There is a happy inn in the capital.

Chapter 91 Love Is Too Much to Ask For

Li Shuchen arrived at the fresh fruit shop early and cooked a pot of paste. Just as it was finished, Grape returned with the printed red paper.

Li Shuchen then applied a little paste to the back of the printing paper and stuck it onto the basket, repeating this process twenty times.

He straightened up, stretched his limbs, and looked at the basket that was completely covered in stickers in front of him, nodding incessantly.

Great, great! Festive, beautiful, and down-to-earth. I then took some of the baskets to the shop.

The customer saw Li Shuchen enter carrying a new basket with the words "Four Beauties Fresh Fruit" written on a red paper, matching the shop's name. It must be a new serving dish, so the customer asked...

"Boss, how much do you want for this basket?"

Li Shuchen couldn't contain his joy when he heard others call him "boss".

Kaixin replied, "Buy three pounds or more of fruits and vegetables at our store and receive a small basket as a gift; buy five pounds or more of fruits and vegetables and receive a large basket as a gift."

The guests all turned their attention to the basket next to Li Shuchen.

Actually, many customers bring their own serving dishes, and most carry baskets, but Li Shuchen's is new, sturdy, and attractive. You get one for free when you buy three pounds or more of fruit—why not take advantage of it?

As a result, customers started adding three or five pounds of fruits to their orders, and switched to the shop's new exclusive baskets, no longer needing their old ones.

Carrying it out, everyone will immediately recognize it as being from the "Simei Fresh Fruit" shop. Who in Beijing doesn't know that the fruits and vegetables from "Simei Fresh Fruit" are the freshest and tastiest?

Before long, all twenty baskets were delivered; not enough, not nearly enough.

The customer wearing the thumb ring arrived a step late and asked Li Shuchen, "Boss, do you still have any of these baskets left?"

Li Shuchen smiled and said, "I'm sorry, sir, we're out of baskets for the moment. You'll have to wait a while."

At this moment, Lao Jiu arrived at the shop with a mahogany box, which Li Shuchen took and placed next to the counter.

A guest wearing a thumb ring pointed at the mahogany box and asked, "Is this box used to hold fruits and vegetables?"

Li Shuchen replied, "That's right, but I'm not including this rosewood box; you'll need to purchase it separately."

A guest wearing a thumb ring stepped forward and touched the carving on the mahogany box: "Four Beauties of Fresh Fruit" plus four adorable little girls.

It's finely crafted and beautiful, perfect for gifting.

"Boss, how much is a rosewood box?"

Li Shuchen smiled and said, "Five hundred coins."

The customer wearing the thumb ring, after hearing the price, glanced at his own fruits on the counter. The fruits had cost five taels of silver, and he didn't care about the five hundred cash for the wooden box.

So he said, "Give me a mahogany box."

Li Shuchen: "Okay, I'll help you arrange the fruits."

Li Shuchen arranged the fruits according to their firmness and type. Grapes are fragile, so he laid a base of tangerines, placed the grapes on top, and then arranged a few more tangerines next to them. Next came cantaloupe and sweet pears.

After being arranged, it's clear that the customer bought several kinds of fruits. Each fruit is round and plump, and they look neat and harmonious in the wooden box.

The customer wearing the thumb ring nodded with satisfaction. The money was well spent; giving this gift to someone else made him look good.

Li Shuchen placed a red paper sign for the shop on the fruit, covered it with a wooden lid, and handed it to the customer with both hands.

"Please take care, sir/madam. Welcome to visit us again next time."

Li Shuchen's actions attracted even more people to buy the mahogany boxes.

The elegantly dressed guests, mostly young ladies and daughters, loved to use wooden boxes to hold their fruits. They were captivated by the adorable figures on the boxes and bought one after another with great enthusiasm.

Li Shuchen was all smiles all day. Although she was incredibly busy, she was making money, and making money made her happy.

In a good mood, I took some grapes to Yaqingxuan to relax.

Yaqingxuan was quite crowded; Li Shuchen almost couldn't squeeze in. All he could hear were girls talking.

"Young Master Jiuqing, Young Master Jiuqing, I bought you 'Four Beauties Fresh Fruit'."

"Look at them! Their pears are big and fragrant. Have one to quench your thirst."

A young woman was carrying a basket. Li Shuchen glanced at it; the basket contained tangerines, sweet pears, and cantaloupes.

It would take a lot of money to buy this basket, and there was more than one girl carrying it.

"Young Master Jiuqing, look at me, I bought some too. I even packed it in a wooden box. This wooden box is so pretty; after we finish the fruit, we can keep the box."

"Young Master Jiuqing, look at me. I also bought a wooden box, and I even bought you a big watermelon."

Those around gasped in astonishment. "Wow," they thought, "that watermelon must have cost a fortune. This girl really went all out."

Li Shuchen looked at these fans, who were quite enthusiastic about Young Master Jiuqing. This Young Master Jiuqing was considered the "top performer" of Yaqing Pavilion, and his fans were not only numerous but also wealthy.

It did bring her shop a lot of revenue. Young Master Jiuqing, you'd better work hard and keep "working" at Yaqingxuan!

Li Shuchen found a seat, cracked some melon seeds, and listened to Young Master Jiuqing playing the flute. The flute's sound was clean and clear, like a snow lotus on a snow-capped mountain, giving one a feeling of cool moonlight.

No wonder so many people are willing to come even in this sweltering heat!

She's definitely not going to spend money on other men, no matter how good-looking they are. She'll spend all that money on herself.

Make yourself rich and beautiful

Li Shuchen took a sip of her herbal tea: "Ouch."

Grape: "Miss, what's wrong?"

She was so busy with other things that she almost forgot about Manager Liu.

Li Shuchen: "Let's go back to the inn."

Grape got up and followed her young mistress away. Watching her hurried steps, she didn't dare to say a word, afraid of disturbing her. Could something have happened at the inn?

Arrived at the inn

Li Shuchen: "Grapes, go to the kitchen and get some fruits and vegetables."

"Yes," Grape said and ran to the kitchen.

Li Shuchen found Manager Xu

"Uncle Xu, would you have time to accompany me to see Manager Liu?"

Manager Xu put down the account book: "He has time; he should be home right now."

Li Shuchen: "Uncle Xu, do you know where Manager Liu lives?"

Shopkeeper Xu: "I do know the location, but it's rather remote."

Li Shuchen waved his hand: "It's alright, we have a carriage."

This carriage belonged to Yu Ying, but she didn't need it, so it had been kept in the backyard of the inn. Yu Ying's horse was named Hong Ying, also a red horse, and as tall and handsome as Yu Ying herself.

Li Shuchen went to the backyard to fetch Hongying, who was playing with Wanbai; the two horses were chasing each other.

Suddenly, Wanbai accidentally fell down, lay on the ground, and stubbornly refused to get up.

Hongying called to it several times, but Wanbai didn't respond, stubborn as a mule. No one knew what it wanted to do.

Li Shuchen couldn't bear to watch any longer, so he went over and took Hongying's hand.

"Red Shadow, come with me to do something."

Hongying listened to Li Shuchen, glanced at Wanbai, and followed Li Shuchen.

Seeing the red figure leave, Wanbai hurriedly stood up and kept calling out to the departing figure.

But it was too late; Li Shuchen and Hongying had already walked far away.

Grape only realized after getting into the carriage that her mistress was going to hire Manager Liu.

The carriage traveled for half an hour (one hour).

We came to a small alley and entered a house. There were only two rooms in the courtyard, which gave us a glimpse into the nature of the dwelling.

There was a big black dog in the yard, barking at them.

When Manager Liu came out, he saw Manager Xu standing at the door carrying melons and fruits, and said...

"Manager Xu, it's you. You've come all this way, what did you bring?"