Finally, after much persuasion, both of them took a step back.
Yun Zhuo finally borrowed Sister Hehua's younger sister Meihua and Aunt Chunhua's eldest daughter-in-law Liu Niang from Song Wan. Song Wan also took the opportunity to stuff Sister Hehua's husband, Sister Chunhua's husband and son into his restaurant as waiters and kitchen helpers, so that she wouldn't have to worry about arranging work for the employees' families.
But what Song Wan didn't understand was, "Your restaurant's kitchen is so smoky and hot, wouldn't it be better to hire some male chefs?"
"You're kidding! How could the words 'smoky and fiery' possibly appear in the restaurant I, Yun Zhuo, plan to open in the capital?" Yun Zhuo said confidently. "The capital is full of dignitaries, so this restaurant can't be like the one in Zezhou. Only by being unique can we quickly stand out from the crowd!"
On the way from Zezhou to the capital, Yun Zhuo had been going over his plans. He excitedly explained each one to Song Wan, "I'm planning to get VIP tokens and sell them only to a select group of guests. These guests are the dignitaries of the capital. With these tokens, they'll have priority access to the restaurant's new dishes. Ordinary guests will only be able to dine on the first floor. I'm planning to create two different sized private rooms on the second and third floors to distinguish them from other restaurants in the capital."
"Also, even the kitchen of the restaurant I open must be exquisite and tidy. It can't be messy and dirty like other restaurants." Yun Zhuo doesn't intend to win by quantity, but by quality. This is why he plans to recruit more female chefs.
It’s because most male chefs are influenced by the smoke and cooking oil, so they are either black or greasy. They don’t look as pleasing to the eye as female chefs.
Yun Zhuo searched for a long time and finally found a handsome cook.
"Besides, delicious food is meant to be enjoyed. It's disrespectful to food to eat it without restraint!" Yun Zhuo wanted to build a 'slow' restaurant in the capital.
After listening to Yun Zhuo's description, Song Wan thought, isn't this similar to the membership card of a modern restaurant? He wants to open a theme restaurant similar to a modern one.
Not bad, not bad.
Song Wan continued Yun Zhuo's words, "Perhaps you could also divide this token into regular and VIP versions. The methods of obtaining the two tokens are completely different. For example, as long as you spend a certain amount of silver at the restaurant, you can get a regular token and enjoy some benefits."
The more Yun Zhuo listened, the brighter his eyes became.
During his time in the capital, Song Wan had only one feeling: the thing they lacked the most was money. "If they wanted to receive VIP status, besides meeting the restaurant's spending requirements, they also needed other conditions that could demonstrate their wealth and high status."
"By the way, there is also a reservation system for special dishes," Song Wan added.
"How did you come up with that?" Yun Zhuo was extremely excited. "This idea sounds great. Once I get back and refine it, I'm going to make him a killing!"
Song Wan said silently in her heart: It’s not what I thought, it’s all thanks to the future.
Yun Zhuo came to Beijing with the intention of making a lot of money. The recipes that Song Wan had given him before were not sold out enough every day in the restaurant in Zezhou.
Song Wan expressed her support for his eagerness to make money. "Okay, if you make more, I can just lie down and work as a cashier."
Yun Zhuo's excited brain seemed to be poured with half a bucket of cold water because of her words. It was obvious that the restaurant was opened by two people, but why did it feel like he was the only one working hard.
In October, the new emperor ascended the throne.
From then on, Gu Yu changed back to Li Yu, and the next day an edict was issued to restore the titles of the Song and Gu families. The deceased Weiyuan Hou Song Yan was posthumously named Duke of Protectorate, and Weiyuan Hou was inherited by the crown prince Song Zhaoyuan.
Of course, in addition to the original title, there are also countless rare jades and treasures, as well as ten thousand taels of gold. When Song Wan heard the last few words, her eyes widened. Although she is not short of ten thousand taels of gold now, who would complain about having too much silver in their pocket?
The one who came to issue the imperial edict was Zhang Fuzheng. After enduring humiliation for several years, he was finally able to fulfill the late emperor's last wish and serve the new emperor. As the saying goes, people feel refreshed when they encounter happy events. Now he seemed ten years younger than yesterday.
"The emperor said that these ten thousand taels of gold are specifically for Miss Song." Zhang Fuzheng said kindly.
"Give it all to me?" Song Wan turned around and around at the boxes piled on the ground. "Where did Ayu get so much money when he just took the throne?"
Zhang Fuzheng said calmly, "Last month, when the Emperor was dealing with the floods in the south, he confiscated the residences of a number of officials from the Ministry of Revenue who had embezzled grain and silver for disaster relief."
If he hadn't mentioned it, Song Wan would have forgotten about it. "Ayu did a good job of confiscating the house."
It is a disaster if corrupt officials remain, so it is better to fire them. At least it can help the people.
When Song Zhaoyuan heard his eldest daughter calling the new emperor by his name in front of Eunuch Fu, he quickly lowered his voice and corrected her, "Awan, you should call him Your Majesty."
Song Wan didn't have any thoughts on the name; she was just used to it. "Isn't it all the same? Ayu is the Emperor, and the Emperor is Ayu."
Zhang Fuzheng knew that the new emperor was very fond of Miss Song, and he even called her "sister" in front of many ministers.
He thought that this might be the scene that the late emperor wanted to see most.
Even though the late emperor and Empress Qi are no longer alive, the new emperor still has so many people who love him, who are more than family members than himself.
Thinking of this, Zhang Fuzheng smiled and said, "That's not true, Marquis Weiyuan. Since the emperor calls Miss Song sister, then it's not excessive for Miss Song to call him that just now."
Song Zhaoyuan: "How is this the same..."
Zhang Fuzheng interrupted him and said, "The emperor is still young. I don't think the late emperor would want the emperor to lose the affection he should have at such a young age."
Song Zhaoyuan understood what he meant, but the word "special" was not suitable for everyone in the Song family. The Song family only had one Awan, and everyone else still had to keep a low profile and be careful with their words.
"Awan, please see Eunuch Fu off." Song Zhaoyuan knew very well that his eldest daughter's character would not change because of anyone, so he simply let her cultivate more so-called sister-brother relationship with the new emperor, and it would be best if she could get more familiar with the people around the new emperor.
Song Wan was suddenly assigned such a task and was completely confused.
Zhang Fuzheng had been in the palace for decades, so he clearly understood what Song Zhaoyuan meant. He looked at Song Wan with a smile and said slowly, "Then please, Miss Song, send this old servant Cheng."
Song Wan looked around and sighed, "Alright, it's just as well that I haven't seen A Yu for a long time."
When the new emperor took office, he was ruthless at a young age and confiscated and executed most of the corrupt officials in the Ministry of Revenue. Those who used to have a good relationship with these officials wanted to hide their heads in their stomachs during the morning court, for fear that they would be caught by the emperor and punished with the same crime.
In recent days, the flood in the south that had been delayed for a long time by Li Shi and the Ministry of Revenue was finally resolved, and the atmosphere in the morning court was much more relaxed. You know, since the new emperor ascended the throne, the two most powerful families, Xu and Yao, were all confiscated, beheaded and exiled.
Who could have imagined that the heroes who had helped the late emperor stabilize Dai Viet would later dare to murder the late emperor and his descendants for power and status.
The main purpose of the court session today was to discuss potatoes. When Gu Yan hurriedly announced the potato production, many court officials could not believe it.
Wei Xuezhi had not known about this in advance. He was as excited as everyone else and immediately lost his composure. He stepped forward and grabbed Gu Yanji's wrist and asked, "Is the yield per mu really 3,000 kilograms?"
Gu Yan anxiously confirmed, "Of course. I've already had Zhang Sheng secretly transport 600 kilograms of potatoes suitable for seeding back to the capital. If the Prime Minister doesn't believe it, we'll know next summer whether the 3,000 kilograms per mu yield is true or not."
Wei Xuezhi was not in disbelief, but he dared not believe it. If the people of Dai Viet could grow this plant, then the soldiers on the border would no longer have to worry about having a full meal, and Dai Viet's military strength would become stronger. They would no longer be afraid of the threat of Daye's troops invading the border year after year.
"I also intend to discuss potatoes today," Li Yu said. "Sister Awan discovered potatoes and shared with everyone how to grow them and their yield. Therefore, I intend to confer upon her the title of Princess Changle, granting her a fief of 800 hectares and the land of Shengzhou."
Shengzhou is located in the south of the Yangtze River. It is one of the most prosperous and wealthy cities and is also the hometown of Queen Qi.
Originally, the late emperor had decided on this when the new emperor was still in the queen's womb. At that time, the late emperor only hoped that the child would become a wealthy prince or a Dai Viet princess who was loved by thousands.
Gu Yanji's eyes flashed slightly, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly. He thought Awan would like this reward very much, to be precise, the 800 food fiefs.
There were whispers and discussions among the people below, and finally one representative stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the potato issue has not been confirmed yet. As for the reward, I think it would be more appropriate to wait until the potatoes are planted next year."
After all, they still felt unfair when they saw the Song and Gu families being awarded titles one after another.
In the eyes of most officials, they were no worse than the Song and Gu families, it was just that the previous emperor did not give them a chance.
"Master Zhou, I seem to have forgotten to tell you that I personally participated in harvesting and tasted the potatoes you mentioned, but isn't that proof enough?" Li Yu glared at him coldly. "In a village outside of Qiandi City, many households are already growing them. If Master Zhou wants to see for himself, I can personally send a decree to have them brought to you."
Qiandi is a place thousands of miles away from the capital. Even if you take the best carriage, you will be exhausted from the journey. Lord Zhou has been an official in the capital for so many years, how could he endure such hardship? He quickly declined and said, "I am stupid, I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
Li Yu flicked his sleeves and snorted coldly, "What crime has Lord Zhou committed?"
Lord Zhou broke out in a cold sweat. Thinking of several colleagues who had been beheaded and had their property confiscated not long ago, he couldn't help but fear that he would soon follow in their footsteps.
It was not until this moment that he finally realized that the new emperor was not the former King Xiang, and was very different from the previous emperor.
Wei Xuezhi saw this and stepped forward to give Lord Zhou a way out. "Your Majesty, since the potatoes will soon arrive in the capital, I think it would be best to discuss where to plant them as soon as possible. This is the top priority."
Wei Xuezhi knew that the emperor had no intention of punishing Lord Zhou, he just wanted to scare him.
After the flood in the south, although the court lost a lot of corrupt officials, it was also seriously short of manpower in all aspects. Therefore, people like Lord Zhou who only had ideas but did not put them into action in the past and now dare not act, should be allowed to take over for the time being. When the special examination is held, a group of fresh blood will enter the officialdom. Then it will be the most appropriate time to start slowly dealing with these people.
Lord Zhou was grateful to Wei Xuezhi for rescuing him. He quietly returned to his seat, wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, and swore in his heart that in the future, anyone who wanted to do such work could do it, but he would never do it even if he was beaten to death.
The author has something to say:
First update, this chapter will send red envelopes~
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