Chapter 259: Chapter 259: Boss Ming Is So Popular?
Ming Lingyi had already arranged for Yao Niang to work in the back kitchen of Ming’s Restaurant. She had picked Yao Niang up from outside the prison, but first she had to escort her to a Daoist nunnery. After all, this was one of the reasons Jingzhao Mansion had considered reducing her sentence.
At the Daoist Temple, Ming Lingyi saw many young women. Though their situations were different from Yao Niang’s, many of them had once been entertainers. They had been forced to seek refuge in the temple to escape harassment from patrons.
Life as a nun was exceptionally meager. Most people in the Capital City were Buddhist, preferring to donate incense money to the nearby Qinglong Temple or the more distant Daxiangguo Temple.
But Daoist Temples like this one in the market were far poorer in comparison.
The nuns mostly sustained themselves through embroidery work, which didn’t fetch a high price, making life quite difficult.
The main reason Ming Lingyi was able to get Yao Niang out of there was that Yao Niang herself was highly skilled, which was how she had managed to run her previous noodle shop so successfully.
But not all of the women in the temple were so skilled.
Lingyi was now fairly well-off, but she believed in the principle of "give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." These helpless women in the nunnery couldn’t survive on her charity alone.
It was then that Ming Lingyi started to consider forming a troupe of musicians for her own restaurant.
But the timing was still a bit rushed. Moreover, this was something Ming Lingyi wanted to do for the long haul—to provide a haven for homeless women or those with nowhere else to turn.
Du Xuan was unaware of Ming Lingyi’s future plans for the establishment. What truly drew him in, naturally, was the food at the Ming Family Restaurant. When Ming Lingyi confirmed that they could go inside soon, the smile on his face grew several shades more sincere.
’He’d really given it his all, just for a meal.’
With Manager Qian and the staff running the restaurant, Ming Lingyi wasn’t in a hurry to go in. Instead, in a fine mood, she lingered in the crowd, watching the lively scene at the entrance.
After a quick word with the distracted Du Xuan, whose only thought was to rush inside and grab a table, Ming Lingyi hadn’t even turned back to properly admire the most talked-about performance troupe in the Capital City before she was hailed by Zhang Zhidong and Liu Lingxing, two Imperial College students who were practically inseparable.
When Ming Lingyi turned her head, she discovered that there were quite a few familiar faces not far away.
Not just students from the Imperial College, but also many of the Imperial Doctors.
In fact, many of them were the very teachers who had served as reviewers for her Ming’s Restaurant.
Now, every single one of these teachers from the Imperial College looked at Ming Lingyi with an expression of pure "paternal affection."
It couldn’t be helped. Most of the Imperial Doctors were well on in years, and many were old enough to be the grandfather of a young woman like Ming Lingyi. But now, because of her, not only had their lifelong academic research led to published books, but every single one of them had also received a rather handsome "dividend."
How many perks could one get from the Imperial College? Who would have ever thought that being a reviewer for Ming’s Restaurant just once would make them "strike it rich" overnight!?
This was an absolute windfall!
The Imperial Doctors felt a bit sheepish. After all, most of them had originally agreed to be reviewers for the sake of "fame." Who would have thought that from one stint as a reviewer, they would not only gain renown but also earn such a huge sum of money?
Looking at Ming Lingyi now, how was it any different from looking at the God of Wealth?
Their "paternal affection" was as paternal as it could be. When facing a junior who was practically the God of Wealth, this was the most amiable and benevolent expression they could muster.
"Well, if it isn’t Boss Ming! Are you here to watch the show, too? Come take my spot! The view of the acrobatics is best from here!" one of the Imperial Doctors, whose beard had gone completely white, said gleefully to Ming Lingyi.
His colleagues beside him, one after another, also greeted Ming Lingyi with incredible enthusiasm.
This display left Liu Lingxing and the other Imperial College students completely dumbfounded.
’What in the world is going on?’
’Are these really the same stern, humorless Doctors from the Imperial College, the ones who are always pointing their fingers in our faces and calling us ’idiots’?’
’Why are they smiling so amiably at Boss Ming? It’s like they’ve become different people... no, it’s like they’re a completely different group of people.’
Ming Lingyi was also taken aback for a moment by the venerable teachers’ greetings. After all, these scholarly men had certainly not been what one would call "approachable" during their past interactions. Faced with their sudden warmth, Ming Lingyi hardly knew what expression to wear.
No sooner had she finished with those greetings than someone else spotted her.
Feng Shuyu was bound to come to the restaurant today to show her support for Ming Lingyi. Not only was Lingyi a friend she cherished, but she also had a stake in the restaurant and received dividends, so her support was a given.
Feng Shuyu brought many people with her today.
After her divorce from Hu Tuchao, she had left with her substantial dowry and the compensation from the Hu family to establish her own household.
Since her parents had been progressive enough back then to allow her to marry down into a merchant family, they naturally had no objections to her desire to live on her own.
Feng Shuyu had a real knack for making money. For a major event like today’s restaurant opening, she decided not to keep her own employees working. With a grand gesture, she had all the shops she owned hang up "Closed Today" signs and paid out of her own pocket for all her long-time staff to come and enjoy a meal at the new restaurant.
Ming Lingyi made her way over to Feng Shuyu. "You’re here." Her tone was one of certainty; she’d never once thought Feng Shuyu would miss today.
"Yes, and to see if there’s anything I can help with." She had actually heard about Hu Jin and Hu Tuchao yesterday, but by the time she’d rushed over, Ming Lingyi was already gone, and she had missed her.
"I heard from the restaurant’s manager that Hu Jin was taken to the Jingzhao Mansion. He brought men to cause a scene, but since no one was injured, he’s only being held for three days as a disciplinary measure. Nothing happened to Hu Tuchao?" Feng Shuyu’s brows furrowed as she spoke. "If he ever comes to bother you again, you come straight to me. I’ll handle him."
’Feng Shuyu knew perfectly well why Hu Tuchao was causing trouble for Ming Lingyi.’
’The young man who had loved to carve, the boy who had left such an imprint on her heart—with a carving knife in his hand and a funny-looking smock over his clothes—was long gone. In his place stood a shrewd, mercenary merchant, corroded by time.’
’Sometimes she couldn’t tell if she had been a poor judge of character back then, or if a person could truly change so much, becoming completely unrecognizable in just ten short years.’
Ming Lingyi said, "Let’s find a place inside to talk about this."
Yesterday, she hadn’t gotten to discuss with Li Yun at all how to deal with Hu Tuchao’s potential troublemaking. After a man with such boundless energy and no usual outlet for it had finally managed to whisk her away to his private villa, how could he possibly be satisfied after only two rounds? Insatiable—that was Li Yun’s natural state.
Comments