The mini steamed buns are deep-fried until the golden crust is crispy and the inside is soft and fluffy. The milky white sauce has a rich milky aroma and bursts with sweetness in your mouth.
Even after swallowing it, the rich, milky aroma lingered in my mouth.
Princess Ruining looked at the thick liquid in the small dish with surprise and asked, "What is this?"
Gu Yaoniang smiled smugly and introduced, "I found this by accident, and I named it 'milk honey'."
"careless?"
Princess Ruining remained puzzled.
Then Yao Niang told her how she discovered the milk honey.
She loved drinking milk. Whenever fresh milk was delivered from the estate, she would always cook it herself and drink a big bowl of it hot.
A few days ago, milk was delivered from the village. As usual, she used the small pot she usually used to boil milk to put the milk in, added honey, and carefully simmered it over a low flame on the stove.
Unexpectedly, an urgent matter arose that day, and she instructed the little maid in the kitchen to watch over the milk for her.
The little girl didn't know when she would return and was afraid that she wouldn't have hot milk when she came back, so she didn't dare to take the pot off the stove. She kept stirring it carefully, afraid that it would burn or form a skin.
The pot of milk dwindled as it warmed. By evening, Gu Yaoniang finally remembered she wanted some milk, which had become quite thick.
Originally, she thought this pot of milk would be wasted, but to her surprise, it smelled even more fragrant and rich. Curious, Yao Niang took a sip.
This one bite brought a smile to her face. The rich aroma of milk and the sweetness of honey blended together perfectly, leaving a lingering fragrance on the lips and teeth when eaten with the steamed bun, giving the otherwise ordinary bun a unique flavor.
She had always felt that the gold and silver steamed buns were just steamed buns, which was a bit monotonous and not refined enough.
Now that there's milk and honey as a garnish, it's much better.
She smiled and said, "Princess, I've thought it all out! Now that these golden and silver steamed buns have been given milk and honey, their name must be changed. I'll call them 'Golden Jade Abundance'."
You are the first guest to enjoy the "Golden Jade Abundance" dish!
Yao Niang wore a pure and sweet smile, a smile she gave only to those she trusted.
Princess Ruining also had a smile on her face.
Then Gu Yaoniang continued, "Now our Jin Yu Lou's milk honey is definitely unique in Shuojing City. It just so happens that we are Jin Yu Lou, and 'Jin Yu Man Tang' and 'Jin Feng Yu Lu' sound very suitable."
Jin Yu Lou's prices are high; I ordered two taels of silver for each of their "Golden Wind and Jade Dew" and "Golden Jade Abundance" dishes.
Princess Ruining was taken aback: "Why is it so expensive?"
It wasn't that she had never been to Jin Yu Lou before. A decent meal at Jin Yu Lou usually cost only five or six taels of silver. Even a more extravagant meal would only cost a little over ten taels.
This feast is enough for more than ten people to eat and drink their fill.
"Golden Wind and Jade Dew" is nothing more than corn soup, and "Golden Jade Abundance" is ultimately just steamed buns. They are all vegetarian dishes without any meat or fish. How can they be sold at such a high price?
She voiced her doubts, only to be met with a mysterious smile from Gu Yaoniang: "My pricing isn't for selling, it's for giving away!"
A gift? That's even stranger!
What business owner would deliver things to their customers?
"When my second uncle ran Jinyulou, the guests could eat and drink well for an average of one tael of silver each."
Many customers complained that Jin Yu Lou served too much food, feeling it wasn't expensive or rare enough. I'll probably try to find ways to control the portion sizes in the future.
But if the portion sizes are reduced, the guests won't be full and will certainly be unhappy.
Princess Ruining nodded.
She hadn't expected doing business to involve so many twists and turns, and she found it all quite amusing as Yao Niang recounted the story.
Yao Niang continued, "This time I've revised the menu for Jin Yu Lou. You can tell what the other dishes are just by their names, but Jin Yu Man Tang and Jin Feng Yu Lu are completely confusing."
At that time, everything else at Jin Yu Lou will remain the same. I will simply tell which table of guests can order a dish that costs one and a half taels of silver per person, and I will then give them a "Golden Wind and Jade Dew" or "Golden Jade Abundance" worth two taels of silver.
The customers at Jin Yu Lou aren't short of money; one and a half taels of silver per person is no problem for them at all. This way, I can make a lot more money. The ingredients for Jin Feng Yu Lu and Jin Yu Man Tang aren't expensive, so all things considered, I'm still the one who profits.”
Princess Ruining was skeptical: "Would they really order so many extra dishes just to get a complimentary dish?"
Going from one tael of silver per person to one tael and five mace of silver per person is quite a lot!
Gu Yaoniang said confidently, "Of course! Think about it, they gave away two taels of silver worth of goods, and all the extra dishes ended up being eaten by them."
Since we're eating it ourselves anyway, spending more money is the same as not spending any money at all, and we even get such an expensive dish as an extra bonus. The guests will definitely be secretly happy!
Princess Ruining felt that Yao Niang's words made sense, but she still felt that something was not quite right.
Gu Yaoniang added, "I also plan to do an activity with Golden Breeze and Jade Dew and Golden Jade Abundance. If they don't specify which dish they want, but instead have Jin Yu Lou prepare it, cover it, and serve it to them, they can guess which dish it is."
If they guess wrong, fine. If they guess right, I'll give them another dish. They can choose between Golden Breeze and Jade Dew and Golden Jade Abundance. I'll give it to them the next time they come to Golden Jade Pavilion.
Therefore, remembering the complimentary dishes I sent, they will definitely come to my Jin Yu Lou restaurant again next time they are dining out.
Princess Ruining was utterly amazed.
She never imagined that doing business required so much cunning! Gu Jia's wife is incredibly clever!
Seeing that Yao Niang seemed extremely pleased, she felt her mood lighten and the pent-up frustration in her heart dissipated.
Such a clever woman, wouldn't it be a pity if she only became a mere merchant's wife?
Princess Ruining said, "You are so intelligent, why don't you go to the official school to study, so that you can enter officialdom in the future and become a virtuous lady?"
Although the imperial court no longer treats merchants with disdain, in the eyes of the world, being a merchant is ultimately not as good as being an official.
Moreover, Yao Niang is a woman.
It is already much harder for a woman to make her way in the world. Why choose the thorny path of a businesswoman?
Gu Yaoniang was taken aback.
Her second uncle had asked her this question before. Princess Ruining was not the first person to ask her this, and she probably wouldn't be the last.
She used to think that she lacked ability and had limited knowledge, so she dared not embark on the path of officialdom.
Gu Xingzhi found her a teacher and she read more books. Although her original intention remained unchanged, she now had different insights.
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