Thirteenth Lady's Comback: Her Everyday Life as a Bystander-Chapter 190 - 17: Secretly Crossing the Enemy Camp (Part 2)

Fen Dai’s words are the sweetest, "The masters of the Bo Mansion and the three madams reward us maidservants generously not just for anything, but because of the young lady’s face. We are not the kind to be shallow-minded."

Susu helplessly nodded at her, "I didn’t say you were shallow-minded, but as a young lady, even your smile should have a certain grace." At this, the four young maidservants felt a bit embarrassed and obediently sat properly.

Even though Susu said she was taking them out shopping, it certainly wasn’t like common folk wandering around at will. Susu did want to wander like that, but the fear of accidents outweighed it. So, she could only sit in the carriage and instruct the driver where to stop.

Since it was almost noon, and Susu had promised to take them ’out to eat’ that day, she led everyone straight to Wangxiang Building.

The Third Ring near the Second Ring’s Glass Factory (another attribute of the transmigrator), named after the royal glass workshop established there, is also the Capital’s busiest commercial street. Unlike the largest marketplace at the Fourth Ring, the people here are either wealthy or noble. Glancing around, you either see sedan chairs or carriages, even those walking are followed and served.

And Wangxiang Building is located in the prime golden section of the Glass Factory. It’s the Capital’s most famous restaurant, bar none. It was one of the Song Family’s longstanding properties in the Capital; in the past, occupying the area was all that mattered without incurring losses. It was only after the current Emperor ascended the throne that the Song Family dared to expand boldly, earning tens of thousands of taels of silver annually and serving as a means of gathering information in secret.

After Old Madam arrived in the Capital, several young ladies and Susu, out of boredom, even judged the dishes at Wangxiang Building. Following their critique, they gave a few small suggestions and mentioned a few famous modern dishes. For this, the head of the house also rewarded Susu with a big red envelope, and Susu also had a golden card for Wangxiang Building, allowing a 30% discount.

As for the silver card, golden card, and gem card system, it wasn’t Susu’s idea, but one of the Saint Martial Emperor’s commercial talents that leave no room for transmigrators to survive. When Susu learned of it, she didn’t even want to complain anymore. She could only say that thinking about it was a ’pain that breathes,’ hehe, "it lives in every corner of me."

Knowing that the accompanying older women and young men wouldn’t enjoy the meal with her presence, Susu straightforwardly used her golden card privilege to reserve two private rooms. Naturally, Fen Dai and the four others followed Susu, while the rest gathered in another room.

Afraid they wouldn’t dare to order, Susu, based on the number of people, casually named a few famous dishes of Wangxiang Building and added a few common meat dishes. The accompanying servants murmured a prayer to Buddha, never expecting to have the chance to dine at Wangxiang Building. They were once servants of wealthy families, not without exposure, but just by hearing that such a spread arranged by the masters would cost no less than ten taels of silver.

Dear readers, do not think that ten taels of silver sounds little; in reality, its purchasing power is substantial. Some novels describe lavish meals costing several hundred or thousands of taels, which is a bit exaggerated. Even with an indulgent feast of abalone and bird’s nest, a table costing a hundred taels tops the limit. Spending thousands of taels would certainly involve more than dining, perhaps cheering up the atmosphere with some ’poorly dressed’ young ladies. (Recently reading "Great King, Spare My Life," can’t forget the ’young ladies’ Lv Shu often speaks of.)

Susu took Fen Dai and the others to another room, ordered dishes, and before they even ate, the shopkeeper of Wangxiang Building came to greet Susu. This shopkeeper was no fool; without speaking grandly of waiving the bill, he cheerfully sent over two of Wangxiang Building’s new dishes for Susu to taste.

In fact, his purpose was merely to make himself known, as even a casual mention of him by Susu before Old Madam would be more effective than earning thousands of taels for the mansion.

After dining, when it was time to settle the bill with a 30% discount, the total for both tables was eighteen taels, three qian, and seven fen of silver. The shopkeeper, taking charge, rounded off the three qian and seven fen. Susu ordered Shuimo to pay, without seeing a pained expression on a servant’s face. Although Susu recognized that spending silver shouldn’t be random, it might take some time for her to correct her ’reckless spending’ habit. After all, at the Bo Mansion, the least amount of silver she handled was hundreds of taels. At times, the situation was even more astounding, as she was in charge of Old Madam’s private savings, including boxes of gold and silver.

Leaving Wangxiang Building, Susu instructed the driver, "To Jinyinman Tang!" Jinyinman Tang is the Capital’s most famous jewelry store, roughly equivalent to the prestigious position of Qiaogong Pavilion in the Yangzhou Silver Building.