Grandma Liu looked at her with amusement: "Look how proud you are. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was a recipe you wrote. But I really didn't expect it to be so valuable."
"If we had known it would be this valuable, we would have started by selling recipes. That way, we wouldn't have been without capital. It's so difficult for us to get started. This is really good."
Pei Yuezhi also sighed: "Yes, we had nothing at home back then, so we were hesitant and didn't know that this recipe could be sold. We also didn't know the character of the shop owners in town."
"I learned about Qingquanlou by chance, and I saw that everyone in their shop, from the owner to the staff, was very kind. In addition, they were suppressed by Baiweiju, but they still maintained their kindness and gave porridge to people who couldn't afford to eat. That's why I sold them the recipes."
Pei Yuezhi recounted her observations of Qingquanlou over the past few days, which were indeed the reasons why she felt comfortable selling the recipes to them. If it were Baiweiju, she wouldn't have wanted to sell to them even if they offered a high price of a thousand taels.
"Yes, the proprietress of Qingquanlou is very kind and easy to talk to. Their shop assistants will even speak up for the old beggar."
Liu Yuanyuan agreed with what Pei Yuezhi said.
As they chatted, Pei Yuezhi remembered something important: it was time to put moving to a larger store on the agenda.
“Auntie, Yuanyuan and I have been discussing this recently. We’re getting more and more customers and our reputation is growing. It’s time to move to a bigger shop,” Pei Yuezhi said.
Liu Yuanyuan chimed in, "That's true. There are already people queuing up in front of our shop. And although there are eight tables in the shop, we made room for two more tables, so now the space is a bit cramped. With so many customers, it's hard to find enough seats."
Grandma Liu also said, "Yes, that's true. We just happened to sell recipes now, so we have some money on hand. It's just that big stores aren't easy to find, and you must have paid a deposit when you rented the shop, right?"
“Yes, there is a deposit of two taels of silver, but if we find a suitable shop, it doesn’t matter if the deposit is not refunded. We will definitely prioritize looking at shops,” Pei Yuezhi said.
“Okay, then while you guys are at work, I’ll stay home and wander around town to see where there are shops for rent,” Grandma Liu said.
They had all finished eating, and Pei Yuezhi took the two children back to rest.
On the way back, Pei Yuezhi held one child's hand in each of their hands.
Fan Chao had been hesitant to speak for a while, unsure of what to say.
"Chao'er, is there something you want to say?" Pei Yuezhi asked.
“Mom, since we opened the shop, you’ve been incredibly busy except when you’re resting. I haven’t been able to help you much. Now that we’re opening a bigger shop, I’m afraid you’ll be even more tired.”
"So that's what you're worried about. It's okay, this way we can earn more money, and our lives will be better." Pei Yuezhi was somewhat gratified to see how much her son cared about her.
"Mother, our lives are already very good now."
Fan Mu was a little worried after hearing what his brother said: "Mother, I don't want you to be too tired either."
"Don't worry, I'll hire more people to do the work later, two little housekeepers." Pei Yuezhi ruffled the two children's hair haphazardly.
"Mom, I'm walking, don't touch my head," Fan Mu said angrily.
She could barely see the road anymore.
Fan Chao, however, remained expressionless and silently endured it.
"Oh, I don't want to touch it anymore."
After returning home, Pei Yuezhi began to research opening a shop and hiring people.
If we open a larger store, the current four people will definitely not be enough.
Liu Yuanyuan can handle the front desk cashier duties herself, and the two older sisters-in-law can manage the odd jobs. But the cooking work in the kitchen is a bit too much for one person to handle alone.
The tables are small now, and there aren't many of them, so I can barely manage to cook all the dishes. But if we get bigger tables in the future, with seven or eight guests per table, even two tables like that would be exhausting.
Even with my own cooking method, I still need to have someone I can trust do it with me.
Even though all the seasonings are in bottles and jars, it's plausible to say it's a secret recipe developed by myself.
However, you still need to find someone you can trust to cook, because besides seasonings, cooking techniques are also the most important skill for a chef.
Don't let anyone with ill intentions get recruited and try to steal your skills; otherwise, you'll be in big trouble.
Lost in thought, Pei Yuezhi fell asleep.
When I wake up again, I'll have to start preparing for work again.
Liu Yuanyuan was called over, and the two prepared to go to the store. Along the way, Liu Yuanyuan kept complaining: "Why do we have to go to work? Why can't people just quit completely?"
Pei Yuezhi comforted her, saying, "Wait until I earn a little more money, then we'll just give up completely."
"That's how you fooled me in your past life. Then you opened one restaurant after another, and in the end you never went home anymore. I didn't even know you died."
"Um... shall I tell you next time?"
"There will be a next time! How many more times do you want to die? Don't you know how you died in your past life?!" Liu Yuanyuan turned her head away angrily, refusing to look at her.
"Hehe, we'll take some time to rest. Once I hire a few more people, we'll be the bosses and not do any work."
Liu Yuanyuan said, "That's more like it. What kind of boss is like us, working ourselves to the bone all day long, working from the moment we open our eyes, and thinking about how to work tomorrow the moment we close them."
“I thought about it for a long time last night. I definitely need to hire someone, just someone to work in the kitchen. I need to find a reliable person.”
"Yes, this is quite difficult."
Finding a shop and hiring people are not easy tasks. Pei Yuezhi and Liu Yuanyuan searched for several days without making any progress.
Now we basically get a break every ten days, just like students going to school. My cousin-in-law even joked that they're like students now, with so many days off.
The customers in the store have basically figured out the pattern; they usually ask the question when it's almost time to close.
Today is another day off, and it's cloudy with a light drizzle. For Pei Yuezhi, this is the best weather.
Pei Yuezhi didn't want to stay at home idly, so she said she wanted to go for a stroll in town, but Liu Yuanyuan absolutely refused to go.
"I need to get some rest, I need to sleep!"
These were her exact words, so Pei Yuezhi had no choice but to go out for a stroll by herself.
Because of the rain and overcast weather, there weren't many people on the street, so Pei Yuezhi was happy to have some free time.
While I was wandering aimlessly through the streets, I heard people arguing loudly at the market ahead.
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