Choosing a Husband

Women loved dressing up these days, and the shop was bustling that day. Not everyone who came in bought something, but plenty of items sold. Then the young lady kept coming up with new ideas: makeup contests, beauty showcases, free rouge, powder, and jewelry for contestants to use, and prizes for the winner—or for the top three, if enough people entered.

The early investment was considerable, but little by little, the shop came alive. If a woman's makeup looked especially lovely on the day of a contest, her look might even become fashionable for a while.

The young lady also sent assistants to well-regarded wealthy households in the city with floral invitations for the women of the family to try on new pieces. She made the invitations herself, steeping them in incense for days, writing two lines in delicate script, and threading dried flowers onto the cord.

The scent lingered on the hands of anyone who received one. Tucked inside a book, an invitation even lent its fragrance to the pages. Such care did indeed draw distinguished guests, and business gradually picked up.

Then there were the "Bamboo Orchid Moon Dawn" tiers for valued customers: what gifts each tier received on holidays, what extras came with a jewelry purchase, and so on. Manager Liao's eyes were opened. So this was another way to do business!

Having seen what the young lady could do, Manager Liao was thoroughly convinced of her abilities.

Content tags:

Devoted love

Time travel

Lighthearted

Mind Reading

Search keywords: Protagonists: Shen Lantang, Xie Jin ┃ Supporting characters: ┃ Others:

In one sentence: A laid-back stepmother's everyday life

Theme: Learn to express yourself and be your truest self

Choosing a Husband

Shen Lantang nodded. "That bird-themed jewelry set was quite expensive. You included all the complimentary gifts, didn't you?"

"We did, we did! The customer loved them!"

The little gifts Shen Lantang devised were not particularly costly, but they were novel enough to catch the eye. And since they were complimentary and could not be bought separately, customers who could afford the jewelry hardly minded the expense. Quite a few even bought jewelry for the gifts, leaving Manager Liao marveling both at their wealth and at his young lady's clever designs.

Business had dipped a little with the arrival of summer, but overall it remained steady, and the accounts were in good order. Shen Lantang nodded in satisfaction. With Manager Liao beside her, she examined several newly arrived pieces, then watched the assistants serve customers for a while before leaving.

She still had other shops to visit.

After stopping at three shops, Shen Lantang found it was already afternoon. The sun was still high, and she could have visited one more, but a full day of walking had left her tired. She lounged against a cushion in a private room at a pastry shop while Lan Xin and Baozhu massaged her shoulders from either side.

"Lan Xin, Baozhu, let's buy some snacks and head home."

"Yes, miss."

The two accompanied Shen Lantang to a snack shop.

The Jing Dynasty had a thriving economy and a great variety of meals and snacks: pastries shaped like flower petals, treats made with sugar or oil, savory ones, sweet ones, stuffed ones, and powdered ones... What interested Shen Lantang was the cheese that had recently reached Zhaojing.

Cheese was made from cow's or sheep's milk and had always been a specialty

delicacy

of the northwest. Years earlier, merchants had brought cow's and sheep's milk to Zhaojing, but the moment they lifted the lids, a sour smell rushed out. The milk tasted sour and foul too. In modern terms, it had spoiled.

So dairy products had remained unpopular in Zhaojing and throughout the Central Plains. Then, late last year, merchants brought in fermented cheese. Its distinctive flavor won over a group of enthusiasts, and farmers nearby began bringing their own sheep's and cow's milk into the city to sell. Gradually, word spread.

Shen Lantang had been delighted ever since she learned that milk was sold in the city. She dreamed of making her own milk tea: boiling and straining rich, fresh cow's or sheep's milk, adding roasted black tea, then pouring in hot water as she stirred and heated it. She would keep stirring and simmering until the milky fragrance blended perfectly with the tea's full, faintly astringent flavor, leaving a sweetness that lingered on the tongue.

She could even draw out the milk and tea flavors separately, letting someone taste each one before topping the drink with whipped cream and two ice cubes. Cloud-Topped Black Tea, Pure Jasmine, Alluring Pu'er...

Now she was dreaming!

Shen Lantang bought a small box each of cow's-milk and sheep's-milk cheese, along with a bottle of fresh cow's milk, then took the carriage from that morning leisurely home. It was still early when she arrived, and the sun had not yet set. She was planning to make something new in her little kitchen when she met two young women coming toward her through the garden.

"Sister-in-law!"

A girl in a mint-green, chest-high dress called out brightly and ran to Shen Lantang with a grin.

"You brought something home again, Sister-in-law! What are you making today?"

This girl of fifteen or sixteen was the second aunt's youngest daughter, whom Shen Lantang had seen that morning. The second uncle had served as an official in the provinces until he was recalled to Zhaojing a year ago. The servants there had regarded him as the master of the household and addressed his children by birth order, calling the girl before her "Fourth Miss." Even after the family returned to the capital, everyone was used to it. Besides, the children of the Xie Family's generation were already grown, so no one had ordered the servants to change how they addressed them.

Shen Lantang was an only daughter, and she was not close to her cousins. Fourth Miss was innocent and had grown close to her, so Shen Lantang had come to think of her rather like a younger sister.

She smiled. "I bought two boxes of cheese. I'll see if I can make a dessert."

"Wonderful! I love the desserts you make, Sister-in-law!"

Xie Ying was very fond of this new sister-in-law. Shen Lantang was kind and easy to talk to, and she always had so many ideas. Once, Xie Ying had wandered into her courtyard by mistake and tried a bowl of chilled pear and fruit in honey syrup. After that, she kept coming back to visit.

"I've heard Mother mention this cheese too. She said you can put it inside a flatbread, or melt it over one and bake them together."

"Those people from the frontier eat sheep's and cow's milk all the time. That's why they grow so tall and strong. Mother says we should eat more cheese too, so we'll be healthy and strong."

"You can put cheese in flatbread, but there are other ways to eat it. Do you like potatoes?"

"..."

Shen Lantang chuckled. "Then you'll have to try my cheesy mashed potatoes. I bought milk too. Remember the double-skin milk pudding we had last time?"

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Time-travel romance

Devoted love

Jiang Ciyu

Mind Reading

Salty Fish