As dawn broke, Qing Feng and Ga Mei headed to the Sweet Orchard.
Everyone worked together to arrange the fruits, just waiting for the grand opening.
The reason the two shops chose to open on the same day was to leverage each other for publicity.
A notice was posted in front of the grain shop: "Sweet Orchard" fruit shop, located on Changle Street, is now open. Welcome! And in front of the fruit shop, another notice was posted: "Imperial Life Grain Shop," located on Fushou Street, is now open. Welcome!
At the hour of Si (9-11 AM), both shops were filled with the sound of firecrackers, drums, and celebratory lion dances.
As expected, both shops were crowded with people, a sea of heads stretching as far as the eye could see.
Although the staff were a little overwhelmed, they managed the situation relatively smoothly.
While there were no overt disturbances at the grain shop, a few suspicious figures appeared. A disciple from Shenmen immediately followed them, confirming they were from the Jiang family's grain shop.
However, as long as the Jiang family did not engage in activities detrimental to the grain shop's interests, Lu Ye and Uncle Wu would not take any action against them.
They all preferred to mind their own business, conduct their trade fairly, and make money, rather than engaging in constant strife.
If the Jiang family were to overstep their bounds and provoke them, they were not afraid; it would be a case of mutual destruction.
The shops remained busy until the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) before closing.
After counting the accounts, the turnover shocked everyone. The grain shop's daily turnover was over 3,000 taels, while the fruit shop brought in 1,680 taels.
Lu Ye knew that grain and fruit had minimal costs. The significant expenses were the purchase of the shops and the renovations. However, at this rate of profit, they would recoup all their investments in just two to three days.
Everyone was overjoyed. After tidying up the shops, they went home early to rest.
Lu Hua and her three companions had their lunch and dinner delivered by Aunt Ding and the two children. Thinking that Uncle Wu and Shopkeeper Cao were busy, Lu Ye asked Aunt Ding to cook for them as well.
It was only during mealtime that Lu Hua truly appreciated her elder brother's wise decision. When they were busy, they hardly had time to go to the outhouse, let alone go home to cook.
While Aunt Ding's cooking wasn't exceptional, it was hearty and home-style. When extremely hungry, a bite of hot food could dispel all fatigue.
Her elder brother's foresight in inviting Aunt Ding's family to help at the estate was truly thoughtful and far-reaching.
On their way home, Lu Hua and Ga Mei shared their experiences of the day, both brimming with excitement. Having successfully navigated the opening day, they felt confident that their work would become smoother in the future.
Much of their prior nervousness and apprehension had dissipated, and their confidence in working and establishing themselves in the capital grew with each passing moment.
Ga Mei brought back quite a few bruised fruits, which were damaged by customers during selection.
Upon reaching the main gate, Lu Ye gave some to Uncle Ding.
Uncle Ding's eyes welled up as he looked at the fresh fruits, as many of them were fruits he had never seen before, let alone tasted.
He hurried off to give the fruits to his wife. The two children's mouths watered uncontrollably at the sight of the fruits.
Twenty-odd days flew by, and both shops were running smoothly, with Lu Hua and Ga Mei becoming increasingly skilled in their tasks.
Lu Ye planned to return to Hongshu Slope soon. Guai Bao's belly was growing larger, and he had heard that multiple births often occurred prematurely. He needed to be home with her; otherwise, every day he spent in the capital would be an agony.
Finally, on the twenty-fifth day after arriving in the capital, Lu Ye explained all matters to the people at the estate, quietly handed Heng Heng over to Lu Hua, and then departed from the capital.
With Heng Heng in the capital, his journeys were swift.
Before leaving, he told Lu Hua to protect Heng Heng well, emphasizing that as long as Heng Heng was present, they would all be safe, and everything they were doing could continue.
Lu Hua nodded repeatedly.
She knew her elder brother was very worried about his wife. As for herself, though she still felt a little apprehensive about being alone in the capital without her brother and sister-in-law, she maintained a calm demeanor and accepted all the responsibilities her elder brother entrusted to her.
To better protect Heng Heng, Lu Hua carried it with her. She made a sturdy cross-body bag, and with Heng Heng inside, no one would casually try to look inside.
After all, no normal person would rudely rummage through a bag carried by someone else, not even her good friend Ga Mei.
In fact, Lu Ye was also worried about Lu Hua. On the second day after the shops opened, Lu Ye purchased three puppies. He placed one in the estate, and Lu Hua and Ga Mei each took one.
The puppies grew quickly, and once they grew up, they would be able to protect the two young girls.
To make the puppies more spirited and obedient, Lu Ye kept them in the space for over twenty days, feeding them plenty of spiritual spring water.
After drinking the spiritual spring water, the three dogs' eyes became much brighter, and their fur grew smoother.
In the space, they treated Bai Sheng as if she were their nursing mother, constantly circling her and wagging their tails so enthusiastically that they nearly wore them thin.
Upon learning that Lu Ye had bought them to protect Lu Hua and Ga Mei and to guard the estate, Bai Sheng also constantly advised them, telling them that if they protected the people they were meant to protect, they would be considered her cubs within the space from then on.
The three puppies seemed to understand Bai Sheng's words, letting out excited whimpers and incessantly licking Bai Sheng's ankles.
Bai Sheng also gave each of them names. Since she had used up all the weather-related terms, she thought of words related to cultivation, such as manure and soil.
Thus, the black one was named Hei Tu (Black Soil), the spotted one was named Fei Sha (Fertile Sand), and the golden one was named Fen Qiu (Manure Ball).
The three puppies were very fond of the names their owner had chosen. As soon as Bai Sheng called a name, the owner of the name would trot over eagerly.
Bao Yu felt a kinship with the three puppies, as they were its close relatives, and took it upon itself to train them. It would typically play and tumble on the grass, nipping at them until they barked in protest.
In the process of defending against Bao Yu, the three puppies gradually learned passive evasion, active offense, and teamwork, moving further towards "wolf-like" behavior.
Before Lu Ye "returned" to Hongshu Slope, he released them from the space.
Not only Lu Hua and Ga Mei, but everyone in the estate grew fond of them, often unable to resist feeding them during meals.
Zhao Da Zhuang and the others had expected their elder to be gone for a long time. However, one morning, when they went out, they saw their elder stretching his leg tendons on the training ground.
"Elder!" Zhao Da Zhuang and the others shouted in pleasant surprise and gathered around.
"Elder, when did you return? We didn't know!" Huang Gou exclaimed with delight.
Lu Ye smiled calmly, "Uh, I returned last midnight. I didn't want to disturb your sleep, so I didn't wake you. Oh, right, I also brought back a lot of fruit from the capital. After your morning training, each family can come and collect some. Hei Feng runs very fast, so the fruits are very fresh."
Hei Feng: I didn't run at all; I've been eating grass in the space and drinking spiritual spring water to nourish my body every day.
Everyone was overjoyed upon hearing this.