Little Fu Bao was also carrying a small red lantern. "Little child, little child, don't be greedy. After the Laba Festival, it's almost New Year. On the 23rd, sticky candy; on the 24th, write the character '福' (fortune); on the 25th, sweep away the dust..."

As she walked, Niu Baolan and Niu Baozhu followed behind, handing out trays of food to the onlookers for them to taste.

"This little girl is so pretty, all pink and delicate! And this food is delicious! So delicious!"

"I'll have a bite too!"

"Let's try some too!"

"That baby boy is handsome too! What kind of family could produce such a perfect couple!"

Niu Baozhu was dressed as a boy, with the character "Lu" embroidered on her body, so many customers thought she was a boy.

After the three little children finished serving the dishes, the dancers from Fengtianlou, who had been invited, brought out the dishes and danced. In an instant, the aroma and flavors filled the air, making everyone's mouths water.

Many people have already entered the store.

"Our store is newly opened, and for the first three days, every customer will have one chance to win a prize. Each day, we will have one first-class prize, eleven second-class prizes, thirty-three third-class prizes, and everyone will receive a participation prize."

"The top prize winner will receive four dishes: Dongpo pork, braised chicken, spicy chicken, and smoked duck. The second-place winner will receive the restaurant's signature dishes: Dongpo cuisine, pickled fish, and braised chicken. The third-place winner will receive one serving each of the secret-recipe Dongpo pork and braised chicken."

"The 'Second Prize' is a special offer, with each dish discounted by one-third."

"The top three prizes include a complimentary dish of pickled vegetables made by my wife. The lucky draw starts when you order, and the customer who orders the most dishes gets an extra draw."

Niu Dadao.

The poor families in the county town are not like those in the townships. After all, it is a county town, and there are quite a few families with some wealth.

Even the poor, hoping to take advantage of the benefits of that one-jia (a unit of land measurement), gathered around a table with their acquaintances and ordered a few dishes.

"This dish is delicious! This restaurant has great cooking skills!"

"It's delicious! I think it's even better than what the chef at Zuixianglou makes! When did our county get two chefs like this?"

"It's a hit! It's a hit!"

"It's a hit! It's a hit!"

"I won too! Haha!"

Although Niu Da established the top prize, he did not put the top three winners (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua) into the same lottery box on the same day.

Upon hearing that someone had won, and that there were quite a few winners, everyone was excited. The food at Wei Xiang Guan was indeed very good, and everyone was willing to order more.

Niu Cuihua was in charge of collecting money on the side; she was extremely fast at calculating accounts.

Niu Er and the two servants arranged by Xue Huaimin were in charge of serving the guests, and the business of Weixiang Restaurant was much better than they had expected.

The runner-up prize was placed in the raffle paper for the next day, which attracted hundreds of guests, which was somewhat beyond Niu Da's expectations. He hadn't prepared that many tables and chairs, so he had to borrow a dozen or so from various sources.

Among the diners were quite a few young masters who were very generous, ordering dishes that cost fifty or sixty taels of silver each.

There was a wealthy young man named Li, the son of Prefect Li. He got a second chance to draw a prize. He reached out and touched the prize, and luckily, he drew the runner-up prize.

I also sent him a few more dishes.

Although a lot of food was given away, Niu Da's restaurant did not lose money. Xue Huaimin had said that it was all about small profits and quick turnover, so those people ordered a lot more dishes in order to get a second chance to win the lottery.

"Boss, can I take away all the leftovers?"

"Sure, sure! Go over there and get your discs, then pack them up!" The discs cost five coins each, and you get your money back if you return them.

"Boss, could you deliver the complimentary dishes to our house? Your food is delicious; I'd like to send some to my parents to try!"

“Of course! May I ask your name?” Niu Er asked.

“…”

Niu Da instructed a servant to deliver the dishes to the guest's residence.

These past three days I've been busy until late at night every day. Although it's been tough, seeing these gleaming copper coins and gleaming silver coins makes me feel at ease.

After the three-day grand opening ceremony, Niu Da, Niu Er, Chen Yu, and Niu Cuihua sat together counting their money.

Niu Er counted the silver, while Niu Da, Niu Cuihua, and Chen Yu counted the copper coins. Before they started counting, Niu Cuihua said:

"I don't think I need to count. I know how much I've earned in these three days. I've made about 85 strings of cash and 432 cash, which is 34 taels of silver."

But Niu Da was still a little worried and insisted on counting. He found that Xiao Fubao, Niu Baolan, and Niu Baozhu were playing hide-and-seek in the shop.

Little Fu Bao squatted down with her little bottom sticking out and said in a childish voice, "I've come to find you! Hide well! I can see your feet!"

Niu Baolan always only knew how to hide in the same place, while four-year-old Niu Baozhu was more clever and knew how to hide everywhere.

Shen Yu looked at Xiao Fu Bao with affection and whispered, "Xiao Fu Bao, your sister Bao Zhu is over there!"

Following the direction Chen Yu pointed, Xiao Fu Bao looked towards the back door of the shop. "Sister Bao Zhu, Xiao Fu Bao has found you!"

Niu Baozhu said, "It's my turn to find you! Hide quickly!"

The little kids were having a great time.

Niu Da's belly started rumbling, and he realized he hadn't eaten dinner yet. He was so busy making money and happy that he had forgotten about eating!

The servants and helpers that Xue Huaimin had arranged were sent home after dinner at dusk, leaving the Niu family to take care of the six or seven tables of guests.

Ms. Shen cooked two simple side dishes and made a pot of braised pork, which the family ate as is.

On the afternoon of the fourth day, since the grand opening ceremony had already passed, although the store was full of guests, some guests did not arrive in droves as they had on the opening day.

Niu Er drove his half-grown ox and the newly bought oxcart back to Niushan Village with Niu Cuihua and the three little children.

Niu Da plans to come back in a few days.

The restaurant was doing so well that the helper plus Niu Da and the Shen couple were a bit too busy. So Niu Da had the literate helper write a recruitment notice at the door.

A young man, dressed in tattered clothes, stood at the entrance of Weixiang Restaurant and asked tremblingly, "Boss, are you hiring?"

Niu Da sized up the young man in front of him. He was very thin, his eyes were shining as he stared at the rice he was cooking, and he was wearing a shirt with seventeen or eighteen patches on it. The soles of his straw sandals had obviously come off and were being sewn back together by the boy.

Although their clothes were worn, they were clean and tidy.

Perhaps because he was too hungry, he was hunched over and looked very thin. Although Niu Da was easily moved to pity, he was not a philanthropist.

We do not hire child laborers here.

He looks no more than fifteen.

"Boss, I'm fifteen, and I have a household registration!" The boy took out a piece of paper from his sleeve, and Niu Da took it and asked the helper to show it to him.

The helper glanced around and asked, "Who lives in the house?"

"I have only one younger brother, who is eight years old, and a younger sister, who is nine years old. My parents died two years ago."

Can you write your name and place of origin?

"meeting"

"I'll make you a set of clothes from the shop first. Memorize this script and come back tomorrow!" The helper measured Sang Yu's measurements.