Hao Cheng nodded: "Then I will listen to you." The scholar had no father or mother, and there were no experienced elders in her family. Jiang Mengzhen was born and raised in Jin and had been married once.
According to him, although the person he married in the past was terrible, the wedding was still very grand, and it was obviously done according to those rules. She didn't know anything, and it would be easy to make a fool of herself if she acted recklessly.
The modern wedding dress and suit were too unusual and weird in this era. Jiang Mengzhen had experience, so it was better for her to listen to him.
When she came to her senses from Jiang Mengzhen's story, she suddenly remembered something else: "You haven't told me just now how you fell off the cliff..."
She asked, but got no response. She looked down and saw Jiang Mengzhen sleeping in her arms. Without those deliberately ugly clothes, he looked much more beautiful than when she first saw him.
He leaned in her arms, looking peaceful and relaxed. Hao Cheng stared at his peaceful sleeping face for a long time, but in the end he couldn't bear to wake him up.
When her hands were numb from resting on the pillow, she woke him up and led the drowsy Jiang Mengzhen out of the room to sleep on the bed in the side room.
After all, this was different from the era she had lived in before. Before the two of them had established a relationship, it was better not to behave too outrageously in front of outsiders.
The next day, Hao Cheng originally wanted to talk to Jiang Mengzhen, but the shopkeeper invited by Hao Cheng came to find her again, saying that he wanted to discuss the restaurant matters earlier.
The name of the new restaurant is very ordinary, just called Ruyi Restaurant, which is in the same style as her Ruyi Shouzhabing, and the characters are still from Qiao Mu. However, the decoration inside was done by Hao Cheng.
There are differences in aesthetics between the East and the West. When Western culture was excessive in her era, most people could not accept the invasion of Western culture.
She didn't think that adding Western-style designs to the restaurant would attract a large number of customers, so she integrated the local design with the restaurant culture of later generations, and made slight changes to the tables and furnishings, ensuring that the people of Mingzhou City would feel refreshed.
Of course, it was inevitable to invite a famous Feng Shui master to give advice. The final plan was also reviewed by Qiao Mu, and only after he got his approval did he invite carpenters and stonemasons to do the designs.
In fact, Western design is not impossible, but for Hao Cheng now, she does not have enough money. If she fails, I am afraid that her relationship with Qiao Mu will be discounted. It is better to take such a heavy step in life and proceed step by step.
She paid for these workers, but the resources were introduced by Qiao Mu. They were very reliable and they signed an agreement that guaranteed that the other party would never sell their designs to other companies for money.
Ever since she revealed her identity as the city lord's second daughter, Qiao Mu no longer lived near Hao Cheng as she did before. Instead, she ran back home every few days. She only lived in the house next to Hao Cheng when something happened or she felt constrained.
Hao Cheng was so busy with the restaurant that he had no time to rest, and for a moment he forgot what he wanted to ask Jiang Mengzhen. She was not worried that Jiang Mengzhen would find it boring, because after revealing his identity, he would not disguise himself like he did in Xinghua Village. When Hao Cheng was not at home, he was basically not at home either.
Jiang Mengzhen is different from those young masters who stay in the mansion embroidering every day. He has his own career and his own plans. Hao Cheng will not stop him from doing anything outside.
Anyway, in her opinion, he knows his own limits, and as long as he doesn't do anything harmful, she will support whatever he does.
The weather is very cold now, but as the New Year is approaching, the pedestrians coming and going on the street are wrapped thicker and thicker, and more and more people are starting to buy New Year's goods.
Mingzhou City is very lively during festivals. Although the New Year is a day for family reunion, there are always some people who cannot go home every year due to traffic and other reasons. There are also some single women who don’t like to cook but want to have a good meal on New Year’s Eve, so they always go to restaurants to eat.
Hao Cheng had consulted Qiao Mu in advance and confirmed time and again that business at restaurants and hotels would be particularly good during the Chinese New Year, so he set the opening date as the eighth day of the November 8th.
After repeated checks, the restaurant's decoration was ready, all kinds of tables and chairs were neatly arranged, the floor and tables and chairs were polished to a shine, and as long as the red cloth outside was lifted and the door was opened, the restaurant was ready to welcome guests at any time.
The restaurant was about to open, and the waitress, accountant, and shopkeeper were all in place. The chefs had signed contracts and set a start date. As one of the owners, Hao Cheng had to check the financial affairs again and again. When he was busy, he would not go home for several days and would stay at the restaurant to check the accounts with the accountant.
The restaurant was about to open, and she had to celebrate the New Year, so she entrusted the purchase of New Year goods to Wang Yang and Dong Xue. The hand-pulled pancake stall was temporarily closed, and she would set up a special place under the restaurant to sell hand-pulled pancakes and other pancakes.
That day, she was checking the accounts when Qiao Mu, wearing a gray cloak, came in from the back door. As soon as she entered the room, the servant took the heavy cloak from her. Hao Cheng was concentrating on reading the account book when she heard the sound of someone coming up the stairs. Qiao Mu's thick boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the solid wood stairs.
She sat down on the armchair in front of Hao Cheng, holding a cup of steaming hot tea in her hand: "Still looking at the account book? I came here, but you didn't even treat me!"
Hao Cheng looked up at her. There was still some snow on Qiao Mu's hair, but the white snowflakes had quickly melted in the warm house.
She frowned, took a handkerchief from her hand and threw it over: "Wipe your hair, the water has all dripped onto the book, wipe it quickly, don't wet the account book here."
She was very serious. Qiao Mu took the handkerchief from her hand and wiped her face, complaining as she did so: "You are so heartless. I braved such a heavy snowstorm to come to see you, and you still have this attitude. It really makes me feel disappointed."
Hao Cheng turned another page: "Okay, okay, you work the hardest. How come you have time to come here today? Don't tell me you are here to look at these account books with me."
She actually didn't really like looking at these numbers, but when she thought about the fact that this was her own business and that it represented money, she became motivated to look at them.
Qiao Mu was not short of money, so naturally he was not as concerned about the restaurant business as she was. When she told him these things, he started complaining about having a headache and pushed all the things to her, even saying that he trusted her very much.
Qiao Mu came here today despite the wind and snow. She didn't believe that the other party would come to help her solve her problems just because he was worried about the upcoming opening.
Qiao Mu took a sip of hot tea and sighed comfortably: "You really understand me. I came here today not for the restaurant, but for my brother."
Hao Cheng paused and said, "I had something to do a few days ago and left first. Mr. Qiao has not come since then."
That day she took Jiang Mengzhen and ran away. Having resolved her worries, she never went to the hand-pulled pancake stall again.
Afterwards, she remembered Qiao Yu, who was left there by the two of them, but he had not come. She went to visit Qiao Mu at his residence next door, but the servants in her house told her that the head of their family had not been at home for the past few days.
From then on, she was only concerned about the affairs of Ruyi Restaurant and no longer remembered Qiao Yu.
"That's because he's back home, so you naturally can't see him."
Thinking of that day, she couldn't help feeling a little guilty, but she didn't show it on her face. She just followed Qiao Mu's question and asked, "Then why did you come here today?"
Qiao Mu sighed: "What else could it be for? Of course it's for the person Xiao Yuer likes."
Hao Cheng immediately thought of the woman he saw a few days ago: "It's a good thing that your brother has someone he likes."
"Damn it!" Qiao Mu couldn't help but swear. She frowned, obviously extremely dissatisfied with the person Qiao Yu liked.
"My brother is worthy of everyone, but he has to find a poor scholar!"
Hao Cheng's face froze: "Sister Qiao, what you said is a bit biased. If you count it this way, Hao is also a poor scholar."
Qiao Mu put down the cup in his hand: "She is different from you! She is poor and tactless. She has nothing but a good appearance and a bad temper. If my brother really gets along with her, he will have a hard life!"
She didn't know what her brother liked about the girl, she guessed it was just her face. Seeing that her brother really liked her, she also went to the scholar's house, but was choked to death by the guy.
Poor her brother, he was just beginning to fall in love, the more people looked down on him, the more he stuck to them. But for her brother's sake, she really couldn't do anything to that guy.
Qiao Mu was worried about Qiao Yu. In just a few days, she felt that she had grown a lot of white hair and she couldn't find a suitable person to chat with.
After all, her friends always gave unreliable ideas, which would definitely not work on Qiao Yu. Finally, after much thought, she decided to go for Hao Cheng.
Hao Cheng said in embarrassment: "I do want to help Sister Qiao, but I can't do much and I don't have any good ideas."
"No, you can!" Qiao Mu stood up in a flash, and she came close to Hao Cheng, her eyes sparkling, and said, "You are also a scholar, you are not bad looking, and you are a good cook. You can definitely help me win Xiao Yuer's heart back! You must help me with this!"