Gu Yichen sat at his desk, fingers lightly tapping on the table, his brow furrowed as his mind raced with thoughts.
The girl they had captured today didn't seem like a spy from a foreign country. Her clothes were odd, her shoes strange, and her behavior even more peculiar, yet there was nothing that gave off any sense of danger. But these days, the more harmless something looked, the more it might hide deadly intentions. After all, he had been the commander of the Dragon Wu Guard in his early years and had interrogated countless prisoners. He had seen all kinds of disguises. Was this a new tactic from the enemy—sending a naive girl to disrupt attention?
However, after careful thought, Gu Yichen felt the matter was not so simple. Since this girl was so different, it might be best to let her go for now and observe her actions. He waved his hand, signaling to release Su Qianqian, but in his heart, he had already set an invisible trap.
Su Qianqian had just been "freed" and had enjoyed half a day of life as a noblewoman, fantasizing about starting some grand revenge drama in a wealthy family. But in the blink of an eye, she was thrown out of the Gu residence.
She stared at the food cart she had come on, almost on the verge of tears. She had traveled to the Gu residence in a food cart, and now she was returning to her inn the same way. The treatment was no different from being "escorted as a suspect!" Luckily, she was naturally optimistic.
After much effort, Su Qianqian finally found her inn amidst the unfamiliar streets. As she gazed at the signboard of the "Qianyun Inn," she almost kneeled to give it three respectful bows. Finally, something familiar! However, when she entered, her surprise grew even greater as she saw the familiar decor. Her mind briefly short-circuited due to the shock of traveling, and she had not realized that the inn was exactly the same as the one she had run in modern times!
The Qianyun Inn was a family business passed down from Su Qianqian's grandmother. It had an ancient design with carved beams and painted rafters, exuding a strong old-fashioned charm.
The front yard had a small courtyard paved with blue stone, with a small fish pond and some plants left by the ancestors; the backyard was a larger area with fruit trees and a bamboo grove, very peaceful.
The interior was just as she remembered: redwood cabinets, bamboo screens, and antique tea sets… Honestly, if not for the electric lights and faucets, she would have thought this was a relic from the Qing Dynasty that her grandmother had lost.
"This is too absurd!" Su Qianqian thought, grabbing her suitcase and rushing into her bedroom, rummaging through her belongings for the wooden box she had found the previous day, hoping to see if it could transport her back to the modern world.
But after much effort, she found that the box had no reaction at all, as if mocking her naive hope.
"Can't go back…" Su Qianqian collapsed on the bed, her mind buzzing.
After a long while, she finally pulled herself together. Since she couldn't go back, she decided to focus on surviving here for now. She stroked her chin and began recalling the business knowledge she had learned in college—wholesale, retail, marketing… "Maybe I can use these to make some money and become the ancient world's first billionaire!"
The more she thought about it, the smarter she felt, even drawing up a business blueprint for the future: opening a chain of inns, selling specialty products, word-of-mouth marketing, customized services, etc.—a perfect business mogul template!
However, reality was harsher than her idealized plans. To run the inn, the first step was capital, and the second was manpower. But at this moment, the place was empty, with no one in sight. Su Qianqian looked around, planning to do a quick inspection of the inn.
As she turned into the backyard, she accidentally kicked over a loose stone. When she crouched down to inspect, she realized that the stone seemed to be loose. She pushed it aside and discovered a hidden mechanism underneath. Driven by curiosity, she pressed it, and with a click, a small door in the wall opened, revealing a hidden space.
"A secret room?!" Su Qianqian's eyes widened in shock.
She carefully crawled inside and found the room filled with boxes and old items. Trembling, she pulled out a yellowed handwritten book from one of the boxes, its pages covered with dense writing. When she opened the first page, she was greeted by a straightforward and startling opening line:
"My daughter, or my granddaughter, in any case, I believe you are my female descendant."
Su Qianqian paused for a moment, unable to resist mocking, "This is ridiculous! And it specifies female descendants? Is this box supposed to sense my 'feminine aura'?"
The next few lines became increasingly absurd yet solemn:
"Yes, our family's time-traveling inheritance is passed down to women, not men. As for why it's passed to women and not men, I don't know."
Su Qianqian rubbed her forehead, realizing her grandmother's explanation didn't explain much.
"The era you travel to is random, and you will not find my mark in any particular era."
"Now, let me tell you something important: When you travel to the past, your time in the modern world stops. It's like a parallel world, so even if you live your whole life here, when you return to the modern world, you will still be as you were when you traveled."
Su Qianqian quickly became engrossed in the next section:
"This chest contains the wealth I accumulated in my lifetime. I am not a business-minded person, and only survived by managing the inn. However, what I leave you is the savings I accumulated over my lifetime in the ancient world."
Su Qianqian stared at the chest, where several heavy gold ingots were neatly stacked on one side, surrounded by exquisite silver ingots and a mix of loose silver coins and dazzling gemstones.
Her heart began to race, and the words "financial freedom" flashed in her mind.
"I hope this wealth will help you live a wonderful adventure in this time."
"Wonderful?" Su Qianqian took a deep breath and muttered to herself, "Grandmother, if I can turn this inn into a chain in this feudal society, that would be truly wonderful."
She closed the journal and looked resolutely at the space outside the secret room, saying to herself, "The ancient business world, here I come!"
Su Qianqian turned back to the chest of gold and silver treasures and immediately started calculating in her mind: "Gold by the gram, silver by the tael, if all this was converted to modern currency…" Wait a minute! I came here to make money, not to daydream.
She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Her gaze swept over the empty inn hall, and suddenly various business ideas from college filled her mind: customer flow, service experience, target market…
"Hold on," she turned around and started evaluating the inn around her. Despite the ancient decor, it seemed perfectly in place for this era, and even seemed a bit high-end: "Ah, my 'startup capital' isn't just this chest of treasures. The inn itself is my 'first pot of gold!'"
Su Qianqian slapped her forehead, excitedly muttering, "Let's get started! First, figure out the local market rates, then study pricing, employee recruitment, and promotion."
She began to plan the future direction of the inn, as well as its current financial situation, determined to turn it into "the most popular spot in the capital."