Lanqin hadn't ridden a horse with Fourth Master like this in a long time. She remembered it was when they were on a foreign pilgrimage, and they were like this among the wildflowers.
The early spring nights were still quite cold, but Lanqin wasn't cold because she was wearing an obsidian bracelet and had Fourth Master behind her, who was like a natural heater.
The sound of horses' hooves on the blue stones was exceptionally clear in the slightly chilly night, and there were very few pedestrians on the road. Fourth Master, with Lanqin in tow, sped through the streets like a black eagle, rushing towards their destination.
In less than fifteen minutes, they arrived at the gatehouse on Xishi Hutong in Xicheng District. Lanqin immediately thought the location was excellent, right on the street.
After Fourth Master grabbed the horse's reins, he dismounted and then lifted Lanqin off the horse.
After Fourth Master tied the horse to the gatepost, he led Lanqin to the door, took out a key from his pocket, and turned the large iron chain hanging on the door.
The door opened, and inside it was pitch black, without a single ray of light. Fourth Master took out a tinderbox and lit it with a whoosh.
Lanqin saw that the decorations inside were quite nice, with an antique feel, and the tables, chairs, and benches were still in good condition. She didn't need to decorate them further; she just needed to add some small decorations that reflected her own style.
The two walked around inside from bottom to top. Lanqin was quite satisfied. She discovered that there was a large courtyard behind the gatehouse, which could be used as a kitchen. All that was needed was to build a roof with simple materials, and it would be perfect for a kitchen.
"Excellent, Master! This place is even better than I imagined. It's spacious enough that we'd need ten waiters!" Lanqin exclaimed with a smile. She was currently pondering how to improve the pots used in the Qing Dynasty. Although they also had hot pots, their pots came with a square iron box underneath, containing charcoal or something similar. The pot rested on top of the iron box. The advantage was that it was relatively clean and didn't produce smoke, but the disadvantage was that it didn't burn for very long and required frequent refilling of charcoal.
"It seems we need to go to the blacksmith to order some custom-made hot pot stoves," Lan Qin said, because in this era there were no induction cookers, gas cylinders, or alcohol, so the fire source had to be charcoal.
"A hot pot needs a constant heat source underneath to keep the broth cooking. The stove underneath needs to be large and easy to add charcoal. Otherwise, if people finish eating and the fire goes out, it won't work," Lanqin said to Fourth Master.
"So, we're just going to enlarge the charcoal compartment under the hot pot we're using now?" Fourth Master asked.
"Yes. I'll go back and draw up a design, then take it to the blacksmith's shop to have him take a look," Lanqin said. She then realized that trying to recreate a hot pot in the Qing Dynasty three hundred years ago wouldn't be easy.
After resolving the issue of the hot pot stove, Lanqin felt that things were basically settled. The next problem was the broth. She knew that Chongqing hot pot in later generations was the most amazing, offering various broths, including extra spicy, medium spicy, mild spicy, and non-spicy options, to satisfy the needs of different diners.
"My lord, I've thought about it for a long time and I've come up with a name for this hot pot restaurant: 'Great Qing Hot Pot.' What do you think?" Lanqin said.
"Da Qing Hot Pot?" Fourth Master repeated, "Are you going to open the first hot pot restaurant in the Qing Dynasty? The name sounds impressive, but if you mess it up, you'll ruin the reputation of 'Da Qing Hot Pot'."
"Why do you always say such discouraging things, sir? I'm confident that we can make this hot pot restaurant a success. Not only that, we're going to open branches, lots and lots of branches, so that the money will flow in like water," Lanqin said confidently.
"Very well, I look forward to seeing you do this well. However, you and the Thirteenth Prince's wife should not come here. Just send someone over to manage the business," the Fourth Prince said.
"Yes, that's what I was thinking. I've already discussed it with Wenxiu, and she'll send someone to manage it," Lanqin said. "On my side, I'm thinking of arranging for Li Wei's younger brother, Li Chuang, to come and see what kind of job we can give him. We can't let him stay idle at home all day."
Fourth Master remained noncommittal, pondering, "Is what you mainly do the 'marketing' you talked about with me last night?"
“Yes, as the saying goes, even good wine needs advertising. My job is to promote the hot pot restaurant and let more people know about it,” Lanqin said.
"Alright, draw the design of the pot as soon as possible, and I'll send someone to the blacksmith to order it. You don't need my help with anything else, do you?" Fourth Master said.
"Yes. I and the Thirteenth Prince's wife will take care of the rest." Lanqin hadn't expected the Fourth Prince to be so supportive of her matter, even taking on most of the tasks.
After the two closed the door, Fourth Master took Lanqin and rode back on horseback. Lanqin nestled in Fourth Master's arms, thinking about how to teach Chef Niu to make that similar taste. She believed that Chef Niu's culinary skills were beyond question, and he could definitely make so many different kinds of soup.
"Master, could you please send someone from the estate to manage things? I need to discuss the vegetables, pork, beef, and mutton with him!" Lanqin said.
"Don't worry about that. I've already sent someone to tell them. They said that as long as you clearly state what ingredients you want the day before, they can deliver them the next day," Fourth Master said.
"Really? That's wonderful! That saves me a lot of trouble," Lanqin said. The Fourth Prince hadn't supported her at first, but after agreeing, he began to wholeheartedly support her. Lanqin felt a warm glow in her heart. She knew the Fourth Prince treated her with great care. Although he wasn't there almost every day in the South Courtyard as before, his sincere support for what she did made Lanqin feel very grateful.
Back in the south courtyard, Fourth Master instructed the maids to attend to Lanqin and let her rest early, while he himself returned to the front courtyard. Lanqin didn't try to stop him; she didn't want to fight with those women every day like chickens, and she wanted to focus on her own tasks.
With the help of her maid, Lanqin quickly washed her hands and face, then went to her study to begin writing the personnel allocation plan. Zhaojia was, after all, a sheltered young lady, and had never done these things before; everything depended on Lanqin to sort things out before it could be handed over to her.
Seeing that Lanqin was still in the study, Sihua came in and stood behind Lanqin, saying, "Master, it's late. Shall I help you to rest?"
"Wait a minute, I still have something to finish writing," Lanqin said. "After I finish this, I also need to write a dish management plan to teach them how to cut the vegetables."
Si Hua stood there blankly, and said with concern, "I will support you a thousand times over what you want to do, but you must also take care of your health. It's already past 9 PM."
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