71 loyal customers
◎I feel sorry◎
Shopkeeper Zhou smiled and leaned closer, asking, "Manager Wu is indeed a clever man. He's come up with a plan right now. Could you please share it with me and satisfy my curiosity?"
Manager Wu smiled and said, "This idea was thought up by our shopkeeper. Since Cha Yuan is so good, why not buy her? No matter how capable she is, she's still a woman, so let her get married early."
The momentum of Chayuan is very strong. If Zui Liuxia wants to get it, I wonder how much money it will cost. Although Manager Zhou is curious, he knows that it is not convenient to ask further about this matter.
The moon hangs in the blue sky, shining silvery light. It happens to be the night of the Lantern Festival, when fireworks are at their peak. In the streets and alleys, thousands of lights compete to shine, just like stars falling into the mortal world, weaving a dreamy and beautiful visual feast.
On the other side of Yunzhou City, West Luohua Street.
Wrapped in red silk and embellished with gold threads, each lantern is meticulously crafted, depicting mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, birds, and animals, all so vivid that you can almost hear the gurgling of water and the chirping of birds. The vibrant colors of the lights complement each other, creating a dazzling spectacle.
Under the lively lanterns, various small stalls were arranged in a long line. At the head of the dragon, a crowd formed a vortex surrounding the central store, with people constantly pouring in and out.
People outside only saw that everyone coming out was carrying a small bamboo tube. Some curious people stretched their heads to take a look and wondered what was inside the bamboo tube that was as long as their forearm.
Someone replied, "This is the most popular portable milk tea in Yunzhou City." Another person explained, "This was originally a sweet water shop in the Shuchengfang area of South City. Almost everyone in South City has tried this milk tea. If anyone doesn't know it, they'd seem out of touch.
The stall is open here recently because of the Lantern Festival. Go and try it, the taste will definitely live up to your expectations."
I've seen people from other parts of the city and towns. I think we eat tangyuan every year during the Lantern Festival, but I'm tired of it. I want to try something different today.
After taking a closer look, I found that there was not only tea in it, but also red beans, coix seeds, and round and smooth little pearl beans. After asking the shopkeeper, I learned that they were small taro balls made from tapioca starch.
These taro balls are soft and sticky, with a novel and chewy texture. The light taro fragrance neutralizes the sweetness of the milk tea, and it looks like a cup of "milk dumplings".
Wow, it’s delicious and tasty. Customers often see that they can take it away, so they order three or four cups each and take them home to share with their families.
Xiluohua Street is full of small stalls. People who buy food usually prepare the ingredients in advance, so ordinary stalls are only run by two or three people at most. But in this stall, five people are so busy that they can't stop.
Song Jinyi's hands felt sore from scooping the drink. She thought she should buy some medicated oil to rub them on herself, otherwise she wouldn't be able to lift her hands tomorrow.
He stopped only when the milk tea he brought was sold out.
Next to their drink stall was a small stall selling glutinous rice balls. The stall owners were a couple in their forties. The husband had gone somewhere, leaving his wife alone to take care of the stall.
The woman had a long face, single eyelids, slightly drooping eyes, and cheeks that looked like pieces of paper stuck to her bones. She looked at the person next door with both envy and jealousy.
Logically speaking, selling glutinous rice balls is the best business during the Lantern Festival, but the people who came to her side were involuntarily attracted away as soon as they glanced at the next door.
It was as if the woman next door was not the lady selling tea, but some kind of soul-stirring mountain elf.
Look, she looked over with a serious face, that group of men and women all had vixen-like looks, no wonder they could attract customers.
As Song Jinyi and the others were packing up their stall, they heard the neighbor say, "Being pretty is good. This customer doesn't even bother looking at anyone else, but goes straight for that pretty face. No wonder business is so good."
Xie Wuyang was not around, and the two children, Zhang Jinfei and Li He, didn't understand anything. Only Song Jinyi and Xu Ruolan almost immediately understood the other party's implication.
Although Xu Ruolan is usually gentle and polite to others, she is not timid. She immediately put down what she was holding and was about to say something to him. When she raised her hand, she felt her arm sink.
She turned her head and saw that it was Song Jinyi holding her hand. She looked over in confusion.
Song Jinyi patted Xu Ruolan's hand and signaled her with her eyes to handle the matter. It seemed that she wanted to keep the peace and did not want to get into a dispute with others.
When one is out, one should be cautious in what he does and not get into trouble. Xu Ruolan understood this, but she felt vaguely uncomfortable in her heart.
Song Jinyi followed up on the other person's words and asked, "This lady is right. It is because of her beauty that she can have such a prosperous business. Thank you for your compliment..."
Woman: "..." She didn't mean to praise them at all. She stared at them with a strange expression. God knows if they were too stupid to hear her, or if she was deliberately giving them a way out.
But the other party changed the subject and asked sincerely, "My business is so slow, don't you want to attract customers with your beauty?" After saying that, he blinked his eyes, looking so innocent and simple.
Although her actions and tone disgusted her, it didn't matter. As long as she could disgust the other person, it was fine.
As expected, the other person's expression suddenly changed. If she could attract customers with her beauty, she would naturally want it. However, she was old and her looks were fading. Looking at the people opposite her, each one was younger than the other, and their tight skin was so enviable.
As the saying goes, comparison is the thief of envy. Not only is she beautiful, but her craftsmanship is also good... Hey, why did she envy her? When she came to her senses, she realized that she was saying that her craftsmanship was poor and she was ugly.
"You—" The woman's face turned red and white. Since the man didn't say anything clearly, she could only curse: "You have such a sharp tongue!"
Song Jinyi snorted lightly, and considered this verbal lawsuit a small victory for her for the time being. Xu Ruolan looked at her meaningfully, and she was also confused. Song Jinyi was not someone who would swallow her anger.
Those words just now were sharper than a knife. Look how angry that woman is, her face is livid.
Xu Ruolan felt much more relieved. She packed her things and looked back. She saw a girl under a banyan tree not far away. She looked over here from time to time and walked hesitantly.
She nodded at Song Jinyi and told her to look over there. "Is this girl looking at us? Is there something wrong?"
Song Jinyi said directly, "If you want to know, just call me over." She took a few steps, waved her hand, and said, "Young lady, is there anything I can help you with?"
When the little girl saw someone coming, she blushed and turned her head away to leave, but she didn't know what she thought of. She turned around again and walked forward a few steps shyly. When she looked up and saw Song Jinyi, she lowered her head again.
Song Jinyi saw that the child was a social anxiety patient, so she approached him enthusiastically and said, "Young lady."
The more enthusiastic she was, the more the other party retreated. His eyes wandered around and he didn't know where to look. His fingers pinched the hem of his clothes, like a simple little white rabbit.
But why did she feel like she had become a weird aunt who kidnapped good children?
The little girl said weakly, "Shopkeeper Song, I drank your milk tea in front of the Taishan Temple before. It was so delicious. Later I found out that you moved to the North City Market. I didn't get to drink it when I went there yesterday. It's a pity.
I went to Taishan Temple and Beicheng Market today but didn't see you. I asked around and ended up here. I didn't expect to be late again. I shouldn't have bothered you after closing time. I just wanted to ask where I can get some milk tea tomorrow."
How could she let down such a loyal fan? Song Jinyi immediately said, "Come on, go back to the store with your sister and I'll make you a special milk tea!"
When they returned to the store, Xu Ruolan went to the kitchen. Song Jinyi was afraid that she would feel embarrassed being alone, so she took the initiative to talk to her.
After learning that the other person's surname was He and her given name was Yuan, Song Jinyi called her Madam He. "Madam He, I actually have some impression of you. I have some free time today, so I'd like to talk to you."
"Really?"
Her sincere eyes made Song Jinyi's face turn red. What she said just now was just business nonsense. As long as the customers were happy, it would be fine. She could only avoid the main point and say, "I'll go see if the milk tea is ready."
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Ruolan came out with a specially blended milk tea. The so-called special blend means that a lot of ingredients are added, such as red beans, barley, taro paste... It's almost like milk tea porridge.
Anyone who looks at this full bowl of milk tea can see her sincerity.
The first time He Yuan drank milk tea was not from a bamboo tube, but from a large porcelain bowl. She couldn't help but smack her lips and scooped a full spoonful of milk tea and toppings. Her eyes suddenly lit up. It tasted so good.
She praised sincerely, "It's delicious. I want to drink a cup every day. Where are you going to set up your stall tomorrow, Shopkeeper Song?" She hadn't swallowed the food in her mouth when she said this.
The taro paste was soft and easy to get stuck in the throat, so Song Jinyi was afraid that she would choke.
She jokingly said, "I'm just taking advantage of the holidays these days to go out and make some friends. I'll sell it in the store tomorrow. If you really like it, why not learn this craft from me? Not only can you drink it yourself, but you can also make money."
"Really?"
Song Jinyi was stunned, not knowing what she was asking.
Xu Ruolan quickly patted her, telling her not to talk nonsense, then turned around and said, "She was just joking with you."
But Miss He's expression became more serious. "That's true. If I could open this drink shop myself, wouldn't I be able to drink milk tea every day? Can you teach me how to open a milk tea shop? Can you take me in as your apprentice?"
Song and Xu were both stunned when they heard her serious question. They looked at each other. Is she serious?
Song Jinyi thought for a moment and said, "You are young, this kind of thing is not a joke. Not to mention whether your parents agree, the cost is not a small amount."
"How much does it cost?"
Seeing her ask, Song Jinyi brought out a tray and said, "The rent for a shop is about thirty taels, and the franchise fee is fifty taels. The franchise fee guarantees that you will learn the skills, and someone will be sent to guide you for a month until you can run a shop.
There are also raw material costs. Tea alone costs at least two catties a month. One catty is fifty taels, two catties is one hundred taels, and the minimum is one hundred and fifty taels."
Song Jinyi originally thought that she was just impulsive and would stop after hearing this number.
He Yuan propped his cheek with his fingers, his eyes wandering, the hesitation on his face almost overflowing. After a long while, he said, "It's indeed a bit much, but I can scrape together my monthly salary, so it should be enough."
Monthly salary? One hundred and fifty taels!
Well, she was narrow-minded. There were so many rich people in this world, why couldn't there be one more rich person like her?
He Yuan asked a lot of questions about opening a store, and the two of them answered each other.
A quarter of an hour later, Song Jinyi held the money for milk tea given by He Yuan, looked at her gradually disappearing figure, and laughed very lightly, not knowing what she was thinking about.
Xu Ruolan asked, "Do you think she will come tomorrow?"
"This is such a good idea. Even if she doesn't come, it won't be me who will be regretful."
The next day, Song Jinyi and her team continued to make milk tea in the store. While she was busy, she looked up from time to time. Even the thick-skinned Li He noticed that she was waiting for someone.
He Yuan didn't show up until closing time. Although she said it was nothing, she still felt a sense of regret in her heart.
She sighed softly, and when she heard Xu Ruolan sigh beside her, she asked, "Why are you sighing, Sister Ruolan?"
"I feel sorry."
"What a pity?"
"It's a pity that she missed such a good opportunity."
Song Jinyi couldn't help but laugh and said, "Sister Ruolan, why are you telling jokes now?"
Although this franchise method is good, the cost is not low. Some people are short-sighted and can only see the expenses but not the huge benefits in the future.
She said to herself: "I wonder who will be the first person to try this?"
What Song Jinyi didn't expect was that someone was the first to try it that day, but what surprised her even more was that the other person was Zui Liuxia!
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