The next morning, Jiang Ling and Jiang Yaojie sat on Uncle Lu's oxcart. Jiang Ling got up earlier than yesterday. According to her calculations, business would definitely be better today, so she had to go to Pingxi County as soon as possible.
Looking at Jiang Yaojie, who was sitting on the oxcart and yawning, Jiang Ling felt a little sorry for him. This child followed her around all day and learned to read and write with her younger brother at night. Thinking of this, Jiang Ling gently hugged Jiang Yaojie and said to him, "Yaojie, go to sleep for a while. It will still be a while before we reach Pingxi County!"
Jiang Yaojie was still a child, and after Jiang Ling said that, he yawned and closed his eyes.
Jiang Yaojie slept soundly the whole way, and didn't even open his eyes when they arrived in Pingxi County. It was Jiang Ling who gently patted him, and only then did Jiang Yaojie rub his sleepy eyes and look at Jiang Ling with a somewhat blank expression.
“My son is up, we’ve arrived in Pingxi County!” Jiang Ling replied softly.
"Ah, we've arrived in Pingxi County?" Upon hearing these three words, Jiang Yaojie suddenly opened his eyes, shook his head, and gradually came to his senses.
Uncle Lu had already arrived at Yanhuo Lane in his carriage. Jiang Ling opened the shop with the key, then took out a table, placed the wooden sign on the table, and put the large turntable next to it.
Jiang Ling then began to prepare the vegetables, meat, and boil water for the broth.
Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Jiang Ling opened the system shop and bought some more vegetables and meat, which she then quietly placed in a corner of the shop.
It was still early, and usually no one would come to eat such spicy food in the morning. Jiang Ling wasn't in a hurry. She greeted Uncle Lu and invited him in, while she continued with her work.
Not long after, Jiang Yaojie finished delivering the goods and ran in.
Jiang Ling said to Jiang Yaojie, "Yaojie, you'll be in charge of managing the lottery later."
"Mom, what's a lottery?" Jiang Yaojie asked, scratching his head in confusion.
"A lottery...a lottery...that's what a lottery is all about. Today is the first day of our shop's opening, and we need to offer some discounts to our customers so that we can retain some of them. This lottery is what we mean by discounts!" Jiang Ling explained after thinking for a moment.
Jiang Yaojie nodded as if he understood, and continued, "Then how should I host it?"
"Yaojie, do you see this disc? After each customer pays, they can spin it once. Where the pointer lands is the discount they receive. You just need to give them the corresponding slip of paper! I'll take care of the rest!"
"As for these twenty wooden plaques, they are for a lottery that requires an extra five copper coins to use. Each time, you are responsible for shuffling their order and letting the customer draw one. Just give them whatever they draw! But there is a prerequisite: it can only be used next time, and the customer must have purchased our spicy hot pot this time to proceed with this step!"
After hearing this, Jiang Yaojie looked puzzled and asked with a slightly uneasy expression, "Mother... this... is this really going to work?"
Jiang Ling smiled confidently and said, "Don't worry, this method will definitely work!"
"Jiang... Jiang Shi, I... can I be the first to try it? I think yours is quite interesting. It smelled delicious a few days ago!" Lu Bo, who had been silent all along, suddenly said somewhat embarrassedly.
"Uncle Lu, what are you saying? Just take the bowl and pick up whatever you want to eat!" Jiang Ling smiled.
"No, no! I... I actually wanted to..." At this point, Uncle Lu pointed somewhat embarrassedly to the large roundabout next to Jiang Ling.
Jiang Ling couldn't help but smile when she saw this, thinking to herself, "This Uncle Lu still has the heart of a child!"
Jiang Ling surveyed the surroundings, estimating it was almost lunchtime, and nodded to Uncle Lu, saying, "Alright, Uncle Lu will let you experience it for free! Go ahead!"
Lu Bo was a little embarrassed and wanted to decline, but Jiang Ling went back into the shop and placed a bowl in Lu Bo's hand.
Uncle Lu hesitated for a moment, looking at the bowl in his hand, and then walked to the turntable next to him.
Jiang Ling stood to the side, observing the passersby from time to time. Sure enough, some people were attracted by the roundabout in front of Jiang Ling's door.
Lu Bo swallowed hard; he was clearly nervous. He gently applied force to the disc, and it began to spin rapidly. After about ten seconds, the pointer on the disc stopped.
"Congratulations, Uncle Lu, you've received an extra serving of buckwheat noodles!" Jiang Yaojie smiled and handed Uncle Lu the note that read "buckwheat noodles."
Jiang Ling led Uncle Lu into the house and pointed to the laid-out items, saying, "Apart from meat and shredded eggs, you can add anything else you like!"
Uncle Lu nodded and carefully picked up the food.
Just then, some curious people came up to Jiang Yaojie and asked somewhat nervously, "Brother, what is this?"
"You mean this? As long as you make a purchase at our store, you can spin the wheel for free once, and whatever you spin will be your free gift! You can also spend five copper coins to draw another prize, but the prize you win can only be used next time!" Jiang Yaojie's voice trailed off at the end, as he seemed to think the idea of using it next time was a bit far-fetched.
But since her mother had spoken, she couldn't go against her.
"Wow, this is the first time I've ever heard of this. It's really novel! How much does your food cost?" the man asked curiously.
"Ten copper coins a bowl, you can choose whatever you want to eat, but meat and eggs are limited each time!" Jiang Yaojie said.
The man readily pulled out fifteen copper coins from his pocket and placed them in front of Jiang Yaojie, saying, "I want to draw the prize twice!"
Jiang Yaojie quickly collected the coins and gestured for the man to spin the wheel. The man was lucky and landed on the "20% off" sign. Jiang Yaojie handed the man a slip of paper with the 20% off discount. He then gestured for the man to draw a wooden card.
This time, the man drew the wooden board that said "three extra slices of meat." Jiang Yaojie once again expertly handed the slip of paper to the man.
The man walked happily toward the shop with the basin in his hand.
"Hey bro! I want one potted plant! And I'll also get an extra chance to win a prize!"
"Hey bro, me too!"
"Hey bro, I'm here for you too..."
Seeing that someone had set an example, the other onlookers immediately rushed towards Jiang Yaojie, each of them quickly pulling out copper coins from their pockets, keeping Jiang Yaojie extremely busy.
Jiang Ling wasn't doing much better inside either; she was either cooking spicy hot pot or on her way to deliver it.
The mother and son worked for nearly an hour and a half. When they saw off the last customer, Jiang Ling felt her legs trembling and her back almost too weak to straighten up.
Jiang Yaojie wasn't doing much better. He carried a large pile of copper coins in his clothes and walked unsteadily into the shop!
"Mother...this...this is...the silver we just earned!" Jiang Yaojie chose a corner spot and dumped the copper coins onto the table with a clatter.
"Yaojie, this debt is your responsibility from now on. I... I can't go on anymore, I need to rest for a while!" Jiang Ling was too lazy to even speak at this moment, she gave the order with her eyes closed.
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