Li Mo'er remained silent for a long time. "I will buy his things."
Ye Qingcheng nodded. "Yes, that's right. That couple seized upon the most vulnerable part of people's hearts. At first, they cried that I had caused them to lose their jobs, then they cried that they couldn't live without this job, and that they had elders and children to support. This way, people would naturally think I was an unfeeling boss. Thus, I amplified their fabricated words. They couldn't withstand the taunts and naturally began to attack me. But at such a time, if I were to retaliate, what reaction would those people have?"
Li Mo'er imagined it.
"You'd be drowned in a torrent of spit."
Ye Qingcheng nodded. "Yes, that's why I couldn't fight back. I didn't retaliate. She was strangling me desperately. At that moment, I transformed from the aggressor to the victim, and then I had leverage waiting for you all."
Li Mo'er understood now.
In that case, no matter what they said about Madam Zhang, Madam Zhang's act of coercing others would be a foregone conclusion.
"Princess Consort sister, you are too amazing. I truly admire you with all my heart!"
Ye Qingcheng waved her hand. "Low profile, low profile."
Since the issue with the cook had been resolved, it was time to think about the signature dishes.
Ye Qingcheng compiled a menu. These were all the dishes she had eaten in various restaurants. Looking at the dishes, she removed the ones she didn't find particularly good, leaving only a few distinctive ones. However, only a handful remained.
When she returned home that evening, Ye Qingcheng did not eat dinner. Xiao Wangye asked Bi Xi, "Why isn't she coming to eat dinner?"
Bi Xi let out a rude burp. "Reporting to Your Highness, the Princess Consort ate many dishes today. Burp~ so she isn't coming to eat tonight." She burped again after speaking.
Xiao Wangye looked at her. "It seems you ate quite a lot too!"
Bi Xi immediately kowtowed. "Reporting to Your Highness, whatever the Princess Consort couldn't eat today, this servant ate, so..."
Xiao Wangye waved his hand. "Alright, you may withdraw."
Bi Xi recalled her steps and withdrew.
Xiao Wangye looked at the table full of dishes and immediately lost his appetite.
"Lin Xiao, how is the matter I asked you to investigate progressing?"
Lin Xiao stepped forward and kowtowed. "Reporting to Your Highness, the scouts have no news yet."
Xiao Wangye nodded. "When there is news, inform me immediately."
"Yes."
On the other side, Ye Qingcheng was staying up late drawing blueprints. She intended to completely renovate the restaurant.
The restaurant was neither large nor small; it was quite ordinary.
Therefore, she wanted to create the illusion that the restaurant was much larger.
First, she would change the name of the restaurant. It would be called: Seemingly Flowing Water, Fleeting Years.
Ye Qingcheng held her brush and nodded. This name was excellent.
To fit this name, she decided to change the restaurant's layout from rectangular to circular, with a stage in the center surrounded by water. It would be best to put fish in the water.
Later, she would hire women skilled in qinggong to play the zither on stage while men performed sword dances.
The floors would be adorned with flowing sheer scarves from top to bottom, creating a strong wuxia atmosphere.
The stairs would be spiral-shaped at the four corners.
The original rooms would remain unchanged, but the rooms on the second floor would be enlarged. Gentlemen could compose poems and paint, or listen to music and enjoy the scenery.
The third floor's layout would also remain unchanged.
By the time the design blueprints were completed, it was already late into the night. It seemed she would be busy tomorrow.
The next day, Ye Qingcheng woke up early to find artisans to begin the renovation of the restaurant.
The artisans looked at the design blueprints. "Miss, this is equivalent to demolition and reconstruction!"
Ye Qingcheng, being wealthy and generous, directly threw out a plate of silver. "I know. If the money isn't enough, come to me. I guarantee it will be more than enough."
The artisans grinned, accepted the silver, and said, "Since the owner has said so, there will definitely be no problem."
Hehe!
The matters here were concluded.
Ye Qingcheng could finally relax her body and mind. She had been too tired recently.
Just as she was about to go shopping, she saw people posting notices on the road: "Frontier hardships, we implore kind-hearted people to show compassion and donate to help the border soldiers in urgent need."
Ye Qingcheng had been able to empathize with soldiers since childhood because her nine years of compulsory education had been filled with stories of the people's children and soldiers.
When the apocalypse arrived, it was mostly soldiers who fought against zombies on the battlefield. Many people surrounded by zombies saw the People's Liberation Army as a beacon of hope. At that time, people affectionately called them "the most lovable people."
Once, an old man told her the most important thing: in this world, anyone could betray you, but the people's children and soldiers never would. You could wholeheartedly entrust your back to them.
Therefore, when Ye Qingcheng saw this notice asking for donations for the border soldiers, her heart was filled with mixed emotions. Perhaps she would never be able to return, but the blood and hearts of the soldiers would always remain.
Ye Qingcheng wanted to donate as well, but she had just given all her money to the artisans for the renovation, and she had no money left.
Ye Qingcheng touched the items on her person and removed a hairpin from her hair. She looked at the hairpin in her hand and sighed helplessly. "I can only donate this."
She walked forward and handed the hairpin to the person collecting donations. "Is this okay?"
The person collecting donations looked up at her, smiled, nodded, and accepted the hairpin with both hands. "Yes." Then, he said to someone behind him, "Received a pair of gold and silver hairpins. Register them."
He then said to Ye Qingcheng, "Please kindly provide your name so we can record it."
Ye Qingcheng smiled and shook her head. "No need. It's a small matter, so there's no need to record my name. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be going now."
The donor watched her retreating figure and murmured, "Indeed, she leaves after attending to matters, cherishing her merit and anonymity. Such a good girl!"
When Ye Qingcheng returned to the Prince's mansion, she went straight to Xiao Wangye's study. Originally, she had planned to "steal," or rather, "borrow" some calligraphy and paintings from Xiao Wangye's study to sell and get some money. However, she found that Xiao Wangye had already returned.
As soon as Xiao Wangye looked up, he saw Ye Qingcheng sneaking into his study. "What are you doing?"
Ye Qingcheng was startled and looked up to see Xiao Wangye.
Ye Qingcheng quickly calmed herself. "You're going to scare me to death!"
Xiao Wangye put down his brush and raised an eyebrow. "I was about to ask you why you were sneaking into my study."
Ye Qingcheng awkwardly fiddled with her little finger. She would never tell Xiao Wangye that she came to steal calligraphy and paintings to sell. How embarrassing would that be!
Ye Qingcheng looked around but did not answer his question.
Seeing that her gaze was constantly drawn to the calligraphy and paintings, and recalling her recent purchase of the restaurant for renovation, Xiao Wangye suddenly smiled. He probably ran out of money.
Ye Qingcheng shuffled towards Xiao Wangye. Across a table, Ye Qingcheng saw that he was painting.
Ye Qingcheng pointed a corner. "You're painting."
Xiao Wangye nodded. "Yes! I'm tired from handling state affairs and want to rest a bit."
Ye Qingcheng unceremoniously brought over a small stool and sat down. "Since you're bored, why don't you paint me? I'll see how good your painting skills are."
Xiao Wangye raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"
Ye Qingcheng nodded. "Naturally!"
"Alright." Xiao Wangye readily drew a new piece of blank Xuan paper, dipped his brush in ink, and began to paint.