Chapter 64 Targeting

Si Li then talked about another technical issue of kneading the dough, the angle and time. The atmosphere became harmonious again. When she talked about the subtleties, Guan Zhiyu's eyes lit up, "That's right!"

I have to say that Guan Zhiyu is a more suitable person to chat with than the prince. The moment Si Li realized what he was thinking, his face changed. What was he thinking about?!

Guan Zhiyu asked in a gentle voice, "Is there anything unusual?"

"No, it's okay." Si Li felt a little guilty. She couldn't just criticize others for doing their job well, right?

Time passed quickly as they chatted and worked. Before Si Li could come to her senses, Guan Zhizhen knocked on the door, "Brother, it's getting late."

Guan Zhiyu smiled apologetically, "Sorry to trouble you today, Miss Si. I'll let Zhenzhen take you back."

"Okay." Si Li waved and said goodbye to the apprentices she had just met. "I'll come over to check when I have time. Remember to practice well."

Guan Zhizhen, who was called out by her elder brother, tilted her head and looked at Si Li, "Why do you feel like you don't want to go back?"

After untying her apron, Si Li's smile froze when she heard the question, and she retorted in a light tone, "How about keeping you guys for me to drive to Lai Ju?"

Guan Zhizhen saw through her thoughts and she was thinking about going back before she came out. But when she thought about the Prince of Yue who would be alone in the yard after she returned, Si Li's scalp began to tingle. It turned out to be the result of drinking too much.

But, they still had to go back to their own shop. The princess didn't come today, so maybe this big Buddha had left early? With this thought in mind, the two of them walked quickly through the streets of the East Market. Si Li looked around absentmindedly, and was suddenly attracted by the cups and plates displayed in a shop.

The light white glass cup shone in the sunlight, crystal clear. Although not as transparent as the modern glass cups she had seen in her previous life, it was very close in transparency. Looking closer, she could see that it was almost free of impurities, and it was engraved with grape and fruit patterns. At a glance, Si Li could imagine how beautiful it would be to put the same crystal clear and beautiful ice jelly in it.

Si Li looked around and saw a signboard of "Foreign Trade Company" hanging on the door of the shop. Outside the door were exotic carpets and some exquisite wooden products. Obviously, these were all products sold from overseas. Sea transportation was difficult and it took a long time to travel each time. In the original owner's memory, the second uncle often went out to sea and would only come back once a year. With such high labor costs, the price of the glass cups can be imagined.

Although she wanted to use a glass bowl to display the ice jelly to attract customers, Si Li also knew that such a thing that cost hundreds of taels of silver was not something she could afford now. She took a closer look and then stepped back.

"Young lady, you have good eyesight. This glass cup is a fine product from Dayue Country. It was transported all the way back to Daning and just after it was cleaned and put out, it caught your eye." The shopkeeper stood beside her with a smile on his face. He didn't know who this young lady was, but he knew Guan Shaodong who was following her. I heard that he got a lot of money from the lawsuit against those masters. He should be willing to spend it, right?

Si Li was not overwhelmed by his flattery and smiled faintly, "How much?"

"Not expensive, three hundred taels of silver. This glass cup was shipped across the ocean, and only one in ten survived. We only got three of them, and a pair was presented to the palace. The princess's mansion came to ask about this one a few days ago, but my master said it hadn't been cleaned yet, so he didn't take it out. It turns out that it was waiting for the girl's fate here."

The total amount of money in the account of Wanglaiju and the wages of several employees was less than three hundred taels. Si Li maintained a smile and said, "To be honest, I opened a small shop called Wanglaiju in the East Market. Thanks to the love of all the gentlemen, the ice powder has been selling well these days. I bought the glass cups to put the ice powder in them to make them look good. Since the princess has already favored the glass cups, I naturally can't take away her love. I wonder if you have other more transparent cups?"

Originally, Si Li was planning to ask if she could pay a few dozen taels of silver, and let Wanglaiju pay the rest to the company. After all, she heard that there are many merchants going overseas now, and it should be possible to negotiate to increase competitiveness. But when she heard that the company was related to the palace and the princess's mansion, she knew that the goods of this overseas company would not be difficult to sell, so she didn't need to export them.

The shopkeeper was a little embarrassed. "It's not that there are some that are more transparent, but you have to go to Liuyuxuan to look for them. Only their jade can be this thin and transparent. The inferior ones are the colored glazes made by Daning. They are worth more than ten or several dozen taels, but the colorful ones are not something you would like."

"Do you sell glass?"

"In two days, we just finished a batch of porcelain a few days ago, and my master said it's not good enough, so he wants it redone." The shopkeeper saw that Si Li was not going to buy it, and his enthusiasm faded. "I'll have someone talk to you when another batch of porcelain comes out of the kiln."

"Yes, thank you."

Si Li and her little tail Guan Zhizhen often came and went, but the owner of Waihai Trading Company greeted an unexpected person behind them, "Why are you here, Miss?"

The young girl Aya, also known as Jian Qingya, had red eyes at this time. "My mother asked me to tell you to calculate the expenses of my second cousin in the store and send them all to Si's house. Also, ask several shops to pay attention to see if there is a girl named Si coming to their door looking for someone."

The shopkeeper laughed and said, "What a coincidence! The shopkeeper of Dongcheng Wanglaiju is a young girl named Si who just left the shop."

Jian Qingya was stunned for a moment, then smiled helplessly, "I've met her before, and she said that she didn't recognize Lord Si."

The entire Jian family was in full swing in search of someone, but Si Li, who didn't even think about herself, stepped into her shop with gritted teeth. She heaved a sigh of relief when she saw that no one was in the backyard.

The shopkeepers of the three houses who were standing on the roof of Wuwei Tower and watching the girl and Guan Zhizhen walk by were silent for a while. The shopkeeper of Sanzhenzhai, who looked the oldest, was the first to speak, "First, it was the prince of Yue, then the daughter of the Shangshu family, and today, this kid Guan Ji, I think Wanglaiju has some of the flavor of Qiyun Tower in the past."

"The circle in Beijing is so small. We have been making money in harmony for so many years. The young people are also sensible and have not caused any trouble." Wu You, the shopkeeper of Wuweilou, pressed his eyebrows and said, "I have no special intention in asking you all to come here today. My milk tea business in Wuweilou is not very good, and I believe the same is true for you two."

The other two knew what he meant by young people being sensible. Whenever there was a new food, Wu You would usually invite someone to demonstrate and explain it, share the cooking methods, or simply invite the chefs of small restaurants to join their shops, so that their old shops could take a step forward in the trend. Of course, they did not take advantage for nothing, they would do everything they could to promote and make a name for themselves, but in the end, whether the business was good or not was not their responsibility.

"Cuiyun, Hongyu, Xuezhongmei, the ingredients are obviously the same, but the taste is just wrong, it's weird!" The middle-aged man standing next to him was a little angry, "Guanwailou is unreasonable, there is nothing to say, but this little girl is not sensible at all when she should be sensible, it's really..."

Wu You sighed, "With that painting there, I can't do the ice jelly business anymore. Now that she has established herself, it will be difficult to touch her."

The shopkeeper of Sanzhenzhai closed the window and coughed twice. "One time is nothing. You can say it's good luck. But if she has good business several times in a row, even if she is really lucky, she is a very lucky person. I am old and can't work anymore. As long as Sanzhenzhai can live in peace, I will be satisfied."

The middle-aged man complained, "Is Mr. Wang going to stop? No wonder, there are so many people behind it. I sent people to investigate, and Jingzhao Prefecture said that this family is related to the Si Mansion. There is no way they will make a big move."

Wu You knocked on the table. "However, I do have an idea about milk tea. There are many elegant tea drinkers. If tea and milk tea are separated, it may have some effect. Everyone knows that pure tea has many flavors, and the best one is the bitter and sweet one. But what about milk tea?"

The shopkeeper of Sanzhenzhai smiled and said, "I can help you, old man. But if the situation is not good, I think it's okay to let the little girl go to the garden party this year."

The strategy for the next step was decided in a few words. Soon, the elegant people who came to Wuweilou to taste tea in the afternoon knew that Wuweilou would hold a tea tasting party in two days. It was said that it was to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Wuweilou's production of Golden Gourd Pu'er. The owner of Wuweilou was also willing to bring out his private collection to taste and discuss with everyone. Of course, if the participants were willing, they could also bring their own collection to open everyone's eyes.

Blue Sky Jade Leaf, Taiping Houkui, Da Hong Pao, Jinguan Pu'er... Seeing the tea labels of rare and famous teas being hung up one after another, tea lovers became jealous. After tasting these rare teas, not only did they have more things to talk about, but it also greatly helped their understanding of tea.

The tea party did not limit the number of people and the identities of the guests, which made ordinary wealthy families even more excited. There were many elegant people who tasted tea, most of whom were famous literati. They usually had no chance to make friends, so they must not miss such a good opportunity.

The news spread like wildfire and finally reached Si Li's ears before nightfall.

"Tea party?" Si Li was still feeling relieved after returning to the shop and finding no one in the backyard. She was a little confused, "What does this have to do with me?"

Meng Taotao's face was so dark that water was about to drip out. "Milky tea is the hottest thing in Beijing recently. I heard from Wang Ting that the three old shops have all imitated milk tea, but the taste is a bit worse. In addition, our shop has a wide variety of milk teas and they are cheap. You can also buy snacks such as French fries, so the business of Wanglaiju has not been affected. But think about it, who are you targeting when holding a tea tasting party at this time?"

Tea parties are not usually held, but they suddenly wanted to make a big event, so they must have something to ask for. Si Li thought about it and still felt that something was wrong, "They can't imitate it themselves, their level is not good enough, and there is no need to target us, right? Milk tea is a sugary drink, and tea is an elegant tea drinking, it has nothing to do with each other!"

"Who said it doesn't matter?" Meng Taotao looked annoyed. "But just because the cooking method is changed, how can it not be elegant? Why do you think their milk tea is so expensive? Isn't it because it is elegant?"

Si Li was stunned by the question. In her previous life, milk tea was a favorite drink among young people, while tea was associated with status and elegance. The elders often used this to criticize the young people for being impetuous and not knowing how to appreciate. She never thought that milk tea could be on the same level as tea!

"So what do you think we should do?"

Meng Taotao laughed, "Let's do what we have to do. Since he held a tea party, there will naturally be more actions afterwards. I remember that Uncle Tang has several new products to be released, but you said to release one every few days to keep them fresh, so they are suppressed. It's better to release them now."

"And on the day of the tea party, we can also bring our own tea." Si Li continued her words, and the two smiled in tacit understanding.

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The author has something to say:

Blue Sky Jade Leaf, Taiping Houkui, Da Hong Pao, and Jingu Pu'er are all famous teas, but they appeared at different times, and they are all privately set up in Daning.