Chapter 615: A Woman Disguised as a Man
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Binglan furrowed her brows when she heard about the Ye family. Her mind returned to the time when Lan Ruobing was there. She had seen the Ye family’s young master before.
To be exact, the Ye family’s young master was the family’s young lady. The Ye family was once the wealthiest in the South. They had many businesses, but several of them later encountered issues.
The Ye family either got annexed or forced out of the market by other family businesses. The family was quite complicated internally, and Young Lady Ye was the only member of the direct bloodline.
Therefore, she dressed up and pretended to be a man to protect the family’s main bloodline. It was difficult for a woman, especially in this era, to disguise herself as a man to manage the family business, so Su Binglan greatly admired Young Lady Ye.
“Oh?” Su Binglan raised her brows. “You’ve interacted with Young ‘Master’ Ye before?”
“Yes, I’ve been running the hotpot restaurants in other towns and cities recently, so I see Young Master Ye quite often. I think he has a good person and is very knowledgeable.
“He doesn’t have the habits of a profligate son at all. He’s also honest and even helped me once. I befriended him and considered him a close friend. “We sometimes went out for dinner, and he would treat me to local dishes I didn’t know about. I also treated him to hotpot once in a while.”
Su Binglan’s eyes flashed with interest. “So, you and ‘him’ are super close friends?”
Su Wenwu did not know what his sister was thinking and answered honestly, “Of course. Didn’t you encourage me to make more friends? I just think Young
Master Ye is outstanding.”
Su Binglan scanned her third brother’s expression and became curious.
‘l wonder how Third Brother will react if I tell him Ye Feiran is a woman, not a man. I’m looking forward to seeing his reaction. As far as I can remember, Ye Feiran isn’t a simple woman.
‘If she were as innocent as most women, others would’ve discovered her identity long ago, putting her family in danger.’
When Ye Feiran was just a few years old, her entire family almost perished. However, her family survived, and she grew into a fine young lady. Although her family could not compare to the wealthiest family in the South, the Ye family was still medium-sized.
‘Ye Feiran is capable and resourceful. If such a person is willing to call my brother a close friend, it means Wenwu is doing well in Ye Feiran’s eyes. Still, Wenwu is pure and upright and also stubborn. Perhaps that’s what attracted Ye Feiran.’
Su Binglan took a closer look at her third brother. She felt she was handsome and gave off a healthy and robust demeanor. Su Wenwu’s martial arts skills were commendable, too, and he had been working hard to improve them. ‘He should have many advantages with Ye Feiran.’
Su Wenwu noticed his sister staring at him weirdly. He asked, “Little Sister, why are you looking at me like that?”
‘Why do I have a chill running down my spine?’
Su Binglan smiled gently, saying, “You’re probably overthinking, Wenwu. I was just thinking of how well you’ve been doing recently. You’ve opened quite a few more restaurants, after all. Business is excellent, too.’
Su Wenwu sighed in relief when he heard his sister’s words.
Su Binglan added, “You can consider working with the Ye family after the New
Year, but I’ll have to tell you the details.”
Since the Ye family was complicated, Su Binglan had to be careful if she wanted to open a hotpot restaurant in the south.
Su Binglan agreed to continue working with Su Wenwu because she thought she could bring many good opportunities in the South to the North, for example, crayfish, fruits, and vegetables.
It would be a win-win situation if the Ye family cooperated with the Su family.
Moreover, the Ye family was not enemies with the deceased royal’s mansion. Instead, the latter had a good relationship with the Ye family.
“I know, Little Sister. I’ll be cautious and review the contract before letting you check things out.”
Su Binglan nodded. “Good.”
Afterward, Su Binglan checked the accounts and calculated everyone’s bonuses in the afternoon. The others also checked the accounts and saw no issues. Then Su Binglan would give the employees their bonuses tomorrow.
However, Su Fengzhang and the others were stunned when they saw the year-end bonuses. Each manager would have more than ten silver taels. Even ordinary employees would receive the same amount.
“Everyone will be thrilled.”
In the evening, Su Fengmao and Shen Qiuhua put a lot of silver in baskets and carried them on their backs. Fortunately, others could not see what was inside.
Still, Su Fengmao and his wife were nervous. They feared others would see all the money they were carrying. Even Luo Jin’an carried a basket of money.
Shen Qiuhua and Su Fengmao did not know Wei Ying was following and protecting them in the shadows. The older couple was safe with Luo Jin’an and Wei Ying around.
An elite troop was also nearby. If Wei Ying sent out a signal flare, the troops would swiftly appear to protect the older couple.
Meanwhile, even Su Fengzhi, Su Fengchen, and the other Su family members were excited to give their employees their year-end bonuses. Everyone was also preparing to rest for the holidays.
After all, they had worked hard to earn as much as possible to have a fantastic New Year. They looked forward to going to town to celebrate the New Year with their families.
Everyone was eager to shop in town because the shops would be closed for the New Year.
Su Fengzhi planned to give his employees free charcoal for the celebrations, while Su Fengchen planned to distribute cured sausages, braised chicken, and roast duck to his workers.
Meanwhile, Old Madam Yang and Yang Xiaoxun had been busy setting up their shop at the dormitory entrance the whole day. Also, Mrs. Du brought a few people over to help, according to Su Binglan’s instructions.
Even Su Wenxing helped by making the small cart for the grandmother and granddaughter.
Many people used small carts to sell things in town. They got their carts from Su Wenxings shop because he made them easy to use and sold them at affordable prices.
Old Madam Yang and her granddaughter started making multi-grain pancakes at their small stall.
No one around Tenghe Town had made such a thing, and Su Binglan only made them for her family. Moreover, the Su family had their own businesses. No one even considered setting up a stall to sell multi-grain pancakes.
Once the grandmother and granddaughter started cooking, the fragrance from the multi-grain pancakes wafted through the air.
When the employees of the embroidery shop, winery, and noodle shop got off work, they were amazed when they smelled the fragrance.
“What smells so good?”
“It seems to be coming from the dormitory. Is someone cooking something delicious or reheating a meal?”
“It doesn’t seem like it. The dormitory is a little far from here. The fragrance can’t have drifted so far. It smells terrific, different from the food I used to eat.”
“Did Miss Su come up with another delicacy?” “Look, smoke is coming from over there.”
“Multi-grain pancakes?”
“When did a multi-grain pancake stall open here?”