March 16th is an auspicious day for opening a business!
Two large strings of firecrackers hung outside a house in Shuxing Lane. The door plaque was covered with a large red cloth. There was a huge crowd at the door, and people were even queuing up in a long line. Shi Tou was at the front of the line and shouted back, "Don't push! Don't push! My back is all bruised!"
"You spat in my face! How disgusting! Step back, step back, don't push!"
"I'm from the magistrate's residence, who do you expect me to back down...?"
The crowd was congested and noisy. Qin Xiaozhou gestured for everyone to be quiet. She had just glanced around and saw that the people squeezed to the front were all servants from various mansions. The women and young ladies were all on the outside and couldn't get in. The young ladies and mistresses of wealthy families hadn't come to watch, but that was enough.
Lu Yunfeng asked everyone to step back a little to create some space for firecrackers. Amidst the crackling and noise, Lu Yunfeng and Qin Xiaozhou together pulled back the red cloth on the plaque, which read "Smooth Sailing" with two smaller characters following it: Lu's Shop.
Someone asked, "Smooth sailing, what a lucky name! It's rare to see a dessert shop with this name. Well then, I wish this shop smooth sailing."
Qin Xiaozhou stood at the door and thanked everyone, "Thank you all for coming today. However, we have our own rules. First, we do not offer credit. Second, the second floor is reserved for women. Men are not allowed to go upstairs."
These words drew gasps of surprise. After all, no place had ever so openly prevented men from entering. Someone deliberately stirred up trouble, saying, "Madam, are you looking down on men or trying to drive them away? By not letting men in, are you trying to lure women upstairs to do shady things?"
The men's lewd laughter made many of the female customers blush. They loved the desserts in the shop and had been craving them ever since they ate them the past two days. But if it would damage their reputation, they would rather not eat them at all. So they hesitated and wondered if they should leave.
This person is truly malicious. If they immediately label the shop as a place where women are promiscuous, the shop will be doomed.
Qin Xiaozhou wasn't going to tolerate him. She walked over and slapped the man across the face. Although she had lost weight, she was still quite sturdy. The solid slap knocked the man to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. The man's eyes gleamed as he spat out a mouthful of blood, mixed with a tooth.
"Agh!" The man's sinister gaze fixed on Qin Xiaozhou, like a venomous snake, as he lunged forward. "You bitch, you dare hit me? I'll teach you a lesson..."
Lu Yunfeng stood beside Qin Xiaozhou, "What should we do with her?"
The man seemed to have been choked, and his raised hand froze.
Qin Xiaozhou kicked him in the crotch, pulled out a tael of silver and threw it at him, smiling broadly, "You can't expect anything nice to come out of a dog's mouth. This tael of silver is to pay for your medical expenses. With such a foul mouth, you must have had quite a few people beat you up, right? I'll pay for your medical expenses every time you're beaten up. Is this how you made your fortune?"
He turned around and stood at the shop entrance. "We've added another rule: those with foul mouths and dogs are not allowed in." Pointing at the person who was scrambling to his feet, he said, "A bastard like this, a lowly beast whose mind is full of thievery and prostitution, will be beaten every time he enters our shop, until his legs are broken."
The man who was beaten clutched his crotch and howled, rolling on the ground, before finally running away with his tail between his legs, his face pale.
"Wow!" The people around were stunned again. The female manager of this shop was too fierce. The servants did not consciously line up quietly and dared not make any more noise.
The women looked at Qin Xiaozhou with shining eyes and made up their minds to come here to eat from now on, and they could also invite their girlfriends to come together.
The servants who came to buy desserts for their masters left as soon as they bought them, not daring to linger. Soon, half of the people at the shop entrance were gone. Qin Xiaozhou placed various pastries on a beautiful plate on the shelf at the entrance of the shop. The lotus flower pastry and begonia pastry were very attractive as soon as they came out. Sun Xunqiao wanted them all, but she hadn't made an appointment with her girlfriends today and had come alone. She was afraid she wouldn't be able to finish them all, so she stood in front of the shelf, hesitating.
Qin Xiaozhou noticed her predicament and said, "Please come upstairs and sit down, young lady. Our shop doesn't close until late afternoon. You can sit as long as you like without being disturbed. We also have milk tea, which is a perfect accompaniment to cake."
Sun Xunqiao was the youngest in her family. Her family was well-off and her parents loved her dearly, but they didn't have servants or maids yet. Yesterday, she heard that a new shop was going to open here, and it was the object of pursuit for all the ladies and young misses in the county. She couldn't resist her curiosity and came to take a look. She had originally wanted to back out after what happened just now, but because of Qin Xiaozhou's way of doing things, she stayed.
"Then I'll have a taro cake, purple flowers, and a cup of milk tea." Then, a little embarrassed, she asked, "Could I have five flowers?"
She didn't know what milk tea was, but since the shopkeeper said it was delicious, she decided to have one.
Qin Xiaozhou smiled and nodded, "I've got it. Please come upstairs, miss."
After seeing what Sun Xunqiao wanted, the other women followed her example and ordered their food, then went upstairs.
Although Zhao Fang was illiterate, she became increasingly skilled at making things. She quickly added flowers to the taro cake that had already been made. Lu Yu had already ladled out milk tea. The milk tea was always brewed in a large bucket and placed aside. When someone ordered it, she would just ladle it out. A bucket would be sold out in less than an hour or two, so there was no need to worry about it going bad.
Lu Yunfeng was busy baking cake bases and whipping cream in the kitchen.
Qin Xiaozhou carried the cake upstairs and found Sun Xunqiao at the window. "Miss, please enjoy what you ordered."
Sun Xunqiao couldn't wait to take a bite of the cake. The cream was soft and fluffy, and the sweetness danced on her tongue. Her eyes lit up instantly. Then she took a sip of milk tea. The milk tea was caramel milk tea, with a rich milk flavor and a refreshing tea aroma. There were also soft and chewy taro balls inside. She took another sip in delight and called out to Qin Xiaozhou, who was about to go downstairs, "Shopkeeper, I'd like another cup of milk tea. Could you give me a little more of these round things inside?"
Qin Xiaozhou smiled, "Of course."
Seeing Sun Xunqiao's expression, the people at the next table were curious and wondered if it really tasted that good. They immediately ordered a cup each.
Qin Xiaozhou ran upstairs six times before delivering all the items ordered by the customers. Just as she came downstairs, a servant rushed up to the door and said, "Manager, you have some items in your shop. I need two of each, to take away."
Tan Sheng wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. He was a servant in the Tan family and had just come once. His wife had heard that a dessert had become popular in the county town, but she had just returned from her parents' home and had not yet tasted it. So she sent him to buy it early this morning. His wife was frugal and only asked him to buy something called a cake. However, after his wife and daughter took a bite, she immediately sent him to buy more.
The lady's exact words were that she wanted two of everything in the shop, so she could eat her fill; the food was just too delicious.
The shop is booming, and the cakes are in short supply.
Qin Xiaozhou wasn't in a hurry. She smiled and said, "This customer, we only have thirty taro cakes available each day, and they're all sold out for today. If you want taro cake, you'll have to come back tomorrow morning. We still have the rest. Would you like us to pack some for you?"
The women who stroll along this street are all from wealthy families in the county. They never have to worry about selling their desserts and drinks. It's almost noon now, and the taro cake is the most popular, but it's already sold out.
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