Chapter 333: Chapter 173: Grand Opening Part 2
Yuan Tan picked up the broom that was leaning against the stove and began to sweep. Lian Manman didn’t stand on ceremony with him; she asked him to fetch a rag and draw some water. Lady Zhang immediately started a fire under the stove to heat water.
The water wasn’t hot yet when Lian Shouli and Lady Zhao arrived. It was only after Lian Shouxin had gone to find Old Master Lian that they learned he was opening a breakfast shop. They hurried over to see where they could lend a hand.
Coming from a background of hard work, they didn’t need to be told what to do—their eyes found work to be done. Lian Shouli grabbed a broom and started sweeping with Yuan Tan while Lady Zhao lit another fire under the stove to help Lady Zhang boil water.
"Dad hasn’t come yet?" Lady Zhang asked.
"Dad and Old Fourth went to invite Lizheng and the others," Lady Zhao said.
Soon, two pots of hot water were ready, and Lady Zhang, Lady Zhao, Lian Zhizhi, Lian Manman, and Lian Yeye all picked up rags to wipe down the doors, windows, tables, chairs, benches, and the stoves—everything that could be wiped was wiped clean.
Lian Manman also called Xiao Qi to help her carefully check whether the tables and benches in the room were usable and to count them. Their rental included these items, and they needed to be listed in the contract.
"Aren’t these tables and benches too few? Xiao Tanzhi, where are the bowls and chopsticks stored?" Lian Manman asked Yuan Tan.
"They’re all in the storeroom at the back. I’ll tell my master and move them over for you," Yuan Tan replied.
Yuan Tan then went to speak with Shanyuan, who called two monks to open the storeroom and move the tables, chairs, benches, bowls, chopsticks, and other items over.
Lian Manman selected the intact items, counted them, and handed them to Lady Zhao and the others to wipe and clean.
By the time Lian Shouxin, Old Master Lian, and their guests gradually arrived, the three front rooms had been tidied up by Lian Manman and her team.
In the largest room, tables and stools were neatly arranged, leaving a passage for people to walk through. Next to the wall in the kitchen area, water jars, cutting boards, and flour kneading slabs were arranged in order. Beside them were stacks of wooden buckets and basins, and next to that were several basins of freshly washed bowls and chopsticks. In the smaller lounge, a kang had been covered with a newly brought mattress by Wu Lang, with a low table placed beside it. In the center of the room was a square table with four wooden chairs with backrests. A tall stand was installed against the wall and on it, Lian Manman had placed a plump, coarse porcelain vase she had chosen from the assortment of items brought by the monks.
Considering the limited conditions, the arrangement was quite good. Lian Manman felt quite satisfied with the room she had decorated.
"It’s a pity there are no flowers," Lian Manman muttered to herself. If there had been flowers to put in the porcelain vase, it would have added a touch of elegant beauty to the room.
"You’ll have some in a few days," Yuan Tan was always eager to help and kept bustling about as if he were busy with his own affairs, "There’s wintersweet behind the temple, but the flowers haven’t bloomed yet, hardly any buds, we’ll have to wait a few more days."
"Really?" Lian Manman was pleasantly surprised.
"Manman, you want to decorate with flowers?" Lian Shouxin overheard Lian Manman’s conversation with Yuan Tan as he walked in. "This doesn’t look like a vase to me, but more like a jar for pickling eggs."
Lian Manman was vexed, thinking why her father had to be so brutally honest all the time, why he couldn’t just refrain from always telling the plain truth.
After speaking, Lian Shouxin laughed heartily, completely oblivious to Lian Manman’s resentment.
"This is a good spot," Lady Zhang also came in and sized up the stand, "We should place a God of Wealth here."
Right, the God of Wealth, Lian Manman’s eyes suddenly brightened. How could she have not thought of that? When starting a business, what they needed most was the God of Wealth.
"We should indeed invite the God of Wealth," Lian Manman nodded. At that moment, the idea of superstition didn’t even cross her mind, and she completely forgot about putting flowers in the vase.
Lian Shouxin had come to discuss with Lady Zhang what dishes to prepare.
"It’s too late to prepare anything at this time," Lady Zhang said.
"Then what do we do?" Lian Shouxin became somewhat anxious upon hearing Lady Zhang say this.
"Dad, don’t worry, my mother is only teasing you," Lian Manman laughed.
"... I remembered thanks to Manman’s reminder. Being in the temple, we eat with Master Shanyuan and cannot have meat or fish. We’re not good at preparing vegetarian feasts, so we sent someone to ask Shopkeeper Wu from Yue Lai Tavern to deliver a table of vegetarian dishes. I’ll cook a pot of rice and steam some buns, and that will be enough," Lady Zhang said.
"You all think so thoroughly," Lian Shouxin said with a smile.
...
The invited guests gathered in Master Shanyuan’s meditation room, and Lian Manman followed Lian Shouxin there to look over the contract. Old Master Lian drafted the contract himself, clearly writing the lease term for one year, with a monthly rent of One String of Coins. The rental items included the three rooms of the Earth God Temple, as well as tables, benches, wooden basins, water buckets, large sea bowls, medium bowls, bamboo chopsticks, and various other items. Both parties, Lian Shouxin and Shanyuan, signed and affixed their seals on the contract, followed by Lizheng and Old Master Lian, who also pressed their fingerprints on the document as witnesses.
The contract was signed, and Lian Manman immediately took out Two Strings of Coins for the prepaid rent.
Shortly after, the tavern’s waiter brought the vegetarian feast, and everyone dispersed after the meal.
After resting for a night, the Lian Manman family got busy again. The breakfast shop needed more cleaning, and they had to go to the town to buy wine, flour, pig bones, and pork. There were so many miscellaneous tasks that the family was busy until nearly midnight. The next day, before dawn, they were up and bustling again.
As the sun just peeked over the horizon, Lian Manman opened the doors of the breakfast shop.
Lian’s Breakfast Shop officially opened for business.
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Second update, looking for your love. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
