CHAPTER 132: CHAPTER 132: CAUGHT BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE

After dinner, Shen Qinglan returned to the East Wing and sat at the table to sketch.

One cartoon character after another quietly appeared on the paper, vivid and adorable to the extreme.

On the paper, there was Hello Kitty, Ali, Sun Wukong, Mickey Mouse, and others.

Shen Qinglan drew several expressions and poses for each cartoon character. Once she finished, she labeled each part with the corresponding colors and names before putting down her pen.

The handkerchiefs of this era were almost all the same; they were either embroidered with poems or flowers. Although there were many designs, they were the same things repeated, without any novelty.

If these were embroidered onto handkerchiefs, could they earn a profit while still fresh?

New things always attract attention, regardless of the era.

Shen Qinglan spread out each sheet to dry. With no wind in the room, she wasn’t worried they would be blown away.

She extinguished the lights, and it was another dreamless night.

The next day, Shen Qinglan collected the drawings, took them to the West Wing, and gave them to Shen Qingju and Shen Qinghe.

The two were visibly delighted upon seeing the drawings.

They pulled Shen Qinglan to the side, asking numerous questions, mostly about whether she came up with these cartoon characters herself or if someone else did.

She couldn’t very well say she saw them in her past life, so she attributed everything to heaven’s gift.

After being pestered to the point of headache, she made an excuse to leave them both.

After resolving Shen Qingping and Shen Qing’an’s schooling issues, Shen Qinglan privately contacted Ji Nian and his wife.

She handed them the menu and informed them in advance about her intention to have Shen Shan and Shen Qingzhu work there.

Initially, the couple thought Shen Qinglan was a young lady from a wealthy family.

After all, it wasn’t unheard of for ladies from such families to secretly run their own businesses to earn some personal money.

Hearing now that she was just a girl from a small village, they were astounded at first, but couldn’t help but develop genuine admiration.

"From now on, when you two see me, there’s no need to call me Madam, just call me Qinglan. I’ll call you Brother Ji and Sister Fang."

Shen Qinglan instructed, "If my father asks how we know each other, just say that before you opened the restaurant, you often went to Shengxiang Restaurant to eat and got acquainted over time."

Those who can open a restaurant likely aren’t short on money, and although Shengxiang Restaurant is a bit pricey, it’s not outrageously so.

Though the couple was puzzled as to why Shen Qinglan didn’t want to disclose her owner status to her family, they figured she had her reasons and agreed.

It wasn’t that Shen Qinglan wasn’t willing to let the Shen Family know she was opening a restaurant, it was that she didn’t want to scare them.

After all, saying the house purchase was due to Uncle Tang’s thoughtfulness was plausible, but opening a restaurant was too big to come up with an excuse.

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A month had passed, and the flood still had not receded, yet the government’s granaries were already depleted.

Finally, there was a response from the Capital, and just when there seemed to be hope, the County Magistrate almost spat blood upon hearing its contents.

They only said that this heavy rain didn’t just affect Jinxi Town, but several other towns also experienced serious floods, with severe casualties.

The Capital’s treasury was empty in recent years, making it unlikely to support Jinxi Town, advising the County to contact Yongning Manor and have them resolve the situation.

They also said that if this matter could be resolved, there would be a great reward.

Though Jinxi Town was nominally under Yongning Manor, the taxes collected all went into the national treasury.

Now, asking them to have Yongning Manor handle everything, how could they expect a pleasant response?

But if he didn’t go, it would be tantamount to defying orders.

The County Magistrate found himself caught in a dilemma.