Chapter 55 Lottery Event Hello, sir/madam, would you like to draw a card? ...

Cen Zhi was a traveling merchant who had just finished trading some furs from the north. Relaxed, he led his camel along the Bian River, where boats ply the waterways, and walked up to the Jinliang Bridge. Bathed in sunlight, he looked around. Bianjing was bustling with activity, and seemed even more prosperous than when he had visited six months ago.

The furs he had acquired on this trip were of excellent quality. He had just exchanged them for a stack of silver coins, and his mood was relaxed and pleasant. He then thought of finding a tavern to buy some wine and meat to eat.

He traveled back and forth between the north and south as a merchant, often spending half a year there, and had become somewhat unfamiliar with many things about Bianjing. After thinking it over and over, he could only recall that there seemed to be a restaurant nearby called Kangji, where he had eaten mutton last winter, and it tasted quite good.

But he couldn't remember which end of Jinliang Bridge Kangji was on. Standing on the bridge and looking around, he only saw a small shop on the opposite bank with a crowd of people at the entrance and faint noises, as if people were rushing to that place.

His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately led the camel in that direction.

Cen Zhiping loved to join in the fun. He had a scar on his face from one time when he was so engrossed in watching a couple arguing and fighting that he wanted to hear what was going on. So he looked closer and closer and accidentally stuck his head between the fighting couple. As soon as he did, the shrewish wife, who was fighting with her husband, scratched him and left a bloody mark. The mark is still visible to this day.

But his problem has not only not changed, it has become more and more serious in recent years.

Now, whenever there's excitement, he'll rush over to see it, no matter what. If he misses it, he'll regret it for days, scratching his head and wondering what happened.

He hurriedly dragged his camel closer to take a look. It turned out to be another soup noodle shop, only the storefront was small. Apart from the paved floor, it looked cleaner than the other shops, but there was nothing different about it.

There were only five or six tables and chairs inside, but there were quite a few people, especially at the entrance. There were also many curious passersby and neighbors inside and outside the shop, and some people even came by car, stopping their cars far away before hurrying over.

Cen Zhi was puzzled and walked forward. He saw that the people at the door were gathered around two long tables. Two strong young men were guarding the tables on both sides, and a child was helping to read the words.

The table was covered with a red cloth and had two large divination tubes filled with all sorts of red-headed wooden sticks.

Several young women and men gathered around the table, their eyes fixed intently on the fortune-telling container, shaking it back and forth. After a short while, a paper-covered fortune stick would pop out with a "snap." He would grab it in his hand, set it aside, and carefully peel it off from the edge.

"Clatter, clatter," the person in front was still nervously and expectantly pulling out the lot, while the person behind was already busy shaking the lot again.

Cen Zhi was baffled: Does this soup noodle shop also offer fortune telling services?

Just as he was about to ask, a burly, dark-skinned man next to him suddenly raised his arm and shouted as if possessed: "I won! I won! Dog, show me what the character is! Read it to me... What? 'Fish play among the new lotus leaves, birds scatter and petals fall!' I won! It's the lotus leaf ceramic pot I've been longing for! I finally won!"

With that, he picked up the ticket and rushed inside.

The young ladies who were drawing lots behind him stomped their feet in anger upon hearing this: "I drew 'Enjoy life while you can, for tomorrow you may die' again! Damn it, I already have three drink discount coupons!"

"Me too! I have two 'Bamboo Rain, Pine Breeze, Qin Melody, Tea Smoke, Wutong Moon, and Book Sounds' tickets. It's really strange, I don't like drinking tea, but they gave me tea tickets! Eleventh Sister, what about you? What did you draw?"

The round-faced young lady, called Eleventh Sister, chuckled smugly, "I drew the line 'The world is full of grass and trees, and food is also a simple pleasure,' which means I'll receive a plate of vegetarian dishes as a gift. That's fine, I love all of Lady Shen's dishes."

The other two sighed and looked enviously at another group of young women beside them: "...But I really want the mermaid silk doll in her pouch, but I can never win it."

"I want a wooden fish keychain, but I can't win it in the draw."

Cen Zhi followed the young woman's gaze and noticed that some of the young women had small, round silk dolls hanging from their embroidered pouches. The dolls had round faces, round eyes, and smiling faces. They had human upper bodies and upturned fish tails, and were quite exquisitely sewn.

Besides this, some people deliberately show off a large bunch of keys at their waist, with a round wooden carving with a thin rope threaded through the keys. The key is carved with a red-headed carp and the words "Good Fortune is Coming".

The young women hesitated for a moment, then discussed among themselves, "Why don't we save up a few more pots of grilled fish and exchange them for a few more draws? I'm determined to win today!"

“That makes sense. I’ll save some more too. Anyway, Shenji’s grilled fish is the most delicious, and I can save it up to eat whenever I want. But after the festival, I won’t be able to draw lots anymore. Besides, the VIP card is currently only 10% off, but it will become 5% off later. Saving more will be more cost-effective!”

"Come on, let's pay two more strings of cash before they're all gone!"

Cen Zhi listened intently, his heart itching with curiosity. After much deliberation, he finally tied the camel to the pillar, asked the man at the table to watch over it, and then followed him inside.

Most of the people in the shop were there to exchange their skewer numbers. Cen Zhi was at the very end of the line and only found out what was going on after asking the customers in front of him.

It turns out that Shenji Soup Dumpling Shop has come up with a new sales channel for the Lotus Viewing Festival. From what I heard, Shenji has made a batch of "VIP cards". Anyone who has ever eaten at Shenji, even if it's just a plate of fried soybeans, can become a member for free.

The shop owner, Madam Shen, registers the names, addresses, and birthdates of new members. Those who bring the "VIP card" to the shop will receive a 10% discount on purchases within the next two days, but this offer is only valid for today and tomorrow.

During these two days of celebration, each person can draw a fortune stick once for 260 coins. And the fortune sticks are not to be missed. Each fortune stick contains a gift: some give away side dishes, some give away vouchers for wine, tea and soup, some give away small fans, wood carvings, silk dolls, and some give away ceramic pots.

Cen Zhi stood on tiptoe to look, and saw that the burly man from before had already redeemed his prize. He was carrying a carved ceramic basin with lotus stems and lotus leaves on the lid, and he squeezed through the crowd and went out with a happy face.

Although this pottery basin is made of pottery, it is uniquely crafted and decorated with a distinctly antique style.

When Cen Zhi followed the crowd to the counter, he saw a beautiful young woman standing behind it, smiling and asking him, "Young master, welcome! Are you here to store fish or to exchange for lottery tickets?"

Cen Zhi then humbly asked, "What is meant by 'preserving fish'?"

"Our grilled fish costs 98 coins. If you are a VIP, you only need to buy three portions at once to enter the lottery. Our shop has exclusive services for VIPs. If you buy several portions of fish and can't finish them all by yourself, you can store them in our shop for the time being. I will make a note of it for you, and you can come back whenever you want to eat it in the future."

So that's how they store fish. Cen Zhi suddenly understood, and then looked the beautiful young woman up and down with admiration. She was a born businesswoman! What a brilliant way to sell fish!

Seriously speaking, most people who come to the shop to buy food are just buying for one meal and eating it right away. But this young lady is using this lottery method to entice everyone to buy first and eat later. Many people have saved up fish in advance in order to participate in the lottery. They've gotten so into it that some have saved up more than a dozen portions. How long will it take to eat them?

As soon as Cen Zhigang had this thought, it was as if the young woman had seen through it. She added with a smile, "The fish you store at my house isn't just for you to eat! If you store fish, I'll give you fish tickets later. If you want to give them to friends or family, they can use the tickets to redeem fish, and we'll accept that too. Besides, these tickets are valid for a whole year, so you can come whenever you want, as long as it's not a day off from the shop."

These words dispelled many people's concerns. Since they had a whole year to spare, they could eat it slowly, give it away to others, or even resell it. So what was wrong with saving more?

Cen Zhi thought to himself that this was his first time here, and he didn't know if the food at this shop was good or not. He had rashly stored several fish, and he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to finish them by the time he was about to leave Bianjing to sell his goods. Wouldn't that be a huge loss?

"Never mind, I should just go..." he thought, turning to leave, when the young woman suddenly sighed softly.

"However, my little shop is only having this fish-preserving lottery promotion for the next two days. As you can see, my shop is small, and I'm barely managing to keep up with this festival. In fact, I'm losing money entirely. If it weren't for the kindness of each of my regular customers, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to keep going. But these items are all of high quality. Look at this ceramic basin, this folding fan, this wood carving—how exquisite they are! And you can't buy them anywhere else; I specially ordered them for you. So, if you want to preserve your fish again later, you won't be able to draw these good items. I'm not saying this to sell more fish, but I just feel it's a pity you missed out on such a fun and lively event, isn't it?"

Cen Zhi's heart skipped a beat; what he couldn't stand the most was missing out on the fun! So, after thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and pulled out a small string of coins: "Three portions... of this... grilled fish?"

"Alright, what's your name? Where do you live? What month were you born in? Remember to come visit us when it's your birthday month, and we'll give you a free bowl of longevity soup noodles!"

Cen Zhi answered carefully, and then watched as the young woman filled in his name, "Cen Zhi," in the "VIP Name" column of a strange "VIP Membership Book" with horizontal and vertical lines drawn on it. She also wrote "June 14th, the third year of Baoyuan" in the "Membership Date" column, the inn where he was staying in the "Residence" column, his birthday "September 18th" in the "Birth Month" column, and finally wrote "Three" in the "Number of Fish in Stock".

After registration, the young woman tore off three pieces of cardboard made of wood pulp, pasted one end with glue, and stamped "Chen Ji Tangbing Shop" on the fish ticket. She also stamped it on the back and the sides of the three pieces of paper. In addition to the shop name and the quantity, the fish ticket had many illegible scribbles scattered around like earthworms, which was probably the young woman's anti-counterfeiting measure.

"Young Master Cen, with this fish ticket, you can go to the entrance to draw lots." The young lady smiled and cupped her hands, gesturing for the next person to come forward.

Before Cen Zhi could reply, a burly man behind him, carrying his daughter on his shoulders and already impatient, shoved him aside and slammed three strings of cash on the counter with an air of wealth.

"Save thirty copies!"

Cen Zhi was startled. Thirty portions? That's a lot!

Even the shopkeeper, Madam Shen, chimed in with advice: "My lord, save only what you can eat. You shouldn't save so much. Live within your means and save only what you can afford. I know you trust me, but you must consume rationally."

The more they tried to persuade him, the more determined he became to save the money, declaring firmly, "I'll save that much; I don't believe I won't get that silk doll."

After saying that, he gently patted his sobbing daughter and comforted her, "Don't cry, Daddy has money, I'll draw another one for you! I'll make sure you draw the most beautiful mermaid, so don't cry anymore!"

The woman sighed and deposited the money for him. After registering it, she gave him change, counted out thirty fish tickets, and stamped them all over the place. She then handed the fish tickets to the burly man with a smile: "Here you go."

The burly man immediately carried his daughter out to draw lots.

Cen Zhi also went out to draw lots, but he could only draw once, and his luck was bad; he only drew a discount coupon for drinks.

But he didn't leave, holding his camel and intently watching others draw lots. Like him, there were many people who were reluctant to draw lots themselves but wanted to watch others draw lots, so people kept gathering around the table. Some people who didn't understand why the place was so lively came over and, after finding out, also went to store their fish.

Some people, like Cen Zhi, are more rational and only keep three portions before stopping after one draw. Others, however, are stubborn and refuse to believe they are unlucky, drawing four or five, or even more than ten times in a row.

Someone quickly won some "hidden" grand prize, which was said to be a set of silk dolls, one of which was dressed in a purple robe and holding a gold ingot. Only one in dozens of dolls would win! This drew cheers from the onlookers, who were as happy as if they had won themselves. Others, however, kept failing to win and angrily threw a bunch of discount coupons on the ground. The crowd then joined in, lamenting their bad luck.

Cen Zhi stood there watching for a whole day. Several times, he watched others enjoy drawing lots, and he was tempted to save three more fish, but he restrained himself. He was a merchant who traveled far and wide, and every penny he earned was hard-earned. Moreover, he had a wife and children waiting for him at home. After thinking it over, he decided not to squander any more money.

But watching it for a whole day was extremely enjoyable, interesting, and very fun.

As night falls, Chenji Tangbing Shop prepares to serve its customers, so the table for drawing lots is moved inside. Customers who want to continue drawing lots will have to wait until the shop opens the next day.

Most of the people didn't leave. Since they had stored fish, they simply went in to retrieve the grilled fish they had stored that day and had a meal first.

Cen Zhi also drew a prize and sat down excitedly to wait. Then he saw the burly, dark-skinned man again. He was leading his wife and children, beaming with joy, carrying the exquisite ceramic pot he had drawn that day. His voice was booming. He had specially asked Madam Shen to use this lotus leaf ceramic pot to cook the grilled fish for him, instead of using an ordinary ceramic pot. Then he chose a table in the very center and sat there with his chest puffed out.

Soon after, Cen Zhi's grilled fish was served, and the big man's was also brought out.

He was even more pleased with himself, because among all the items in the shop, his earthenware pot for grilling fish was the most unique!

He ate the same new flavor as Cen Zhi: grilled fish with lotus root in a sour and spicy broth. The broth was golden yellow with a few specks of chili peppers floating on top, and thin lotus root strips lay under the fish. It was served in a lotus leaf bowl, which was very fitting and made the dish look and smell delicious.

Many diners who had spent the whole day drawing lots but hadn't won the ceramic pot immediately gathered around. Some praised their good luck, some praised the lifelike lotus leaves, and others praised the carving... In short, even if they didn't think much of what they had before, seeing others with it made everything seem better.

Earthenware basins are not as expensive as porcelain, and were even considered cheap and lowly in the past. However, Lady Shen gave them a value based on their rarity, as they could only be obtained by drawing lots. As a result, the value of the earthenware basin itself was no longer mentioned; people only remembered that it was "hard to obtain," which made it expensive.

Cen Zhi, being a businessman, easily saw through the tricks of the trade, but he couldn't deny that Madam Shen's ingenuity was indeed captivating. He looked down at his grilled fish, the chili oil floating on top, the fish's fresh aroma tinged with a strong sour and spicy scent that made his mouth water and eager to taste it.

He took a bite; the fish was very fresh and tender, not mushy or crumbly, but still elastic. Some of the fish meat separated from the bones, and he could even see the slightly pinkish blood lines between the white and tender fish meat, indicating that it was indeed a freshly killed live fish, and the ingredients were of good quality.

Cen Zhi nodded, took another sip of soup, and the sour and spicy sensation exploded on his tongue. It was spicy but not dry, and sour but just right. He immediately had a great appetite!

The fish is fresh, the broth is rich, and the lotus root at the bottom is especially tender and crisp, like bamboo shoots. Soaked in the sour and spicy broth, it makes a satisfying crunch when you chew it, bursting with flavor. Pair it with a bowl of perfectly steamed, dry rice, and scoop a spoonful of the sour broth over it—it's an even more delightful meal!

After eating the fish, Cen Zhi felt warm and refreshed all over.

He wiped his sweat, let out a satisfied sigh, and thought to himself, he finally understood why so many diners were willing to come to Shen Ji Restaurant to keep so many fish. Madam Shen had many tricks up her sleeve to attract customers, but the reason everyone was willing to take the bait was because of her excellent cooking skills!

Why not spend some money to store a few of these delicious grilled fish in advance? Besides, you can draw lots after storing them, and it's definitely more affordable than usual, so why not store them?

Even Cen Zhi was making plans while eating. This Shenji grilled fish comes in three flavors, and he plans to come back to eat it tomorrow and the day after. He also happened to have three fish saved up, so he can try all the flavors.

Otherwise, he felt it wasn't enough.

Huh? Could this be the reason why Madam Shen "pulled three fish at a time"? She's truly extremely shrewd.

Cen Zhi later redeemed his wine voucher. Originally, he only planned to buy a small pot of wine to slowly enjoy with the fish, but unexpectedly, Madam Shen pointed to a line of small print on the wine voucher and said that it could only be used after buying three pots of wine!

He was initially a little angry, thinking that this Madam Shen was too cunning, but then she said, "If we can't finish this wine, we can store it. On average, a pot of wine is three coins cheaper than buying it individually! It's still your wine, but we bought it in advance. Isn't that better?"

So he was persuaded again and obediently paid forty-five coins. He drank one pot today and stored two more.

As he ate the fish, he thought to himself, after all, he still had two fish left, which, along with two jugs of wine, would be just right... Later, Cen Zhi got so drunk that he no longer realized that even as a seasoned merchant, he had "plop" fallen into this seemingly reasonable trap, which was called "advance consumption."

He slowly finished a pot of fish, drank a pot of wine, and walked out of the shop with unsteady steps and a burp.

The camel was still tethered. He stared at his camel, his eyes blurry with drunkenness, trying to make out its features for a long time, counting it on his fingers, but he still couldn't figure it out: "Hiccup, I... how come I have three camels? No, no, this camel... how come it has three heads?"

The camel, which had been tethered by its owner for a day and long forgotten, was pawing at its hooves in hunger and agitation. The drunken, ungrateful owner even tried to climb on top of it and ride it. The camel's stubborn temper flared up immediately. It turned its head sharply, glared at him angrily, and forcefully spat saliva all over his head and face.

"You beast! Have you ever thought of rebelling?" Cen Zhi cursed angrily.

The only response Cen Zhi received was the camel's foul-smelling saliva.

***

As night deepened, Shen Miao finally saw off the last table of guests.

For the first time, she was so busy that her back ached. As she closed the door, she pondered, "It seems the event was quite successful?" She had originally thought no one would be willing to deposit their money, since it required trust. What if you close the shop and run off with the money? To dispel such concerns, she had to demonstrate real strength.

She wanted to convince everyone that she wouldn't go out of business, and the key was whether the fish was cooked well.

If you do a good job, business is good, people love to eat it, and they are willing to store it.

So this activity can only be done at this time. It won't work when the shop first opens, nor when new dishes have just been introduced and customers haven't been accumulated yet. It just so happens that other shops have also started offering grilled fish, so it's a lucky coincidence that it helped promote her. After all, everyone who goes there will say, "So-and-so shop also has grilled fish like Shen Ji now!" or "So-and-so shop's grilled fish is so much better than Shen Ji's."

She was the first to do this, and most people who had eaten her fish couldn't forget her. Even if they had a "new love" elsewhere, they would secretly compare her to her "old flame." At this point, organizing an event would be just like a fish in water.

After closing the shop, Shen Miao went back to the backyard to take a look. You Yu was so tired from washing the pottery basins that she was dozing off. Aunt Gu also went back, rubbing her aching back. Xiang Jie and Chen Chuan hadn't even washed their faces before they lay down on the front porch and fell asleep.

Fortunately, it's hot today, otherwise the two of them would have caught a cold sleeping like this.

Shen Miao brought blankets to cover them up. The shop was closing too late today. Fortunately, Shen Miao had anticipated this and told Aunt Nian in advance that Youyu could sleep at her place after "working overtime".

She sent Yu to rest, and said she would wash the rest of the earthenware basins first thing tomorrow morning.

Thunder and Wind Chaser also lay down to sleep by the courtyard gate. Wind Chaser even snored in his sleep, the high and low sounds like a saw, which made Thunder use his two front paws to forcefully pull at his ears, his brows furrowed in his sleep.

Shen Miao extinguished the lanterns in the courtyard, and carried the candlesticks by herself, making two trips to move the money she had collected that day into the cellar. Then she happily did her accounting in the cellar.

Today, she has recruited about a hundred members. Among them, about a third are just trying it out, saving three times. Even if they don't get anything good, they won't save anymore. This group of people are the ones who are careful with their money.

The remaining third are those who have a lot of spare money and live comfortably. They will save ten or twenty coins, and take whatever they get. They are easily satisfied, still have some sense, and will not save too much.

There was another small group of people, the legendary "tycoons" who would spend a fortune. They not only wanted to draw, but also to collect them all! Shen Miao remembered that the person who had the most was a chubby official who had collected eighty of them. He only stopped when he won the purple-robed mermaid blind box doll.

Surrounded by a pile of copper coins, Shen Miao counted them until her hands ached, and she still hadn't finished counting. Moreover, there were quite a few pieces of silver in there, and she would have to weigh them later to find out exactly how much there was.

However, this doesn't count as profit, since most people won't pay for the fish anymore! We'll have to check the accounts later to see how many fish we haven't claimed before we can deduct the costs and calculate the gross profit.

Shen Miao carefully put away the money before returning home to rest, feeling both tired and happy.

Her lottery event is still a day away, so she needs to be well-rested. Everyone just learned how to play the blind box game today, and there will probably be even more guests tomorrow.

She had already posted a notice that she would be closing for half a day the day after tomorrow, asking customers not to make a wasted trip. So, the only day left is the last day for the festival fortune-telling.

She had to go to the Xie family's banquet. She mentally went over her investment pitch, which she had been thinking about for days, several times to make sure it was polite, reasonable, and persuasive.

Kang, the shopkeeper who had been watching in despair at the entrance of Shen's shop all day, returned to his shop with a broken heart. He sat behind the counter, propped his forehead up, and sighed incessantly.

His heart was ice-cold.

A quick-witted young shop assistant came over and whispered a suggestion: "Shopkeeper, why are you sighing? If Madam Shen is using this trick, we can do the same! Starting tomorrow, we can issue some kind of VIP card and let everyone store their fish, wouldn't that be great?"

Manager Kang looked at him as if he were an idiot, poked his pockmarked face away with his finger, and said weakly, "I ask you, if you had a lot of fish stored at Shen's, would you still go to other shops to eat?"

The young waiter was speechless: "This..."

"Besides, do you think we can conjure up so many strange and extravagant gifts for our guests tomorrow? Do you think it's that easy, that we can accomplish it with just a few words?" Manager Kang was furious. "He usually seems so clever, but who knew he was such a fool!"

The young man dared not speak.

Manager Kang scratched his head in frustration.

He underestimated them. They didn't stay still earlier not out of fear, but rather because they didn't take them seriously!

She used some VIP card and limited-time lottery system to keep as many customers as possible in her shop, making a fortune for herself and easily breaking through their suppression and encirclement.

Why couldn't the people in his shop come up with such a great idea?

Manager Kang impatiently chased the waiter away and continued to sigh.

***

The Xie residence is located on West Street, near the Bell and Drum Tower of Daxiangguo Temple.

Holding the two dolls she had drawn, Xie Shiyi Niang hummed a line from "Wang Xianggong Divorces His Wife" as she went to find the embroiderer in charge of sewing and altering clothes at home. She wanted the embroiderer to make two clothes for her dolls!

She remembered that the little doll was quite pretty, with a round head, round body, and round tail. The mermaid doll she had drawn had an orange tail and was extremely cute, but the clothes on it were too perfunctory and the material was not good. She wanted to use Xiangyun yarn to make clothes for the doll!

As Shiyi Niang walked excitedly across the threshold of the embroidery room in the northwest courtyard, which was in charge of clothing, she was surprised to find that Jiu Ge'er was also inside.

The family's most skilled embroiderer was hanging a jade-green straight-collared jacket with a silver-threaded lotus flower embroidery on a high shelf, showing it to him while pulling on the sleeve.

Ninth Brother just finished his break from the academy, what is he doing here? Eleventh Sister was startled at first, then her gaze couldn't help but fall on the clothes, and she couldn't look away for a long time.

This dress is so beautifully embroidered! The silk is like clouds, as if it were cut from mist to form a skirt, as if it had brought to life the line "wearing a blue cloud and a white rainbow skirt" from the Chu Ci.

However... as beautiful as it is, who is this dress for?

Shiyi Niang blinked, then suddenly felt a surge of joy: Could it be... a surprise that her brother had specially prepared for her?