Zhao Jia's face also radiated with joy; Lan Qin's words were something she had never heard before in her twenty-odd years.
In the past, her mother only taught her to be well-mannered, patient, to put her husband first, and to uphold traditional wifely virtues! She was never taught to prioritize her own needs after giving birth, or to sacrifice herself for her child. Today, everything Lanqin does for her is about believing in herself and achieving her goals.
"Lanqin, where did you get so much information about things I've never heard of before?" Zhao Jia asked, her eyes wide with curiosity as she looked at Lanqin.
"That was something I read in a Western book. Some of it was just my imagination!" Lanqin said evasively.
"Lanqin, now I finally understand why Fourth Brother dotes on you so much! So this is what a different kind of woman you are!" Zhao Jia said, looking at Lanqin with admiration.
"Wenxiu, the rest is up to you. Opening a business is easy, but managing it is difficult. You need to ensure that the quality of our hot pot restaurant remains consistently high in order to attract more customers. This involves the issue of personnel and management. How to keep our dishes consistently fresh, and how to keep our service staff consistently enthusiastic and attentive—that requires wisdom. I can teach you some things, but the specifics will depend on your own management," Lanqin said earnestly to Zhaojia.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Jia nodded and said, "Lanqin, don't worry. Now that I've decided to do it, I will put my heart into it. I will come to inspect every day, and if I find any problems, I will immediately hold the relevant personnel accountable."
Lanqin nodded and said, "That's right. Wenxiu, if you encounter any problems, come to me. I might not come every day, but I'll check in every few days. Also, I'll be thinking of various ways to promote and attract customers for our Daqing Hot Pot restaurant in the manor. You don't need to worry about that; just manage the restaurant and make sure it operates normally."
As the day passed, the shop assistants began to close the doors. The accountant was still tallying up the day's sales. Lanqin and Zhaojia stayed there all day, wanting to see if the shop had made any money.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the total amount of silver received today is three hundred and fifty-eight taels!" The accountant ran over and said to Lanqin and Zhaojia, who were standing around looking around the shop.
"Good, we should have made a little profit today. Wenxiu has great potential!" Lanqin said to Zhaojia with a smile.
Zhao Jia was also very excited. She had never imagined that one day she would be able to take control of her own life, without having to rely on a man or have to be subservient to others.
"There will be even more customers tomorrow. You've all worked hard today. If we can reach our target for this month, your monthly pay will double!" Zhao Jia shouted to the resting staff in the lobby.
Lanqin smiled slightly as she looked at Zhaojia.
"Thank you so much, boss!"
"Thank you so much, boss! We'll definitely work hard!"
Only three managers knew Lanqin and Zhaojia's identities; the others were all hired from outside. They only treated Lanqin and Zhaojia as the heads of the household and were unaware of their true identities.
Zhao Jia smiled at Lan Qin, then summoned the three stewards to her and Lan Qin's private "office area" and asked them to report on the problems they had encountered that day.
Lanqin and Zhaojia sat there listening and taking notes little by little.
"It seems the main problems are that the food isn't being served quickly enough and the charcoal is being added too slowly!" Lanqin said after hearing their brief report.
“But if we send more people now, I’m afraid it will be too late,” Zhao Jia said, frowning. “How about I send a few servants from the manor to help?”
“No, I think it’s better to find someone from outside who doesn’t know our background. How about we have a fixed table with designated people in charge?” Lan Qin said after thinking for a moment.
"What?" Zhao Jia asked, puzzled.
"I mean, we should assign one person to serve two or three tables, instead of the current system where customers just call out randomly and one waiter serves multiple tables. This is a waste of manpower, and sometimes customers call out random things. And the people who come are not all the same waiter. So I think we should assign each person a fixed table to serve," Lan Qin said.
“Hmm. That’s a good idea. This way, if any problems arise, it will be very clear who is responsible,” said Zhao Jia.
“Yes, that will make them feel more responsible. We will also reward them; whoever serves the food the fastest and receives the fewest complaints will get a reward. This will increase their motivation,” Lan Qin said.
"Yes, Qin'er, your idea is really good," said Zhao Jia.
"Hehe, why don't we gather all the workers together now and start assigning tasks? We have guests to welcome tomorrow!" Lanqin said.
Lady Zhaojia ordered the servant in charge of personnel to summon everyone, except for the person in charge of chopping and washing vegetables in the kitchen, to the main hall on the second floor.
Zhao Jia briefly explained the new arrangement system to them. The workers, seeing the reward, readily agreed and immediately made the arrangements. Lan Qin, watching from the side, thought that Zhao Jia was actually quite eloquent and good at encouraging people.
Lanqin thought of Cui Niang's brother-in-law, Li Chuang. She had already met him and felt that he was not suitable for the imperial examination path, but she couldn't think of a suitable position for him here.
Just then, a familiar figure walked up the stairs. Lanqin looked and saw that it was actually Fourth Master!
Lady Zhao was still reprimanding the servants; she hadn't noticed that the Fourth Prince had already arrived. The Fourth Prince walked from the back of the crowd towards Lanqin. When he reached Lanqin's side, Lady Zhao finally caught sight of him and immediately fell silent.
When the Fourth Prince smiled at her and gestured for her to continue, Lady Zhaojia was still a little flustered and clearly didn't speak as well as before.
"Master, look, you've scared the Thirteenth Princess Consort," Lanqin said to the Fourth Prince in a low voice.
"Is Master really that scary?" Fourth Master whispered.
"Master is especially frightening when he has a stern face. Why did you come, Master?" Lanqin asked with a smirk.
"You've come to fetch my concubine," said the Fourth Prince.
"Okay, let's go with Wenxiu later," Lanqin said.
The two women stood beside Lady Zhaojia, listening to her reprimand the workers. Once everything was arranged, the workers began to go home, and only then did the Thirteenth Prince's wife say to the Fourth Prince, "I'm sorry for making you laugh, Fourth Brother!"
"Very good. If Thirteenth Prince saw you today, he would be surprised and would give you a thumbs up." Fourth Prince praised him, contrary to his usual behavior.
"Lanqin taught me all of this; otherwise, how would I know these things?" Zhao Jia smiled shyly at Lanqin.
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