Great Imperial Merchant

After the Lantern Festival, Quzhou gradually returned to its usual bustle, with new shops opening up and business booming again.

Year after year, day after day, Quzhou gradually prospered in such cycles.

Other houses are busy, and Fumanlou is no exception. Years ago, the tea sold so well that there is almost nothing left when the next spring begins.The two discussed a new recipe and added many new dishes.

The spring bamboo shoots that are often eaten in spring, fresh pears and pipas, and various green leafy and seasonal vegetables that cannot be eaten in winter can gradually be seen in the vegetable market, enriching the three meals a day of the people.

The braised spring bamboo shoots in oil are refreshing and pleasant, the sweet loquat and pear soup with rock sugar can moisten the throat and lungs, and the stir-fried seasonal vegetables are delicious and not greasy. In short, refreshing spring is the most rare thing.

Now Yang Zhongyuan only went to the shop for a few days, and Cheng Weizhe always followed him cautiously, for fear that something might happen to him.Yang Zhongyuan said that he didn't listen to him several times, so he had to gradually reduce the number of times he went out.

Besides, it was really inconvenient for him to go out.

Dr. Liu took a look at it for him. The child is not too big, and he should live well by then.But even so, when he stood up straight and looked down, he couldn't see his feet at all.The round belly always reminded him that a new life was about to be born, and Yang Zhongyuan had to be careful, for fear that the child would have an accident.

For him and Cheng Weizhe, this child is a surprise and the best continuation of life.

Compared with him, the things in the shop are not big things.But even if the matter is not big, it must be resolved in advance.

The branch store hadn't finished decorating yet, so they weren't too busy right now, and before he was born, they quickly hired Ren Yali to help him.

This time, we are going to hire a steward who specializes in looking after the tea gardens. Cheng Weizhe is not too worried about the two tea gardens in Qumu County, but the newly purchased ten-acre tea garden in Quze County needs to be well managed.Here they want to grow the tea that is often sold in the shop, both red and green. The trees in the tea garden are good, so the good seedlings will naturally be kept, and the bad ones will be replanted.Cheng Weizhe specially invited the old grandson to come over to have a look, and asked him to stay there to take care of the tree first.

But after all, Lao Sun is only a tea farmer, and he is not very good at managing people. Other tea farmers have the same status as him, so it is impossible for him to follow his orders smoothly.

The most important thing in Quzhou is stewardship. Li Renya handled this very quickly, and sent the list in the afternoon.

In the end, Cheng Weizhe and the others chose a newly established steward, and after a few days of careful observation, they sent him to Quze County with the newly purchased tea workers.

After two months of maintenance by the old grandson, the big tea garden has gradually recovered, and it is only waiting to be picked before Qingming.

After making arrangements there, Cheng Weizhe and Yang Zhongyuan called Cen Zhiqing again.

Ermao grew up with Cheng Weizhe since he was a child. He has read books and knows how to settle accounts and tea. He has always been loyal and smart. He is a good seed.Cheng Weizhe had a deep affection for him, and he couldn't let him be a servant for the rest of his life, so he discussed with Yang Zhongyuan, and he asked, "Ermao, there is a shortage of shopkeepers in the branch. If you can do well, I will hire you." How about returning the deed of prostitution to you and letting you do your job in an upright manner?"

Cen Zhiqing really didn't expect the master's family to treat him so well. In his heart, the two masters are good people and have always been considerate to him, but Cen Zhiqing's heart warmed when he said that he would return his contract of sale , For a short time, his mind was filled with the idea of ​​wanting to ruin his master's brain.

It would be a lie to say that I am not moved.

Yang Zhongyuan's eyes turned red when he saw him, and he said with a smile: "You child, why are you so excited. You have always been a good person, why do you think your master taught you to read and write earlier? Didn't you want you to have a Good job."

Cen Zhiqing's lips kept trembling, and in the end he just choked up and said, "Thank you, Master, thank you Zhengjun."

"Okay, okay, you are almost weak, don't cry and cry about it. The branch will not open until at least three months. I have already made an agreement with Laoqian. Recently, you have to learn from him for a while. Let me say If you don't learn well in the front, you will have to talk about the latter." Cheng Weizhe was also warm in his heart, but his face was very serious.

Cen Zhiqing knew that he had good intentions, so he rubbed his face with his sleeve, and replied loudly: "I will study hard, and I will definitely not embarrass the masters."

Yang Zhongyuan waved his hand at him and said: "Okay, okay, let's go. By the way, don't tell anyone about the sale of the contract. Others don't know that you are a servant we brought over. They only know that you are a capable subordinate. , remember?"

Cen Zhiqing nodded, tried to take two deep breaths, and then went out.

Although he is still young, he is quite a good person. Cheng Weizhe is willing to teach him patiently, which is the plan.He is a talent, and he must not be buried because of his status.

Now that they have limited manpower, and when they opened a branch, it suddenly seemed stretched, so they hurriedly took advantage of their free time to fix all the staff in charge.

Quzhou's commercial market is prosperous, so it's easy to find someone whether it's a shopkeeper or a manager, whether it's a waiter or a servant.It's just that whether the person is good or not depends on the opportunities of each family.

So far, the few people they have hired are not bad except Yang Cheng, but in their hearts, Cen Zhiqing is the most reliable.

Since coming to Quzhou, many things have been handed over to Cen Zhiqing. This once shy boy has gradually grown up, with today's decisiveness and perseverance.Years ago, he went down the mountain alone to find Cheng Weizhe. This alone can explain many things.

Yang Zhongyuan didn't know about this, but Cheng Weizhe remembered it in his heart.

In such an environment, Cen Zhiqing was almost fighting for his life, and being able to do this for him was beyond words of loyalty.

Therefore, when planning to open a branch, the first thing they thought of was Cen Zhiqing.

After arranging the shopkeeper of the branch, Yang Zhongyuan recruited Li Shu again and asked him if he would like to be the manager of the branch.In fact, there are many things that can be solved in a general store with a shopkeeper, but the branch store has three floors up and down, it is a bit big, Cen Zhiqing alone is not enough, and an experienced person is still needed to help.

This candidate is naturally Li Shu, who has been a sophomore for several years. He has been studying with the shopkeeper before the New Year's Eve last year.Cheng Weizhe and the others saw it in their eyes, and their hearts gradually settled down.

Although he was going to the branch, he was still promoted, so Li Shu was naturally willing. His home was very close to Zuixiang Street, so it was more convenient to go there.

After all these are settled, most of the branch affairs have been arranged.For the rest, as long as four more second chefs are hired, the back kitchen can be settled.

Originally, there were already two second chefs in the main store. These days, they have learned a lot from Yang Zhongyuan and Yu Zhen, and they have grown a lot. The back kitchen is becoming more and more capable. Even if they open a branch, Yang Zhongyuan is not afraid of manpower not enough.

Promote the two second chefs to master chefs, let Zhao Lingfeng take one over, and add two second chefs at the same time, the manpower is the same as before.

Even if the second chef was slow at first, Zhao Lingfeng and the others were already familiar with the operation of the shop, and he would be the chef when he went. With him, the shop would not be messed up.

Thinking of this, Yang Zhongyuan is no longer as entangled as before. The four newly recruited second chefs are all pretty good at their skills.Anyway, there are enough people in the main store, so let them work in the back kitchen just to check it out first. If they are needed, then the branch store can be opened immediately.

As a result, the second half of January came to an end amidst non-stop recruiting negotiations. Time passed by like water, and in a blink of an eye, it was March, and the spring flowers bloomed one by one, bringing the joy of spring.

In the last month, Yang Zhongyuan seldom went out, and he didn't worry too much about other things, but he started to arrange things for his children.

To be honest, he was a little nervous.

Although he is already 25, it is his first time to have a child, and he would be lying if he said he was not nervous.

He didn't have the heart to think about things in the shop at all, but at home looking at the clothes and quilts that his father made for the children felt much more comfortable.

In March, even Cheng Weizhe didn't go out very much, Han Shiqian had no choice but to go out by himself, otherwise the shop would be in chaos.

For Master's help, Cheng Weizhe and Yang Zhongyuan were naturally very grateful.

Since the fall of the Han family, he has lived alone in seclusion. With his personality, it is absolutely impossible for him to go out to manage the shop.Now, for the sake of the two juniors, regardless of their age, they are not afraid of hard work, and they have come out of the mountain to manage again.

He sincerely took care of the two juniors as his own children, and tried his best to help them. His previous persistence and determination were broken, and all that remained was his sincere love for the children.

On the third day of March, the first spring rain suddenly fell in Quzhou.

As the old saying goes, spring rain is as expensive as oil, and farmers can feel at ease if the spring rain falls this year.

The earlier the spring rain falls, the earlier the spring will come.

On such a rainy day, Yang Zhongyuan's stomach finally started to move.

At the beginning, he only said that he was not feeling very well, and his stomach was hurting, but it didn't matter.

Counting the days, Yang Zhongyuan didn't take it seriously, and even had breakfast with his family.

He didn't say anything, but his face was still as usual, Cheng Weizhe naturally didn't expect that he would give birth early, so he changed his clothes after dinner and said he was going to the shop.

"In the next ten days or so, you can't say which day you will give birth. I will go to the shop to take care of it at last, and I will concentrate on staying with you at home in the next few days." Cheng Weizhe said, leaning over and pressing a light kiss on Yang Zhongyuan's cheek.

Yang Zhongyuan nodded with a smile, and reached out to help him fasten his belt. After arriving in Quzhou, life was busy, Cheng Weizhe was thinner than last year, and even his belt was loose: "When the child falls to the ground, you have to follow me to raise some Time, look at your face, it's not so good."

Cheng Weizhe smiled after hearing this, reached out and touched his stomach carefully, and then left the main house.

Yang Zhongyuan stood by the door and watched him go out of the courtyard, and then turned back to the tea room.

The tea room is quite spacious, and the furnishings are as comfortable as possible. Yang Zhongyuan spent most of his days reading and drinking tea here, and his life was quite leisurely.

But today, he was sitting on the couch, tossing from side to side, but he just didn't feel comfortable.Yang Zhongyuan reached out his hand to touch his stomach, but found that it was harder than before, and the pain of falling came again, which made his face change suddenly.

Yang Zhongyuan took a few deep breaths before realizing that he might be about to give birth.

"Zicao, Zicao!" Yang Zhongyuan yelled at him, the vibrato in his voice was unusually obvious.

Zicao hurried in from the door, almost spilling the spring water in her hand: "What's wrong, master?"

Yang Zhongyuan slowly sat up from the couch, he took a few deep breaths, and said slowly: "Come here, help me back upstairs. I'm going to give birth, and you will invite father and master to come here later, and then send someone to Doctor Liu please. Oh, by the way, Ah Zhe just left the house, remember to call him back."

After all, Zicao was young, and when she heard that he was about to give birth, she panicked.

Yang Zhongyuan waved at him again, and he came back to his senses, his face turned pale.

"Master, do you want to invite auspicious people?" Zicao carefully helped him upstairs, probably because it was too painful, so Yang Zhongyuan grabbed his hand quite hard, but Zicao didn't say a word, only asked him what was important. thing.

The stairs leading to the second floor are very spacious. Yang Zhongyuan gritted his teeth and walked to the door of the bedroom without saying a word, and he was relieved.

After Zicao helped him to sit on the bed, he felt relieved and shook his head: "No, I don't need him today, please come tomorrow."

Zicao nodded, carefully let him lie on the bed, and stuffed a cushion in his lower back, and then hurried out.

From stomach ache to opening Yudao, there is a long and painful process, and this is just the beginning.

As long as Yu Dao is opened, tomorrow's birth will not be so painful. Yang Zhongyuan gritted his teeth and looked down at his stomach.

"My child, you must be filial to me in the future."

This side of the Yang family mansion is in chaos, while Cheng Weizhe is in charge of Qian Treasurer and Cen Zhiqing in the Fumanlou main store over there.

Because he and Yang Zhongyuan are often absent recently, Cen Zhiqing was asked to stay here at night so that he could watch the shop.

He was talking quickly, but suddenly a servant's voice came from outside: "Master Zhe, Master Zhe, Master Yuan is about to give birth, please go home."

Hearing this, Cheng Weizhe felt his mind go blank, his heartbeat suddenly accelerated, and a kind of panic and fear that he had never felt before spread in his heart.

The brush in his hand was almost broken by him, Cheng Weizhe took a deep breath, and stood up with a pale face.

Xiao Yuan, wait for me to go back.