Something happened. This is not going to be bloody.

The main house in the courtyard is the bedroom of Yao Qing and his wife, the wing on the east side is Zhou Leng's study and workroom, the wing on the west side is where Ju Zheng lives, and the two side rooms are one kitchen and the other a room for storing tools and sundries.

Ju Zheng saw the woman standing in the yard with her head down, looking quite at a loss. He walked over and said, "Young lady, has my sister-in-law told you where you want to live?"

He Xiang bowed and said, "In reply to your question, sir, I am a maid sent by Madam Tongpan to Madam Yirong. Please help me settle her down."

Ju Zheng could only take the woman to the north room of the west wing. He usually stayed in the south room when he was alone, and the north room was where he kept his sundries. He went into the room and quickly put away all his belongings and bags, and then invited He Xiang to come in.

Ju Zheng said, "There are beddings on the bed, you can rest here. Since you are a maid, get up early tomorrow. I will tell you about the layout of the courtyard."

"Thank you, sir."

Ju Zheng said: "Tell me what kind of food you can cook, and I will tell you what your brother and sister-in-law like."

He Xiang said with some embarrassment: "I don't know how to cook."

Ju Zheng asked again: "Can you embroider needlework?"

"The slave is not proficient in women's work."

Ju Zheng asked in surprise: "Then what can you do?"

"I can dance softly, lightly, play the pipa and the guqin."

Ju Zheng looked at her with disdain and said, "Rest first today, and ask your sister-in-law tomorrow to decide where you will go."

He Xiang watched the door close, then she sat down dejectedly on the wooden chair. At this moment, she strangely felt that she was quite useless. Apart from pleasing people, she didn't have any other skills.

Day two.

After breakfast, Ju Zheng looked down on He Xiang even more. She actually asked her sister-in-law to cook for her. What kind of servant is she!

When Ju Zheng saw He Xiang taking the dishes away to wash, he said:

"Sister-in-law, this person is a burden. I asked her yesterday. She can't wash clothes, cook, or sew. What kind of maid is she? Could it be that she has come to our house to be a lady?"

Zhou sneered and said, "Don't worry, let her go to help out when the tavern opens. She will be of some use in the end. If she is really useless in the end, send her to Qingrong Inn to be a waiter."

Ju Zheng then nodded with satisfaction.

A month later, the pub opened.

The furniture was made by Ju Zheng after he went to Sanyuanzhai and asked someone to come to the store to take a look. Everything was made according to Zhou Leng's drawings. In addition to the bar and tables and chairs for wine on the first floor, there was also a small stage in the corner with guqin, pipa and other musical instruments.

The second floor is a quieter private room, with each table separated by elegant screens, which is quite romantic.

Ju Zheng was a servant, responsible for delivering wine.

Zhou Leng is the shopkeeper and is responsible for collecting money.

He Xiang is a servant and a part-time singer, responsible for playing a song or dancing every evening.

On the first day of opening, there was no one.

The three of them were staring at each other in boredom in the store.

He Xiang said: "Shopkeeper, actually...I think if it's just about selling wine, why don't many people go to brothels, where they can have young ladies and drink wine."

After listening to her words, Ju Zheng felt that they made a lot of sense. He looked at Zhou Leng in confusion.

Zhou Leng replied, "We only sell to people who love wine. I have my own ideas." She added, "Ju Zheng, go put the sign I wrote yesterday at the door."

"okay."

Some of the wooden signs, which resemble modern advertisements, read: "Winter Sun Wine, limit to one drink per person."

People passing by looked sideways, but no one came in.

After noon, the restaurants on both sides became busy, except for Qingrong Tavern which was quite quiet.

Two people passed by, and one of them said, "Brother Wang, if you want to discuss something, you can come and sit here. It's quiet and no one will disturb you. Besides, the shopkeeper here is the wife of Yao Tixia."

Another person answered: "Oh, Yao Tixia is in charge of business, if it is his shop, we should go and support it."

"Brother Wang, please."

"please."

The two entered the shop and saw that the layout was different from the pubs they had been to before. They found a window on the first floor facing the river and sat down.

Ju Zheng walked over with his own special wooden menu and placed it on the table, then asked, "My two guests, what kind of wine would you like to drink and what side dishes would you like?"

The two looked at the wooden piece on the table, on one side of which were engraved the names and prices of the drinks, and on the other side were the prices of the side dishes.

"Little Second Brother, I see the wooden sign at your door says that each person is limited to one glass of Winter Sun Wine?"

Ju Zheng replied, "Sir, you may not know that this Winter Sun Liquor is a strong liquor that is unique to our tavern. One glass of it will make you drunk. Moreover, this liquor takes quite some time to brew and there is not much left, so the drink is limited to one glass."

"Then pour two cups and order a plate of braised meat."

Ju Zheng shouted loudly: "Okay, two cups of Winter Sun and a plate of braised pork."

On the shelf inside Zhou Leng's counter were plates of braised meat that had already been portioned out. She took out a plate and placed it on a wooden tray, then took out two custom-made ceramic cups and poured warm wine into them.

Ju Zheng came with a wooden plate and went straight to serving the dishes.

The two were surprised when they saw the cup. They thought it would be a small wine glass and thought it would be okay to suffer a loss for Yao Tixia, but they didn't expect it to be a large cup. There were two fruits stuck on the ceramic cup, which looked novel.

Zhou Leng looked at He Xiang who was idle and said, "We have guests today, go and play a song to welcome them."

Melodious music plays in the store, accompanied by a sip of strong liquor that connects your internal organs, and a piece of braised meat. This is the ultimate enjoyment for wine lovers.

When the two left, their steps were unsteady and their faces were flushed.

From today on, more and more people gradually came to Qingrong Tavern. One reason was that the wine was really good, and the other was that Yao Tixia's reputation made many people come to have a drink for his sake.

He Xiang also settled down in the Yao family.

Two months later, everything was back on track.

The tavern also began to get busy. Zhou Leng was just a shopkeeper in the tavern every day. He would kick out the drunkards who didn't know how to drink. The rest of the time he was very free.

Today, Zhou Leng took He Xiang to attend a banquet hosted by the wife of the Tongzhi. They received the invitation a few days ago, saying it was a flower-viewing banquet.

There were already two horse-drawn carriages parked in front of the Tongzhi's house, as well as ox-drawn carts and donkey-drawn carts. After all, horse-drawn carriages were still considered a luxury.

After Zhou Leng handed in the invitation, she was led through the courtyard corridor to the garden. After greeting the ladies, she sat at the end of the long table, with the wife of the deputy commander sitting next to her, and He Xiang sitting on a small stool behind her.

Mrs. Wang sat at the front of the table. She hadn't seen Zhou Leng since the last time they had an unpleasant argument. She glanced at Zhou Leng, who was sitting upright, and straightened her body. The wife of the Tongzhi saw all of this.

The banquet began, and the maid brought tea, fruit and snacks. After taking a few bites, the wife of the Tongzhi said:

"The maid following Madam Yirong looks familiar."

Zhou Leng replied: "Mrs. Chen may have forgotten that this person is from your mansion and was transferred to my place."

"Oh, it's her blessing that she ended up in your house."

Zhou Leng did not speak, but stood up and bowed in thanks. This thank you gesture contained a lot of profound meaning.

When Zhou Leng was leaving, a maid brought her a wooden box. She opened it and found that it was He Xiang's indenture contract. Sure enough, the other party understood her gift.