Zhou Wan became anxious. "No, I have to go inside and see what's going on. What if Brother Qi bullies my mother?"
"Don't be so clueless. They're a man and a woman alone in a room. What are we supposed to do to interfere? Just let them do what they want."
Zhou Wan blushed deeply.
When Xu Yuehuai came out, her face was beaming with happiness, and San Niang was laughing like an old hen.
"Have you gotten what you wanted?"
"Yes, we've already thought of a name."
Third Sister looked at Xu Yuehuai's belly with a start, "Aren't you guys moving a little too fast?"
Xu Yuehuai knew that Third Sister was just making things up and having wild thoughts, so she quickly patted her stomach to prove that it was empty. "Third Sister, what are you thinking about? I was talking about the name of the wine."
Third Sister then realized.
The two had the waiter move the drinks to the front desk and put the labels on them.
A faint fragrance immediately filled the room, quickly attracting several gourmets.
"What kind of wine is this? It smells so good!"
"Oh, you're in for a treat! This is our shop's specialty, brewed and blended by our manager. It's not made from grains; it's fruit wine."
Making wine from fruit did exist in ancient times, but in reality, the cycle of fruit spoilage, mold, and even fermentation is very short. Under those conditions where there were no refrigerators or storage methods, making genuine fruit wine was extremely difficult.
Now that person pointed.
"Give me two jin."
"We have a special offer today. The shopkeeper is giving away a bonus: buy three catties and get one and a half catties free. You can choose any other flavor of the one and a half catties you want."
"Oh?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Such a good thing?"
"If you order more than five pounds, whether you take it away or enjoy it here, we will give you a free piece of hairy tofu."
Hearing this, the man's face lit up with joy. "Then I'll have three catties. You can give me one and a half catties first, and I'll give you two more catties. Give me some hairy tofu too."
"Yes, yes."
The little boy, with a smug grin, went to prepare it.
Third Sister looked at Xu Yuehuai.
"Would we be at a disadvantage if we just gave it away for free?"
"How could that be? Fruit wine isn't pure brewing, so we won't lose money. I've already calculated it. We'll just do promotions." Xu Yuehuai explained her marketing philosophy.
She tried her best to use simple and easy-to-understand sentences to explain.
The two understood immediately after hearing this and nodded happily.
In the afternoon, Qi Guze finally woke up and hurriedly prepared to leave, but Xu Yuehuai prepared food for him, saying, "At least do me the honor of having a meal before you go."
"Alright."
Unable to refuse Xu Yuehuai's hospitality, Qi Guze sat down at the round table opposite him and began to eat.
Opposite them were not only Zhou Wan San Niang and the shopkeeper, but also the waiters, all sitting in a row, chatting and laughing. According to the feudal ideology of that time, the waiters, who were of low status, were not allowed to sit at the table.
However, Xu Yuehuai and the two girls believed that Xiao Erge was the soul of the shop and its most hardworking and active member.
Moreover, Xu Yuehuai was very pleased that these young men were so good at reading people and speaking to them in different ways.
Qi Guze only glanced at the person opposite him briefly, without showing any disdain.
He hastily ate a couple of bites and was about to leave when, unexpectedly, Third Sister started nagging, "Is Ah Lang married yet?"
Standing behind Qi Guze, Tie Xiong, known for his straightforwardness, replied, "Never."
"Now..." Third Sister's eyes were so meaningful, "My sister and you are in love, don't you think you should find some time to come and..."
Hearing this, Xu Yuehuai was taken aback and quickly picked up a piece of okra with her chopsticks and put it into the other person's mouth.
"Eat quickly, Third Sister, eat quickly."
Third Sister knew that asking any further questions would only make things awkward, so she could only watch helplessly as Qi Guze got up. Unexpectedly, Qi Guze actually answered, "I am unmarried and currently live alone. My parents are both dead, and I live alone."
After saying that, Qi Guze left.
Get into the carriage before leaving.
The carriage sped along and soon arrived at the palace.
Upon entering the Qiankun Palace, the Emperor had been waiting idly for quite some time. Seeing Qi Guze enter, the Emperor quickly wiped the damp sweat from his forehead. "I've been feeling restless lately. I'm either in a daze or having dreams, and those dreams aren't necessarily good ones."
"Your Majesty is just too anxious. A little rest will do you good."
"Is there any progress on what I asked you to do?"
This matter is extremely complicated. Qi Guze can neither say that there is no progress nor let the Emperor know that there is no progress. He can only say, "I have a way to let you observe him yourself, but you must also grant my unreasonable request."
The Emperor's health is deteriorating.
Qi Guze was given the responsibility of handling most of the major and minor affairs within the imperial court.
The world may seem to belong to the emperor, but in reality, it is Qi Guze who is in charge. Hearing this, the emperor nodded.
Perhaps it's true that good news makes people feel cheerful. The Emperor, who had been listless for half a day, was naturally much happier after learning that he could observe the Crown Prince up close. He suddenly stood up and said, "I'm leaving now, I'm leaving now, what other unreasonable request is there?"
"I need to make arrangements in advance. The earliest I can do this is tomorrow. When you meet the Crown Prince tomorrow, you must make sure he doesn't notice anything, otherwise things will be even more difficult to handle."
Upon hearing this, the Emperor hurriedly nodded.
On the other side, Xu Yuehuai's young apprentice learned that Old Li's family across the street also sold hairy tofu. Xu Yuehuai looked at him and said, "Go and buy some to try."
"I'm not going."
The young man shook his head.
But a quarter of an hour later, a plate was still brought over.
It looked almost exactly like the original, and Xu Yuehuai started eating, but the taste was far from what she expected.
Even the waiter said, "A difference of a hair's breadth can lead to a huge error."
"Let him do whatever he wants. We'll hold an unusual press conference in three days, inviting chefs from all walks of life to attend. We'll auction off the recipe for hairy tofu and make the recipe for stinky tofu public."
Hearing this, both San Niang and Zhou Wan became nervous.
“Mother,” Zhou Wan’s jaw was clenched, her cheeks trembling, “Are you serious? You’re just going to reveal the whole secret like this?”
"It's no secret. It's just a matter of how long it ferments. Anyone with eyes can figure it out. It will become less and less valuable in the future. Now is the best time to throw it away."
Zhou Wan and San Niang simply couldn't believe that such delicious and unique hairy tofu would one day become a common dish in every household.
Xu Yuehuai, however, smiled.
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. You'll see how things go in the future."
Xu Yuehuai's people have been making various preparations over the past three days.
No one knew what a press conference was, but after hearing that the organizer was Xu Yuehuai and that there was a secret recipe to be obtained, everyone began to sign up enthusiastically, which eventually led to the price of admission tickets rising to two taels of silver.
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