At Li Shentong's command, all the guards left. Looking at his beloved daughter, he couldn't bear to scold or beat her. He stuffed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, chewed it vigorously, and then swallowed it in one gulp. Only then did he feel a little better.
"Changning! Don't do these things at home anymore. Your father is getting old and can't take a fright!" Li Shentong said earnestly after calming down.
"Yes, Father! I won't do it again!" Princess Changning said, her pretty face flushed. It wasn't that she was being unreasonable; she had just met a friend she could chat with and had momentarily lost her composure.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's all my fault. I asked Sister Ruoxi to make popcorn." Xiangli Yanran also felt embarrassed, as she had caused chaos as soon as she arrived at someone else's house.
"It's alright! It's rare for Changning to have a friend like this. As long as you're happy," Li Shentong said with a forgiving smile.
The popcorn was indeed very loud, especially the extra-large popcorn made by Xiangli Yanran. Fortunately, the Prince's mansion was large enough that only a muffled thud was heard outside the mansion. Passersby looked at the sky and thought it was just a summer thunder, so they paid no more attention to it.
"Dad! This is my friend, Xiangli Yanran!"
"Oh! So you're a child from the Mo family. What a rare guest."
"I apologize for my unannounced visit, Your Highness." In that instant, Xiangli Yanran's demeanor was that of a lady from a prominent family.
"It's alright, it's alright, you guys have fun," Li Shentong waved his hand and said.
"Father! Father! I need to ask you for a favor!" Li Shentong was about to leave when his daughter grabbed him.
"Speak, what is it this time?"
"Father, as you know, I am the Chief Secretary of the Six Doors, but I don't have a single person under my command. Could you find me some people?"
"Okay! I'll find you a few experts so you can lead those Qin family lads." Li Shentong readily agreed.
"No, no, I don't want experts, I want civil officials to help with official duties!" Princess Changning shook her head and said.
"What! You don't actually want to just sit back and be the Chief Secretary, do you?!" Li Shentong asked, his eyes wide.
"Yes! Since I'm going to be the Chief Secretary, I definitely have to do it well!"
"You...you want to help that brat Qin Huaidao, don't you?!" Li Shentong asked, touching his chest.
"Father! Just tell me, will you help or not?" Princess Changning blushed and shook Li Shentong's arm as she asked.
"I'm so angry! Daughters really are like that, once they grow up, they're gone!" Li Shentong shook off his daughter's hand, patted his chest a few times, and then stormed off.
"Is the Prince angry?" Xiangli Yanran asked.
"It's alright, he'll help me," Princess Changning said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned.
"I should go back too," Xiangli Yanran said with a blink of her eyes.
"Yes, yes! Go ahead, quickly prepare manpower for your Brother Qin." Princess Changning nodded.
When Princess Changning made her point clear, Xiangli Yanran's face tightened, and she said very seriously, "I will not admit defeat!"
“Yes, yes! I won’t back down either.” Princess Changning didn’t take Xiangli Yanran’s threat to heart and said with a smile.
"Hmph!" Xiangli Yanran snorted coldly, turned around and left. There was nothing she could do; the pressure from Princess Changning was simply too great, and she seemed to be at a disadvantage in every aspect.
Following the maid out of the Prince's mansion, Xiangli Yanran suddenly remembered Li Shentong's performance earlier, and a smile appeared on her face as she said, "It seems her father doesn't agree to this. Good luck! You can do it!"
Qin Mu, of course, was unaware that two girls were already engaged in a fierce competition for him. That afternoon, he went to the restaurant. The restaurant's opening was a major event, and he was worried, so he decided to conduct a rehearsal to ensure everything went perfectly.
Various vegetables, meats, and seasonings are being continuously delivered to Ruguilou. Since the water curtain at the restaurant was activated during the Qixi Festival, people have been coming to watch it every day. Qin Mu hasn't disappointed; he activates it briefly each day, showcasing this beautiful sight as a form of advance advertising.
"This is bad!" On the next street, in a restaurant, more than a dozen people in a private room were all standing at the window, looking at the distant Rugui Restaurant.
“Why are you all so discouraged? In the end, a restaurant still has to rely on fine wine and delicious food as its selling point. What good is a beautiful view?” said a slightly overweight middle-aged man.
"Hmph! Manager He, you've probably forgotten that the hottest liquor in Chang'an right now belongs to them. How could we not sell it when the restaurant opens?" A middle-aged man said, touching the gemstone ring on his little finger.
“What you say makes sense, Young Master Wei, but a restaurant’s success still depends on its food, right?” said the chubby manager, Mr. He.
"Do you think their food is worse than your Yunlai Restaurant?" the middle-aged man sneered.
“That’s right, Brother Wei is right. Whether it’s Qin Shubao or Cheng Zhijie, if they are willing to support their son, hiring an imperial chef from the palace would definitely not be a problem. Therefore, the former imperial chef we found, plus Deyuelou, is not a sure thing.” Another middle-aged man nodded and said.
"I understand what you two are saying, but you've overlooked one point: the most essential thing for a restaurant is meat. If they don't have high-quality wild game meat, they'll never be presentable," Manager He said with a confident smile.
"Oh! Manager He, what brilliant idea do you have?"
"Ten days ago, I sent people to buy up the meat of wild beasts at a high price. If they don't have enough wild beast meat for a while, their reputation will definitely plummet!"
“Yes! In this weather, even with a refrigerated box, it can only last for seven days. Without enough prey, it’s indeed difficult to meet the restaurant’s needs. This method is feasible!” Young Master Wei nodded.
"However, my abilities are limited, and I need your support!"
“No problem, all eighteen of our restaurants will fully support you,” another fat man said.
“This isn’t safe. We need to be prepared for multiple scenarios and try to defeat our opponent in one fell swoop, so that he can’t recover. Such a large restaurant has considerable expenses. If this drags on for a while, it will be very difficult,” Young Master Wei said without turning his head.
"Then we'll start lowering prices early to attract customers. This restaurant is for dining; if we have more customers, our competitors will have fewer."
"Not only that, once they open, we'll immediately send people to taste their dishes and make the same dishes, but at a lower price!"
"Let's find some thugs to cause trouble!"
………
Young Master Wei raised his right hand, stopping the others from continuing the discussion, and said calmly, "Don't bring these petty tricks into the open. We are all legitimate businessmen."
“Young Master Wei is right. Business matters should be resolved using business methods,” someone agreed.
"Then! Let's get moving! No matter how much we talk, we can't defeat that beautiful restaurant across the street!" Young Master Wei said, turning around.
"I'll take my leave now!"
"Farewell!"
"Hmph! A bunch of scoundrels!" With only the two of them left in the room, Young Master Wei sat down and snorted coldly.
“Brother Wei certainly wouldn’t care about that. It’s just a restaurant business in this area; the loss is nothing to him,” a smiling middle-aged man said, fanning himself with a folding fan.
"Hehe, Brother Du, you feel the same way. Chang'an is so big, what difference does it make if one or two more restaurants are added? No one will lose business because of it, they will just earn a little less."
"Wei and Du are only a foot and a half apart in the south of the city. Our two families may not care, but there are many others who do. If we use some underhanded tricks and anger a few families, we won't be in a good place either. Brother Wei, you'd better be careful not to make a big fuss," Fatty Du reminded him.
From their tone, one could tell that these two men represented the Wei and Du families of Chang'an. Although they were not direct descendants of either family, they were still key figures and therefore did not care much about the others.
In Chang'an, the influence of these two families was arguably no less than that of prominent families in other regions, and they also had many officials serving in the imperial court. This is why they were chosen as the leaders of these eighteen restaurants. After all, the East and West Markets of Chang'an were the places with the most business people and the best restaurants.
Business deals, business discussions, and personal relationships can all be conducted at restaurants. If one meal doesn't go well, then another will—this idea is deeply ingrained in people's minds. With so many officials in Chang'an, there are even more people who need to curry favor with them, so how could the restaurants possibly have a bad business?
"Of course I know that! But Brother Du, aren't you interested in their waterfall?"
"So what if they're interested? It's their core secret; the craftsmen outside have no idea about it."
“There are always some people who know a little bit about it, and then they arrange for people to go in and observe. I don’t believe they won’t find any clues,” Fatty Du said with a smile.
"Haha! Brother Du, you and I are of the same mind! Actually, I really hope their restaurant business will prosper!" Young Master Wei was a member of a collateral branch of the Wei family. His name was Wei Yuanlin, and he was a cousin of the head of the Wei family. He was most skilled in business.
"Hehe, of course! The better their business is, the happier I am." Fatty Du had even forgotten his real name, because outsiders either called him Manager Du or Eagle Du, which meant that he had a very accurate eye, just like an eagle.
"That's right. With the financial resources of our two families, once we control this point, we can make a fortune all over the Tang Dynasty!"
"It's best to establish a set of rules first to avoid unnecessary competition. Also, it's best to share the technology we find so that we can crack it as soon as possible," Du Ying said with a smile.
Wei Yuanlin had never underestimated this fat man. From the glint in his eyes, he knew that this was a difficult person to deal with. He nodded in agreement with the suggestion, saying, "Brother Du is right. This is a win-win situation for us!"
The two laughed heartily, just like foxes. For them, whether Qin Mu's restaurant could stay open or not was unimportant; what mattered was whether they could learn something new.
Any creative idea can be replicated. Just like folding fans, the Du family has already sent people to the south to produce them in large quantities. Firstly, there are more scholars in the south, and secondly, there is more bamboo in the south, so the cost is lower.
Wei Yuanlin is no pushover either. He has already bribed two people at Cheng's Winery, but he still cannot master the core technology.
Wei and Du knew far more about the restaurants than the other sixteen. They even knew that it was all orchestrated by Qin Qiong's son, who had just returned home.
In the past two days, he has made a great splash by writing poems that have left no one in Ziyun Tower willing to fight him; when he encountered an assassin, he used a secret scroll, demonstrating his remarkable Confucian cultivation.
What was originally the most talked-about topic was that the Qin family had bought a hundred courtesans, but now it seems that these courtesans were indeed prepared for the restaurant. They don't believe that Qin Qiong's son would open a restaurant that resembles a brothel, so the purpose of these hundred courtesans is quite intriguing.
Cheng Zhijie and others dared to invest heavily in opening a restaurant, and no one would think they had too much money to spend. Therefore, the restaurant's profit model is definitely worth learning from.
……………
"Have you come up with a plan? I want him to go out of business!" In another private room at the same restaurant, Changsun Chong asked with a gloomy face. He already disliked Qin Mu, and now he couldn't stand to see him in the limelight again.
With Li Shimin issuing an edict to circulate poems commemorating Princess Pingyang, Qin Mu is now the talk of the town in Chang'an. Even when he goes to brothels, all he hears is about the Magpie Bridge Fairy, which fuels his jealousy. So he gathers the children to discuss countermeasures.
"I'll have someone set it on fire tonight! Burn it to the ground! There have been assassins these past few days, so if something happens, the first thing people will think of is the assassins," Zhang Wu said viciously.
"You son of a bitch, you're asking for death, don't drag us down with you! Don't you even think about who the assassin was trying to kill? The Three Judicial Offices are just looking for a scapegoat. If something happens, not only you, but even your father can't take the blame!" Changsun Chong cursed angrily in a low voice.
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Zhang Wu wasn't stupid either. After hearing Changsun Chong's words, he sat down angrily.
"Let's find a few thugs and cause trouble every day!"
"Chai Lingwu! You're an idiot too. What thug is stupid enough to cause trouble in such a big restaurant!" Zhang Wu sneered. He knew thugs well; they were all bullies who preyed on the weak and feared the strong. They might bully ordinary people, but they wouldn't dare mess with a large shop. After all, there were too many powerful and influential people in Chang'an; no one knew if there were powerful figures behind them.
"Of course I know. As long as we're willing to step up, those petty thugs have powerful backers, so why wouldn't they dare to go?"
"Hehe! You don't believe me when I say you're stupid! You're going to go? Fine! Go ahead! Once the thugs are caught, they'll immediately confess that Chai Lingwu ordered them." Seemingly finding a sense of intellectual superiority, Zhang Wu laughed very happily.
Chai Lingwu was speechless after Zhang Wu's words, his face turning red with embarrassment.
"These petty tricks are low-level and won't hurt their foundation. In my opinion, business matters should be handled with business methods. The most important thing for a restaurant is its raw materials! Starting from that aspect is the fatal blow!" Chai Zhewei said coldly, standing up for his brother.
"Brother Zhewei is absolutely right! We can use our connections to buy up the vegetables outside Chang'an in advance, so they'll only have leftovers or have to go to even farther places to find them!" Changsun Chong said happily.
“That’s right. Anyway, we can eat the vegetables ourselves, so let’s just consider it as adding food to the workshop and home!” Chai Zhewei nodded.
“Great! Let’s split up and get more friends to help!” Zhang Wu also thought this was a good idea and stood up happily.
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