Chapter 83 Could it be that Shen Mingxuan was behind this?
"Your Highness, the snacks and desserts I invented are not expensive at all."
Chu Yanluo clenched her hands, raised her chin, and said, "Doesn't it cost you over a hundred taels of silver for a simple pot of wine on a normal day? All these snacks and pastries of mine only cost a little over a hundred taels of silver. They're so cheap, why does the young master say they're expensive?"
"Besides, you can't find these snacks anywhere else. You can only get them at Qingyunlou. They have a unique flavor and look amazing. When you're entertaining guests, serving a set of these will make you look good in both substance and appearance!"
Xiao Qingyuan frowned: "The wine I drink, which costs 100 taels a pot, is different. It's all aged wine that's over ten years old. Besides, the young master downstairs also said that Zui Xian Lou also has these snacks."
Chu Yanluo was furious: "He's spouting nonsense, and you're just believing him! These snacks and desserts of mine are the result of a lot of hard work. No one else could make them, and Zuixianlou certainly couldn't. If Zuixianlou had them, they would have already made a name for themselves. How could they still be overshadowed by Qingyunlou!"
Xiao Qingyuan looked at the customer from before: "Young master, are you here to cause trouble on purpose, or does Zuixianlou really have these dishes?"
The diner's face turned ashen: "I wouldn't cause a scene for a hundred taels of silver! Since you don't believe that Zuixianlou has these dishes, why don't you send someone to buy them and see for yourselves? If I'm lying, I'll apologize to Miss Chu and Qingyunlou immediately! But if what I said is true, you have to compensate me for my losses today! Those lousy things aren't worth a hundred taels at all!"
Chu Yanluo immediately turned to the shopkeeper and said, "Send someone to buy some pastries. I want to see how Zuixianlou can make pastries just like mine!"
She certainly didn't believe that Zuixianlou could make the same pastries, because her pastries only became popular in the capital a few years later; a few years earlier, nobody in the capital ate them.
Looking at her confident demeanor, Xiao Qingyuan felt that Chu Yanluo's former aloof and arrogant image was beginning to crumble.
For the first time, he felt that she was somewhat ignorant, and for the first time, he realized the huge gap between their social statuses. She didn't seem to be as insightful as he had imagined.
The new-style pastries she supposedly invented are indeed rare. Ordinary families would never make such exquisite and beautiful pastries. Firstly, it is very time-consuming and laborious to make them. Secondly, it requires a lot of fresh cow's milk, sheep's milk, etc., and it also requires honey that ordinary families simply cannot afford.
However, Xiao Qingyuan came from the Ning Prince's Mansion, and he could enter and leave the palace whenever he wanted. In both the palace and the Ning Prince's Mansion, beautiful and exquisite pastries were common, and he had long been tired of them.
The snacks and pastries invented by Chu Yanluo were indeed sweeter than those in the palace and the Ning Prince's Mansion, but that was about it. Apart from the fruit jelly ice bowl, which was somewhat special, the other snacks were not much different from those in the Ning Prince's Mansion. At most, there were some differences in the shape. Qingyunlou's were more fancy, decorated with fresh flower petals.
Selling this little bit of stuff for 136 taels? Isn't that ripping people off?
Although Xiao Qingyuan was extravagant, he still had a strong sense of justice due to the teachings of Princess Ning, and he did not want Chu Yanluo to do anything fraudulent or deceitful.
He couldn't help but speak up: "Yanluo, you used to be the most impatient with those gold and silver things and had no interest in money. Now, how come you're setting such high prices on a few ordinary snacks just to make money? Reprice them. At such high prices, apart from curious people trying them out, not many people will eat them."
Chu Yanluo's expression turned even uglier after hearing this.
The way he said it made it sound like she was some kind of unscrupulous businesswoman! Wasn't he deliberately trying to ruin her image as an aloof, otherworldly fairy?
Moreover, who is so poor that they can't even afford a bowl of bird's nest soup for her? Who is it that went to Shen Wantang and begged for money in a humble manner for just a few hundred taels of silver?
She lived with him in the Prince's mansion, yet she didn't even have a decent piece of clothing or a decent piece of jewelry!
If she doesn't find a way to earn money, she'll starve to death in the Prince Ning's mansion!
She said coldly, "If the young master thinks it's too expensive, then he doesn't have to eat here! You know I'm not interested in gold and silver or worldly things. I set these prices not to make money, but simply to ensure that our diners have both substance and prestige. Qingyunlou is the largest restaurant in the capital. If the dim sum is sold too cheaply, it will only make our diners lose face and lower their status!"
The manager also said, "That's right, Your Highness. Our Qingyun Restaurant is a symbol of status for nobles. Those who come here to eat are either rich or noble, so the dim sum must be delicious and special, something you can't find anywhere else. Doesn't that highlight the class of people who dine at our Qingyun Restaurant?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter who went to Zuixianlou to buy snacks returned.
The waiter's eyes flickered slightly: "Shopkeeper, I've bought the snacks and pastries. Would you like to... go inside and have a taste?"
He deliberately emphasized the pronunciation of the word "inside" in order to encourage the shopkeeper not to eat outside.
The shopkeeper knew there was something fishy going on and was about to agree when Chu Yanluo said confidently, "No need to go inside to taste it, just taste it outside. I don't believe their pastries can compare to mine!"
The shopkeeper had no choice but to try it outside. Not only that, Xiao Qingyuan also came over to try it, and the other people in the private rooms upstairs also came downstairs to sample it out of curiosity.
After everyone finished eating, their eyes widened in surprise: "This ice bowl... isn't it exactly the same as the one at Qingyunlou?!"
"This pastry looks a little different from the ones from Qingyunlou, but the taste and texture are the same! How come we were all fooled by Qingyunlou?"
"Oh my, Miss Chu, didn't you say this was a snack you invented? How come Zuixianlou has it too? In fact, Zuixianlou had it a few days ago, even earlier than yours!"
"Shopkeeper, give us our money back! You're clearly swindling people! Zuixianlou only sells it for three taels of silver a serving, and you're selling it for thirty taels? How dare you? Do you really think we're all suckers?"
The shopkeeper's mind was buzzing. He turned to Chu Yanluo and asked, "Miss Chu, what's going on? How come Zuixianlou also has these snacks and desserts? Did you teach them how to make ice bowls?"
After tasting the ice bowl and the other desserts, Chu Yanluo's face turned deathly pale: "Impossible! How is this possible?! How could there be other people who know how to make fruit and cheese ice bowls? This was clearly introduced to Dafeng by foreign merchants only a few years later!"
Could it be Shen Mingxuan?
She has always claimed to be reborn. Could it be that she taught the chef at Zuixianlou to deliberately compete with her?
That damned Shen Mingxuan! She killed her in her past life, and now she wants to kill her again in this life! She hasn't even gone to Shen Mingxuan to avenge the death she suffered in the previous life, but she didn't expect Shen Mingxuan to start harming her first!
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