“My lord, this matter still sounds a bit strange! I think it would be better to have people open lobster restaurants everywhere. This way, the market will encourage people to catch lobsters in the fields, protecting the crops. Then we can collect the money and use it for disaster relief. It’s like killing three birds with one stone!” Lanqin said.
Fourth Master looked down at Lanqin, repeating the few unheard-of words she had just uttered: "'Strange,' 'market'?"
Lanqin smiled and said, "Just as Consort Nian said, how could a dignified Prince Yong do such lowly things? If the government issued a notice ordering farmers to catch crayfish in the fields, wouldn't that sound a bit 'strange'? The 'market' is the relationship between buying and selling in society. If a restaurant has a large demand for these crayfish and offers a lot of money, do you think the people wouldn't catch them? Perhaps they could earn more money catching crayfish than from farming. So that's called 'market efficiency'."
Fourth Master nodded and said, "I like your 'market benefits'! Now that the drought has caused a great loss of grain yield per mu in various places, if we add the damage caused by locusts and crayfish, I'm afraid the people won't even be able to fill their stomachs, let alone pay taxes. This time, the inspection team that went to Lu County (now Shijiazhuang) reported that there are a lot of crayfish pests there."
Lanqin immediately said, "Sir, I'll send someone to Lu County to open a crayfish restaurant first. I'll have Chef Niu write down the secret recipe for braised crayfish, and we'll find a good chef locally and train him. I guarantee that all the wealthy families in the area will be eager to eat there, and we can use their money to fund disaster relief for the local people!"
Fourth Master was astonished by Lanqin's ingenious idea. He stared at Lanqin, pondered for a moment, and said, "If you were a man, you would be someone even I would respect!"
Lanqin chuckled and said, "If I were a man, I would serve you as your advisor."
Fourth Master stretched out his long arm and pulled Lanqin into his arms, saying excitedly, "If you were a man, you would have to be my honored guest. I think I'll send Cui Da and Cui Er to open a crayfish restaurant in Lu County first."
Lanqin nodded and said, "Yes, let them go and open it first. If it's a great success in Lu County, then we can expand it to other areas where lobsters are rampant."
Fourth Master nodded and naturally stayed at Wan'an Fanghe that night.
The next day, Fourth Master summoned Cui Da and Cui Er, along with Li Wei, Da Chun, and several of his trusted confidants. He told them about his plan to open a crayfish restaurant in Lu County, appointing Cui Da and Cui Er as waiters and managers, Li Wei as the restaurant's accountant, and Da Chun as a merchant to collect crayfish from various crayfish farms.
After hearing this idea, the group stared at Fourth Master with wide eyes, wondering why he had suddenly decided to become a businessman.
Seeing their expressions, Fourth Master naturally knew what they were thinking. He coughed and said, "I'm not doing this to make money, but to get rid of those lobsters that are harming the crops. Then I'll use the money I earn to help the local disaster victims."
Li Wei, quick-witted as ever, was the first to give a thumbs up after being prompted by Fourth Master, saying, "Your idea is truly brilliant."
The Fourth Prince said, "It was Consort Niu who came up with the idea. You haven't tried braised prawns in oil yet, have you? Go to her place later and try them. The taste is quite unique. I'm sure they'll become very popular locally right away."
Da Chun pondered, "Your Highness, but these lobsters are so cheap, how can we sell them for a high price? Disaster relief is not a matter of a few hundred taels."
His words made sense. Fourth Master had actually thought of that as well, and had mentioned it to Lanqin at the time. Lanqin replied, "Master, don't underestimate the profit from selling braised lobsters. It could easily bring in tens or hundreds of thousands of taels of silver."
Fourth Master relayed Lanqin's words verbatim to the others, then gave Li Wei a thousand taels of silver for renting a shop, and the price for buying lobsters would definitely be from low to high.
The group immediately set off for Lu County, naturally carrying with them the secret recipe for braised prawns given to them by Master Niu. After eating braised prawns at Lanqin's place, the four of them no longer doubted what Fourth Master had told them, and set off with high spirits.
Less than half a month later, Li Wei wrote back to report on the lobster restaurant's performance to Fourth Master. On the first day of opening, following Lan Qin's instructions, they offered free samples for one day. Only on the second day did they begin operating the restaurant for business.
Sure enough, those who had eaten for free on the first day didn't go back to try making it themselves, but chose to come back again. Even more people came on the third day, and it was packed every day thereafter. Locals tried to make it themselves, but it never tasted as good as the restaurant's. Moreover, they could hardly buy lobsters at the market. This was because Da Chun had already bought up all the lobsters from several nearby farms, and when the local farmers heard that someone was offering money for them, they immediately rushed to their fields and ditches to catch lobsters.
Upon hearing this good news, the Fourth Prince immediately shared it with Lanqin. Lanqin advised him to continue sending people to open such lobster restaurants in different prefectures and counties. In order to expand rapidly, the Fourth Prince specially went to the palace to secretly report the lobster restaurant matter to Emperor Kangxi.
Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi greatly praised the Fourth Prince. The matter he had entrusted to the Crown Prince had been stalled by the Crown Prince, who had yet to come up with a satisfactory solution. The Fourth Prince's idea was ingenious and insightful, and it had already yielded results. The one thousand taels the Fourth Prince had initially invested had now grown to twenty thousand taels.
Emperor Kangxi immediately allocated 100,000 taels of silver and specially ordered the Fourth Prince to select people from the Imperial Household Department to handle the matter with special urgency and immediately send them to various places to open lobster restaurants. The Fourth Prince was in charge of this matter, and all the silver earned by the restaurants in various places was managed by the Fourth Prince and directly accountable to Emperor Kangxi.
The Fourth Prince specifically reported to Emperor Kangxi that the matter was presented by Lady Niohuru, which greatly improved Kangxi's impression of Lanqin. Lanqin was granted special permission to take Hongli back for a short stay of half a month before sending him back to the palace.
Lanqin was so happy upon hearing the news that she almost cried. When she picked up Hongli, Lanqin was so excited she could hardly contain herself. Hongli was already over four months old, chubby and still a size bigger than Hongzhou.
Fourth Prince, along with Lanqin and Hongli, boarded the carriage back to the Yuanmingyuan. The family of three chatted and laughed happily inside. When they arrived back at Wan'an Fanghe, Hongzhou burst into tears, seemingly knowing that his brother had returned.
Lanqin watched as the twin brothers, separated for more than three months, finally fell asleep together, and she was filled with emotion. She felt that there must be some reason why Kangxi was so determined to take Hongli away, a reason they didn't know yet.
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