Chapter 197: Asking Around

Gu Fei hurried to push the door open. "Mother, I’m back."

Mrs. Chen let out a sigh of relief. "You’re finally back. You sure love to have fun."

"Alright, alright. Hurry up, wash up and go to sleep."

The next morning, while eating breakfast in the inn’s main hall, they heard that the Lantern Festival would last one more day. Mrs. Chen immediately waved her hands in dismissal. "No, we’re not going. We have a ton of work to do at home! We’re heading back right after breakfast."

Gu Fei was still thinking about the shop she had seen yesterday. After a moment, she said, "Father, Mother, you all can head back first in a bit. I still have something I need to look into."

Gu Zhang didn’t know what Gu Fei was planning, but he trusted his daughter. He instructed Sanlang, "In that case, you stay behind and drive the cart for your sister."

"And don’t be like yesterday, ditching your sister to go have fun by yourself!"

Sanlang replied sullenly, "I won’t."

’Mother really laid into him yesterday. How could he possibly dare do it again!’

Before long, Gu Zhang and Mrs. Chen headed back with Er Lang and the others. Gu Fei had Sanlang drive the cart to First-class Pavilion.

First-class Pavilion had just opened its doors. An attendant was still cleaning, and Manager Wang was holding a purple clay teapot, sipping tea directly from its spout.

Gu Fei entered carrying a package of pastries. She gave the shopkeeper a curtsy and said, "Greetings, Shopkeeper."

"Oh, if it isn’t Miss Gu! What brings you here today?" Manager Wang quickly stood up.

Recently, First-class Pavilion had started offering two dishes made with chili peppers each day. At first, customers only tried them out of curiosity. But once they had a taste, they found it unforgettable and couldn’t help but rave about it to others. Word of mouth spread, and soon, more and more people were coming specifically for the spicy food, which in turn boosted the restaurant’s popularity.

The restaurant only offered two spicy dishes a day, so they required a reservation. Now, these dishes, priced at two taels of silver per plate, were booked out a month in advance.

Seeing Gu Fei, Manager Wang couldn’t help but be delighted.

Gu Fei smiled brightly. From Manager Wang’s enthusiastic welcome, she knew at once that the spicy dishes were selling well.

"I was hoping to ask you about something today, Shopkeeper."

Manager Wang glanced at the pastries in Gu Fei’s hand and marveled inwardly. ’So young, and already so savvy.’

He hurriedly invited Gu Fei inside. "Miss Gu, please, come upstairs. Whatever I know, I’ll tell you everything, holding nothing back."

The two entered a private room upstairs and sat down. Gu Fei then explained her purpose. "Yesterday, I was passing by on this street and saw a vacant storefront over there. I wanted to ask if you knew why such a good location is empty."

A sharp glint flashed in Manager Wang’s eyes. "Is Miss Gu interested in that storefront?"

Gu Fei nodded openly.

Manager Wang shook his head. "I would advise you, miss, if you want to do business, you might want to look at other storefronts. That one... is trouble."

Gu Fei listened intently. "How so?"

"That storefront belongs to Old Huang. We call him ’old,’ but he’s not really that old—only in his forties. He just looks it. His family used to run a silk shop there; in fact, his was the biggest silk shop on this entire street."

"He had only one son. A couple of years ago, his son went to Shu Di to purchase a batch of Shu brocade. Who would have known that he would be robbed and killed on the way?"

"Only a servant with a broken leg survived. He went through untold hardships to bring his master’s body back. When Old Huang’s wife saw the tragic state of her son, she fainted on the spot. She lingered for half a year before she, too, passed away."

"With his wife and son both dead, Old Huang lost the heart to continue his business. He sold off the silk in his shop haphazardly and closed it down."

"After some time passed, Old Huang gradually started coming out again. Some people advised him to rent out the shop, saying the rental income could support him in his old age."

"Old Huang agreed and rented the shop to a family, who also ran a silk business. But who would’ve thought? Something happened just a few days later."