frightfiction Chapter 666 Two People's Wishes (19)
Chapter 666 Two People's Wishes (19)
Amidst the cold war between Xiong Bufan and Li Han, they also welcomed their first New Year in Baicheng.
Out of humanitarian considerations, Xiong Bufan granted Xiaoyao Garden a seven-day holiday and promised that the young masters of the shop would be allowed to perform outside after the New Year.
The other servants took turns caring for Xiong Bufan and received double the monthly salary.
No one came to Xiaoyao Garden to spend money, and Li Han's pastries couldn't be sold. So, she and her friends went home for the New Year holidays.
On New Year's Eve, Xiong Bufan, unusually, got out of bed and stayed up with everyone.
Kongkong suspected that Xiong Bufan was planning to rob Li Han of her money, which was why he stayed with her on night watch; otherwise, she wouldn't have come out at all.
Xiong Bufan and Li Han sat together in silence. Li Han looked at the fireworks outside, while Xiong Bufan kept eating the food on the table.
Li Han couldn't understand why Li Xianyu had become like this. Just this time last year, the two of them had made wishes to the fireworks and the moon, hoping that things would get better in the future.
"Crunch, crunch."
Xiong Bufan kept munching on the dried fruit and fried snacks on the table.
Li Han looked at Xiong Bufan, hesitated several times before finally speaking up, "Xiaoyu, shall we talk?"
Xiong Bufan looked up and stared blankly at Li Han. "What do you want to talk to me about? Are you going to pay me?"
Li Han took out a few copper coins from his pocket and placed them on the table. "Here's the money."
Having dealt with Xiong Bufan several times, Li Han had grasped the essence: as long as he handed over the money quickly enough, he wouldn't get beaten up.
Xiong Bufan put the copper coins away, and Xiong also became calm. "What do you want to talk about? A few copper coins?"
Upon hearing this, Li Han felt a surge of anger, but she quickly calmed down. She didn't want to be beaten on New Year's Eve. "Did you never intend to give me the indentures of the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum in the first place?"
Xiong Bufan: "Smart, but there's no reward for guessing correctly."
Upon hearing this, Li Han wanted to curse Xiong Bufan, wanting to grab her by the collar and ask her if she had a heart at all, and why she was so vicious.
But fearing a beating, she slowly asked again, "So where did Xiaoyu go? Is she doing well?"
Xiong Bufan glanced at Li Han, who finally remembered his daughter. But the matter of time travel had to be kept secret, so he rolled his eyes and said, "None of your business. You take care of yourself and stop causing me trouble."
Upon hearing this, Li Han's expression darkened. "Can Xiaoyu ever come back?"
Xiong Bufan didn't know if he could come back, so he remained silent.
Li Han looked at Xiong Bufan for a while, then realized that the hope was slim, and sat down to the side and started crying again.
Xiong Bufan felt that he was sometimes too kind. Now he was even thinking that he might have been too cruel to Li Han back then. Li Han was just a concubine in the feudal era and didn't know much.
Xiong Bufan warned, "You should avoid associating with plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums in the future. Many girls have been deceived by them."
If I didn't need to make money off them, I would have killed them long ago.
If you're doing well, I won't hurt you unless absolutely necessary.
Li Han was so preoccupied with Xiong Bufan's plan to kill Mei Lanzhu Ju that she didn't even hear the last sentence. She scolded him, "You can't kill them."
Xiong Bufan gave him a look as if he were an idiot. "I'm not going to kill them now. I'm just telling you to stay away from them."
Li Han inwardly refused, but outwardly replied meekly, "Okay."
During the following night's watch, the two were able to spend some peaceful time together. Xiong Bufan did not hit Li Han and was even willing to exchange a few words with her sporadically.
During the Spring Festival, Li Han secretly sent messages. Xiong Bufan occasionally bumped into her, and Li Han would leave with an awkward smile.
As long as Li Han doesn't cause trouble, Xiong Bufan doesn't really want to interfere in Li Han's private affairs, whether she's getting married or going to the Nanfeng Tower or Yihong Courtyard.
Xiong Bufan is always watching over things, and he'll cover for Li Han if anything goes wrong. It doesn't matter if Li Han doesn't make any money.
Li Han always looked at Xiong Bufan suspiciously, only acting more normal during meals.
The Lunar New Year holiday has passed in the blink of an eye, and it's time for Xiaoyaolou to reopen.
Many things have been said openly, and Xiong Bufan will even force Li Han to give him money, as long as he manages Xiaoyao Garden well.
Before leaving, Li Han made a pot of tea and snacks for Xiong Bufan and said ingratiatingly, "Could you not let Mei Lan Zhu Ju and the other young masters go out to perform? I'm afraid they might be in danger."
Actually, she was reluctant to let Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju go out, and she was afraid that they would be mistreated if they went out.
Xiong Bufan: "With your father here, you can do whatever you want without worry."
Li Han clutched the handkerchief in her hand. Seeing that Xiong Bufan had misunderstood her meaning, Li Han quickly explained, "That's not what I meant. I was just worried that there would be no one to perform in the building."
"It's alright, I'll hire an opera troupe."
After a few words, Xiong Bufan still didn't understand what she meant, so Li Han simply stated bluntly, "I don't want them to go out."
Without even thinking, Xiong Bufan refused, "No way."
"why?"
Xiong Bufan felt an itch in his hand, wanting to slap Li Han's face. "There are no more questions. Just do your job well, or I'll have those people take male customers."
Nanfenglou was originally set up for male customers with special fetishes, but Wu Tianliang discovered that female customers had great potential, so he specialized in catering to female customers, in order to gain a good reputation among women and earn two kinds of money.
Li Han felt that Xiong Bufan was as cruel as ever. Fearing that Xiong Bufan would make them pick up male customers, she hurriedly left, saying as she walked, "I do not agree to them picking up male customers."
Xiong Bufan sneered and slowly walked into the house.
Li Han was still unwilling to give up and was blindly kind. She didn't even bother to check whether the Four Gentlemen of Plum Blossom, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum were good people.
However, if he truly meant well, why didn't Li Han go and redeem all the girls from Yihong Courtyard, Piaoxiang Courtyard, and Pink Pavilion?
After exchanging letters for many days, Li Han had long missed the four gentlemen of plum blossom, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum.
On the day the business resumed operations, he invited Mei, Lan, Zhu, and Ju to have dinner at Zuichunlou Restaurant, saying it was auspicious for the grand opening.
Mei Lan Zhu Ju thought Li Han was useless because it had been quite a while and she still hadn't received the indenture; instead, she had been beaten and forced to pay money time and time again.
My patience with her is also limited; I just don't want things to get too tense.
Before, Wu Tianliang didn't feel anything when he was in charge of them, but now that he's being managed by women, Mei Lan Zhu Ju feels uncomfortable all over and even feels that they are oppressing her.
At the dinner table, Li Han was very happy and specially ordered the waiter to bring out their famous Four Seasons Wine. It is said to be a wine made from all the seasonal fruits of the year and buried in the ground for ten years. One sip can make you feel the changes of the four seasons and the sedimentation of time, and the aftertaste is endless.