"What I mean is, let's partner up and open a hot pot restaurant in a village or town, and sell instant noodles as well. That way, we can have instant noodles while eating hot pot, and we can also buy some to take home."
Song Jia had thought of everything, except for finding someone to invest. According to the housing prices here, she definitely couldn't afford to rent a store or hire a waiter or a manager with her few hundred taels of silver.
Gu Zhen finished a bowl of instant noodles and poured himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat. "Why should I partner with you? Although you are my concubine, there is no father-son relationship in the business world. You should have heard that."
Song Jiaren gave a slightly stiff smile. Of course, she couldn't say that she had no money. If she had enough money, she would not have taken him with her.
"Of course, this is a highly profitable and popular business. You only need to invest once and reap the benefits for life. With such a great opportunity, of course, Your Highness is the first person I would think of."
Gu Zhen looked up at her for a while and said, "I want 80%."
Eighty percent.
That's really an exorbitant price.
Song Jiaren had a conflicted expression on her face and didn't want to agree.
Gu Zhen rested his slender fingers on the edge of the table. Seeing her face flushed crimson, he didn't let go. "Twenty percent is already a lot for you. You said this was a very profitable business. You don't have to spend a penny, and you can get my support. Besides, with me backing you up, it will save you a lot of trouble. Think about it carefully. There's no rush."
After coming back to her senses, Song Jiaren was speechless for a long time. How did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince become the dominant one inexplicably?
But he has a point.
Song Jiaren nodded, smiled dryly and said, "Okay."
So, Gu Zhen and Song Jiaren started to travel back and forth between the camp and the village every day from dawn to dusk.
As soon as the hot pot restaurant opened, it attracted a lot of people to watch, and everyone gathered at the door looking curiously.
"Hot pot restaurant...what does that mean?"
"Looking at the picture, it should be food."
“…Can it be delicious?”
"Just try it and you'll know!"
The shopkeeper hired by Song Jiaren stood at the door in a navy blue cotton robe, waving his hand, signaling the people to be quiet. He cleared his throat and said, "The new shop is opening. Everyone who comes to eat hot pot will get a packet of instant noodles per table!"
There is a picture hanging at the entrance of the store showing a family gathering together to eat hot pot. In the hot pot, various meatballs, meat slices, and vegetables are gathered together.
The people could feel the hot atmosphere just by looking at it, and they were eager to go in and try the hot pot. After entering, there was a pot in the middle of each table, and a charcoal drawer underneath, with two pieces of charcoal lit.
After the water in the pot boils, it bubbles. Then put the thinly sliced meat in and dunk it for a few times. The red turns white and the meat is cooked. Put it in a bowl and dip it in the sauce. It is tender and delicious, and the seasoning neutralizes it. There is no smell of mutton at all. Customers who enter the store are all amazed.
“It’s delicious.”
“…I didn’t expect it to be so delicious.”
"This instant noodle is also unique, smooth and chewy."
The hot pot restaurant and instant noodles became an instant hit, causing quite a stir in the border area. Even several neighboring countries heard about it and secretly sent people to try it. Those who had it could not forget it and even if they tried to imitate it at home, they could not get the taste of the restaurant.
Sitting in a restaurant and eating a steaming hot pot in the bitterly cold winter has become a daily necessity for people living in the border areas. Instant noodles produced by hot pot restaurants are also convenient to carry with you. When you are hungry, you only need to soak them in hot water for a while and you can eat them.
When the shopkeeper saw Song Jiaren coming in, he walked over and greeted her with a smile, "Madam, are you here for hot pot?"
She greeted the Crown Prince, the three Situ brothers, and the pregnant Yue Nu in the back, looked around the lobby, and asked the shopkeeper, "There are so many people, is there any empty table?"
"Madam, this place has been packed every day since it opened. The good seats are gone. There's only one table in the corner at the back. How about you and your friends make do with that?"
Situ Zhi was surprised when he saw this. How could a shopkeeper dare to speak to his boss like that? He must not want to do this job anymore.
"As a host, it's bad enough that you don't have your own private room, but you don't even have a seat in the lobby?"
Song Jiaren had an expression of "What do you know?" and said, "My hot pot restaurant doesn't have any private rooms, only a lobby. It's more lively when people eat in the lobby. What's wrong with me being the owner? If someone comes to eat occasionally, there's no need to leave an empty table. Isn't it better to leave it for the guests?" She is not a fool who would leave the money unearned.
Situ Zhi was speechless. Not only did he not act like a boss at all, but he was also so greedy for money that he could even let himself be wronged without even asking if they minded.
"I think you all have no objection. Although the seat is a bit off to the side, the advantage of the last table is that you can see the whole store clearly. As the owner, I can just treat it as an inspection and see how the business is going. Today I'm treating you, so please don't hesitate." Song Jiaren sat down first.
Situ and his men waited until His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was seated before they dared to sit down. They did not dare to be as careless and disrespectful as Song Jiaren.
The waiter wiped the table with a rag, then brought the pot and charcoal fire, lit them, and left in a hurry.
Situ Zhi was surprised again. "Even the waiter doesn't take you, the boss, seriously. You are too kind."
Song Jiaren pointed to him and said, "This waiter is deaf and dumb. He can't speak or hear. He is only responsible for wiping the table and doesn't care who is sitting here."
Deaf-mute?
"Why do you hire deaf-mute people as waiters? Aren't you afraid that they won't be able to do their job well?" Situ Yin asked curiously.
Song Jiaren looked at the bustling lobby. Business was so good that she was happy. She patiently explained, "What's wrong with deaf-mute people? They are more focused on what they do. If a table is not wiped clean and sparkling, then there is no place that is not done well."
The water in the pot started to boil. Song Jiaren picked up the ebony chopsticks and called out, "Hurry up and put the meat in. Hold it like I did and don't let go. Just blanch it a few times and you can eat it. You can make the seasoning yourself. If you want spicy food, add spicy food. If you can't eat spicy food, don't add chili."
After she finished speaking, a bowl was extended in front of her, and the Crown Prince said, "I want it slightly spicy." This was something I learned from her the last time we had hotpot.
Well, since this person was the real major shareholder, she resigned herself to making him a slightly spicy dipping sauce. The three Situ brothers followed suit and made their own dipping sauces. Yue Nu was pregnant, so she was not allowed to eat spicy food.
"It tastes good, although the way it's eaten looks a bit unrefined." Situ Zhi took a few bites of the meat and was amazed after eating it.
Song Jiaren laughed. They were so curious about the hot pot that everyone had eaten in modern times. She wondered what would happen if she opened another spicy hot pot restaurant. But it was just a thought. The hot pot restaurant was just starting out, so she couldn't dig a hole for herself.
"This is instant noodles. Normally, you just put it in hot water, add the seasoning, and let it soak for a while before eating. Now it's also good to cook it in a hot pot."
This was not the first time Gu Zhen had eaten it, so he looked at the shocked expressions of the three Situ brothers calmly and laughed at them for being naive.
"How did you come up with these novel foods? They're totally unheard of." Situ Ti exclaimed, his hands constantly rinsing the meat.
Of course Song Jiaren couldn't say it directly, so she could only blame the Crown Prince, who had nothing to do with it. "It was your Highness's idea. I heard that there were similar ones in other countries, recorded in travel notes, and I saw them by chance."
Gu Zhen was implicated for no reason, and he raised his eyebrows to look at Song Jiaren who was talking nonsense. She was stretching her arms to scoop the vegetables out of the pot. She didn't even look at him, but sighed and had to accept it. Fortunately, he was used to keeping a stern face and expressionless, so Situ and others didn't dare to ask him directly when they saw this.
After lunch, many tables of guests left, and Song Jiaren and her friends were almost done eating. The shopkeeper took the time to send them a plate of frozen persimmons, which was also Song Jiaren's idea. After eating spicy hot pot and being sweaty from the heat, eating a frozen persimmon to cool down was worth it.
Gu Zhen also saw several Wusun people with deep eye sockets and thick brows coming in from outside the door. It was normal. This was a chaotic place with no one in charge, and people from any country might show up.
Situ Zhi was quite curious because the Wusun people were rather arrogant and looked down upon other countries, so they formed their own group and only ate and stayed in restaurants opened in their own country, but they miraculously appeared in the hot pot restaurant.
"Are there people from the Wusun Kingdom coming here?"
Song Jiaren also followed his gaze and saw that there were indeed a few plump women from the Wusun country with scarves wrapped around their heads. They had a strong exotic look and wore fur vests and a string of bells around their waists, which jingled and made crisp sounds as they walked.
She said with great satisfaction, "What's the big deal? I guess they came here because they heard about it."
"There are all kinds of people here. Aren't you afraid that someone will copy your hot pot restaurant? What will you do if one opens across the street from you?" Although Situ Zhi also thought hot pot was delicious, the method was extremely simple. If he had the pot and ingredients, he could eat it at home. Why did he have to come to her place to eat?
Song Jiaren never thought this was a problem. There are so many hot pot restaurants nowadays, aren’t they all packed?
"Even if I open ten more, what's the point? I dare to open one because I have my own unique features. Not to mention this pot, it's a pure copper double-flavored pot, which only mine has. And the dipping sauce here is also made with a unique recipe. What's more, the base of the spicy soup and mushroom soup in this pot is also a unique recipe that others can't learn. And eating hot pot should be lively and lively. What's the point of eating it alone at home?"
"Are these ingredients all exclusive recipes? No wonder they taste so special." The spicy ingredients here are all blended, probably because they're afraid others will learn from them.
Song Jiaren's attention was still on the women from the Wusun Kingdom. After they sat down, they didn't order any dishes. They just looked at their table and whispered to each other. No one knew what they were talking about. They looked like young girls in love. There was something wrong with them.
She raised her hand and beckoned the shopkeeper over. "What are they talking about?"
The shopkeeper could understand languages from many countries, so he translated what he heard for his boss.
"Ah, that must be the heroic and extraordinary Crown Prince."
"It's so handsome. I wonder if I can take him home and make him my princess' husband."
"I fell in love with him first, so if you want to be his wife, you should marry me. Second sister, you are not allowed to compete with me for her."
When Song Jiaren heard this, a vein popped on her forehead.
What the hell are they thinking?
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