With the funds from the two shops plus the reward from Old Lady Shen, they now had a total of two thousand taels of silver.
Once the restaurant was settled, they began preparations to build a house.
The restaurant mainly opens for business at noon and in the evening, so it doesn't need to get up early like Jueweizhai.
As soon as the sun rose in the morning, Zhang and Lanjuan were already dressed and ready to go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast.
"Auntie, I can have breakfast by myself. You must have been exhausted last night. Go back to bed and rest for a while. I'll call you when breakfast is ready!"
Zhang smiled and said unconcernedly, "It's alright, your aunt knows you're a hard worker, let's do it together."
"There are many tasks and things to do at the restaurant. After the meal, I help prepare the dishes for my daughter. She is young and I'm afraid she will overwork herself!"
Lanjuan washed a bunch of bok choy, put it on the cutting board to chop, and nodded in agreement as she listened to Zhang's words.
"Sister San Gui is so smart and capable, Auntie is so lucky!"
"That's right! Our whole family is where we are today thanks to my daughter!"
Zhang, scratching the flint, responded somewhat shyly to Lanjuan's praise.
"I heard Uncle Tian pulling his donkey cart at night. Is he going to Tianjia Village?"
Lanjuan found it strange. She should be resting in the middle of the night, so why was she traveling at night? Hadn't she asked the neighbors to help with everything at home?
"The business was booming yesterday. Many side dishes and drinks were sold out in advance. If we don't go back and restock, we may not have enough tonight."
"So that's how it is!"
As the two chatted, the oil in the pan sizzled and crackled. Lanjuan added vegetables to the pan and stir-fried them, while also cooking a pot of millet porridge.
When the meal was ready, Lanjuan was about to wake Tian Sangui, who was still fast asleep, when Zhang Shi pulled her back from behind.
"Don't wake her, let her sleep a little longer. Just leave some food in the pot for her, we'll eat first!"
"Why!"
Zhang knew that her daughter wouldn't get up until she had slept well during her pregnancy. Rather than disturbing her sleep, she decided not to wake her and wait for her to wake up naturally.
In addition, the Qingxuan Restaurant across the street was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, just like Tian Sangui had done yesterday, with black jars of wine with red caps displayed attractively by the roadside.
The waiter bustled about, watching the servants carefully hang up the banners and lanterns, his squinty eyes glancing occasionally at the Hefang Restaurant across the street.
When the sun was high in the sky, Tian Sangui finally stretched and came out of the backyard.
"San Gui, you're awake! I've left your food in the pot, go wash up and eat!"
Lanjuan heard footsteps behind her, turned around and saw Tian Sangui.
"Why are you all up so early? There are still two hours until noon!"
Tian Sangui lay listlessly by the door.
Upon hearing this, Zhang laughed and said, "It's always better to prepare early than to be in a panic. We haven't been up for long, it's not early at all!"
Seeing that the dozen or so kinds of vegetables in front of him had been washed and picked clean, Tian Sangui simply did not believe Zhang's statement that it was not early at all.
After spending some time in the yard, we fetched water to wash up and had our meal.
As the sun slowly returned to its zenith, the doors of Hefang Restaurant opened, ready to welcome guests.
The joyous scene opposite them was impossible for Zhang and Lanjuan to ignore.
"Auntie, are they having an event today too?"
Zhang was illiterate, but the procession was just like the one they had yesterday, and she knew exactly what was going on with that kind of setup.
"Hmph, they're just imitating others poorly, no need to pay them any mind!"
He said he didn't care, but he was already feeling bad inside and couldn't keep it to himself.
Upon entering the kitchen, Tian Sangui was simmering soup. "Sangui," he said, "that family across the street is copying us from yesterday. The wine and gifts they displayed at their door are different from ours, but they're still quite dazzling. Will this affect us?"
Zhang's biggest worry was the restaurant business; she could only feel at ease if Tian Sangui said everything was fine.
Tian Sangui had anticipated that someone would imitate him. He placed a large piece of pork on the table and glanced at Zhang Shi.
"Let them go. I know what I'm doing. Today, we just need to operate as usual, do a good job with today's activities, and there's nothing else to worry about!"
Tian Sangui did not give Zhang a clear answer, but seeing how calm she was, Zhang calmed herself down and went to the front hall to keep watch.
With one less Tian Laosi today, the heavy responsibility of managing the front hall falls on Zhang Shi and Lan Juan.
Lan Cheng was helping Tian Sangui watch the fire in the kitchen, while Xiao Si and Xiao Wu continued their work as doormen from yesterday.
Noon arrived quietly, and thanks to yesterday's good reputation, more regular customers came into the store today.
Zhang hurriedly welcomed the guests into the house. Just as she was about to ask what they wanted to order, a jarring sound of gongs and drums rang out at the door: "Hey, come and take a look! Qingxuan Restaurant is having a big giveaway!"
"What?"
"Are there free signature dishes across the street?"
"They're even giving away wine?"
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to the other side!"
The guests who had just sat down, before they had even warmed their seats, got up and went to the restaurant across the street.
This move left Zhang and Lanjuan dumbfounded on the spot.
Although I was angry, the restaurant is a place where diners have the right to choose, and even as the manager, I couldn't stop them, could I?
Fortunately, five or six more guests came in, which dispelled Zhang's anger, and she quickly greeted them with a friendly smile.
"Sir, what would you like to eat?"
Just as she handed the menu to the customer, the sound of gongs and drums rang out again at the door.
"Hey, Qingxuan Restaurant is offering free samples of their signature dishes, plus complimentary premium liquor! Don't miss out!"
"Oh, is there such a good thing?"
"Hey guys, wanna go?"
We absolutely have to go check it out!
And just like that, he turned and went to the other side.
"Hey, don't go! We also have free gifts to give away!"
The diners didn't hear what Zhang was saying at all and went straight to the other side of the street.
Enraged, she threw down the menu and ran to the door, ready to hurl insults at the man banging the gong.
Lanjuan quickly stepped forward to stop the impulsive Zhang: "Auntie, don't be hasty. It's not worth ruining your own business for a moment of anger!"
Tian Sangui once said that the worst thing to do in business is to curse in front of the door and leave a bad impression in public, which will seriously affect business.
Lanjuan kept this in mind and, seeing that Zhang was about to speak, quickly stopped the enraged Zhang.
"What can we do? Look at their despicable behavior, they're obviously targeting us on purpose."
"Auntie, why don't you go to the kitchen and ask Sister San Gui? You're very attentive; maybe she can handle him?"
Upon hearing this, Zhang clapped her hands and exclaimed, "You're right! I'll go tell San Gui right now. You stay here and keep an eye on things!"
"Why!"
Zhang rushed into the kitchen.
"San Gui, stop what you're doing! All our customers have been snatched up by the restaurant across the street!"
Zhang's words made the busy Tian Sangui suddenly stop: "What's going on?"
Zhang, with a furious expression, recounted the events that had occurred in the front hall to Tian Sangui.
"Mother, don't worry, listen to me..."
Zhang returned to the front hall with a confident expression.
Seeing that she was no longer as agitated as before, Lanjuan thought that Tian Sangui must have given Zhang Shi some advice.
Zhang called over Xiao Si and Xiao Wu and whispered something in their ears.
The two boys then ran happily outside.
"Although spirits are good, they are not as sweet and delicious as fresh wine. On a hot day, a bowl of chilled watermelon juice is better, as it is refreshing and cooling."
"On the second day of the opening of Hefang Restaurant, in order to thank all our guests for their support, all dishes are half price, and novel appetizers are also given away for free."
"In this sweltering summer, we wish all our guests a hearty and delicious meal with our spicy and sour side dishes!"
"He Fang Restaurant, please!"
The shouts of Xiao Si and Xiao Wu attracted the interest of passersby, who listened to their story.
As yesterday, everyone poured into the hall.
In this hot weather, who wouldn't want some appetizing dishes and a bowl of ice-cold watermelon juice?
Besides, since it's also free, Hefang Restaurant has a wider variety of dishes, tastes better, and offers more discounts. We drink liquor every day, so it's not very novel, but the peach wine is sweet and flavorful.
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