Xu Ruantang ran back to her room, quickly pulled back the covers, lay down, and wrapped herself up from head to toe.
The lights weren't even on. Chen Ji stood by the door, looking at her like this, feeling both amused and exasperated.
Fortunately, he didn't press for any other questions and obediently lay down on the floor.
the next day.
Chen Jizhao gets up at six o'clock as usual.
Normally, when he folds the blankets and tidies up the floor, Xu Ruantang wouldn't even blink. But today, for the first time ever, she rubbed her eyes and got out of bed.
"Up so early?"
Chen Ji paused as he took the shirt from the cabinet, his voice still hoarse from just waking up.
Xu Ruantang didn't even open her eyes before throwing off the covers and getting out of bed. "I'm not sleeping anymore. I have to go to the Xifosi Market today."
Her nightgown was disheveled, and with her movements, her two slender, straight legs dangled and swayed wildly off the edge of the bed.
She was looking for her shoes, but refused to open her eyes.
Chen Ji walked over, put down the shirt, bent down, found the shoes, and placed them beside her feet.
"here."
After doing all that, Chen Ji took his clothes and went to the study next door to change.
There were no cars around at this hour, so Xu Ruantang walked over. It was too early, and she was afraid of disturbing Qiu Liang.
She arrived at the entrance of Xifosi Market and went into a famous snack shop there for breakfast.
The restaurant was packed.
For breakfast, they sell soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, as well as fried dough rings and soy milk.
Xu Ruantang naturally didn't like douzhi (fermented mung bean juice), so she ordered a fried dough stick and a bowl of douzhi.
She shared a table with a young woman in a work uniform who ordered the shop's famous three-color steamed buns.
Xu Ruantang glanced at it and immediately understood why the store was so popular.
The owner of this breakfast shop must have been one of the earliest privately owned businesses to make a fortune.
After she finished breakfast, she found Qiu Liang already washing baking pans at the shop entrance.
Upon seeing Xu Ruantang, Qiu Liang straightened up and greeted her, "You're here. We bought breakfast; have some too."
Xu Ruantang waved her hand, "I've already eaten. You go ahead and get busy. We'll sign the contract when you're done."
Qiu Liang was busy outside, but when she went into the store and looked around, she found that everything she had asked to prepare was ready.
All the utensils in the shop looked brand new, clearly having been cleaned.
Besides the old-fashioned oven, Xu Ruantang discovered that his shop also had a small refrigerator.
It was a style she had never seen before, the kind with a short door.
"This refrigerator is useless; I plan to move it."
Qiu Liang carried a large platter and walked in from outside the store. He saw Xu Ruantang examining the refrigerator and explained.
Xu Ruantang asked, "Is it broken?"
"No, it takes up space," Qiu Liang answered truthfully.
His father bought this when business was at its peak. Later, he realized he didn't need it at all, and it's been sitting idle ever since.
"It's not broken? Then why move it? The weather is going to get hot soon, and a refrigerator is a very useful thing."
Qiu Liang scratched his head. "We can't put the side dishes in. If we put them in and take them out, the taste will change."
“Stay here.” Xu Ruantang’s eyes lit up. “From now on, you need to change your mindset. In addition to selling traditional pastries, we need to keep developing new products to retain customers.”
Honey bread rolls, mung bean cakes, and red bean cakes are the shop's main products. In addition, she plans to make some seasonal limited editions and rare items.
There was a small table in the shop where Xu Ruantang and Qiu Liang sat facing each other. She took out the contract she had written the night before.
"Two copies are available. Take a look first."
Xu Ruantang handed it to Qiu Liang, "The profits are split 50/50, so the costs will naturally be split 50/50 as well. I've written all of that down on paper."
Qiu Liang read it quickly, and after finishing, he picked up a pen and wrote his name.
Xu Ruantang was somewhat surprised, "You don't have any questions for me?"
After signing the document, Qiu Liang handed it to Xu Ruantang, saying, "No, just like you said, it won't be any worse than it is now."
After signing both copies, Xu Ruantang gave one copy to Qiu Liang, packed the other copy for herself, and began teaching him how to make honey bread rolls.
Qiu Liang already had a foundation in the subject, and with her guidance, he learned it quickly.
Things that look simple become much more complicated when you actually do them, with many subtle details to consider.
The proportions of ingredients, the heat, and the kneading technique are all very important.
“Honey bread rolls, red bean cakes, and mung bean cakes are all easy to make and not particularly unique. You can use them as a stepping stone.”
While teaching him, Xu Ruantang also explained the upcoming plans to Qiu Liang.
These three items will be sold for a week. During this week, Qiu Liang and she will take turns setting up stalls in front of several factories to promote the store's new products.
The key to long-term success is attracting customers to the store. The store offers a buy-nine-get-three-free promotion and free samples of new products.
For her new product, she plans to make flavored chimney bread, which only tastes good when made in an old-fashioned oven.
People found it strange, but they were doing something simple.
In just one morning, hundreds of honey bread rolls, red bean cakes, and mung bean cakes were baked.
The oven-baked food tastes even better than that cooked in a large pot; the aroma of honey and sesame fills the air, permeating the entire market entrance.
Before it was even ready, several groups of customers had already arrived, and Xu Ruantang responded to each one with a smile.
Some people who had nothing to do in the afternoon even lingered in front of the shop, unwilling to leave, saying they were waiting for the food to come out of the oven.
Xu Ruantang had put up a "buy nine, get three free" sign outside the store early on, and even cut up samples for everyone to try.
Qiu Liang was originally going to set up a stall at the entrance of the clothing factory in the afternoon, but now, in less than a morning, all of his hundreds of small breads have been sold out.
The red bean cakes and mung bean cakes had barely hit the oven when people started lining up to wait.
Indeed, fragrance is also a sales tactic.
The difference between selling fresh and setting up a stall is immediately apparent.
The two of them were so busy, one grilling and the other greeting guests, that they didn't even have time to eat lunch.
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