"Lord Lu is too kind. I'm fine. It's just that the table and chairs got damaged. Luckily, Lord Lu arrived in time, otherwise my little shop would have been demolished."
Gan Li dusted herself off and smiled at Lu Yuan, her tone a mix of relief and teasing.
Lu Yuan laughed heartily, stroked his beard, and said loudly:
"Manager Gan is joking... Actually, I have come here today to announce something, and it is related to Manager Gan."
Ganli already had a guess in her heart. She glanced at the thing covered with red silk cloth out of the corner of her eye and smiled without saying a word.
The others, unaware of this, turned their attention to Lu Yuan and Gan Li upon hearing this, their curiosity piqued.
Lu Yuan looked around and announced loudly:
"I am here today on His Majesty's behalf—Manager Gan is offering his secret recipe for making ice free of charge. This will make ice affordable for everyone in our Great Jing, thus sparing them from the suffering of the scorching heat."
Manager Gan's contribution in offering the prescription has been commendable. I have already reported this to His Majesty, who is greatly pleased and has bestowed upon him a reward of one thousand taels of silver, as well as a plaque personally inscribed by Him!
These words immediately caused an uproar among the crowd, who began to discuss the matter animatedly, their gazes towards Gan Li filled with envy and admiration.
"This Manager Gan is truly kind-hearted! He actually gave away such a profitable secret recipe!"
"Absolutely! If it were me, I would definitely hide it and secretly make a fortune!"
Amidst praise, officials carried two trays covered with red silk forward. Lu Yuan personally lifted one of the red silks, revealing gleaming white silver ingots, neatly arranged on the tray, dazzling to the eye.
Then, he lifted another red silk cloth, and a gleaming gold plaque appeared before everyone's eyes, with two large, gilded characters in a flamboyant style—'Ganji'.
A gasp of amazement erupted from the crowd, who felt a sense of pride.
This is a calligraphy personally written by the Emperor! For this tiny Cangxi Town to receive such an honor, it must be incredibly lucky for its ancestors!
At this moment, Lu Yuan looked at Gan Li and said with a hint of apology:
“Manager Gan, when I submitted a memorial to the capital about this matter, because you mentioned that you had a stall at the dock called ‘Gan’s Sweet Soup Stall,’ the Emperor only took the first two characters and wrote them down. If I had known earlier that you had opened a restaurant, I would have delayed it.”
Upon hearing this, Gan Li quickly waved her hand and said, "Lord Lu, you flatter me. It is already a blessing for me to be appreciated by His Majesty. Besides, I think this plaque came at the perfect time. The restaurant was smashed and we were just about to close down and renovate. It would be wonderful to hang up the signboard bestowed by His Majesty then."
Lu Yuan nodded secretly in approval as he listened to her speak with composure and grace.
At this moment, Gan Li spoke up again: "I heard that His Majesty has ordered the establishment of ice workshops in various prefectures and counties, and I would also like to do my part."
I'll take this opportunity to offer this gift to His Majesty, donating the thousand taels of silver he bestowed upon me, as a small token of my gratitude for the people.
She donated the thousand taels of silver without hesitation.
This move was met with thunderous applause and praise from the crowd, who commended Gan Li for his concern for the people and his extraordinary vision.
Lu Yuan looked at the woman in front of him with admiration in his eyes. This Gan Li is truly extraordinary!
"Manager Gan, rest assured, the silver you donated will definitely be used effectively!"
With everything arranged, Lu Yuan prepared to take his leave. Before departing, he once again gave Gan Li some instructions:
"Manager Gan, if you encounter any difficulties in the future, you may come to the county office to find me at any time. I will do my best to help you."
Because of his merit in presenting the prescription, he also gained some recognition in front of the emperor... Although he couldn't say it outright, he was still grateful to Gan Li.
Gan Li nodded in agreement and thanked them, then watched Lu Yuan and his group leave.
Shiweitian had been smashed to a mess by Master Zhao and his men, making it impossible to continue doing business. After Ganli apologized to the customers, she closed the door, and the family began to clean up the mess.
"Little sister, you're really amazing!"
As Zhao cleaned up the smashed tables and chairs, she couldn't help but praise them:
"Those two, Master Zhao and the village head, usually commit many evil deeds in town, but today you have brought them to their knees. It is truly gratifying!"
She still remembers the grudge that her old man was captured and imprisoned for a few days by those two last time. This time, she'll let that Master Zhao taste the same pain!
Just thinking about it makes her feel incredibly relieved.
"That's right, it's such a pity about that thousand taels of silver..." Zhao said, her tone filled with regret.
She couldn't understand why her sister-in-law would donate that money.
Ganli smiled and shook her head, saying:
“Sister-in-law, donating that thousand taels of silver is more useful than keeping it. Moreover, although a thousand taels may seem like a lot, in reality, this imperial plaque is the true priceless treasure!”
"What good is a plaque? At most, it might get a few compliments," Zhao asked, puzzled.
"Sister-in-law, think about it—"
Gan Li patiently explained, "These are words written by His Majesty himself, representing the majesty of the royal family. Who would dare to provoke us so easily in the future?"
From now on, the name "Ganji" will resound throughout the land! And we can take advantage of this momentum to open our restaurants elsewhere! Won't we earn more money than this thousand taels then?"
Zhao was stunned for a moment before she reacted, slapped her thigh, and said excitedly, "Little sister, you've thought of that much! How come I didn't think of that!"
Gan Mingli shouted, "How can your brain compare to a little sister's?"
As soon as he said that, he realized what he had said and quickly covered his mouth, but it was too late.
Zhao glared at him fiercely, but after a long while, she laughed in anger:
"I think you really played a big part in the things that made my relationship with my younger sister so bad before!"
Gan Mingli was confused. Did his wife mean he was trying to sow discord? But he hadn't!
Seeing his elder brother's foolish appearance, Gan Mingyi was afraid that he would say something that would displease his sister-in-law, so he quickly decided to step forward and save his foolish brother's life.
He quickly changed the subject, asking Gan Li, "Little sister, is it not enough for us to open this one restaurant? Do we have to open one outside as well?"
"Why not? As long as our food tastes good, the business will get better and better sooner or later. When our reputation spreads, how much regret will those who can't eat our food feel?"
To prevent them from having this regret, I must work hard to make our "Food is Heaven"... no, I mean, to make our Ganji brand bloom in every corner of Dajing!
She doesn't want to make money; she wants to give a home to those who love to eat!
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