Resplendent – Chapter 462

Chapter 462 – Fruits from the Mu Xi Kingdom

“By the way, Sister Ye, while eating these dishes, it seems like they’re all signature dishes of Qingfeng Pavilion. Could it be that out of gratitude, the master behind Qingfeng actually taught all the recipes to your cook?” Shangguan Fei speculated. Although repaying a lifesaving debt is only right, the master of Qingfeng Pavilion seemed a bit too generous, didn’t he?

“On the contrary! It was my cook who gave the recipes to Qingfeng Pavilion, that’s why their business has become so prosperous!” Gu Ye covered her mouth and let out a small satisfied burp. 

Alas, having a small appetite isn’t easy. There were so many delicious dishes, yet having to just watch them was a kind of torment!

“What? Are you an idiot… or is your cook an idiot?” Shangguan Fei slammed the table. “With such a perfect recipe, you could open your own restaurant and make a fortune every day! How can you just casually give the recipes away?”

Gu Ye carefully picked a mangosteen from the fruit plate, peeled it, and ate the snow-white flesh inside. Hearing that, she smiled and said, “You know, when I was in Yan City, I already had a pharmaceutical factory to manage and a distillery producing medical alcohol. Where would I have had the time to open a restaurant? I just used the recipes to get a ten percent share of Qingfeng Pavilion’s profits.”

Shangguan Fei imitated her, peeled a mangosteen, and popped it into her mouth—delicious! Sweet and slightly tart, with a unique flavor. So these were the fruits from the Muxi Kingdom that Qingfeng sent?

The Muxi Kingdom was separated from Dongling Kingdom by the Li Kingdom, and to get here, the fruits had to cross half of Yan Kingdom. Being perishable during transport, only Qingfeng Pavilion had the capability to bring them all the way to Fanjing. At least, Shangguan Fei had never seen this kind of fruit in all her life.

“A ten percent share of Qingfeng Pavilion! That’s not a bad deal at all!  Qingfeng Pavilion has branches in sixteen vassal states across the three kingdoms, and each shop makes a fortune every day.  Your ten percent profit is equivalent to several years of earnings from a top shop in the capital!  Who would’ve thought Sister Ye is actually a little rich lady?” Shangguan Fei picked up a piece about the size of an egg, the yellow flesh bright and curious, and asked, “What is this?”

“Jackfruit! Sweet with a unique fragrance. Try it, Sister Fei! Fang’er, cousins, try some too!” No little girl could resist such naturally sweet fruit. Gu Ye gave a piece to her mother as a gesture of filial piety and eagerly offered the other three young girls a taste.

“Delicious!” Ding Fang smiled, eyes squinting with delight. Jun Miao shot her a glare. What part of that isn’t delicious?  You’ve just never seen the world! Though inwardly grumbling, she ate the jackfruit just as quickly as the others.

“Eat more if you like it! Today I’ve already peeled over one weighing twenty jin [≈10 kg]! These southern fruits can’t be stored for long. When Sister Fei goes back, you can bring some home for the family to try,” Gu Ye said generously.

Jun Li, while eating the fruit, was quietly calculating her cousin’s wealth. Qingfeng Pavilion’s dividends, the profits from the pharmaceutical factory, and the best-selling spirits…

“Amazing! Isn’t Cousin Ye richer than the entire Duke’s household?” The young girl was so surprised she almost choked on the fruit in her mouth.

The other girls looked at Gu Ye as if she were a goddess of wealth, their eyes shining with fascination. Lady Jun also revealed a look of astonishment. 

Gu Ye hurriedly clarified, “It’s not as exaggerated as you say, Cousin Li. All my money has been invested back into the pharmaceutical factory. You only see the factory making money, but the investments are huge. Just buying the medicinal materials at the start required a massive sum! In just over a year, the factory’s facilities and scale have more than doubled, and I still carry a huge debt on my shoulders!”

Gu Ye fully understood the principle of keeping wealth discreet. Even if she was rich, she had to ‘cry poor’ as hard as she could!

Jun Li thought it through and agreed. Cousin Ye had suffered in the remote mountains for over a decade. Although Grandpa Gu doted on her, she still had a brother, so it was impossible for her to spend the family fortune at will. To grow the pharmaceutical factory to such a scale in just over a year, and for the Gu Pharmaceuticals to earn a reputation far and wide, the effort and hardships involved were enormous.

Lady Jun also realized this. She gently stroked her daughter’s hair and said with concern, “There’s still some surplus in the manor. Let Accountant Cao tally it later; you can use it to pay off your debts first.”

“No need, Mother! By the end of the year, the dividends from Qingfeng Pavilion combined with profits from the medicine and wine factories will make paying off debts an easy matter.” 

The house was prosperous, and with her father and brothers maintaining social ties, daily expenses were considerable.  How could Gu Ye feel right taking money from the family?

Besides, the relocation of the factory—from selecting the site, construction, staff training, to production—required a fortune! Even if she emptied the entire household treasury, it still wouldn’t cover even a tenth or twentieth of the cost.

Money was never a problem! She had a token from Brother Chen that allowed her to withdraw a million taels of silver from Yongxu Bank. She wouldn’t take advantage of Brother Chen; she would simply repay him with interest when the time came! Whether he accepted it or not was not her concern. What mattered was that she had to make her stance clear!

Lady Jun didn’t say anything further. That evening, when Chu Bufan returned, she explained her plan to him. For a father to help his daughter pay off debts was only natural, and the doting Duke naturally had no objection.

As for Shangguan Fei, when she visited Lady Jun, the things she took back were even more than the gifts she had brought: A basket of lively Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, two jackfruits, a basket of mangosteen, and one spiky durian.

The durian’s strong aroma made Gu Ye worry that her mother and the guests wouldn’t be used to it, so she didn’t put it on the dining table. Durian was one of Gu Ye’s favorite fruits, and this time Qingfeng Pavilion had sent quite a lot.

Its pungent smell scared off the two young girls, Jun Miao and Jun Li. At first, even Shangguan Fei pinched her nose, frowned, and refused to try it. Finally, seeing Gu Ye enjoying it so much, she held her breath and tasted a bite.

Just that small bite, and she fell in love with the soft, fragrant flavor. They ate more than half of one large durian between the two of them. If it weren’t for Yue Yuan reluctantly stopping her, Gu Ye’s little stomach probably would have burst.

Ding Fang wasn’t picky about what she ate. Although she was a bit put off by the durian’s smell, she ate along with Gu Ye while she was eating. She didn’t show any particular liking or dislike!

Once opened, durian couldn’t be stored. So Gu Ye sent some to her brothers training at the martial arts ground. Xiaosi and Xiaowu found it too stinky to try, so it was shared between Xiaoiu and Gu Ming.

Gu Ming was used to strange foods since he often ate them with his sister, so nothing fazed him. Xiaoliu, on the other hand, thought that anything his sister brought must be good. How could he waste her effort by not eating it? As it turned out, the durian didn’t disappoint him either. After finishing it, Chu Xiaoliu went on to tease his two older brothers for missing out.

Xiaosi and Xiaowu rolled their eyes and told him to speak from afar—Don’t let the smell knock us out! Since you’re lucky enough to enjoy it, eat as much as you like. We’ll politely decline the durian!