Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 699 - 535: Where Did This Brother-in-law Come From?
The two accountants alternate shifts, so there’s no situation where an accountant takes leave and asks the shopkeeper to cover for them.
With the sound of knocking, Manager Xing looked up, thinking it was a customer ready to settle the bill. To his surprise, it was the owner.
He was taken aback; how could the owner possibly be here at this time?
"Owner?" Manager Xing seemed both to confirm and incredulous.
Gu Chengyu nodded. At this time, there were many guests in the restaurant. It was not convenient to pursue the matter now; it would be better to wait until there were fewer people.
Sweat beaded on Xing Yang’s forehead. It was over! He didn’t know why the owner suddenly appeared before him. After all, it was not easy for the owner to return, and he hadn’t heard any news about the owner returning home!
The hand clutching the ledger suddenly trembled; the ledger felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. Xing Yang closed the ledger, but his heart sank.
"Owner, I..."
"Is my private room still available? I haven’t had dinner yet." Gu Chengyu interrupted Xing Yang before he could finish. It was a busy time at the restaurant, and with people coming and going, it wasn’t convenient to address the issue.
Xing Yang saw that Gu Chengyu didn’t want to hear about it now and knew it was indeed inappropriate at this moment.
So he quickly nodded, "It’s still there, your room is untouched. Owner, you go up first, I’ll have the staff bring your food."
At this moment, a waiter rushed over assuming Gu Chengyu and Zhu Pang were there for a meal at the restaurant. Hence, he greeted them, considering their attire was extraordinary, clearly guests not lacking in Silver.
"Guests, unfortunately, we have no seats available at the moment. However, some guests are about to leave over there, would you mind waiting a bit?"
The waiter calculated in his mind; the upstairs rooms were all occupied by guests, and the main hall was also full. But it wasn’t too late in the hour, and soon some guests would be leaving.
The waiter didn’t recognize Gu Chengyu, and Gu Chengyu didn’t mind.
After all, he had gone to the Capital and hadn’t visited the Jingyuan Prefecture restaurant afterward. Many of the staff here were hired later, and since he didn’t publicly appear, it was natural for them not to recognize him. Only the shopkeepers and accountants of the major shops had seen him.
The restaurant was managed by Yu Tuanzi, and other operations like the cosmetics shops and workshops were under Gu Wanqian’s management.
Steward Xing noticed the waiter didn’t recognize the owner and immediately scolded him, "This is none of your business. Clear out Heaven Room Number One upstairs; the gentleman wants to eat."
Since Gu Chengyu instructed to keep his identity as the restaurant owner a secret, he didn’t directly point it out.
It wasn’t because Gu Chengyu was afraid of trouble, but as he was now a court official, he couldn’t be involved in such businesses, as per the court’s regulations. Generally, the face of the operations was Yu Tuanzi or Gu Wanqian.
Gu Chengyu thought about the ledger earlier, inevitably thinking about Yu Tuanzi, who managed all the restaurants.
Yu Tuanzi hadn’t signed a servitude contract, and with today’s ledger issue, could it be that Yu Tuanzi had become bold and was up to something sneaky?
He reviewed the Capital’s ledger monthly, but Jingyuan Prefecture was far from the Capital, so he had set a half-yearly ledger submission.
From the accounts, the biannual ledgers appeared fine, but if someone tinkered with the daily revenues, how would he know?
Not to mention having accountants, Gu Chengyu initially guarded against this and therefore assigned two accountants to each shop, each holding a ledger.
However, this was not without drawbacks. If they colluded, divided the spoils, and deceived him, there would be nothing he could do.
Gu Chengyu thought deeply and quickly remembered the secret memorial he discussed with the Emperor.
His situation indeed bore resemblance to the Emperor, residing in the palace, discerning regional matters through memorials.
And Gu Chengyu could only understand the restaurant’s situation through ledgers. It seemed he needed to, like the court, establish an inspection department.
Conducting irregular checks on those shops’ ledgers, even allowing accountants and shopkeepers to secretly report to him, akin to secret memorials.
This idea flashed through Gu Chengyu’s mind, forming a rough plan, but he knew this needed careful consideration over time.
The waiter understood from the remark that he was dealing with someone the shopkeeper would curry favor with.
But, wasn’t that private room supposed to be reserved for the shopkeeper’s brother-in-law?
"Shopkeeper, didn’t you say the private room was for your brother-in-law...?"
Manager Xing nearly swore at this foolish subordinate.
Brother-in-law? Gu Chengyu turned and glanced at Manager Xing, "I remember you don’t have a brother-in-law, do you? Where did this brother-in-law come from?"
Manager Xing genuinely panicked a bit; he thought the owner surely wouldn’t recall his family situation, yet the owner remembered so clearly.
He and his wife originally worked for a wealthy family, but after their master’s business failed, they were sold off with other servants. Then he followed the current owner.
He and his wife were sold together as a family of five; where would a brother-in-law come from?
Seeing Gu Chengyu’s smile-not-a-smile expression, Manager Xing couldn’t help but shudder, realizing today’s situation might end poorly.
The waiter, no matter how foolish, also realized something was amiss and quickly shrank back, keeping silent.
Gu Chengyu glanced at the ring on Manager Xing’s hand and then asked with a smile, "Has Manager Xing married again?"
Though the question was directed at Manager Xing, Gu Chengyu’s gaze fell on the waiter.
The young waiter, intimidated, glanced at Manager Xing and dared not make another sound.
Manager Xing, with sweat dripping from his forehead, didn’t dare wipe it and felt a bit light-headed.
Zhu Pang, though unfamiliar with business, could tell there seemed to be a problem, and Jinyu was surely extremely displeased by now.
Gu Chengyu, without waiting for a response from the two, told the waiter, "Lead us to the private room! I really am hungry."
The waiter finally relaxed his grip on the cloth he was holding, having seemingly understood something.
Manager Xing watched Gu Chengyu and his group go upstairs and finally breathed a sigh of relief. Just as someone arrived to settle the bill, Manager Xing had to step up to calculate the Silver Coin.
When Gu Chengyu reached halfway up the stairs, he turned and gave Ming Yan a look. Ming Yan, understanding the hint, nodded discreetly towards Manager Xing’s direction.
Once everyone was upstairs, Ming Yan left the private room without reporting to Gu Chengyu.
Arriving at the private room, with a look from Gu Chengyu, Ming Mo suddenly turned and closed the door.
"Sirs, may I know what dishes you two gentlemen would like? Would you like small me to list the menu for you?" The waiter hadn’t noticed Ming Mo’s actions, solely focused on catering to these two prominent gentlemen.
Even the shopkeeper bowed and scraped before them, making them untouchable for the small waiter.
