Chapter 45: The Lady Requests an Audience

Chapter 45: The Lady Requests Your Presence

Having scurried about for so many days, the capital had finally been secured. Although it seemed simple enough, Li Qi had expended a considerable amount of energy in the process.

The next day, when the sun was already high in the sky, he finally crawled out of bed.

Arriving at the shop, Wu Xiaoliu and the Zhuzi brothers had already started working. Although the customers coming to buy stinky tofu were no longer as numerous as before, the three of them were still busy and thoroughly enjoying themselves.

After all, such opportunities were becoming increasingly rare.

Tonight, Third Uncle Zhang would deliver the final cart of tofu, totaling one thousand six hundred pieces, which was also the maximum daily output of his mill.

Li Qi had no intention of ordering any more. Since the number of customers had dropped significantly, the fourteen hundred pieces delivered last night, combined with the sixteen hundred pieces to be delivered tonight, would be more than enough to last for several days.

In seven days at most, the Jade Pavilion across the street should be able to roll out its first batch of stinky tofu. Li Qi knew that by then, Patron Cai would undoubtedly drive down the prices. Furthermore, since that establishment also served wine and meals, all the customers would naturally flock to the Jade Pavilion.

However, Li Qi had no intention of continuing to fight over this lucrative piece of meat, nor did he have the capital to do so.

"Good morning, Uncle Wu!"

Li Qi greeted Wu Furong, who was standing behind the counter.

Wu Furong greeted Li Qi in return and immediately buried his head back into calculating the accounts.

Seeing this, Li Qi felt deeply puzzled. How could there possibly be so many accounts to calculate, day in and day out? Could old Wu be deliberately putting on a show for his benefit?

Little did he know that the bookkeeping methods of this era were nowhere near as scientific and advanced as those of later generations—where a simple clatter on a keyboard could settle everything with a remarkably low margin of error.

Ancient bookkeeping was a terribly troublesome affair. While clicking the abacus beads with one hand, one had to use a writing brush to record the figures on paper with the other. The error rate was extremely high, requiring the calculations to be repeated several times, or even dozens of times, making the efficiency rather lackluster, to say the least.

Li Qi greeted Wu Xiaoliu and the Zhuzi brothers as well, then walked over to the tea and pastry stall run by Granny Cao nearby.

Ever since Drunken Immortal House began selling stinky tofu, Granny Cao's business had also risen with the tide. Sometimes, when Drunken Immortal House was packed to capacity, customers who couldn't find a seat would buy the stinky tofu and run over to Granny Cao's stall to eat it. Consequently, the number of customers at her stall had also increased considerably.

The moment Granny Cao saw Li Qi approaching, she immediately greeted him with a broad smile. "Young master, would you like something to eat?"

"Two steamed buns!"

"Right away, please wait a moment, I'll bring them right over."

Before long, Granny Cao placed two large steamed buns in front of Li Qi and chuckled, "Young master, you must have been run ragged lately, haven't you?"

Li Qi smiled and said, "It's alright! Has your business been doing much better lately?"

"Ah, thanks to your esteemed shop's blessing, this old woman's business is much better than before. I'm busy from morning till night without even a moment to catch my breath. However, this is all thanks to your proprietor not selling the shop to that Jade Pavilion," Granny Cao said, covering her mouth with a giggle. It seemed that this period's success had genuinely overjoyed her.

Li Qi smiled and said, "Granny, I suggest you find an assistant. Don't end up exhausting yourself just for the sake of making money."

"This old woman has thought about that too, but seeing as the number of customers coming to your shop has decreased over the past couple of days, I'm afraid that by the time I hire someone, the business might be gone again." Granny Cao's small eyes flickered with shrewdness.

Knowing that she was trying to fish for information from him, Li Qi smiled. "Don't you worry. Follow our proprietor, and you'll never have to fear going hungry. Just keep things as they are for now. In a while, feel free to hire a few more people—I guarantee you'll be making money until your hands get sore."

"Indeed, indeed, this old woman will keep that in mind."

Granny Cao hurriedly nodded and, knowing when to stop, said, "Young master, eat slowly, this old woman has work to do." With that, she swayed her large hips and departed.

Although Granny Cao was a bit mercenary, her heart was not wicked, and the steamed buns she made were always generously portioned, which was why Li Qi had half a mind to help her out.

Before long, Li Qi had polished off the two steamed buns, tossed a few copper coins onto the table, and strolled leisurely toward Drunken Immortal House.

Eh? Isn't that Xiaotao?

Before he had walked even two steps, Li Qi suddenly spotted Xiaotao, Lady Qin's personal maid, walking toward them.

As Xiaotao drew closer, Li Qi hurriedly called out, "Xiaotao!"

Xiaotao was slightly startled. Seeing that it was Li Qi, she quickly bowed and said, "Good day, Young Master Li!"

"Good girl! Good girl!"

Li Qi waved his hand and glanced sideways at Wu Xiaoliu, who was frying stinky tofu. Seeing that Wu Xiaoliu's gaze kept drifting in this direction and that he had long lost any focus on his cooking, Li Qi let out a chuckle and raised his voice. "Xiaotao, you must be here looking for Little Liu, right?"

"I am certainly not looking for him!"

Xiaotao pursed her little lips and said, "The Mistress sent me to pass a message to Uncle Wu."

Hearing Li Qi's question, Wu Xiaoliu had initially felt a surge of joy, but upon hearing Xiaotao declare that she wasn't looking for him, he wilted like an eggplant touched by frost and went back to obediently frying stinky tofu.

Seeing Wu Xiaoliu in this state, Li Qi was inwardly amused. Suppressing a laugh, he asked, "How is the Mistress doing?"

Mentioning this, he actually felt a lingering fondness for Lady Qin, who, despite having only met her once, was breathtakingly beautiful.

Xiaotao replied, "Thank you for your concern, Young Master Li, the Mistress is doing very well."

"Ah, that's good. Uncle Wu is inside the shop calculating accounts, you should go find him," Li Qi nodded, pointing toward the interior.

Xiaotao curtsied to Li Qi and walked into the shop.

Once Xiaotao went inside, Li Qi walked up to Wu Xiaoliu, patted him on the shoulder, and scolded with a smile, "You brat, go on inside and retrieve your wits first. Leave this post to me for now."

Wu Xiaoliu was slightly stunned, but quickly snapped back to reality. After blurting out some nonsense, he handed the ladle over to Li Qi and dashed inside in a hurry.

"Sigh, what a tragedy to have a disciple who doesn't even know how to woo a young maiden!"

Li Qi sighed and glanced at Chen Xiaozhuzi standing nearby. Seeing him looking as though he wanted to laugh but didn't dare, Li Qi teased, "What's the matter, Xiaozhuzi? Do you want to go inside too?"

Chen Xiaozhuzi was taken aback, his face turning as red as a monkey's bottom in a flash. He shook his head like a rattle-drum.

Li Qi shook his head with a smile. To think he had taken on three virgins as disciples—ah, it seemed he would have plenty of work cut out for him in the future.

Xiaotao did not stay inside for very long. Before long, she emerged, exchanged pleasantries with Li Qi, and departed.

Encouraged by Li Qi, Wu Xiaoliu had finally had a sudden flash of enlightenment and shamelessly acted as her escort for the journey.

During lunch time, Wu Furong pulled Li Qi aside and said in a low voice, "Young Master Li, the Mistress has asked this old man to come to the estate this afternoon."

Li Qi nodded and said, "I know!"

"You know?"

Wu Furong was slightly startled and asked, "Did Little Liu tell you?"

Li Qi shook his head and smiled. "Tomorrow is the last day of the fifteen-day limit. The Mistress will definitely call you over first to gather some intelligence, and by the way, discuss how to deal with me—oh, no, I mean, what kind of hospitality to accord me."

Hearing this, Wu Furong gave a bitter smile and said, "It seems nothing can be kept from you!"

Li Qi wore an expression of profound regret and sighed, "Not quite everything. For instance, the Mistress's exact age is something I have pondered over and over, yet I simply cannot fathom it!"

Wu Furong's mouth twitched a few times, and he deliberately coughed loudly, not daring to continue this topic further. He hurriedly asked, "Young Master Li, when the Mistress asks later, how should this old man reply?"

Heh, who would have thought that while old Wu usually spoke quite stiffly, he was actually quite adaptable when it mattered most.

Li Qi's eyes rolled, and he grinned. "Just tell the truth, but try to praise me as much as possible. Lay it on thick, as if I'm unparalleled in heaven and earth, a man of exceptional talent, dashing, peerless in handsome looks—hey, Uncle, what's with that expression? Am I saying something wrong?"

Wu Furong's old face flushed red, and gritting his teeth to keep from laughing out loud, he nodded and said, "Not at all, not at all. Everything Young Master Li says is the absolute truth."

"That goes without saying! How could I dare deceive the Mistress? Just repeat my wise and mighty decisions and my heroic deeds of outsmarting Patron Cai to the Mistress a few dozen times, and that will do!" Li Qi said without turning red or running out of breath.

A few dozen times?

Wu Furong instantly gasped, staring blankly at Li Qi, speechless for a long time!