Gui Mei Hexagram (Lower-lower-lower hexagram)
Chapter 54 Gui Mei Hexagram (Lower-lower hexagram) - Imitation Dishes
Even though they had been in this dynasty for ten years, Du Shi couldn't help but sigh at the sight, "Although commerce is very developed in the Song Dynasty, it is very rare for women to work. But it has always been difficult for women."
Even in the era when everyone was supposed to be equal, there were still inequalities between men and women. How much more so here?
"Madam Du, this is a letter from Lingyun Temple, saying it is to be given to the eldest daughter-in-law."
Du Chunhong took the letter, and although she felt it was a bit strange, she still put it away.
When the two met, Rong Yan opened the letter and was somewhat surprised.
Du Chunhong shook her head. "Why would they introduce business to us for no reason? This Lord Zhang was a fifth-rank official. Although he passed away from illness, we still need to prepare a burial site for him. If we don't do it well, it will be a big deal."
Rong Yan expressed her understanding of Du Chunhong's concerns, patting her hand and saying, "It's a small matter, but it's troublesome."
"Yes, let's take it one step at a time. I'll find a way to postpone it."
Rong Yan agreed, saying that examining burial sites is much more complicated than examining living sites. She really didn't want to exhaust herself with all that work. Why would she stand up and dig when she could make money while lying down?
After resting for several days, Rong Yan returned to Qu Shen Courtyard late at night from a medicinal bath at the pharmacy. To her surprise, Xie Chengzhi, who had already gone to sleep, had left lamps lit for her along the way.
Although he had been a bit unfriendly to her a few days ago, he let it go for the sake of the lantern and the Osmanthus Longjing Pastry.
She had slept a bit too much during the day, so she wasn't sleepy at night. She opened the bill that Li Fuquan had sent and looked at it carefully. Apart from the vegetarian set meal that they had been promoting these past few days, they had hardly sold any alcoholic beverages.
Most people come here for the set meals because they're affordable, and many rush off to work right after eating, so they spend very little on incense or other perks, and there's almost no one who has the leisure to enjoy a drink.
Although many people had already tried the free wine on the day the Taoist temple reopened, and while they found the wine's unique Longjing aroma quite unusual and worth trying, they weren't particularly enthusiastic.
This troubled Rong Yan somewhat. She originally thought that the cocktail she made in this way was very popular in her previous life, but it wouldn't work entirely in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Improving these Longjing fruit wines is truly an urgent task.
She didn't touch the vermilion brush in her hand for a long time, her mind so deep that she didn't even realize it.
“If you don’t put down the cinnabar brush in your hand, this paper will be ruined.”
Xie Chengzhi's sudden voice startled Rong Yan.
She turned her head hesitantly and saw that Xie Chengzhi had already sat up halfway and was leaning against the cushion, quietly watching her.
"Did I disturb my husband? I'll turn off the light right now."
"It's alright, I'm not sleepy. It's rare to see you so worried, Madam. Have you encountered a difficult problem?"
Xie Chengzhi was quite talkative tonight, even somewhat friendly. Rong Yan remained silent for a while before replying, "It's just a business worry. My husband has lived a life of luxury in the first half of his life, so why would he worry about these things?"
As soon as she spoke, the nine-star lamps in the room seemed to dim a little. Although it was getting warmer outside, the night was still deep and the dew was cold, and the wind blowing into the room was still a bit chilly.
This time, Xie Chengzhi remained silent for a long time. He simply tugged at the blanket in front of his chest and chuckled softly.
"The price set by the Madam's Taoist temple for its vegetarian meals is unprecedented in Bianliang. Poor people are drawn by this profit and have no interest in anything else. Even high-ranking officials and nobles would not deign to accept such a cheap vegetarian meal. I believe that the Madam foresaw this situation from the beginning, so what is there to worry about?"
Rong Yan was startled by his casual remark, and his expression changed slightly.
Yes, her positioning is that of high-quality vegetarian dishes at reasonable prices. The low prices naturally attract many laborers and other commoners.
Why would they care about the drinks?
Fruit wine and ordinary people who work daily are completely separate.
As Xie Chengzhi said, even if the powerful and wealthy go to a Taoist temple, they are not there for the cheap vegetarian food.
Ultimately, Hebai Temple is not truly "spiritually sacred because of the presence of immortals".
Even the most delicious vegetarian dishes are still dependent on Taoist temples.
If a Taoist temple has no reputation, how is it any different from an ordinary restaurant?
"Thank you for your words, my husband. They are truly enlightening."
It seems that she will have to make a trip to deal with Lord Zhang's burial site.
As he lay down to sleep, Rong Yan suddenly felt a pang of regret.
If Xie Chengzhi, such a perceptive and intelligent person, had lived longer, would his life have been different?
Consort Rong recommended her to take the imperial examination for the position of Dao Guan (a high-ranking official), but she originally just planned to find an excuse to avoid going.
It seems that if one truly wants to reopen Hebai Temple, there is no faster way than becoming an examiner.
What made Hebai Temple famous was not its cheap vegetarian food, but rather the fact that someone went to test the Taoist priests, which truly drew people's attention to Hebai Temple.
As for whether he can pass the exam, that's another matter.
At the very least, she's going to attend.
Whether it was because it was the middle of the night and no one was there to share it with, or because of some divine intervention, Rong Yan suddenly said in Xie Chengzhi's direction, "Husband, I think you're right. I still want to give the Taoist priest a try."
From the other side of the darkness, a voice said softly, "Do you know that your injury this time was not caused by your elder sister?"
She knew that although Rong Shu was arrogant and willful, she was not that meticulous.
Therefore, from the very beginning, she was not on her list of suspects.
"Oh, judging from what my husband said, it seems you know who did it?"
He suddenly chuckled softly, "Since you are so intelligent and knowledgeable in divination, why not cast a hexagram and see if your prediction comes true?"
Rong Yan: !!!
He actually knows the art of wind manipulation?!
Although the art of wind divination has a long history, how could a layman have heard of this technique?
On second thought, it's not surprising that Taoism flourished in the Northern Song Dynasty.
After saying those words, he fell silent.
For several days in a row, Hebai Temple was almost always packed with customers, with daily turnover maintained at around 100 taels. However, starting from the second week, turnover dropped significantly, falling to only around 50 taels.
Li Fuquan was somewhat worried. He had originally thought that Rong Yan's ingenious ideas could sustain them for more than a month. He had even calculated the monthly income trend based on a daily income of one hundred taels.
In just one week, it dropped to half.
Logically speaking, even if people ate these meals every day, the number of meals would not have decreased so drastically all of a sudden. Sure enough, when an old lady from the temple went out to inquire, she discovered that something fishy had happened.
"This is bad! Two restaurants on Qingfeng Street have also copied our set menus, and the ingredients are almost identical to ours, while the prices are nearly the same."
Li Fuquan: !!!
"You mean a restaurant? A restaurant??"
"Yes! It's restaurants! These restaurants saw that they could make money, so they launched the same vegetarian dishes! Besides, restaurants that are usually expensive are suddenly so cheap, so of course they're packed with customers."
Rong Yan changed his dressings every three days, and after resting for so long, he was almost fully recovered.
Today was her first day back at the temple, but she never expected to hear this news.
When people see that there is money to be made, they will naturally imitate it.
Unexpectedly, restaurants began to imitate their vegetarian dishes, and so quickly.
Aside from competitors who might know who launched a food product first, which diners would care who launched it first?
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