Chapter 196: Second Brother (One)
Chapter 196: Second Brother (One)
Amidst the barren lands lining the bamboo groves, stood a newly erected inn. Its wooden beams were freshly lacquered and its tiled roofs were gleaming under the late morning sun.
A huge board was hung at the entrance of the Inn, reading in bold and beautiful calligraphy - Tranquil Cloud Inn. The plaque was prepared by Wei Guang and everyone was busy praising just how good his calligraphy skills were.
If this moment of opening of the Inn would have taken place somewhere in the bustling streets of a city, it would surely have garnered a lot of attention from the passersby and brought them a couple of customers who would have been interested to take a look. However, since their Inn was located in the middle of nowhere, there was no one in sight.
"Let’s head inside and wait for our first customer to arrive." Xiang Ling cheered the staff who looked slightly low-spirited when they found not even one customer at the entrance.
They all turned to return inside when the loud noise of horses’ galloping and carriages’ arrival stopped them in their tracks.
"Are we late for the opening ceremony?"
A woman in her early thirties asked as she climbed down the carriage along with two younger women who seemed like her daughters.
"Madam Wu." Zuan Hu greeted the woman whom she immediately recognized as the wife of the County Registrar.
"Oh! First Young Master Chen and Ah Zuan is here too. Let’s have a meal together then. I have heard a lot about this place from my daughters and these two urged me to come here. Though it seems like we missed the opening ceremony, it’s still not too bad to be the first customer of the day. Right?" Madam Wu was filled with excitement as she spoke.
Recalling Xiang Ling’s words where she forbade Hao Ran and Zuan Hu to reveal to anyone about the Inn belonging to the Chen family, the two of them decided to play along with Madam Wu’s misunderstanding and pretended to be customers who were there to enjoy a meal.
As Xiang Ling led everyone inside the Inn, she realized that Madam Wu had brought an entire group of women and their children with her, all belonging to noble families.
One moment ago, there wasn’t even a single customer in sight, and the very next moment, a huge group of twenty-three people arrived to enjoy a meal at the Inn.
The staff of the Inn got filled with enthusiasm and positivity immediately as they moved to focus on their respective tasks.
After greeting all the guests, Xiang Ling moved up on the upper floor to keep an eye on the activities down below from the shadows.
Within next couple of hours, more customers arrived, most of them were there to enjoy the delicacies that the Inn offered.
It was not until late in the evening when someone arrived at the Inn to stay for the night. It was a group of merchants who were on their way to Lingzhou City and wanted to stay the night at the Inn to rest.
Every single person who visited the Inn and enjoyed its services, was filled with nothing but praises for the place, its services, and its staff.
After the success of the opening day, the business of the Inn only boomed more with each passing day as its reputation started building and spreading across the Nanxia County.
Customers were both shocked and impressed to find out about the Inn’s greenhouse and farmhouse. They all loved the fresh veggies, fruits, eggs, fish, and meat that they were being served.
But what the customers loved even more than the food was undoubtedly the wine that became a hot topic throughout cities. One could grow fresh veggies, could cook delicacies, but it was impossible to make a wine that came anywhere near the taste of Tranquil Cloud Inn’s famous wine, known as the Serenity Nectar.
By the end of the week, the Inn made a total of five hundred silver taels in profit, shocking even Xiang Ling let alone Hao Ran and Zuan Hu.
Xiang Ling focused all her attention on the Inn’s business for the entire month and it was only when she saw the profit of the entire month’s business, did she realize that she no longer needed to worry about the business. Feeling satisfied with how well things turned out, she decided to focus her attention on other matters.
It was the last day of the month and Xiang Ling was on her way to inspect the work of the Inn’s staff when she was suddenly stopped by Fu Xiao.
Confused by the young woman’s action, she was ready to ask what was going on when Fu Xiao decided to speak, "My Lady, look downstairs. It’s your second brother and his family."
Xiang Ling quickly shifted her attention downstairs and her gaze landed on the group of three people who were busy talking with Hao Ran. While she was busy studying them, the four of them suddenly looked up at her, almost scaring her.
"My Lady, you should head downstairs." Fu Xiao reminded in a whispered tone when Xiang Ling remained fixed in her place for way too long.
"Oh?"
Xiang Ling was at a little loss as she wasn’t expecting to suddenly face such a situation. She tried to recall what heinous crimes the previous owner of her body had committed toward her Second Brother and his family, and she immediately recalled Fu Xiao telling her that she supposedly sold the clothing shop that her Second sister-in-law got in her dowry.
But that was just one of the big crimes she committed. There was no doubt that there were a lot of other small issues the original owner of her body might have created with her Second Brother and his family.
Signaling Fu Xiao to come closer, she asked in a whisper. "Other than selling the shop, did I ever caused my Second Brother and his family any harm?"