The Farmer's Daughter is the Favorite of the Family

Xujia Village

"Old man, have you packed everything? Don't leave anything important behind." Mrs. Wang put a package into the carriage.

"It's all set. You've asked about this several times now." The old man replied, sounding a bit exasperated.

"Wenwu, do your best, but don't put too much pressure on yourself." Mrs. Li advised.

"Aunt, I understand." Xu Wenwu nodded.

"Grandpa, I want to go too!" Xiaoliu chimed in.

"What for? Stay here and behave. This isn't a trip for fun, you still have school." The old man reminded him.

Xiaoliu pouted.

"Kui Wu, let's go! If we wait any longer, we won't make it to Qingyun." The old man urged.

"Drive carefully. And once the exams are over, come back home quickly." Mrs. Wang said.

"We will."

The carriage headed towards the village entrance, passing villagers hard at work along the way. Everyone knew the purpose of the old man's journey this time, and they offered plenty of encouraging words.

"I wonder if the shusheng is even in Qingyun City. I heard he opened a new branch elsewhere. I hope everything worked out for him." The old man mused.

"Grandpa Xu, my dad said he'll always make time to support me, no matter how busy he is." Qian Xuedong said.

"Xuedong, you and Wenwu, don't be nervous. Just do your best. Don't put too much pressure on yourselves. Whether you do well or not is up to fate." The old man said.

"Yes, we understand."

The carriage drove all the way towards Qingyun City, and they even had lunch in the carriage, which was food prepared for them by Mrs. Wang.

Just as it seemed their butts would grow calluses from all the sitting, Kui Wu called out...

"Old man, young master and miss, we've reached Qingyun City."

As they lifted the carriage's curtain, a tall city wall loomed before their eyes, with two redwood gates guarded by soldiers.

Although night had fallen, many people were still coming and going.

Kui Wu drove the carriage towards the City gates.

"Everybody out of the carriage! We need to check you in!" A voice called from outside.

The old man led everyone out of the carriage.

"Are you from out of town?" a soldier asked.

"Back to big brother official, we are people from Huamen under the jurisdiction of Qingyun City, and this time we are here for the imperial examination." Kui Wu cupped his fists and said.

Two soldiers inspected the carriage but found nothing suspicious.

"Go on." One of them said: "Just don't cause any trouble in the Town."

"Understood!" Kui Wu nodded.

The old man led everyone back onto the carriage.

After passing through the gates, the old man remarked: "Big cities are different. Even to enter, you need to be checked first."

"It's probably because of the exams." Qibao said: "Many people are coming from out of town. They must be afraid of some trouble, like troublemakers slipping in."

"Old man, I don't know where our hotpot restaurant is." Kui Wu said, lifting the curtain.

The old man said: "The shusheng said that any random person would know if they asked."

Qibao found that amusing. Their family's hotpot restaurant had been open for more than three years, yet Kui Wu didn't even know what street it was on.

Kui Wu stopped a vendor by the road: "Auntie, do you know how to get to the Juxiang Pavilion hotpot restaurant?"

"Yes, I do." An elderly woman with graying hair replied: "Everyone in the city knows it. Just go straight down this road to the end, where all the action is. Turn left and you'll see the sign for Juxiang Pavilion."

"Thank you, Ma'am. This is a gesture of my appreciation." Kui Wu pulled out five copper coins from his pocket.

The old woman happily accepted them, expressing her gratitude repeatedly.

Kui Wu drove the carriage in the direction the woman had pointed out.

Due to the high volume of pedestrians on the streets, the carriage moved slowly.

Qibao lifted the curtain. Outside, the streets were brightly lit on both sides, with the sound of vendors' cries filling the air.

The old man remarked: "The city streets are much wider and busier than those in our town. It's still so lively this late in the day."

Finally, they arrived at the entrance of Juxiang Pavilion. The rich aroma of hot pot already wafted through the air. As they stepped off the carriage, a waiter greeted them before they could enter.

"Good sir, our restaurant is currently full. If you're not in a rush, we have a dedicated area where you can wait. We'll seat you as soon as a table becomes available. How does that sound?"

The old man asked: "Is Boss Qian around?"

The waiter paused. "Are you here to see Small Young Master Qian?"

"Small Young Master Qian?"

The waiter explained: "Here's the thing. Young Master Qian tells us there's a real big boss for our hotpot shop, so he wants us to call him 'Young Master Qian.' It sounds more youthful that way."

Grandpa heard this and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He said: "Right, we are looking for Young Master Qian."

"So, why don't you all come in and sit down? I'll go call Young Master Qian right away." The waiter said.

"Okay, thank you."

The waiter led them into the main hall, which was already full of people, bustling with noise.

After a large screen, they found several people seated on stools, with melon seeds and tea set out in front of them. They seemed to be waiting for an empty table.

"Please sit here. I'll go find Young Master Qian right away." The waiter said before hurrying out.

The old man exclaimed: "The waiter was quite thoughtful."

"Hai! The hotpot at Juxiang Pavilion is delicious, but there are too many people. My nephew from a distant place is coming to Qingyun City to take an exam tomorrow, so he will stay at my house for a few days. I was planning to bring them here to eat hotpot tomorrow! But every time it is booked in advance by others, I have to ask Boss Qian later to see if he can arrange a private room for me." A middle-aged woman who was well-dressed was cracking melon seeds and talking to the woman next to her who was also well-dressed.

"Yes! Who wouldn't say that? There are a lot of people coming to Qingyun City these past two days, all of them are here for the exam. Currently, this hot pot restaurant is only available in our Qingyun City, so when they come here, they naturally want to try Juxiang Pavilion. It is normal that it is difficult to make a reservation." The woman replied.

"There are many rich people in Qingyun City. Our family's financial resources are not enough. Can you compete with them? The private room upstairs was reserved several days in advance. Ordinary people can't book it at all."

"Yeah! Especially these days!"

From the conversation between the two, Qibao also understood how popular Juxiang Pavilion is in Qingyun City.

"Uncle, Qibao, Xuedong, Wenwu, why are you here today?"

At this moment, a voice filled with surprise came.

Several people looked up and saw that it was Qian Shusheng. They stood up immediately and the old man smiled and said: "It's been a long time, Mr. Scholar, we came a few days early just to familiarize ourselves with the environment."

"Father!" When Qian Xuedong saw his father, he was overwhelmed with longing. He walked forward and hugged his father and called out.

Boss Qian patted his son on the back with satisfaction and said: "Good boy, you've grown taller than me after not seeing you for half a year."

The lady who just spoke said: "Boss Qian, are there any relatives coming to your house?"

"Mrs. Wu, this is my son, this is my uncle and my nephew and niece." Boss Qian gave a brief introduction.

"Boss Qian, your son looks so much like you." Mrs. Wu said with a smile.

"Really? Hahaha."

"Um, Boss Qian, I don't know if you still have any empty private rooms in your restaurant tomorrow? It's not in time for the examination. My distant nephew and cousin are coming for the exams, and I want to treat them to the best hotpot in City as a gesture of hospitality. Could you help me book a room?" The woman inquired.

Boss Qian thought for a moment and replied: "I'm afraid it won't be possible tomorrow at noon. How about I reserve a room for you tomorrow night?"

"That works perfectly! Thank you so much, Mr. Qian." Mrs. Wu expressed happily.