After making some efforts at Wu Mei's and Wei Hong's homes, Zhao Qinglan herself did not forget to continue her efforts.
Whenever her health permits, she studies diligently.
Li Huaisheng was worried that his wife would hurt herself by studying too hard, so he told Erwa and Xiaoduo to keep an eye on her when they were home, and to remind her to move around and take a break whenever Zhao Qinglan studied for too long.
Zhao Qinglan was both amused and exasperated that she would have two children supervise her.
Although the eldest child has already started school, the second child and Xiaoduo still occasionally learn things at home.
Zhao Qinglan also hoped that they would perform well when they entered school, as it's never a bad thing for children to learn more.
While Zhao Qinglan was taking care of her pregnancy, she was also enjoying her own little life.
Meanwhile, another snack shop quietly opened in the city.
The shop is owned by Yang Qingmin and his wife.
Yang Qingmin has been envious of Li Huai's family for a long time, feeling that they have a lot of money.
Seeing that other snack shops are making money, they think they can make money by opening one too.
They sell the same things.
They didn't know exactly how to make mala tang (a spicy hot pot dish), but they thought making wontons was not difficult at all.
Qian Hongxia even secretly went to the time-honored snack shop several times, just to learn the recipe.
Sun and the others didn't know Qian Hongxia either, but they found it strange that a customer kept looking into their kitchen.
When they asked what she needed, Qian Hongxia shook her head and left.
Opening a shop naturally requires manpower, and Qian Hongxia can only be considered half of it, because she can't just live in the city every day and neglect her family and son just because she's opening a shop.
So, she followed suit and brought her own family members over.
She initially brought her brother and sister-in-law over; she also wanted to bring her sister over, but her husband disagreed.
Yang Qingmin has a younger sister, so Qian Hongxia had no choice but to bring her sister-in-law along as well.
After bringing people from their hometown, the couple naturally made grand promises in their letter, stating that following them would guarantee a life of luxury and wealth.
In fact, whether it was Qian Hongxia's brother and sister-in-law or her sister-in-law, they were just receiving a salary; they were essentially hired by the couple.
It would be a miracle if you could get rich that way.
In a flurry of activity, a wonton shop opened not far across the street from the long-established snack shop.
At first glance, it seems like a new store has opened, but some people still go in to try it out.
However, once you've tried it, you'll never come back a second time.
Qian Hongxia's wontons are priced the same as those of the established brands, but the taste is far inferior.
Moreover, they are stingy with ingredients, so it's no wonder they can't make anything delicious.
The meat used in these time-honored wonton shops is the freshest, sourced directly from the meat processing plant every day, and the flour is also top-quality white flour.
And the soup base for the wontons—that was a secret recipe that Zhao Qinglan taught her mother and sister.
If Qian Hongxia could make the same dish after only a few visits, she would probably have to be a culinary genius.
The store has been open for more than half a month. There were some customers in the first few days after opening, but the number of people decreased day by day.
Most of the time, Qian Hongxia's brother, sister-in-law, and sister-in-law were just sitting there idly.
The relationship between the two sides is actually quite ordinary.
When Qian Hongxia discovered the state of the store's business, she naturally became anxious and sent her brother, sister-in-law, and sister-in-law outside to attract customers.
This kind of forced buying and selling is so aggressive that it's a miracle if they don't scare customers away. Who would dare to go into their store to eat?
All I can say is that they were stupid to insist on opening their shop near established brands.
The prices are the same, but the taste is worlds apart; even a fool would know which one to choose.
Actually, the Sun mother and her two daughters knew about it when their wonton shop first opened.
At first, they were a little worried, fearing it would affect their business.
For this reason, Zhao Qingzhu even made a special phone call to her sister.
Zhao Qinglan was somewhat surprised to learn that a wonton shop had opened near her store, but she wasn't panicked.
She simply comforted her sister by saying that as long as they ran their little shop well, she wouldn't be able to do much, since at least they had another signature dish, mala tang, in their shop.
Zhao Qingzhu and her colleagues could tell whether the business across the street was good or not by paying a little attention.
Finding that their own business hadn't been greatly affected, they felt relieved. At the same time, they were curious about what the other person's wontons tasted like and why they were getting fewer and fewer customers.
Zhao Qinglan remembered this incident and asked about it again when she talked to her sister on the phone later.
Upon learning this, they laughed. Regardless of the reason for the poor business, it was at least a good thing for them.
As more and more people start businesses in the future, competition will become increasingly fierce. But for food vendors, as long as the food tastes good and the price is fair, their business will inevitably thrive.
Qian Hongxia and her team rented a place, decorated and furnished it, purchased items, and bought ingredients for their shop.
The miscellaneous expenses added up to a considerable sum, all of which came from Qian Hongxia and her husband's savings.
But all she could see was money flowing out, with little to no income, and Qian Hongxia grew anxious.
Her attitude towards her brother, sister-in-law, and sister-in-law was much worse than when she initially tricked them into coming, as if she was venting her resentment on them.
Qian Hongxia's brother and sister-in-law were not pushovers, and the relationship between the parties became increasingly tense.
A few days ago, business was bad, but Qian Hongxia didn't dare tell her husband.
Every time her husband asked, she said it was alright.
But now she can't hold on any longer, mainly because her husband plans to come to the store on his day off to check the accounts.
Seeing that she could no longer hide it, Qian Hongxia finally told the truth.
"What? It's been half a month and you've only made a little over twenty yuan?" Yang Qingmin couldn't believe it.
What can you do with just over twenty yuan? They have to pay wages to three people for renting that house, which is more than twenty yuan a month.
Thinking of this, Yang Qingmin couldn't sit still.
"What's going on? What are they doing, just eating all day long?" he said angrily.
These days, Qian Hongxia hasn't completely stopped reflecting on her actions.
Seeing her husband's anger, she could only explain softly, "Our food is still a bit inferior to theirs, but the price is the same, so customers go there to eat. How about we lower the price?"
"Why should the price be lowered? Am I, Yang Qingmin, destined to always be inferior to Li Huai?"
"That's not what I meant. So what do you suggest we do?"
"The taste, the taste! They must have a secret recipe!" Yang Qingmin's eyes lit up.
If they knew this secret recipe, wouldn't their business improve and they make more money?
Qian Hongxia was a little confused. "What do you mean by that?"
"Their food tastes good because they have a secret recipe. If we can just get our hands on that recipe, we'll be fine."
"Huh? How are we supposed to take it?" Thinking about the relationship between her family and Li Huai's family, Qian Hongxia knew it was impossible.
Besides, even if the two families weren't that bad off, why would they hand over their money-making secrets to you? They're still competitors, after all.
Anyway, if it were her, she wouldn't give it to relatives even if they asked; she would keep it safe and only use it for her own purposes.
"As long as you find a way, there's nothing you can't do," Yang Qingmin sneered.
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