chamber of commerce issue was resolved, the renovation of the inn accelerated.

Lu Yao had Ma Kuan take the servants back to Ping Prefecture to fetch some wine. They would bring it over after the New Year, and on the way bring Xiaonian and Xiaochun along.

These days, occasional passersby would come over and ask when the inn would open.

Originally, Lu Yao planned to open before the New Year, because Shangjing is different from Ping Prefecture. The closer it gets to the end of the year, the busier the business becomes. There are too many people coming to Shangjing for visits, gift-giving, and family reunions, and they inevitably need to treat their guests to meals. The eateries and inns in West Ward are almost always full.

But as things stand now, an opening before the New Year is definitely impossible. First, the inn can't open without wine. Second, Zhao Beichuan can't handle everything on his own. Seeing this, Lu Yao was anxious in his heart, so much so that he developed mouth ulcers.

Seeing him like this, Zhao Beichuan couldn't help but laugh. "Don't be in such a hurry. Money is something you can never finish earning. Once Ma Kuan brings the people over, we'll open the inn. In the meantime, we can carefully finish the inn's renovation."

"Hmm."

The basic structure of the first floor was already completed. There were eight tables arranged in a square pattern, making the hall appear more spacious and tidier than before.

As he walked, Lu Yao said, "Let's place some flowers and plants here, and over there, we'll put up a screen. We'll place porcelain lamps in the four corners."

Zhao Beichuan noted everything down. "Are we only changing the lighting fixtures on the second floor?"

"Since we have ample time, let's repaint the walls entirely. Let's follow the layout of our Ping Prefecture inn for the renovation. Don't worry about spending money. The distinguished guests in Shangjing have high standards, and if we cut corners to save money, customers might not come back after their first visit."

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind."

Lu Yao sat down on a stool. "Has everything been arranged with the blacksmith?"

"I've already sent Lu Jia with the drawings to custom-make the copper pots. We've ordered ten for now, and we can order more if needed."

"Good. I'll go to the kiln factory this afternoon to pick out the porcelain."

"Take your time on the road and take care." Zhao Beichuan reached out and tucked some loose hair behind Lu Yao's ear.

"I know."

Ordinary people usually buy porcelain from the shops in the city, but the demand from the inn was too high to make that cost-effective.

Lu Yao had mentioned it to Boss Xu next door, who enthusiastically recommended a porcelain kiln on the outskirts of the city. Although it was a folk kiln, the quality was excellent, and many porcelain shops in the city sourced their goods from there. The prices were also very reasonable.

Ordinary porcelain bowls cost around 200 copper coins in the shops but only 50 copper coins here. Plates ranged from 80 to 100 copper coins.

You could also choose designs and customize your own porcelain, which would be more expensive. Typically, a set of 30 custom porcelain pieces would cost ten silver taels, and 100 pieces would cost 20 silver taels.

Since they were aiming for a high-end route, Lu Yao naturally had to choose custom porcelain. Each porcelain bowl and plate would bear the mark of Lu Family Inn.

The bowl interiors featured silver cloud patterns, and a silver line was added to the rim, instantly making them look much more upscale.

Lu Yao placed an order for 200 plates, 200 bowls, 200 spoons, 60 small soup bowls, 60 large soup bowls, and several porcelain jars.

The porcelain jars were meant for storing wine. It wouldn't look good to place earthenware jars in front of the shop.

These porcelain pieces would take more than ten days to be fired. Since the inn couldn't open yet anyway, Lu Yao wasn't in a rush. He paid a deposit of 50 silver taels and would pay the rest once the porcelain was out of the kiln.

Because it took a bit longer to select the porcelain, it was already late by the time he returned from the outskirts. There was also a minor issue with the carriage on the way home, and he didn't arrive until close to the ninth hour.

Zhao Beichuan was once again holding a lantern at the door, only relaxing when he saw Lu Yao return. He carried him down from the carriage, his expression tense with worry.

Lu Yao guiltily pinched his icy earlobe. "Don't be mad. The carriage broke down halfway, and we were delayed for an hour. I promise it won't be this late next time."

Zhao Beichuan remained silent, his face stern as he went to bring over the hot food that had been kept in the pot and prepared a basin of hot water for Lu Yao’s feet.

"There were too many types of porcelain at the kiln. Everything looked great, and I was overwhelmed by the variety."

Noticing Zhao Beichuan's silence, Lu Yao knew he was still upset. He used his toes to tickle his hand. "Can you guess which style I picked?"

"I don't know."

"Jade-white with silver auspicious clouds. Porcelain is just a vessel for food. The simpler it is, the more it highlights the colors of the dishes. Too much decoration would distract from the food."

Zhao Beichuan used a cloth towel to dry Lu Yao's feet and then got up to pour out the water.

Lu Yao stuck out his tongue, realizing Zhao Beichuan was really upset this time.

After dinner, the two lay in bed. Zhao Beichuan blew out the lamp and turned his back to him.

Lu Yao slipped his hand under Zhao Beichuan’s undergarment and started groping. "Darling, don’t be angry~"

Zhao Beichuan grabbed his wandering hand. "Sleep."

"It was really an accident today. It won't happen again."

Zhao Beichuan sighed, turned over, and carefully pulled Lu Yao into his arms. "Ayao, I don’t want to overly restrict you, but you need to take care of your health. You’re not just one person anymore."

"I know, dear father of our child." Lu Yao gently kissed his cheek.

That single sentence was enough to calm Zhao Beichuan. He placed his hand on Lu Yao's protruding belly and gently rubbed it. "Next time, let the staff take care of these things. You don’t need to run back and forth like this."

"Okay, I'll listen to you."

*

The restaurant preparations were progressing smoothly. With Zhao Beichuan overseeing things there, Lu Yao stayed home to take care of his health. As the months went by, his belly began to show, and several of his old clothes had become tight.

The new clothes were delivered just in time by a clerk from the ready-to-wear shop.

These custom-made clothes were styled according to the current fashion in Shang Jing. The winter clothes were also quite loose, and they fit very well.

With nothing much to do, Lu Yao started experimenting with the seasoning for roast duck, lotus leaf pancakes, and sweet bean sauce at home.

In his previous life, Lu Yao had come across a video on making lotus leaf pancakes on a video app but only remembered the basic steps. He hadn’t had the chance to try it himself. Now that he had the time, he decided to give it a go.

The flour in Shang Jing comes in three grades. The lowest grade was the gray flour that Lu Yao often ate. The flour was processed simply, and the milling process involved a lot of wheat husks, giving the flour a grayish color.

The second grade was granular flour, slightly lighter in color, costing 100 wen per dou. Ordinary families in Shang Jing could afford this type. The best was fine white flour, which was made from hand-picked wheat and processed through several steps. It was almost identical to the flour eaten in modern times, and its price was high, costing 200 wen per dou.

Lu Yao used this finest white flour, taking half a jin of it, adding a small spoonful of salt, and an egg white. He stirred it with warm water into a cotton-like texture and quickly kneaded it into a soft dough.

The dough needed to rest for an hour, during which time Lu Yao made the sweet bean sauce.

The sweet bean sauce was even simpler to make. Despite its name, it wasn't made with beans. Instead, it was made with soy sauce, white sugar, and a paste. Lu Yao also added some ground sea intestine powder. After boiling it in a ceramic pot for a quarter of an hour, he had a large bowl of thick, sweet, and savory sweet bean sauce.

It tasted almost identical to the sauce he had eaten in roast duck restaurants in his previous life. Lu Yao could already imagine how delicious it would be to wrap crispy roast duck dipped in sweet bean sauce with a thin spring pancake!

Unfortunately, the first attempt at making lotus leaf pancakes failed.

The finished lotus leaf pancakes couldn’t be peeled off one by one like they could in restaurants.

Lu Yao propped his chin up and examined the thick dough. Which step went wrong? He remembered that in the video, the dough sheets were stacked and then rolled out into the size of a lotus leaf pancake. After steaming, you could peel off each sheet individually.

After thinking for a while, Lu Yao remembered that he hadn’t brushed oil between the layers. Using just a thin layer of flour between the dough sheets wouldn’t work because the steam during the process would cause the flour to become wet and stick together.

Realizing this, he immediately prepared another batch of dough, this time brushing a thin layer of oil on each pancake. After steaming for about fifteen minutes, the pancakes were cooked.

Once they were out of the pot and cooled down, Lu Yao began to peel the pancakes. This time, the layers separated, but they tore easily due to a lack of elasticity.

This puzzled Lu Yao, and several more attempts also ended in failure.

During dinner that night, Zhao Beichuan curiously looked at the tall stack of pancakes on the table. “Why did you steam so many pancakes today?”

“Sigh, I couldn’t get the lotus leaf pancakes for the roast duck right. These are all failed attempts.”

Zhao Beichuan laughed helplessly. “If you can’t do it, then let it go. We can still gain a reputation with other dishes.”

“No way! The roast duck oven is already constructed. How can I give up so easily?” Lu Yao said stubbornly, chewing on a pancake. “I’ll keep trying tomorrow! I refuse to believe I can’t make it!”

*

Before long, it was the end of the year. Lu Yao began preparing New Year gifts. Every year in Ping Prefecture, he sent out many gifts, but since he couldn’t return this year, he had instructed Ma Kuan in advance to help prepare them.

He also needed to prepare gifts for people in Shangjing. The wives of the families he had dined with last time should all receive gifts. Of course, the gifts for Madam Lin and Madam Deng needed to be slightly more valuable since they had helped him. It wouldn’t do to owe them favors.

When giving gifts among the wives and husbands in the inner quarters of Shangjing, most people gave accessories, decorations, and fabrics. Lu Yao wasn’t very familiar with these things, but with enough silver spent, he could manage to buy good items.

After delivering the gifts to each household, he received quite a few return gifts, which he locked away in the storage room for future use.

Additionally, Lu Yao bought two capable young men from the official slave market to assist him. When visiting the wives of other households, it wasn’t convenient to bring Lu Jia and Lu Yi along.

The two newly purchased servants were eighteen and sixteen years old. They had previously been slaves in an official’s household and were very refined in speech and conduct, understanding etiquette and knowing how to behave appropriately. They were the kind of servants who could be presented in public.

At first, both were somewhat nervous, unsure of Lu Yao’s personality and afraid of making mistakes that might displease their master.

As slaves with lifetime contracts, if they angered their master, they could be beaten to death without any legal consequences.

After some time adapting to the Zhao family, they realized that their master was genuinely kind-hearted, never mistreating his servants and always speaking gently and courteously, like a young master carefully raised in a prominent family.

However, their master’s husband, Zhao Beichuan, was a formidable and fierce man with a rather fiery temper. Although he had never beaten or scolded them, a single glare from him was enough to scare the two servants.

“Your master is pregnant. Serve him well. If anything goes wrong, we will not spare you!”

The two young servants knelt in fear. “Yes, sir. We understand.”

“Alright, you may leave now,” Lu Yao said, pulling Zhao Beichuan down to sit. “Is the shop all tidied up?”

“Yes, the first floor is all set, and the lamps you requested have been installed. Do you want to go take a look this afternoon?”

Lu Yao stood up and put on his cloak. “Sure, I’ve been feeling cooped up.”

Zhao Beichuan helped him tie the strings and adjusted the front of his cloak. “Ma Kuan should have arrived home by now. I wonder how Xiaonian and Xiaochun are doing in Ping Prefecture.”

Lu Yao felt a pang in his heart. It was the first time their family had been apart for the New Year.

The children were growing up, and in a few years, they would start their own families. The opportunities to gather together would become fewer, filling him with a sense of melancholy, as if lamenting the fact that his children were all grown up.

Seeing Lu Yao’s reddened eyes, Zhao Beichuan quickly comforted him. “Don’t worry. With our mother and brothers there, Xiaonian and Xiaochun are just as safe as if they were at home.”

Lu Yao hadn’t expected to tear up, but perhaps it was due to the pregnancy. Lately, he had found his emotions becoming increasingly sensitive.

The two walked into the courtyard and happened to run into Zhao Beidou and Lin Zijian entering together from outside.

"Zijian is here."

"Sister-in-law, elder brother!" Lin Zijian, being familiar with them, didn’t stand on ceremony and ran over with a grin.

"Have you had lunch yet?"

"Yes, we just got back from eating out with Beidou."

Zhao Beidou said, "Lu Yuan treated us to a meal at Yunxiang Lou and we had some wine."

Lu Yao found the name Yunxiang Lou familiar but couldn’t immediately recall where he had heard it.

However, knowing that the three of them were responsible, he advised, "You’re still young, so try not to drink too much when you go out, it’s not healthy."

Zhao Beidou nodded. "Yes, I understand, sister-in-law."

The two boys went inside, while Lu Yao and Zhao Beichuan sat in the carriage and headed out. As they approached West Ward, Lu Yao suddenly remembered that Mrs. Xiao had mentioned Yunxiang Lou.

"Stop for a moment."

Zhao Beichuan pulled the reins. "Whoa～ What’s wrong?"

"Let’s go to Yunxiang Lou first."

"Okay." Zhao Beichuan didn’t ask any questions and headed straight to Yunxiang Lou after finding out the location.

Yunxiang Lou was a restaurant. When the two of them entered, two scantily dressed women greeted them at the door.

Zhao Beichuan slightly frowned and subtly avoided the women’s playful advances, drawing Lu Yao closer.

Inside the main hall, there were singing performers and dancers in revealing outfits. Many men with flushed faces were acting wildly, walking around in light clothing.

Although these were just entertainers, this place was definitely not respectable.

The two asked for a private room and ordered a few dishes. After the waiter left, Zhao Beichuan said with a cold face, "Xiaodou really has some gall, coming to a place like this!"

"Don’t be angry yet, I feel something’s off about this."

"What’s off?"

Lu Yao voiced his concerns. "I’ve heard that many young dandies use Cold Food Powder here. It’s euphemistically called the Five Stone Powder, but plainly speaking, it’s a drug that enhances virility and arousal. It makes your body feel intensely hot and sensitive, and once the heat subsides, you feel a sense of euphoria. It’s highly addictive and, most importantly, causes severe damage to the body."

Zhao Beichuan also sensed the unusual atmosphere.

"Is that Lu guy trying to harm Xiaodou and Zijian?"

Lu Yao shook his head. "I hope I’m overthinking. They’re at an age where they’re curious about relationships, and I’m afraid they might go astray."

"I’ll have a good talk with him when we get back!"

"No hitting or scolding the children."

"Yes, I understand."

The two didn’t stay long and headed to their own shop after finishing their meal.

The entire restaurant was almost finished with its renovations. The carpenters and masons had taken the day off. The only thing left was the signboard at the front entrance, which would be done after the New Year.

The second and third floors were decorated in a very upscale style, definitely much nicer than Chang He Ju they had visited before. In the future, they could set their menu prices to match.

By the time they returned from the restaurant, it was almost evening. Zhao Beichuan went into the courtyard and was about to call Zhao Beidou for a lecture.

However, Chimo said, "Young Master was just called out to eat by Young Master Lu again."