Amidst the flowers, I revel in wine on a mortal night; heaven is unlike the earthly realm.
Inside the Fengyue Tower, the sound of zithers filled the air, and a hundred flowers bloomed in profusion.
Some whisper sweet nothings, while others lavishly spend money.
"Master Wang, we've just started serving shredded pancakes. Would you like to try some?"
Ah Cai said to a well-to-do man, who had a pot on the table in front of him. He picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in sesame sauce, took a bite, and then drank a pot of liquor. Listening to the clear, nightingale-like voice of Liu Xu, Master Wang was so happy that he didn't know what the world was like.
He nodded.
"Go! Add two more lamps for the willow catkin maiden!"
The rule at Fengyue Tower is that you can light a lamp for whichever girl you like. If you want to hear Miss Liuxu sing two more songs, you can light two more lamps.
One cup costs ten taels of silver.
The girl at the next table, upon hearing what Master Wang said, looked displeased.
"Look, Master Wang, he's adding more lamp light for Sister Willow Catkins again. I'm such a poor soul; all I wanted was to eat some seafood."
The girl's brows were slightly furrowed; she looked pitiful beyond words.
Even the man next to her was tempted.
"Someone, add five lamps for Miss Ruyi, no, six, I'll make it a number that suits your taste."
Ruyi's jet-black hair cascaded down her back, casually tied up with a hairpin.
Whether she's pretty or not, she's dressed in mourning.
The girl, dressed in white, perfectly embodied the image of a little white flower.
The man didn't think much of it. The women in his household were all from respectable families, so why would they be jealous of each other every day? Besides, there were many women in the brothel, so naturally they would compare themselves to each other.
Huo Xiaolong watched this scene from the kitchen downstairs.
These older women's schemes are truly layered upon layer.
Sister Ruyi meant that if she lit many lamps, she could eat a sea fish tomorrow, the kind that Zhang Mama would cook for her.
But the sisters in the building eat together every day, and Sister Ruyi ate three squid pancakes by herself at noon today.
She didn't touch the fish at all.
She doesn't like eating fish at all.
"The snacks in your building are absolutely amazing!"
"If Master Zhang likes to eat, bring out two more plates, so we can enjoy some too."
Mother Zhang put a clever idea into making the sesame seed cakes: she would coat the cakes with a layer of fine flour and bake them again.
This will create gold threads on top.
The filling is made with an extremely diluted elixir, making it even more flavorful.
Huo Xiaolong looked at the two buckets of filling, each containing only a drop of spiritual spring water, smacked his lips a few times, and then secretly added some to the staff meals served in the building.
Her mom is so stingy.
The squid supplied by the Hu family are all freshly caught and of sufficient size. Cen's mother had Ah Cai inquire with other places as well, and it was indeed quite difficult to obtain fifty catties a day.
The accounts are settled every three days, and the Hu family delivers the money themselves.
The little dumpling wanted to eat grilled squid, but there wasn't enough squid.
Aunt Wang orders thirty jin every day, and the building needs twenty jin, so they use it all up perfectly.
She clasped her hands together in her heart, praying that Hu Si'er would give her an extra boost tomorrow and hit her a hundred pounds.
"Master Zhang, I'm so sorry, there were only two golden thread pancakes left in the kitchen, but I've cut them up for you."
Ah Cai apologized profusely, and the man didn't make things difficult for him, asking...
"Won't your sesame seed cake taste worse if you reheat it before eating?"
"Your Excellency, rest assured, roasting it again will only make it more fragrant, but the cook will have to do it."
Master Zhang nodded.
"Get me a food container and pack it up."
The man was a well-known filial son in Pingyang County. When he ate something delicious, he would think of his elderly mother at home and want to bring it back for her to try.
Ah Cai agreed, calling out as he went downstairs to get the food box.
"Golden thread cakes sold out"
Several waiters repeated the message to each of the gentlemen, essentially telling them that the items were sold out and they shouldn't order anything else.
"That's it? That's far too little."
Master Wang ate while talking to his servant
"Sir, it's getting late, it's time to go home."
It was past the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), time to leave indeed. Master Wang, helped to his feet by his servant, gave the order.
"Go find the waiter and order ten plates of golden thread pancakes to be delivered to my home tomorrow."
"ah?"
The servant in Master Wang's house couldn't even process what was happening.
Sir, this is a brothel, not a restaurant. Why are you making reservations here?
"What 'huh'? Just go and make the reservation when I tell you to."
"Okay! I'll go right away."
Master Wang's servant helped his master into the carriage and found Ah Cai. His master was a regular at the brothel and had several acquaintances there.
"Ah Cai"
"What's wrong, bro?"
Ah Cai was wiping the table with a towel on his shoulder. They were about to close the door, and they needed to clean the table.
"Can you order the golden thread pastries from your building?"
"ah?"
Ah Cai was also taken aback; this wasn't work in a brothel, was it?
"I need to go ask the manager, wait a minute, bro."
Golden thread pancakes are very profitable, and they were informed before opening today to recommend this dish to customers, but it sold out much faster than they could have recommended it.
Ah Cai asked Zhao Kai, and Zhao Kai nodded in agreement.
"Yes, you can place an order! How much?"
"Ten dishes, please. They'll be delivered to the Wang residence as soon as the door opens tomorrow. Thank you for making the trip, little brother."
The servant slipped a piece of silver to Ah Cai and said...
"Look what you're doing, bro. It's nothing, take it back."
When Ah Cai wanted to fight him, the servant had already run back to chase after his master's carriage.
"Ah Cen, the golden thread pancakes are selling very well. Tonight, we'll probably make a net profit of thirty taels just from this dish. We also have another order for tomorrow."
Zhao Kai helped Cen's mother sit down, massaged her temples, and said...
"My brothel is competing with restaurants for business!"
Cen's mother grabbed his wrist and made him sit down to talk.
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