Chapter 144 Bichun Tower

"In my opinion, Mother doesn't necessarily need to choose to cooperate with those declining families. Why not look at those who can rival the Xu family? I think Bichunlou is quite good. Despite the Xu family's suppression, it has managed to open three restaurants in the prefectural city without failing."

During this period, Zhou Chengzhu occasionally visited the Liu family to receive guidance from Old Madam Gu and her close friends, and also dealt with merchants in the prefectural city. Now, her experience was quite different from before. Remembering that she had heard Old Madam Liu mention Bichunlou before, she took the initiative to bring it up.

"Bichunlou?" Song Yushu did not ignore Zhou Chengzhu's opinion just because she was young. On the contrary, she thought it was a good idea. However, she had to find out about the owner of Bichunlou. If he was a good person, she could consider making contact with him.

"The owner of Bichunlou is surnamed Yu, Yu Chunming. His wife and the old woman know each other. His grandfather was once a royal chef in the palace. His cooking skills are superb. It is indeed much better to cooperate with them than with other people," Master Liu said, perking up when he heard about Bichunlou.

"So that's how it is," Song Yushu said, and immediately thought that he must go to Bichunlou to try the dishes there.

So, on a day when Zhou Chengyu was on leave, the mother and her two sons went to Bichunlou for a meal.

Bichunlou was in a good location, situated on Dongping Street, the most bustling street in the prefectural city. However, when Song Yushu took his two children there, there weren't many people.

"What would you like to eat, sir?" The waiter greeted them warmly.

Song Yushu ordered six dishes and two signature dim sum dishes, all of which were main courses and naturally not cheap. However, it was a rare treat to take the children out for a meal, so if the food was good, they should eat something nice. She also had to pack some food for Xiong Erni, otherwise, leaving her to watch the restaurant while the three of them went out to eat something delicious, Song Yushu always felt a pang of conscience.

"Alright! Please wait a moment, sir!" The waiter smiled even more broadly when he saw that she had ordered all of the restaurant's signature dishes.

Before the dishes were served, Song Yushu thought that Bichunlou's business was pretty good, but after the dishes were served, Song Yushu felt that such skills should not only have so many customers. He thought that compared with their culinary skills, Bichunlou's reputation was still too low-key.

The skills were indeed excellent, and the plating was also very exquisite. As expected of descendants of imperial chefs, they were treated like emperors today. I thought that the mother and son would not be able to finish the snacks and dishes on the table in three days, but they ate all the food on the table and even packed some snacks and some of their favorite dishes to take home.

"The meal cost ten taels, so it wasn't a waste of money," Song Yushu said, giving the silver willingly.

"Take care, guest."

"I wonder if your master is here? I have something I'd like to discuss with him," Song Yushu inquired.

"Perhaps you could come back in a couple of days? Our owner is busy with other matters these days and is probably unable to receive guests," the shopkeeper said, seeing that she seemed sincere.

"Okay, please tell them for me," Song Yushu said, and took the child back home after learning that the restaurant owner was not there.

Song Yushu brought the packed food and snacks to the restaurant for Xiong Erni to try as well.

Xiong Erni was surprised to find herself in a share of the food and happily enjoyed it.

"The dishes at Bichunlou are not only beautiful to look at, but they also taste good. They're better than the food at Xu's restaurant. How come I've never heard of this restaurant before?" Xiong Erni burped and then asked.

Why doesn't our restaurant serve these dishes?

"I think you've lost your mind. Look at the kind of people who eat at our restaurant. We have to consider whether they can afford what we cook," Song Yushu said. Her restaurant's target customers have always been ordinary people. She doesn't plan to cook fancy dishes, since not many people can afford them. It's better to cook something down-to-earth.

Bichunlou and the Xu family's restaurant both target the high-end market and cater to the same clientele, so they naturally compete with each other.

Judging from the culinary skills and standards of Bichunlou, Song Yushu knew that Boss Yu must have a longer-term vision. However, with the suppression of the Xu family, it would take some time for him to rise to prominence. He was keeping a low profile now probably to avoid attracting too much attention from the Xu family.

"I wonder what business Madam Wei has with me?" Yu Chunming and Song Yushu eventually met at the restaurant.

"Mr. Yu is so smart, he should be able to guess my purpose. I wonder if Mr. Yu is interested in cooperating?" Seeing that he knew his identity, Song Yushu did not say anything more.

“Bichunlou is not yet capable of confronting the Xu family,” Yu Chunming said, his smile fading.

“Mr. Yu, by then, who knows if the Xu family’s strength won’t have risen even higher?” Song Yushu knew that he had concerns. After all, he had kept a low profile for so long, and suddenly showing off his strength was not in line with Mr. Yu’s style.

"Is this how Boss Wei persuaded the Bai family back then?" Boss Yu asked curiously.

"Of course not. When we first partnered with the Bai family, they were just struggling to make ends meet with only one bookstore. Naturally, they didn't have as many concerns as Mr. Yu. So I won't pressure Mr. Yu. After all, every family has its own problems. If Mr. Yu has thought things through in three days, he can give me a reply."

"How do you want to cooperate? The recipe for that cheap paper back then allowed the Bai family to make a comeback, but when it comes to food, I suppose Mr. Wei has tasted the dishes of my Bichunlou. Does Mr. Wei know more recipes than I, a descendant of an imperial chef?"

Boss Yu didn't want to give up this opportunity, but he didn't think Song Yushu could take Bichunlou to the next level. After all, he was confident that Bichunlou was the restaurant with the best dishes in the city.

"In terms of culinary skills, Bichunlou is indeed impeccable, but in terms of reputation, Bichunlou is far less well-known than Xu Family Restaurant. If someone hadn't mentioned that Bichunlou was able to continue operating despite the suppression by the Xu family, I would never have heard of Bichunlou's reputation."

“If it weren’t for the Xu family’s power, Bichunlou wouldn’t be able to compete head-on. Bichunlou might not be any worse than the Xu family’s restaurant! The current situation is just to gain a foothold in the prefectural city.” Although Yu Chunming knew that the place Song Yushu mentioned was indeed Bichunlou’s weakness, he did not think that Bichunlou was strong enough to compete with the Xu family, nor did he want to waste his years of hard work.

“I understand what Mr. Yu means. Why don’t you come to my restaurant in a couple of days when you have some free time? I will treat you to a good meal and some fine wine,” Song Yushu knew that she could persuade Yu Chunming with just a few words. She planned to invite him over for a meal to show her sincerity.

Grandpa Liu wasn't surprised that Song Yushu had run into a snag with Yu Chunming. When he saw her coming over, he assumed she wanted his advice. But he never expected that she had come to invite him to dinner in two days.

"You're not thinking of asking me to persuade Yu Chunming for you, are you? You're sorely mistaken. Yu Chunming is cautious by nature, and it won't be easy to persuade him," Grandpa Liu warned her, fearing she would waste her time.