Yang Ruoning and Susu's small shop was finally ready. The first floor was for customers, the back room served as a warehouse and dormitory for the workers, while the three rooms on the second floor were each occupied by Yang Ruoning and Susu, with one left as a living room.
Initially, Susu named the shop "A Ning's Sundries," but Yang Ruoning disagreed. Yang Ruoning felt the shop belonged to Susu, and she had only provided some capital without contributing much effort. Moreover, their best-selling products were all made by Susu.
After some argument, Susu firmly stated that Yang Ruoning had to come up with the name. They would only open for business once the name was decided.
Yang Ruoning was helpless. She barely recognized a few Chinese characters, let alone come up with a shop name.
Thus, she consulted two people about naming the shop.
First, she asked Luo Yuan before sleeping. Luo Yuan's reaction was somewhat unexpected. Yang Ruoning could tell he was very happy that she had asked for his opinion.
Luo Yuan said, "How about 'Jiang Xian Ge'?"
Yang Ruoning, of course, did not understand. She asked, "Jiang Xian Ge? Is it because everyone who wears it looks like a fairy descending?"
"Yes, that's a good interpretation too. But I meant 'Jiang Xian'," Luo Yuan took Yang Ruoning's hand and wrote the character '绛' on her palm, explaining, "'Jiang Xian' is the name of a beauty from the Sui Dynasty."
"Mmm, I hope everyone who wears them will be as beautiful as this woman. That's nice," Yang Ruoning replied.
The second person she asked was Jiang Yuefeng. Naturally, she only mentioned that the shop belonged to a friend.
Jiang Yuefeng was a bit surprised and hesitant. She said, "I've heard that naming has great significance. A good name can bring prosperity. I've never named anything for anyone before, and I fear I might jinx their fortune."
Qing Ye, sitting beside her, said, "Naming is actually quite simple, as long as it's easy to remember." He turned to Yang Ruoning and asked, "Why didn't you ask me? Are you looking down on my limited knowledge?"
Qing Ye had finally come out, and it had been so long since they last met. He still enjoyed bickering with her.
Yang Ruoning rolled her eyes and said, "Alright, then what name do you think is good?"
"What is your friend's surname?" Qing Ye asked.
Surname? This stumped Yang Ruoning. She had never asked Susu her surname.
Qing Ye gave her a look of mild disdain and said, "Very good, you don't even know your friend's surname."
Yang Ruoning was a bit annoyed. She said, "Then let's use my surname."
"Okay, then let's call it Yang's Sundries Shop," Qing Ye said.
Yang Ruoning rolled her eyes, speechless. She said, "Heh, that's a simple and memorable name."
Qing Ye, as usual, didn't understand sarcasm. He happily said, "I knew it." He grabbed a brush, waved it over the paper, and handed it to Yang Ruoning. "This is personally written by the Great Song Emperor with his golden brush, ensuring your friend's shop will have endless wealth!"
"Heh heh heh, thank you," Yang Ruoning said as she took the paper. She looked at the messy scribbles Qing Ye had made and wondered how he had the nerve to announce to the whole city that this was his handwriting.
When parting ways with Yang Ruoning at the temple entrance, Qing Ye asked if she would accompany Luo Yuan to the palace for the book expo three days later. Yang Ruoning said, "I will." Qing Ye said, "You must come, I'll show you around the palace." Yang Ruoning agreed.
Of course, Susu's shop was named "Jiang Xian Ge" after Luo Yuan's suggestion. On the day of Jiang Xian Ge's opening, Luo Yuan had to attend morning court for discussions. As he left, he apologetically told Yang Ruoning that he would come to find her after returning from court in the afternoon.
Yang Ruoning shook her head and said it was just a small sundry shop, and Susu didn't want a grand opening. She just wanted to earn a modest living.
The opening of Jiang Xian Ge that day was not as quiet and uneventful as Yang Ruoning had imagined. As soon as the shop opened in the morning, batches of customers crowded the hall, making it impossible to move. The prepared stock was sold out within two hours. It was only around noon that Yang Ruoning finally had a moment to speak with Susu. It was then she learned that the girls from the brothels in Yanhuaxiang, a nearby alley, had long known about the "miraculous items" circulating in Fanlou that could enhance "interaction" with customers. They had a strong desire to purchase them but were unable to due to competition with Fanlou. Upon hearing about Susu's shop opening, they had rushed over immediately. Yang Ruoning and Susu conferred and decided to continue operating in the afternoon and take pre-orders.
They were busy until sunset, when Yanhuaxiang began to get busy and the number of customers finally dwindled. After hanging up the samples and seeing off the last customer, Yang Ruoning noticed Luo Yuan standing at the entrance.
He was still in his official attire, clearly having come directly from the palace. The female customer beside him blushed slightly upon seeing Luo Yuan, shyly bowed to him, and then quickly left.
Yang Ruoning took his hand, stood on tiptoe, and habitually kissed him on the lips, asking, "When did you get here?"
Luo Yuan said, "I've been here for a while. I saw you were busy, so I waited for you here."
Susu then came over to greet Luo Yuan and apologetically told him that she still had some material matters to discuss with Yang Ruoning. She suggested Luo Yuan go upstairs to the guest room for some tea. Yang Ruoning gave Luo Yuan a helpless smile and went to the back room with Susu.
By the time they finally finished, it was almost dark. Susu said, "Sister, hurry back to General Luo's residence."
Yang Ruoning then remembered Luo Yuan was upstairs. She had been so busy she had forgotten. Suddenly, an important thought struck her, and she quickly ran upstairs.
He absolutely must not see that room. When she ran upstairs, she saw Luo Yuan sitting at the round table in the living room, drinking tea and reading a book.
Luo Yuan saw her, put down his book, and asked, "Are you done with everything?"
"Mmm," Yang Ruoning glanced nervously at the adjacent room and asked, "Have you been waiting for me here the whole time?"
"Mmm, yes," Luo Yuan stood up and walked closer to her, saying, "Otherwise?"
"Mmm, nothing, let's go back to the residence," Yang Ruoning said, taking his hand.
On the way back to the residence, Yang Ruoning nervously wondered if Luo Yuan had seen the things in the adjacent room. Besides the backpack hidden under the bed, she had recently moved some of her personal belongings there. If he had seen them, how would she explain it?
Luo Yuan, who had been silent beside her, suddenly stopped. Yang Ruoning turned her head and looked at him in confusion.
Luo Yuan looked at her and then said, "Yang Ruoning, marry me."
Luo Yuan's proposal was incredibly sudden. Yang Ruoning didn't understand why he chose to propose so abruptly in the middle of a bustling street. Passersby stopped and stared, wondering which young gentleman would propose so casually on the street. When they saw it was Luo Yuan, their mouths gaped open in shock, wide enough to fit a golf ball.
Yang Ruoning didn't know how to react. She asked him, "Why so sudden..."
Luo Yuan said, "I can't wait for these days and nights, Ruoning. I want to get married to you right now."
"Luo Yuan, aren't we already living together? Besides, your weddings here seem very complicated, with betrothal gifts, the six ceremonies, I..."
"Then let's do it according to your customs!" Luo Yuan said.
"My customs? I showed you, there has to be a priest..." Yang Ruoning said.
"I've already found a priest," Luo Yuan said.
Yang Ruoning stared at Luo Yuan, dumbfounded. "And a church...?" she asked in disbelief.
"There's a priest's chapel a hundred miles outside the city," Luo Yuan said.
Yang Ruoning looked at him without speaking. She didn't know how to answer. She couldn't agree.
She heard herself say, "Luo Yuan, I can't answer you right now. Can you give me some time?"