From Folly to Fortune：I Rewrite My Life After Rebirth!-Chapter 964 - 960: Who Dares Mess With Me (Second Update)
"Of course it’s to hang a sign, did you think I’m so stupid to sell myself to the Yihong Courtyard?"
Chen Hong sneered, openly mocking Mu Danian for being a fool.
There are two business models in Yihong Courtyard, one is to train their own girls who, unless redeemed by some big man, will stay there for life.
The other is to hang a sign, like Chen Hong, and just pay a little money to Yihong Courtyard daily.
After not seeing each other for a long time, Mu Danian and Chen Hong surprisingly found a mutual understanding.
As they talked, they shared the recent things they encountered.
Mu Danian, being cautious, only mentioned that the old lady at home was too stingy and focused all her attention on his elder brother.
As the youngest son, he had nothing and was driven out by his parents.
Chen Hong knew a bit about matters in the Mu Family. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
She sneered, "Your Old Mu Family isn’t a bunch of easy people, your brother may look decent, but he’s really not, and your sister-in-law, that old hag, if she hadn’t interfered, I might have been with your brother already."
Chen Hong’s situation wasn’t great; although she didn’t worry about food or clothes, she feared being seen by villagers making a living in the brothel.
If word got out, she would be ridiculed.
The more they talked, the angrier they became.
Finally, Mu Danian said, "Woman, why don’t you just come back with me to Er Gui Village, we still have my brother’s secret in our hands.
When he returns, we can use this secret to negotiate terms."
Mu Dade’s scholar title was obtained through purchased exam papers.
Apart from those in the main house, only Mu Danian and Chen Hong knew.
Neither of them were fools; they knew this secret was their amulet and shouldn’t be disclosed unless absolutely necessary.
Chen Hong was delighted, "Alright, since your mother treats you like this, I’d love to argue with her a few more times, see if I, an old lady, am more formidable than your dead old hag."
Chen Hong and Mu Danian put their heads together and plotted various revenge plans.
Hmph, this time, Mu Danian wanted to see who dared to walk sideways in front of him, offend him, and be ready to go to hell!
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The steward and the waiters and runners in the restaurant worked together tirelessly until the restaurant was all set up.
The opening was scheduled for the tenth of February, which meant there were over ten days for preparation before the restaurant’s opening.
It was the end of January now.
In a while, the peasant families would start getting busy.
Planting vegetables, sowing cottonseed, spring planting, one task after another.
Mu Shuangshuang chose the timing just before the busy farming season, so that when the restaurant opened, farmwork would become increasingly hectic.
Since finding out the restaurant would reopen, Yu Dahai had not stopped being busy.
He was the most familiar with this business, so Mu Shuangshuang had many questions for Yu Dahai.
Including pricing of the dishes.
"Boss, to tell you the truth, our restaurant has always followed a fair-price route, attracting old regulars, but some issues led to its closure.
This time, I think we should continue on the fair-price route."
Yu Dahai had reviewed some of the dish pricing and found them a bit high.
He wasn’t sure whether people would order them.
Mu Shuangshuang held an original pricing list in her hand, with a few dishes individually marked by Yu Dahai.
"Brother Dahai, we are indeed following a fair-pricing strategy, but I plan to make these dishes our restaurant’s signature, so it’s normal for them to be a bit pricier.
I just want dishes like Qingshan Roasted Duck, Firewood Roasted Fish, Honey Roasted Chicken, and Mu Family’s Braised Pork to become our restaurant’s top four signature dishes.
So that whenever people mention these four dishes, they think of Chengfeng Restaurant. Fulin Restaurant was too ordinary before, with not a single standout dish, which is why it gradually faded from people’s memory."
The four dishes Mu Shuangshuang mentioned couldn’t be found in other restaurants in Qingshan Town.
Qingshan Roasted Duck is essentially Beijing Roasted Duck.
It took Mu Shuangshuang an entire day and five ducks to barely teach Sun Dawu how to carve the ducks properly.
As for the remaining dishes, the roasted fish, roasted chicken, and braised pork, each had their own unique method.
Mu Shuangshuang had really put a lot of effort into training Sun Dawu into a top chef.
Yu Dahai had some doubts before, but after hearing Mu Shuangshuang’s explanation, his doubts were dispelled.
Indeed, the dishes at Fulin Restaurant could be found anywhere else.
The dishes were cheaper than other places, but if people didn’t want to eat, they simply wouldn’t.
Back then, First-class Residence’s dishes were the most expensive in the whole of Qingshan Town, but people still flocked there, eager to get even a single bite.
"I understand! Boss, why not do this, since these dishes are special, let’s limit their supply.
Only one to three tables per day, depending on our chefs’ mood. If the chef is in a good mood, make three; if not, make one.
This way, everyone knows Chengfeng Restaurant has something good, but it’s hard to get, what do you think?" Yu Dahai suggested.
Mu Shuangshuang’s eyes lit up.
Yu Dahai meant to do a premium exclusive offer, a scarcity marketing tactic.
It did seem like a good idea.
Chengfeng Restaurant was small in scale, so attracting those landlords required some effort.
Mu Shuangshuang smiled, "This is good! Oh, I’ve almost finished drawing up the menu, should be done before the opening.
Also, find someone to make promotional flyers, just on a sheet of paper, announcing our restaurant’s opening, telling the townspeople about a fifty percent discount on opening day, meaning if the meal costs two silver, we’ll only charge five hundred wen."
In ancient times, there were no loudspeakers, no signal, limited mobility, and everything relied on word of mouth, which had its pros and cons.
The good was, if done well, you’ll have repeat customers.
The bad was the slow spread, and by the time word gets out about the delicious food at Chengfeng Restaurant, it might be a long time later.
So a restaurant, when opening, needed to do some promotion, or else it would be like a drop in the ocean, with no trace.
Lu Yuanfeng, standing by, carefully pondered Mu Shuangshuang’s words, suddenly suggested: "Shuangshuang, why not... why not on opening day, invite some dragon and lion dancers over.
And also hire a storyteller to tell stories at our restaurant, what do you think?"
Big restaurants’ promotional tactics were just like this.
People loved excitement and watching dragon and lion dances.
"Fengzi, that’s great! Dragon and lion dancing is easy to arrange, but... about storytelling, I do have a few story scripts, I’m sure people haven’t heard of them." Mu Shuangshuang winked mysteriously at Lu Yuanfeng.
Mu Shuangshuang always thought the ancient storytelling profession was fascinating, capable of attracting a group of people to listen to a story.
Being a modern person, well-versed in various martial arts novels and classics was a matter of course.
Attracting a few customers shouldn’t be a problem at all.
