Chen's Restaurant.
A well-dressed young man stood in front of the counter and casually asked, "How much is it in total?"
"Ten taels and twenty-three cash," the shopkeeper said, "don't worry about the change, ten taels of silver." The shop assistant said cautiously.
"Here you go." The richly dressed young man casually tossed out a silver ingot, which the servant hurriedly caught.
"Goodbye, sir. Welcome back next time." The innkeeper said respectfully. Several people in the shop glanced at the young master paying the bill and began to whisper among themselves.
Ten taels of silver is a large sum of money for many people in Shaxian. People who can spend so much money at once are considered wealthy in the eyes of many. Such wealthy people are bound to be curious and take a second look.
The young men seemed oblivious to the stares of others, and walked away with their heads held high and chests puffed out.
After the group of elegantly dressed young men left the restaurant, they began to discuss the matter.
"The food at this restaurant is pretty good!"
"The food is good, but the waiter seems to have never seen anything like it. He gets all worked up over ten taels of silver." The young master spoke with a hint of arrogance.
“This isn’t Kyoto. Many people here work hard all year and only earn a few taels of silver. It’s understandable that they’re surprised.”
"So, this place is still too small." A young man in blue robes idly fiddled with the folding fan in his hand.
"I don't know how they make the spicy crab at this restaurant, it's even better than Tengetsubo in Kyoto."
"There must be some special secret recipe."
"If only I could get my hands on the recipe, I could open a shop with it and make a lot of money."
"We can't do anything reckless. It's said that the prescription belongs to the county magistrate, and the county magistrate has a good relationship with the prince. Although this Prince Cheng doesn't have much real power, he's someone who can speak up even in front of the emperor."
"It seems that the prince has the recipe, but he is not short of money and doesn't seem to want to bother opening a restaurant."
Prince Cheng also had a fiefdom, and the silver collected from it each year was quite substantial.
After Prince Cheng returned to the capital from Sha County, he would often invite people to his palace for meals, showing off the many unique and novel dishes of the palace. He made quite a splash and made many people look at this idle prince with new respect.
The reason why so many people come to Shaxian is also related to the prince.
Some people who weren't qualified to be invited to dine at the Prince's Mansion came to Shaxian County to see what the food there was really like.
Chen Xiaocai walked into Chen's Private Kitchen, where a manager came out to greet her.
"Boss, a young master came in today and ordered all the dishes on the menu. He didn't eat much, but it cost him about ten taels of silver."
Chen Xiaocai's restaurant originally followed an affordable pricing strategy. However, after a large influx of wealthy patrons, Chen Xiaocai adopted Lu Lin's suggestion and introduced some high-end dishes. Ordinary people wouldn't order these dishes, but they were favorites for some second-generation rich kids from Kyoto who cared about appearances and had money to burn.
Some people from Kyoto like to order those high-end dishes. In fact, these high-end dishes are not much different from the ordinary dishes in the restaurant. Chen Xiaocai nodded and said, "I understand. You can divide up the extra dishes. If there are any left over, you can send them to Yunniang's place."
There are many people working at the hot spring resort right now, and there's an abundance of leftover food. It's a good way to add some variety to the menu. Many people here are not getting enough to eat, so no one will complain about the leftovers from the restaurant.
Chen Xiaocai thought to himself: Recently, more and more people have been coming to Kyoto. After these people arrive, they like to show off. Usually, three or four people will order dozens of dishes and they are not afraid of wasting food. These people seem to enjoy watching the locals who have never seen the world.
Chen Xiaocai was actually happy to see this happen. The other party liked to show off and satisfy their vanity, while they could make more money.
To put it bluntly, most of the people who come here are not actually the top young masters of Kyoto. In Kyoto, they probably don't have a very high status, but it's different here.
It's rare for even a scholar to emerge from Shaxian County these days. To many villagers, these young masters from the capital are like gods. Chen Xiaocai glanced through the ledger and smiled slightly. The restaurant's profits have been soaring lately. After a busy day, Luo Yuan picked up a basket, left the restaurant, and headed home.
When Lu Lin first arrived, Luo Yuan was just a teenager. With the fearlessness of a newborn calf, he became Lu Lin's guide.
After that, Luo Yuan did odd jobs whenever the county government needed him.
After Chen Xiaocai took over the Shaxian Street, he opened many restaurants, and Luo Yuan became an apprentice in one of them.
Because Chen Xiaocai valued Luo Yuan highly, he asked Wan Li to take Luo Yuan as his apprentice.
Luo Yuan is still training in the shop. In a few years, when he is able to graduate, he will be able to become the shopkeeper if he is lucky.
Luo Yuan glanced at the contents of the basket and walked briskly towards home.
"Brother Luo."
"Brother Luo."
At a young age, Luo Yuan went to work for the county magistrate and even made a name for himself. As a result, Luo Yuan was quite respected in the village. The children in the village would call him Brother Luo when they saw him. Of course, Luo Yuan was respected because he worked in a restaurant and sometimes he could pack up some leftovers. Occasionally, if there were extras, Luo Yuan would share them with his underlings.
In the past two years, as long as people in Shaxian are willing to work, they can earn some money and won't go hungry. However, it's not easy to eat well. Leftovers from restaurants can be considered delicacies for children in the village.
"You're back." Luo Yuan's mother greeted him with a smile when she saw him.
Luo Yuan placed the basket on the table and said, "Mom, there's something delicious to eat today."
Luo Yuanniang said helplessly, "Bringing things from the shop back again, won't Young Master Chen be angry?"
"It's alright, this is Second Young Master's permission." Leftovers in the shop cannot be resold to customers, so they are allowed to take them home.
However, the food at the restaurant is very delicious, and the people here cherish food, so there's usually not much left over.
Things changed after the people from Kyoto arrived.
These young masters in Kyoto are very particular about their manners. They order a lot of dishes, but they don't eat much. Sometimes, they leave a dish uneaten after only a few bites. Luo Yuan was very lucky today and got more than half a basket of uneaten pastries.
“These are the leftovers!” Luo Yuanniang said.
Luo Yuan nodded and said, "Yes! These pastries sell for 100 coins a basket in the shop, they're very delicious, Mother, you should try them." Luo Yuan thought to himself: This rose paste is extremely popular, it's a good thing he went early today, otherwise, it would probably have been divided up by the shop staff.
"This stuff is too precious; eating it might shorten your lifespan!"
Luo Yuan said dismissively, "Mother, you eat it. Anyway, it's what others don't want." A hint of envy flashed through Luo Yuan's mind. These young noblemen in the capital are so lucky. They never have to worry about food or clothing. They can just waste all that delicious food without feeling bad.
“Son, this Second Young Master Chen has taken a liking to you, so you must work hard!” Luo Yuan’s mother said.
Luo Yuan nodded and said, "I know, Mother."
Inside a small restaurant in Shaxian County.
"Young Master Ma, they say that the third young master of the Chen family and Ji Yun'an are engaged."
The man nodded and said, "I've heard about it."
The man addressed as Young Master Ma, whose real name was Ma Hu, was originally from Lin Town. He had heard that business was good in the border region, where grain and cloth could be exchanged for large quantities of cattle and sheep, so he came out to trade.
Ma Hu was born in Lin Town. When Lu Lin left, the Ma family had not yet prospered, but in the past few years, they have suddenly become wealthy.
Lu Lin has become a legend in Lin Town, and even Ma Hu has heard of him.
Lu Lin spent several thousand taels of silver to buy an official position and got a handcart. He was recently promoted and even received a prince. The news spread like wildfire in Lin Town, and Lu Lin has become the pride of Lin Town.
"Young Master Ma, don't you think we should pay a visit to the county government office since we're here?" a guard asked.
Ma Hu was also considering this issue. After all, they came from the same place, so paying them a visit shouldn't hurt.
Looking at the bustling street, Ma Hu said, "I heard that almost all the shops on this street belong to Chen Xiaocai."
Back in the day, before Lu Lin became an official, he had a very successful doll business. Now Chen Xiaolai has switched to running a restaurant, and it seems to be doing quite well for her!
With so many people on this street now, all these shops combined should be worth several thousand taels of silver.
"I heard that Young Master Chen is developing some kind of hot spring resort in the mountains. He really has money to burn."
It's not necessarily because they have money to burn. More and more wealthy people are coming to Shaxian now, and these rich people like to do things differently.
A burst of firecrackers went off, and Ma Hu looked towards the hot pot restaurant across the street.
"Waiter, what's going on over there? There are so many people!"
The waiter smiled and said, "The shops across the street are having a promotion. I heard that if you go there to eat hot pot today, it's half price, so a lot of people are going. I also heard that they're going to hold some kind of auction."
"Auction? What are you auctioning?" Ma Hu asked curiously.
The waiter frowned and said, "It looks like a sheep."
Ma Hu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Aren't all sheep pretty much the same? Why bother with an auction?"
Ma Hu knew that horses varied in quality. A top-quality Akhal-Teke horse, if it could be sent to the capital, would fetch hundreds of taels of silver from nobles. Even an ordinary horse of decent quality could be used as a breeding stock and sold for a high price. As for sheep, they were all pretty much the same.
The waiter smiled and said, "Of course it's not an ordinary sheep, it's a cooked sheep. Our magistrate's brother-in-law is the best at cooking. It is said that what he is auctioning this time is a cooked sheep, called roast whole sheep. He roasts the whole sheep. Wow, what a generous move! He roasts a whole one."
Many families in the countryside have a habit of raising sheep. They slaughter the sheep at the end of the year and can eat them for several days.
"Young master, let's go take a look too!" A young guard couldn't resist his curiosity and said to Ma Hu.
Ma Hu nodded and said, "It's fine to go and take a look."
Ma Hu thought to himself: If I really want to buy a sheep, it certainly won't be cheap, and I won't be able to eat it all. However, it would be good to go and see the excitement.
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