Yan Qingqing asked Li Xiang'an and the others to move the braised chicken and roast duck into the shop.
The original braised chicken was kept in a covered bucket, and the roast duck was in the oven. Now that it's been completely opened, the aroma instantly fills the entire Buhou Street.
Passersby began to sniff the air intensely; it smelled amazing.
Needless to say, the people waiting in line were drooling uncontrollably; they had never known that a chicken or a duck could taste so delicious.
In comparison, braised offal seems rather ordinary, but there are still people who come specifically to buy it because they like it.
The line in front of the shop grew longer and longer. Seeing this, Yan Qingqing told Li Xiang'an to quickly prepare the ingredients for the afternoon sale.
Seeing how popular it was, Li Xiang'an stopped paying attention to the county magistrate and quickly rolled up his sleeves, calling Wang Dong to go to the backyard.
In less than half an hour, the braised chicken, roast duck, and drunken duck were sold out, but there was still a long queue behind them, and everyone was stomping their feet in frustration.
Seeing this, Yan Qingqing stepped forward and said, "Everyone, thank you for your support of Canghe Li Ji. Today is the first time we are opening and we are not well prepared. In addition, we have limited manpower and our ingredients need to be carefully selected and specially processed, so we really can't make that many."
The braised chicken and the Drunken Immortal Duck roast duck are sold out, but they will still be available in the afternoon. If you want to eat them, you can come earlier.
We still have some of our "Flipped Red" (a type of fruit), so if you haven't tried it before or like it, you can take some home.
And regardless of whether you bought anything from our store today, I'll give you two free braised eggs as a thank you for your support of Canghe Li Ji.
Yan Qingqing's words were neither humble nor arrogant, but reasonable and well-founded.
Everyone knows that businesses can't possibly have an unlimited supply.
Then someone said, "The proprietress is so generous! I will definitely support your business more in the future."
"The 'Flipped Red' is delicious too, and your place is much cheaper than restaurants. Give me two jin." He then winked at Yan Qingqing.
Yan Qingqing thought the man looked familiar, and upon closer inspection, she almost burst out laughing. Wasn't this the man who had gone to Chen Liu's house for a feast last time?
Yan Qingqing immediately understood that this was probably a plant that Chen Liu had hired because he was worried that her business would not be good on her first day of business. In any case, Chen Liu had put his heart into it.
Yan Qingqing couldn't expose their rudeness, so she quickly said, "Thank you so much for your support of Canghe Li Ji. If you ever release any new products, please be the first one we invite you to try."
Amidst the envious glances of the crowd, the man left with the fried red bean curd and a serving of braised dishes.
With the previous customers setting an example, the "Flip Red" (a type of spicy snack) and braised dishes quickly sold out.
Yan Qingqing glanced at the time; it was only around eleven o'clock. Thinking that it was almost lunchtime and the people who had brought their congratulatory gifts should be arriving for the feast, she quickly asked the children to prepare lunch.
Because everyone was busy and lived in the same county, their gifts were delivered early in the morning, but the people in person had not yet arrived.
The first to arrive were the people from Canghe Village, led by Li Kaishan and Old Master Li, along with some other respected figures in the village.
When Yan Qingqing saw that these people were all several hundred years old combined, she quickly went out to greet them.
Looking at the four big characters "Canghe Li Ji" hanging above the shop, Li Kaishan smiled and said to Grandpa Li, "Great! We can finally find traces of our Canghe Village in the county town. This is all thanks to Qingqing and the children."
Grandpa Li said with a proud look, "Of course, our Li family has finally not brought shame to Canghe Village."
The people following behind also kept praising it, as if the shop were their own.
Yan Qingqing, worried that it was too cold outside and that the "old immortals" would get cold, said, "Dad, Uncle Village Chief, it's too cold outside, please come inside and sit down."
The others nodded in agreement. They had all worn their newest and best clothes so as not to embarrass Yan Qingqing. However, despite this, most of their clothes still had patches on them, just fewer than what they usually wore.
Yan Qingqing didn't think anything of it and continued to warmly welcome them after they entered the house, just like she did in Canghe Village.
The village chief took out a cloth bag from his pocket, then took out a string of copper coins and handed it to Yan Qingqing, saying, "The people in our village are genuinely happy for you."
Actually, everyone wanted to come to your shop to congratulate you, but firstly, it's too far for them to come, and secondly, they were afraid that coming today would disturb your business.
So we've sent a few of us old guys as representatives to congratulate you.
We all know you're not short of money right now, but this is a token of our appreciation, and we hope you won't mind.
This paper also contains a detailed list of the gifts given; I'm giving it to you along with it.
Yan Qingqing knew that this was a token of everyone's goodwill, so she did not refuse.
Yan Qingqing glanced at the bill; some bills were as high as thirty coins, while others were as low as five. Regardless of the amount, Yan Qingqing felt their good intentions.
Li Kaishan wanted to leave after sitting for a while, but Yan Qingqing definitely wouldn't let him.
Li Kaishan said, "Those coming later are all your business associates. They're all better than us, even if they're just passing through our pockets. We're afraid we'll embarrass you if we're here."
Yan Qingqing replied seriously, "Uncle Village Chief, what are you saying? I've been married into Canghe Village for so many years, and my children all grew up there. It will always be our home."
Who would feel ashamed of their own family? Besides, if I had such thoughts, I wouldn't have built the house and embroidery workshop there.
I hope that when I am able, I can give back to Canghe Village as much as possible, and that Canghe Village can be my support.
Yan Qingqing's words reassured Li Kaishan, who said with emotion, "Ah! I feel relieved to hear you say that."
Soon, other well-wishers arrived one after another. Li Kaishan told Yan Qingqing not to worry about them and to go and greet the others first.
Yan Qingqing didn't stand on ceremony with him and went off to entertain the others.
Just as Yan Qingqing was about to forget about Magistrate Ling, a middle-aged man walked in with two constables carrying two boxes.
Everyone else looked bewildered upon seeing the officials, but Yan Qingqing calmly stepped forward, cupped her hands in greeting, and asked, "What brings you three here?"
The middle-aged man said, "You must be Madam Yan. I am the steward of Magistrate Ling. Our magistrate originally wanted to come and congratulate you in person, but a murder occurred in Yueyang Town and the magistrate was unable to leave, so he sent me to congratulate Madam Yan."
Everyone was stunned when they heard this. The Li family had a lot of influence, or rather, Yan Qingqing had a lot of influence. Even the county magistrate had come to give her gifts.
It seems those rumors from the streets are true; the Li family does indeed have some connection with the county magistrate. They'll have to re-evaluate their relationship with the Li family from now on.
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