Chapter 66

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Chapter 66: Chapter 66: A Meaningful Skirt "That goes without saying!" Shen Qingning replied to Li Wei, then asked Shen Shan, "Uncle, when are you returning to the village?" "Oh, I’ll head back after a bowl of noodles." As they chatted, the boss had already prepared the noodles, and it was too late for him to cancel. After they finished eating, it was supposed to be Shen Qinglan who paid, but in the end, it was Shen Qingning who settled the bill for all four of them. Li Wei had other matters to attend to at the academy, so he left first. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎 Shen Qinglan, however, insisted on seeing them off to the Town Gate, despite Shen Shan and Shen Qingning’s protests. Once they boarded the ox cart and left, Shen Qinglan returned to Shengxiang Restaurant. As soon as she got back to the counter, Old Tang handed her a wooden box. "What’s this?" Shen Qinglan asked Old Tang suspiciously. Old Tang shook his head, "I don’t know either, the Young Master asked me to give it to you." "From Duan Yunfei?" Shen Qinglan was surprised and, with curiosity, opened the box, only to find a white dress inside. "A dress?" Shen Qinglan frowned, wondering why Duan Yunfei would give her a dress out of the blue. "Huh? A dress?" Old Tang was also puzzled. He had thought the box was filled with silver notes. When he leaned over and saw the style of the dress inside the box, he was astonished. "This... an Ice Silkworm Skirt!" "Ice Silkworm Skirt?" Shen Qinglan ran her hand over it; the fabric was smooth and soft, with a slight chill lingering on her palm. She withdrew her hand, "It feels nice, but a bit cool." Wearing it in the summer should be comfortable. "This... this is..." Old Tang didn’t know how to explain it to Shen Qinglan. Could he say this was something the old lady from Bright Moon City had woven for her future granddaughter-in-law, the future Young Madam of Yongning Manor? "Is it rare?" Shen Qinglan asked. Old Tang replied, "It’s not that it’s rare, just that this piece of clothing has a different kind of significance." "What kind of significance?" Old Tang feigned ignorance and shook his head, "I’m not sure either. If you want to know, Shen Miss, you’d better wait for the Young Master to return and ask him yourself." Shen Qinglan nodded, closed the wooden box, set it aside, and then started working. The chef at Shengxiang Restaurant was hired by Duan Yunfei at a high price from a grand restaurant in the Capital. The dishes they made were definitely appealing in color, aroma, and taste, so the patrons were indeed far more than those at other restaurants. If it were the old accountant, it might have taken a while to finish the accounts. However, Shen Qinglan managed to finish all the accounts in less than no time, astonishingly fast. Old Tang watched from the side, clicking his tongue in admiration. Lucky for him, he acted fast; otherwise, if such a clever young girl was snatched away by another restaurant, he’d suffer a huge loss. Among the paying customers, some occasionally teased, "I say, Shopkeeper Tang, is there no one else in your restaurant, letting a young girl do the bookkeeping?" Shopkeeper Tang just laughed it off, not taking any offense. Old Tang glanced outside and asked Shen Qinglan, "Miss Shen, have you had lunch?" Without lifting her head, Shen Qinglan responded, "I have." "What did you eat?" Old Tang pressed. Shen Qinglan raised her head and gave him a suspicious look before answering after a moment, "I had noodle soup." "Noodle soup, huh?" Old Tang frowned, "Is that enough to fill you up?" Before the Young Master left, he specifically instructed that Miss Shen should be well taken care of, ensuring she eats and dresses well. Shen Qinglan nodded without a word. The noodles were five coins for a big bowl, and if nothing else, the portion was certainly ample.