What Xu Ji did was not a big deal, but it did give Xu Qinyu some other thoughts.

The matter is related to the owner of the shop that Xu Ji rented.

Fourth brother left after breakfast in the morning, and Xu Qinyu came over in the morning to fry crispy pork intestines for him.

The diners who were having breakfast couldn't stand the smell and asked Wen, "Boss, have you made something new? It smells so delicious."

Wen smiled and said, "Isn't my wife planning to open a restaurant in Raozhou City? She has been making new dishes recently. The dish she made today is called Crispy Pork Intestines."

The diners couldn't help but ask, "Can we serve this new dish at sunset?" It was really delicious. They were all old diners of Xu's and knew how good Ms. Xu's cooking skills were. They knew that this fresh dish she made would definitely taste as delicious as always, even if it was made with offal.

Wen just smiled and said, "I'm afraid we can't have new products yet. We have to wait until the restaurant opens, and then we can have them both at the same time."

The diners were of course disappointed, but the aroma was so overpowering that they couldn't stop thinking about it even while having breakfast.

When Xu Qinyu sent her fourth brother away, the diners couldn't help asking when they saw her coming out, "Ms. Xu, are you really not going to serve this fresh food? We are all horny just by smelling it."

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "You are all regular customers of Xu's. The crispy pig intestines fried today were originally for my husband. He has to go on a long trip, and there are still a lot left in the kitchen. Everyone who has breakfast today can give half a piece. Although it's not much, everyone can taste it. How about giving some advice?"

She suddenly thought that in the future, she could let diners taste the new dishes for free. As they were all Xu Ji’s regular diners, they could help her taste and see if there was anything that needed to be improved.

The diners laughed and said, "That's a good feeling."

Xu Qinyu went to the kitchen and asked someone to serve a small portion to each of the diners in the front for them to taste.

There weren't many indeed, just one for each person, the length of a palm, and one half of a banana cut in half. But no one minds it at all, because the color is so alluring, like amber.

"Oh, this is so crispy that the crumbs fall off when you put it in your mouth. It's fragrant, crispy, chewy, and not greasy. It tastes very delicious. It turns out that the food made by Miss Xu never disappoints us."

"It smells really good, but there's too little. It's not enough to satisfy my craving. Oh, I hope the boss's restaurant can open soon. Even though we can't go to Raozhou City to show our support, we will definitely come to Xu's restaurant."

“Delicious, delicious…”

All the diners raved about the crispy pork intestines.

After serving the breakfast guests, everyone finished cleaning the kitchen and started to rest.

Xu Qinyu was also sitting by the window in front, writing and drawing. In addition to the newly drafted menu, she also wrote down some small details about the restaurant for fear that she would forget. Not long after, she heard footsteps coming from the restaurant door. She turned around and saw a middle-aged man who was leaning his head looking inside.

Xu Qinyu naturally recognized him; he was the man who owned the shop she rented.

The owner of the shop she rented was named Yao, a woman in her thirties with a daughter. Her husband died early, so she remarried to the middle-aged man in front of her and gave birth to a daughter with him.

Madam Yao has her own small house and this shop, which rents out at several dozen taels a year. She can't say she lives a wealthy life, but she's certainly better off than most. She even does some embroidery work on weekdays. But her husband is idle and doesn't do any work. He just eats and drinks at home all day, and then likes to wander around.

Xu Qinyu didn't like him very much. He liked to take advantage of the situation occasionally. When he came over for breakfast, he would ask for one when he saw the meat buns being sold outside. The staff in the restaurant all knew him and felt embarrassed to refuse him. Even if they did, he would not give him money, saying that this restaurant was rented by their family to the landlord and the price was cheaper than the market price.

Or if I see fish heads and fish balls being sold at the door at dusk, I’ll order one.

They were just a few coins, so Xu Qinyu didn't care too much about it.

Fortunately, Madam Yao knew the seriousness of the matter. Every time she knew that her man was trying to take advantage of her, she would come and apologize to Xu Qinyu and give her the money.

But Xu Qinyu didn't want any of them. The man was right. When she rented the shop, the annual rent was indeed a few taels cheaper than the market price. But that was also because the shop was rented to two food businesses in succession, and both of them lost money. As a result, the previous tenants moved out early, and then the shop was left for a few months, but it was not easy to rent out, so she rented it out for a few taels of silver.

Furthermore, if Xu Qinyu had not rented the shop, it is not certain that anyone else would be willing to rent it. After all, two families had lost money in a row before, and they would all think that the shop was not popular and did not do good business.

Xu Qinyu thought of this and looked at the man again.

Wen had already walked over and said with a smile: "Little Brother Shi, why are you here at this time? The breakfast has just been sold out. If you want to eat something, you can come over at dinner time."

After all, he was the man of the shop owner, so Wen was polite to him.

The man smiled and said, "Nothing, I came to see if your daughter-in-law is here. I have something to talk to her about."

He also knew that the real person in charge of Xu Ji was Xu Qinyu.

Xu Qinyu stood up and asked, "What's the matter with Shi Dongjia?"

The man's surname is Shi, and everyone seems to call him Shi Lao Ba.

Shi Laoba then saw Xu Qinyu sitting under the window, walked in, rubbed his hands and said with a smile: "Ms. Xu, this is what happened. You know, we rented this shop to you at a lower price than the market price, and we have rented it for nearly three years. Look, your business is so good, shouldn't we raise the rent a little bit?"

Xu Qinyu asked: "How much increase do you think is appropriate?"

Although the signed contract also stated that the rent could not be increased without reason, Shi Lao Ba always came to increase the rent.

In fact, Shi Laoba came here last year and wanted to discuss the rent.

But at that time, Madam Yao was standing nearby, and as soon as she heard Shi Laoba speak, she quickly pulled the man away.

It's been more than a year, and Shi Lao Ba still hasn't given up.

Xu Qinyu felt that it was normal for people to want to raise the rent, seeing that they were making money, and the rent was originally cheaper than the market price, so it was okay to raise it back, it would just be a few more taels of silver every year.

Shi Laoba smiled and said, "It's like this. Originally, the annual rent was cheaper than outside. I was thinking that this shop has been rented to you for almost three years. You are kind-hearted. In the future, we will not collect rent, and we can even add some money. Isn't Miss Xu still building a restaurant in Raozhou City? If you can get more money, we will also help you with 200 taels of silver. In the future, Xu's Restaurant will not charge you rent, and you can always use it. It is Miss Xu's restaurant in Raozhou City. Can we get half of the profit in the future? What do you think?"

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but glance at Shi Laoba.

He is really bold, wanting to own the shares of her restaurant for just 200 taels of silver.

Even Mrs. Lu and Mrs. Dong were willing to lend her 10,000 or 20,000 taels of silver, but they never mentioned the matter of investing.

Just building the restaurant cost fifty or sixty thousand taels of silver, not counting the subsequent investments.

Once the restaurant opens and starts to make profits, it will make at least several thousand taels of silver per month, and perhaps even more in the future.

This Shi Lao Ba only offered 200 taels, and wanted to take a few hundred taels from her every month. What was he planning? This was too shameless.

Xu Qinyu couldn't help but ask, "Is this the Shi Dong family's idea or Miss Yao's idea?"

Shi Laoba smiled and said, "Mother Yao also agreed."

In fact, Yao did not agree at all at first. She did not mean to give 200 taels of silver, but nearly 2,000 taels of silver. She invested all her wealth in Xu Qinyu, but it was not a share of the restaurant, but a share of Xu's Restaurant in Yuanbao Town, and she would get a share of the profits every month.

But Shi Laoba felt that two thousand taels of silver was a lot, and the restaurant in Raozhou City was more profitable. Moreover, no one was optimistic about the restaurant now. He thought that the food cooked by Xu Qinyu was delicious, and even if it was opened outside the city, it would probably be crowded with guests. It would be better to pay some silver now to get a share, and then when the restaurant can make a lot of money in the future, he would get a great deal.

Wen frowned as he listened, and he also felt that this man was having wild ideas.

Xu Qinyu nodded and said, "I understand. Shi Dongjia, let me think about it."

Of course she couldn't agree to such an unreasonable request, and she didn't even plan to

Although it was already stated in the deed, she was unhappy and did not want to continue renting the Yao shop.

She planned to see if there were any other shops for sale in Yuanbao Town. She wanted to buy a shop directly. Otherwise, if she rented a shop, some landlords would see that her business was good and would raise the rent or drive her out, and they would keep the shop for their own business.

Such things are common in later generations.

Xu Ji Restaurant in Yuanbao Town is the first restaurant she opened. She is reluctant to give up and wants to continue running it. If she opens branches in other places in the future, Yuanbao Town will be the first and founding store.

Shi Laoba thought Xu Qinyu would agree after considering it, so he said with a smile: "Then young lady, please think about it first. I will go back and wait for the news from young lady Xu."

Xu Qinyu nodded, her expression unchanged.

After everyone left, Wen couldn't help but say, "This Shi Lao Ba is really too much. He wants to buy into the restaurant that you, Yu Niang, built with tens of thousands of taels of silver for only two hundred taels of silver. What kind of dream is he having? Yu Niang, don't be afraid. Our contract clearly states that the rent of this restaurant cannot be increased without reason for at least ten years, and we cannot refuse to rent it to you. If he really wants to take advantage of you, we will show him the contract. We are not afraid even if you sue us to the government."

Xu Qinyu shook her head and said, "There are only thieves who can be thieves for a thousand days, but there is no one who can guard against thieves for a thousand days. If he doesn't agree, it would be bad if he did something bad in the restaurant. So don't worry, mother. I have other plans."

Wen couldn't help but ask, "What is Yu Niang's plan?"

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "We rented this Xu's Restaurant when we were short of money. It's a little small, and the diners are a little crowded. It's a pity that our diners don't mind it. So I thought we might as well take advantage of this opportunity to buy a big store, a three-story store, and reopen Xu's Restaurant. Then the diners will be much more comfortable to sit in."

The three-story attic shop in Yuanbao Town was much cheaper than the one in Raozhou City. It was just a matter of two thousand taels of silver. Her fourth brother had given her five thousand taels of silver, which she would use first. If she still didn't have enough money to buy a restaurant in Raozhou City, she would borrow some from Madam Lu or Madam Dong.

Wen also thought it was good.

"Okay, then let's buy a big store."

Xu Qinyu did not hide this matter from Xu Ji's employees and chefs. They had been with her for almost three years, and Xu Ji would discuss everything with them.

Everyone also thought that it would be better to buy a big shop. Who could have allowed Shi Lao Ba to be such a vicious person, trying to take advantage of others with only two hundred taels of silver?

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "Since everyone thinks it's okay, I'll take a look in the next few days to see if there are any three-story shops for sale in Raozhou City."

Yuanbao Town is much smaller than Raozhou City, and it is not easy to find three-story shops. Anyway, most of the small shops are for sale. At least there are no three-story attic shops for rent or sale on South Street.

…

When Dongqian returned home in the evening, his family had already had dinner, but he still went over to accompany his mother.

Ever since his father's incident, his mother's personality has become more easy-going. Almost all the family businesses, big and small, have been left to the two brothers to manage. Donglai Ju has also been completely handed over to his younger brother.

My younger brother also changed his name back to Dong Xi, and he got married to his fiancée two months ago. He has become much calmer now.

The business of Donglai Ju was indeed affected, and there were fewer diners than before. However, my mother didn't care much. She felt that as long as they were safe and sound, it didn't matter how much money they made. She said that the Dong family was no longer short of money now. Although they didn't have hundreds of thousands of yuan, they still had tens of thousands of banknotes.

Besides, none of the family members like to spend lavishly, so a few hundred thousand yuan is enough to live a rich and leisurely life.

Dong Qian went over and chatted with Dong for a while, and also told his mother what happened at Xu's.

After hearing this, Dong was a little surprised. "Is this Shi Lao Ba crazy? How dare he ask for a share of the restaurant with only 200 taels of silver? How dare he do that? How could Yao let him ask for this? Yao is not that kind of person."

Even with 20,000 taels of silver, she didn't dare to ask Miss Xu about partnering with her to open a restaurant.

Although outsiders were not optimistic about the restaurant owned by Miss Xu, she was very optimistic. She believed in Miss Xu's craftsmanship and vision. Such a large project was not just a simple restaurant. There must be other things to attract diners.

Dong Qian said: "So Master plans to buy another three-story store and move Xu's business there."

When Dong heard this, her heart suddenly moved, and she had an idea.

It is currently difficult to find a three-storey mezzanine shop in Yuanbao Town.

She thought, why not just go into business with Miss Xu and give the Donglai Ju restaurant to Miss Xu to open as Xu's Restaurant.

However, Donglai Ju was left to her by her father after all, so some of Donglai Ju's special features and signature dishes must be retained. A small signboard can also be hung next to it, but the main focus must still be on Xu Ji's signature dishes and recipes.

Moreover, the business of Donglai Ju is actually average now, and she doesn't really want to manage the family business, so she handed it over to Xi Ge'er. Xi Ge'er is still too young to run a restaurant. When Xi Ge'er is able to run a restaurant in the future, she will let him go to other states to open Donglai Ju.

As for how to operate it and how to divide the profits in the future, it all depends on what Miss Xu thinks.

Of course, it still depends on whether Miss Xu is willing. You know, Xu's family has no shortage of diners. Even if she gives Donglai Ju to Miss Xu, she will be getting a great deal.

She also believes that Xu's reputation will spread further and further, and more people will be willing to come and taste Ms. Xu's cooking skills.

So we still have to see what Miss Xu wants.

If Miss Xu is willing, the restaurant doesn't even need to be renovated. Just change the sign, or let Miss Xu see if there is any place in the restaurant that she wants to renovate, and then we can do it all at once. No one else has to pay for it, as the Dong family will pay for it all.

Dong told her eldest son about her thoughts.

Dong Qian was surprised and couldn't help asking, "Mother, are you willing to let Dong Lai Ju take the back seat?"

In fact, he had this idea when he heard his master talk about it in the afternoon, but Donglaiju was left by his grandfather after all, and was passed down from generation to generation in the Dong family. In addition, his younger brother is the manager of Donglaiju now, so it is not convenient for him to interfere. Unexpectedly, his mother also had this plan.

Dong smiled and said, "Why should we be reluctant to part with this? Although Donglaiju was left by your grandfather and has been passed down from generation to generation, it is only famous in Yuanbao Town. No one outside the city knows about Donglaiju. Donglaiju is just like this in our hands. Besides, you are still learning cooking from Miss Xu. In the future, there will definitely be many dishes of Miss Xu in the recipes of Donglaiju. It would be nice to run a restaurant now. However, your brother is the manager of Donglaiju now, so we have to ask his opinion first. If he is willing, how about you go and talk to Miss Xu?"

Dongqian nodded.

Dong did not delay and went to her youngest son's yard.

The youngest son just got married and loves his wife very much. He spends time with her when he comes home every day.

The second daughter-in-law was also very nice. Knowing that she had been in a bad mood recently, she always tried to cheer her up. She and the eldest daughter-in-law invited a troupe to perform and accompanied her to watch the show and appreciate the flowers.

Dong found her second son and told her about her plan.

Dong Xi agreed as soon as he heard it. In fact, he knew that Donglai Ju's business was declining, and he was also worried that Donglai Ju would not last long in his hands. It would be better for him to partner with Xu Ji to open a restaurant.

Seeing that the youngest son agreed, Dong went to talk to the eldest son.

Dong Qian planned to go to Xu's early tomorrow morning and discuss it with his master.

…

After Shi Laoba returned, Yao couldn't help asking, "Master, have you told Miss Xu? What did Miss Xu say?"

Shi Laoba said: "She said she would think about it. If she doesn't agree, we won't rent the restaurant to her. Her business is good now, and we can't guarantee that it will be bad if we move to another place. Maybe our business will also bring her good luck." In fact, he knew in his heart that Xu Qinyu was a good cook, he was just talking nonsense.

Yao glared at Shi Laoba, "What are you talking about? It's because they are good cooks that their business is booming. If they really don't want to rent our shop and move away, our shop will be vacant. Master, I still think we are doing something wrong. Even if it is two thousand taels of silver, it is definitely nothing to Miss Xu. We don't want more. Xu's profit of two or three cents a month is enough. Master, did you really tell Miss Xu that the two thousand taels of silver would go into Xu's share? You didn't say anything nonsense, did you?"

She was reluctant about this at first, but Shi Laoba kept saying that the rent should be raised, saying that Xu's business was so good because of his own shop, Wang Xu's. He raised the rent to twenty taels of silver every month. She thought her husband was a little crazy. Originally, the monthly rent was less than five taels, and now he wanted to raise it to twenty taels. If she told anyone about it, she would be scolded.

Later she thought, why not put some money into Miss Xu's restaurant.

Two thousand two taels of silver was all the sincerity she could offer, and she did not plan to get involved in any other matters of the restaurant. She just wanted to share some dividends every month and let the old man collect the dividends every month. Maybe he would not think about the rent increase, so as to prevent the old man from losing control and really going to tell Miss Xu about the rent increase, which would make things look bad.

Shi Laoba said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, I've already said it, it all depends on what she thinks."

Yao was still a little worried.

But I was too embarrassed to go to Miss Xu in person to talk about this, so I just waited a few days to see how Miss Xu would respond.

…

The next morning, Xu Qinyu went to the restaurant and planned to go to other markets after breakfast to see if there were any shops for sale. She remembered that there were no three-story shops for sale some time ago, but she didn't know if there were any during this period.

But before they finished selling breakfast, Dongqian came to Xu Ji and said to her, "Master, I have something to discuss with you."

Xu Qinyu let Dongqian speak directly.

Dongqian told his master what he had discussed with his mother yesterday.

When Xu Qinyu heard this, she was also moved.

Not to mention that she trusted Dong Shi and Dong Qian. Even Dong Shi's second son Dong Xi had shown his growth and responsibility in his father's previous incident. The character of the Dong family was fine, so cooperation was definitely possible.

Moreover, Donglaiju is not only the largest restaurant in Raozhou City, but also has many chefs and assistants, and she is in need of chefs and assistants.

Moreover, if they really wanted to open a restaurant together, the Dong family would mainly use Xu's brand name, and the only thing left to discuss was the shareholding ratio.

Xu Qinyu smiled and said, "How about I talk to Madam Dong about the specific matters?"

Dong Qian smiled and said, "Okay, during the lunch break, I will send someone to invite mother over, and then Master will talk to her."

At noon, Dong Qian sent someone to pick up Dong. Xu Qinyu chatted with Dong. She could see that Dong was now in a more laissez-faire attitude towards the Dong family business and just let everything take its course.

Finally, the two discussed merging the two restaurants into one. At that time, the main menu would still be Xu Ji's existing recipes, and some of Donglai Ju's signature dishes would be retained, but most people would definitely still like some of Xu Ji's dishes.

Xu Qinyu plans to build the restaurant in Raozhou City for half a year. She can hand over the dishes of Xu's to the chef and assistants of Donglai Ju. She will then leave some staff in Raozhou City and transfer the rest to the restaurant, thus solving the shortage of staff in her restaurant.

As for any other renovations or matters of the restaurant, Xu Qinyu did not have to worry about anything. She just had to customize the menu and change the signboard, and after deducting the monthly salary for the chef, assistant chefs and waiters, the pure profit would be divided according to the ratio of 20:80, with Xu Qinyu getting 80% and the Dong family getting 20%.

Xu Qinyu felt that the share that Dong wanted was too low, and since she was the one getting the upper hand, a 50-50 split would be fine.

But Dong was unwilling and felt that she was getting an advantage until she knew that Xu's recipe was the most valuable. Finally, Xu Qinyu insisted, and the two of them split the profits in a 30:70 ratio.

Of course, Dong's only holds 30% of the shares of Xu's company in Raozhou City.

As for the hotel, Dong certainly couldn't bring herself to say anything. She could see that the hotel was more than just a place to eat, and she was afraid that no matter how much money she offered, it would not be enough to buy a stake.

After the two of them decided, they signed the contract.