One hundred thirty-three beauties fall ill

  "Shut up and don't mention owing me anything again. If you really want to thank me, then marry me."

  Zhang's face suddenly turned red, and she whispered: "I owe you, I will work hard to earn money to pay you back. I've thought about it, the store has already opened, such a big store, if no one is guarding it, someone will definitely come in to steal. I discussed with Xing'er and Huan'er, we three people will move into the store to live, you and Sun Langzhong can live at home."

  "This must be Xing Er's idea?"

  "Uh, no, it's me, mine..."

  Zhen Ming sighed and said, "The three of you girls living here can't be reassuring. Why don't I move over here to live instead? With Sun Langzhong at home, I'll feel more at ease."

  "Well, that's fine too." Zhang hastily agreed, perhaps realizing she had agreed too quickly, making it seem like she had anticipated him saying so. She hurriedly covered up by saying: "I didn't mean it that way, I just meant it's really too much trouble for you..."

  Zhen Ming put down the broom and looked at her with a wry smile, saying: "You know, your acting skills are really terrible."

  Zhang was so embarrassed that he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and after a while, he asked in a low voice: "Are you angry?"

  "What's wrong with me? I'm not that petty, I've been used to living alone since childhood, I like being free and unrestrained, running around naked at home without anyone controlling me, talking to myself and laughing out loud without anyone stopping me. Now there are so many people in the house, and Xing'er is a complete control freak, not allowing this or that, it's no comparison to living alone freely..."

  Although he said these words with a smile, Zhang still heard a hint of loneliness in his tone.

  "Sorry." She didn't know why she was apologizing either, it just suddenly felt a bit sad.

  Zhen Ming was distressed to see her cry, he had lived for over 20 years but had no experience with women at all, only theoretically knowing that women have a few days every month when they are more emotional and moody, but he didn't know the specifics of how they were emotional.

  He was a bit flustered: "Why are you crying again? I'm the one who got kicked out, shouldn't I be the one crying? I'm really not angry, are you in a bad mood? Do you want to have a piece of candy?"

  He said, looking around, but couldn't find a single intact and clean candy, and cursed: "These small-minded bastards would rather throw them on the ground and waste them than leave a few for others!"

  Walked over to Zhang's side and sat down, "Why don't I tell you a joke? Let me think... Ah, got it! Xing'er got drunk and hit an animal. Guess what it is?"

  Zhang didn't know what was wrong with herself either, in front of him she seemed to have become a different person. She awkwardly wiped away her tears, lowered her head and thought for a moment, shaking her head: "I don't know."

  "Rabbit." Zhen Ming made a vomiting motion.

  Zhang's eyes welled up with tears as she smiled.

  "What about the goose?" Zhen Ming asked again with a bitter tone.

  Zhang saw him starting to call her nickname again with abandon, her face slightly red, thought for a moment, and shook her head.

  "Wild rabbit."

  Zhang finally burst into laughter and turned around to look at Zhen Ming, asking in a low voice: "Why hasn't Master Zhen gotten married yet?"

  Perhaps in her eyes, a man over twenty who is still unmarried is even rarer than a national treasure.

  Zhen Ming smiled bitterly and said, "In our hometown, men like me have a unified title, called 'three noes leftover man', no house, no car, no money, girls all look down on us."

  "Zhang asked strangely: 'With your ability as a noble son, how can you have no house and no car?'"

  "The houses in our hometown are not as good as here, they're more expensive than gold. After working hard for thirty years without eating or drinking, you still can't afford a decent house, and it's not even yours. You live there for seventy years and the government will take it back. It's not like here, where as long as you have a deed, your ancestors can live here forever."

  "Zhang's eyes were filled with a hint of longing: 'Qian Gongzi's hometown must be very beautiful, right?'"

  "Then you'll be disappointed, the river water is dirty and smelly, the sky is covered with exhaust fumes, polluted and foul-smelling, the shops sell toxic and harmful food, material desires are rampant, swindlers and unscrupulous merchants abound, officials and businessmen collude, taxes are heavy, extortionate and oppressive, people live without dignity, crushed by the weight of life, society is filled with violence and anger, if this is what you call beautiful, then this place is simply paradise."

  Zhang was so frightened by him that he immediately dispelled the idea of going to his hometown for a visit.

  "Has the boss's wife's leg injury healed?"

  "It's all right now."

  "If your body is not feeling well, don't overexert yourself. Let Sun Langzhong help you with some nourishing medicine to warm and supplement your body. You are now the real boss's wife, just let the people in the shop handle any hard or heavy work."

  Zhang's face turned red, she was having her period today and her body was indeed uncomfortable, but how did he know such a private matter? She didn't want to investigate further, this mysterious man had a strong sense of aggression and danger that made her dare not probe deeper.

  Zhen Ming's bitter expression returned as she fell silent again, changing the subject to ask: "By the way, you should return that dagger you borrowed from me last time, right?"

  Zhang shook his head and said in a low voice: "You've already given it to me."

  "When did I say it was yours? I just borrowed it from you!"

  "It's all mine."

  "This is no toy for kids, it's very sharp, don't blame me if you get hurt!"

  "We're not kids."

  Zhen Ming bitterly said: "This dagger of mine is worth a thousand taels of silver, but I'll give you a discount for the sake of your beauty, let's say eight hundred taels and we're square."

  "I'll give you eight hundred slaps," said Zhang, and then couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  The two of them chatted intermittently, and time passed unnoticed until Xing Er and Huan Er came down from upstairs, calling her to go out together to purchase the materials needed for tomorrow's opening. Only then did Zhang Shi hastily get up and follow them out the door.

  ……

  Since Zhang's Sweetheart Workshop opened, it became popular overnight in every street and alley of Luoyang.

  Benefiting from those who had free trials, all of whom spread the word, this novel marketing approach to free trials left a deep impression on everyone who came to the store for dessert, and was regarded as an interesting topic, with people talking about it whenever they met, thus creating a huge advertising effect.

  Within half a month of Sweetheart Pastry's opening, people lined up to buy desserts and snacks, even Sun Lang came to help out, but the store was still overwhelmed.

  Especially the spicy fried chicken wings and Portuguese egg tarts, paired with Zhang's pan-fried tofu beef burgers, have become one of the most popular snacks at Zhang's Sweetheart Workshop.

  Zhang and others are exhausted every day preparing various snacks for the opening of the store, almost falling asleep as soon as they lie down, but the snacks made are often sold out within an hour of opening.