Chapter Fifteen One Hundred Taels of Silver in Hand

  Shangguan Qing's furrowed brow could tell that what she said was indeed the truth, perhaps she really is a very humble person.

  Deng Shoucai, who was standing aside, listened to their conversation and broke out in a cold sweat. If he hadn't misheard, the little girl had just referred to herself as "I" instead of "your humble servant" when speaking to the Prince of Qing. What if the prince blamed him for this?

  "You... are also a cook in that Mingyue Building?" Shangguan Qing gave Deng Shoucai a cold glance. If he was indeed a cook at an inn, why would he be dressed like this?

  "No, I just helped him win the championship and then taught his family chef how to make it, giving them a few pointers." Su Xiaofan answered truthfully, neither arrogant nor humble. Living in the 21st century, she didn't have that obvious distinction between superior and inferior in her mindset.

  "Huh? If we're not acquainted, why would you help?" Shangguan Qing glanced at the two people standing not far away, gazing over here, her eyes lingering on that delicate little doll.

  Su Xiaofan fell silent for a moment, then answered truthfully: "It should be obvious, my family is very poor, so my goal is naturally that one hundred taels of silver."

  Shangguan Qing heard the words and did not make any response, half a moment later he got up and whispered a few words to an official standing beside him, then turned around and left.

  After a moment, someone brought out a plaque from inside and said to Deng Shoucai: "Congratulations, Mr. Deng, this time Mingyuelou won the championship, this is the plaque written by King Qing himself." Then another person walked in front of Su Xiaofan and said: "This is a reward of 100 taels of silver, the king ordered it to be handed over to you personally."

  Su Xiaofan happily accepted it, but didn't know how much silver she owed to the villagers and whether there would be any left after paying off the debt. It would be great if some were left over.

  Deng Shoucai was so moved that he stood there in a daze, forgetting to react.

  "Old Deng, what's wrong? Come on, let's take him back." The newcomer spoke up with a hint of impatience.

  "Yes, yes, thank you." Deng Shoucai stood up, pulled out a few silver ingots from his sleeve and handed them to several people, with a smile: "Thanks for the hard work of several officials."

  The newcomer's face slightly relaxed, smiled and took over, handed the plaque to Su Bing and Ji Yun who came forward, then turned around and left.

  After all the officials had dispersed, the remaining tavern owners came forward to congratulate Deng Shoucai, but Su Xiaofan saw a thick layer of hypocrisy in their smiles. It seemed that there had always been open and secret struggles between the various taverns, and this time Mingyuelou's victory would not be accepted by others. Moreover, several bosses' eyes lingered on him, wondering if they wanted to invite him to work at their tavern?

  Deng Shoucai smiled and responded with a pleased expression, recalling that after the two top chefs in his building had left one after another, he hadn't been ridiculed by these people. Perhaps meeting this little girl was the blessing of the Buddha.

  "I wonder when Miss Su can come here to work?" Deng Shoucai asked with a smile after dealing with those people, walking to Su Xiaofan's side.

  "Hmm, let me think about it for a while." Leng Mo Li was clear in her mind that although going out to work would bring stable income, it was very inconvenient, the journey was long, and there was no one at home to take care of things. If she had to wait until her mother could take care of her grandmother and the younger brother or sister who would be born later, it would be a year from now, or even longer. Moreover, she herself was not free at present, and after the family's situation improved, she would have to go to the village head's house.

  "As for the monthly salary, we can negotiate."

  "Uh, it's not that issue, thank you. If I come again later, I'll tell Su Bing about it." Su Xiao Fan smiled faintly and pulled Xiang Yi Mo's hand, ready to leave.

  "Alright, I'll wait for good news then." Deng Shoucai didn't try to persuade her further. Judging from her reaction, it seemed like there was indeed something going on at home that she couldn't get away from. As long as she wasn't poached by another wine house, she would come eventually. Besides, her fellow villager Su Bing was still working in his own wine house.

  "Xiao Xi, let's go back." Su Xiaofan held the silver in one hand and pulled Xiao Yiming with the other, turning to face Yu Xiaoxi.

  "Ah...... okay." Today, Su Xiaofan's performance was too surprising, Yu Xiaoxi was a bit stunned, to be honest, this was the first time she saw so much silver, and at this moment, Su Xiaofan, who held so much silver in his hand, looked very calm.

  Su Bing laughed and ran over, saying to the few people: "Otherwise, you can wait in the city, I'll go back to the wine tower with everyone to hang up the plaque, and then send you back."

  Yu Xiaoxi looked at Su Xiaofan uncertainly, although she herself was eager to wait and return with Su Bing together, but Xiaofan might want to go home immediately, if Ye Nainai and Jia Shu knew that Xiaofan had gotten so much silver, they would definitely be very happy.

  "Okay, I'll go buy some things, and you help me carry them back home later."

  "Alright, I'll go ahead and get busy. You guys buy the goods and come to the store to find me, Xiao Xi knows the way." Su Bing handed over a few instructions before turning around and running off.

  "What does Xiao Fan want to buy?" Yu Xiaoxi asked, then took out the purse from her waist and handed it to Su Xiaofan: "Xiaofan, use my bag to hold the money, I heard there are many pickpockets in the city."

  "Alright, thank you. I'll return it to you after I get home." Su Xiaofan took the silver and put it away, then said: "I want to go take a look at the market, buy some rice and noodles to bring back, there's nothing left at home."

  "Alright, let's go." Yu Xiaoxi rarely entered the city, and the place she was most familiar with in the city was Mingyuelou where Su Bing worked. However, if they were going to the market, they could just ask for directions along the way.

  Su Xiaofan leaned down and asked Xiao Yiming: "Little treasure, are you feeling tired? If you're tired, come to sister for a hug."

  Xiao Yi Mo gave her a faint glance, and walked forward by himself, already too lazy to tell her not to call him "little treasure" anymore, also too lazy to declare that she was not his sister.

  "It's really not cute at all." Yu Xiaoxi smiled helplessly at Xiao Yimeng.

  "Isn't it cute?" Su Xiaofan smiled disapprovingly, probably all kids are like this, but the kid in front of her seemed relatively more mature.

  "It's true that being cute is good." Yu Xiaoxi didn't know why she didn't like Xiao Yimeng, maybe it was because of his attitude towards Xiao Fan, and thinking about ten years later, he might not treat Xiao Fan well, which made her even more disgusted.

  After a series of inquiries, the group finally arrived at the market. Along the way, Su Xiaofan roughly clarified the concept of silver taels in this dynasty from her memory. At this moment, the one hundred taels of silver in her hand was equivalent to 10,000 yuan in modern times. She wondered how much money her family owed others and decided to ask her grandmother and mother when she got back home.