Cthulhu

22

It was already morning, but the sky was still gloomy, and the surroundings were gray, as if a heavy snowfall was about to fall.

In the bedroom, the fire crackled.

Liu Yao sat up sweating profusely, his face extremely pale.

His aunt, who was helping him pack his clothes, was startled, thinking he was sick, and quickly reached out to touch his forehead.

"What's going on? Do you want to call the doctor over?"

"No need," Liu Yao looked at the gray wall in front of him. It took him a long time to recover, and he took a deep breath with lingering fear, "It was just a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" Seeing that the temperature of his forehead was still normal, Feng Wen felt slightly relieved and asked doubtfully.

Liu Yao has a simple mind and has always been the type to fall asleep when he lies down. He has never suffered from insomnia or nightmares all night long.

"Yes," Liu Yao said, still in a daze, wiping the sweat on his head, "I dreamed of a shadow, which was very cold and wrapped around my hands and feet, as if it was dragging me into the darkness."

The nightmare was so real that he could hardly tell whether what he was seeing was a dream or reality.

"What do I think it is?" Feng Wen rubbed his head and couldn't help but want to laugh. What's so scary about dreaming about shadows? It's not like dreaming about ghosts.

"Okay, I think you've been too tired lately, why don't you take a break today and go around the city."

Liu Yao didn't speak, and nodded slightly for a while.

The preparations for the wedding went very smoothly, and he didn't feel that he was tired at all.

But it's also possible that he suddenly heard the news of Carpenter Liang's death yesterday and was frightened for a moment. So it's good to go out and relax, so as not to worry the family again.

Because there was still enough time, Liu Yao simply didn't bother anyone else. After breakfast, he walked into the city and entered the Xiangming Tea House at the end of West Street.

Uncle Xu had been looking forward to Liu Yao before, so he was naturally happy to see him come to the tea house and pulled him to talk non-stop.

After listening to Uncle Xu's introduction in the morning and learning how to read the teahouse's account books, Liu Yao gradually forgot about the nightmare last night and felt much more relaxed.

After taking a sip of hot tea, Liu Yao leaned on his chin and looked at the booklet in his hand.

"Now there are nine people in Xiangming Tea House, including one chef and one assistant cook, one accountant, and six waiters."

"We already have enough staff, but the temperature dropped too early this year, which caused a sharp drop in tea production and made the price much more expensive. The temporary solution is to reduce the number of staff and try to sell mainly hot food and cakes after winter, so that there is no need to You raised the price of tea on purpose, right?”

"That's right," Uncle Xu nodded approvingly, "Young master is so smart, he can make sense when he says something... Oops, look at my brain, I almost forgot, now it's time to call you the shopkeeper."

"No need," Liu Yao said with a smile, "When Uncle Xu said shopkeeper, I always thought he was calling me grandpa. You'd better call me grandpa the way you did before, which is more cordial."

"Sure," Uncle Xu said, "Then I'll call you Young Master."

Liu Yao smiled, with slight dimples appearing on his cheeks.