"Not selling? You try!"
Shen Leyan closed her eyes tightly, feeling a sharp pain in her heart, as if her liver was being squeezed.
I own a shop and run a business, so I have to greet customers when they come to my shop.
People order whatever dishes are available, pay for whatever they eat, and are told to leave...
Then don't even think about it. My seven or eight men can handle one or two drunkards, but if dozens of soldiers come at me at once, how can I possibly win?
I'm afraid Tianxianglou will just wait for them to turn away their customers, and then these soldiers will smash up their shop.
Huang Changsheng and Shen Leyan's faces were both contorted in bitterness. How could they possibly continue their business like this?
Inside Tianxiang Tower, Song Liyun was talking with Zhou Xiang, Sun Wencheng, and a few others.
"Hey! Manager Song, you don't know, my brother is so proud of himself. He even came over to show me yesterday that he ate ten big pancakes and his stomach was so full he could hardly walk."
Sun Wencheng touched his belly, spread his legs, and walked like a crab.
Song Liyun rubbed her cheeks, which were sore from laughing, and asked worriedly, "How are we going to get back like this?"
Zhou Xiang scoffed, "You good-for-nothing! All you know is how to eat flatbread, nothing else. This is a rare opportunity!"
Sun Wencheng raised his eyebrows and said in a low voice, "I heard that the head chef of Zuichunlou is so tired that he can't even lift his hands. He couldn't even knead the dough today. The waiter even cut the meat. Tsk tsk tsk! The meat shreds were as thick as fingers."
"Speaking of which, Jinxi Restaurant is really holding up; they hired other chefs today and even bought an extra pig."
Zhou Xiang couldn't help but laugh when he thought about how his brothers in the garrison had heard that the reward for completing the 40-mile training run was a meal at a famous restaurant in Qili County.
They were all so excited that they roared and ran like wild horses, impossible to stop.
A group of men, hungry, ran to Qili County. Not to mention the cabbage and potatoes served at the restaurants, even the plain water they served was sweet. They had to prepare several buckets of water to make sure they had enough.
This idea was actually Song Liyun's.
She said that Jinxilou is currently having a 50% off promotion, and it would be a waste not to take advantage of this deal.
We should keep the good stuff within the family and give opportunities to our own brothers in the garrison.
Anyway, the garrison soldiers have to do morning exercises every day.
In particular, the four hundred men transferred from the Lei Battalion of the Zhenbei Army ran thirty li every day without fail.
Then send someone to Qili County, have a good meal there, and then go back.
Although the journey was quite long, exceeding the usual training volume by two times, the lure of delicious food kept everyone running tirelessly, their feet barely touching the ground.
The usual price for a serving of food, as set by the chef, is fifty coins, but now with the half-price promotion, it's only twenty-five coins.
The garrison will subsidize half of the cost, and the remaining fifteen coins must be paid by the individual.
To show their support for the brothers, Tianxianglou subsidized the soldiers' expenses, which amounted to only a few taels of silver per day.
Free food is free, so these soldiers, who usually eat communal meals in their barracks, had absolutely no scruples about it.
They didn't care about the finer things in life, they just wanted to eat their fill, stuffing themselves with huge bowls of food. They lined up every day, from morning till night, which really took a toll on several restaurants.
We can't kick them out; we have to take good care of them.
It's a pity that military orders prevented them from eating but drinking; otherwise, they would have emptied the distillery.
September 15th arrived in the blink of an eye; this day was a day of rest for the county government.
A day in advance, two rows of long tables were set up in the center of Yaqian Street.
On the day of the trade fair, long tables were covered with silk cloth and various food items were placed on them.
Merchants can stand behind long tables to introduce their products to passing customers.
This time, more than 30 merchants were willing to participate. Although the number was relatively small, it was the first time that Yaqian Street was completely filled with vendors.
The two ends of Yaqian Street were blocked by red silk and guarded by yamen runners. The onlookers could only look at the long row of colorful tents inside, and they were so anxious that they scratched their heads and cheeks.
Magistrate Jiang had just cut the red silk and hadn't even finished speaking when he was pushed back into the county office by the surging crowd.
At this moment, the long tables of more than twenty companies were lined up together, completely occupying the area in front of the county government's main gate.
The crowds of onlookers thronged the streets, even more than at a temple fair, instantly turning the usually spacious Yaqian Street into a complete traffic jam.
Everyone's attention was focused on the long table in the center of the colorful canopy.
On the long tables, there were various pastries served in the most beautiful porcelain and arranged in exquisite ways.
Although the items on display were the same varieties as those in the shop, the change of venue—no dimly lit shop, no greasy wooden cabinets—made these candies and pastries suddenly appear bright and vibrant, supported by a white silk canopy.
Mung bean cake, red bean cake, jujube cake, all different colors, stacked like a pagoda, making one's mouth water at the sight of them.
The steamed buns and mantou that just came out of the steamer looked more adorable than usual.
The carefully selected walnuts, peanuts, and chestnuts at the dry goods store are packed in palm-sized wicker baskets.
Various dried sauces and pickled vegetables are served in snow-white fine porcelain bowls and plates.
Next came the vendors selling grains, oils, rice, noodles, dried vegetables, chicken, duck, fish, meat, tobacco, dried fruit, and candied fruit.
They all tried their best to make ordinary goods look fancy.
Behind the long table, a newly dressed, quick-witted waiter was calling out to the crowd to attract customers.
This novel sales method was quite intriguing, and the price was even a penny or two cheaper than usual. Some people watched the spectacle, while others immediately made a purchase.
The small long table couldn't possibly hold all the goods, but luckily the shops were all in the city. You just needed to write down what you wanted to buy here, and a shop assistant would deliver it to your door.
The most attractive spots are the barbecue stalls that occupy the largest areas.
Guan Laoliu deftly flipped the meat skewers in his hands, occasionally fanning them with a palm-leaf fan, the unique aroma tantalizing everyone's olfactory senses.
The skewers on the grill included both meat and vegetables, just like the dishes at Tianxianglou.
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