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墨書 Inktalez
"How dare you treat me like a fool?" Ziyan muttered to herself.
This shop is so big; I must find a way to promote it well during this time and make it a hit.
If I don't succeed, I might as well perish.
As long as I make a name for myself in the capital, everything else will fall into place—opening shops anywhere else will be smooth sailing.
Thinking of this, Ziyan felt quite pleased with herself.
On the other hand, a certain prince who had been left out felt quite uncomfortable! He stared at the person in front of him with a mix of anger and grievance, watching her face shift through a myriad of expressions.
As he watched, he found himself becoming infatuated again.
When he finally came to his senses, he couldn't help but feel ashamed of himself!
She was once the beloved of his dear younger brother, yet now he was hopelessly enamored with her.
But in an instant, he consoled himself: "Isn't everyone selfish in love? The man is unmarried, and the woman is unmarried; why shouldn't I be brave enough to give it a try?"
Ziyan moved closer to the window, looking down at the bustling street below, where people came and went, and carriages flowed like water.
At that moment, she couldn't help but praise the location that Ling Feng had chosen.
Turning to the prince who had been staring blankly at her, she asked, "Where is the most famous restaurant in the capital? What is it called?"
"Uh?"
"Your Highness—Miss Zi is asking you where the most famous restaurant in the capital is located and what its name is," a servant following Ling Feng reminded the prince, who was still lost in his daydreams.
"Oh! It's on this street; it's called 'Feng Juding,'" Ling Feng finally snapped back to reality with a reluctant smile and continued, "What? Does Yan'er want to go there to taste the food—check it out?"
"Well, I was just thinking the same thing. I wonder if the Prince would be willing to accompany me?" Ziyan replied with a bright smile.
"The King would naturally be happy to oblige, since I haven't been there in quite some time," Ling Feng readily agreed.
"Great, let's go now!"
"Now?"
"Yes! Right now."
"Ah—alright! Right now." After saying that, Ling Feng turned to his attendant and gave the order, "Go, prepare the carriage."
"Is it far?"
"Not far! Just about two miles ahead."
"Shall we walk along the street?"
"Yes, it's on the east side of the road we came from."
"Then we don't need a carriage. How about we walk there instead?"
"Walk?" Ling Feng frowned, finding Ziyan's suggestion somewhat unreasonable. In the capital, who would walk if they had to go more than a mile?
"Yes, let's walk." Ziyan didn't care much for that; she wanted to take her time and look closely at all the new and interesting things along this so-called food and shopping street.
"Alright, The King will accompany you at the cost of his life." Although Ling Feng was quite reluctant, he couldn't refuse any request from his only beloved who had captured his heart.
Thus, Ziyan began to stroll leisurely along the bustling street with Ling Feng by her side, inspecting the various businesses lining both sides of the street.
The street was bustling with a wide variety of businesses, all of different standards. There were grocery stores, money exchanges, tailor shops, jewelry workshops, tea houses, escort agencies, and various specialty restaurants and noodle shops.
Almost every type of industry one could think of could be found on this street.
This is the capital city after all! Comparing Hengfeng County Town to it is like comparing heaven and earth!
Ziyan temporarily set aside her thoughts about other types of shops and focused her attention primarily on the eateries.
She mentally noted down all the restaurants that piqued her interest, especially those with extravagant and luxurious decorations.
She thought to herself that she needed to try all these places over the next couple of days to get a thorough understanding of the market.
One cannot engage in battles without confidence and preparation. To become a leader in the industry, one must know their competitors' strengths and advantages inside out!
Only then can one know oneself and one's enemy, ensuring victory in every battle. This is Ziyan's rule and principle for survival.
After just a couple of tea breaks, the two arrived at the entrance of the grand restaurant called Feng Juding that Ling Feng had mentioned earlier.
Just as they were about to enter Feng Juding, they unexpectedly ran into a group of familiar faces.
These were the young men who had previously met them outside the city gate and seemed to have vanished into thin air from Xiang Wang Fu.
"Hey— I thought I recognized someone! It's Brother Xiang Wang. So you kicked us all out of the palace just to keep company with a beauty?"
Among the group, a boy who looked significantly shorter than Ling Feng and appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen stepped forward and teased him lightly.
"Prince Ning, you misunderstand. My brother has important business to attend to," Ling Feng smiled at him.
"Oh? Could it be that he is planning for your soon-to-open shop?"
"Yes! Prince Ning is really clever."
"Then—could brother take me along? I can also learn brother's business skills."
At the same time, several others gathered around. Ling Feng glanced at Ziyan with some concern, but Ziyan shrugged indifferently and quietly stepped out of their circle, saying, "You all continue catching up; I can go in by myself."
With that, she walked into Feng Juding.
Ling Feng felt quite frustrated. He had originally planned to send this group of childhood friends away, but unexpectedly ran into them again at Feng Juding.
With no other choice, he had to muster the courage to ask everyone if they had eaten yet. The answer was that this group had gone somewhere else to play for half a day after leaving the Wangfu and had not eaten at all.
He had intended to come to Feng Juding for lunch, but now he unexpectedly encountered Ziyan here.
Thus, Ling Feng had no choice but to lead the group of young people toward Ziyan.
Upon reaching the second floor of Feng Juding, the waiter arranged for them the best private room. Ling Feng ordered almost all of Feng Juding's signature dishes.
The meal felt somewhat awkward because among this group were two girls who seemed extremely dissatisfied with him, the Eldest Young Lady.
During the meal, one girl kept staring at Ling Feng with a hateful gaze while trying to curry favor with him. Ling Feng probably wanted to deliberately provoke Ziyan and several times engaged in ambiguous conversation with that girl.
Ziyan touched her nose, pretending not to see. She focused on tasting each dish one by one, feeling a sense of excitement rise within her.
It seemed that her restaurant in the capital would soon open successfully; with these so-called authentic dishes, she could easily surpass them with just one dish of her own.
Seeing that Ziyan ignored his flirtation with the other girl, Ling Feng felt bored and finally stopped paying attention to her.
Once the meal was over, Ling Feng sent everyone away again. Meanwhile, the carriage that came to pick them up was already waiting at the entrance of the restaurant. On the way back, Ziyan sat in the carriage in silence, contemplating the direction of future developments.
"Yan'er, are you satisfied with Feng Juding's cooking?" Ling Feng asked tentatively.
"Not satisfied, but what can be done?" Ziyan looked at him with disdain.
"Oh—then what are your thoughts and plans moving forward?"
"I have many, but they all require time to develop."
The two chatted casually for a while, and before long, they returned to the new store of Zi Family Spiced Braise.
Seeing Wu Xiang and the others, they had perfectly completed the task of purchasing furniture.
After a brief inspection, Ziyan found that almost no daily necessities were missing. She felt very satisfied and patted Wu Xiang on the shoulder as encouragement.
Next, Ziyan instructed Wu Xiang to gather all the newly hired staff for a meeting.
When everyone arrived, Ziyan quietly asked Ling Feng in a voice that others could not hear, "Are these people you hired reliable?"
"Of course, all of them have signed contracts binding them to me. They are my servants in life and still my servants in death. No one dares to betray this King," Ling Feng said, his eyes narrowing slightly, his voice loud enough for everyone present to hear, exuding an intimidating presence.
"Uh?" Ziyan was momentarily taken aback!
But she quickly realized—yes! He is a high-ranking prince, and what are these people? They are merely a group of slaves who have signed contracts binding them.
In this old feudal era, these people were essentially his property in life and his ghosts in death! He could do whatever he wanted with them; they were just pieces of meat on his chopping block.
With this thought in mind, Ziyan no longer had anything to worry about.
Moreover, she had already kept a backup plan: all the operators in the kitchen were people she had brought from Hengfeng County Town.
In addition to the two masters who specialize in braised products, each of them was also assigned two assistants. These assistants had also signed contracts of servitude along with life-and-death agreements as Death Warriors.
Thus, they were sworn to protect their ingredient recipes at all costs, which nearly eliminated any possibility of leakage regarding the ingredients and recipes.
After the meeting concluded, Ziyan appointed Wu Xiang, who always had a great work attitude, as the temporary supervisor, entrusting him with all training tasks prior to the opening.
Of course, the second Shopkeeper was from Ling Feng. Under Ziyan's careful observation, it became clear that he was also quite capable and trustworthy.
...
After six or seven days of intense and busy preparations, the Zi Family Spiced Braise branch in the capital was about to open.
On the morning before the opening day, Ziyan personally assessed and reviewed Wu Xiang's training results. The outcome was impressive; all standards were met.
Finally, she reiterated their roles during the opening period.
Thinking about the tension and hard work these individuals had put into learning and training over the past six or seven days, Ziyan decided to grant everyone in the store an afternoon off to allow them to relax both physically and mentally, so they could be in optimal condition for the first day of business.
Afterward, she took Wu Xiang and several chefs to Qinchun Garden, the most famous spot in the capital, akin to some renowned tourist attractions today.
At that moment, there were not many visitors. As they strolled leisurely and comfortably, a sudden wailing sound resembling ghostly cries echoed from a short distance ahead.
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