Chapter 942 - 944 A Fruitless Effort - Part 1
Bai Ruozhu also laughed, "Additionally, I’ve arranged for someone to assist you so we can establish our own fresh soup noodle workshop, and we won’t have to go through the hassle of ordering anymore. I plan to publicly sell the fresh soup noodles without the secret ingredient upgrade soon."
Zhang Liliang was stunned and asked, "Does Shen Lu have no objections?"
Bai Ruozhu’s mischievous smile deepened, "Shen Lu couldn’t wish for more."
Zhang Liliang was also a clever man and quickly understood, not being able to help but burst into laughter.
In just a couple of days, Yingkelai introduced new dishes and promoted an upgraded ancestral secret recipe, guaranteeing the dishes to be even more delicious than before. Many customers were skeptical, thinking Yingkelai’s dishes were already the pinnacle of flavor. Could they possibly be tastier than those from the Imperial Kitchen in the Palace?
The very day Yingkelai was thronged with people. Many regular customers, after tasting the new offerings, couldn’t stop singing their praises. They felt that aside from the two new dishes, the food was the same as before but tasted even better; yet when asked to point out the specific differences, they couldn’t quite put their finger on it, just that, as Yingkelai itself claimed, the dishes were indeed more delicious.
Meanwhile, Wangyue Residence also rolled out a series of new dishes and promotions. Some people tried them and found the flavor to be extremely good, but with something better available, those slightly inferior were overshadowed. Yingkelai remained the top restaurant in Beiyu City, even the most delicious and high-end restaurant in the entire Northwest.
Gold Cashier from Wangyue Residence was furious but also feared reprimand from the Dong Family. Just as he was about to send a secret message to them, a servant hurried in, flustered, "Cashier, Cashier, it’s not good!"
Gold Cashier, being in a foul mood, kicked out, "What’s the matter that you’re panicking and shouting so loudly? Where is your dignity?"
The servant winced from the kick, thinking to himself that getting kicked certainly wasn’t dignified, but of course, he could only grumble inwardly. Hastily, he pleaded for mercy, "Please don’t be angry, Cashier. It’s my lack of decorum, but the matter is quite urgent."
"What is it?" Gold Cashier’s eyes twitched, feeling a premonition that it wasn’t going to be good news.
"It’s the Bai Family; they’ve opened a Bai Family Fresh Soup Noodle Shop that specializes in fresh soup noodles! They’ve got two grades, and the cheaper one isn’t too expensive – even the common people in the city are buying from them," explained the servant hastily.
"What?" Gold Cashier smacked a hand down on the table, seething, "Let’s go and have a look!"
Shortly after, Gold Cashier led his men to the Bai Family Fresh Soup Noodle Shop, only to find that there was a long queue at the entrance. The line stretched out into the street and even turned a corner. He tried to push his way to the front but was stopped by Bai Family guards hawking, "If you want to buy something, you have to queue properly. There’s an order to these things, right?"
Those in line also started calling out to Gold Cashier saying that the Bai Family had said it, no matter the status, everyone was to be treated equally and had to queue to make a purchase.
Gold Cashier looked at the long line, gritting his teeth in frustration. Finally, he came up with a good plan and ran to a woman at the front to make a deal. In the end, he paid her twenty taels of silver to take her place in line.
The woman immediately went to the back of the line, elated, thinking that earning an easy twenty taels was well worth it.
Just as it was almost Gold Cashier’s turn, Zhang Liliang came out and apologetically bowed to the crowd, saying, "Dear fellow villagers, I’m sorry, our shop didn’t expect such high demand on our first day of business, and the fresh soup noodles have sold out. A new stock won’t arrive until tomorrow. Please come early tomorrow."
Gold Cashier shouted in anger, pointing at Zhang Liliang and scolding, "Is this how you do business? Have we all queued up for nothing? Are you playing a joke on us customers?"
Some people, unwilling to give up after waiting in line for a long time, started hawking too.
Zhang Liliang, however, spoke calmly, "Everyone knows that this item is precious, and the shop can only provide so much each day. Unfortunately, there’s no way to offer more. Please understand."
After finishing, he returned to the shop and even closed the door, hanging a ’Closed for Business’ sign outside.
The crowd was dumbstruck; the shop had ceased operations less than half a day after opening. Those unaware might’ve thought business was bad, but who in Beiyu City didn’t know that the Bai Family’s fresh soup noodles sold exceptionally well?
In the end, Gold Cashier had no choice but to return to the Restaurant disappointedly. As a result, the business at Wangyuelou suffered greatly that day. He immediately sent someone to gather information, and soon enough, a waiter came back with news, "Shopkeeper, all the wealthy people have gone to Yingkelai, claiming the flavors there are even fresher. As for the common people, they’re either buying their own fresh soup noodles or are already queuing at the Bai Family shop, waiting for tomorrow. There are also some restaurants that have managed to acquire fresh soup noodles, so..."
Without needing the waiter to say more, Gold Cashier already understood the situation. But he was not willing to accept it; he didn’t believe Bai Ruozhu was truly willing to sell the fresh soup noodles like this nor that Shen Lu, the old fox, would concede.
"Bai Ruozhu and Shen Lu want to fight us to the bitter end, huh? If they can sell fresh soup noodles, so can we. I’ll send a message to our master right away!" Gold Cashier said through clenched teeth.
The queue at the Bai Family’s shop continued for several days but was soon divided by the newly opened Dong Family’s shop in the city. There wasn’t the same business boom as before. Regrettably for Gold Cashier, Bai Ruozhu, sitting in the private room of Yingkelai, smiled smugly as she watched the street activity. She had seen all of Gold Cashier’s moves these past few days and didn’t care at all about the Dong Family starting their fresh soup noodle shop. Even if they succeeded, her family business was already established.
The best restaurants in Danliang Country used Bai Family’s fresh soup noodles. Which ones would the common people choose?
No matter how hard the Dong Family struggled, regrettably, the business at Wangyuelou did not revive. Even Dong Family’s fresh soup noodles couldn’t compare to those sold in the Bai Family shop, and their business soon dwindled.
Gold Cashier was heavily punished for this, as he had spent a lot of money to bribe Old Liu for the fresh soup noodles and had also hired people to spend time figuring out the formula, only to end up empty-handed. It was no wonder his master punished him.
Time flew by quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the Rural Examination was upon them. The Bai Family grew nervous, taking extra care over everything related to Bai Zepei’s daily life.
That evening, Jiang Yichun returned and said to Bai Ruozhu, "I need to make a trip to Xuantian Mountain. Although the previous campaign to eradicate Batianzhai was a ruse, Batianzhai cannot be left alone. They previously helped Duke Duan in secret. Perhaps there will be unexpected gains in this anti-bandit operation."
Bai Ruozhu was somewhat worried about him taking risks, but considering her second brother’s upcoming examination, she said, "Can’t it wait a few days? I can’t leave at the moment."
Jiang Yichun immediately felt a surge of jealousy and said unhappily, "How can you help your second brother with the examination? It’s not like you’re taking the test for him. Besides, the Ministry of Justice has discovered that there are people skilled with poisonous insects in Batianzhai. Perhaps there will be good gains if you go."
"Really?" Bai Ruozhu scrutinized Jiang Yichun, wondering if he was just saying that to coax her into joining him.
Jiang Yichun gave her a look, "Don’t believe me? You can ask Tu Lie, he’s also involved in this anti-bandit operation. With the other side having experts in poisonous insects, do you really feel at ease letting me face the danger alone?"
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Despite rushing, it’s still a few minutes late. Let’s just consider this the second update of the day. Mouka is really trying her best to type as fast as possible~