allonlinenovel Chapter 414 Fighting for Business
Chapter 414 Fighting for Business
Manager Su raised an eyebrow slightly, his smile deepening.
"In the end, it's all thanks to Xiao Tang. That girl has a lot of clever ideas. Since we got her, our restaurant's dishes have become unique, and we've always been far ahead in terms of innovation."
And these drinks—other restaurants simply can't imitate them. Even if they do launch their own versions, the taste is nowhere near as good.
Lin Qingchuan nodded with a smile, "Xiao Tang is indeed extraordinary in this regard, so I won't be modest on her behalf. These guests come to the restaurant to eat and chat, and they are bound to be thirsty. We've introduced some chilled drinks, which not only solves their thirst problem but also allows them to have something fresh to drink, much better than tea made with tea leaves."
The two praised Xiao Tang repeatedly, feeling that she was the restaurant's lucky star, and they couldn't help but miss her when they talked about her.
After they finished their work, they gave each of the four cooks a red envelope containing 66 taels of silver, and each of the other staff members a red envelope containing 6 taels of silver.
The cooks and assistants were so happy that their smiles almost reached their ears, and they worked with the energy of someone who had been injected with chicken blood.
When they had some free time, Manager Su suggested that Lin Qingchuan and his wife find an academy for Ziheng so that he could start his education early. As for Xiaoyu, he suggested that they hire two female tutors to teach her music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. He happened to have many connections in the capital and could provide assistance.
The couple had the same idea, and when they learned that Manager Su could help, they were overjoyed. They immediately expressed their deepest gratitude to Manager Su and gave him some silver to smooth things over.
Manager Su naturally refused to accept the money, saying that he would ask a friend to make arrangements, and as for the gift, he would tell his son Heng to give the teacher a gift when he visited him.
The couple were even more grateful to Manager Su, so they went to the largest bookstore in the capital to select a piece of mutton-fat white jade pendant for him.
After much persuasion from the couple, Manager Su had no choice but to accept their gifts. Manager Su then returned the favor by buying Xiao Yu a zither and Xiao Ziheng a set of children's writing implements.
……
Since its opening, Mingcuilou has become famous throughout the capital in just a few days. From princes and nobles to ordinary people, anyone who wants to eat at a restaurant will go to Mingcuilou to have a meal and try something new.
With Mingcui Tower doing well, other restaurants naturally started to get envious.
Some of them had been operating in the capital for many years, with good business and a stable customer base. Naturally, they were resentful when Mingcuilou suddenly snatched away many of their customers.
As a result, some restaurants secretly observed Mingcui Tower and began to imitate it.
When Manager Su was helping Xiao Ziheng find connections to get into an academy, he learned from a friend that Wanbaolou on East Street had also launched drinks, which tasted somewhat similar to those of Mingcuilou, but were still inferior to Mingcuilou.
Regardless of whether it's inferior or not, Wanbaolou must have secretly learned from Mingcuilou and imitated it.
After Manager Su returned to Mingcui Tower, he told Lin Qingchuan about the matter, and the two began to think of a solution.
Lin Qingchuan thought about it carefully and said, "Back in Dushui County, we were also afraid that our competitors would imitate us. But Xiaotang said that we couldn't avoid it. Even if we developed it, we couldn't apply to the government for exclusive ownership. We could only let others imitate us. As long as our formula is not leaked and we keep innovating, we can stay at the forefront."
Manager Su sighed, "That's all we can do. If other restaurants can open this kind of restaurant, so can we. We make these drinks, and we can't stop others from imitating us. We can only keep innovating and leave those restaurants behind."
“Since ancient times, there has been competition among peers. That’s how business is. Everyone is vying for what they want. We should just do our best and let them do whatever they want as long as they don’t go too far. If they try to bully us, we’re not pushovers. I have some connections in the capital.”
With Manager Su's words, Lin Qingchuan felt much more at ease.
After all, his family were just powerless country folk. They only managed to save up some money and live a prosperous life by doing business. But when trouble really came, they were still outnumbered and powerless.
A few days later, many of the new dishes launched by major restaurants in the capital were imitations of Mingcuilou, especially the drinks. All the restaurants, big and small, launched their own versions, and even several drink shops opened.
Because everyone was eager to imitate them, and their new dishes and drinks were not as authentic as Mingcuilou's, they indirectly advertised for Mingcuilou, adding to its fame.
Guests flocked to Mingcui Tower every day, and Manager Su and Lin Qingchuan always had smiles on their faces.
The restaurant hired several chefs and added a few waiters, which finally gave the two managers some free time, as they no longer had to work in the kitchen themselves.
……
Several months have passed in the blink of an eye.
On Lingyun Mountain, the medicinal herbs in the fields are growing well. Due to the geographical location, the medicinal herbs on the mountain are even better than those in ordinary fields.
Scarface Wu Jun's attitude towards Lin Xiaotang has also changed drastically. Now he talks about recognizing Lin Xiaotang as his goddaughter every day.
Lin Xiaotang was annoyed by the questioning but couldn't refuse directly, so she could only say that she couldn't make the decision herself and that it needed to be discussed with Wu Jun and her parents.
Thinking back to a few months ago, when he was threatening to kill the entire Lin family and his men had even dealt a heavy blow to Lin Qingchuan, he found himself unable to bring himself to speak.
Seeing his elder brother's daily distress, the bearded man couldn't help but find it amusing.
The group was weeding in the medicinal herb field when the bearded man ran up to Xiaotang carrying a handful of weeds.
"Girl, stop pulling it out. You're too young to compete with us roughnecks. Come on, I'll take you to rest under the tree."
Lin Xiaotang smiled and didn't refuse. After all, back in Dushui County, the work in the medicinal herb fields was done by workers. She had only directed everyone and rarely went to the fields herself, leaving everything to Uncle Shuisheng and Uncle Wuyu.
She followed the bearded man to the tree by the herb field, where he immediately picked a few large leaves and spread them on the ground for her to sit on.
"Girl, come sit here, the leaves are all clean."
"Uncle Beard, sit down and rest for a while. We're all wearing work clothes, there's no need to be so formal."
Hu Zi grinned and said, "That's different. If my eldest brother were to recognize you as his goddaughter, then I would be your second uncle. But my eldest brother has shot himself in the foot. Now the boomerang has hit him. If he had been more polite to you when we met a few months ago, we wouldn't be unable to open our mouths to discuss this with your parents now."
Lin Xiaotang smiled awkwardly. She couldn't just randomly recognize a godfather; her parents had to agree first. Moreover, Scarface's identity was somewhat special. If the government didn't forgive him later, recognizing him as her godfather would likely implicate her family and Manager Su. If the government convicted her of collusion, everything would be over.
However, the medicinal fields on this mountain will soon be ripe, and they need to be careful about their identities. If they cannot move around normally among the aristocratic families, their whereabouts may be exposed, which could lead to a lot of trouble.
Perhaps she should find out how these people can mitigate the crimes they have committed.