"In principle, I should treat you gentlemen to a meal to express my gratitude. However, I am worried that you are all busy with official duties and have other matters to attend to, so I cannot stay too long. This is just a small token of my appreciation. I hope you will accept it."

The shopkeeper was about to refuse when Meng Zhao quickly stuffed it into his hand. "Sir, please don't refuse. It's just a little bit of money for good luck. Consider it a way for everyone to share in the joy brought by this plaque. I hope you won't find it offensive."

Because he hadn't prepared in advance, Meng Zhao came out on short notice. He still had about seven or eight taels of silver in his purse, and it really hurt to give it all away. But if he took it out to give away more, it would be too conspicuous and also a bit awkward. After all, the households ahead of him were all big merchants, and he figured they would give generous rewards.

The man stopped refusing and accepted it. Although they worked in the government office, they didn't earn much more than ordinary people. In the past, they could collect protection money, but now the new magistrate was strict, and such things had become much less common.

They've come to deliver something; the money they received isn't considered protection money, so they don't feel guilty accepting it. They can't just let them make a wasted trip.

The people who received the money were very generous. Seeing that there were only women in their shop, they offered to help them with the loading and unloading. Meng Zhao was naturally happy and thanked them profusely.

Since it was written by the county magistrate himself, it naturally had to be placed in the most conspicuous position. Meng Zhao moved their original plaque to the side and placed this plaque in the next position.

Standing in front of the shop and looking up, all you could see was "Meng's Braised Offal, Kind and Benevolent Merchants," which made Meng Zhao a little embarrassed.

She had just inquired with Wu Rongzhou and learned that a total of five households had received inscriptions from the county magistrate, with the first being the Song family from the county.

I heard that they were the first family to distribute porridge outside the city gate. Moreover, even in years without disasters, the Song family would send people out to give medicine and porridge during festivals. They were well-known for their benevolence in the county. No one in the county would object to giving them this plaque.

The second piece was delivered to the Xiao family. At first, the Xiao family was not very cooperative, but later they handled the matter of recruiting manpower from disaster victims and refugees extremely well. At the same time, it inspired many other merchants to recruit manpower from disaster victims and refugees. The county magistrate praised them highly.

The other two businesses were also merchants who later followed the magistrate's orders. Each of them donated several hundred taels of silver and expanded their workforce.

If we're really talking about it, Meng Zhao's was the easiest to get. She only spent a few dozen taels of silver and got a personal signature from the county magistrate. I wonder how many merchants are gritting their teeth in envy.

Having received this plaque, he naturally felt he had to give something in return, so he took another fifty taels of silver and delivered it directly to the donation office.

Although there was someone trying to steal her business, fortunately, her business with Chunfenglou was highly profitable, and she had made a lot of money. Moreover, with the county magistrate in charge, the money would actually go into the stomachs of the disaster victims, so Meng Zhao didn't feel too bad about it.

Merchants have a low social status; how can they find a backer without actually paying some money?

When Meng Zhao returned from the donation center, a crowd of onlookers had already gathered in front of her shop, just as many as those at Zhao's Braised Pork Shop across the street.

In the days following the delivery of the plaque, Mengzhao became a popular spot for tourists to take photos in ancient times. Many people wanted to come and see it, after all, it was a plaque personally bestowed by the county magistrate with the words "benevolence and kindness," so how could the food not be delicious? They had to try it no matter what.

Those who were unaware of the situation were curious when they saw the two plaques on Meng Zhao's shop.

He couldn't help but look doubtful. "Ha, what kind of merchant would so openly boast about being benevolent?"

If someone nearby knew the situation, they would explain to him, "That's what you don't understand. This plaque was written by the county magistrate himself, to commend the owner of Mengji for his generous donation to help the victims of the snow disaster. There are only five such plaques in the whole county."

The scholar understood after hearing the explanation, raised his hand to bow to the plaque, went into the shop and bought two pieces of braised meat, as a way of supporting the business.

However, this lively atmosphere didn't last long. After about ten days, the surrounding residents got used to it. But at least it helped Meng Zhao get through the few days of low-price discounts when the store opened across the street. The business in the shop was not only unaffected, but was even better than before the Lunar New Year.

Seeing that Meng Zhao's shop was still thriving after several days, Zhao Shida was furious and called Manager Zhou over to reprimand him.

"Is this the job you've done? Didn't I tell you to get rid of them? How come their business is getting better and better?"

Manager Zhou looked helpless in the face of his young master's scolding. Ever since his young master wanted to open this shop, he had not been optimistic about it. Now that the discount was over, all the customers had gone to the other side of the street. He had tried many ways to make sure that he didn't lose money, which was already the best he could do.

“Young master, Meng’s braised meat has a unique recipe that we can’t match. If you ask me, why don’t we turn it into a tavern? When we bought the shop, we also bought the brewing recipe, so it can come in handy now.”

Zhao Shida would naturally not agree. Although he didn't manage the shop's affairs much, this was his first time participating in business. When he opened the shop, he had made a promise to his father.

Moreover, his main purpose was to oust Meng Zhao, and now that it's been turned into a tavern, wouldn't all his efforts have been in vain?

"I'd say you're an idiot. You can't even handle something this simple. Can't you use your brain and figure out how to get her secret recipe? Once you have that recipe, you'll be able to beat her!" Zhao Shida got angrier and angrier and couldn't help but curse.

Upon hearing this, Manager Zhou's eyes widened immediately. "Young Master, this is absolutely unacceptable! Stealing someone else's trade secrets is a serious crime. If discovered, you'll be thrown in jail."

Zhao Shida was blinded by rage and wouldn't listen to Manager Zhou's advice. He threw the book in his hand at Manager Zhou and said, "Don't give me any of that high-sounding advice. I'm just asking you, can you do this job? If you can't, get out of here right now!"

Manager Zhou shook his head firmly. Opening a shop across from someone else's and trying to imitate their skills and dishes is at most breaking the rules, but if he actually steals the recipe, then he is truly violating the law and undermining the order.

Although he worked for the Zhao family, he was not sold into servitude to them, so he didn't do everything.

Seeing that he wouldn't agree, Zhao Shida was furious, but this Zhou fellow was especially favored by his own father, so he couldn't really kick him out. With nowhere to vent his anger, he could only call a few of his former lackeys out for drinks. Seeing his displeasure, one of them, after hearing what he had said, immediately said:

"Your subordinates are disobedient? That's easy! Just find a suitable reason to kick them out. He's just a small shopkeeper. As the young master, do you think he'll ride roughshod over you? I happen to have an extremely obedient and capable person here. When you meet him, if you like him, I'll give him to you directly. I guarantee he can handle your affairs perfectly."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Shida's eyes lit up slightly. "What method do you have to get rid of him?"

The man sneered and whispered something in Zhao Shida's ear.