The next day, An Rong retrieved the tavern's signboard, which read "DouDou's Little Tavern".
They consulted a fortune teller and chose July 16th as the opening day, giving them three days to prepare.
"Has the wine been ordered yet?" Yuan Doudou sat in the front hall with a notebook in hand, checking each item one by one.
"It's all settled. All Seasons Winery, ten jars of rice wine, ten jars of fruit wine, ten jars of strong liquor, and two jars of medicinal wine." An Rong checked the accounts one by one.
The town has more than twenty taverns, and all their wines come from the All Seasons Winery.
“Today, we’ve finalized the menu. A tavern needs snacks to go with drinks.” Yuan Doudou started thinking about the snacks they liked to eat with drinks back home.
An Rong pulled up a stool, sat down, and named a few dishes.
"Fried peanuts, broad beans, peas, bean cakes—these are indispensable." An Rong was referring to the snacks his comrades in the army loved to eat with alcohol during their leisure time.
Yuan Doudou thought for a moment and then added a few more dishes: cold mixed vegetables, preserved egg tofu, and salt and pepper pork strips.
"Of the ones you mentioned, I've never heard of any of them except for cold dishes."
Yuan Doudou thought to herself, "No way, just a few of these are creative works," which made her dare not continue.
"DouDou, you said before that you had an agreement with Haoqinglai. Now that we're doing our own business, I'm afraid we can no longer honor it." Haoqinglai is the biggest restaurant in town, and their small tavern can't compare at all, but they are still competitors.
Yuan Doudou had thought about this problem. When she left the village, she entrusted the supply of oyster mushrooms to Wang Qiqiang. As for tomato sauce and strawberry sauce, she would deliver them if they were available, and there was nothing she could do if they weren't.
"I don't think it's a problem. We'll still sell oyster mushrooms and continue to produce them."
Deep-fried oyster mushrooms have been very popular from the beginning, and more and more shops have sprung up on the streets, selling fried oyster mushrooms, egg pancakes, and even snail rice noodles.
That's how business works; if you sell well, others will spring up like mushrooms after rain to imitate you.
There are some differences in taste, but that doesn't stop some people from liking it.
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Dou Dou thought it was fine, so he naturally had no objections.
Three days later, DouDou Tavern opened.
A billboard stood at the entrance, which read, "Grand Opening Special: Free Side Dishes with Drinks."
The tavern was packed with customers in no time.
There were ten tables in the lobby, and every single one was full of people.
Yuan Doudou and Ye Xiaoqian were busy preparing side dishes in the back kitchen, while An Rong and Lu Xi were greeting guests in the front.
Angie followed behind, running around.
The pub usually does business at night, and the reason it's so popular at noon is because of its generous discounts.
As soon as guests enter, they see a wooden sign listing a wide variety of snacks to accompany drinks, and even those who don't want to drink alcohol will have to order a couple of bowls.
In ancient times, alcohol content was low. Even the strongest liquor, baijiu, was only about 40 degrees. A grown man could drink three bowls of it without getting drunk.
"Waiter, a cold dish, please."
"Shopkeeper, I'd like a preserved egg and tofu dish."
"Hey bro, give me a plate of peanuts."
Lu Xi was busy running around, feeling very happy.
I heard from Sister Xiaoqian before that Sister Doudou's chosen location wasn't good and wouldn't have much business, but now it seems that she was worrying for nothing.
"Lu Xi told them that there would be plenty of side dishes and they could eat as much as they wanted." They were losing money on the first day to gain popularity, but if this location didn't attract customers, the business would eventually fail.
As long as the guests who come today can enjoy the dishes I make, I'm not worried about them not coming.
Lu Xi nodded and took the two plates of side dishes out.
"Sir, please let me know if you need anything else." With people coming and going, Lu Xi, who was initially shy, became more outgoing and dared to speak loudly.
"This wine is good, bring me another pot."
"Brother, your peanuts are fried perfectly, even more fragrant than Hao Qing Lai's."
The speaker was a bearded customer. He was a businessman who had traveled all over the country and had tasted delicacies from all over. He said that these peanuts were covered with a layer of white frost, and they tasted sweet on the outside and crunchy on the inside.
"This is the proprietress's secret recipe, it's delicious, please have some more," Lu Xi said generously.
"The proprietress has excellent skills, and the boss is very lucky." The bearded man was straightforward and said whatever came to mind.
The customers didn't leave the shop until the sun was setting.
They couldn't relax; they rested for half an hour before continuing to prepare the ingredients for dinner.
By noon alone, nearly half of the wine had been consumed; the rest would probably only last one night.
An Rong went to the winery to order wine, Yuan Doudou was preparing vegetables in the kitchen, and Ye Xiaoqian, who wasn't particularly talented at cooking, was fine with helping with preparing and washing vegetables.
"Xiao Qian, I'm sorry you've suffered following me." Yuan Doudou felt bad. She and An Rong had discussed paying Xiao Qian, but Xiao Qian insisted on not accepting it.
Ye Xiaoqian had also thought that one day she would be doing these trivial things. Her dream was to become a famous female knight-errant. After wandering the martial arts world for more than ten years, she still hadn't made a name for herself.
"DouDou, to be honest, I only realized today how tiring it is to run a tavern. You're pregnant, how can you handle it?" Ye Xiaoqian didn't care whether she was tired or not.
Yuan Doudou felt great about herself; as long as she could make money, she didn't care if she was tired.
"It's only right that I'm tired. I can't let you suffer with me, especially since you don't want any wages. I can't bear it." Yuan Doudou thought that if Ye Xiaoqian ever left, she would prepare a bag of silver in advance as compensation for her hard work during this period.
Lu Xi took Anji to rest in the backyard. He only dozed off for a short while before getting up.
"Lu Xi was very capable today. She ran around all morning without complaining of being tired." Ye Xiaoqian changed the subject, saying that compared to Lu Xi, her work was insignificant.
"Lu Xi's performance exceeded my expectations. He is usually very shy and blushes when he speaks, but today he handled the welcoming and seeing off guests with ease." Yuan Doudou was very satisfied with Lu Xi and was also glad that Lu Xi was here today.
Lu Xi stood at the door, and when she heard them praising her behind her back, she was overjoyed.
"Sister Dou Dou, let me help you prepare the vegetables." Lu Xi walked into the house with a smile.
Yuan Doudou saw that he hadn't slept for long before getting up, and hurriedly told him to go back and rest.
"We still have a tough battle to fight tonight, so we can't afford not to get a good rest."
Lu Xi smiled and shook her head, "I'm young, I'm not afraid."
He was not afraid of physical fatigue; on the contrary, he enjoyed a fulfilling life.
It's something he's willing to do, no matter how hard or tiring it is.
"After hearing what Lu Xi said, I feel old," Ye Xiaoqian sighed.
Compared to Lu Xi, how could she not age?
"Nonsense, you're in the prime of your life, not even in full bloom yet, what are you talking about getting old for?" Yuan Doudou scolded playfully.
Lu Xi lowered her head and echoed, "Sister Xiaoqian is also very young."
He knew he had said something wrong and tried his best to make amends.
"Okay, I know you're just trying to comfort me, but I accept it." I'm happy to be told I look young, even if it's a lie.
Seeing her helpless yet reluctant expression, Yuan Doudou couldn't help but laugh out loud.
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