Once inside the carriage and the curtain was lowered, Gu Yaoniang's smile faded somewhat.
She picked up the jade wheel from the lucky stool, held the handle in her hand, and gently rolled it against her cheek, mumbling, "Finally home. My face is all stiff from smiling!"
Bi Shuang sat down beside her, massaging her aching calves, and said with concern, "You could have stayed home and rested, Master is waiting for you. What other wife does things so personally! Most people just tell the steward to do it..."
Bizhu coughed lightly and gently tugged at Bishuang. Bishuang stuck out her tongue, said nothing more, and continued massaging Yaoniang.
Bizhu was originally better at identifying acupoints, and she was the most suitable person to do the massage and relaxation.
However, her strength was too great, and when she massaged Yao Niang for the first time, Yao Niang cried out in pain.
That was fine then. The next day, Yao Niang was still covered in bruises, which startled Bi Tao, who was helping her wash and change.
From then on, Bishuang became the person who massaged Yaoniang's muscles and bones, while Bitao became the person who often had bruises on her body.
Unfortunately, Bizhu needed to demonstrate the acupressure points to Bishuang, so Bitao had to take the blame.
Yao Niang felt comfortable being massaged by Bi Shuang, her eyes half-closed, and she leaned loosely against the wall of the room.
"I'm not some other woman. No other woman loves money as much as I do!"
Low laughter rippled through the carriage.
Bitao seemed rather sullen: "My lady said she loves money. So many people are lining up, and you're saying you won't sell anymore. Our mooncakes are so popular, and today is the Mid-Autumn Festival!"
She straightened up in anxiety: "Madam! If we don't sell today, we'll have to wait a whole year next time! I feel so bad just thinking about it!"
Gu Yaoniang chuckled softly and said to Bizhu and Bishuang, "You see! After being with me for so long, Bitao loves money even more than I do. I wonder what will become of you two in the future."
Seeing that Bitao still looked distressed and worried, Yaoniang gently shifted her body and changed her posture before saying, "We are not selling much today, naturally in order to sell more in the future."
Bitao looked bewildered: "But what if the guests can't buy enough or eat enough? Won't they be unhappy?"
Yao Niang shook her head: "Even if I'm unhappy, how unhappy can I be? As long as our food is good, no other place can compare. Even if I'm unhappy, it's only temporary. In the end, I'll still be thinking about the food at Jin Yu Lou."
Only when they know that our Jin Yu Lou food is good, reasonably priced, but not something they can eat every day if they want to will they remember it. Only then will they always think of coming to check it out when Jin Yu Lou is open for business.
Only then could Jin Yulou truly establish itself.
Bitao listened in a daze, blinked her eyes, and then thought it made a lot of sense, so she stopped talking.
Bizhu and Bishuang chuckled. They knew they hadn't been with Gu Yaoniang for long and weren't as close as Bitao. They simply carried out Yaoniang's orders silently.
Bitao, on the other hand, was less reserved. She would ask questions whenever she didn't understand something, which helped to resolve their doubts.
Bitao was annoyed by the laughter: "You're still laughing! Was I the only one who was worried in the room yesterday?"
Gu Yaoniang smiled and shook her head.
Shuojing City is the most prosperous and magnificent place in the dynasty, with all kinds of taverns springing up everywhere. There are always more exquisite and delicious restaurants, each with its own merits. But if we're talking about refined food and drink, Jin Yu Lou has already reached its limit.
Jin Yu Lou used to be unremarkable. Yao Niang remembered the Ten-Dishes Feast at Shi Yang Lou in Mengzhou, where ten signature dishes were combined into one feast, with a mix of meat and vegetables, which was quite a unique feature.
The ten dishes are actually all dishes that can be made in local restaurants in Mengzhou, but Shiyanglou is the first to always make a ten-dish banquet. Over time, if locals want to eat any special dishes, Shiyanglou is the first place that comes to mind.
Jin Yu Lou is the same now; it doesn't offer many of its signature dishes anymore. However, back when Yao Niang was in Qingyun County, she had many dishes prepared differently from those in Shuojing City.
With the addition of the recipes Wang Zhilan sent, there are now quite a few new variations.
She thought about it again and again, and then went to discuss it with Gu Xingzhi, but Gu Xingzhi was unwilling to give advice. He only told her to go ahead and do it.
Ultimately, they decided to do the opposite.
The restaurants nearby all make sure to serve their guests to their satisfaction in every way, and prepare whatever they want.
Yao Niang decided that Jin Yu Lou would frequently introduce new dishes, but these new dishes would be available in limited quantities. The main goal was to keep customers thinking about them, making them eagerly anticipate their arrival.
Once you develop the habit of thinking about it every day, every time Jin Yu Lou releases a new dish, it will be snapped up by customers who are worried about not being able to eat it again.
After trying it out for the past two days since reopening, it seems to be going quite well.
She plans to introduce a new dish or dessert at Jin Yu Lou on the first and fifteenth of each month. These days also happen to be the government office's ten-day holidays, so there should be more customers.
Thinking about the new desserts to be made in the future, Yao Niang couldn't help but think of the shark fin cake, peanut pudding, and five-colored tea cakes she used to make occasionally when she was in Qingyun County, and she couldn't help but swallow her saliva.
Come to think of it, I haven't eaten these things since I arrived in Shuojing.
She was somewhat tempted.
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