Lu Chen hugged Qiao Jinniang in his arms and asked fennel, “Just based on this rumor, the original guests wouldn’t have all gone to the Feng family restaurant.”
Fennel sighed and said, “The Feng family restaurant said that within half a year after the new restaurant opens, the drinks will be free of charge. Every order will be given a free meal. No one’s money is earned by the strong wind. Naturally, they will go wherever it is cheap.”
Old Yang sighed and said to Qiao jinniang, “Young Master, why don’t we also waive the drinks and free the food?”
Lu Chen said, “It’s not appropriate. There are still some businesses in the Hundred Savory restaurant that are treated by the wealthy merchants outside the government. There are also officials who come to eat at noon. It’s not appropriate for them to come to eat. It’s not appropriate to waive the drinks and free the food.
“I think it’s better for us to give up on doing business in the neighborhood and focus on doing business with those wealthy families.”.
“That Feng family restaurant tastes the same as our restaurant. He used the signboard of not paying for the drinks and delivering the dishes for half a year. He’s deliberately trying to steal the business of the restaurant.”.
“If we follow in with such preferential treatment, even if the customers have returned, it would still be a huge loss if we don’t earn money for half a year.”.
We are all family, and we won’t hide it from you. Just the chefs, waiters, and maids in the private rooms of the hundred-taste restaurant would need more than fifty silver for a month’s salary.
“Originally, if business is good and we earn a lot of silver, it would be fine. But if we lose money for half a year and give the profits to the neighbors, we would lose at least three hundred silver. That’s not even including taxes. The silver that we usually give to the government…” “And the fees for the pots and pans…”
Fennel and the others said, “If hundred savory restaurant really doesn’t make money, we don’t need salaries, as long as we have food to eat.”
Qiao Jinniang sat in the main seat in the lobby, “Husband is right. If the drinks are all free and the dishes are bought one for one, we will suffer a heavy loss in a month. The cost must not be reduced. In this way, we won’t earn a single cent and will have to pay a lot of silver.”.
“It’s about time for Bai Wei restaurant to change. From tomorrow onwards, the ingredients we use will be the best in Lin ‘an city. The price of our dishes will be at least twice that of other restaurants.”
BA jiao asked, “Then won’t there be no familiar neighbors in the future?”
Qiao jinniang said, “If those familiar neighbors come to eat again, give them a discount. Uncle Yang, when you go to Yue Yao, tell master Li that I want their set of high-quality celadon and ask him to make fifteen more sets.”
Lu Chen said, “Not only do the ingredients and utensils have to be changed, but also the singing girls and so on. It’s best to go to Yangzhou and invite a few famous singing girls over. It’s also good to make a name for yourself.”
Qiao Jinniang reached out and pulled Lu Chen’s ear. “Okay, so that’s what you’re Thinking?”
Lu Chen covered Qiao Jinniang’s hand and said, “How would I dare? I just think that if you don’t make a name for yourself, those rich businessmen who come to discuss business and see the rising prices of the dishes will not think that the ingredients are better, but will only think that they are too expensive.
“If we use famous singers, famous tea leaves, and famous yellow wine as precious ingredients, only then can those rich businessmen and noble families come one after another.”
Qiao Jinniang Thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll send someone to invite a few singers over.”
Lu Chen said, “Also, the tea leaves are also the most important. The price of the first tea of Longjing every year is very high. I heard that the manor head of the Tea Mountain by the Golden Bull Lake is selling the tea mountain recently. Why don’t We Go and take it? When the time comes, the tea before the Ming dynasty and before the rain will all be used as signboards in the Hundred Savory Restaurant.”
Qiao Jinniang Thought for a while and said, “If we want to buy that Tea Mountain, the price must be quite high.”
Lu Chen said to Qiao jinniang, “But it’s worth it. I made about two hundred taels of silver from doing business with the Japanese merchants. I’ll let you buy that Tea Mountain. Is that okay?”
Qiao Jinniang Thought for a while and also felt that Lu Chen’s suggestion was not bad. It was only a matter of time before the Tea Mountain earned money.
In another two or three months, the price of the first-time tea would be very high.
By March, Qiao Jinniang’s stomach was already showing. She and Lu Chen went to the tea mountain by the Golden Ox Lake to pick tea leaves for the first time. When she was young, Qiao Jinniang watched others pick tea leaves.
Lu Chen not only picked tea leaves, but he also had to protect the safety of Qiao Jinniang’s feet. It was always raining in the early spring of Jiangnan.
The first batch of Longjing was rarely seen on the market, and the newly-listed Longjing was already in the hundred savory restaurant. Many wealthy businessmen who were entertaining their relatives or business owners from other places loved to dine at the Hundred Savory Restaurant.
Some even specially came to the Hundred Savory restaurant to collect money and return home.
In April, Lu Chen asked Qiao Jinniang for five hundred taels of silver and said that he wanted to do business. Qiao Jinniang did not know what business he was going to do, but when she heard that he was working with Xie Yun, she generously gave Lu Chen the silver.
Lu Chen remembered every payment clearly.
In June, Qiao Jinniang used a Yue kiln’s porcelain plate to hold some refreshments to cool off the heat. All of a sudden, she became popular among all the young ladies in Lin ‘an. For a time, it could be said that it was not an exaggeration to earn money every day.
On this day, Qiao Jinniang watched Lu Chen do the accounting in the Hundred Savory restaurant. She leaned on Lu Chen’s shoulder and said generously, “Brother Chen, you’re really amazing. You’ve earned back the capital in one go.”
Lu Chen said, “It’s all thanks to Xie Yun’s help. He treats you quite well.”
Qiao jinniang said, “Sister Xie is pretty good, but you can’t call her by her name.”
“Little vinegar.”Lu Chen scratched Qiao Jinniang’s nose. When they first met, he already knew that Xie Yun should be a man. Only Qiao Jinniang was dumb enough not to know.
With Xie Yun as his backer, Lu Chen was indeed making a lot of money.
Qiao Jinniang looked at the final balance of silver, then at the banknotes beside her, and said in astonishment, “Is this silver really ours? How can there be so much silver?”
Qiao Jinniang looked at the banknotes of one hundred taels of silver one after another, so shocked that she could not even close her mouth.
Lu Chen found her money-grubber expression very funny, “In the future, we will have more and more silver taels. Our child is about to be born, so we have to give him the best of everything. If you love to wear brocade, you have to wear brocade every day in the future.”
Qiao Jinniang wrapped her arms around Lu Chen’s neck and kissed him on the side of his face. “Brother Chen, you are so nice!”
Lu Chen’s eyes darkened slightly. He looked at Qiao Jinniang’s pregnant belly and could only sigh helplessly. “Jin ‘er, should we change to a bigger house?”
Lady Qiao said, “No need. I like the small courtyard that I grew up in. That courtyard is big enough for four or five of us to live in!”
Lu Chen smiled faintly. “Alright, I’ll listen to you. But I have a vague feeling that this house is much smaller than what I remember.”
“You Remember Now?”Lady Qiao asked. In fact, she was a little afraid that Lu Chen would remember the past. In just six months, she knew how capable Lu Chen was.
Although it was good to have Xie Yun as a backer, if Lu Chen did not have the ability, he would not have been able to earn back so much silver.
He had opened so many shops, but none of them were at a loss. Tea Mountain had even earned back its capital in two months. He had also earned quite a lot from doing business with those foreign businessmen.
Such a capable Langjun was definitely not just a pond in the past.
Lu Chen shook his head. “I haven’t remembered.”
