Chapter 55

In the days that followed, despite the intense investigation into the murder at the land temple, no results were achieved, and it eventually became an unsolved case.

What surprised Ye Yu even more was that not long after the visit to the Drunken Spring Pavilion, the courtesan Liu Qianyu left Qingliu County.

As for where the beauty had gone, the madam of the Drunken Spring Pavilion said that a merchant from another place had taken a fancy to Liu Qianyu and redeemed her to be his personal concubine.

Ye Yu, of course, did not believe that Liu Qianyu had married a merchant, but this matter left him with a sense of inexplicable loss.

Although his feelings were complex and hard to sort out, the busy days gradually made Ye Yu forget his troubles. The thriving fabric business had already made the current dyeing workshop unable to cope, as the demand from the eighteen markets in Chuzhou far exceeded Ye Yu's expectations.

Moreover, he deliberately lowered the market price of the fabric, reducing it to 28 coins per bolt, a price that was close to the standard price set by the court.

Such behavior, for other fabric merchants, was tantamount to suicide, as it was essentially unprofitable.

However, for Ye Yu, it was quite the opposite. The amount of profit was not important to him; what mattered was fulfilling the promise he had made to Liu Yuanshan.

Moreover, with the improved equipment in the dyeing workshop, the production efficiency had already reduced the cost of the fabric from the source.

Because of Ye Yu's low-priced and high-quality fabric, merchants from other prefectures, even those from afar, came to negotiate cooperation.

Ye Yu was naturally delighted to see this situation, but the flood of cooperation orders also left him breathless. After all, his capabilities were still insufficient to handle all the orders.

Ye Yu's unique approach could be said to have disrupted the market in Chuzhou and other places, and thus he secretly incurred a lot of resentment.

Although the merchants in the same industry tried to unite to suppress him, they were helpless due to Ye Yu's relationship with the Censor Liu Quan. Moreover, even if they wanted to suppress Ye Yu, they needed the strength to do so.

Now, in the four counties of Chuzhou, except for Lai'an, Ye Yu had set up the Zhonghua Dyeing Workshop. With the high-speed operation of the current equipment in the dyeing workshop, a significant trend had already formed.

Even if all the fabric merchants in Chuzhou united to lower the price of the fabric to try to overwhelm Ye Yu, the result would only be to fulfill Ye Yu's intentions.

Because if it came to selling at a low profit but in large quantities, with the alliance between Ye Yu and the Pan family, they had already taken the dominant position in Chuzhou.

The business world is like a battlefield, and although Ye Yu's actions had lowered the price of the fabric, they also caused many people in the dyeing industry to go bankrupt.

Ye Yu was very clear about this, but he was also helpless, as the business world itself is a process of devouring and being devoured.

Moreover, in order to take on orders from various places and alleviate the increasing supply, he could only continuously expand.

Before he knew it, it was already the end of the year, and he had been in the Song territory for more than two years. In the past half year, Ye Yu had swept through Chuzhou, acquiring sixteen large and small bankrupt dyeing workshops.

In this way, the entire private fabric industry in Chuzhou was finally replaced by Ye Yu, taking the place of the Pan family.

In this process, Ye Yu deeply understood that he should thank Liu Yuanshan and his nephew, as without their influence, he would not have achieved what he had today.

Therefore, he decided to visit the Censor Liu Quan in Lai'an after finishing his current affairs after the New Year.

Liu Yuanshan's term had ended, and he had resigned due to old age and illness, now temporarily residing in his nephew Liu Quan's residence. Ye Yu's visit would allow him to thank Liu Yuanshan and also to return to Lai'an to see if it was time to go back.

The festive atmosphere at the end of the year was very strong, and the Ye family's courtyard was decorated with lanterns. The steward, Uncle Sun, was busy inside and out, instructing the servants to prepare for the New Year.

Qiu Lan had been busy in the kitchen all morning and had not stepped out of the kitchen once. Everyone in the large mansion was busy preparing for New Year's Eve, while Ye Yu sat idly by the stone table in the courtyard, basking in the sun.

"Hey, move, move..." Just as Ye Yu was closing his eyes to rest, enjoying this rare moment of peace, a hurried footsteps and a tense shout came his way.

Ye Yu opened his eyes with a helpless look, but a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Then he saw Qiu Lan running over with a tray, placing it on the stone table, and letting out a sigh of relief with her puffed cheeks.

She looked relaxed and wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, but she didn't realize that her face was already covered with grease, and now it looked like a big flower face.

"Ha ha ha!" Ye Yu couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Qiu Lan's face, which looked like a cat's.

Qiu Lan looked puzzled and confused, and instinctively looked down at her clothes, finding nothing wrong. She then asked hesitantly, "Young Master, what is it...?"

Ye Yu gradually stopped laughing and gestured for Qiu Lan to come closer.

When Qiu Lan obediently bent down to find out why the young master was laughing, Ye Yu took a small handkerchief from his sleeve and gently wiped the dirt off her face, then smiled affectionately, "You're always in a hurry. Isn't there a cook in the kitchen? You've been in there all morning. Aren't you afraid of setting the kitchen on fire?"

Although he was complaining about Qiu Lan's rashness, there was no sense of blame. Qiu Lan was initially taken aback but then blushed with a hint of sweetness.

"Young Master, this is the three-thread squid you once mentioned. Try it and see if it's tasty," Qiu Lan, enjoying the warmth, didn't forget the delicious dish she had brought.

"Oh? You can make this dish?" Ye Yu, after wiping the dirt off Qiu Lan's face, turned his gaze to the tray on the stone table.

Seeing Ye Yu's doubt, Qiu Lan reached out and lifted the large bowl, and a fragrant aroma immediately filled the air, making Ye Yu feel a strong sense of intoxication.

Lifting his eyes, he saw that it was indeed the three-thread squid and couldn't help but exclaim, "Just by the color and aroma, it's already impressive. I wonder how it tastes."

As soon as Ye Yu finished speaking, Qiu Lan handed him a pair of chopsticks, "Young Master, try it..."

"Sure! Good!" Ye Yu happily took the chopsticks, picked up a piece of the dish, and eagerly put it in his mouth.

Ye Yu chewed the dish in his mouth, savoring its flavor. Qiu Lan watched him nervously, thinking to herself that she had spent the whole morning preparing this dish, hoping it would meet the young master's taste.

After a moment, Ye Yu nodded slightly but then shook his head, a gesture that left Qiu Lan anxious and tense. She then asked in a low voice, "Young Master, you nodded and then shook your head. Does this dish not meet your taste?"

Ye Yu turned to Qiu Lan and smiled gently, "No, it's already quite impressive that you can make a dish with such color, aroma, and flavor."

"川菜？" (Sichuan cuisine?)

"额，这个川菜嘛，就是这道菜的做法源于四川，因此称之为川菜！" (Well, Sichuan cuisine is a style of cooking that originated in Sichuan, hence the name.)

At this moment, Ye Yu realized he had made a slip of the tongue. Sichuan cuisine only became a system during the Song Dynasty, but it wasn't officially called Sichuan cuisine at that time.

Qiu Lan nodded in confusion, tilting her head, "那您刚才摇头……" (Then why did you shake your head just now...)

Ye Yu pointed to the dish on the plate and explained with a hint of regret, "People in the Sichuan region love spicy food, so the success of this dish depends on whether it's spicy or not. Although you added a lot of pepper, it didn't fully blend into the flavor."

Seeing Qiu Lan's disappointed look, Ye Yu felt helpless. The dish required chili peppers, which were not available in China at that time.

Chili peppers, which are commonly found in modern markets, were not available then. Therefore, the flavor Ye Yu wanted was impossible to achieve unless he crossed the ocean to South America.

Ye Yu, who loved spicy food, was not from the north or Sichuan, but his preference for spicy food made him nostalgic.

A few days ago, he had casually mentioned the three-thread squid to Qiu Lan, and to his surprise, she actually made it.

"This isn't your fault, as it lacks a very rare ingredient. Besides, I'm not someone who is picky about food. I just mentioned it casually..."

Ye Yu's words of comfort had no effect. Qiu Lan silently picked up the tray and ran back to the kitchen, leaving Ye Yu feeling too honest and wondering why he had been so frank.

"Ye Yu, you don't know, this girl has been practicing her cooking skills for your dish recently and even asked me to collect many recipes!" Uncle Sun, who had seen the scene, walked into the courtyard and sighed.

"Is that so?" Ye Yu felt a sense of guilt and regret for his honesty. However, he knew that Uncle Sun must have come for a reason, so he put the matter aside and asked softly, "Uncle Sun, what is it?"

"Oh, just now, a constable came to notify us that the county magistrate will be coming soon!" Uncle Sun's expression turned serious when he mentioned the matter.

"Oh, the county magistrate?"

Upon hearing that Yang Zheng was coming, Ye Yu's brows furrowed. Although he had met Yang Zheng a few times and chatted with him twice, it was only for social purposes.

Moreover, Ye Yu had not forgotten the final warning from Liu Qianyu at the Drunken Spring Pavilion.

Afterward, he had sent people to investigate Yang Zheng and learned that he had once been a minor official in the capital, a position much better than the county magistrate of Qingliu.

However, his transfer to Qingliu County was indeed suspicious. Fortunately, Yang Zheng had not shown any hostility toward him, and their relationship had been harmonious.

But now, with the New Year approaching, Yang Zheng had lowered his status and suddenly visited. What could be the reason?

Just as Ye Yu was pondering the purpose of Yang Zheng's visit, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. With his keen hearing, Ye Yu knew that the county magistrate Yang Zheng had arrived. He instructed Uncle Sun to open the main gate and pushed his wheelchair forward to greet him.

Although a county magistrate was a minor official, he was still higher in status than a common merchant, and Ye Yu dared not show any disrespect.

(Seeking votes, seeking collection!)

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