36: Opening

On this day, everyone in the Lu Family changed into new clothes.

Everyone's face was brimming with joy.

"Daddy, hold me!"

A soft, sweet voice sounded by Lu Xuan's feet.

A little girl as pretty as carved jade had her hair in buns, her red hair ribbons fluttering in the wind. Her large, watery eyes blinked at Lu Xuan, appearing like a pair of pure, deep pools.

She wore a red coat carefully designed by Lu Xuan, embroidered with auspicious clouds in fine gold thread, and small leather boots on her feet. She looked clever, eccentric, and incredibly adorable.

"Alright, Daddy will hold you!"

Lu Xuan said as he picked Lu Jingyao up in his arms.

"You just keep spoiling her; she's even more mischievous than Jingyan was when he was little."

Seeing Lu Jingyao acting spoiled, Su Jing grumbled to her husband.

Hearing her mother's words, Lu Jingyao didn't speak, but she tightened her arms around Lu Xuan's neck and buried her head in his shoulder.

"Alright, wife, go see how Jingming is doing; we're just waiting for him."

His youngest son had a personality exactly opposite to Lu Jingyao's, being taciturn even at a young age. At first, Lu Xuan even wondered if he had some kind of psychological issue and made a point to talk with him.

In the end, the boy only needed a few words to leave Lu Xuan speechless.

He knew this boy was likely the cleverest among the brothers, so he would satisfy him as long as his requests weren't excessive.

Now he lived alone in a small hut at the back of the courtyard, spending his days reading and practicing martial arts. He was terrifyingly self-disciplined; although he was not yet six years old, he had already been practicing martial arts for half a year.

At first, Lu Xuan thought he was too young and it was inappropriate, but facts proved that a Genius cannot be measured by common sense.

After practicing martial arts for half a year, he was already a Third-Rate Martial Artist, though no one knew this except for Lu Xuan.

Dressed in white, Lu Jingming came out from the backyard. His eyes seemed to lack focus, but Lu Xuan knew this was because he had fallen into his own world of thought again.

"Jingming!"

He called out softly.

"Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Little Sister."

Seeing everyone, Lu Jingming greeted them one by one.

"Hmph, I'm the older sister; you're the youngest."

An annoyed voice rang in their ears.

Lu Jingyao looked like a bristling kitten as she glared at Lu Jingming, her eyes full of resentment.

"Father already said, I came out first."

Lu Jingming stated a fact, but Lu Jingyao broke down.

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she wanted to get down to duel Lu Jingming.

Lu Xuan naturally held her tightly as he walked out. For this show that played out every day, today's performance had to be canceled.

Everyone chatted and laughed as they headed toward the three carriages parked outside.

Ye Wentao and a few servants were already prepared, and his son Ye Feng was leading the guards in front.

After several years, this was the first time the Lu Family went into the city together again.

The last time was during the Immortal Fate Assembly.

Su Jing didn't mind, but Lu Jingyao was incredibly excited. Although she had come last time, she was still an infant in swaddling clothes then, so it didn't count.

She had long heard that the county seat was bustling and wanted to come, but Su Jing had never allowed it.

"Daddy, I want to eat those candied haws."

"Ask your mother."

"Daddy, I want to eat that fried rice cake."

"Ask your mother."

"...Daddy makes me ask Mommy for everything; you don't have any of the dignity of a Family Head!"

Lu Jingyao puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, sitting in the corner of the carriage, looking very huffy.

"Where did you learn those words?"

Lu Xuan was amused by her appearance.

Amidst laughter and joy, everyone arrived at their shop.

"Azure Cloud Workshop"

"Father, you often say a great man should have ambitions as high as the blue clouds; does the name 'Qingyun' come from that phrase?"

Lu Jingming asked while staring at the plaque.

"I didn't; it's simply because our house is at the foot of Azure Cloud Mountain."

"Hahahaha~"

Lu Xuan looked at his deflated youngest son, feeling quite refreshed, considering it a repayment of a 'grudge.'

Seeing Lu Jingming's speechless expression, Lu Xuan was even more smug. Why act so mature at such a young age? See if I don't break your act.

Hearing the conversation between father and son, Su Jing rolled her eyes at her husband. She had no solution for Lu Xuan's occasional childishness and could only let him be.

Looking at his father teasing him and his brothers snickering, Lu Jingming remained calm on the surface, but his ears had turned completely red. He looked around, trying to alleviate the embarrassment.

He swore that he wouldn't say another word to his old man today.

"Father, Mother, you two go up to the second floor to rest. Uncle Ye and I need to prepare for the opening. There's still an hour until the auspicious day and hour calculated by the master."

"Mm, go ahead. I don't ask for great success, just don't make any mistakes."

Lu Xuan had very low expectations for Lu Jingan's first public appearance. Moreover, with Ye Wentao leading people to look after him, Lu Xuan felt there wouldn't be any major problems.

"An'er, you've worked hard."

Su Jing looked at her son with heartache; after being busy for several months, he was finally going to pull through, but at the thought of what was to come, she felt a bit reluctant.

While Lu Jingyan looked at his eldest brother with envy, fantasizing about when he too could hold his own in a few years... Crack-crack-pop! The workshop opened for business; it was a scene of gongs and drums deafening the sky, firecrackers popping in unison, and red flags fluttering everywhere.

A promotional team of nearly a hundred people traversed the streets and alleys. In less than half an hour, the entire Pingze County knew that a workshop called Azure Cloud Workshop had opened for business.

There were also activities on-site.

And what shocked the families in Pingze County the most was that the Lu Family behind this workshop seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

After appearing, they immediately connected with the Wang Family in the county seat, with the workshop and a restaurant collaborating on the promotion.

Furthermore, five copper pots were placed in front of the Wang Family Restaurant, inside which Lu Xuan's improved hotpot base was simmering. Charcoal fires were stoked underneath, and Lu Xuan had even designed a small switch to adjust the flame size. However, since it was charcoal and not the gas of his previous life, it could only be said to be passable, barely usable.

But even this made the restaurant manager marvel at it; he had never seen such ingenuity.

The pungent, spicy, fresh, and fragrant aroma of the hotpot filled the entire street.

Not a single passerby could help but salivate.

And Lu Xuan's suggestion was directly adopted by the Wang Family manager, who arranged for shills to do a tasting outside.

After all, this was the first time such a thing had appeared; although it smelled good, no one dared to be the first to try it. This was where the shills' role came in.

"Shopkeeper, can we really try the food and drink for free?"

A burly man squeezed through the crowd; this was naturally a shill.

"Of course."

The burly man walked forward and, under the waiter's guidance, took the first bite of the hotpot sliced meat.

His eyes lit up; this naturally wasn't an act, but it was truly delicious. Although he was a shill, it was also his first time eating this.

"Fragrant, it's so damn fragrant!"

The burly man stared at the bottom of the pot, wanting to eat more.

"Now try this wine."

The shopkeeper didn't give him the chance, and the burly man, realizing his role, gave an embarrassed smile.

A cup of Drunken Azure Clouds went down.

"Good wine, such strong wine! The wine I drank before can all be poured into the latrine. Is this wine that Drunken Azure Clouds?"

"Naturally, and this is the cheapest Drunken Azure Clouds, one tael of silver per jar."

"If even the cheapest is this delicious, wouldn't the expensive ones be immortal brew?"

"It naturally can't compare to immortal brew, and it's far from it, but it is definitely the finest among mortal wines."

With just a few lines of dialogue, the two stirred up the crowd's emotions; these lines had all been written in advance.