After more than a month of tension, Chen Qingqing relaxed and quickly fell asleep.
In her dream, a dozen handsome men were surrounding her, showering her with attention.
One of the men, who looked like a tough guy, was massaging her shoulders. His technique was just right, and it felt incredibly comfortable on her body.
"Princess, did I massage you comfortably?"
"Excellent, reward me!"
"Thank you, Princess. I will serve you even more diligently in the future."
At that moment, another handsome man with delicate features was feeding her a peeled grape.
She parted her thin lips slightly, took a grape into her mouth, and chewed it gently.
"Princess, are the grapes sweet?"
Chen Qingqing smiled, "Sweet, so sweet it's touched this princess's heart! A generous reward awaits!"
"Thank you, Princess. It is my honor to serve you. I am deeply grateful."
A smile played on Chen Qingqing's lips. "Awesome! The princess treatment is truly amazing!"
With so many handsome men serving me, life is simply wonderful.
Hehehe... Chen Qingqing couldn't help but let out a string of pig-like laughs.
"Daughter, wake up! Are you having hysteria?" Lin's voice rang in my ears.
Chen Qingqing opened her sleepy eyes, wiped her mouth, and felt embarrassed as she recalled the scene in her dream. Was this what it meant to be lovesick?
No, no, no, she's not that lewd.
With so many handsome men, just looking at them would give you a headache, let alone doing anything with them!
Such a far-fetched dream must have been caused by thinking too much before going to sleep last night.
She doesn't ask for great wealth or status in this life, but only for one person to love her and stay with her until old age.
Chen Qingqing gave Lin a naive smile and said, "Mother, don't worry, I'm fine."
"It's good that you're alright." Lin said as she folded the bedsheets, then casually added, "Your eldest brother and Da Bao are waiting for you in the front hall. It seems they have something to tell you."
"Okay, I understand." Chen Qingqing nodded in agreement.
Upon arriving at the lobby, after a few pleasantries, Da Bao got straight to the point.
"Sister Qingqing, I haven't found a suitable opportunity these past few days. Today I'd like to report to you on our sugar mill."
As he spoke, he handed a stack of ledgers to Chen Qingqing, saying, "This is a detailed breakdown of our bank's income over the past few months."
Chen Qingqing looked at the ledger and was amazed. She never expected that so much money could be earned in just a few months.
Chen Dabao continued, "Now our white sugar and brown sugar have spread to almost every prefecture and county of the Great Ning Dynasty. I have also established trading companies in each prefecture and county to sell local specialties to various places. At the same time, I have also opened up trade with foreign countries. I estimate that it will not be long before our income triples."
"Dabao, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Keep it up!"
"Don't worry, Sister Qingqing, I will continue to work hard."
As soon as Da Bao finished speaking, Chen Feng chimed in.
"Qing'er, I also have some good news for you. Our Ruyilou has already opened five branches in Anyang, and the business of each branch is booming. I have already decided that next I will open branches in Fengyang, Huaiyuan, and Ningjing, and spread our Ruyilou throughout the entire Da Ning Dynasty."
Hearing this, Chen Qingqing shook her head and smiled.
"Brother, your idea is good, but the restaurant business can't compare to the sugar mill. As long as white sugar and brown sugar are processed in Nanshan Village, you can keep track of the sales as long as you keep good accounts. But opening a restaurant is different."
Your energy is limited. If you want to expand everywhere, you will definitely be overwhelmed by your own efforts. Even if you had three heads and six arms, it would be difficult to do everything perfectly.
For example, operational details in different regions, differences in consumer preferences, and investment costs—rather than being trapped in a bottleneck of being unable to manage everything, it would be better to promote the Ruyi Lou brand and develop a franchise model.
Chen Feng frowned, clearly not understanding her meaning. "Qing girl, what do you mean by brand and franchise?"
Hearing his question, Chen Qingqing realized that these terms were too profound, and quickly explained with a smile.
"Simply put, a brand is the 'impression' of a food or a store in people's minds. For example, if you mention 'Lotus Flower Pastry,' people will know that it comes from Caifangzhai in Qingshui Town. If you mention 'Hundred Flower Candied Fruit,' everyone will know that it comes from Meiweige."
"I understand now." Chen Feng looked enlightened. "When people mention mala tang, they know it comes from our Ruyi Lou restaurant. So what is a franchise chain?"
"Franchising is for people who want to open a store, but lack the technology and experience. We can provide them with the Ruyi Lou brand name and secret recipe, and we'll charge a fee for it..."
"No, no, that won't do." Before Chen Qingqing could finish speaking, Chen Feng shook his head and refused repeatedly. "Our secret base recipe cannot be passed on to outsiders. As the saying goes, 'Teach your apprentice and you'll starve yourself.' If we really hand over our mala tang recipe to others, wouldn't they become our competitors?"
Chen Dabao also looked puzzled, "Yes, Sister Qingqing, is there any drawback to this franchise method?"
Chen Qingqing was not surprised by their reaction. "Our inside information is not leaked, but provided for a fee."
"How much money can you make selling base ingredients? You might as well open more branches." Chen Feng still disagreed.
Chen Qingqing shook her head and chuckled, "Big brother, you're wrong about that. We don't just make money from the base ingredients; the franchise fees are also a significant source of income."
The better the franchisee's business is after the franchise is successfully established, the more base ingredients we will sell.
For example, if a restaurant needs to spend 20 taels of silver each month to purchase base ingredients, it will earn 240 taels of silver a year.
"If we have fifty or a hundred franchisees, you can calculate how much money we'd make."
Hearing this, Chen Feng suddenly understood. "If you calculate it this way, it's a considerable income. But will anyone be willing to join?"
Before Chen Qingqing could reply, Chen Dabao hurriedly said,
"Yes, of course we do. Every merchant who has come here and eaten Ruyi Lou's spicy hot pot has asked me when Ruyi Lou will open a branch in their area. As long as we tell them that Ruyi Lou is recruiting franchisees, I believe many people will come to us to invest and open branches."
"If that's the case, that's wonderful!" Chen Feng slapped his thigh excitedly and looked at Chen Qingqing, "Little sister, how much should we charge for the franchise fee?"
Chen Qingqing thought for a while, "People who can afford to open a restaurant are not short of money, so let's charge a franchise fee of one thousand taels of silver."
"One thousand taels of silver! Isn't that a bit too much?"
“Brother, you’re overthinking it. Not all of the thousand taels of silver belongs to us. It includes the signboard usage fee, the deposit, the decoration fee, and the initial material fee, etc.”
Upon hearing this, Chen Dabao couldn't help but say, "Sister Qingqing, you're amazing! I believe that with the reputation of Ruyi Tower, we'll be able to quickly expand to every corner of the Great Ning Dynasty."
......
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