Chapter 392: Insidious Tricks
Naya stayed in Prince Helian's mansion and went to the palace every day to pay her respects to the emperor and empress. It was said that the emperor was miserable because of Naya's oppression, and the empress was also very troubled.

Of course, the Queen's headache was just pretending. She was eager for Helian Xuan to return to Jinling as soon as possible. Helian Xuan was the Prince's greatest helper!

Su Yi and Zhao Qixuan set out south on a sunny morning.

The branch in Suzhou has been put into operation, and the building in Hangzhou has also been found. Originally, it would have been best to send Zhong Xiang to be in charge, but Zhong Xiang also has to teach in the training class, and Zhong Xiang and Jiang Yue's marriage has been settled. Ye Jiayao was embarrassed to separate the young couple, so she gave up the idea of ​​sending Zhong Xiang.

Apart from Zhong Xiang, the only other suitable candidates are Wang Mingde and Cui Dongpeng. However, Cui Dongpeng's training course has not yet ended, and Wang Mingde may not be able to take on the task alone. Ye Jiayao plans to wait and see and simply wait until Cui Dongpeng finishes his training.

Tianshangju launched new New Year dishes in one fell swoop, coupled with various promotional activities, and it is still very popular. Moreover, Tianshangju took advantage of the period of closure due to the national mourning to vigorously train chefs, and several good seedlings emerged, so that it will not face a situation of a lack of successors after Wang Mingde and others leave.

Everything was developing towards a normal, stable and good situation. Ye Jiayao had less worries and hardly had to care about anything. She only needed to visit occasionally and was content to be a hands-off boss.

When you start a business, you have to work hard on your own. When the business reaches a certain scale, it is not a good thing to do everything by yourself. You must learn to delegate power, cultivate various talents, give your subordinates ample space to play, and plan and control the overall situation yourself. This is the key. Ye Jiayao understands this well.

That day, Ye Jiayao called Aunt Jiang over and gave her the makeup prepared for Jiang Yue.

Ye Jiayao has always regarded Jiang Yue as her own sister. Zhong Xiang is the main force of Tianshangju and also her good brother. Naturally, Ye Jiayao cannot be stingy.

Aunt Jiang looked at the gift list and felt very uneasy: "Second Young Madam, this... this is too much. How can we accept this? You have already given 20% of the share to Yue'er Bakery. We can't take any more of this."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Jiang Yue is the one who works hard in the bakery, so it's only right that I give her a share. Besides, I treat Jiang Yue as my own sister, and your family is also my family. Why are you being so distant with me?"

Aunt Jiang said embarrassedly: "We are not being polite, it's just that your gift is too expensive..."

A pair of gold bracelets, a pair of gold hairpins, a pair of jade bracelets, a pair of jade hairpins, and a full set of silver jewelry. The silks and brocades are more than she can wear out in a lifetime, plus five hundred taels of silver and fifty taels of gold. This, this, this... it's really too much and too valuable.

This amount is more than all the assets of the Jiang family combined. How can Aunt Jiang feel at ease? They are not greedy people.

"Keep it. If you don't, I'll be angry." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

Aunt Jiang couldn't refuse, so she said sincerely, "Second Young Madam, it's a blessing for our Jiang family to have you and the Young Master. Without you, we would have to stay in Black Wind Hill for the rest of our lives. We couldn't even think about a family reunion, let alone living a stable and comfortable life like we do now. Second Young Madam, you and the Young Master are our Jiang family's great benefactors. We can't repay your kindness even if we work like cows and horses."

Ye Jiayao smiled and said, "Aunt Jiang, please don't say that. This is all fate. There is no such thing as gratitude or not. When A-li gets married, it will be the same gift."

This is how Ye Jiayao is as a person. If someone treats me well, I will only treat you better and be completely satisfied. If someone wants to harm me, I will not be polite to you either. I will clearly distinguish between gratitude and resentment.

It is said that the Jiang family inherited the favor from her and Chunyu, but at Heifenggang, if it were not for Uncle Jiang's help, Chunyu's task would not have been completed so smoothly; the pastry shop and dessert house would not have had such good business if it were not for Jiang Yue's dedicated management; the last time she was imprisoned in Datonghui, if it were not for Jiang Li and Uncle Jiang, Xiaojing and the others would probably not have been able to find which direction the door of the secret room opened.

Everyone in the Jiang family deserves this kind of treatment from her.

"Ah, this kid A'Li, he's not satisfied with any of the girls I've introduced to him. Now, he's let his sister go ahead with them all." Aunt Jiang gets worried when talking about Jiang Li's marriage.

Logically speaking, there should be order of seniority, and Yue'er should wait until Jiang Li gets married before getting married. But Yue'er is already nineteen this year, and Zhongxiang is twenty-three, so they can't wait.

Ye Jiayao comforted her, "Marrying a wife is a lifelong event. You can't rush it. It's better to be alone than to marry someone who is not your ideal. Ah Li is highly valued by the Manufacturing Bureau now. She has a bright future. Why are you worried about not finding a good wife? Just be patient and wait!"

Aunt Jiang smiled bitterly and said, "I am anxious to have a grandchild. I can help them take care of the child while I am still strong. Don't wait until I can't hold the child anymore."

"Aunt Jiang, look at what you said. You and Uncle Jiang will still be as strong as before in ten years. Otherwise, you can go back and ask Ali what kind of woman he likes, and I will keep an eye out for him." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

Aunt Jiang said happily, "That's great. The Second Young Madam's taste will surely satisfy him."

The two talked for a while, and then Aunt Jiang took her leave. Ye Jiayao asked the servants to help deliver the makeup to the Jiang family.

Now the Jiang family has bought their own house outside, not far from the Marquis's Mansion. Although it is only a small courtyard with two entrances, the size of the house does not matter as long as it is warm and cozy.

The room became quiet. Ye Jiayao asked Qiao Xi to make a pot of tea and sat at the desk to continue her food guide.

This is the work that was started during her captivity, and it has become unstoppable. Ye Jiayao has already sorted out the cuisines of Northeastern China, Shandong cuisine, and Sichuan cuisine, and there are many more cuisines to be sorted out. When this set of food guide is completed, it will be the most detailed and comprehensive recipe collection in history, and will become a milestone in the history of food culture.

This job is very meaningful.

"Oh...time flies so fast, Sister Jiang Yue is already married." Xiangtao's soft sigh came from outside.

"What? You want to get married too?" Qiao Xi teased with a smile. "I don't want to get married. I'm just going to serve the Second Young Madam for the rest of my life." Xiang Tao pouted.

"Come on, if you marry him, won't you still be able to serve the Second Young Madam? Hey, what does he mean? Why don't you mention it? How about I ask him for you?" Qiao Xi said with a smile.

Xiang Tao said shyly: "I don't know what you are talking about."

"Hey, you're still pretending in front of me. It's nothing, right? Fine, then I'll pretend I know nothing. Don't cry when the Second Young Lady points you out to someone else." Qiao Xi started to act arrogantly.

"Go ahead, you're older than me, so if I want someone to point it out, I'll point it out to you first." Xiang Tao said.

Ye Jiayao frowned. Did Xiangtao have a crush? Who? How come she didn't notice?
The implication in Qiao Xi's words was clearly referring to the people in the Marquis' Mansion, otherwise she wouldn't have said that they could still serve her.

Who on earth is it?
Ye Jiayao pondered over it, and suddenly an idea came to her mind. Could it be Song Qi...

Well, find a chance to ask Qiao Xi.

If it really is Song Qi, it would be a good marriage and she would be happy to make it happen.

Just as he was thinking about it, someone came from outside and reported that Cui Dongpeng wanted to see him.

Without waiting for Qiao Xi to deliver the message, Ye Jiayao put down her pen and walked out. She saw that there was still a suspicious blush on Xiang Tao's face, which was clearly the shy look of a young girl in love.

A barely perceptible smile flashed across Ye Jiayao's eyes.

The person who came to deliver the message was a maid from the outer courtyard. Ye Jiayao asked where the person was and went straight to the front hall.

When Cui Dongpeng saw the Second Young Madam, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Second Young Madam, there is trouble in Tianshangju."

Ye Jiayao looked calm and sat down: "Tell me slowly."

Cui Dongpeng said, "Before lunch today, many beggars came to Tianshangju. At first, we didn't care and gave them buns and steamed buns, but they still didn't leave. We persuaded them to go further away, but they just sat at the door and refused to leave. We couldn't beat them or scold them. They were ragged and smelly, and the guests were scared away. After lunch, the beggars left one after another, but now, it's almost dinner time, and they are here again. Second Young Madam, it seems that they did it on purpose, maybe they were instructed by someone. What do you think we should do?"

Ye Jiayao frowned. Is there such a thing?
"Are they all locals? Is it just our Tianshangju, or are there other restaurants like it as well?" Ye Jiayao asked.

Cui Dongpeng said: "There are people with local accents and people with foreign accents. As for whether this is the case in other places, I am not sure."

"Didn't they ask for anything?"

"We asked, but they ignored us. If they were given food, they would eat. If they were not given food, they would sit down. They would still sit down after eating," Cui Dongpeng said depressedly.

Ye Jiayao thought for a moment and said, "Go to other restaurants first to see if there is such a situation."

If so, could it be because of a famine somewhere? In that era, communications were not well developed and news was delayed. If it was because of a famine, then she would be willing to do good deeds.

If not, and they were only targeting Tianshangju, then there is no doubt that this was a conspiracy against Tianshangju.

How could a customer have an appetite when seeing a bunch of beggars sitting at the door? If it were her, she would definitely turn around and leave.

If beggars are used to affect Tianshangju’s business, you cannot beat or scold them. Once a conflict occurs, those beggars may turn the tables and accuse you of bullying the weak.

This method is really disgusting and extremely vicious.

"Also, ask the brothers to keep an eye on where these beggars go after they leave and who they come into contact with," Ye Jiayao ordered.

Normally, this kind of thing could be easily resolved by asking Jiu Ye's people to handle it and let the thugs deal with the beggars, but she didn't want to trouble Jiu Ye for everything.

If you report it to the authorities, they can only drive them away. After they are driven away, they come back again, and you can't do anything about it. The law does not stipulate that beggars cannot beg in front of the restaurant. You can't let the soldiers guard the door of the restaurant! If so, everyone thought that Tianshangju was going to be closed down!

Therefore, Ye Jiayao had to first figure out what was going on before deciding what to do.

Cui Dongpeng received the instructions and went to do it immediately.

(End of this chapter)