Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 321

In the evening, the sky suddenly darkened, and instead of oil lamps, candles were lit in the restaurant. 

The candles were slender than usual, and they were carved with patterns. They were inserted into a silver candlestick, and then covered with a light gauze, which made the atmosphere on the third floor even more elegant. 

There was a saying that looking at a beauty under the lamp, the more they looked at her, the more charming she became. 

The performers on the stage were all beauties with great appearance, and their complexion brightness with the candles.

In the evening, Gu Yin prepared some wines suitable for women, such as plum wine, sweet-scented osmanthus wine, fruit wine, rice wine. But those were not sold during the day, and only in the evening would there be a separate drink menu. 

As in modern times, those drinks were not sold by the jug, but by the glass, and customers could order according to their own tastes. 

Second Madam Wen and others came to try it, and all of them were full of praise. 

When they were a little drunk, someone took the initiative to ask to come on stage to perform on a whim—they were all women, so there was nothing to be ashamed of. 

That woman was good at playing the guzheng. Of course, her skills couldn’t be compared with those from the palace, but she was also very skilled. 

After playing the song, everyone applauded again. 

The woman was impulsive at first, and later regretted it, but seeing her friends applauding for her, and the admiring smiles on the faces of Gu Yin and her friends, she no longer felt that there was a problem. She generously gathered up her skirt and bowed to everyone. 

After someone took the lead, naturally others followed suit. Even Second Madam Wen came to the stage and sang a segment for everyone.

Those people gathered there just because they had close friends in common. Many of whom had never seen each other before, and had only heard each other’s names from their close friends. But after getting along that day, they could be considered to be familiar with each other. 

Second Madam Wen was the happiest. She liked liveliness and made more than a dozen friends a day, which was a surprise.

Moreover, those friends were made completely because of similar interests and it was precious. 

It wasn’t until the curfew hour, when the women’s families came to look for them, and Second Master Wen drove over in person, that the whole day’s excitement was over. 

Seeing his wife’s flushed face, Second Master Wen complained, “In the morning, you told me that you will come and cheer for ‘Food of Heaven’, I never thought you would stay here all day, and thought you were somewhere else.” 

Second Madam Wen ignored him and climbed into the carriage by herself. 

Second Master Wen sat in and said in pain, “The food here is not what it used to be, and the price has increased several times. How much money did you spend here for a whole day?” 

Second Madam Wen didn’t care, she said, “It didn’t cost much, just two or three taels of silver.” 

It really only cost two or three taels for food, and of course there were also several hundred taels as flowers reward. 

Facing the iron-rooster-like husband, Second Madam Wen was very discerning and didn’t mention the reward. If she let him know that she gave things for nothing, he would go crazy.

In reality, their family was really not short for that amount of money. Not to mention the money that Second Master Wen got to collect debts, she herself was the owner of a large dowry and was not short of money. 

“Isn’t two or three taels of silver a lot? In Hanshan Town, it must have…” 

He was still in pain when suddenly a soft female voice came from outside the carriage, “Madam, you forgot to take your cloak.”

Second Madam Wen was lying lazily in the carriage. When she heard the words, she immediately sat up, lifted the curtain of the carriage, and put on a smile, “It’s Xiao Yuan. I forgot about it in a hurry, I’m sorry to bother you.” 

Xiao Yuan handed over Second Madam Wen’s cloak, sniffed and said, “It’s not bother at all.” 

Seeing that her nose was red from the cold, Second Madam Wen said in distress, “Go back quickly. It’s freezing. Your voice will be affected. I’ll come and see you tomorrow.” 

Xiao Yuan said sweetly, “Okay, then I’ll practice the little song from Madam’s hometown tonight.” 

After she finished speaking, she trotted back to the restaurant. She didn’t forget to turn around and wave to Second Madam Wen. 

Second Madam Wen also smiled and waved to her, urging her to hurry in. 

When she was completely inside, she put down the curtain of the carriage, and without even looking at her husband, she closed her eyes and lay back. 

Second Master Wen: “??” 

It was strange. Why did it feel like a wife came to pick up her scumbag husband home? 

 …… 

On the side of Duke Lu’s mansion, Feng Tao returned to the mansion with a tired look after the Look up to Heaven Tower closed for a day’s business. 

Mrs. Qin had been waiting for him for a long time. She couldn’t say anything when she saw he was tired. She was so distressed that she had someone serve him hot tea, and then someone massage his shoulders and legs. 

After a short break, Feng Tao started talking about the day’s opening without waiting for her to ask. 

Mrs. Qin gave him 30,000 taels. He spent 20,000 taels to buy the restaurant, and there were about 10,000 taels left, so she asked him to use it for the expenses. 

He worked hard, hired several chefs, and did not hesitate to hurt people. The prices of various dishes were 10% cheaper than Food of Heaven. 

Coupled with the lively lion dance team, he thought they could grab all the business of Food of Heaven in one fell swoop. But their restaurant made a noodle show, and it was not affected at all.

Mrs. Qin reassured him, “It’s okay, that’s a noodle show, that’s all. They are just trying to be unique, and it will get old in a few days. What’s the matter with the snack food that was opened?”

At that point, Feng Tao’s expression softened, “I have inquired. The third floor has singing and dancing. There were singing and musical instruments, but it was not open to male guests.” 

Mrs. Qin sneered, “Are they a fool? Since ancient times, they have known that singing and dancing are for men, but they do not do men’s business and only entertain women?” 

If they were able to attract men’s attention with singing and dancing to food, then naturally she would attract a lot of men. 

But she had never heard of using those to entertain female guests. She knew it wouldn’t work! 

What was there to look at in women? 

“My son, relax, since we know that she is not good enough, as long as we don’t mess up, I believe it won’t take long before we can pull down that family!”