The Beautiful Brother of the Orion’s Family (Wearing Book) - 151

 

| TBBOTOF | 151

Using a simple marketing method, the Tang's Shop opened on the 8th of March.

At 9 o'clock, outside the shop, he lit firecrackers. The crackling sound attracted a lot of attention. As the smoke cleared, the red writing could be seen.

People were slightly surprised.

To celebrate the grand opening, everyone can receive a small treat.

The exquisite treats Tang Xu mentioned were colorful cold cakes he made early in the morning. Each piece was arranged on bamboo plates and brushed with a layer of oil, making them look shiny and very delicate.

There are always some people who like to join in the fun. News spread quickly, and in no time, many people entered the shop.

At this moment, Wei Dong brought out the braised chicken and duck from the big stove in the backyard. The aroma of the meat instantly filled the room.

The braised goose wasn't fully flavored yet, so it would take a while before it could be served. However, the large basin of reddish-brown chicken and duck was already quite appetizing.

"Boss, how much is this?" a customer, unable to resist the delicious smell, pointed to the basin of chicken and duck.

Tang Xu stood behind the newly renovated counter, wearing a mask and a hat, revealing only his eyebrows. He said, "You can buy it as a whole or in separate portions."

As he spoke, he swiftly chopped the whole braised chicken on the cutting board into small pieces and placed them into an empty basin nearby. Then he took a small bowl and scooped a bowl from the side, "This bowl is fifteen wen."

The customer frowned, thinking it was a bit expensive.

But the aroma was too tempting, and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

Many others had the same thought and action, but no one spoke up to buy.

Tang Xu wasn't in a hurry. He picked up a braised duck, placed it on another cutting board, and continued to chop it into small pieces, saying, "This one is twenty wen per bowl."

He initially wanted to set the same price, but Wang Cuicui pointed out that the original prices of chicken and duck were different, so it wouldn't be appropriate to sell them at the same price.

Tang Xu looked up at the open shop door. It was no surprise that suddenly many people poured in.

It became noisy.

"Boss, boss! I'm here, I'm here!"

"Finally, your shop is open. I've been waiting forever!"

"Hurry, hurry, I don't care how much it costs, just give me a whole duck! I want a whole one!"

Tang Xu smiled and said, "Braised chicken is fifteen wen per bowl, braised duck is twenty wen per bowl. I've chopped them up and mixed them together, but the meat we sell is absolutely tender and flavorful. There's no problem with it being tough to chew."

He then pointed to the whole chickens and ducks in the basin, "A whole braised chicken is one hundred wen, a duck is one hundred and twenty wen."

"One of each for me!" The person who spoke seemed to be a servant from a wealthy family. He opened his money pouch, counted out two hundred and twenty copper coins, and put them into the money box next to him, saying, "Count them."

Tang Xu nodded and thanked him. Wang Cuicui, who was standing nearby, quickly counted the money.

Fortunately, Wang Cuicui had played counting games with the chubby little guy many times recently, otherwise, she wouldn't be so skilled at counting money.

Tang Xu packed the food with oil paper and included five pieces of the cold cakes before handing it over, "Thank you for your patronage."

The man quickly turned and left, eager to bring the hot food back to his master.

"I want a duck!"

"I want half a chicken!"

Two more people spoke up.

Tang Xu turned and gave a signal to Liu Yao, who was also wearing a mask and hat, "You take over here, I'll go to the backyard to check on the braised offal and goose."

Liu Yao nodded, "Alright."

The backyard had two stoves. Since one stove wasn't enough before, Tang Xu had moved the one from the shop to the back and built a small shed around it.

"Father," Tang Xu called out to Tang Erhu, who was pulling firewood from the stove, "Is it ready?"

Tang Erhu nodded, lifted the lid, and poked the braised goose with long bamboo chopsticks, "It's done."

Tang Xu quickly waved to Wei Dong, "Ah Dong, bring it out, and take the braised offal out too."

The braised offal was chopped and cooked together. Those who liked offal usually didn't mind the mix of intestines, stomach, liver, and lungs, so it was all cooked in one pot to avoid any trouble.

The braised offal had a strong flavor. Tang Xu planned to sell it separately from the chicken, duck, and goose. After braising, the offal was kept in the broth to avoid the strong smell driving away customers who didn't like offal.

"How's the sales going?" Tang Erhu asked worriedly, brushing off the ash from his hands.

"Pretty good, I think we’re almost sold out," Tang Xu replied. On the first day of business, he had prepared five of each item, not expecting to sell them all. However, with people buying half a chicken here and a whole duck there, there wouldn't be much left even if some remained.

Sure enough, in no time, Liu Yao ran over from the back door, both excited and troubled, saying, "Brother, we’re out! All sold!"

He hadn't anticipated that people would buy as if they didn't care about the cost, eagerly grabbing everything. Even those who were just watching were influenced, and although they bought only a bowl at a time, a lot was sold quickly.

Tang Xu raised his eyebrows; this was selling faster than he had expected.

"Bring out the offal, we’ll sell it at six wen per bowl."

Liu Yao nodded and was about to leave with the basin when Tang Xu added, "You can give them a small bowl to taste. This might not sell as quickly; many people can't stomach offal."

"Got it." Liu Yao wasn’t worried about it not selling well. Back in the village, when he used to sell offal, people would make snide comments when they heard his calls. But after tasting it, their eyes would widen, and they'd hurriedly dig out money to buy more, craving it if they went without it for three days.

He had experience with this. He enjoyed watching those who initially sneered at offal, calling it worthless and claiming it was beneath them, then coming over with their money bags to buy bowl after bowl.

"Boss, what else do you sell here?"

Wang Cuicui, sweating from counting the copper coins, looked up at the noise and saw the person sitting at the table. She smiled and said, "We have pancakes and noodles, but they're not available right now. They’ll be ready by noon. Pancakes can be stuffed with meat, eggs, tofu, and such, and we also have offal noodles, which taste quite good."

The person frowned reflexively at the mention of offal.

"Auntie, go have some water and take a break. I can handle selling the offal," Liu Yao said to Wang Cuicui.

Wang Cuicui agreed, placed an empty money box beside her, and took the half-full one to the back.

The smell of the braised offal was even stronger, with a unique aroma that some found a bit stinky.

"What’s that smell?" Several people in the shop covered their noses and turned to leave.

"Want to try it?" Some people who liked this kind of food came over to inquire.

Liu Yao nodded and handed over a piece of sliced pork stomach, "Give it a taste."

The person took it and put it in his mouth, his eyes widening significantly. He then hurriedly asked, "How much is it?"

"Six wen per bowl," Liu Yao said with a smile.

"I want two bowls—no, three bowls!" The person grabbed a handful of copper coins from his pouch and counted out eighteen wen into the money box.

Since the braised offal came with broth, Liu Yao filled a small bamboo tube with it, making sure to give a generous amount.

The customer, holding the bamboo tube like a treasure, picked out another piece, which seemed to be pork liver, and put it in his mouth, unable to suppress a satisfied hum.

With the first customer, naturally, came the second, and the braised offal business started off strong.

A large basin of braised offal sold out quickly.

Many later-arriving customers couldn't buy any chicken, duck, goose, or even offal.

Seeing their inquiries, Liu Yao explained, "We’ve sold out of everything for today. The new batch in the pot isn’t ready yet. Please come early tomorrow."

Since there was nothing left to sell, staying in the shop was pointless, and customers gradually left. Liu Yao quickly closed the shop door and excitedly took the money box to the backyard.

Even Tang Xu hadn't expected to sell out so quickly on the first day. He had prepared enough to last the whole day.

However, he didn't plan to increase the quantity, as the hunger marketing strategy was quite effective.

Business was so good that Wang Cuicui and Liu Yao were thrilled as they counted the copper coins.

"This is so profitable!" Wang Cuicui turned to look at Tang Xu, only to see he wasn't particularly excited.

Tang Xu nodded, holding a small bowl and feeding egg custard to Xiao Bao.

Er Bao was clumsily feeding himself with a small spoon, often hitting his nose two out of three times, but he refused to let anyone feed him.

Xiao Bao, on the other hand, was very neat, eating small bites delicately.

Tang Li, who had been taking care of the three children all morning, looked up and asked, "Auntie, how much did we make in total?"

"Two taels," Wang Cuicui replied. They had collected 2,200 copper coins, with 1,000 copper coins equaling one tael of silver. In just one morning, during the opening hours, they had made two taels!

The cost was only half a tael of silver!

She hadn't expected that making money could be so easy!

Tang Li was also excited and turned to Tang Xu, "Brother, did the Fuyun Restaurant come to pick up their order?"

Tang Xu shook his head, "I arranged with Boss Wu for them to come on the third day after our opening. From then on, we’ll prepare the same amount each day, with double the quantity of offal."

Originally, he had planned to include noodles at noon, but now it seemed unnecessary in the short term.

"Tomorrow, let’s also braise a pot of eggs and tofu and see how they sell."

Tang's Small Shop's business was booming, and after half a month, everything had stabilized. Tang Xu and Wei Dong took the three children and drove back to the village.

Before leaving, Tang Xu made sure to speak with Boss Wu at the Fuyun Restaurant, hoping they would keep an eye on things and help if any trouble arose while they were away.

Even though there were two men at home, troublemakers wouldn't care about that, so having some backup was necessary.

The Fuyun Restaurant had stood strong in town for many years, implying they had influence in both legal and underworld circles.

However, Tang Xu's concerns were unfounded, people knew this was Wei Dong’s father-in-law's business. 

Who would dare to provoke them? 

How could they not be afraid of being beaten to death by Wei Dong, the brute!

The town was neither too big nor too small, and Wei Dong’s notorious reputation was well-known among the local thugs. Many had not only heard of him but also experienced his wrath firsthand.

Broken hands and legs were a common occurrence.

Before they even reached the house, as the mule cart stopped at the back door, Tang Yang ran over from the front yard upon hearing the commotion. 

He threw himself onto Tang Xu, not caring if his brother-in-law might beat him up, and wailed, "Brother, you're finally back! If you didn't come back soon, you probably wouldn’t seen me anymore!"

Tang Xu was taken aback and looked down at him, then asked in surprise, "How did you get so thin?"

Tang Yang's face, which used to be chubby, was now completely devoid of baby fat. His features were more defined, making him look more grown-up.

Tang Yang sniffled pitifully, "Brother Xi's cooking is terrible~~~~"

Only heaven knew how he had survived the past half month!

Tang Xu couldn't help but laugh. Well, he shouldn't have placed so much trust in Wei Xi's cooking.

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