Shen Can behaved with great tact at the restaurant, not hindering the normal work while being the first to offer help when assistance was needed.
Li Yue Shu was an intelligent person and knew perfectly well what her intentions were.
But Shen Can was a hot potato right now.
Although she had sent away the people from the Li manor yesterday, they would never give up.
She was no saint and naturally had no reason to take on this trouble.
Li Yue Shu clearly conveyed her thoughts to Shen Can, and also indicated that she would not help her.
Shen Can's expression was a little dejected, "I know..."
She sighed and added, "But I still want to try. It's better than doing nothing. And this is the only way I can compensate for bringing people to your house yesterday."
Seeing this, Li Yue Shu said no more, pretending she hadn't seen the person at all.
When they returned home after finishing work in the afternoon, Shen Can still quietly followed behind the carriage without any complaints.
Li Yue Shu did not stop her, but still went to check the stable that evening. As expected, she saw Shen Can leaning by the carriage wheel, intending to sleep as she had the night before.
It was winter now, and although Tong Mu County was not an extremely cold place, the temperature at night was still very low.
She hesitated for a moment, pretending to enter the carriage to retrieve something, but in reality, she left a quilt inside.
After coming out, Li Yue Shu looked at Shen Can, who was standing cautiously to the side. Suddenly, she took out a few coins from her pocket. "You sleep in the carriage tonight and watch it for me. This is tonight's wages."
After saying that, she placed the money on the carriage's edge and turned to leave.
Shen Can was stunned for a long time. After reacting, her eyes turned red.
She carefully accepted the few coins, and after climbing onto the carriage, she immediately saw the brand-new quilt.
In an instant, a warm current surged through her heart, and Shen Can could no longer hold back her tears.
...
For the next few days, whenever Li Yue Shu went out, Shen Can would quietly follow behind the carriage.
Li Yue Shu still did not accept her, but the speed of the carriage had clearly slowed down.
Shen Wei naturally noticed this and looked at Li Yue Shu with complex emotions.
Was this woman so soft-hearted towards everyone?
As if sensing his gaze, Li Yue Shu turned her head in confusion. "Why are you looking at me?"
Shen Wei then put on a pure smile. "A Shu is beautiful!"
Her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, as if stars were twinkling within them.
At that moment, Li Yue Shu inexplicably felt her heart skip a beat.
She instinctively averted her gaze. "That's natural!"
This was not bragging. Although the original owner's character was not good, her face was still quite striking.
Based on her experience, this face would definitely grow into a beauty that could topple kingdoms when it matured.
A smile flashed in Shen Wei's eyes, but Li Yue Shu did not notice.
After a period of time, she threw herself entirely into the affairs of the new restaurant, while also supervising the teaching of Shen Tan and Shen Chi every day.
The two children were intelligent and hardworking, so they learned quickly.
In addition, she discovered that Shen Can had a high talent for accounting.
Because she had been following Li Yue Shu, Shen Can knew almost all the expenses involved in renovating the restaurant.
Whenever this happened, she could always accurately calculate the accounts for Li Yue Shu and even further reduce the expenses.
Facing Li Yue Shu's surprised gaze, Shen Can scratched her head sheepishly. "Before, when mother asked me to buy things, the money she gave me was never enough, so I... got used to it."
Li Yue Shu raised an eyebrow, and a thought began to form in her mind.
She handed over the ledger she was holding. "I've been quite busy lately. Would you like to try helping me manage the expenses for the restaurant renovation?"
Shen Can stared blankly at the ledger, suspecting she was hallucinating.
Seeing that she was motionless for a long time, Li Yue Shu said, "If you don't want to, forget it."
Then, she made a move to take back the ledger.
"I want to!" Shen Can quickly took the ledger.
She knew that as long as she proved her worth, she would have a chance to stay!
...
The news that Shen Can was working for Li Yue Shu spread quickly through the village. After all, many people in the village had seen the group who barged into Li Yue Shu's house that day.
Shen Wang and his son learned that the savior they had found had become Li Yue Shu's servant. They were so angry that they jumped and cursed at home, spewing all sorts of foul language.
Shen Cheng Cai put down the freshly chopped firewood, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked coldly at the two raging people.
After they finally calmed down, he slowly spoke, "Father, Grandma, instead of cursing here, why don't you think about how we will live after Aunt's money runs out? Will we just sit and eat from an empty mountain?"
They say it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but difficult to go from extravagance to frugality.
These two had sold Shen Can's jewelry and spent more than half of it within two days. Now, they probably didn't even have a few dozen coins on hand.
Shen Cheng Cai's words made the already grim expressions of the two twist even more.
Mother Shen slapped her thigh furiously. "No, we absolutely cannot let that wicked woman Li Yue Shu benefit from this!"
Shen Can was now a servant to Li Yue Shu, yet she, as her mother, had not received a single penny. This was clearly a deliberate attempt to humiliate her!
Shen Wang also couldn't swallow this insult and suddenly said, "Mother, didn't the village chief gather the households before and say that Li Yue Shu, that wicked woman, was going to open a new pharmacy and wanted the villagers to help with medicine production?"
Mother Shen nodded in confusion. "There was such a thing, what's wrong?"
Shen Wang's gaze was sinister, and combined with his effeminate demeanor, it made him look very frightening.
Shen Cheng Cai frowned. "What do you want to do? Li Yue Shu is not easy to deal with. If you want to die, don't drag me along!"
"Brat, how dare you speak to your father and grandmother like that!" Shen Wang glared at him with a heavy gaze, then immediately pulled Mother Shen aside to plot.
Seeing their stubbornness, a strange light flashed in Shen Cheng Cai's eyes.
He said nothing more and continued his work.
Idiots!
If Li Yue Shu were so easy to deal with, Li Xiang Ru, who had been easily expelled from the academy, would not have been defeated by her!
To deal with Li Yue Shu, one cannot rely solely on the Shen family's strength.
...
Li Yue Shu was unaware of the schemes brewing in the Shen family. She ran to the new restaurant every day, and Hong Dai would come to find her daily.
She didn't talk about any important matters, just dragged Li Yue Shu to drink tea, watch the workers renovate, and chat about random things.
Li Yue Shu didn't understand what she wanted at first, but after a few more chats, she realized that Hong Dai seemed particularly interested in her affairs.
Li Yue Shu told the complete story of the original owner. After all, no matter how they investigated, these things were true.
Hong Dai was not foolish and naturally sensed that she knew her intentions.
But this did not stop her from continuing to question.