Gu Chengyu exited the examination hall gate, taking Ming Mo who was waiting outside, and went straight to the tea house to wait. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Young Master! The account books have all been sent to the inn, and I’ve asked Ming Mo to keep an eye on them!"

"Is the business in the shop going well?" In fact, Gu Chengyu was just asking out of courtesy. Before he arrived at the Prefecture, he had already heard people say that Juxiang Building had unique dishes, the only such establishment in the entire Prefecture, even the Capital might not have them.

"Business is certainly good! But it’s largely thanks to Lord Deputy Governor’s care, otherwise, some ruffians would have come knocking. Manager Niu has been really busy lately!" Ming Mo talked about Juxiang Building with his mouth wide open; the dishes inside were really delicious. When he went there at noon, it was already full of people.

"However, other restaurants have also introduced dishes similar to ours, they’re just not as authentic as ours. The business at First-class House seems to be worse than before, I heard other pastry shops have been copying and are even cheaper than ours!" Ming Mo relayed Manager Niu’s concerns and the exact words from the shopkeeper of First-class House to Gu Chengyu.

"Oh? They’ve already managed to imitate the cake?" Gu Chengyu frowned. Reasonably speaking, it would be impossible to imitate in such a short amount of time! Unless the ingredients for the dishes from the restaurant cannot be found, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were copied over time.

Juxiang Building releases a new product every month, always staying ahead. Other restaurants want to imitate but it also takes time, and they don’t taste as good. Moreover, in the future, he’ll bring out foods the Dayan Dynasty has never tasted, being the first to do so; how could he not profit greatly?

"The cake hasn’t been copied yet, just some other pastries have been. Medicated pastries and some other variants from the shop have been mimicked, but when the shopkeeper of First-class House bought some to taste, they weren’t as good!"

"Are the more expensive pastries still selling well?" First-class House follows a premium route, but also sells simpler pastries affordable to the common people.

"Not really, but the cheaper ones are selling less than before!" All this is written in the account books, so as soon as Gu Chengyu looks through them, he’ll know which type sells best!

"That’s normal; our shop uses honest materials, and the taste is good, so naturally, the price is higher. We can’t monopolize all the business, right? It’s reasonable for people to choose cheaper shops. Tell Manager Jiang not to worry. After a while, we’ll hold an event like the one I asked him to do before, just follow that, and we won’t lack business!"

As long as prominent families come to buy, that’s enough. The rest is just small profits. He can’t possibly drive all other pastry shops out of business, can he?

The reputation of First-class House has been established, and Gu Chengyu is not worried about a lack of business. If he’s going to do it, he’s going for excellence. However, thinking for a while, he realized that now that he’s in the Prefecture, it’s crucial to strengthen relations with Vice Magistrate Wang.

"Chengyu! Knew I’d find you enjoying yourself here!" Sun Xian walked in from outside, sweating profusely while wiping his sweat with a handkerchief. Gu Chengyu quickly noticed the handkerchief Sun Xian was holding was a light gray fine cotton cloth with embroidered green bamboo. Wasn’t that bamboo embroidery his second sister’s handiwork?

Sun Xian noticed Gu Chengyu’s gaze and, a bit embarrassed, hurriedly put the handkerchief back into his sleeve.

Gu Chengyu smiled. It’s normal for unmarried men and women to exchange gifts, isn’t it? The last time, he saw a hairpin on his second sister which he hadn’t bought. That silver hairpin clearly wasn’t something from the family, and although not precious, it was thoughtfully chosen, perfectly suiting his second sister’s age.

"It’s so hot, why not come in to escape the heat? Does Senior Brother Sun feel confident this time?" Gu Chengyu knew that with Sun Xian’s knowledge, he should be able to pass.

As the two were talking, He Shunian and Ye Zhiqiu also entered.

"This exam was really tough, I don’t even know if I got those two arithmetic questions right. Let’s compare answers! What results did you write?" He Shunian entered, looking worried and gloomy.

Because his poetry didn’t go well in the last round, he barely made it onto the list. If he got the arithmetic questions wrong this time, wouldn’t he have to wait another three years? It’s really disheartening, with just one round left.

"Chengyu! What did you write?" Ye Zhiqiu, hearing the discussion, was also unsure about whether his answers were correct.

"For the first question, I wrote 803 words for the pear, and 197 for the fruit; for the second question, the answer is three lanterns. What about you?" Gu Chengyu was a bit confident about these two questions; he calculated three times and arrived at the same answer, so it shouldn’t be wrong.

"Ah? I wrote 834 words for the pear, and 166 for the fruit; for the second question, I wrote five lanterns, ours are different! What about you guys?" He Shunian exclaimed. Hearing that his answer was different from Gu Chengyu’s made him instantly nervous.

"My answer is the same as Chengyu’s." Hearing that his answer matched Gu Chengyu’s, Ye Zhiqiu felt relieved. If both their answers were the same, chances are better that they’re correct, right? Moreover, it’s Gu Chengyu, he has great confidence in him.

"My answer for the first question is the same as theirs, but for the second question, I also wrote five lanterns, looks like I got it wrong." Sun Xian had the same thoughts as Ye Zhiqiu, believing he got the second question wrong.

He Shunian’s face turned pale, but he still held hope in his heart. Perhaps it was they who were wrong?

On the way back, He Shunian seemed a bit downcast, heavy with emotion.

"Brother He, the results will be announced tomorrow. There’s no conclusion yet, so let’s not dwell on it. We’ll know when the list is out tomorrow!" Gu Chengyu, unable to bear seeing him like this, went up to comfort him.

"I know, at worst, I’ll just try again in three years. It’s just a bit disappointing with the last round being so close!" He Shunian forced a smile.

In truth, he was aware; he probably wouldn’t pass this exam, showing how difficult it is to become an official. His father also told him that passing the provincial examination at his age was already remarkable. It’s just that he’s been surrounded by academically talented people like Gu Chengyu, which undermined his confidence.

Sun Xian was also extremely anxious. Having gotten the arithmetic question wrong, he couldn’t afford a single mistake in the subsequent poetry and prose sections, or he too would be in trouble this time.

Sun Xian opened his mouth to ask, but seeing a glance from Gu Chengyu, he realized He Shunian was already quite upset, and now wasn’t the time to ask further questions.

The group had no appetite to dine in the main hall, so they ordered their meals to their rooms. Upon returning, Gu Chengyu saw Ming Yan and the two account books left on the table.

"Young Master! Here are the profits of the pastry shop and restaurant for the past three months, please take a look." Ming Yan said to the young master who just came in.

The exam was over, and Gu Chengyu felt relieved. He sat down at the table and began to carefully examine the account books.