Chapter 253 Crisis

They ran until dark, and only stopped when the faint light of the fire at Suijin Pass appeared in front of them.

Abu went alone to knock on the door.

Qiao San was tied to the horse's back and tossed about for a whole day. He fainted several times before finally waking up again, muttering, "If I had known it would be so hard, I would have died on the grassland!"

Of course he did not die. He stayed in Baolinju until dawn, and after getting the pass issued by the mayor, Mr. Zhang, he left quietly.

He didn't meet the townspeople because he was afraid of being asked where the others were and how he had gotten through all these years.

Seeing that someone had returned alive from the Di tribe and that her son might still be alive, Yunniang fainted from crying once and then cheered up. She wanted to live a good life and save money to buy her son back.

Han Ming dragged Song Zhenping to get drunk. As long as he was alive, the guilt and discomfort in his heart would disappear.

Seeing Yunniang crying, Yuquan, who had never been to the Wu Dynasty, also started crying.

She had heard from beggar mother that the Wuda tribe used to be bustling with hundreds of people.

But in just a few days, the tribe was destroyed, and less than a hundred people were able to follow the lady to escape to Xishi Pass.

Until now, every year when the first snow falls in winter, the women in the tribe will sit together and cry and sing for several days.

Yunniang was originally filled with hatred when she heard that Yuquan was a girl from the Di tribe.

It can be seen that after she cried, she could no longer hate Yuquan when she heard that all the men in his family had died in the war.

The two women who shared the same pain hugged each other and cried bitterly.

The people of the Wu Dynasty and the Di Lu people hated the most those cruel and ruthless thugs who killed people for money.

On the second day, Song Liyun, who was on vacation for six days, left Yuquan at home and took Zhao Tingduo to Qili County.

As soon as she entered Tianxiang Tower, she found something wrong.

Although it’s not dinner time yet, the store is so quiet!

Lin Tao frowned and calculated his calculations on the abacus, while Zhou Xiang and two guards sat at the table, their chins propped up in their hands, in a daze.

Sun Wencheng, wearing a red silk belt, occasionally wiped the dust off the counter with a handkerchief in his hand, but his eyes were staring outside.

When he saw Song Liyun, he immediately shouted, "Manager Song is well!"

"Manager Song is here!"

"Manager Song is here!"

Suddenly, not only the waiters in the lobby came over, but Zhou Sizhu, Juanniang and several kitchen helpers also came out from the kitchen.

After Zhou Xiang exchanged greetings with Zhao Tingduo, he pushed Sun Wencheng and the others aside and shouted, "Go do what you need to do! Don't just stand there!"

Lin Tao also had a lot to say, so he asked Song Liyun to go to the private room upstairs to talk.

Song Liyun looked at the empty lobby and had something to say.

So Zhou Sizhu, Zhou Xiang and Lin Tao followed him up to the second floor.

Before Song Liyun could speak, Zhou Xiang said, "Miss Song, will the method you proposed work? Several restaurants have started grilling skewers!"

Lin Tao said with a worried look on his face, "Yesterday's turnover was only thirteen taels! With today's situation, I'm afraid there won't even be five taels!"

Zhou Sizhu had a stern face and said nothing. He has been introducing new dishes continuously these past two days. Although the customers all said they were good, they couldn't become popular right away.

After they finished speaking, Song Liyun looked at everyone's gloomy faces and said, "Everyone was fine before they left. What exactly happened? Please explain clearly first!"

Although there were rumors in the city before she left, the business of Tianxianglou was not greatly affected, and the turnover did not drop from seventy or eighty taels of silver to ten taels.

When she said this, Zhou Xiang and the others remembered that Song Liyun had been gone for six days and knew nothing about what had recently happened in the city. So they hurriedly told her the whole story from beginning to end.

It turns out that when the rumor that Tianxianglou's skewers were learned from a master started, many people in Qili County still didn't believe it.

Anyone who has eaten grilled lamb chops and grilled skewers knows that grilled skewers have a richer flavor, with a spicy and numbing taste.

But starting three days ago, Jinxilou suddenly launched grilled skewers, and even learned the way Tianxianglou did when it opened, placing the grills outside the store for people to taste for free.

It is also spicy, but the numbness is mixed with bitterness, which is just mixed with the spicy stimulation and most people cannot taste it.

In addition to eating free kebabs outside the door, Jinxilou also has a trick: just say "This is the authentic Gaochu kebab" and you can enter the store to enjoy half-price grilled lamb chops and other dishes and drinks.

Jinxilou is one of the best restaurants in Qili County and is well-known. Almost everyone was attracted by the price reduction.

Regardless of whether it tastes good or not, the price is definitely attractive.

As a result, many families who had originally planned to host a banquet came to Jinxilou for the meal.

It’s half price here, and you can also eat the same skewers as at Tianxianglou, killing two birds with one stone.

"So, Jinxilou's half-price offer has lured away all the diners from Tianxianglou?" Song Liyun tapped the table with her index finger.

"No, it's not just Jinxilou. Zuichunlou and Heji Restaurant also followed suit yesterday and started giving away barbecue skewers and selling dishes at half price!" Lin Tao's eyebrows were almost twisted into knots.

"Oh! This is a joint effort! Don't worry, everyone. Our previous plan will continue as usual."

Song Liyun comforted everyone.

Although Song Liyun had made plans in advance, the participation of several families in Zuichunlou was somewhat unexpected, which made Zhou Xiang and others lose their patience.

However, this half-price offer requires real money, and no one can sustain it for a few days.

Before the end of the world, various marketing methods emerged one after another. As long as the price returned to normal, a few customers could be retained, and the key was real ingredients.

Now, let those companies run rampant for a while longer.

After making all the arrangements, Sun Wencheng and his men ran to the store door, shouting to attract customers.

Zhou Sizhu also went back to the kitchen to tinker with the dishes.

Seeing that the atmosphere in Tianxianglou was a bit depressing, Song Liyun found herself at a loss for words and simply asked something to cheer everyone up: "Brother Zhou, Brother Lin, I heard that the sisters-in-law are on their way. Do you want to take a few days off to prepare for your new home? Is there anything else you need so I can ask my brother to add it."

Now that the autumn harvest is over in various places, family members who want to visit relatives in the military camp have begun packing their luggage.

Captain Luo also leveled out a large piece of residential land, and with the same spirit he had used to build the garrison last year, he brought in several hundred people to build houses.

The situation is different this year. The taxes from various prefectures in Yunzhou only need to be reported to the Ministry of Revenue first, and then transferred to the Zhenbei Army as military pay.

In addition to the receipt of previously owed food and wages, the Suijin Guards are no longer short of money and the project is progressing rapidly.

When they heard about settling down, Zhou Xiang and Lin Tao both smiled.

Zhou Xiang said, "I'm not in a hurry yet. I have to wait a month for my family to come and see me."

Zhou Xiang received a letter from home a few days ago, saying that the whole family, young and old, would come.

The grain has been stored in the warehouse, but the chickens, ducks and pigs and other livestock cannot be dealt with for the time being. The old mother wants to wait another month until the pigs are fatter and then slaughter them before leaving. The weather is cold and the meat will be wasted.

There is only his wife and child at Lin Tao's home, and the trip will arrive in three days.

Now the brothers from the garrison are helping to prepare the house. He just needs to wait for his wife to arrive and then buy some pots and pans. These things can be sold in Suijin Town and can be done in minutes.

(End of this chapter)