Yanxiao has been busy making the broth for crayfish these past two days, so she has been staying in the General's Mansion and hasn't gone out.

She made the first batch and then let Shen Muzhi and Ma Youcai try it, which naturally received unanimous praise.

The day after Shen Muzhi spread the word to the refugees outside, some refugees tentatively came to sell crayfish, and Ma Youcai's men bought them all as instructed.

However, doing business is never smooth sailing.

When Ma Youcai launched the crayfish dish, some people were initially interested and wanted to see what this new dish called spicy crayfish was like.

But when they discovered that the so-called spicy crayfish were actually poisonous insects, they were all scared away.

People who are willing to spend money in restaurants are all relatively well-off. Unlike the refugees, they have never gone hungry and cherish their lives. No one is willing to be the first to try something new.

For two consecutive days, no one wanted to buy the crayfish, but the number of migrants selling crayfish outside the city was increasing, and Ma Youcai had no choice but to buy some.

Seeing the crayfish piling up in the restaurant and starting to die, Ma Youcai became restless.

In the end, Yanxiao came up with an idea: Ma Youcai should make five jin (2.5 kg) of meat and give each customer a free sample.

Not only that, but to reassure the people in the city, Yan Xiao persuaded Shen Muzhi to personally go to Jue Wei Lou and order a dish of spicy crayfish.

With General Shen Muzhi personally leading the way, and the gimmick of free tasting, the taste of crayfish finally became known, and its reputation spread at an extremely fast pace, naturally attracting more and more buyers.

During those days, Ma Youcai was all smiles, not only because the crayfish were selling well, but also because he only had a 20% profit margin. After deducting the principal and labor costs, he barely made any profit.

To his delight, the deal went through, which meant he was now completely on the sidelines with the general.

Another major reason is that people who come to Jueweilou to buy crayfish don't just order crayfish; they usually order other dishes as well, and drinks are also a must.

This directly boosted his already thriving business even further, making his income even more impressive.

Unfortunately, this situation only lasted a few days before some changes occurred.

Just as he and Yanxiao had thought, once the crayfish business was fully established, there would naturally be many envious people.

Some people originally intended to do something underhanded, but after learning that Ma Youcai's business was related to the General's Mansion, they immediately became obedient and dared not make any rash moves.

On the surface, they dared not make a move, but in their hearts they were dissatisfied. They felt that Shen Muzhi had now started to find ways to amass wealth, which was completely different from his previous image of integrity. He ate meat himself but was unwilling to share even a drop of soup with them.

Until the city garrison sent word that people inside the city could go outside the city to buy live crayfish from the refugees.

Whether for commercial use or personal consumption, it's fine, and with garrison troops guarding the city gates, they don't need to worry about refugees causing trouble.

There is only one rule: you are not allowed to go out of the city to catch crayfish without permission. If you violate this rule, you will not be protected by the city guards, and you will be at your own risk if you are robbed or torn apart by the refugees.

At first, some people were skeptical, but after some brave individuals went to buy the shrimp and escaped unscathed, more and more people went to the city gate to buy live shrimp.

At first, those who went to buy were just people who saw that Ma Youcai's business was doing well and wanted to get a share of the profits.

Later on, many individual customers joined in. Although they had some spare money, they were reluctant to go to the restaurant to buy the crayfish that cost thirty coins per serving and only weighed about half a pound.

But wanting to try the supposedly delicious crayfish and see what it tasted like, I decided to buy live crayfish.

Anyway, the simple method for preparing crayfish has now been made public, and they think that even if they can't replicate the taste of Jue Wei Lou, it shouldn't be too far off.

For this reason, the crayfish caught by the migrants had no trouble selling, and they had more and more money in their hands.

However, as more and more people started catching them, the crayfish in the vicinity became less easy to catch than at the beginning, and they had to go to more distant places.

The merchants in the city who bought the crayfish would then have their chefs try to cook them according to the Jue Wei Lou's recipes.

No matter how you make it, the taste is just not as good as Jue Wei Lou's.

After several attempts failed to replicate the taste of others, they had no choice but to find another way and engage in a price war.

After these vendors launched their crayfish offerings, some people found that their prices were much lower than those of Jueweilou, so they flocked to the restaurants.

This caused Jueweilou's business to slow down considerably, which naturally made Ma Youcai anxious.

When Ma Youcai approached Yan Xiao and asked if they wanted to lower the price, Yan Xiao refused without hesitation.

The spices they use are already expensive, and if they lower the price, their profits will be greatly reduced, which she wouldn't be happy about.

Besides, she's building a brand; how could she engage in a price war with counterfeiters? Wouldn't that lower her own value?

Ma Youcai naturally listened to Yan Xiao, and in the following days, more and more vendors in Jiangbei City started selling crayfish, and Jueweilou's business became increasingly quiet.

Just when Ma Youcai was getting restless, his family's business inexplicably started to improve again.

I later found out that the people who came here had tried the food elsewhere and felt that theirs was more fragrant, flavorful, and satisfying, which is why they chose Jue Wei Lou again.

Even though it's a bit pricey, I think it's worth it.

This situation brought a smile back to Ma Youcai's face. Although he had lost some customers, it did not have a significant impact on the restaurant's long-term development.

Moreover, as Yan Xiao said, their Jue Wei Lou crayfish has become a well-known brand among crayfish.

Whether it's wealthy businessmen discussing deals or young masters hosting banquets at restaurants, Jue Wei Lou is the first choice to showcase their status. This has elevated their restaurant to a higher social class, making it a symbol of a certain identity.

This made Ma Youcai once again grateful for his wise decision back then.

Yan Xiao has been in a very good mood lately. When asked why she's in such a good mood, she naturally says it's because she's been counting money.

Since her business got on track, she has been making money every day. She can really earn money without even lying down, and her savings are growing bigger and bigger.

Moreover, since the refugees outside the city had some extra money, Shen Muzhi has been extremely busy lately, all to help them rebuild their homes.

Therefore, even though Shen Muzhi is currently in the city, they hardly ever see each other, which allows them to enjoy peace and quiet.

She has now handed over the task of frying the base sauce to Qianqiuwandai, and only takes care of the most important steps of adding ingredients herself. She is really quite free.

So in her spare time, she would call Man Yi over to spar with her and give him some pointers so that she could become more familiar with the moves and be able to defend herself.