Luo Changqing took the information, flipped through it, and asked with a frown, "That's all?"
"Yes, all the young talents who are not engaged and have the same status as the young lady are listed here. As for the others,
Either his status is too low or he already has a fiancée. "Shu Qi replied, and it turned out that he was looking for a fiancé for Luo Yaqing.
Luo Changqing looked at the so-called young talents listed above and was not very satisfied. He threw the information on the table and said, "Exclude those who have concubines or maids."
"This... For men of marriageable age, even if they don't have concubines, it's very common to have maids in the same room... I'm afraid few of them can truly keep themselves clean." Shu Qi said with embarrassment.
Luo Yaqing is almost sixteen years old. There are very few girls of her age who are still unengaged. Many girls are already married and even have children.
Men of her age are either married or engaged, especially those with high status and good looks. Such talents have been targeted long ago. It is a bit late for Luo Changqing to find one for his daughter now.
Luo Changqing didn't expect it to be so difficult to find a perfect son-in-law. He regretted not finding one for his daughter earlier: "It's my fault that I delayed Qing'er."
"How can I blame you, Master? You are also a kind-hearted father and want to keep the young lady at home for a few more years." Shu Qi comforted her. He was the one who knew Luo Changqing best.
Luo Changqing loved his daughter very much and wanted to give her the best of everything. He was reluctant to let her marry someone else at such a young age to serve her husband and parents-in-law, so he kept his daughter until now.
"Forget it. There's no rush for this. I still have to look for him carefully. I don't believe that there is really no young talent that is a match for Qing'er." Luo Changqing said.
Xu Shichu didn't know that her cheap husband was worrying about her daughter's marriage. She had made a lot of preparations for the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet. In addition to learning the etiquette and rules, she was also preparing clothes and jewelry for the banquet, and she also had to pay attention to her own business.
After Zui Xiang Ge's business was on track, she expanded the bookstore and renovated it into two areas. One area was where books to be bought were displayed; the other area was converted into a reading room.
She did not run her business according to the common bookstore model of the era, but instead transformed it into a modern bookstore that integrates book sales, book rentals, and reading.
The books in the bookstore can be sold or rented, or they can be lent to customers in the reading room at a price.
Selling, of course, is the conventional selling of books; renting, as long as you pay enough deposit, you can rent the book home and read or copy it as you like; borrowing, as long as you pay ten cents, you can read the book in the bookstore for a whole day, and five cents for half a day.
In this era, books were not cheap due to reasons such as paper, ink, and printing technology. Except for wealthy scholars, those children from poor families could not afford to buy a few books a year. Therefore, the method of borrowing and renting books allowed many children from poor families to read books openly. They could read for a whole day for just a few cents, which was really worth it. If they were afraid that they would not remember what they read, they could pay a deposit to rent the book and take it home to copy it down. Even if they took into account the cost of ink and paper, it was much cheaper than buying a new book.
This new bookstore model puzzled the readers in the capital for a long time, and they thought there was a trap waiting for them. But after some brave readers tried it and found that they were not tricked, they all became convinced by the idea.
This novel bookstore named "Houji Bookstore" soon became popular among the readers in the capital. In addition to the poor children who were not well-off, even the rich young men who did not care about the price of books were willing to come here to read. Firstly, it was spacious and bright, much more comfortable than the dim and lonely study at home; secondly, there was a good atmosphere for reading here, and when you had questions, you could discuss and exchange ideas with fellow book lovers at any time.
Scholars all know about propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame, and they value reputation. Xu Shichu is not worried that this business model will cause any trouble. She also prepared tea and snacks in the store. Of course, this costs money. After all, she is not doing charity.
Unexpectedly, the daily income from tea and snacks was actually more than the income from borrowing books, which surprised Xu Shichu a little.
After finishing his business, the Mid-Autumn Festival arrived. Xu Shichu dressed up according to the advice of his teaching nanny and went out with Luo Changqing.
Luo Rui and Luo Yaqing followed behind. Xu Shichu could feel their vague gazes on him, especially Luo Rui. He couldn't hide the look of astonishment when he saw Xu Shichu for the first time.
When she arrived at the door, Xu Shichu got into her own carriage. As soon as she sat down, she breathed a sigh of relief. There was no other way. The clothes she was wearing were too formal and the jewelry on her head was extremely valuable. She had to be very careful when walking. It was not an easy thing at all.
"Zhichun, Zhixia, quickly make me a cup of milk tea to moisten my throat." Xu Shichu ordered.
"But Madam, it's not convenient to drink too much tea in the palace, right?" Zhichun reminded tactfully.
"Don't worry. The palace is not a den of wolves or tigers. What's so inconvenient about it?" Xu Shichu said nonchalantly. After all, she was the prime minister's wife. No one could trace any conspiracy to her, right
"Just in case, Madam should drink less, but you can have some snacks." Zhixia said.
"Okay, okay, you're really a little housekeeper." Xu Shichu smiled helplessly and picked up the red bean cake on the small table and started eating.
Just as he put the cake in his mouth, the curtain of the carriage was lifted, and a tall figure came in.
"Master? Pay your respects to the master!" Zhichun and Zhixia were startled and hurriedly put down the work in their hands and saluted Luo Changqing.
Xu Shichu just raised his eyelids and glanced at him, saying, "Why did the Prime Minister get on my carriage?"
"I have something to tell you." Luo Changqing didn't care when he saw that Xu Shichu didn't greet him. He sat down on the other side of the small table without any hesitation, facing Xu Shichu.
"Continue to make milk tea." Xu Shichu raised his chin, signaling the two maids not to worry about Luo Changqing.
Zhichun and Zhixia hesitated for a while, but soon started to work according to Xu Shichu's instructions. After all, Xu Shichu was their master.
Making milk tea is actually a very simple task. The water is kept boiling on a small stove, the milk is kept frozen with ice, and even the pearls in the milk tea are made into cute crystal balls. Soak the tea leaves in boiling water, filter out the tea leaves, pour in the milk, and then add the small pearl balls and stir. The ancient version of pearl milk tea is ready.
Luo Changqing didn't say anything, just watched the two maids make this novel and strange milk tea.
Xu Shichu picked up the teacup and felt Luo Changqing staring at his milk tea. He hesitated for a moment and asked, "Do you want to drink it too?"
"Okay." Luo Changqing nodded unexpectedly and actually agreed.