Transmigration: Space-Aided Rise to Power and Prosperity-Chapter 700 - 536: Monkey Declares Itself King

Gu Chengyu smiled and leaned back against the chair.

"There’s no rush to eat; I have something to ask you."

The young attendant was a bit puzzled, "Young Master, please feel free to ask." 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

He stepped forward to pour tea for Gu Chengyu and the others, but Ming Mo beat him to it.

"Has your shopkeeper married again? Otherwise, where did this brother-in-law come from? I happen to know your shopkeeper, and I’ve never heard of him having a brother-in-law!"

Gu Chengyu recalled the mention of a brother-in-law by the young attendant earlier; it seemed Manager Xing couldn’t be kept around.

The young attendant scratched his head, "That’s not the case. However, my shopkeeper recently took a concubine, who has a younger brother. We often call him that at the restaurant."

Gu Chengyu nodded, not bothering to explain, and directly tossed a piece of silver worth one tael on the table, "Take this."

This action stunned the young attendant, and after a while, he exclaimed joyfully, "Thank you, Young Master! Thank you, Young Master!"

At the same time, he thought to himself that it was no wonder his shopkeeper was also afraid of this young man, who seemed wealthy and noble—he even gave a reward of one tael of silver.

He had stepped in dog poop when he left home this morning and initially thought it was unlucky, but it turned out to be good fortune.

Once the young attendant put the silver piece into his pocket with delight, Gu Chengyu spoke slowly, "Don’t be just happy. I have a few questions for you."

The young attendant, still elated, felt a bit uneasy hearing Gu Chengyu say this unexpectedly.

"Young Master, ask away. I’ll tell you what I know." The young attendant guessed that the Young Master surely wanted to know about the shopkeeper. What he’d mentioned about the concubine was common knowledge and he saw no harm in saying it.

"Alright! Let me ask you, where is the accountant of the restaurant? Why are neither of the two accountants visible? How long has your shopkeeper been handling the accounts?"

Gu Chengyu asked several questions in succession, and the smile on the young attendant’s face disappeared, showing embarrassment.

The young attendant didn’t dare say, nor could he. It’s not that the shopkeeper was exceptionally good to him, but he thought this couldn’t be revealed through him. If the shopkeeper got into trouble, could he still work there?

The shopkeeper would surely send him packing, wouldn’t he? Getting a job as an attendant at Juxiang Building wasn’t easy; the monthly salary here was 100 wen more than elsewhere! Plus, during festivals, they give red envelopes—he didn’t want to lose this job.

Since this gentleman asked like this, he must be related to this restaurant. Could he be the Young Master?

Seeing the young attendant hesitate, Gu Chengyu planned to reveal his identity as the owner.

Zhu Pang, on the other hand, was getting impatient, waiting to eat.

He impatiently said to the young attendant, "Do you know who this is? If you still want to work as an attendant in this restaurant, you cannot afford to offend him."

Gu Chengyu smiled, "I am the owner of the restaurant. Can you tell me now?"

The attendant was astonished. The owner? Could the owner of the restaurant be so young? This was impossible! The restaurant had been open for several years; how could the owner be so young?

Saying he was the Young Master, he might believe.

The attendant skeptically glanced at Gu Chengyu and shook his head like a rattle drum.

"What, you think I don’t look like it? Then you tell me, why is your shopkeeper so afraid of me? What’s your name?"

Gu Chengyu indeed had his private seal and token in his space, but he didn’t need to show them to a young attendant.

"My name is Dayou, are you really the owner?" Dayou was still incredulous.

"Ahem! Well then, how about serving the dishes first? I’m starving." Zhu Pang, who had been swallowing saliva since entering the restaurant, hadn’t eaten since lunch today.

Gu Chengyu shook his head; he had to resolve this with Dayou first. Otherwise, if Dayou ran back to tell Manager Xing, wouldn’t that spoil things? Right now, he couldn’t find anyone to manage this restaurant.

"The questions I asked you, just answer them first. Rest assured, you won’t lose your job because of this."

Dayou hesitated for a while before answering, "The restaurant has two accountants. One was hired, and a few days ago the shopkeeper found fault with him and sent him home. The other accountant is someone from the owner’s house who was called to help in the big kitchen."

Gu Chengyu frowned, "What mistake did the one who went home make? And why was the other called to help in the big kitchen? Is that accountant also a cook?"

Dayou realized that whether this person was the owner or the Young Master, it didn’t matter since he had already said it, and he wasn’t afraid anymore.

Besides, this shopkeeper would usually boss them around and demanded monthly tributes from them, which made everyone suffer in silence like swallowing bitter Huang Lian.

Moreover, if the true face of Manager Xing was exposed, maybe the restaurant could get a new manager.

Dayou, no longer worried, thus told Gu Chengyu everything he knew.

"The accountant who went home is surnamed Xu. The shopkeeper claimed he was dishonest, and the two had a big fight over it. That’s why the shopkeeper sent him away without even giving him the last month’s salary."

Dayou spoke of this quite angrily as Xu, the accountant, was a decent person who treated the attendants well, even often arguing with the shopkeeper. Dayou didn’t know what they fought over, but he was sure that the shopkeeper just wanted to settle a personal grudge.

Gu Chengyu nodded, indicating for Dayou to continue.

"The other accountant is said to be the owner’s steward from the house, skilled in abacus, and very adept at handling ledgers, which is why he was sent over. The shopkeeper said the big kitchen was short-handed. Just last month, a young assistant in the big kitchen quit, so the shopkeeper asked him to help out."

Gu Chengyu suppressed his anger. So when he wasn’t in Jingyuan Prefecture, these people played the part of mock royalty?

All the managers of the various shops were his purchased servants, with one accountant also bought and the other hired by the shop, exactly to supervise each other.

How could a single shopkeeper from Jingyuan Prefecture have such authority? Who gave him the right to send the accountant home?

If an accountant wanted to leave or the shopkeeper felt the accountant wasn’t competent, they must report to the steward above, and finally to him for approval before any action could be taken.

Yet the accountant from Jingyuan Prefecture was dismissed without his knowledge, and the same accountant was even assigned kitchen work. There’s no way he believed there was nothing fishy going on here.

Did Yu Tuanzi know about this? Or was Yu Tuanzi also kept in the dark? Gu Chengyu was uncertain.

"How long has this been going on?" Gu Chengyu sipped a cup of tea and then looked at Dayou.

Dayou thought for a moment, "About half a month or so?"

Gu Chengyu nodded, "Don’t tell Manager Xing, don’t tell anyone."

He pulled out another piece of silver from his pocket, this one about two taels, and placed it on the table in front of Dayou.

Dayou’s eyes widened. This, when combined, was nearly a year’s salary for him. The owner sure was generous; Dayou was a bit hesitant to take it.

"Dayou, you can’t read, can you?"