The two of them took off running at top speed, almost startling Jiang Wu, who was driving the carriage.
Xu Mo, who had just come out of the capital, was even more confused, his gaze sweeping over his two remaining younger brothers.
Wen Zhiyun quickly lowered her neck, pretending not to know.
Fang Heng pursed his lips and shrugged, indicating that it was hard to say.
It's not that it's hard to say, it's that it can't be said.
I still remember it from the daytime.
After Xu Mo entered the palace, Jiang Sheng was bored and unwilling to return to Jiuzhenfang or the Second Courtyard, so she simply dragged her brothers through the crowd.
Those who made it to the final imperial examination were either exceptionally talented or had studied diligently.
They either come from wealthy families or are diligent and conscientious.
As described in the old book, impoverished scholars from poor families often traveled alone to take the imperial examinations, with few relatives or friends by their side.
Conversely, having relatives waiting at the gates of the imperial city indicates that one has some family background.
Jiang Sheng initially just wanted to kill time, until she overheard the students' relatives discussing which pastry shop had good quality and which had fresh flavors. She remembered the two pastry shops she ran and slowed down to look forward to it.
But as they waited and waited, the pastries were replaced by clothes, and the clothes were replaced by jewelry, but the name Jiuzhenfang still didn't appear.
The young girl was straightforward. She seized the opportunity to approach and said, "I didn't mean to bother you. I overheard you mentioning pastries. May I ask which shop you're from? I'd like to bring some home for my family."
The young woman, who was chatting and laughing, was quite kind and actually responded, "Dielanchun, Wanzhenzhai, and Zhenxiuge are all pretty good."
Jiang Sheng's eyes darted around, and she deliberately asked, "Has Madam never tried the pastries from Jiuzhenfang? I've heard they're extremely delicious."
"Jiuzhenfang?" The young woman chuckled. "I've heard of it. They can make pastries with your surname on them, but unfortunately, there's only one kind to try. You get tired of eating the same thing over and over. Wanzhenzhai has a much wider variety of flavors."
This answer left Jiang Sheng speechless.
Jiuzhenfang actually has quite a few varieties of pastries, more than twenty kinds in total, including soft and glutinous, crisp and sour, and sweet. The two shops can sell two to three hundred catties of goods every day, and the sugar-roasted chestnuts sold separately are especially popular.
How come these ladies only find pastries with surnames worthy of their attention?
She wasn't lost for long when she suddenly remembered the accounts of Jiuzhenfang that she had reviewed recently. More than twenty kinds of pastries plus sugar-roasted chestnuts, which she had worked hard to sell for half a day, were not as profitable as a few plates of surname-themed pastries.
At that time, there were few families that made pastries, and Jiang Sheng also assumed that pastries with family names wouldn't sell well, so she didn't think much of it.
Today, she had a sudden epiphany. After thanking the young lady, she rushed back, panting, to ask, "Second Brother, do you know about Dielanchun, Wanzhenzhai, and Zhenxiuge?"
“I’ve heard of them.” Zheng Ruqian turned around. “If I remember correctly, all of these places sell pastries. Dielanchun is exquisitely handmade, and its pastries are lifelike. Wanzhenzhai offers a variety of flavors with rich textures. Zhenxiuge is a bit different; it started as a restaurant, but its pastries are surprisingly more popular with the people of Fengjing than its main dishes… Why did you suddenly ask about these?”
Jiang Sheng swallowed hard. "None of that matters. Second Brother told me that their pastries are very expensive?"
Is it similar to the surname-themed pastries, targeting established families?
Her pupils dilated as she stared intently at Zheng Ruqian's head as it rose and fell, her heart finally settling down.
That's right.
Fengjing is not just home to the poor and the rich; it also has many middle-class families who, while not extremely wealthy, live a comfortable life.
They could afford pastries costing one or two taels of silver, and clothes costing one hundred taels of silver.
Just like they wouldn't buy Lingnan lychees for fifty taels of silver, but would buy Sichuan lychees for five taels without hesitation.
The young woman only remembered the surname pastries because the ordinary price was not worth her attention.
Unfortunately, Jiuzhenfang only has one high-priced pastry.
Jiang Sheng's eyes were bright, and she was determined to expand into the mid-range market and increase the variety of high-end pastries.
"You mean you want to compete with Dielanchun Wanzhenzhai for business?" Zheng Ruqian kindly reminded his sister after hearing the whole story, "But don't forget, the name of the family-owned pastry shop is only established with the help of several powerful families. Even now, most of the customer orders come from families with which they have good relations."
Only those who have run a business know that opening a shop is easy, making pastries is easy, but making money is not easy.
Jiuzhenfang's current scale is partly due to its low-profit, high-volume sales strategy, and partly due to the popularity of its sugar-roasted chestnuts, which boosted the overall business.
From another perspective, the shop has already gained recognition from ordinary people, so they have no choice but to manage it diligently, and profits will surely continue to flow in.
Whether or not Jiang Sheng will make money by rashly venturing into high-end pastries is another matter, but she may also suffer setbacks.
Zheng Ruqian has already suffered enough on his own. He only hopes that his younger sister can be happy and that the two shops can be managed.
“If you want to earn money, leave it to me. Your brothers will take care of everything else. Why work so hard?” He sighed softly, bending down. “You yourself said that this kind of life is enough.”
The unambitious young girl only wanted to eat and drink well and live with her family.
But her loved ones are gone.
Jiang Sheng's big round eyes filled with a thin layer of tears. After a long while, she said in a muffled voice, "I also want to make money, lots and lots of money. I want to find Fifth Brother and help him solve all his problems so that he won't have to leave secretly."
It turned out that she also knew that the small banquet that had quietly left had encountered difficulties.
Her third brother was away fighting, and she didn't understand military strategy or know how to fight, so she couldn't be of much help.
But what if I can help Fifth Brother with his difficulties?
“Even if I can’t help him, I can open Jiuzhenfang all over the entire Dayu Dynasty and eventually find him.” Jiang Sheng looked up and asked, “Second Brother, we can find Fifth Brother, right?”
They met when they were young and relied on each other for five years.
They are the closest of relatives and should not be separated.
Third Brother will return victorious from the frontier, and Fifth Brother will reappear, recounting the thrilling past when they were not around.
My sister's eyes were so bright, innocent yet insightful, like the purest flames burning.
Zheng Ruqian dared not extinguish this burning passion, and nodded with difficulty, "Yes, it will, it definitely will..."
Jiang Sheng burst into laughter through her tears, glanced at the imperial city, and revealed the unique liveliness and pride of a young girl. "Second brother, don't worry. Normally, it wouldn't be easy for us to sell pastries. We would have to lower our prices and find shills. But it's different now. We have a ready-made living advertisement."
At first, Zheng Ruqian was a little puzzled, but then he suddenly remembered Xu Mo from today's palace examination and realized, "You mean..."
“Yes, it’s the one you’re thinking of,” Jiang Sheng replied smoothly.
The two siblings, who were most similar in the family, revealed the same wicked smile.
Fang Heng and Wen Zhiyun, who had overheard the entire event, both closed their eyes in unison, silently mourning their elder brother in the capital and shedding tears of sympathy.
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