83 An Unlucky Person (1/2)
Half an hour later, Helian Jing escorted Ye Jiayao and Lady Xia You out of the mansion.
When it was time to part, Ye Jiayao bowed and said to Lady Xia You, ”Thank you for speaking for me before, Lady Xia You.”
Lady Xia You just turned to Helian Jing and said, ”Little Jing, if you have time, you should come to our mansion, Chunfeng came back yesterday.”
Ye Jiayao awkwardly straightened her posture, her lips pulling up in the slightest. Fine, I'll just get ignored. Stupid me, thinking that Chunyu's mum really liked me.
”Really? Wasn't he going to come back at the end of the year together with his father?” Helian Jing asked, surprised.
”He is not accustomed to that side where there is yellow sand everywhere. It is only your uncle who can stay in those types of places,” Lady Xia You said in a mocking tone, a hint of bitterness in her smile.
”Well, that's good! I'll go and find him tomorrow,” Helian Jing replied happily as he escorted Lady Xia You to her carriage.
”Well, I'll also be leaving now,” Ye Jiayao said, ”I'll come and find you if there are any problems.”
Helian Jing said, ”I'll go to Heavenly Residence for dinner tomorrow. Leave some dishes and cold drinks for me, okay? I'll invite Xia Chunfeng, Brother Chunyu's younger brother. He's one year older than me and we played together all the time when we were younger.”
Ye Jiayao nodded. ”Xia Chunfeng? Will he look similar to his older brother?”
Helian Jing ignored her question and said instead, ”I'm also going to invite someone else.”
”That's not a problem. You can invite whoever and as many people as you wish. I'll reserve the Lotus Attic for you.”
Ye Jiayao waved goodbye and left.
Helian Jing silently watched Big Yaoyao walk away. The person I wanted to invite is you…
Song Qi was waiting for Ye Jiayao at the street corner. ”Did you get the deal, Brother Yao?”
Ye Jiayao smiled secretively and responded, ”It was all thanks to your Lady.”
She was beginning to understand why Lady Xia You helped her. It was not because she favored her, but most likely because Lady Xia You and Elder Princess Yi De were at odds. Chunyu's mother sided with Ye Jiayao simply because she wanted to spite Elder Princess Yi De.
”I was kind of worried when I saw my Lady walk out of the Helian Mansion,” Song Qi admitted.
”What were you worried about? That I would be eaten by your Lady?” Ye Jiayao joked.
”It just seems a bit unexpected that you two would meet like this.”
Ye Jiayao lowered her eyes. Yes, it was indeed unexpected.
”Let's go and have a look around at the bronze shops,” Ye Jiayao said, changing the topic.
”Bronze shops? Are you buying bronze ware, Brother Yao? What for? Bronze cauldron? Bronze pot?” Song Qi was puzzled. Don't most people use iron made cooking utensils?
”Ice holder,” Ye Jiayao simply said.
However, the ice holder she wanted was not the big and heavy ones which required a lot of complex work. She wanted a simple ice holder to sell the Ice Cream Mooncake in so that it could be stored for at least three to five days. Preservation was the key because if the ice cream melted, the Ice Cream Mooncake would not be worth much.
The place for bronze casting ware and forging iron were on the same street and the name was also easy to remember – Forging Iron Alley. The livelihood of the people here depended on iron forging or other trades that extended from it. Even before walking into the alley, the clanging sounds of forging iron could already be heard.
Ye Jiayao walked up and down the alley and found out that there was only one shop for bronze ware. She could only hope that the master here could make what she wanted.
Ye Jiayao took out her design and discussed with the master for a long time. Overall, the ice holder was separated into two simple layers. One of the layers had ice in between and the inner layer was for food. It had to be lightweight as well as presentable.
The master pondered over it for a while before saying, ”I'll have a try first. You can come back three days later and see the goods. However, if I can't make it, you won't be able to find anyone else in Jin Ling.”
”Okay, I'll leave this to you.” Ye Jiayao paid the deposit.
By the time Ye Jiayao and Song Qi left Forging Iron Alley, it was already dusk.
”Brother Yao, you're not going back to Heavenly Residence, right? How about we go to Fragrant House for tonight's dinner?” Song Qi suggested.
Ye Jiayao liked that idea. ”Yeah, let's go. I was also thinking of going to try Chef Niu's dishes.”
Although the birthday banquet was important, she could not fall behind in the cooking competition. She heard that the rules for the competition were going to be out in mid-July.
Song Qi initially thought that it was going to take a lot of effort to complete the mission that Heir-Son Lord had tasked him with. Who knew that Miss Ye would agree right away?
Ye Jiayao observed the surroundings of Fragrant House and quickly realized why this restaurant was able to earn so much. There were many chambers of commerce, security firms and banks in the area, so there was no need to worry about the source of customers. Not to mention that these people were all quite wealthy. It would also be very convenient to come to Fragrant House to celebrate once they close a deal.
Song Qi immediately purchased the best private room. Ye Jiayao knew that if they sat outside, they wouldn't get to taste Chef Niu's cooking, but she still found it a bit wasteful to rent such an expensive room for just the two of them.
After ordering, Ye Jiayao excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Although the ancient bathrooms were simple, there was an advantage. One bathroom holds only one person, disregardless of the gender. It rid of Ye Jiayao's worries as to whether she'd have to go to the men's or women's bathrooms. It was also private so she could rest assured - as long she doesn't accidentally step in the hole.
The sign on the bathroom door said that it was occupied. Ye Jiayao waited for a long while, but no one came out.