frightfiction Chapter 239: Grand Opening
Chapter 239: Grand Opening
Chapter 239: Grand Opening
After seeing Qianxin off, Ji Meiqing sent Lu Yu to fetch her people while she stayed behind to reorganize the restaurant. She kept the reliable chef that Qianxin had mentioned as a good cook, left some diligent waiters, and gave the rest of the staff enough money to go.
Lu Yu brought his own people, and Ji Meiqing held a short meeting with them all.
"Listen up, everyone. I'm the new boss here. I just saw some people off, and those I think are excellent are staying. From today onwards, this place will be called Yuanyanglou, a branch building. The main building is in Rongcheng, and we'll inevitably have contact with each other in the future. Also, I'll be changing some of the previous marketing methods, and the people I brought will naturally teach those who don't know. Understand?" Since Ji Meiqing's salary was much higher than before, everyone readily shouted that they understood.
Ji Meiqing didn't open for business immediately; instead, she focused on renovations. She decorated the building in the style of a traditional Chinese restaurant chain, aiming to open restaurants all over the country and eventually make so much money she'd get cramps counting it all. However, one unresolved issue prevented them from opening: the wine supply. They couldn't transport the wine from Rongcheng; it would be time-consuming, laborious, and fraught with uncertainties.
So Ji Meiqing and Lu Yu didn't rest for a moment before going to check if there was a suitable place to brew wine. After walking for about ten minutes, Ji Meiqing smelled a fragrance of flowers from afar. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a peach orchard. Ji Meiqing's eyes lit up as she said to Lu Yu, "Brother Lu, this is a great place! We can use local ingredients, and it's close to the restaurant. Most importantly, have you noticed how few people there are? We won't be disturbed. Let's buy it and brew wine here!"
Lu Yu also thought this place was nice, so he nodded and said, "Okay, let's go find the owner of this place." They looked around but didn't see anyone. Just as they were about to go back and come back tomorrow, an old voice called out to them.
"Young master, young lady, please wait." An old man appeared before them with the voice. Ji Meiqing recognized him. "Hey, aren't you...the old man who cured my nightmares? What are you doing here?"
The old man clearly remembered their reply: "Young lady, you are joking. This peach grove belongs to me. Why can't I stay here?"
"Oh, so this peach orchard belongs to you. Can you sell it to us? We want to produce wine here." The old man was initially reluctant to give it up, but he became interested when he heard that they wanted to produce wine here.
"Sure, but I have one condition. I remember saying I don't need money."
Ji Meiqing immediately understood what he meant: "Then what do you want?"
"I have only one condition: you must give me five percent of every batch of wine you haven't produced." The old man held up five fingers.
"Grandpa, I can agree to that, but you have to set a time limit. I can't keep giving it to you indefinitely." Ji Meiqing tried to bargain a little.
"What, you don't want to? Then forget it."
Lu Yu spoke up at the opportune moment, saying, "Okay." He knew that if Ji Meiqing continued the conversation, given her money-loving nature, the two were very likely to fight.
On the way back, Ji Meiqing complained, "Why did you agree to him so quickly? We could have discussed a date. Now look what happened, as long as we produce wine here, we have to give him five percent of every batch."
"Oh, so what? We got the wine-producing area without even paying a penny," Lu Yu reassured him.
After everything was settled, the two were ready to start construction, and the Yuanyang Building was also renovated. Lu Yu also bought a small courtyard house in the capital to live in. Although it wasn't as nice as the house in Rongcheng, it was still a home.
The following day, Yuanyanglou opened with firecrackers. The first day was packed with customers, and the business was booming. Ji Meiqing was managing things at the restaurant. It was relatively easy for her, but Lu Yu was working much harder. He was in the peach blossom grove, rushing to make the wine needed for the opening and the wine to be aged. They had already prepared quite a lot of wine, but was there enough space to store it for aging?
That evening, after taking a bath, Ji Meiqing lay in bed and said to Lu Yu beside her, "Brother Lu, I feel like all of this is a dream. Do you believe in the future?"
Lu Yu listened to her strange topic. Shouldn't she be telling him about how the restaurant was doing today? But he still went along with her and said, "I believe you."
Ji Meiqing then asked, "Do you believe that someone could come here from a thousand years ago?"
Lu Yu shook his head, which was his answer to her.
"See? No one believes me. Do you believe me?" Ji Meiqing then asked.
To completely reassure her, Lu Yu said without hesitation, "I believe you. I will always believe you. What's wrong with you today?"
Hearing his reply, Ji Meiqing said with relief, "It's nothing, maybe he's just been too tired these past few days."
"Then don't talk, get some rest." Lu Yu pulled the blanket up a little higher for her and then held her close.
Both of them closed their eyes, and after a while, they heard Ji Meiqing's soft breathing. Lu Yu slowly opened his eyes again and looked at Ji Meiqing, who was fast asleep in his arms. "What...what do you want to say?"
The next day, Ji Meiqing got up early and went to the restaurant. Lu Yu had already finished the brewing work yesterday, so he would be relatively free today. Seeing that Ji Meiqing had left early and hadn't eaten breakfast, he personally cooked and delivered the food to her.
Ji Meiqing took a break from her busy schedule to eat the meal Lu Yu had prepared. "Actually, you didn't need to cook and bring it over specially. This is a restaurant, so there's no shortage of food to fill our stomachs."
"Yes, I know. I was just worried you wouldn't eat, so I brought it over to personally supervise you. Your appetite hasn't fully recovered yet, so you can't miss a meal," Lu Yu said as he looked at the accounts beside her.
"Okay, I'm full. I'll go back to work now." The hotel had just opened, and Ji Meiqing would probably be busy for a while. However, she was worried about things in Rongcheng, so she discussed with Lu Yu that evening about having him go back and take care of the business there.
Lu Yu was worried about leaving her alone there, but he couldn't resist Ji Meiqing's persistent pleading and finally gave in. However, he hired a high-ranking official to supervise Ji Meiqing's meals and health during his absence. Only then did he feel at ease enough to return home.
However, Ji Meiqing's worries were not unfounded. The business in Rongcheng had indeed gone wrong, and the Ji family was stirring up trouble again while they were away. Lu Yu received the news halfway there, and by the time he arrived, it was too late.
The mandarin duck tower in Rongcheng was covered with seals. Not wanting Ji Meiqing to worry, he decided to handle the matter himself.