allonlinenovel Chapter 271 The visitor is evil
Chapter 271 The visitor is evil
A very elegant shop called "Shuiyunjian" opened in the capital, and the news spread quickly. People who went there praised it highly, saying that the food and the environment were excellent.
However, this is not the most special thing. It is said that there is a wall-sized shelf on the north side of the store, which is filled with precious books.
All customers who come to the store can borrow all books for free for half an hour.
It doesn’t matter if you don’t have money. Just help copy any book and your handwriting is neat and without too many mistakes, and you can borrow it for free for a whole month.
Although Da'an Kingdom has enjoyed good weather and peace and prosperity in recent years, it is still extremely difficult for an ordinary family to support a scholar.
Especially the good books, they are collected as heirlooms, no one will easily lend them to outsiders. Even for family members, they will first pick the best ones.
Therefore, the situation of having no books to read, no money to buy them, or even being unable to buy them even if they have money is the norm faced by poor scholars.
Shangguan Qingyue almost emptied his father's study room for the whole wall of books. Shangguan Chong was so distressed that he pulled out several strands of his beard, but in the end, under the "covetous" gaze of his wife, he didn't say a word.
The child was doing a great deed, and as a father, he could not find any reason to refuse. He just felt bad that those rare books would be taken away by someone who did not know the importance of the books, and what would happen if they were destroyed.
However, ever since he visited Shuiyunjian once, he was completely relieved.
All the rare ancient books were placed in the top row of compartments, which were out of reach unless you moved a ladder. If you wanted to borrow a book, you had to sit in a special seat, and there was a servant next to you to "watch over you".
The ones that customers can take and read at will are all handwritten versions.
Seeing that his youngest daughter had done things very thoroughly and safely, Shangguan Chong immediately mobilized all his connections and shamelessly asked his colleagues for the extra books in the house.
In exchange, he even gave away all the fine wine he had collected for many years.
The brothers Shangguan Song and Shangguan Lan were also very active and emptied their own study rooms. Not only that, Shangguan Lan also found a lot of good books in the Imperial College's library and paid his classmates to help copy them.
In addition, Shangguan Qingyue, on the pretext of being a shareholder, bought a lot from Xuanyuan Yan, and also got two rare ancient books.
After doing this for half a month, the bookshelf on that wall was barely half filled.
Now that there is a serious business to take care of, Xiaohua, the donkey who has been fattening up in the backyard, is finally put to use.
Shangguan Qingyue disliked the hassle of riding a horse-drawn carriage to and from the shop and home every day. Besides, the two places were not too far apart and sometimes there would be traffic jams when there were many people. So she simply rode her donkey Xiaohua to the shop.
It is incredible to think that a cute little girl was riding a donkey through the most prosperous Chang'an Avenue.
In addition, she also has to personally make desserts for the guests, and she is not shy about being watched. To outsiders, all these practices can be regarded as shocking.
As a result, the second daughter of the Shangguan family soon became the topic of conversation among the people in the capital. However, most people laughed at her, and there were also a few who envied her.
They envied her for being able to be herself as she pleased, unlike them who were trapped in the backyard all day, bound by rules such as the Three Obediences and Four Virtues and the Commandments for Women.
Baili Nanqing felt sorry for her daughter working too hard. She had never seen anyone run a shop and do everything by themselves. Finally, she asked Shangguan Qingyue to agree to go to the store on even days of each month and stay at home to rest on odd days.
One day, she was riding a donkey leisurely on the street, and from time to time she took out a piece of jerky from her cross-body backpack and ate it with relish.
Seeing that his master was only concerned with eating, Donkey Xiaohua raised his front hoof slightly in dissatisfaction. Shangguan Qingyue was startled by the sudden shaking and cried out softly:
"Ah, Donkey Xiaohua, you are naughty again! How many times have I told you to hum when you are greedy, did you hear me?"
I don't know if it really understood, but it cooperated by blowing hot air from its nose a few times. The girl immediately rubbed the donkey's gray head with satisfaction and handed it a handful of fragrant roasted beans.
A luxurious and exquisite carriage was parked not far away. If you look closely, you can see that the owner of the carriage has lifted a corner of the curtain and is looking out intently.
"Young lady, let's go back home. If the lady knew about this..."
Before the pink-dressed maid could finish her words, she was frightened by a cold look that seemed to strangle her throat, and she could no longer utter any sound.
"If you don't speak, no one will think you're dumb! Do I need a lowly maid like you to take care of my affairs?"
The vicious voice seemed to become real, like a sharp sword shooting at the little maid. Her body trembled, and she couldn't hide the bitterness in her heart. Ever since the young lady was confined by the lady, she became a punching bag, and the scars on her body still hurt.
Today is the first time that the young lady is allowed to go out. She thought it was just a simple relaxation, but she didn't expect that she was going to see Miss Shangguan.
"Go to Shuiyunjian."
Hearing the cold voice from inside the carriage, the driver dared not say much. He immediately perked up, pulled the reins, and shouted at the horse to continue moving forward.
The carriage passed by the girl riding a donkey. The woman in the carriage resisted the urge to reach out and grab the girl's porcelain-white cheek, and her eyes were full of resentment.
When Shangguan Qingyue lifted the beaded curtain and stepped into the store, she immediately felt that something was wrong with the atmosphere around her.
The female shopkeeper, who always had a cheerful face, was now standing in the corner with a serious face, and her whole body was tense.
She walked closer quickly and heard the woman sitting in the seat say in a proud tone:
"I don't like brown sugar, so replace all the desserts with honey and make one for me. Be quick, don't make me wait until I lose my patience."
The female shopkeeper took a deep breath and suppressed her anger.
"My lady, the dessert recipes in our store are all fixed, and the taste cannot be guaranteed if they are changed at will.
If you don’t like brown sugar, you can choose Ruyi Cake or Crystal Cake, both of which are very popular snacks in our store.”
The woman frowned and slammed her hand on the table. Her palm turned red and she became even angrier.
"You don't understand what I'm saying, or are you deliberately being indifferent?! I want all the things I ordered before, stop talking nonsense!"
"My lady, our Shuiyunjian is a place for people to cultivate their moral character. It would be bad if you were so angry that you scared other guests.
I heard the shopkeeper say it very clearly. If you don't like it, you should go home and ask your own cook to cook it for you. Why bother us?"
Wu Yuean came to Shuiyunjian today with the intention of causing trouble for others. However, he did not expect that he would be blocked instead.
The wild girl from the country is not presentable and has no rules at all!
"Is this how your store treats its customers? I've really been enlightened today. It's really just a name, all show and no substance!"
She looked at the dazzling array of books on the north side and sneered.
"A country girl who can't read a single word has put so many books in the store in an imitation of others. Doesn't Second Miss Shangguan feel embarrassed?"
Shangguan Qingyue crossed her arms and looked at the purple-dressed woman in front of her, who was full of resentment and talking nonsense. She looked at the female shopkeeper in confusion, thinking that she should recognize the woman because of her experience.
The female shopkeeper immediately understood and whispered to her:
"Miss, this should be the daughter of the Minister of Revenue. She was... was once engaged to Master Shangguan."
Shangguan Qingyue couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, with a look of "I see. It seems like this guy came here just to cause trouble!"