Chapter 396 The Inn's First Business
Cheng Wanwan prepared a lavish feast for Wang the matchmaker and her entourage.
After the meal, the Cao family returned home, while Cheng Wanwan's family continued to busy themselves in their courtyard, preparing for the wedding the next day.
Cheng Wanwan wrote a line of words on a red paper, took it, and walked to the entrance of the soap workshop.
Although her courtyard was bustling with activity, the people in the workshop were also busy, working diligently. In the spring season, they were all sweating profusely, busily moving about in their thin clothes.
Seeing her approach, Manager Yan quickly went to greet her: "Auntie Dashan, what can I do for you?"
Cheng Wanwan handed over the red paper: "Post it on the bulletin board."
A line of text was written above: "The boss has good news, everyone has a holiday tomorrow."
Manager Yan immediately took action, and as soon as the notice was posted, the workshop was abuzz with excitement. The workshop was right next to Cheng Wanwan's house, and they could hear the commotion there. They had been itching to go, but in order to get an award and to win prizes, they had to suppress their curiosity and focus on their work. Unexpectedly, Aunt Dashan gave them a holiday.
Tomorrow will be the real excitement, and they'll be able to go and have a drink at the wedding.
Some people were excited, while others were worried. If they had a day off, would they lose a day's wages? Their families were poor, and they would rather stay and work.
Cheng Wanwan seemed to see through everyone's thoughts and said with a smile, "Tomorrow is a holiday, and you'll still get paid. Everyone can come to my house as guests, have a good time, and share in the joy. It's already noon, so hurry back to eat and rest. This work is never-ending."
Since the implementation of the performance evaluation and reward system, everyone in the workshop has become more and more dedicated, competing to be the last to leave after get off work. Faced with this situation, Cheng Wanwan was also helpless, so she increased the number of performance evaluation slots and raised the bonuses. As a result, even more people volunteered to work overtime.
She could only add holidays, such as the traditional Dragon Boat Festival, Qixi Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Double Ninth Festival, and arrange paid leave for them, which could be considered as some extra compensation.
Just then, a few merchants came in from the doorway. After overhearing a few words, they knew that it was a happy occasion at the home of the Sui Ru family.
"Congratulations, Madam Sui!" Bai Qi said, cupping his hands. "As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. I would like to shamelessly stay and ask for a cup of celebratory wine. I hope Madam Sui will grant my request."
Cheng Wanwan smiled and said, "If Manager Bai had said he was coming to Dahe Village at this time, I would have sent you the invitation sooner."
As she spoke, she looked at the merchants beside her and said, "If you are not in a hurry to go back, why don't you stay overnight and have a drink at the wedding tomorrow before you leave?"
These merchants had come from afar, and it didn't matter whether they went back a day earlier or later; they all wanted to stay and see what the commotion was about.
When they return, they can boast to those around them that they attended a wedding banquet at Sui Ru's house. Merchants like them rarely get invited to banquets by officials, so they would never miss this opportunity.
“It just so happens that our village’s inn has just been built.” Cheng Wanwan pointed to the market in the distance. “We just bought beds and bedding a few days ago, all new. Would you all like to try staying in the village for a night and see what it’s like?”
Bai Qi readily agreed: "Thank you, Madam Sui. I will respectfully comply."
The other merchants nodded in agreement. They were all city dwellers and disliked villages, always thinking they were dirty and chaotic. However, Dahe Village shattered their preconceived notions about villages. Here, there were high mountains and flowing water, lush trees, birds flying by, neat fields, and growing seedlings, full of the breath of spring, which made people feel wonderful.
The village inn is called Dahe Inn. Tiezhu is in charge of learning how to run the inn, while Tieshuan's mother, the village head's second daughter-in-law, is in charge of miscellaneous tasks such as cleaning and making beds.
All the second floors are open-plan, and each shop can be divided into two bedrooms. There are a total of forty rooms on both the north and south sides.
The inn's pricing was determined under Cheng Wanwan's guidance. There were ten "Tian" rooms, costing 300 coins per night; ten "Ren" rooms, costing 200 coins per night; fifteen "Di" rooms, costing 100 coins per room; and the remaining rooms were shared dormitories, with more than ten beds in each room, costing 10 coins per night, which was convenient for those who did manual labor.
Cheng Wanwan led the five merchants to the inn. Tieshuan's mother was still a little confused. As a woman, she had never dealt with high-ranking officials and nobles before. These people were dressed in fine silks and satins, exuding an air of wealth, while she was dressed in coarse cloth. She was really embarrassed to go forward.
Zhao Tiezhu didn't have so many ulterior motives. He put down his abacus and went straight to greet them: "Esteemed guests, would you like to stay at the inn?"
Bai Qi nodded: "One room with the character '天' (heaven), two rooms with the character '人' (human), and four rooms with the character '地' (earth)."
He brought two stewards and eight servants with him this time. He stayed in the superior room, the two stewards stayed in the middle room, and the eight servants stayed in two lower-class rooms.
The other managers also confirmed the rooms. They spoke quickly, and Tie Zhu remembered them just as quickly, and immediately calculated the bill.
He flashed his signature smile: "The deposit for each room is twenty copper coins. Manager Bai's deposit is one tael of silver plus two hundred and forty copper coins, while Manager Liu's deposit is nine hundred..."
After the merchants paid, Tiezhu took the room number and led everyone upstairs to their rooms.
Tieshuan's mother stood there, completely stunned. In just a moment, the inn had made almost five taels of silver!
Her father-in-law had previously asked her to look after the inn, and she thought she would be idle day after day. After all, a night cost several hundred coins, and she didn't think anyone would be willing to pay to stay there. But now, reality had shattered her preconceived notions, and her hands were trembling slightly... Five taels of silver a day, that's more than a hundred taels of silver a month, and that's without the inn being fully booked. If it were fully booked, the money would only be more...
"Tie Shuan's mother, what are you standing there for?" Cheng Wanwan chuckled. "Hurry up and go to the back to boil water, serve tea to the guests, and prepare hay for the horses too."
The inn does not provide meals, but it does provide tea, water for washing up at night, and food for the horses; these are all the responsibility of Tieshuan's mother.
"Yes, yes, I was so confused." Tieshuan's mother came to her senses. "Madam Dashan, please sit down. I'll go and get back to work."
Cheng Wanwan didn't linger. Just as she was about to leave, she saw Old Mrs. Zhao and Lu Yingxue coming over together, each holding a piece of paper.
The paper in Grandma Zhao's hand read: Dahe Canteen, walk straight for thirty steps.
The paper in Lu Yingxue's hand read: "Dahe Wine, walk straight for thirty-five steps."
Cheng Wanwan was both amused and exasperated. These two were quite good at business, directly attracting customers from the inn.
Don't be surprised, those who can afford to stay at inns are all rich people. If they were to patronize the canteen and wine shop, they certainly wouldn't hesitate to spend money.
She stroked her chin and said, "Go to the city and frame these two calligraphy pieces, then hang them on the inn's sign so customers can see them at a glance."
These characters were all written by Master Yu, and they are written with exceptional elegance and grace. They look beautiful hanging on the wall of the inn.
Lu Yingxue nodded: "I knew something was missing. It really should be framed. I'll go to the city now."
She was a very energetic person, never able to stop for a moment, and left with the words in Old Mrs. Zhao's hand.
Cheng Wanwan didn't stay at the inn long. Her son's wedding was tomorrow, and as the person in charge, she had so much to do. She rushed back home, checking for any oversights, and was so busy she barely had time to breathe...
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