Chapter 212: A Timely Rain
Wen Yao was truly caught completely off guard. This news had returned far too quickly.
Seeing Wen Yao standing there completely dazed, the corners of Li Yi’s mouth couldn’t help but curve upward. His imperial mother’s letter couldn’t be shown directly to Wen Yao, but he could certainly relay its contents.
“With your ice-making method, the guards did indeed manage to reach the capital while ensuring that the texture and flavor of the pastries remained perfectly intact. The moment my mother received them, she sent them over for my grandmother to try. My grandmother liked them immensely, praised you lavishly, and even sent you quite a few gifts. The guards are currently on their way back with the items.
“In addition, I also mentioned the matter of the fruit trees and dairy cows to my mother. She mentioned in her reply that she will settle this matter, so you can rest assured.”
At this point, Li Yi paused, appearing somewhat hesitant to speak.
Wen Yao tilted her head to look at him. “Is there something you can’t say?”
Li Yi let out a soft laugh. “It’s not that I can’t, it’s just that my grandmother likes your pastries very much. My mother asked me to inquire if you could make more in the future. Just like this time, we will dispatch people to deliver them.”
Since the other party didn’t mind the trouble, Wen Yao, as the cook, naturally wouldn’t mind it either. Furthermore, they had indeed helped her solve a massive problem, so making some pastries to show her gratitude was only right.
However, Wen Yao was very curious.
“Didn’t the guards just leave three days ago? You’ve already received a reply? Messenger pigeons?” Wen Yao asked inquisitively.
Li Yi wasn’t at all surprised that Wen Yao knew about messenger pigeons. He nodded, “Yes. To make it convenient to contact home, we always bring messenger pigeons with us when we travel away from home.”
Wen Yao understood. So that’s how it is. She really wanted to see one.
“Then, about the pastries?” Li Yi asked.
Wen Yao patted her chest. “Rest assured, rest assured, leave it to me. It’s just a pity these beverages can’t be sent over; otherwise, we could let the old lady try our drinks as well. Paired with the pastries, it would taste even better.”
“There will always be a chance.” Li Yi smiled. To be honest, Wen Yao’s strangely named beverages were indeed very delicious. If such a shop were opened in the capital, it would probably be instantly sold out by frantic crowds.
Opening his mouth, he was just about to ask Wen Yao if she was interested in opening a shop in the capital when a shout rang out from outside.
“Yao’er, Yao’er…”
Hearing this, Wen Yao said, “Sister Rongrong is here. Li Yi, I’m heading out first, thank you!”
With that, Wen Yao ran off.
Li Fu strolled out from heaven knows where, holding a paper bag of sunflower seeds roasted by Wen Yao. The paper bag used to hold the seeds was quite unique; the left side was for the seeds, while the right side was used for spitting the shells.
“Stinky brat, what are you staring at? The girl has already vanished into thin air.” Li Fu stood beside Li Yi, speaking in a low, ghostly voice.
Li Yi cast a glance at him and said faintly, “Imperial Mother asks when you are going back.”
Hearing this, Li Fu nearly lost his grip on the bag of seeds. He smiled awkwardly. “This… in a while, in a while. I have to wait until those corn crops in the fields are harvested before talking about that. In addition, I heard the villagers discussing that all the fields in Gutong Village this year were cultivated using Wen Xiuyi’s methods of clearing land, composting, and top-dressing. I want to see if the yield really increases dramatically as he claimed.”
Li Yi cast a strange glance at his own old dad. Is this really his father?
Being stared at by him made Li Fu feel a bit unnatural. He snorted and glared back, “What are you looking at, what are you looking at? Is your royal father not allowed to care about the people’s livelihood? I like to eat, but I am not stupid.”
At this point, Li Fu paused and continued, “This Wen Xiuyi is a true talent.”
To be able to gain such a friend, Li Fu was still very happy. This trip out was not a loss.
Just as he was preparing to leave, Li Fu seemed to recall something. He turned his head to look at his son. At thirteen years of age, he already possessed an exceptionally handsome face—a face meant for deceiving young girls.
Li Fu narrowed his eyes, scanning his son.
Being stared at by him gave Li Yi goosebumps. He stood a bit further away in dislike, his brow furrowing. “What are you doing?”
Li Fu smiled slightly, revealing the expression of a kindly old father. “Nothing, nothing. I just feel that my son has grown up, possessing an elegant, handsome, and charming demeanor.”
After speaking, he burst into hearty laughter and continued cracking his seeds as he walked away, leaving Li Yi thoroughly bewildered.
Qiu Rongrong had suddenly come to find Wen Yao. Firstly, she wanted to see her; secondly, she came to deliver money to the Wen family; and thirdly, it was to discuss with Wen Yao what exactly those shops at the pier would be used for.
By now, the shops at the pier were basically completely built. As the first pilot shop for interior decoration at the pier, Wen Nong’s shop was already in use. Because his shop was beautifully and uniquely decorated, it had also brought in quite a bit of business for Carpenter Zhang and Cui Jian.
Of course, the two also had more decoration inspiration thanks to the blueprints provided by Wen Yao. Right now, if one were to say what was the hottest thing at the pier, it wasn’t the shops, but rather Carpenter Zhang and Cui Jian’s decoration team.
“The accountant is calculating the books with Grandma at the old residence. The money for the ducks and the soybean paste is being settled together today. In addition, the milk tea shop is almost fully decorated. According to your requirements, I have selected a few young and clever boys and girls. When do you plan to go take a look and give them that… what did you call it again? Training?” Qiu Rongrong pulled Wen Yao to sit down in the courtyard, her mouth rattling on without stopping.
Wen Yao, however, only heard the first sentence. “Is there any money for me?” She was poor, truly very poor. Between buying people and building the winery, her five hundred taels was almost entirely spent. The main issue was that the wine she had given Doctor Jin and the others during this period had also cost a lot of money to exchange for achievement points. If this elder sister hadn’t come soon, she wouldn’t even have money to buy wine yeast.
Qiu Rongrong gave her nose a teasing tap with a laugh. “How could we leave you short?” As she spoke, she fished several banknotes out from her sleeve. “Here, little money-grubber, your two thousand taels.”
Wen Yao’s eyes gleamed with golden light. “So much!” Taking the banknotes, Wen Yao gave them a big kiss. This was all money, a massive sum!
Such an adorable appearance made Qiu Rongrong laugh heartily.
Glancing around, Qiu Rongrong noticed that Wen Yao’s flowers were gone.
Her eyes lit up. “Where are your flowers? Can they be eaten now?”
Able to make money again, happy!
Wen Yao tucked the banknotes away safely, trotted over to the kitchen, and brought out several plates of her roasted sunflower seeds, arranging them on the table.
“Sister, try some.” Wen Yao pointed to the plates of seeds on the table and introduced them, “This one is original flavor, this is five-spice, this is Sichuan peppercorn, and this is preserved plum.”
Looking at these tiny seeds, Qiu Rongrong cracked a few following Wen Yao’s example, and her eyes lit up.
This stuff was far more delicious than the sunflower seeds from before.
“Delicious! Eating some when one has nothing to do is rather interesting, and they can also be used to entertain friends and relatives during festivals. If these are sold, they will certainly make a vast profit,” Qiu Rongrong said while eating.
Wen Yao found it somewhat amusing; this elder sister truly couldn’t utter three sentences without mentioning money.
“You’re exactly right. I think the most delicious ones are these Sichuan peppercorn and five-spice ones. Yao’er, remember to get me some; I’ll have people send them home.” Li Fu popped up from heaven knows where again, just happening to pick up on Qiu Rongrong’s words.
Qiu Rongrong was startled, but seeing Li Fu, she didn’t find it strange either. She simply stood up and curtsied. “Mister Li.” Since he was a friend of Master Qiu, calling him “Mister” was certainly not wrong.
Li Fu nodded. He was an elder, so there was no need to avoid social interaction out of modesty. “We are all one family; there is no need to be so polite.”
Wen Yao felt like laughing. Ever since this man became bosom friends with her dad, he truly did not treat himself as an outsider at all.
“Uncle Li, you didn’t go to the fields with my dad today?”
Li Fu cracked a seed while replying, “I went, but your grandpa blasted me back. He said I did nothing but cause trouble, so I could only come back.”
