Cheng Yurong's changes were noticed by Aunt Zhou and Bai Zhi, but they were cautious about their words and actions and did not dare to ask a question.
Shen Zhiqing went to the cake shop to guard the shop every day, but he kept a low profile and never told outsiders that he was the son of the General's Mansion.
On this day, he found someone following him.
He and his follower Wangyou looked at each other, and the two quickly walked into the busy market, got into the crowd, and disappeared in an instant.
The two young men following him immediately rushed into the crowd, but Shen Zhiqing was nowhere to be found.
...
Back at the General's Mansion,
Shen Zhiqing did not tell his mother that he was being followed, but went to the Pine Garden to find his elder brother.
Shen Zhiyuan thought for a while and expressed his thoughts: "I'm probably here for the business of the cake shop."
"It's very possible that it's been a month since it opened. Those who are jealous must have investigated the sales and profits of the cake shop. But they couldn't develop it, so they decided to target me."
Shen Zhiqing was angry, as long as those people could develop the cake and save money on the formula, they would not follow him.
Just because the cake process is complicated, the people behind it lost a lot of money and ingredients in a month of research.
"This group of people probably don't have much malice now. They may want to find out your background and see if they can work with you to open a branch, or sell them the secret recipe."
Shen Zhiyuan knew that the profit of the daily cake shop could be As high as three thousand taels, others can calculate the profit.
In this month, it has seriously affected the business of more than a dozen pastry shops in the capital.
"Then what should I do? Should I declare my identity? Although I can stop some people in a short time, the cake business is so profitable, they will definitely bite this piece of meat."
Shen Zhiqing knows businessmen too well, especially businessmen in the capital.
Every inch of capital is rich, and an egg costs ten cents.
And if a brick is thrown down, it can hit three high-ranking officials.
In a place like this, it's all about competing with someone who has money, who has a bigger official position, and who has a stronger background.
"Don't worry, let's discuss it together when father comes back."
"Okay!"
"But now you have to arrange for five cake chefs and several shop assistants to prevent them from getting into trouble, and send a few more people to protect their safety."
"Yes. , I'll send someone right away."
…
After dark, Shen Hong's face was solemn and he hurried back home.
He put on a smile as soon as he entered the house. He didn't reveal what was on his mind. After dinner, he knew that the second child was in trouble, so he called the second child and the eldest brother to his study.
"The profits of the cake shop are indeed too great, and our family can't afford it. How about I find some partners for you.
Rather than being targeted by outsiders and taking away this piece of cake, why not give it to our own people."
Shen Hong expressed his thoughts. , in fact, he has already had this idea.
Shen Zhiyuan and Shen Zhiqing were silent for a few seconds before nodding.
"Dad, which one is your favorite?" Shen Zhiqing had to agree. He does not own the cake shop, but he only accounts for 30% of it.
After hiding for three years, he still doesn't know much about his father's interpersonal relationships.
The same is true for Shen Zhiyuan. In the past five years, he has only focused on learning.
"In addition to your third uncle, the Xie family, among the partners, there is also..."
The Xie family is a celebrity family in the capital, one of the eight aristocratic families.
In order to avoid the limelight, the three Xie brothers married wives from ordinary families, which led to the current trend of the family being a bit low.
But he didn't dare to marry the prime minister's daughter like the son of the former emperor, otherwise the emperor would find a reason to ransack the homes of both families and behead them.
Twenty or thirty years ago, there were many families that married high, and more than a dozen families were raided by the Supreme Emperor.
Only then has the capital been peaceful in the past ten years.
It just so happens that in the past two years, the trend of marrying high and marrying high has begun again.
"The situation in the court is complicated now, and officials are forming cliques. If our family can keep a low profile, we will try to keep it as low as possible. You all, please bear with me. Only when you are strong enough will you have the right to speak. "
"yes. "
...
On the second day, Shen Zhiqing selected five servants whom he trusted and had pastry skills and arranged for them to learn how to make cakes.
Five days later, he sent them to the houses of Xie's family and several partners to teach them how to make cakes. Craftsmanship.
It is now early August, and Ruan Ruan is five months old.
She is lying on the crib in her nursery. She has been recalling the plot of "The Phoenix" during the past few days. The floods in the south were about the same time that the plague broke out
among the people . The death was tragic, and all ten rooms were empty.
The third brother and the fourth brother had been providing relief for half a month, and she was very worried.
She opened the system panel and looked for the medicinal materials needed to treat the plague.
She remembered that the author had written about the treatment in the book. The prescription for the plague required several heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs, such as honeysuckle, Shuanghuanglian, and forsythia.
Each of the herbs required five thousand kilograms, and a total of ten kinds of herbs cost her three million kilograms
.
Jin, my flesh hurts just thinking about it.
Ruan Ruan called out a few times, and just then Cheng Yurong came in.
"Liang Qi~Aba Aba... Yaya Ya..." She reached out to her mother for a hug and squealed at her. One pass.
[Mother, a very serious plague is about to break out in the south. Quickly ask dad to deliver medicinal materials to the third and fourth brothers.]
[I have prepared 50,000 kilograms of medicinal materials in Zhuangzi, as well as prescriptions to treat the plague. Mother, you must do it. We need to send someone to Zhuangzi to take a look.]
Cheng Yurong almost couldn't stand when she heard the word "plague".
Although her two sons sent back several letters, they said that they were doing well and there was no need to worry
...
Before noon, Shen Hong hurried back to the mansion and asked his entourage to pack some clothes,
"What's going on? Honglang, where are you going? "Cheng Yurong noticed something, even though he didn't say anything.
Shen Hong found Shen Zhiyuan, explained a few words, and then prepared to leave with his entourage.
When he came out of the study, he was pulled by his wife and couldn't leave.
"I went out to do something, maybe It will take half a month to go home.
"Why does it take so long to do something? " Are you going to a disaster area? "Cheng Yurong exposed it directly.
Seeing that the matter could no longer be concealed, Shen Hong nodded.
"Then are you going to the disaster area to bring the two children back? Is there a plague breaking out there? "Cheng Yurong was trembling with anxiety.
Shen Hong hugged her hard and said with certainty: "I will send them back, I promise. "
"how about you? Won't you come back together? Cheng Yurong suddenly thought of something.
"I have important things to do. I have to go to the disaster area to investigate the truth about the plague."
For the past half month, the third and fourth sons wrote to me every day to update me on the situation in the disaster area. In order to prevent the plague from happening, they burned corpses on the spot and made the victims drink boiling hot water, wash their hands frequently, and eat hot food.
"But the plague still occurred and has infected several counties. " A few days ago, the third and fourth sons discovered bodies appearing inexplicably in several water sources, and suspected that someone was taking advantage of the situation to cause trouble by poisoning them.
"Don't go, okay? " I'm afraid..." Cheng Yurong doesn't care about the court or the people. She only wants her husband to live well.
"Yu Niang, believe me, I will come back safely. "Shen Hong kissed her forehead.
"Honglang, go to that village. There are 50,000 kilograms of medicinal materials prepared by my daughter, as well as prescriptions for treating the plague.
"God help me! " Thank you, madam, thank you, my dear daughter, for waiting for me to come back. "