Chapter 28

"Have you heard of stinky tofu...?"

"Have you ever eaten stinky tofu...?"

"What time are you planning to go to Zui Xian Ju to queue up tomorrow...?"

Whether in the wine shop, tea house, or on the streets, "stinky tofu" and "Zui Xian Ju" have become topics that people cannot avoid. With each word, stinky tofu became even more mysterious. Some said that this stinky tofu was made from a combination of ginseng, lingzhi, snow lotus, and seven other precious herbs. Others claimed it was made from venomous snakes, scorpions, spiders, and seven other toxic creatures. Still, others exaggerated, saying that the stinky tofu wasn't tofu at all, but made from abalone...

Li Qi was very pleased with these rumors, knowing that to build a reputation, such hype was inevitable.

After Li Qi and Wu Furong's nephew rested for the entire afternoon, that evening, Uncle Zhang San delivered about 700 pieces of tofu, 200 more than the first time, as Li Qi had instructed.

The three of them poured all the tofu into the jar. Then, Li Qi took Wu Xiao Liux to the kitchen and taught him how to fry the stinky tofu, step by step. Since time was limited, Li Qi didn't go into too much detail, only showing him how to observe the tofu in the oil, when to flip it, and when to take it out. Wu Xiao Liux, who was very interested in cooking, learned very quickly and soon mastered the technique.

After teaching him everything, Li Qi let Wu Xiao Liux practice on his own while he and Wu Furong went to the hall to relax.

"Master Li, I am truly impressed. As you said, everything is under your control," Wu Furong said, shaking his head in disbelief and then laughing heartily. His face was more joyful today than ever before.

"Uncle Wu, don't say that, or I'll get too proud," Li Qi chuckled.

"Ha ha!"

Wu Furong stroked his beard and suddenly said, "Master Li, I have a few questions that have been bothering me all day. I want to ask you for advice."

"Uncle Wu, you flatter me. Ask anything, and I will answer to the best of my ability," Li Qi said with a smile, knowing exactly what Wu Furong wanted to ask.

Wu Furong cleared his throat and asked, "Since you predicted that stinky tofu would be so popular, why did you limit each person to only one serving?"

He had wanted to ask this question all along, but had been too busy to find the opportunity. Now that they both had free time, he couldn't wait to bring it up.

Li Qi smiled and replied, "Uncle Wu, you see, stinky tofu is a fried food, and it is very hot in nature. Eating too much at once can be harmful to the body. If a customer eats our stinky tofu and feels unwell, it would be bad for us."

Wu Furong nodded and asked, "But if that's the case, why didn't you ask Uncle Zhang San to prepare more stinky tofu? Is it because of the money?"

Li Qi shook his head and said, "That's part of the reason, but it's not the main one. Think about it, what does Zui Xian Ju lack the most right now? It's popularity. Everyone is rushing to try the stinky tofu for the novelty. Some people will only come once and never return. So I have to control the quantity to maintain high popularity every day."

"I see. How much did you spend on all this? If you need more money, I have some savings," Wu Furong said, concerned. He had never asked Li Qi where the money for the tofu came from. Having done business for so many years, he knew what questions to ask and what to avoid.

Li Qi waved his hand and chuckled, "Thank you for your concern, but I didn't spend much, less than 100 taels. I've already paid Uncle Zhang San for the tofu for the next eight days, so you don't need to worry about the money." Even if he were short on money, Li Qi would never take Wu Furong's money. That was his life savings, and using someone else's life savings to do business was something Li Qi would never do.

"Less than 100 taels? Then you can recover your costs tomorrow!" Wu Furong said in surprise.

Li Qi nodded with a smile.

"Master Li, to be honest, I have never done such a profitable business in my life," Wu Furong said, shaking his head and laughing.

Is this what you call profit? Li Qi joked, "You can't be satisfied yet. This is just the beginning. You are the backbone of Zui Xian Ju, so you need to always maintain a sense of hunger. Only then will our business grow bigger."

"Hunger? Ha ha, interesting, interesting!"

Wu Furong laughed and continued, "Master Li, with so many people rushing to buy stinky tofu, do you think we should raise the price? To be honest, last night I thought 300 coins per serving was too expensive, but today I feel it's a bit too low."

Li Qi shook his head and smiled, "Actually, I did this for the future of Zui Xian Ju."

"For the future?" Wu Furong asked, puzzled.

"Exactly!" Li Qi nodded and said, "Although Bianjing is the wealthiest city in our Song Dynasty, there aren't many people who can afford to eat in a restaurant of our size. If someone can spend 300 coins on a few pieces of stinky tofu that won't even fill their stomach, they can certainly afford to eat in our restaurant. We should focus on these customers. For those who can't afford to eat in our restaurant, we should let them go. However, if the price is too high, we might lose some customers. Since Zui Xian Ju is just starting, I don't want any mistakes."

"Right, right, you think more thoroughly. I was too short-sighted," Wu Furong nodded quickly.

Li Qi smiled and suddenly seemed to remember something, "Uncle Wu, there's something I want to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"I want to hire more people to help," Li Qi said seriously. It was too embarrassing to have only three people running such a large restaurant. If they didn't hire more people, they might collapse from exhaustion before the stinky tofu was even sold out.

Wu Furong chuckled, "Don't worry about that. I've already found two brothers. Their parents used to work for the Qin family. They are very honest and will come early tomorrow."

"That's great. I was worried about not having enough people tomorrow," Li Qi chuckled.

"You and I?" Wu Furong asked, puzzled, "Master Li, are you going out tomorrow?"

Li Qi slapped his forehead, "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I have a very important matter to attend to tomorrow, so I can't help you. I've already told Xiao Liux to take my place."

"A very important matter?" Wu Furong took a deep breath, "Do you need my help?"

"Ah?" Li Qi was taken aback, then waved off Wu Furong's offer, "No, no, I can handle it alone. You need to stay here to supervise them. I wouldn't feel comfortable if you weren't here."

"Okay, go with peace of mind. I'll keep an eye on them," Wu Furong nodded.

{Piaotian Literature}