BXBX NOVEL Chapter 238: Opening (1)
“Third Young Madam, Guilin Restaurant is reopening today! You have to go over there yourself! Senior Servant Liu from Qingxi Hall even sent someone over to ask after you just now.”
After hearing Senior Servant Gui’s words, Chu Lian opened her eyes and sighed. She sat up and ordered Xiyan to bring her clothes.
While dressing herself, Chu Lian told them, “Momo, you don’t have to be so worried. Even if I don’t go there myself today, Guilin Restaurant will still do well.”
How could Senior Servant Gui believe that? As magnificent as Guilin Restaurant was after the renovation, even though it now looked just as good or even better than that Yuehong Restaurant on Zhuque Avenue, she still didn’t believe that Guilin Restaurant would be able to fill its tables with customers right after opening. After all, its location was less than ideal: surrounded by residential areas and on a deserted street to boot!
Senior Servant Gui thought Third Young Madam was trying to placate her like she was a naive child!
When Chu Lian noticed the doubt in Senior Servant Gui’s eyes, a corner of her lips lifted helplessly. She decided to use the results of today to prove it to her instead.
Xiyan picked out an apricot-coloured dress with plum blossoms for Chu Lian. It wasn’t too outstanding, but still seemed celebratory enough due to the red plum blossoms on the skirt. Although Chu Lian wouldn’t be making a public appearance at the opening, she had to personally attend to the guests she had sent invitations to.
There weren’t many invites; only ten in total. She had personally written all of them. After all those months of practice, her calligraphy was finally passable enough to show. All the effort she had put into her daily calligraphy practice had paid off.
Although there were only a few invites, they had all been sent to the most distinguished guests.
The Zheng Estate and Prince Wei’s Estate had received two invites each. Lord Ge and the young Marquis Weiyuan had also received one each. Of the remaining four invites, two of them had gone to the Yang Estate, while the other two had been sent to her maiden house, the Ying Estate.
These were the distinguished guests that Chu Lian had invited today.
Chu Lian got dressed and slowly enjoyed her breakfast without any sense of urgency. It was only after Senior Servant Gui’s anxious urging that she finally went to Qingxi Hall.
Today, it was Wenqing and Wenlan’s turn to accompany Chu Lian. The other maidservants were to wait until it was close to noon before following the two senior servants over to Guilin Restaurant to serve their distinguished guests.
Fuyan and Xiyan stood by one side and looked at Chu Lian’s slender silhouette.
Fuyan was completely dumbfounded. She clicked her tongue in admiration. “Hey, why isn’t our Third Young Madam worried at all? Will that out-of-the-way restaurant really become a booming business?”
Xiyan glared at her, confidence written all over her face. “Don’t talk nonsense. I believe in Third Young Madam.”
Fuyan was still filled with disdain in her mind. She was just speaking the truth, why was Xiyan stopping her?
She didn’t know where Xiyan got that self-confidence of hers. In her heart, even a person as wise as the matriarch hadn’t been able to save that lousy old restaurant. How could their Third Young Madam be even smarter than the matriarch?
In the courtyard of the main branch, Madam Zou waved her hand to dismiss the stewards who had come over to give their daily reports. A maidservant passed over a fresh cup of tea to her.
Madam Zou took the teacup and carefully sipped at it, her lips slightly curved into a smile.
If she remembered correctly, today was the day that her third sister-in-law was going to reopen Guilin Restaurant.
Guilin Restaurant was one of the matriarch’s businesses. She knew better than anyone else about the situation of that old restaurant. She admitted that her third sister-in-law’s secret recipes were really quite delicious, but the restaurant’s abysmal location couldn’t be denied: it was too desolate an area to attract a crowd. No one would think to walk over there just for a meal.
A dead district is a dead business, what more for a restaurant!
Building up a name for the restaurant wasn’t something that could be achieved in just one or two days. By the time that happened, it would be too late. In the end, all of Chu Lian’s hard work would have gone to naught, only for her to benefit from it.
When she thought of this, Madam Zou felt especially pleased. Today, she was waiting to see Chu Lian’s disgrace.
Just as her thoughts were lifting her mood, she spotted He Changqi striding out from their bedroom. When she saw that he had taken special care in dressing up today, she frowned. “Dalang, where are you going?”
He Changqi straightened his collar and ordered a maidservant to bring over his breakfast. He then sat at the table and picked up some chopsticks before explaining, “Third Sister-in-Law’s restaurant is going to open today, so I’m going there to help her out.”
When Madam Zou heard this, her eyes immediately widened. “It’s just a small restaurant, why do you have to be there too?”
He Changqi frowned as he looked at her. “Brother Ge, Tiancheng, and Marquis Weiyuan are all going there to support the restaurant’s opening. If I don’t go, who’s going to attend to the male guests?”
Madam Zou stiffened and she looked at her own husband in disbelief. Suddenly, her heart was wavering with uncertainty. She thought back to the day that her husband had brought his friends over for a meeting and she had stolen Chu Lian’s credit. Had... had they already known before that?
When he recalled the events of that day, He Changqi lost all appetite. He set down his chopsticks and lifted the edge of his robe as he stood up. Right before he left, he shot a meaningful look at Madam Zou. Finally, he walked right out of the courtyard without even a goodbye.
Left alone in the parlour, sitting on a fragrant wood chair, Madam Zou’s face turned deathly pale.
She wanted to call him back, make him turn around with a cry of ‘Dalang’, but the word stayed stuck in her throat, even long after her husband had already left.