Chapter 61 Everything is ready, just waiting...
The day before the opening, Fu Yun and Su Mang were busy all day.
The two first went to the home of the couple who designed the lotus leaf cup logo to discuss the outer packaging and the cup design.
The woman's name is Ye Lijiao, and her husband's name is Lin Shuyu.
According to the hostess, Lin Shuyu had an exceptional talent for painting since childhood. Even though she never studied under a painter because her family was poor, she was able to become self-taught thanks to her passion and talent for painting. Whenever she saw a scene or flower, bird or animal that she liked, she could easily create a lifelike and excellent painting, and her brushstrokes were incredibly fast.
Fu Yun was naturally satisfied when he heard this, but he didn't believe it completely. He simply assumed that the mistress loved her husband dearly and had complete trust and affection for him.
Only today, after inspecting the lotus leaf cup with the logo that he had sent to Lin Shuyu some time ago, did he realize that Lin Shuyu was truly a genius artist.
In just one week, he actually finished drawing most of the cups and outer packaging bags that were given to him.
For this custom-made brand logo that represents the store, Fu Yun provided the artist with three different container styles.
The first type is a simple cup with a lid, without any sealing treatment, and is only for customers to dine in or take away.
The tea in this lotus leaf cup cannot be kept for long. Everything is made to order, and most of the milk tea is made hot and should be consumed within two days, otherwise it will spoil.
This lotus leaf cup is disposable after use, so its production requirements are not high, and the finished product is produced quite quickly.
Fu Yun had previously brought over 1,500 cups at once. Although they could only be painted by hand and the speed couldn't compare to that of a modern printing factory, he still finished painting half of the quantity and filled a whole box.
The rest that I didn't have time to draw, I'll pick them up in four days.
Actually, 700 cups is already quite a lot for dine-in or takeout, considering it's a new product launch. The purchasing power of people in ancient times can't be compared to that of modern times. In the first few days after opening, if you can sell 100 to 150 cups a day, that would be considered a good business.
After all, there is also the closed retail model, as well as the sales model of supplying in bulk to other inns and restaurants.
The second item is a small water bottle made from processed tree bark. The outer packaging is sealed for easy retail use and has a long shelf life.
These cups come in two sizes. One type is similar to the first type, but it can hold different beverages, with the outer packaging clearly indicating whether it is milk tea, cola, or soda.
Another type is a large-capacity drinking pot, just like the modern small and large bottles of beverages, with capacities of 250 ml and 800 ml.
When business is booming in the future, we can consider adding different fruits as toppings and making more different flavors of milk tea.
The third design is a gourd-shaped wine vessel for scions of prominent families. If funds allow, a ceramic bottle design will be added later.
As for the drinks supplied to other restaurants, Fu Jun didn't take that into consideration. They would either take the sealed drinks directly and haul them away in whole cases, or provide large-capacity wooden barrels or other containers and come over to transport the drinks from here themselves.
Lin Shuyu also drew nearly 500 of the finished drinking pots that had been sealed, and Fu Yun and Su Mang took them all away at once.
The last gourd-shaped wine vessel took a little longer to complete, as it wasn't simply a matter of drawing the design and writing the words "Qingming Pavilion." His wife had to hand-carve the design with a small knife to enhance the exquisiteness of the wine vessel.
Slow and steady wins the race, so only about 100 pieces were finished, but that's enough for two or three days.
If demand increases further in the future, buyers will likely have to make appointments and wait in line in advance.
The name Qingming Pavilion was chosen by Fu Jun after careful consideration. It evokes the atmosphere of a teahouse and has a simple and clear meaning: a cup of clear tea.
Tea made with water—that's a perfect description.
Xiao Ba also complained that he was bad at naming things, saying that he made the milk tea shop look like a tea shop.
Fu Yun expressed her dissatisfaction, saying that they had also chosen names related to milk tea shops, such as Yipinxuan, Sweet Drinks Hall, Fun Milk Tea Shop, etc., or even more direct names like "Why Not Come Drink Tea?"
It was Xiaoba who suggested later that we use Qingmingge instead!
In the end, they blame him for picking a bad name. Who can he complain to?
Xiao Ba pouted: [...] So, it's my fault!
Fu Yun and Su Mang packed everything up and settled the cost of the cups and packaging.
Besides the batch that wasn't finished, Fu Yun sent another batch to Lin Shuyu.
Because married men and women in a matriarchal society should not have too much contact with unmarried men and women, Su Mang and Ye Lijiao went to the main hall to talk, while Fu Jun and Lin Shuyu talked in another painting studio.
Fu Yun instructed Lin Shuyu to try to speed up the process and draw more cups with the Qingming Pavilion logo.
If you have limited manpower and are too busy, you can choose to hire help. Don't worry about the cost; as long as you deliver on time, you will not be shortchanged.
Lin Shuyu was overjoyed to hear this, but she was also afraid of showing it too obviously, lest Young Master Su think she was too naive. So she just kept nodding, her words tumbling out in a flustered manner: "I...I understand, and I will certainly not fail...Young Master Su's...request."
Fu Yun was a little surprised that Lin Shuyu was so nervous in his area of expertise, painting. He couldn't help but wonder if he had scared him. So he reached out and patted Lin Shuyu's shoulder, jokingly saying in a lighthearted tone, "Brother Lin, don't be nervous. I have high hopes for you! I believe you have the ability. How many copies I can sell depends entirely on your speed. Whether we can get rich depends on you too."
Based on the speed at which she could sell out in just half a day when she was setting up a stall, Fu Yun believed that with a fixed shop, the sales volume would only be more impressive throughout the day.
The reason for distributing flyers two days before opening was to inform previous customers that their stall location had changed and that other delicious desserts would be added.
Lin Shuyu was flattered by Fu Yun's words; this was the first time in his life that he had been trusted and valued so much.
The feeling of being appreciated, valued, and recognized is simply wonderful. It's like being warmed by the sun on a cold winter day, feeling warm all over and filled with endless joy. You're full of energy and your eyes are shining brightly.
His tone was firmer than ever before: "Young Master Su, please rest assured, I will do my best and will not delay your business."
Fu Jun was slightly taken aback, not expecting Lin Shuyu to take it so seriously.
The reason I made that joke was because I felt that Lin Shuyu was too reserved and uneasy when communicating with others. I wanted to use a more relaxed tone to close the distance between us and make him feel less distant because of his identity as a member of the Su family.
As the client, it's beneficial to build a friendly relationship with the supplier for future collaborations.
He shook his head and declared, "To say that it delays things is an exaggeration. Sales are important, but health is even more important. Don't work day and night to meet deadlines, or you'll ruin your health, which would be a huge loss. Health is the foundation of everything. You should rest when you need to, and you shouldn't force yourself or push yourself too hard."
"By the way, you don't need to call me Young Master Su anymore, just call me Fu Jun. Of course, if you're not used to calling me by my name directly, you can also call me Young Master Su."
Lin Shuyu stood there stunned, her eyes filled with obvious shock.
He never expected that Young Master Su would be so refined and easygoing, completely different from those arrogant rich young masters. His words were completely undisrespectful, even carrying a smile and a gentle tone. It was truly a stroke of luck to work for such a sincere and polite employer.
He replied with gratitude, "I understand. Thank you for your kind words, Young Master Su. I will follow your arrangements. I also hope that you will take care to rest more amidst your busy schedule and not overwork yourself."
Fu Yun nodded in response, indicating that she understood.
Seeing that things had been discussed to the point of exhaustion, Fu Yun bid farewell to Lin Shuyu.
He went into the main room, called out to Su Mang, and together they left Lin Shuyu's house.
The two carried everything back to the shop, took it out, and arranged it neatly in its proper place.
Su Mang bought some festive decorations and planned to decorate both the inside and outside of the store carefully.
During this time, Ye Lan and General Qian passed by the shop and saw people walking around inside. They came in to say hello and then hurriedly left.
The two of them were walking hurriedly, clearly very busy.
Fu Yun didn't even have time to ask General Qian about the number of workers he had borrowed from her, or whether they had been gathered.
However, given her hurried arrival and departure, she must have only managed to squeeze in a quick look amidst her busy schedule, so naturally she didn't have time for any conversation.
Fortunately, before they left, they left two subordinates behind, asking them to help with the decorations and setup for the shop's opening.
The person Ye Lan left behind was the deputy commander who delivered the medicine yesterday. To be precise, according to ancient official ranks, he was a deputy commander or assistant commander.
As for the subordinates left behind by General Qian, Fu Yun only felt that they looked somewhat familiar, and he might have met them once before, but he had no idea what their identities were.
Just as Fu Yun was about to ask the two women their names, they introduced themselves.
Ye Lan's subordinate official is a captain named Liu Lan.
General Qian's subordinate was a deputy general named Xing Fei.
Both women held high official ranks and were remarkable women who were just as capable as men, yet they were left to help out in an unknown little shop, which was truly a waste of their talents.
Fu Yun tactfully told them that arranging the store's decorations was a small matter and that he and Su Mang could handle it, as they had important business to attend to.
However, the two disagreed, insisting that they were carrying out a task assigned by their superiors, which was also official business for them.
Only after the shop was decorated did Liu Lan and Xing Fei leave with peace of mind.
The shop decorations were finished, and seeing that it was getting late, Fu Yun called Su Mang to prepare to go back.
All the preliminary work is now complete, and we're just waiting for the grand opening tomorrow.
I wonder if anything unexpected will happen when we open tomorrow.
Su Tan and the head of the Wang family have been quiet lately, so it's hard to say whether they're secretly plotting or sending someone to cause trouble or sabotage.
However, when soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.
No matter what happens, as long as it's resolved, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Just as the two men closed the doors and windows and locked the shop door, one of them suddenly returned.
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