TPITWOHEF

Chapter 173

Early Morning Snack Shop.

With just one sentence, Ji Chunyue revealed her true identity as a woman. Despite her flushed face, she didn't run away.

"Where can I find the franchise notice?" she asked.

Her twin sister, Ji Qiuyue, was also surprised. But glancing at the table, where the youtiao (fried dough sticks) meant for three had been devoured by her sister alone, she began to understand.

"Yuan, go buy two more servings of youtiao," Ji Qiuyue whispered. "We'll take them to go."

"So you're actually young ladies," Zheng Qiru exclaimed, his face reddening in shock.

"What's wrong with being young ladies? Are we eating your rice or something?" Little Yuan rolled her eyes at him.

"No, no, not at all," Zheng Qiru stammered, suddenly at a loss. Being unattractive and adhering to strict gender separation as a scholar, he rarely spoke to young women, let alone scolding or making bets with them in public.

Now feeling somewhat uneasy, he quickly handed the flyer to Ji Chunyue.

"You can sign up at the magistrate's office. Leave your address and wait for the assessment notice."

"There's an assessment too?" Ji Chunyue had been about to back out, but the mention of an exam piqued her interest.

She and her sister had studied in Chu State and believed they were no less capable than men.

If the imperial examinations weren't restricted to men, the sisters were sure they could have earned official titles.

So, at the mention of an exam, both Ji Chunyue and Ji Qiuyue's eyes lit up.

After scanning the notice, the sisters exchanged glances, a hint of intrigue in their expressions.

"Let's go, we're done here," they said.

"Hey..." Zheng Qiru wanted to call after them for clarification, but his face flushed, and he held back.

"What does this mean? Are they going to join the franchise?"

"I thought those handsome young men looked too pretty. Turns out they're actually girls."

"They must be wealthy if they're ready to invest 500 taels to open a youtiao shop."

"Can they make money? Won't their family scold them for wasting silver?"

The farmers and locals in the shop couldn't help but discuss after the sisters left.

As soon as they exited, the Ji sisters hurried away with their maid. "Yuan, come on, let's go to the magistrate's office to register."

"What? Young ladies, are you serious?" Yuan held two youtiao in her hands, not having taken a single bite.

She had planned to eat after her mistresses finished, but now the sisters were rushing off so quickly.

It was as if the youtiao shop would bite them.

"Yuan, you don't understand. This is called seizing the initiative," Ji Qiuyue said with a smile, her eyes curved like a crescent moon. "The notice doesn't specify that applicants must be men."

In Chu State, women needed to be accompanied by family members—parents or husbands—to open a shop, and unmarried women were excluded entirely.

"But in Jing Country, they just opened this youtiao and milk tea shop yesterday, and today they're already rushing out franchise regulations," the elder sister Ji Chunyue said with a clever smile. "It's clear that this franchise policy hasn't been thoroughly thought out. It's not as airtight or strictly regulated as usual laws."