Chapter 53: Chapter 53: Ming’s Restaurant Surrounded

Xiao Chun also came out at some point. She naturally sympathized with the girl’s plight, but at the same time, she also felt a pang for her own lady’s purse.

"Our lady is just too kind," Xiao Chun said. "If it were anyone else, they definitely wouldn’t have bought her."

Forty-five coins to buy a maid was indeed cheap, but just now at the doctor’s office, she had helped her lady calculate the costs. She estimated this visit would set them back more than three taels of silver.

That much silver could buy two strong serving women!

Ming Lingyi smiled. "A few taels of silver can save a life. If you had the silver, would you save them?"

"Of course I would," Xiao Chun replied almost without thinking. After she spoke, she couldn’t help but laugh, a little embarrassed.

’You instinctively want to save someone, but then you feel a little regretful afterward. Ugh, people are so contradictory.’

"Don’t overthink it," Ming Lingyi said. "Besides, you heard what they said earlier. This girl came from an escort agency. She might be able to help us out a lot."

"I hope so," Xiao Chun said. "But my lady, I don’t think the girl inside will be easy to get along with. Her face is so badly injured, yet she didn’t cry once. And that look in her eyes... it’s kind of scary."

Ming Lingyi said, "She’s injured, but she isn’t wallowing in self-pity. Isn’t that a good thing? It’s normal for her to have a temper; after all, no one is born to serve others. Before her family fell on hard times, wasn’t she a proper young lady? It’s alright. We’ll be living together from now on. Things will get better. If she really doesn’t want to stay, then..." Ming Lingyi paused to think. ’You can’t force things, but I did spend silver on her. Should I just have her pay it back, and we can call it even?’

Just as Ming Lingyi was thinking this, a voice, still clearly weak, suddenly came from behind her—

"I will stay."

Ming Lingyi and Xiao Chun were startled. They turned around to see the girl they had just bought, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at them.

As if she thought Ming Lingyi hadn’t heard her, she repeated, "I will stay. Whatever my lady needs, you can have me do it."

Shi Mingyue had thought she was going to die this time. When she first fought back, she had already decided that since her family was buried, it would be fine if she died right then and there.

She just hadn’t expected that man to be even more despicable than she had imagined. Only then did she realize that once you become a slave, your life and death are no longer your own.

She felt utterly powerless.

When she was dragged to the slave market, she had made a decision in her heart: if she encountered another person who tried to take advantage of her, she would find a chance to kill them.

When she heard the words of Liu Mazi, Shi Mingyue was calm. In the time since her family was shattered and her home destroyed, what hadn’t she been through?

She had originally thought she would be taken away as a plaything. She lowered her head, gathering her strength, waiting for the moment she could strike with all her might.

But she never expected that in her current ghostly state, even the most lecherous men would scorn her, recoiling from her face in fear. And the one who actually bought her was a lady.

All the way from the slave market to the doctor’s office, Shi Mingyue was still in a daze.

She had never thought she would be bought by a woman.

Perhaps it was this profound sense of uncertainty, but as soon as the doctor finished bandaging her external wounds and she saw that Ming Lingyi and Xiao Chun were gone, she frantically tried to find them.

And then she heard what Ming Lingyi said to Xiao Chun.

Back home, Shi Mingyue had never been a particularly likable child. Her personality was withdrawn, far less charming than her younger sister’s. However, after that catastrophe, her sister developed a high fever that wouldn’t break and also left her.

When Ming Lingyi saw Shi Mingyue come out, she exclaimed, "Why are you out of bed? With all those injuries, you should be lying down."

After saying this, Ming Lingyi gestured for Xiao Chun to help support the girl. She was genuinely afraid she might collapse.

But Shi Mingyue was a step ahead. With a THUD, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed in Ming Lingyi’s direction.

"This slave greets my lady."

Ming Lingyi: "..."

Xiao Chun stepped forward to help her up. If she had felt any lingering dissatisfaction with the new maid her lady had bought, seeing this scene turned it all into a silent, internal sigh.

After leaving the doctor’s office, the three of them returned to Huaided Fang.

Many students from the Imperial College were expected to visit the restaurant after their classes ended today, so it was likely to be very busy.

Recently, Ming Lingyi had updated the restaurant’s menu. The breakfast special had transitioned from Jade Plum Shocking Snow Cake to spring rolls.

Since it was spring, it was time for spring rolls.

She made two types of spring rolls: one crispy and deep-fried, the other a more common, unfried version.

Both types of spring rolls had many filling options, but the fried ones contained meat, while the latter were purely vegetarian.

The fillings for the rolls could be chosen according to the customers’ preferences, and unexpectedly, they sold exceptionally well.

However, different customers had different tastes. If the fillings weren’t prepared in advance, making a custom order for each customer would take up a lot of time.

Therefore, Ming Lingyi made a decision on the spot: she would implement a "semi-self-service" model in the restaurant.

She prepared the spring roll sauces in advance and placed them on every table in the restaurant. She also neatly arranged platters of chopped vegetables, placing a pair of chopsticks in each dish.

Customers only needed to buy the spring roll wrappers from Xiao Chun, and then they could freely wrap their own rolls and add their own seasonings right in the shop.

Ming Lingyi even considered that some customers might prefer stronger flavors or have a taste for sour or spicy food, so she also placed soy sauce, salt, aged vinegar, sweet vinegar, and dogwood paste on the tables.

Those who wanted fried spring rolls could wrap their own and then bring them to Ming Lingyi. The difference in price between the fried and unfried spring rolls was like a small "labor fee"—just one extra coin each.

When Ming Lingyi first proposed this idea, Xiao Chun worried that no one would want to patronize their shop anymore.

’Who ever heard of making customers do the work themselves when they come to a restaurant to eat?! Even her old master had never been so daring.’

Xiao Chun never questioned her lady’s decisions, but this time, she couldn’t help but voice her doubts.

"What if... what if no one buys into it?"

Ming Lingyi simply told her not to worry. On the first day of this "semi-self-service" model, no one found it troublesome. In fact, many even found it novel. This was especially true for those who had never set foot in a kitchen before; they considered themselves "geniuses," creating such a delicious "meal" on their very first try.

Xiao Chun was utterly stunned.

On the way, Xiao Chun chattered on to Shi Mingyue, who was walking beside her, about the tasks she would have to do at the restaurant.

Ming Lingyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

But just as she reached the entrance of the restaurant, her steps suddenly halted.

Ming’s Restaurant was surrounded by a circle of guards armed with swords, every one of them looking like a formidable martial artist.