Maxim rushed back to the residence and immediately went to find Elder Xiao. He needed to quickly settle on a wedding date, or he felt he might go crazy. When the servant came to report that the young master had returned again, Elder Xiao was a bit puzzled.
Why was he visiting so often lately? He used to be completely focused on his studies, always reading or writing. Was he suddenly changing his personality?
Elder Xiao quickly told the servant to invite him in. Watching his hurried expression, he found it amusing. Since when did this boy ever show such a face?
Wasn't he always a calm and refined gentleman? Maxim stood in front of Elder Xiao and bowed. "Father, could you please help me check the calendar and see if there are any lucky days for marriage after September?"
Elder Xiao immediately understood what was going on. He smiled and asked, "Why the sudden rush?" Maxim blushed slightly and looked a bit embarrassed.
"I want to get married sooner so I can focus on my studies and career." Elder Xiao nodded in understanding. He opened the almanac and carefully looked through it.
He pointed to two dates and said, "I've already asked someone to check. For such an important life event, I paid attention. These two days are great: October 6 and October 10."
"Both are good for weddings and engagements." Maxim nodded with satisfaction. "Then let's go with October 10. It's a perfect ten out of ten."
"A very lucky day." Elder Xiao smiled. "Alright, I'll have everything arranged. You should also start preparing."
"Make sure your future wife is happy with you as her main husband." Maxim thanked him sincerely. "Thank you, Father. I'll cherish this marriage."
Then he took his leave and started preparing for the wedding in advance.
Yaelle, on the other hand, was busy inspecting her store, tasting delicious food, and enjoying a relaxed life. When she was bored, she found time to make two sets of clothes for Maxim. The fabric came from her own warehouse, one set in gray-blue, the other in navy.
She asked Attendant Sean and Attendant Sam for advice on the cut and then got started. She had bought a small sewing machine online when she had nothing else to do. It was small, but very practical.
As long as the material wasn't too thick, it worked perfectly. It was much faster than sewing by hand. The stitches were even.
She had seen a guy on Douyin share many sewing tips like how to sew edges, create pleats, and finish seams. It was really useful. She followed him and studied his techniques.
His handmade bags looked great. She found some leftover fabric in the warehouse to practice. Based on memory, she actually made a few nice-looking ones.
Looks like she could keep making them for fun at home. Maybe she could sell them in her store later. Besides, she had a unique supply of zippers.
There was a clothing factory nearby. One day someone was about to throw out a big bag of zippers. She happened to come across it by the trash pile.
She asked for them. They looked ugly. But they worked.
In the past few days, her chili peppers had started to be harvested one after another. The workers on the estate sent over the dried peppers, about two to three thousand jin in total. That amount should be enough for her to open a hotpot restaurant, right?
And there were still many peppers in the field that hadn't been picked yet. She estimated another one or two thousand jin could be gathered. After all, it was a full six acres of land.
If the yield were too small, it wouldn't be worthy of all the hard work she had put in during this time. But if she wanted to open a hotpot restaurant, just having peppers wasn't enough. She still needed a large amount of spices.
Some of these spices could only be bought at a pharmacy. So she would have to go there herself. Thinking of this, Yaelle immediately got moving.
She tidied herself up a bit. Then she headed out with her people. This time, they took a carriage straight to the Xu family's pharmacy.
They had dealt with this pharmacy a few times before. Everyone knew their herbs were high quality and fairly priced. It was truly a trustworthy store.
The sun was bright and the breeze gentle. With anticipation in her heart, Yaelle stepped into the Xu family's medicine shop. The shop was called "Fragrant Herbs Hall," and its name sounded plain and friendly.
Inside, the layout was simple and neat, with medicine drawers arranged in perfect order. Each drawer was clearly labeled with the name of the herb it held. It was easy to find what one needed.
Since she needed to buy a large quantity of herbs, she didn't hesitate to ask the busy apprentice for a chance to speak with the shopkeeper. A few minutes passed, but the shopkeeper didn't appear. Instead, a familiar figure came into view — Xavier.
"Eh? I didn't expect to run into you here. I guess we really are fated to meet," Yaelle said in surprise, her face full of joy. Xavier smiled and replied, "Yeah, I didn't think I'd see you here either."
"I just came to pick up some herbs today." They smiled at each other, as if a deeper understanding had formed between them. For Yaelle, seeing Xavier was definitely something to be happy about.
After all, it's always easier to talk with someone you know. Especially when that person is a handsome young man who's pleasant to look at. Yaelle couldn't help but sigh in her heart.
She really couldn't resist the charm of good-looking guys. Maybe she was just shallow when it came to faces, completely defenseless against a beautiful appearance. Still, this thought didn't embarrass her.
Instead, she calmly accepted her true feelings. Looking at her open and cheerful smile, Xavier felt a wave of warmth in his heart. He knew this girl had a kind and pure heart.
She always treated people with honesty and respect. Though they hadn't known each other long, he found himself liking her more with each meeting. He noticed all the things that made her shine.
"Miss Yaelle, are you here for medicine because you're not feeling well? Or is it for someone at home?" Xavier asked with concern. "No, I've developed a new kind of food and need to use some spices," Yaelle explained.
"These spices are actually herbs, so I came to see if I could find them here." "Oh? What kind of herbs can be used for food?" Xavier clearly found this interesting. "I'm not sure if you carry all of them."
"I'm looking for ginger, star anise, galangal, tsaoko, lithospermum, bay leaf, vanilla, clove, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, fennel, white pepper, dried tangerine peel, sand ginger, laurel, cumin, angelica dahurica, lily bulb, scallion, garlic, yam, galangal, coix seed, lotus seed, gorgon fruit, clove, longan, nutmeg, ginkgo, black sesame, coriander, hawthorn, goji berry, licorice, dong quai, astragalus, red dates," Yaelle said thoughtfully.
"You need that many kinds?" Xavier was stunned. What kind of food needs so many herbs? Is it even edible?
"This isn't even the full list." It really wasn't. She was missing quite a few things, so she could only make a simpler version.
"We have most of them, only a few are missing," Xavier replied. "How does the final product taste?" "Can I have the honor of trying it?"
"Sure, I'll make a batch first and you can try it," Yaelle said. "Tell me if it needs improvement." She was happy too, since it was great to have someone help taste the food.
"If you're not busy now, come to my place." "It's not convenient here, and you can help me carry the herbs." Xavier nodded and agreed without hesitation.