CH 106.1

Yongxiu County Town was full of firecrackers today. The opening of three new stores injected fresh vitality into the economically depressed Yongxiu County and ordinary people gathered at the entrances of the three new stores to join in the fun. Outside the door of the former Yizhang Xuan restaurant was a sign which read ‘Yunlongfang’ restaurant. 

Jiang Kangning, the head of Yongxiu County, Dean Zuo, the vice president of the county school, Chen Sanli the current head of the rich Chen family and father of Chen Dong, Cao Xuelong’s uncle, Cao Yue, the current head of the Cao family, Su Hongshan’s father, Su Yannian, and several other prominent figures of Yongxiu County stood with a pair of scissors in their hands at the entrance of Yunlong.  The top girls specially invited from Hundred Flowers House wore conservative skirts and elegant makeup, and stood beside the big shots, holding bright red flower balls connected together in their hands. The common people didn’t understand what this meant, and there was a lot of discussion.

The person in charge of the ceremony shouted, “Ribbon cutting begins!” Ribbon-cutting? What ribbon-cutting? The firecrackers suddenly exploded and the big shots were reminded by the girls to cut the red silk in front of them, as the girls held up a red silk ball each and shouted in unison, “Congratulations on the opening of ‘Yunlongfang.’ Wishing that business is booming and the money is rolling in~”

“Good!” The crowd erupted with a shout of approval. The crowd of onlookers were led by the people’s warm applause, as someone sprinkled a handful of peanuts and copper coins towards the crowd. Adults and children squatted down in unison to pick them up in a lively manner.

“My lord, Dean Zuo, Master Chen, everyone, please~” Shopkeeper Xu led everyone in. On one side of the facade of Yunlongfang was an open retail window. Aunt Wang and Uncle Yinzi were now setting up their stalls there since they would only need to pay a small rental fee to Yunlongfang every month. 

This was due to the relationship between their families and the owner of Yunlongfang, which allowed them to do business on site at Yunlongfang. However, there were not only meat buns and skewers, but also all kinds of dishes, seafood, and biscuits made by Yunlong Square itself. People could eat them as they liked or just pack them up and go home.

Yunlongfang had three floors. The first floor had a lobby filled with round tables. The smallest was a table for four and the largest a table for ten. The second and third floors were for private rooms. The private rooms on the second floor had different themes, such as the Four Seasons Room, Star and Moon rooms, and even a Lover’s room. The private rooms on the third floor were all large suites, each with a mahjong table and washbasin, as well as good soundproofing. However, the suites on the third floor all had a minimum consumption.

Entering the private room on the third floor, Jiang Kangning, who was dazzled by  Yunlongfang’s new decoration pattern, pointed to a person who was already waiting in the private room and said with a smile, “How can you as boss hide here?”

Wang Shijing clasped his fists and saluted everyone, then he said to Jiang Kangning, “Little Brother is late, I will punish myself with three cups to compensate my brother and everyone. “

“Haha, definitely punish yourself!” Chen Dangjia, the richest man from Yongxiu, immediately said.

“Big brother, all of you, please.” Everyone sat down and Chen Dangjia said, “Brother Wang, you have opened my eyes with the novelty of the layout of Yunlongfang today. If I open a restaurant in the future, Brother Wang should come and help me with the details.”

Immediately after, someone said, “Master Chen, the food in Yunlongfang is said to be better than Yizhangxuan restaurant. If you open a restaurant, you will only lose money.” Everyone else laughed. Master Chen immediately said, “Then, I will open a restaurant together with Brother Wang. We can make money together, right?”

Wang Shijing said calmly, “Yunlongfang will need Brother Chen to take care of it in the future.” Chen Dangjia froze for a moment, then laughed and said, “Brother Wang is quick!” Master Chen Sanli was Chen Dangjia’s father, as well as one of the richest men in Yongxiu County, but his wealth ranked high even in Hainan Province, which was one of the three richest provinces in the Great State of Yan. 

When Wang Shijing said this, he did not say whether the two would really cooperate in the future, but he gave Chen Dangjia enough face. Wang Shijing was the adoptive son of Elder Cen and the adopted brother of the county magistrate, Jiang Kangning, and Jiang Kangning’s nephew lived in Wang Shijing’s house. Not to mention that people from the capital had been to the Wang family mansion. Chen Dangjia naturally also had sources in the capital, otherwise he would not have come to attend Yunlongfang’s opening ceremony.

The Empress wanted to do business and cooperate with more people. The main purpose of the Empress’ business was to help Emperor Yongming. Money must be earned, so people must be gathered. The Chen family has a certain strength, but is not a big family in itself. At the same time, they also needed to respect the imperial power, which was what Emperor Yongming and the Empress needed the most. 

Wang Shijing didn’t understand these principles at first, but after Elder Cen, Kang Rui, and Jiang Kangning’s education and running around due to the tea, he met a lot of people. Plus due to his relationship with Elder Cen, he now had contact with the upper class, so he matured a lot due to dealing with various people.

With the attendance of a few famous people in Yongxiu County, Yunlongfang’s opening day naturally attracted a lot of customers. Those customers who were too shy to enter the doors could only spend a dozen coins in the retail window to buy one or two small dishes to try. Such a sales method was seen for the first time in this world, but there was already a queue at the retail window.