The affairs of the Xie family had become as mundane to Mo Sanniang as hearing which neighbor had bought what from the street market; she simply couldn’t muster any other emotion.
Mo Sanniang organized all the fabrics in the shop, while Meng Liangdong personally went to Old Iron Head Blacksmith Shop and bought a ready-made lock, as the old one was no longer usable and was thrown directly into the backyard.
After the fifteenth, Meng Liangdong was to start teaching at the school, leaving Rice Flower Fragrance without an accountant. Lin Yuan had been considering hiring a new one, but then she remembered Uncle Wang, who worked in the back kitchen making pastries. She recalled that Uncle Wang had some experience in small business in the village and was literate, so after asking him, Lin Yuan entrusted the important task of being the accountant of Rice Flower Fragrance to Uncle Wang.
Fortunately, the staff in the back kitchen had honed their skills over the past months and could now make pastries that were both delicious and met Lin Yuan’s standards. Even without Uncle Wang in the kitchen, they could manage on their own.
As for the school, during the New Year holidays, Meng Liangdong had already reviewed all the books the children were supposed to learn and had given thoughtful consideration to his teaching methods. Hence, Lin Yuan was quite confident in this new teacher.
The next problem that needed to be addressed was the books for the students. Though Xia Zheng had not yet returned, Lin Yuan had already received his Flying Pigeon Letter on the first day of the new year, informing her that His Majesty had entrusted him with the task of printing books, so the cooperation with Ma family Manor could now begin.
Ma family Manor had even set aside a special kiln for firing movable type templates. School was starting in five or six days, so they needed to produce the required books as soon as possible. With time being of the essence, it was impossible to produce all the books immediately; they would print the ones needed for the start of school first and create the rest later.
Since she had promised Xia Zheng not to meet with Ma Junying alone, Lin Yuan delegated this matter to Shopkeeper Liu and Meng Liangdong. Meng Liangdong was responsible for selecting the texts needed first and checking the accuracy of the movable type templates, while Shopkeeper Liu took care of all the other affairs.
A new year brought a new look, and in pursuit of business excellence, Lin Yuan had prepared some new changes for her several shops.
Rice Flower Fragrance’s pastries had made quite a name for themselves in Zhuma Town, and had effectively replaced the Century-old Cake Shop as the best pastry shop in Zhuma Town. Even the pastry shops in the surrounding towns were not as good as Rice Flower Fragrance’s.
Following the introduction of several varieties of pumpkin cakes and waterless cakes, Lin Yuan had also introduced milk jelly and various beverages to the market. Milk jelly required the use of ice, so the blocks of ice that Shopkeeper Liu had prepared before the New Year came in handy.
When Lin Yuan sent someone to retrieve the blocks of ice from Shopkeeper Liu, he was quite surprised. He never imagined that in just a few days, the new boss had already figured out how to use the ice.
As for the various beverages, they were even simpler to prepare because it was still winter, and it was not possible to obtain many fresh fruits. Therefore, they could only make beverages from seasonal fruits. For example, apple cider made by marinating apples in white vinegar, though different from traditional apple cider in concept, had a similar taste.
In addition to apple cider, there was also hawthorn juice. Adding various strengths of alcohol to hawthorn juice resulted in a range of beverages. These newly introduced beverages were clearly very popular, with customers often leaving with several boxes to take home.