Chapter 54: Being sidelined – Don't compare your marketing to Shen's.

Chen Hai—that was Hai Ge'er's real name. He squatted by the wall and ate the grilled fish that the idler had brought him three times in a row. He only stopped reluctantly when he got sore throat from eating too much fish. Otherwise, he could have eaten it for several more days without getting tired of it. But now, he had accumulated three earthenware basins in his room. These things took up space, and he couldn't bear to throw them away, so he carried them out to wash them, thinking about what to do with them.

Although the earthenware pot used to hold the grilled fish was coarse and the workmanship was somewhat rough, he was lucky. One time, the pot he received even had a drop of dark green kiln tear on it, which added a touch of rustic beauty to the charred, coarse earthenware pot.

After washing the ceramic pot clean, Shen Hai held it up to admire the "tears of fire" on the surface. He thought to himself, "Why not plant a few Dendrobium officinale plants in this best ceramic pot? It would be quite interesting to place it in front of the window."

Uncle Shen is a man of refined tastes, and he has planted many plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums in his home. Shen Hai has also been influenced by this, and besides eating, he also loves to cultivate flowers and plants, collect all kinds of porcelain and pottery, and now he even appreciates this grilled fish basin.

At this moment, his fingers touched the engraved indentation on the bottom of the pottery basin, so he turned the basin over and belatedly discovered that the bottom of the pottery basin was engraved with the small characters "Yangliu Dongxiang Chenji".

Shen Hai stared blankly for a long time, then put the pottery basin back into the house and immediately ran towards Jia She.

After finishing his half-day of study, Shen Ji returned to the school dormitory at noon. He sat at the desk next to his bed and focused on copying the new text he had learned in class into his own bound blank booklet. He also wrote in small red ink annotations Mr. Zou's explanations next to it, so that it would be easier to review in the future.

The boy in the dormitory wearing a hat was named Meng Honghe. He was the youngest, just turned eight this year, only a year older than Xiangjie! But he ranked seventh in the exam this year and slept in the bed next to him. He held two pieces of glutinous rice cake in his hands, eating them while watching Chen Ji copy texts, unaware that crumbs and sugar frosting covered his clothes.

Shen Ji was used to taking care of his younger sister at home and was very good at multitasking. He could study while keeping an eye on the mischievous Xiang Jie, and it was his daily routine to be able to reach out and pull her back when she was about to fall or slip.

Therefore, as he continued writing, it was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. He took out a handkerchief from his pocket with his left hand and handed it to Meng Honghe without looking up: "Wipe it off, or your clothes will be ruined."

Meng Honghe hurriedly took the cake and wiped it clean. After wiping it, he continued eating. After finishing one, he didn't eat the other. Instead, he wrapped the cake in a handkerchief and placed it on Shen Ji's table, saving it specifically for him.

Five students shared a dormitory. Meng Honghe was young and spoiled at home, so he was not good at many things. He couldn't lift a bucket, couldn't wash his clothes, and had to sleep with a cloth mouse made of a folded pillowcase. The others laughed at him behind his back for being "four-eyed." Only Shen Ji didn't look down on him, so Meng Honghe became closer to Shen Ji.

The food at Zhuoyintang was poor, and Meng Honghe developed diarrhea after two days. After that, his mother walked three or four miles every day, carrying a food box to the outside of the academy wall to deliver meals and snacks to Meng Honghe, and also taking home his accumulated dirty clothes to wash. Meng Honghe would talk to his mother through the wall about small things at school, naturally mentioning how much his roommate, Shen Ji, had taken care of him. After that, whenever his mother brought snacks, they were always in double portions, and she would always carefully instruct Meng Honghe: "Don't be stingy, share with your classmates."

These glutinous rice cakes were made by his mother herself. She would boil maltose into water, mix it with steamed glutinous rice, and then stir-fry it in a wok until the sugar water was completely incorporated into the rice. Finally, she would press it into a square shape with a mold, and it was ready to eat. It was soft, sticky, and chewy, but not sticky, and sweet but not cloying. He thought his mother's cakes were even better than those sold outside, and he loved them very much. But he wondered if Shen Ji would like them. He had heard that his family ran a restaurant, so Shen Ji must have eaten a lot of good food.

Shen Ji noticed his action and, without being polite, said, "Thanks, it smells wonderful."

“Try it, it’s made by my mother.” Meng Honghe’s eyes lit up.

"Okay, I'll finish writing in a bit." Shen Ji dipped his brush in ink, turned the page, and continued writing.

Meng Honghe happily sat back on his bed and began to read.

As Shen Hai wailed against the window, Shen Ji had just finished copying a passage and was eating a sweet cake.

"Ji-ge'er, Ji-ge'er, you kept this from me for so long." Shen Hai pushed open the window, his chubby upper body wedged in the window opening, making his head look even rounder. He was full of resentment. "That grilled fish was from your family, why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask either." Shen Ji finished the sugar cake in a few bites, then turned back to Meng Honghe and said thank you for making it delicious. Meng Honghe was initially startled by Shen Hai's sudden appearance, but upon hearing Shen Ji praise the sugar cake, he immediately perked up and said, "Right, right? I like it too. I'll ask Mother to make more next time!"

Shen Hai was still leaning on the windowsill, complaining to Shen Ji, "You made me treat you to meals three times!"

Shen Ji said strangely, "Didn't you ask for it yourself? Why did you beg me to eat it with you?"

"But that's your house!"

“You have to pay money for my family too.”

“I’m your cousin. If I knew you were from your family, I could have just asked a busybody to make a meal for you and have my sister bring it over. Why go through all this trouble?” Shen Hai was still indignant.

Shen Ji said calmly, "Hai-ge'er, is it only now that you realize we're brothers? I've lived in your house for three years, and you've never treated me like a brother. Your whole family only saw me and Xiang-jie as burdens. How come, after just three fish, there's been such a big change between us? Didn't you look down on me before?"

“You…” Shen Hai’s face flushed red, and he stammered, “It’s been so long, why are you still bringing it up?”

Shen Ji's eyes flashed with sarcasm. "That was three years, not three days, not three months. My memory isn't as good as yours, but it's not that bad either." He paused, then suppressed his emotions and began tidying up the paper and pen on the table. "Hai-ge'er, I don't want to bring up the past, but I must take this opportunity to make things clear to you. After my father and mother passed away, my uncle managed our shop. Xiang-jie and I lived with you for three years, and we didn't freeload. You can't deny that, can you? Later, the shop burned down, and your family couldn't collect rent. Not knowing that my sister would return, you didn't want to support Xiang-jie and me anymore. I could barely say that was understandable. But what if my sister really didn't come back? What if my aunt finally calmed down and remembered to look for us? Do you think Xiang-jie and I would still be alive to stand here and talk to you?"

He choked with sobs as he sank into the sea.

Shen Ji packed the books one by one, then looked up and stared directly at Shen Hai, who looked guilty. His eyes were calm, and his tone was calm, as if he were talking about someone else's business. But Shen Hai felt a tickle all over his body after being looked at like that, and began to regret making this trip. He must have been out of his mind, only thinking about making connections so he could eat more delicious food in the future. Now, it seems that it will be even harder to eat such good food in the future.

"Aside from your sharp tongue, vanity, and love of showing off, you've never actually hit Xiang-jie. That's why I've been so calm and collected with you these past few days. But this doesn't mean I've forgotten all my grudges; it's just that I have my own precious family and I don't care about you anymore. So... don't expect me to set aside our past grievances and become some kind of brother to you. Right now, we're just ordinary classmates, and our relationship is probably even less than water. Therefore, if you ever come to my house for a meal in the future, you can't get credit or a discount. You have to pay the full amount due, understand?"

Shen Hai had already managed to pull himself out and silently shrank back under the windowsill. He didn't dare to answer and slunk back home.

Meng Honghe, holding half a scroll of the book, listened with wide eyes, his nose slipping down. He silently pushed it back up, making sure he remembered everything he heard.

If anyone makes fun of him as "four-eyes" again in the future, he should retaliate as gracefully as Shen Ji, putting on a cold demeanor and saying that we are just strangers and he doesn't care what anyone says.

"I've learned it." Meng Honghe nodded to himself, holding the book.

***

In Yangliu East Alley, Shen Miao was inspired by several customers who had no seats but insisted on eating grilled fish, and realized that making grilled fish takeout wasn't so troublesome. Those who lived nearby would bring their own large basins to serve the fish. If they didn't have a suitable basin at the moment, they could pay ten coins to Shen Miao as collateral to get a custom-made basin from Shen Miao to cook in themselves. They could then wash it clean and return it the next day or at some other time to get their deposit back.

Some people would simply spend ten coins to buy one, and not return it, so that when they came to eat it again, they would bring the earthenware pot with them.

Later, Shen Miao simply commissioned thirty more "upgraded" ceramic basins from the pottery kiln: they had lids, double handles for carrying ropes, and he even asked the pottery kiln to use a polishing needle to scrape the surface clean during the making process, so that the glaze would be applied evenly during firing and the finished product would look better. Finally, he engraved a pattern of a leaping fish from a blazing fire on them, depicting a lithe fish leaping out of a blazing fire. Below this pattern, he also engraved the words "Shen Ji Grilled Fish (Yangliu East Lane, Jinliang Bridge, Yongkangfang)," attempting to use these ceramic basins to advertise to every household.

Afterwards, Shenmiao raised the deposit for these ceramic pots with the logo to fifteen coins, specifically for grilled fish takeout. Surprisingly, they were quite popular, with many households sending their servants to buy them. They even kept the pots without returning them.

The benefits of optimizing takeout packaging go beyond this. It also makes many people feel that Shenmiao's grilled fish is cleaner than other restaurants: that's right, nowadays she's not the only one selling grilled fish in Bianjing!

Several large soup noodle shops near Jinliang Bridge also started making this earthenware pot grilled fish, putting soup noodles in the grilled fish just like her. At first, they also sold it for ninety-eight coins a pot. Later, seeing that Shen Miao remained unmoved and even turned the disadvantage of her small shop into an advantage by doing takeout, these shops directly lowered their prices, selling it for only eighty-nine coins a pot. They even deliberately hired two people to hawk their wares along the street, clearly intending to compete with Shen Miao.

However, Shenmiao's grilled fish soup base and seasonings are all secret recipes, and other soup noodle shops have not been able to replicate them in a short period of time. But they are also very clever, offering mutton soup base flavors and braised meat flavors, which can be considered as making use of their own advantages. Although they are very different from Shenmiao's soup bases, which are rich and spicy and just right, they are not bad to eat.

If this continues, Shenmiao's unique advantages will eventually be gradually eroded.

Aunt Gu was extremely worried. While sitting in the courtyard picking vegetables for Shen Miao, she cursed the shopkeepers with a variety of swear words for almost half an hour. She even wanted to call on Shen Miao's tall uncles and brothers to go to those shops to demand an explanation.

"Don't be angry, this will definitely happen, and it's hard to prevent." Shen Miao bent over to water her own vegetable garden, and smiled calmly as she advised Aunt Gu.

Aunt Gu clutched her chest and said angrily, "I'm so angry, and you can still laugh."

Shen Miao genuinely didn't care. She had seen many similar things in later generations. For example, the same was true for milk tea shops in later generations. Once one shop started selling fruit tea, every other shop would follow suit. If one got angry and demanded an explanation for it, it would probably never end.

"How about we lower the price a few coins? These days, many people go to other places to eat because they want a cheaper option, and it makes me anxious," Aunt Gu suggested softly. Then she shook her head at Chen Miao, continued to leisurely water the vegetables, and casually hung the water ladle on the courtyard wall—the eldest sister had a strange habit; she liked to hang everything that could be hung on the wall. In the kitchen, the kitchen knife, the large spoon, the spatula, and even the rags were all strung on ropes and hung on the wall, as were the things in the yard.

Water ladles, brooms, dustpans, winnowing baskets, carrying baskets, straw hats, even water basins—everything was on the wall. Aunt Gu often wondered to herself, "Is the ground in the Shen family's courtyard so sharp that it's prickly? Why can't we just put our feet down?" But after looking at it for a while, she got used to it and gradually began to appreciate its advantages. It was indeed tidy and made her feel refreshed.

Seeing that Shen Miao was so composed, she felt a little more at ease, but she still sighed.

“If we try to manipulate vegetable prices like they do, lowering them a few coins today and a few coins tomorrow, our shop will have to close down sooner or later.” Shen Miao washed her hands, having already made up her mind. She turned to Aunt Gu with a smile and said, “Don’t worry, Aunt, I have a fun way to solve this. It’s still early today, could you watch the shop for me for a while? I’m going to the pottery kiln and the Mi family’s wood carving workshop.”

The competition in the catering industry in later generations was even fiercer, and engaging in price wars was the most foolish way to stand out. Shen Miao prepared to go out, putting a leash on Lei Ting, thinking she'd take the dog for a walk as well.

Aunt Gu silently watched as Shen Miao put the leash on Lei Ting, and silently watched as Lei Ting became excited and was about to rush out. Just as she was about to shout, "Watch out!" she saw Shen Miao wrap the leash around her hand a few times, pull it back hard, and control Lei Ting who was about to fly away.

"Big sister is strong!" Aunt Gu recalled her own experience of being pulled away and realized this for the first time. But then again... she thought back to the last time she saw her eldest sister carrying a huge basket of vegetables delivered by a vegetable shop. She just lifted it up without hesitation.

Shen Miao took the dog out. It was now early June, and there were many more vendors selling lotus lanterns in Bianjing City. Bianjing City had a major summer festival called the Lotus Viewing Festival, which was held every year on the 24th of June. On this day, men, women, and children would go out to Jinming Pond to boat and admire the lotus flowers, and they would also release lotus lanterns on the Bian River, making it a lively day.

There were still more than two weeks until the Lotus Viewing Festival, so there should be enough time. Inspired by this, and thinking of the milk tea bags and purses from a certain milk tea shop that became wildly popular in later years, she decided to take the opportunity to hold a festival-themed event.

To attract customers, you not only need to cook good food, but you also need to know how to market.

Shen Miao first ordered a batch of "festival limited edition" ceramic basins from a pottery kiln. She asked the potter to carve "fish playing in a lotus field" on the basins, make the lids into the shape of lotus leaves, apply some green clay, and even make lotus stem handles. The finished basins were both rustic and exquisite. She didn't order many, only a few dozen, deliberately making them limited editions.

After finishing, she went to Mi Xiaoniangzi's wood carving workshop to make a "Chenji Member Puzzle Handbook". She would use the scraps from the workshop to make small wooden puzzle pieces. Becoming a VIP member would not only allow her to enjoy holiday discounts, but also earn her a puzzle piece for every time she ate grilled fish. Collecting all the puzzle pieces would allow her to redeem coupons or exclusive merchandise...

Hmm... what kind of merchandise should I make?

Shen Miao walked along, thinking, leading her imposing black dog.

Grilled fish purses? Summer's here, how about making some small folding fans? Or... should she ask Miss Mi if ordering a batch of wooden grilled fish badges or keychains with string attached... I wonder how much that would cost?

How about... we hold a membership blind box giveaway? You get one blind box for every seven check-ins. Shen Miao narrowed her eyes, preparing to combine the idea of ​​hiding Water Margin cards in Little Raccoon instant noodles from later generations with the shady tactics of a certain blind box brand.

That's kind of interesting.

She laughed to herself, a laugh that was slightly cunning.

After all, she was obsessed with collecting trading cards when she was little! To collect all the heroes from the Water Margin, she begged her grandfather to buy her a whole box of raccoon bear-shaped cards to eat at home. Perhaps that was the earliest form of blind boxes?

Incidentally, she might also be able to leverage this festive event to boost the success of Chenji's brand.

A price war? A showdown? No, no, no, it's far too early for a direct confrontation.

Although a crisis and challenges are looming ahead, Shen Miao is actually in a good mood and even somewhat eager to try.

As she passed by the slave market, she peeked out from the doorway. The human trafficking market in Bianjing was enormous, and because of the war in Qinzhou, there were many more slaves inside who had to sell themselves or be sold due to displacement than before. Even from a distance, Shen Miao felt that the market was packed with people.

If she could take over the shop next door, she might need to hire two or three people to serve her. The kitchen is a crucial place, and she needs a sous chef; such an important position requires a stable relationship that cannot be easily betrayed.

The main reason I didn't buy people before was that I felt I could manage on my own and didn't want to challenge this master-servant relationship that I had never experienced before. Of course, it was also because I didn't have the money; buying people was very expensive back then.

Now... Shen Miao paused and listened to the conversation between the slave trader and the buyer. The price of a young and strong laborer had dropped to ten taels, and it was even cheaper for a woman.

These days, grilled fish shops are springing up like mushrooms after rain, which urges Shen Miao to make up her mind: she can't delay any longer, she has to expand her shop! Otherwise, if the shop can't accommodate everyone and the delivery speed can't keep up, she will still lose customers for nothing, and then no matter how many activities and tricks she does, it will be useless.

Moreover, since the grilled fish was introduced, many customers from other cities have come to try it. This is a recent development, indicating that her shop is gaining popularity and is doing very well! If she were to suddenly change the address when the shop is thriving, it would be like cutting off her own arm, causing considerable losses.

Yesterday, Shen Miao squatted in the cellar and counted her belongings again. The twelve taels of gold she earned from the Feng family could be exchanged for two hundred and forty strings of cash. She had previously saved one hundred and twenty taels of silver by setting up a stall, selling vegetables, and selling noodles, and had also earned more than eighty strings of cash from selling grilled fish and other odd jobs recently.

After deducting the working capital needed for the shop's daily operations, she had less than 500 strings of cash in savings.

1,500 guan (a unit of currency), and she might be able to negotiate the price down a bit, but the shortfall is still too big for her. Such a huge sum of money, even the fat monks of Xingguo Temple might not be willing to lend it to her.

Now, the only way, and the only hope... Shen Miao suddenly remembered the invitation to the Xie family banquet that Yan Shu had given her on the day of the opening.

In a few days it will be June 15th. After so much preparation, the Xie family will finally hold the banquet as scheduled.

Shen Miaoyuan hesitated about whether to attend the Xie family banquet. After all, most of the families that the Xie family associated with were either rich or noble, and the majority of them were from official families. As the saying goes, if you don't fit into a circle, you shouldn't force yourself into it. If she joined in, she would not only be out of place but also seem out of place.

The main problem is that it's a waste of a day; it's better to go home and open a shop to make money.

But now, she's somewhat embarrassed to be tempted, because she wants to attract investment.

She wondered if she could find an opportunity to speak with Madam Xi, who served Lady Xie, to inquire about the progress of the soup dumpling workshop and discuss whether the 30% profit could be advanced. Although the workshop was still under construction and she didn't know how much profit it would generate, she could agree with the Xie family that she would not receive any dividends for many years to come, and that all the money would be used to repay the advanced debt.

She had already submitted the recipe for instant soup noodles, and also submitted recipes for three flavors: chicken soup, braised, and pickled cabbage! Madam Xie said she had sent it to Youzhou and ordered the loyal cooks kept in the Xi family to learn it, but she didn't know if they had made it yet.

As she pondered, she arrived at the Mi family's wood carving workshop. Shen Miao walked in, stepping over wood chips and haphazardly scattered pieces of wood. Like exploring a maze, she asked several apprentices before finally finding the image of Mi Xiao Niangzi lying face up on the ground, being carved, under the door of a huge rosewood cabinet.

Shen Miao squatted down and smiled, "Xiaomi."

Mi Xiaoniangzi was engrossed in carving for a while before turning around, looking at Shen Miao with a bewildered expression. After a long pause, she smiled with delight: "Shen Niangzi, what brings you here?"

The two hadn't seen each other for quite some time. Firstly, Mi Xiaoniangzi had finally begun to take over her father's mantle and start carving large pieces of furniture. She no longer set up a stall at the bridge market and focused on carving her first masterpiece.

Shen Miao was so busy with her own shop that she barely had time to think about Mi Xiao Niangzi's situation. Apart from talking with Mei San Niang, who delivered the incense drinks, every day, she didn't have any time to visit her and talk to her.

If they hadn't come today to order "grilled fish merchandise," they don't know when they would have been able to meet again.

However, Shen Miao felt that although she and Miss Mi had not seen each other for a long time, she still felt a sense of closeness upon seeing each other again.

In today's world, there are very few women who can dedicate themselves to what they love. She is lucky, as is Miss Mi. It just so happens that her father had no sons, and it just so happens that she was extremely talented. So her father could only pass on his skills to her, which allowed her to move around the woodcarving workshop like a man. Otherwise, there would be no women in that place.

Seeing millet is like seeing a candle that is shining brightly in a dim place, which makes people happy.

Shen Miao carefully discussed the puzzle and the engraving styles of the blind box cards with Xiaomi, and also asked her to pay attention to some anti-counterfeiting designs. After paying the deposit and asking about the delivery date, she slowly walked back.

Halfway there, Lei Ting stopped to urinate under a tree, and Chen Miao stood beside him, lost in thought, continuing to ponder the various complex matters in his mind.

First, she was pondering the details of the upcoming event, and decided to write a proposal when she got back so that she could easily verify the details. Second, she was figuring out how to persuade Madam Xie to come up with such a large sum of money. Shen Miao tried hard to recall: how had she persuaded her investors and partners in her past life?

Her grandfather once told her that when you need someone's help, you must consider things from the other person's perspective.

If he were to ask for a thousand strings of cash right off the bat, even the monks at Xingguo Temple would be so frightened they'd overturn their incense burners. Some commoners couldn't earn that much in their entire lives, let alone repay it. So, Shen Miao thought, why not rephrase it? If Madam Xie was willing to buy that "prime shop," wouldn't it be better to rent it to her? That way, it wouldn't be considered a loan, and Madam Xie wouldn't have to worry about not receiving interest if the soup noodle workshop didn't open.

The shop is real. Given the soaring property prices in Bianjing these days, buying it is definitely a profitable investment. Although reselling it will be difficult, renting it out won't be a problem. The location near Jinliang Bridge is quite good; even if it's not rented to her, it can be rented to someone else. As for whether it's a prime location, that depends on her craftsmanship. Madam Xie knows about her craftsmanship, so there's no need to worry about that.

But it's fine if people don't buy it; the Xie family probably doesn't need such a small foot shop.

So, that's the key question: how do she convince her angel investor to buy a shop that he doesn't need?

Shen Miao was focused on rehearsing in her mind. Lei Ting had finished, and she raised her head in surprise, looking at her master who was standing still with the rope in his hand. She even barked softly twice, her eyes full of: "You're done peeing, why aren't you leaving?"

But Chen Miao was already lost in thought.

Thunder hesitated for a moment, then lifted its hind legs, straining with its face to squeeze out two more drops. But when it looked back, Shenmiao was still motionless. It could only bark loudly and pitifully: "This time it's really gone, woof! I can't squeeze any more out, woof! Woof woof woof!"

"Ah, you're all better now, let's go, let's go..."

Shenmiao finally heard it and, as if waking from a dream, pulled it back.

Several more days passed in the blink of an eye, and Shen Miao remained inactive. Regardless of what other soup dumpling shops did, she neither lowered her prices nor did anything else, selling as much as she could each day. Until the limited-edition festival ceramic pots, photo puzzles, blind box cards, and other items she had ordered were all delivered to her shop.

Just two days before the Xie family banquet, Shen Miao had everything arranged. She thought that once the event was settled, she could focus on attracting investment.

The very next day, she immediately hired two or three quick-witted idlers to act as loudspeakers in front of the shop and on the street.

***

Kangji Tangbing Shop, located across the Jinliang Bridge, is a two-story building with three connected rooms, similar to Weijia Pastry Shop. It has both main seating and private booths, and is the largest restaurant selling tangbing (steamed soup dumplings) near Jinliang Bridge. It used to be very popular and had a thriving business.

Until Shenji suddenly appeared, this small foot shop that you could walk back and forth in ten steps or so completely defeated him! Moreover, Shenji sold this today and that tomorrow, doing whatever he wanted and coming up with new tricks. Manager Kang was completely confused. He hadn't even figured out how to make instant soup noodles yet, and recently he came up with grilled fish!

Not only did this cause Kangji Tangbing Shop's business to dwindle, but some people even brought grilled fish to his shop to eat, casually ordered two side dishes and a bowl of tangbing from his shop, and then sat down in his shop to eat and devour food from other shops!

Manager Kang suppressed his displeasure and asked the diners the reason with a forced smile. It turned out that Shen's restaurant was full, but the diners really wanted to eat, so they had no choice but to leave.

This is a complete slap in the face for him!

Manager Kang couldn't stand it anymore, so he sent his employees and cooks to secretly buy some of Shen Ji's grilled fish to try a few times. He also bought some takeout food a few times and brought it back to his own shop's kitchen. He studied everything from the fish to the vegetables and the seasonings used.

Aside from not being able to figure out the exact ratio of the crispy skin and fermented black bean soup bases and some of the seasonings, it took Kangji's chefs four or five days to roughly figure out the recipe, ingredients, and side dishes.

Hmph, this isn't hard to make! Without hesitation, Manager Kang added this new grilled fish dish to his own shop, and even added minced mutton and mutton bone broth to the soup base. Not only were the ingredients more generous, but he also deliberately sold it at a lower price than Chen Ji!

Manager Kang had personally tasted Shen Ji's fish and had to admit that Madam Shen's culinary skills were indeed remarkable. After putting down his chopsticks, he felt a chilling sense of crisis. If she continued to operate like this, all the other soup and noodle shops would only be able to drink her leftover soup.

So Manager Kang shared her grilled fish recipe, which was five or six parts similar to Shen's, with the other managers she was on good terms with, and gathered them together to sell it and ostracize her!

At first, he only wanted to suppress Shen Ji's arrogance, but he didn't expect that Kang Ji would make a lot of money since he started selling grilled fish! Manager Kang's calculations were very efficient. Although his recipe had a lower profit margin, the principle of small profits but high sales volume had made a considerable profit in the past few days.

Moreover, whether she was frightened or powerless, Madam Chen didn't make a move at all when she saw that the business had been taken away.

This made Manager Kang very satisfied to see his shop bustling with customers again, and he has been sleeping soundly these past few days.

Early this morning, seeing that the weather was nice, he hummed a song and strolled across the bridge, wanting to secretly see what the current situation of Shen Ji Tangbing Shop was like, and preferably to see how worried and anxious Madam Shen was about this matter!

He sneered inwardly. His shop was big, he could afford to wait. Shen Ji only had a naive young woman, who was probably too scared to sleep at night by now.

He was dressed in a bright, fresh brown silk robe. Full of confidence, he walked across Jinliang Bridge with his chest out and belly puffed out. He was about to head towards Yangliu East Lane when he was surprised to find that the street was crowded with onlookers.

Manager Kang was so shocked that his eyelids twitched.

Trying to push forward, someone in the crowd shouted loudly:

"Chenji's newest product! Golden Broth Lotus Root Grilled Fish is now available! It's sour and spicy, with an unforgettable aftertaste!"

"Today, you can join Chenji's VIP group and become a member without any fees. After joining, you will not only receive a gift but also enjoy special offers. This is a rare opportunity, so don't miss it!"