TTTQF Chapter 69

The Breakfast Shop

Friend?

Jiang Miao looks up at Pei Che and finds his gaze filled with sincerity, without a hint of deceit.

"Since you consider me a friend, then I definitely cannot take your shop," Jiang Miao says, lowering his head. His initial agreement to the matter is not entirely pure in purpose.

He thinks that if he can make some money by playing a role, there is no reason to refuse. But he doesn’t expect it to become more entangled, and the more he interacts with Pei Che, the more he feels that Pei Che is indeed a good friend. Although he likes money, he has a principle of not taking advantage of friends. It is acceptable to discuss the house before they become friends, but doing so afterward would be inappropriate.

Pei Che still doesn’t quite understand why Jiang Miao was so straightforward before but has become reserved after becoming friends. However, since Jiang Miao's attitude has softened, Pei Che can’t be so insistent.

"It’s fine if you don’t want to accept this shop; consider the money as a loan from me. How about that? If you don’t want a loan, then think of the shop as one that I’m renting to you. How does that sound?"

Pei Che’s suggestion seems increasingly feasible. This way, Jiang Miao won’t feel like he’s taking something for nothing.

"Anyway, you’re going to rent a shop from someone else, so just pay me the same rent you would pay them. That way, you don’t have to worry about anyone causing trouble with the shop. Once you’ve earned enough money, you can buy the shop from me. What do you think?"

Pei Che has considered everything so thoroughly and has taken all aspects into account for Jiang Miao, leaving Jiang Miao unsure of what to say. If he refuses again, it seems like he doesn’t appreciate the gesture.

Today, he is being unreasonable. He understands that Pei Che’s thoughts aren’t meant to belittle him. Perhaps it is the anger from realizing he has been deceived upon arriving that makes him more irritable. While waiting for Pei Che’s class to end, he thinks about many messy things, causing him to unconsciously radiate anger towards Pei Che.

"I negotiate fifteen taels of silver a month as rent for this shop," Jiang Miao says, his attitude somewhat awkward. "I’ll draft the contract when I get back and give it to you."

Is this an acceptance? Pei Che breathes a sigh of relief. It’s also his fault for being too reckless, almost turning a good deed into a bad one.

"Since you didn’t ask me to sign a contract before, and you trust me so much, naturally, I won’t ask you to sign one either. As you’ve said, we’ll soon become the closest people in this world. If others find out, it could become troublesome." After all, no couple signs a contract over a shop. Once married, it becomes joint property.

Jiang Miao nods, his gaze wandering and avoiding eye contact with Pei Che. He has been inexplicably melodramatic just now, and thinking back makes him feel quite embarrassed.

...

"Sigh!" On the carriage, Jiang Miao sighs repeatedly. To his surprise, Pei Mu, sitting across from him, also sighs.

This is the first time Jiang Miao hears a sound come from Pei Mu’s mouth, which leaves him so astonished that the awkward and embarrassing feelings he had just experienced are completely forgotten.

"Xiao Mu, why are you sighing?" Jiang Miao asks.

Pei Mu looks at him with an expression full of helplessness, his clear, expressive eyes seeming to hide a lot of worry. Then, he sighs heavily again, as if the argument between Jiang Miao and Pei Che has left him deeply concerned.

Jiang Miao pats his little head and, feeling both amused and helpless, says, "Don’t worry, I didn’t argue with your brother. We just raised our voices a bit."

Pei Mu looks up at him, scrutinizing his expression as if trying to determine whether Jiang Miao is telling the truth.

Seeing this, Jiang Miao offers many comforting words until Pei Mu is no longer troubled by it. Jiang Miao decides to learn from this experience and, in the future, will handle similar situations privately, avoiding discussing such matters in front of children. Otherwise, it might leave a psychological scar on the child. Pei Mu is already reserved, and he shouldn’t be frightened further.

…

With the issue of the shop settled, Jiang Miao starts preparing for the renovations. He has previously sketched out a rough layout for the shop, but there are so many areas that need modification that the house will surely be completely transformed by the time he is done.

Although the landlord says that renovations are allowed, the extent of the changes is almost like a complete reconstruction, and he isn’t sure if they will agree. However, now that he is renting Pei Che’s shop, those concerns vanish. He can naturally make whatever changes he wants.

Jiang Miao picks out a few sturdy and reliable men from the base of the west city gate wall to help him with the work. He learns about this place from Boss Bai, who not only tells him where it is but also informs him of their pricing standards to avoid being cheated when hiring workers.

Jiang Miao works with them for several days, and finally, the shop that originally looks somewhat dilapidated is renovated into something completely new

First, Jiang Miao addresses the open space outside the main door. He plans to place the steamers outside, so he needs to consider the possibility of harsh weather. Therefore, he has a retractable oilcloth installed above the area. It can be rolled up on sunny days and lowered when the weather is bad.

The main door is also widened. He has the original door removed and custom-made two large doors that can fully open and close. This way, even on cloudy days, the interior remains bright.

In addition, he remodels the stairs leading to the second floor, the cashier’s counter, the tables and chairs inside, and all other movable parts according to his own ideas.

As a result, the overall style of the shop gradually becomes more modern. In contemporary times, this wouldn’t be considered eye-catching, but in ancient times, having such a shop would be seen as something quite novel.

Daniu comes to help almost every day. Since the fried bun business only sells for one hour a day now, he has more free time and hasn’t lost much money either.

In the first two days, because the buns are only sold for an hour, sometimes the buns are brought back if not sold, leaving only his own family to eat them. But later, when customers learn that they can only get the buns during that specific hour, they almost all come by to buy them during that time. Thus, the prepared buns sell out.

Daniu is a straightforward kid and doesn’t know that there is a sales strategy called "hunger marketing."

“Brother Jiang, what are you planning to sell in this shop?” Daniu, having walked up and down the stairs several times, finally can’t contain his curiosity and asks.

Jiang Miao replies, “Initially, I just want to sell buns, but then I think, since I’m already making buns, why not offer other items as well? This way, customers will have more choices and I can earn more money.” So, he plans to open a breakfast shop.

Previously, when he set up a stall on Yifeng Street, due to a lack of manpower and insufficient capital, and considering the competition on the same street, Jiang Miao focused solely on buns and didn't sell anything else.

Now, it’s different. Since he has a shop, customers coming in will surely not be satisfied with just one type of food. To ensure they are satisfied, he needs to offer a variety of options. As far as he knows, there aren’t any mixed breakfast shops in Liangjing at the moment; most places specialize in one type of food.

“Well, Brother Jiang, if you need more help, I can assist you!” Daniu, who likes the look of the place, also wants to work here. It’s much nicer than Yingkelai.

Jiang Miao smiles, “Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked you to only sell buns for one hour each day. When my shop opens, you can come in the morning to help, and sell buns in the afternoon.”

Daniu nods excitedly. This way, he’ll be able to earn even more money.

With the shop’s renovation completed, Jiang Miao lets it air out and starts planning what to sell after the opening.

Steamed buns are a must, and items like radish, dried tofu, and soup dumplings that he has made before can also be included. These can be varied with the seasons, adding or removing fillings to keep things fresh.

With buns in place, he also plans to offer steamed buns and flower rolls. For steamed buns, Jiang Miao plans to prepare some side dishes to sell with them. These are more filling and economical compared to buns. Flower rolls are tastier than steamed buns and cheaper than buns, so they should also have a market.

Besides these solid items, he needs to prepare some liquid options to avoid a dry throat. For this, Jiang Miao plans to discuss with Old Man Ding about sourcing some soy milk or tofu pudding from his daughter. These pair well with the flour-based foods.

Additionally, Jiang Miao plans to make some porridge. He has noticed that there are basically no porridge vendors in the market. People think they can make porridge at home, so there’s no need to buy it. While plain porridge is indeed like that, other delicious and nutritious types are not, and Jiang Miao plans to make these. He intends to prepare mushroom lean meat porridge, millet egg drop porridge, seafood porridge, and others. They are simple to make and tasty; he doesn’t believe customers won’t like them.

Of course, he will also prepare noodles, dumplings, and wontons. Ideally, he should be able to serve whatever the customers want.

Jiang Miao chews on his pen, thinking and scribbling under the candlelight for a long time before finally listing all the breakfast items he can think of.

Some of these he is very familiar with, while others he hasn’t made for a long time and wonders if he might be out of practice. Jiang Miao, feeling hungry from writing the menu, happily decides to start making all these less familiar foods starting tomorrow.

This decision makes Xiao Shitou and Pei Mu feel like they have fallen into a treasure trove over the next few days. Every morning, they wake up to the smell of various aromas and get to taste at least three different types of breakfast items.

Some of these breakfasts they have tried before, while others are entirely new to them, but one thing is common: they are all delicious. The two little ones eat their fill every day, and within a few days, their little faces become chubbier, looking as cute as the dolls in the New Year traditional paintings.

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