Time flew by, and Lanqin finally opened four branches smoothly. She would visit the branches every few days to check the accountants' books, especially the branch managed by Qiu Gui, which she checked even more frequently, fearing that he might be tampering with the accounts. Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
Lanqin's branches successfully dominated the hot pot market in Beijing. Sure enough, others soon began imitating Lanqin, opening similar hot pot restaurants, but none achieved the success of Daqing Hot Pot. Afterwards, they analyzed the reasons, but couldn't understand why their own hot pot restaurants weren't as successful as Daqing Hot Pot!
The real reason is that Daqing Hot Pot's initial success was a huge hit. Its branches were all located in prime locations, establishing a strong foothold in the market. Furthermore, Lanqin's various marketing campaigns consistently attracted customers, making it difficult for others to imitate her style. Therefore, Daqing Hot Pot firmly established itself in the hot pot category.
Nowadays, Lanqin is so busy that she hardly has any free time. With the children being taken care of by maids, she spends more of her time trying out various things for the hot pot restaurant.
It was almost May, and the weather was starting to get warmer. Lanqin knew that summer was the prime time for hot pot restaurants. Especially when enjoying hot pot with an iced drink, the feeling was simply wonderful. So, Lanqin had been working on developing new beverages these past few days. She was determined to hold a summer promotion for her five restaurants: free drinks for purchases over a certain amount of silver, aiming to boost hot pot business that summer. Because there were no refrigerators, additives, or preservatives in this era, Lanqin thought for several days and finally decided on three fruits suitable for juicing: orange juice, watermelon juice, and plum juice. Lacking a juicer, Lanqin prepared a large iron pot and then manually peeled, stirred, added tea, and then ice to create the first juice of the Qing Dynasty.
After doing all this, Lanqin began to notify each store to prepare the corresponding fruits and vegetables. These raw materials needed to be prepared in advance. Then she went to communicate the juice-making plans with the managers of each store.
"My lady, the master is coming for dinner tonight. Why don't you go and tell Chef Niu what dishes to prepare?" Cui Niang approached Lan Qin and said. Her mistress's mind was currently focused on those hot pot restaurants; even the prince seemed less attentive than before. Cui Niang felt that as a woman in the inner quarters, her attention should be on men, so she kept reminding Lan Qin to focus more on the Fourth Prince.
“Niu Baoquan knows, let him handle it himself.” Lan Qin remained unmoved. She wanted to think about what activities to organize in the summer to further boost the hot pot restaurant’s business.
Seeing that Lanqin was so indifferent to the Fourth Prince, Cui Niang couldn't help but advise, "Master, you have been neglecting the Prince lately. Now that the Prince occasionally goes elsewhere, you are not only not worried, but also so unattended when the Prince comes here."
Lanqin put down her brush and turned to Cui Niang, saying, "Cui Niang, I haven't even held it against you for reporting me to Fourth Master last time."
Cui Niang quickly lowered her head and said, "This servant was wrong, please punish me, Consort!"
"Alright, you know I won't punish you! So, Cui Niang, don't worry, and don't stop me from doing what I'm about to do, okay?" Lan Qin said.
“Master, I don’t mean to stop you, but I’m worried that you’re so focused on those businesses that you’re neglecting things in the inner quarters. Someone might take advantage of that,” said Cui Niang. Actually, some of the maids, including Cui Niang, were unaware of the reasons why the Fourth Prince had begun to favor Lady Nian and Lady Fucha, and therefore were even more nervous than Lan Qin.
“Cui Niang, loopholes aren’t easy to exploit. I know exactly what the Prince is thinking. You’re worrying unnecessarily,” Lanqin said.
However, Lanqin still stood up and pulled Cui Niang to the small kitchen. She had been writing for too long and wanted to stretch her legs. Anyway, Cui Niang only wanted her to set the table, which was fine with her.
Meanwhile, Hongli was holding Hongzhou's hand as they walked step by step towards the south courtyard! It turned out that after Hongli and Hongzhou met at the elementary school, the two little ones, being of similar age, often played together. Even though Madam Geng didn't want Hongzhou to get close to Hongli, it couldn't stop the two little ones from developing feelings for each other.
Today, Hongli insisted on bringing Hongzhou to play in the South Courtyard. Geng's maid couldn't stop her and had to go back to report to Geng.
After Lanqin finished giving the instructions for the meal, she came out of the small kitchen and saw two children holding hands and playing under the swing in the yard.
This was the first time Lanqin had seen Hongzhou in her own courtyard. The child who was born from her womb along with Hongli had been gone for two and a half years.
"Hongzhou!" Lanqin couldn't help but call out. Cui Niang and the other maids were all startled to see Hongzhou standing beside Hongli. The entire courtyard fell silent.
"Hongzhou greets Consort Lanqin!" The little girl bowed to Lanqin.
"Hongzhou!" Lanqin couldn't help but rush over, squat down, and hug him tightly.
Hongli was surprised that Lanqin liked Hongzhou so much, and said, "Look, Hongzhou, my mother likes you very much!"
Hongzhou shifted slightly in Lanqin's arms, surprised by her action.
"Hongzhou, I didn't scare you, did I? The concubine really likes you." Lanqin had to suppress the bitterness in her heart as she spoke to Hongzhou.
"Thank you, Consort. My mother said you're a very nice person," Hongzhou said, pouting. He didn't look like Hongli, probably because they were fraternal twins. Lanqin was filled with mixed emotions, unsure how to express her gratitude to Hongzhou.
"Consort, why don't we invite the two young masters inside for drinks? Isn't this something you just developed?" Cui Niang suggested from the side.
Lanqin nodded immediately, took one child's hand in each, and said happily, "Come on, Mommy will give you something new to drink. Hongzhou, you can come here to play often, okay?"
Seeing that Lanqin was very kind and gentle to him, Hongzhou felt less afraid.
After the two little ones entered the house, Lanqin quickly instructed the maids to get them food and drink, while she herself sat next to Hongzhou, staring at him intently.
Hongli seemed to notice Lanqin's unusual behavior and said with a hint of jealousy, "Hongzhou, Mother doesn't like me anymore now that you're here."
Seeing Hongli's pitiful expression, Lanqin suppressed her discomfort and chuckled, "You're the older brother, so what's wrong with Mother showing more affection to the Fifth Prince? You're so petty!"
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